On October 8, 2022, a gathering was held in Colorado Springs at the foot of Pikes Peak called the Communion Revival. Lou Engle was the host of this event, and the intent was to produce a harvest of souls, to remove the veil, and to topple principalities. He invited people from all fifty states to be present so that America would be represented in this time of prayer, worship, and the Lord’s Supper, which consisted of an Anglican officiated style communion. Those from each state would come as representatives, partaking of communion “for every person, every family, and every region, unto the mercy of God upon our nation.”

The vision for this event reached back to years past, according to Engle, from prayer meetings centered around ending abortion to various dreams he and others had in relation to revival, communion, and even specific individuals such as Bill Johnson. After having Beni Johnson pray over him before her death and impart her mantle and revelation concerning the power of communion, which came from a book she wrote about the subject, Lou has since gone forward with this revival, stating it will be the greatest revival ever and that those carrying the BB diploma (Better Blood) will outnumber those with the BA diploma (Brethren Accuser) as they release the same shockwave Jesus did from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

On the website for the Communion Revival, it states, “The end of Roe V. Wade has opened a door for massive change. Now every state must seize their defining moment. We gather to plead a better blood than the blood of abortion. Jesus’s blood speaks forgiveness, restoration, and transformation of the states. We begin this movement in Colorado, the first state to legalize abortion in 1967.”Here is a trailer for this event.-link

The gathering in Colorado was seven hours long and consisted of times of worship, prayer and declarations, prophecy, and gathering around a communion table on a platform to worship Jesus and to receive the body and blood with an “open heart encounter”. One of the well-known cries from Lou Engle and those affiliated with his ministry was, “Jesus, I plead Your Blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America!” They believe this “contains the key to shifting the nation into a culture of life, healing, forgiveness, and national revival, the Great Communion Revival.”

What is wrong with gathering to pray and receive communion? Aren’t believers in Christ supposed to gather and to partake of the Lord’s Supper? Yes, we are. However, there are elements to this gathering that were concerning and seemed to incorporate additional extrabiblical revelation about revival and communion that are not found in Scripture. There is also the seeming call to lay aside differences and to unite with others outside Protestantism. There is the element of identification repentance and the belief that the act of communion and prophetic declarations will save people. There is the lack of the gospel being presented to the lost and the loss of understanding as to what communion means for those who are in Christ.

His Gospel, His Communion

Our calling and purpose are to glorify God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those of us in Christ must understand the importance of communion and in what Jesus did on our behalf. We remember what He did until He returns. I was encouraged by what John MacArthur’s commentary had to say regarding 1 Corinthians 11:26, “The gospel is presented through the service of communion as the elements are explained. They point to His physical incarnation, sacrificial death, resurrection, and coming Kingdom.” We have no power in and of ourselves when taking communion. We are remembering the power of God to save us, to reconcile us, and to bring us back to life spiritually. We rejoice in the glorious promise of eternal life because He rose from the dead, and He is coming back again. This is glorious news. Nothing else is needed to know for communion, and if it were, the Holy Spirit would surely have guided Paul to write such revelation.

We do not use communion as a tool for intercession, for making kingdom breakthroughs in our finances, or as a weapon for spiritual warfare. (These were some of the things discussed at length in Beni Johnson’s book, The Power of Communion.) Communion is focused on what Christ has done, and we need not even give thought to Satan while we receive communion. He is not watching us receive it because he is not omnipresent. And we certainly cannot forgive the sins of our nation or any other nation. To say this is to potentially lay claim as the mediator, and we know 1 Timothy 2:5-6 says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” We know that He is ever interceding for us at the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25). This should bring us great comfort and joy.

Indeed, we should pray for God’s mercy upon our nation and for our leaders to walk in His ways and to serve God. We should stand for truth with love against atrocities such as abortion, and we are to be repentant people, responsible for our own sins individually and trusting that God is gracious and merciful to forgive us. We have been forgiven much, and because of this, we love much, so much so that we obey God and share the good news of the Gospel with those who are dead in their sins. Even in the midst of God’s judgment for sins against Him, He has graciously made a way to approach the throne of grace in humility, and this is only through faith in Jesus Christ. His ministry is one of reconciliation to God the Father, and we are to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

One thing we are to remember: communion is for born again believers only. Jesus instituted this ordinance Himself as seen in the gospels (Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:17-20) The gospel of Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed to unbelievers, and the gospel is a daily encouragement to those of us who are in Christ as to why we need Him. While we are on this earth, we get to partake of communion and remember His sacrifice for our sake as we await His return (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and we testify of Him through His gospel so that others may come to saving faith and partake of this as well, being encouraged to think upon His death, burial, and resurrection and to hold onto His promises found in His Word in the midst of a fallen world.

Is wanting revival a bad thing? No, so long as we have a Biblical understanding that it is the power of the gospel bringing others to saving faith in Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to soften hearts and to convict sinners in need of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No amount of decreeing or declaring in our own strength is going to turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. Receiving communion in a premeditated gathering has no mystical power against principalities to incite revival, nor is it to be used to perpetuate false unity with those who believe in a false gospel. We do not and cannot repent for another’s sins, and we are not instructed in God’s Word to embrace identification repentance for our nation.

It is vital that we as believers have a proper understanding of such things, we have been instructed to do in God’s Word such as communion, and that we are not led astray or deceived by false teaching adding to the revelation of Scripture, thereby indirectly implying it is not sufficient in its instruction for us as God’s people.

Listen to this episode from The Lovesick Scribe podcast as we take a closer look at the Communion Revival: A Look at the Communion Revival – The Lovesick Scribe Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: A Look at the Communion Revival on Apple Podcasts