ABSTRACT
It will be apparent from the international context that at least four important characteristics can be detected in the Protestant revival movements so far considered. One is a sense of expectation, possibly induced by external social and political pressures, or by internal theological controversy. A second is the fertile ground for revival that was to be found among persecuted minorities in some Catholic lands. A third feature is the way in which revivals emerged from within the ranks of established or official churches or (in the case of Jonathan Edwards) from a church with quasi-official support that fell short of formal establishment. A fourth feature is the almost complete absence of any intention on the part of the leaders of revival to break away from the parent church and form a breakaway or distinctive sect; in each case the objective was to move the Church itself in a particular direction. Admittedly, that objective often involved severe criticism of the Church by the revivalists. But the ultimate separation, if it occurred, tended to be the result of sustained official attacks upon the revivalists themselves as ‘schismatics’, leading to their virtual expulsion.
