MORAVIAN REVIVAL – JOHNNY GILLESPIE

Table of Contents

I. Overview, Timeline & Primary Events 3

John Huss 3
Bohemian Brethren Church 3
Persecution 3
Exodus to Germany 3
Count Zinzendorf 4
Herrnhut 4
God Prepares the Community 4
Revival Fire 4
Prayer Meetings 4
A Missions Movement 5

II. Contemporary Events 5

John Wesley’s Introduction to the Moravians 5
Moravian Influence 5

III. Primary Areas of Impact 5

24/7 Prayer 5
Simple Prayer 6

IV. Small Beginnings to Catalyzed Movements 6

Death to Life 6
Unified Community 6

V. Essential Steps of Simple Obedience & Risk Taking 6

Hope & Trust 6
Surrendered Timing 6

VI. The Point God Intervened, Tipping Point 6

Zinzendorf’s Perspective 7
James Hutton’s Perspective 7
David Nitschmann’s Perspective 7

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Brad Allen’s Summary 7

VII. Defining Markers 7

The Exaltation of Jesus Christ 8
The Centrality of the Cross 8
The Love of the Brethren 8
Total Surrender 9
Prayer 9

VIII. Connection to Other Movements 10

Moravian Missions Movement 10
Wesleyan Revival 10
First Great Awakening 10

IX. Important Quotes 10

Moravian Pentecost 10
Moriavian Missions 10
Moravian Pentecost 11

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I. Overview, Timeline & Primary Events

A) John Huss

What eventually became the Moravian church in Germany can be traced back to Bohemia, in
what is the modern day Czech Republic, and to John Huss, a preacher and reformer in Prague.
Born in 1369, John Huss spoke boldly against the practices and teachings of the Roman Catholic
church, and preached the simple Gospel that “God alone can forgive sins through Christ”. It’s
stunning that he preached this almost 100 years before Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the
door of the Whittenberg All Saints Church. Huss’ bold criticism of the Catholic church led to his
eventual arrest, trial, and conviction. When the Catholic bishops declared over him that they were
taking “from you this Cup of Salvation”, Huss replied “But I trust in God Almighty, and shall
drink this Cup this day in His Kingdom. He was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.

B) Bohemian Brethren Church

Huss’ teachings were being widely followed at the time of his death, and widespread outrage
caused the people of Bohemia to further reject the influence of Rome. Within 50 years Huss’
followers had become unified into the “Bohemian Brethren”, organized largely by one Gregory
the Patriarch. This church held high an adherence to the Sermon on the Mount, from which they
took six major principles. The Moravian movement can trace their heritage to this Bohemian
Brethren church. The protestant movement continued to grow in Bohemia for the next century.

C) Persecution

In 1617 a fiercely Catholic leader, Ferdinand of Styria, was appointed King of Bohemia. This
started a century of phenomenal persecution against the Protestant population. The Bohemian
Brethren had to go underground, and eventually the church was scattered across Europe, as they
fled the persecution in their homeland. Only small groups of Bohemian Brethren remained in
Moravia, in little groups referred to as the “Hidden Seed”.

D) Exodus to Germany

In 1680, a young Moravian man called Christian David was born to a Roman Catholic family.
Through his young years his heart was restless and disillusioned with the Catholic church. He met
some Protestants and was stirred by their message that only Jesus Christ could forgive sins. He
travelled in his restlessness to Germany, and came into contact with the Lutheran Church, but
found it equally lifeless. He then met two Pietist preachers, and through their ministry came to
peace with Christ. He travelled back to Moravia, and realized the persecution that the Protestants
faced. In 1722 he convinced a small group of Moravians to come with him to Germany, to escape
persecution. They made their way to the estate of a young German nobleman called Count
Zinzendorf. Zinzendorf gave them a small area of land, and they began a little settlement.

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E) Count Zinzendorf

Ludwig Zinzendorf was born in 1700 to a noble family. From the age of four he “loved the
Savior, and had abundant communion with him” (Allen, loc 1121). He dedicated his life to the
service of Christ, and in school started “The Honorable Order of the Mustard Seed”, a group of
boys who pledged themselves to be true to Christ. Against the wishes of his family, he wanted to
live a life of ministry, so he began to gather friends for a weekly Scripture study, but that wasn’t
enough. In 1722 she bought the estate at Berthelsdorf, because he said “I wanted to spend my life
among peasants and win their souls for Christ”.

F) Herrnhut

More Moravians, hearing about the safety Zinzendorf was providing, continued to come to his
estate, and the settlement grew over the next few years to number about 300 by the year 1727,
settling in a village they called Herrnhut. Zinzendorf had been largely uninvolved up to this point.

