History of Revival part 2

      During the 4^th century AD, God was at work in the western part of the known world. In 389 A.D., St. Patrick was born in the village of Bonnavem Tabernine(Somewhere in the British Isles, exact location unknown) to wealthy, Christian parents. His grandfather was a pastor and his father was a deacon in the church. When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates (Which was a common thing to have happened to young men) and taken into slavery. During his time as a slave, God worked in his heart and he managed to escape his captors and go back home. One day he recieved a vision from God to go to Ireland to preach the Gospel to a land infested with pagan gods and ideas. The celtics of Ireland were a rowdy crowd who were considered barbarians, fighters, and pagan worshiping people. There was a story where he showed up in the middle of a pagan Druid festival. One of the customs of this festival was that no fires were to be lit whatsoever until the king lights one up in a ceremonial opening. So, Patrick went up on a hill and lit a fire himself, in direct violation of the festival. One of the Druid priests confessed, “Oh, High King, unless the is fire which you see be quenched this same night, it will never the quenched; and the kindler thereof will overcome…all the folk of your realm.”¹ That was a true saying. The Gospel was proclaimed throughout Ireland and thousands were being saved. Several churches were started as a result of Patrick, schools were started, and a bunch of monasteries were established. It is believed that he baptized 120,000 Irishmen and started about 300 churches. This is what preserved Christianity during the middle ages.

  1. http://pastorandpeople.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/patrick-and-the-revival-in-ireland/

But wait... There is still more to come! :)