The place of contemporary revelatory experiences in Pentecostal theology

Abstract

ABSTRACT Revelatory experience has been identified as a common feature of contemporary Pentecostal spirituality. These experiences are accessed via the direct and spontaneous mediation of the Spirit apart from Scripture, liturgy or clergy and reflect the Pentecostal worldview that anticipates Spirit experience to be phenomenologically equivalent to the biblical characters. Because these experiences allow for elements of extra-biblical, previously unknown, and future-oriented revelation, they are particularly prone to pastoral fallout. This essay proposes three contributing factors for the neglect of revelatory problems in Pentecostalism, all centring on the significance of Peter’s citation of Joel in Acts 2:16–17 and explores the consequences of this neglect. Re-positioning the revelatory experience within a new covenant framework provides guidelines by which proper discernment and practice can occur.