Frank Bartleman: The EARTHQUAKE
“Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.” – Hosea 6:1.
But what has God to do with earthquakes? “And there shall be earthquakes in divers places. But all these things are but the beginning of sorrows.” – Matt. 24:7-8. Judgment for sin.
“Arise, go to -, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me.” – Jonah 1:2.
Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” – Rev. 18:5.
“When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” Isa. 26:9.
“God is angry with the wicked every day.” – Psalm 7:11.
For it is God that “removeth the mountains and overturneth them in His anger; that shaketh the Earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.” – Job 9:5-6.
Therefore, “stand in awe, and sin not.” (Psalm 4:4), lest He return, and “wring out a full cup.” – Psalm 73:10.
“The mountains quake at Him, and the Earth is upheaved at His presence.
“His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken asunder by Him.” – Nahum 1:5-6.
“I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity.”
“The Earth shall be shaken out of her place, in the day of His fierce anger.” – Isa. 13:11-13.
And how else shall wicked men be kept in subjection? and wickedness be stayed?
God must needs make a fearful example at times. And who dares say that such is not deserved? God dare not wink at sin.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” – Prov. 9:10.
“THE EARTH SHOOK and trembled; the foundations also of the mountains moved and were shaken, BECAUSE HE WAS WROTH.
“There went up a smoke in His wrath, and FIRE OUT OF HIS MOUTH DEVOURED.
“The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice.
“Then the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare, BY THE REBUKE OF THE LORD, at the blast of the breath of His anger.” – 2 Sam’l 22; Psalm 18.
“Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest” – Rev. 15:4.
“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and turneth it upside down (perverteth the face thereof), and SCATTERETH ABROAD THE INHABITANTS THEREOF.
The foundations of the earth do shake, the earth is utterly broken, the earth is moved exceedingly.
“The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall be moved to and fro.
“THE TRANSGRESSION THEREOF SHALL BE HEAVY UPON IT.” Isa.24:1, 18, 20.
“Fear ye not Me! saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at My presence!” – Jer. 5:22.
Shall I not visit for these things! saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on SUCH A NATION AS THIS?” – Jer. 5:9.
“THOU SHALT BE VISITED OF THE LORD OF HOSTS WITH EARTHQUAKE, and great noise, and the flame of A DEVOURING FIRE.” – Isa. 29:6.
“Come and see the works of God; He is terrible in His doing toward the children of men.
“Let not THE REBELLIOUS exalt themselves. – Psalm 66:5-7.
“Now consider this, YE THAT FORGET GOD, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” – Psalm 50:22.
“Hell hath enlarged her desire, and opened her mouth without measure; and THEIR GLORY, and THEIR MULTITUDE, and THEIR POMP descend into it.” – Isa. 5:14.
Even the demons “believe, and tremble.” – Jas. 2:19.
It is not a question of bravery, but one of wisdom.
The man is A FOOL who does not fear to grieve God.
It is utter SUICIDE for one to take his life in his hands in such a case.
God has arisen “to SHAKE TERRIBLY the earth.” – (Isa.2:19) – to shake the sin out of it.
“I (God) will shake all nations.” – Haggai 2:7.
“Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven.” (SPIRITUAL UPHEAVAL, WORLD-WIDE REVIVAL.) – Heb. 12:26.
“And THE SEVENTH ANGEL (of wrath) poured out his vial into the air and there was A GREAT EARTHQUAKE.” – Rev. 16:17, 18.
The recent earthquake has literally shaken this nation FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO BALTIMORE. The news of it has shaken the world.
WHAT NEXT?
Los Angeles received a slight shock later (a waning), at least for evil doers.
Rev. Lee Spangler, the prophet of Pennsylvania, declared some months ago that the following events would speedily transpire:
“A destructive eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
DESTRUCTIVE EARTHQUAKES IN CALIFORNIA. THAT CHRIST WILL MAKE HIS SPIRIT FELT AMONG THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, IN WHICH COUNTRY THERE WILL BE A FERVENT RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT.”
It would seem as though these drastic earthquake measures were necessary in order to accomplish this in the hearts of the people.
Will we appreciate the waning, and God’s wonderful and unprecedented mercy in sparing life, in the recent shock? Also His mercy in sparing the Sister City (Oakland), for a refuge, and so wonderfully moving upon the hearts of the people to alleviate the sufferings of the stricken.
The reaction will be beneficial to our own hearts, in creating sympathy and love.