G) God Prepares the Community

By 1727, serious dissension had arisen within the Moravian settlement, with disagreements over
theology, practices, and what community life should be like. Zinzendorf finally got involved, and
on May 12, 1727, gathered all the Moravians together, and read to them “Injunctions and
Prohibitions”, a sermon which outlined basics of theology and community practice that he asked
them all to observe. The Moravians that day agreed to obey all he was asking, and shook hands in
agreement. This laid the foundation for what was to come that summer.

H) Revival Fire

On August 10th, 1727, the factions were invited to the Brethelsdorf church for Communion. As
they met together, “everyone in the church was touched with a strange and wonderful power,
which no one could explain” (Allen, loc 1408). They worshipped and prayed until midnight. On
August 12th, the entire community signed the Brotherly Agreement, 14 points on how they would
live as a community in pursuit of the Lord. On August 13th, the Herrnhut Moravians invited the
Lutheran pastor of the church in Berthelsdorf to the Herrnhut Wednesday service. It was to be a
time of prayer, confession of bad feelings, and celebrating the Lord’s supper. This was the
meeting of the Moravian Pentecost. As they gathered, the Holy Spirit visited them with a power
that they struggled to describe afterwards.

I) Prayer Meetings

The Moravians began to meet together three times a day. Four days later, on August 17th, the
children of the community organized a 24/7 prayer meeting, which was soon joined by the adults.
This prayer meeting would continue for over 100 years.

J) A Missions Movement

This prayer meeting led to action. 33 years later, there were 226 Moravian missionaries scattered
around the globe, leading countless thousands to Christ. Allen says in his book, The Moravian
Principle: The Secret to Revival “This should teach us to come to God in prayer. We must not
come pleading with God to send revival, as though He was some kind of reluctant giver, but He is
a God who stands ready to answer, and if we come believing, it is a sign that God already has His
designs upon us.” (Allen loc 1502)

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II. Contemporary Events

A) John Wesley’s Introduction to the Moravians

John Wesley was an Anglican preacher who was striving with all his might to do what
would please God. In 1735 he took a trip to the Americas to preach the Gospel, and happened to
be on the same ship as some German Moravians. He was shocked by the Moravians who seemed
to have such a living faith in Jesus Christ. Wesley wrote in his journal, “Now we can see who has
a God, and who hasn’t.” Wesley said of the encounter: “I asked one of them afterwards, ‘Were
you not afraid?’ He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’ I asked, ‘But were not your women and children
afraid?’ He replied mildly, ‘No, our women and children are not afraid to die.’” (The Diary of
John Wesley)

B) Moravian Influence

Wesley remained in the Americas for two years during which time he had several other
powerful formative encounters with Moravians such as Bishop Spangenberg. Upon his return to
England, it was one final encounter with another Moravian, Peter Bohler, at the church in Fetter
Lane, where Wesley became born again. He would go one to turn the English speaking world
upside down for the Gospel, and be a key player in the First Great Awakening. This can be
directly traced to the Moravians!

III. Primary Areas of Impact

A) 24/7 Prayer

The Moravian Revival led to their 100 years of 24/7 prayer. This prayer was not flashy,
complicated, or only for the fiery leaders, but rather a simple agreement of simple believers that
“a fire must always be kept burning on the altar” Leviticus 6:13. This prayer fueled the first
modern missions movement, which in turn clearly was catalytic to the First Great Awakening.

B) Simple Prayer

It’s impossible to overstate the impact of this simple prayer. It led to their mission's
movement. Though modest at first glance, it was a catalytic spark. Brad Allen, speaking of
Christian David, but also of the wider Moravian movement says, “None of us will ever know the
debt we owe to Christian David. As you trace Christian history from Christian David, to Peter
Bohler (more on Bohler later), to John Wesley, to revival in America, you will find that we have
had the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord because of this one man who,
through grit, determination, and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, made a path for us to come to
Christ.” (Allen, loc 1307)

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IV. Small Beginnings to Catalyzed Movements

A) Death to Life

“The two sins that were brought to the surface at Herrnhut were dead formalism in the
church and great disunity among the people of the village.” (Allen loc 1582). When the Moravian
community came to a place of conviction over sin, and genuine hunger for God, the Holy Spirit
visited them in power. They realized that living holy lives was necessary for true relationship with
God, and that as a result living righteous and holy lives with each other was also necessary.

B) Unified Community

Once these pieces were in place, they could in unity as a community seek God. God
immediately commanded a blessing on this community who genuinely pursued him together.

V. Essential Steps of Simple Obedience & Risk Taking

A) Hope & Trust

They put all their hope and trust in unction from on high instead of entertainment from
people. Duncan Campbell emphasized this point a lot. Evangelism from on high and not from
human tactics or entertainment.

B) Surrendered Timing

They did not try to lead the services when God began to move. They let people tarry in
their repentance or struggle. Campbell said that God is better than man at leading people to
salvation. Let God do his work.

