Phineas F. Bresee - A Prince In Israel - Media Sabda Org

--God marvelously baptized him with the Holy Ghost and fire, transforming his whole being, and
making him, at least for a time, a flaming herald of holiness.
After holding a few meetings in the order of their invitation, Dr. Bresee and his helpers were
invited to First Methodist Episcopal church at Los Angeles. The pastor, who had recently been
transferred from the Pittsburgh Conference, did not himself desire the meeting, but was urged by
Bishop Mallalieu to secure the help of Dr. Bresee and his assistants for evangelistic efforts. Not
feeling at liberty to ignore the earnest request of the Bishop, the pastor went one day to the meeting,
which was being held in Vincent church, in Los Angeles. and told Dr. Bresee, that, if they were
going to get the three thousand souls which were to be converted in this Conference, as expected by
Bishop Mallalieu, it would be necessary to get a goodly number of them in the First church, and they
had better arrange and hold a meeting there. This invitation was most gladly accepted, and
arrangements were made to hold a meeting at the earliest possible moment. This revival was one of
marvelous power.
The pastor and a number of the influential official members, were intensely antagonistic to the
spirit of the revival, by reason of their hostility to the work of full salvation. The meeting had gone
on only a few days, when there occurred a service of such unusual power and unearthly glory, as to
be really epochal. It was in the afternoon. Dr. Bresee had preached only a short sermon, which was
followed by a testimony meeting, upon which the heavens were so opened and the Spirit of the Lord
was so poured out in Pentecostal power and majesty, as to be almost overwhelming. Such a
manifestation of the divine presence is rarely witnessed. It seemed to come upon the people like a
tornado from the sky, sweeping everything before it. To use Dr. Bresee's own words: "It would move
with the roar and thunder of a cyclone, and then would become as quiet and still as death. Then in
a little while it would burst out anew in almost unthinkable and indescribable manifestations of the
real Shekinah glory. So great was this manifestation, that even the opponents of holiness seemed
overwhelmed and confounded."
The next morning, at the early meeting, when there were probably not more than forty or fifty
persons present, Dr. Bresee said: "Let us begin this meeting at the altar," and immediately the people
gathered for earnest prayer. After a somewhat prolonged season of prayer, when the house had
become filled with worshipers, he said: "There has been much questioning in reference to this great
doctrine of entire sanctification as a second work of grace. I am going to prove it, and I will do so
this morning in such a way, and so fully, that it never can be questioned by any of these people any
more. I will not prove it as a theory, or as a doctrine, but as a fact--a fact and experience known in
consciousness, the most clear and satisfactory method of knowledge. I now ask the men and women
who know this in their consciousness, to testify in reference to this matter. "
About half a dozen of the leading members of the church arose, one after another, and slowly and
deliberately testified to the fact of their conversion, their clear experience of the pardon of their sins,
and of the manifest grace of God unto them; of their subsequent realization of the need of a further
work of grace in their hearts, and how they sought and obtained the cleansing of their hearts from
all sin, and the fulness of the indwelling Spirit of God. These testimonies were not only very clear
and definite, but were given under great unction. After about half an hour spent in this way, Dr
Bresee said: "I have proved by the witnesses the fact of the experience of entire sanctification as a