Our present and imperative duty is to pour, without stint, the oil of divine love and sympathy into the wound so recently made by the Almighty, that it may be healed, to the glory of God, and to the salvation of the souls of the people whose lives have been so miraculously preserved.
And let us “be not high minded, but fear” lest He spare not us. – (Rom II:20.)
Oh, people, tempt not God!
Would you charge God with causing the innocent to suffer? Be careful! For your sakes they suffered! Look to yourselves!
Do you claim there is no God in earthquakes? – and yet you secretly curse Him in your hearts for it. Beware!
And are you saying, “We will build another city, a greater one?” Is it for God you would build it? or for greater crime?
Remember Babel’s tower!
What is puny flesh in the presence of an Almighty, angry God?
“And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all.” – Ezek. 20:32.
“Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; I (God) did blow upon it (blow it away).
“Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that lieth waste.” – Haggai 1:9.
John Wesley has said: “Of all the judgments which the righteous God inflicts on sinners here, the most dreadful and destructive is an earthquake.”
Now note the indisputable fact of history that it has ever been the wickedest cities that God has so visited.
There are innocent in every city, and God is mindful of them. He will spare them from the destruction, or better yet, take them to heaven in it, out of this wicked world. All shall work for their eternal good, and His glory, do they but commit their case to Him.
Innocent babes destroyed are safe with Him; will never grow up to become infidels and blasphemers, to be lost in hell. So now “go (come to us) and sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee.” – John 5:14; 8:11.
Remember, while God has passed by, for the time, He is still within hearing distance, and may return. Be careful of your speech. Now, “except we repent, we shall all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:3.
For “God no respecter of persons.” – Acts 10:34.
The present, seeming calamity is but a blessing in disguise for a lost and ruined race, if we will have it so. A rude awakening to the fact that we are but transients here. Oh, people, let us take up our march for that City which hath foundations, “not made with hands,” whose builder and maker is God, and abideth forever.
Very soon this poor old earth will be struggling in the mighty throes of a final and complete dissolution. “Be ye reconciled to God.”
F. BARTLEMAN.
Los Angeles, Cal.
Written April 21-23, 1906.
The Forgotten Azusa Street Mission: The Place where the First Pentecostals Met
For years, the building on Azusa Street has also been an enigma. Most people are familiar with the same three or four photographs that have been published and republished through the years. They show a rectangular, boxy, wood frame structure that was 40 feet by 60 feet and desperately in need of repair. Seymour began his meetings in the Mission on April 15, 1906. A work crew set up a pulpit made from a wooden box used for shipping shoes from the manufacturer to stores. The pulpit sat in the center of the room. A piece of cotton cloth covered its top. Osterberg built an altar with donated lumber that ran between two chairs. Space was left open for seekers. Bartleman sketched seating as nothing more than a few long planks set on nail kegs and a ragtag collection of old chairs.
What the new sources have revealed about the Mission, however, is fascinating. The people worshiped on the ground level — a dirt floor, on which straw and sawdust were scattered. The walls were never finished, but the people whitewashed the rough-cut lumber. Near the door hung a mailbox into which tithes and offerings were placed since they did not take offerings at the Mission. A sign greeted visitors with vivid green letters. It read “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” (Daniel 5:25, kjv), with its Ns written backwards and its Ss upside down. Men hung their hats on exposed overhead rafters where a single row of incandescent lights ran the length of the room.
These sources also reveal that the atmosphere within this crude building — without insulation or air conditioning, and teeming with perspiring bodies — was rank at best. As one writer put it, “It was necessary to stick one’s nose under the benches to get a breath of air.”
Several announced that the meetings were plagued by flies. “Swarms of flies,” wrote one reporter, “attracted by the vitiated atmosphere, buzzed throughout the room, and it was a continual fight for protection.”
A series of maps drawn by the Sanborn Insurance Company give a clear picture of the neighborhood. The 1888 map discloses that Azusa Street was originally Old Second Street. The street was never more than one block in length. It ended at a street paving company with piles of coal, along with heavy equipment. A small house, marked on the map by a “D” for domicile, sat on the front of the property with the address of 87. (See highlighted section.) A marble works business specializing in tombstones stood on the southeast corner of Azusa Street and San Pedro. Orange and grapefruit orchards surrounded the property. On the right of the map a Southern Pacific railroad spur is clearly visible. The City Directory indicates that the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish, though other names were mixed among them.