VI. The Point God Intervened, Tipping Point

The August 13th, 1727 meeting was described later by those that were present:

A) Zinzendorf’s Perspective

Many years later, Zinzendorf described it as follows: “We needed to come to the
Communion with a sense of the loving nearness of the Savior. This was the great comfort, which
was made this day a generation ago. For this day the congregation at Herrnhut was all dissatisfied
with themselves. They had quit judging each other because each one had become convinced of
his lack of worth in the sight of God and each felt that this communion to be in view of the noble
countenance of the Savior, whose sacred head was so wounded. In this view of the Man of
sorrows, acquainted with grief, their hearts told them that He would be the Patron and the Priest,
who was at once changing their tears into the oil of gladness, their misery into happiness. This
firm confidence changed them in a single moment into a happy people which they are to this day.
And into their happiness they have since led many thousands of others through the memory and
the help which the heavenly grace once given to themselves, so many thousand times confirmed
to them since then.” (Allen, loc 1439)

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B) James Hutton’s Perspective

This is how it was according to James Hutton, “As the brethren walked down the slope to
the church, all felt that the supreme occasion had arrived. And all who had quarreled in the days
gone by made a covenant of loyalty and love. At the door of the church, they entered the building
and the service began. The confession was offered by the Count, and then at one and the same
moment all dropped in deep devotion and were stirred by the mystic, wondrous touch by a power
which none could define or understand. There, they attained at last the firm conviction that they
were one in Christ. And, there, above all, they believed and felt that as the twelve disciples at
Pentecost had rested the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit.” (Allen, loc 1484)

C) David Nitschmann’s Perspective

“All I know is that from that time on, Herrnhut became a living congregation of Christ.” -
David Nitschmann

D) Brad Allen’s Summary

“Loud weeping and cries to heaven nearly drowned out the singing. The service did not
end until, as Zinzendorf described it later, true “Herzensgemeinschaft” (communion of the heart)
had descended upon them all. Where they had been one body before, now they were one in spirit,
the Spirit of Christ….Those who had seriously annoyed each other, now embraced and promised
to serve one another in peace, so the whole congregation came back to Herrnhut as newborn
children.” (Allen, loc 2058)

VII. Defining Markers

The Moravians had several things that marked their revival, and their community and
movement carried the same key things from then onward.

A) The Exaltation of Jesus Christ

1. The Moravians exalted Jesus Christ in everything they did. From the moment they woke
up in the morning, until they went to bed at night, their life, their families, their schedules
all revolved around the exaltation of Jesus.

2. Brad Allen says: “Revival always exalts Christ. It is impossible to understand the
Herrnhut revival without having some understanding of their strong, strong emphasis on
the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus told his disciples that the Comforter was coming,
He said, “He shall glorify Me.” The theology of the Moravians became Christology. Their
creed was Jesus Christ. The entire road the Moravians traveled was characterized by a
warm, deep devotion to Jesus Christ. Zinzendorf said, “I have one passion. It is Jesus.
Jesus only.”” (Allen, loc 2403)

B) The Centrality of the Cross

1. The Moravians believed that the Cross was the key message of the Gospel, and that this
was the message they had to preach, live, and teach. Their missionaries dispensed with
lengthy theological historicities for the sake of the simplicity of preaching Christ
crucified.

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2. Zinzendorf said the following: “Christians are God’s people begotten by His Spirit,
obedient to Him and kindled by His fire, His blood is their glory. In every degree and
phase of our spiritual life and growth and service the blood of Jesus is indispensable.” (3)
“The blood of Christ is not only the sovereign remedy for sin, it is also the chief
nourishment of the Christian life.” (4) “Our preaching of the wounds may not produce
many sudden conversions, but they will be thorough and they will be lasting.” (5) (Allen,
loc 2427)

C) The Love of the Brethren

1. It was only when the Moravian community had reached a place of repentance and
forgiveness infighting and discord that the Holy Spirit visited them in power. From that
August of 1727 onward, the unity and love for their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ
marked their communities.

2. Zinzendorf on his deathbed said: “I am going to my Savior. I am ready. There is nothing

to hinder me now. I cannot say how much I love you all. Who would have believed that
the prayer of Christ, ‘that they all may be one’, could have been so strikingly fulfilled
among us? I only asked for first-fruits among the heathen, and thousands have been given
me. Are we not as in Heaven? Do we not live together like the angels? The Lord and His
servants understand each other. I am ready.” (Allen, loc 2451)

D) Total Surrender

1. The Moravians saw that their entire lives, entire existence, had to be fully surrendered to
Jesus Christ. This became the hallmark of a Moravian Christian. There was no half
measure. There was no mixture, no compromise. They live in an other-worldly way, and
for another world. One of the most stirring things about them was how they lived for
eternity, with the resurrection in their hearts, every single day. This is what led them to
the most incredible sacrificial lives as missionaries, to carry the Gospel to the lost.