A second map of the property was published in 1894. Old Second Street had become Azusa Street, and the address had been changed to 312. The house had been moved further back on the property where it served as a parsonage. The dominant building at 312 Azusa Street was the Stevens African Methodist Episcopal Church. At the front of the building a series of tiny parallel lines on the map mark a staircase that stood at the north end of the building providing entry to the second floor, the original sanctuary.
The only known photograph of the church from this period shows three interesting features. First, it shows the original staircase. Second, and less obvious, the original roofline had a steep pitch. Third, three gothic style windows with tracery lines adorned the front wall.
By 1894, the citrus groves had largely disappeared. On the southern side they were replaced by lawn. The smell of orange blossoms and the serenity of the orchard were rapidly being replaced by the banging of railroad cars and the smell of new lumber. A growing number of boarding houses and small businesses, including canneries and laundries, were moving into the immediate area by this time. The property marked “YARD” on the map is the beginning of the lumberyard that soon came to dominate the area. The City Directory reveals fewer Jewish names, and more racial and ethnic diversity in the neighborhood, including African Americans, Germans, Scandinavians, and Japanese.
Stevens AME Church occupied the building at 312 Azusa Street until February 1904 when the congregation dedicated a new brick facility at the corner of 8th and Towne and changed their name to First AME Church. Before the congregation could decide what to do with the property on Azusa Street, however, an arsonist set the vacant church building on fire. The structure was greatly weakened, and the roof was completely destroyed. The congregation decided to turn the building into a tenement house. They subdivided the former second-floor sanctuary into several rooms separated by a long hallway that ran the length of the building. The stairs were removed from the front of the building and a rear stairwell was constructed, leaving the original entry hanging in space. The lower level was used to house horses and to store building supplies, including lumber and nails.
In 1906, a new Sanborn Map was published. (See 1906 map.) The building was marked with the words “Lodgings 2nd, Hall 1st, CHEAP.” The transition of the neighborhood had continued. The marble work still occupied the southeast corner of Azusa Street and San Pedro, but a livery and feed supply store now dominated the northeast corner. A growing lumberyard to the south and east of the property now replaced the once sprawling lawn. A Southern Pacific railroad spur curved through the lumberyard to service this business.
The Apostolic Faith, the newspaper of the Azusa Street Mission between September 1906 and June 1908, later referred to the nearby Russian community. Many of these recent immigrants were employed in the lumberyard. They were not Russian Orthodox Christians as one might guess; they were Molokans — “Milk drinkers.” This group had been influenced by some of the 16th-century Reformers. They did not accept the dairy fasts of the Orthodox Church. They were Trinitarians who strongly believed in the ongoing guidance of the Holy Spirit. Demos Shakarian, grandfather of the founder of Full Gospel Business Men’s International, was among these immigrants who were led to Los Angeles through a prophetic word given in 1855.
Henry McGowan, later an Assemblies of God pastor in Pasadena, was a member of the Holiness Church at the time. He was employed as a teamster. He timed his arrival at the nearby lumberyard so he could visit the Mission during its afternoon services.
This map suggests why some viewed the Mission as being in a slum. A better description would be an area of developing light industry.
In April 1906, when the people who had been meeting at the house at 214 North Bonnie Brae Street were forced to move, they found the building at 312 Azusa Street was for sale. The photograph below taken about the time that the congregation chose to move into the building shows the “For Sale” sign posted high on the east wall of the building, as well as the rear of the tombstone shop. Seymour, pastor of the Azusa Street Mission, and a few trusted friends met with the pastor of First AME Church and negotiated a lease for $8 a month.
An early photograph reveals what the 1906 version of the map indicates. The pitched roof had not been replaced. The building had a flat roof. The staircase that had stood at the front of the building had been removed.
In a sense, this building suited the Azusa Street faithful. They were not accustomed to luxury. They were willing to meet in the stable portion of the building. The upstairs could be used for prayer rooms, church offices, and a home for Pastor Seymour.
Articles of incorporation were filed with the state of California on March 9, 1907, and amended May 19, 1914. The church negotiated the purchase of the property for $15,000 with $4,000 down. It was given the necessary cash to retire the mortgage in 1908. The sale was recorded by the County of Los Angeles on April 12, 1908.
110 Years ago, William J. Seymour was baptized with the Holy Spirit
After starting a fast on April 6, 1906 in Los Angeles, the small group experienced what would become the first baptism with the Holy Spirit at the Azusa Street Revival. Several more followed shortly. William J. Seymour himself was baptized 110 years ago on April 12, 1906.
On the seventh, which was Good Friday, Seymour and his followers leased an abandoned church property at 312 Azusa Street and begin cleaning it up. Easter was on April 15, 1906 when they held their very first Pentecostal service at Azusa Street. The rest is history…
110 Years ago, the Azusa Street Revival Began with a Fast
On April 6, 1906 William J. Seymour and the faithful few gathered with him at the Asberry house, decided to engage in a ten-day fast while waiting on the baptism in the Spirit. The first baptism with the Holy Spirit would occur just three days later. Seymour himself would be baptized on the sixth day of the fast and on the seventh, which was Good Friday, Seymour and his followers leased an abandoned church property at 312 Azusa Street and begin cleaning it up. Easter was on April 15, 1906 when they held their very first Pentecostal service at Azusa Street. The rest is history…
Ministering at Regional Church of God in Delbarton, WV
At Bread of Life Church of God in Byron, GA
New Socialist Attack on Religious Freedom in Bulgaria
Over 26 years after the fall of the communist regime, the socialists left are reintroducing a new war against Christianity and religious freedom in Bulgaria. Two weeks after the introduction of draconian bill by George Kadiev, imposing full state control over believers and churches, the socialist parliamentary group filed in the registry of the National Assembly on March 14th a broader bill to restrict religious liberty in Bulgaria via government regulations according to which unregistered religions (faith confessions) have no right to:
- Hold religious meetings;
- Create and maintain charitable or humanitarian institutions;
- Write, issue and disseminate religious publications;
- Have educational establishments;
- Collect and receive unsanctioned donations;
- Associate or confide with people and communities at home or abroad on subjects of religion and religious issues.
In practice, the new bill introduces a new form of compulsory registration of believers by the state. The left socialist legislators seek to repeal fundamental human rights enshrined in Bulgaria’s Constitution and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), as follows:
- The right to freedom of thought (Art. 9 ECHR and Art. 37 CRB)
- The right of forming beliefs and the non-obligation to give information about one’s convictions (Art. 38 CRB, Art. 9 ECHR)
- The right to freedom of conscience and religion (Art. 9 ECHR Art. 37 CRB)
- Freedom of speech, press and media (Art. 40 CRB)
- Right of expression (art. 10 ECHR, Art. 39 CRB)
- Freedom to collect and disseminate information (Art. 41 of the CRB; Art. 10 ECHR)
- Freedom of assembly indoors without permission from the authorities (Art. 43 of the CRB, Art. 11 ECHR)
- The right to freedom and confidentiality of correspondence (Art. 34 CRB; cf. Art. 8 ECHR)
- Revocation of the right to freedom of association (art. 11 ECHR Art. 44 CRB).
In the unfortunate event that this bill passes under the law, it will impose, the already prohibited by the Constitution, obligatory state ideology. It will also violate separation between church and state, according to which the state cannot interfere in the internal life of churches and religious communities. Furthermore, in attempt to limit the freedom of the people, it will impose expressed governance and control of faith, beliefs and personal conviction; thus, endangering fundamental human rights and freedoms inherent to democracy.
The Past Decade of Chaplaincy in Bulgaria (2006-2016)
February 16, 2006: Web presence and web identity created
February 21, 2006: Shall military chaplaincy be restored in the Bulgarian Army (publication in MediaPool – Bulgaria)
2006: Participant in the establishment of the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association
August 19, 2006: Published Resolution No. 1 of the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association
October 17, 2006: Conducted basic chaplaincy course for the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute
December 2006: “The case of Underground Chaplaincy in Bulgaria,” research of the chaplaincy initiative in Bulgaria presented to the NATO’s Manfred Warner Foundation
March 2, 2007: Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association obtained legal status in Bulgaria and Europe
September 14, 2007: The US State Department of State reflected the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association
July 13, 2008 Obtained accreditation for a Masters Degree in Chaplaincy Ministry
July 2009: Approved the “Master’s Program in Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy” with the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute
June 2010: Lecture on “Military Chaplaincy” at First Evangelical Congregational Church in Sofia, Bulgaria
July 2010: Published “The beginnings of master’s chaplaincy training program” in the ARMY Bulgarian newspapers
August 2010: Cumulative update on Chaplaincy in Bulgaria
November 22, 2010: Held “Master’s Program in chaplaincy ministry” at the United Theological Faculty of the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute
September 7, 2011: Published a LEGAL FRAMEWORK of CHAPLAINCY in BULGARIA
2012: Sponsored a new master’s program with focus on Social Services and Chaplaincy Ministry at St. Trivelius, alongside New Bulgarian University
More on the topic:
- Protestant Chaplaincy in Bulgaria
- Priests in the Bulgarian Army
- The printing of the camouflage New Testament in Bulgarian
- Visit of chief chaplain col. John Stefro
- Major General Bob Deese in Bulgaria
- Polish chief chaplain Mirono in Varna
Azusa Street Chronology 110 Years Ago…
JANUARY 2, 1906 William SEYMOUR ENROLLS in Charles PARHAM’S BIBLE TRAINING SCHOOL in Houston, Texas
FEBRUARY 1, 1906 During early February 1906, William J. Seymour receives an invitation from Mrs. Julia W. Hutchins to serve as pastor of the Holiness Church congregation she has founded in Los Angeles, California.