2. Brad Allen says it this way: “The total surrender to Jesus Christ that the Moravians had
kept spilling out on other people. When you trace the movement of the Spirit of God
from Herrnhut, to London, to America, you can safely say that we have had the
opportunity to come to Christ because of the surrender and commitment of the
Moravians.” (Allen, loc 2504)

E) Prayer

1. Only a few days after the Holy Spirit visited them in power at the Moravian Pentecost,
the children led the community into an astonishing response of prayer. Prayer in the
Moravian community was a natural, wonderful, daily discipline. It marked their
community in Herrnhut for 100 years, and marked their missionaries and their movement.

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2. Brad Allen notes the following: “It was on top of this hill called Hutberg, which means,
“watch-mountain”, that the Moravians began their 100-year prayer meeting. They
organized this prayer meeting so that three people were praying on Hutberg every hour of
every day. Stop and think about that for a minute! There are 168 hours in a week. The
Moravians had 168 one-hour slots to fill with three people at all times. Let us stretch our
minds for a bit. The Moravians in Herrnhut, and then their missionaries around the world
went to the Lord in prayer constantly; 168 hours per week, 672 hours per month, 8064
hours per year. In 100 years they prayed to the Lord 806,400 hours, almost one million
hours spent in prayer asking God to send revival to them and to the parts of the world
where their people were sharing the message of Jesus Christ. No wonder revival came to
them. This small group of 300 Moravians in the first 15 years after the Holy Spirit fell on
them at Herrnhut sent out 70 missionaries to the uttermost parts of the world, to the
unreached people.” (Allen, loc 2581).

3. “It is an interesting circumstance that, even in the earliest Moravian labors at Shekomeko
(1743), daily meetings were held and a monthly prayer-day established, when account of
missions progress in different parts of the world were communicated, and petitions
offered on behalf of all men.” (Thompson, Augustus. “Moravian Missions”, Charles
Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1882, Page 5)

4. “The springboard of this continual prayer meeting came from the heart of Count
Zinzendorf. In one of the community prayer meetings, Zinzendorf felt that the Lord was
highlighting Leviticus 6:13, “Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not
to go out.” Zinzendorf had a strong feeling that the prayers of the saints should
continually rise up to God, like a holy incense. There were two main focal points in this
Moravian prayer time. First, to lie prostrate before His throne both day and night, offering
to Him the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for all His kindness shown to them.
Second, to lay before the Savior the distress and case of all who were known to them in
or out of the Congregation.” (Allen loc 2598)

VIII. Connection to Other Movements

A. Moravian Missions Movement

B. Wesleyan Revival

C. First Great Awakening

IX. Important Quotes

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.” - Moravian Principle

“We must hold to the fact that the blood and death of Jesus are the diamond in the golden ring of
the gospel.” - Bishop Spangenberg (Allen, loc 1964)

“May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.” - Count Zinzendorf

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Moravian Pentecost

We saw the hand of God and his wonders, and we were all under the cloud of our fathers,
baptized with the Spirit. The holy Ghost came upon us, and in those days great signs and wonders
took place in our midst. From that time, scarcely a day passed but that we beheld his mighty
workings.

Moriavian Missions

"See what the Moravians have done! Cannot we follow their example and in obedience to our
Heavenly Master go out into the world, and preach the Gospel to the heathen?"

“I believe that my Savior, my King, bears His name with honor and glory. I believe His eternal
divinity. I believe His real humanity. I believe that I am one of His household. I believe that I was
lost. I have known the sentence of death. But, I believe most certainly that I have been ransomed
and absolved. I believe that I am the just reward of all His labor, of all His pains and sweat. I
believe that He has won and gained me by His own sword and bow. I believe that I am no longer
compelled to sin. I believe that I will not die. I believe that I have mastery over the Devil. I
believe that I am redeemed, not through word or work, or miracle or arbitrary decree of God, or
through a new creation or through any other means than through the punishment of death which
the Son of God suffered for me. I believe that I now belong to no one but to Him who has earned
me. I believe that He has the Kingdom overall. I believe that I live under Him, where I am under
His protection, under His peace, under His rule. I am certain that I have the unalterable right,
which all my fellow citizens have, to be as unchangeably holy as they, and that I am as
constantly happy as they all are. I also believe that I am nothing without Him, and that I live
only because He lives. As long as He lives, I will live also. And, I know all this as certainly as I
know that my head is on my shoulders.” - Count Zinzendorf (Allen, loc 2349)

Moravian Pentecost

We saw the hand of God and his wonders, and we were all under the cloud of our fathers,
baptized with the Spirit. The holy Ghost came upon us, and in those days great signs and wonders
took place in our midst. From that time, scarcely a day passed but that we beheld his mighty
workings.

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