FEBRUARY 10, 1906 SEYMOUR LEAVES the BIBLE SCHOOL
FEBRUARY 22, 1906 William J. Seymour arrives in Los Angeles, California
FEBRUARY 24, 1906 Seymour preaches his first sermon as pastor of the Holiness Church at 9th Street and Santa Fe Avenue. He continues preaching on Sunday, February 25; Tuesday, February 27; and Friday, March 2, while holding meetings at 3 p.m. each afternoon.
MARCH 4, 1906 Seymour is LOCKED OUT of the church
MARCH 7, 1906 PRAYER MEETING at 114 SOUTH UNION STREET
MARCH 12, 1906 NIGHTLY MEETINGS BEGIN at 312 N. BONNIE BRAE St.
APRIL 6, 1906 The group at the Asburry house decides to engage in a 10-day fast while they pray for the baptism in the Spirit.
APRIL 9, 1906 FIRST BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT IN LOS ANGELES
APRIL 12, 1906 William J. Seymour receives his baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaks in tongues.
APRIL 13, 1906 On Good Friday, Seymour and his friends lease the property at 312 Azusa Street and begin cleaning it up.
APRIL 15, 1906 SEYMOUR’S FIRST SERVICE AT 312 AZUSA STREET on EASTER 1906
APRIL 17, 1906 The LA TIMES INVESTIGATES
APRIL 18, 1906 At 5:48 a.m., San Francisco, California is rocked by an earthquake. During the next 4 days, the city burns. The first report on the Azusa Street Mission appears under the title, “Weird Babel of Tongues,” in the Los Angeles Daily Times. The Mission begins to grow.
APRIL 19, 1906 Los Angeles feels two earthquakes.
APRIL 21, 1906 BARTLEMAN WRITES “THE EARTHQUAKE!!!”
Diamonds in the Rough-N-Ready Pentecostal Series (Complete)
Speaking in Tongues in America Prior to the Azusa Street Revival of 1906
April, 1906 – The Azusa street revival swept the globe starting with California
January 1, 1901– The initial phenomenon of speaking in tongues occurred at Parham’s school in Topeka, Kansas
January 6, 1900 – Frank Sanford’s Shiloh school reported that “The gift of tongues has descended”
1896 – Over 100 people baptized in the Shaerer schoolhouse revival conducted by the Christian Union in the North Carolina mountains
1887 – People falling in trances and speaking in tongues were reported at Maria Etter’s revival meetings in Indiana
1874 – Speaking in tongues occurred during healing meetings reported in New York
1873 – William H. Doughty and the Gift People of Rhode Island spoke in tongues
1854 – V. P. Simmons and Robert Boyd reported tongue speaking during Moody’s meetings
FURTHER READING:
Church of God (Cleveland, TN)
- Alive, alive! (A personal testimony)
- Church of God Primitivism
- Bulgarian Church of God
- J.W. Buckalew
- Why revival came? by Dr. Charles Conn
Azusa Street Revival of 1906
- Lucy F. Farrow: The Forgotten Apostle of Azusa
- The FORGOTTEN ROOTS OF THE AZUSA STREET REVIVAL
- Azusa Street’s Apostolic Faith Renewed
- Azusa Street Sermons
- Pentecostal Primitivism Preserved
Prior to Azusa Street Revival of 1906
- First person to speak in tongues in the Assemblies of God was William Jethro Walthall of the Holiness Baptist Churches of Southwestern Arkansas
- The Work of the Spirit in Rhode Island (1874-75)
- Speaking in Tongues in America Prior to the Azusa Street Revival
- WAR ON THE SAINTS: Revival Dawn and the Baptism of the Spirit
- How Jezebel Killed One of the Greatest Revivals Ever
