George
H. Warnock (1917-)
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George H. Warnock was a part of “the move of the Spirit” which took
place in the late 1940s and has helped me put together a short biography
for this site. The following is Bro. Warnock’s account, slightly edited
for format and clarity:
The move of the Spirit took place in a small town on the prairies of western Canada. It was a time of great spiritual dearth, and many of God’s people in many places were earnestly seeking the Lord for revival. In those days there was a small Bible School set up in North Battleford, Saskatchewan—and faculty and students alike were constrained in earnest prayer and fasting to seek the Lord for a fresh move of God. This went on for months, and in the spring of 1948 the Lord moved very sovereignly in “prophecy and the laying on of hands”—with the impartation of gifts and ministries of the Spirit. I myself was born and raised in this small town, but the family had moved to British Columbia in the late 30s. At this time I was living in Alberta, and I knew nothing of what was going on in my old hometown. But rumors were circulating about a revival breaking out there, and I traveled with friends to their first summer camp, which was held in July of 1948. I was greatly impacted with the evident presence of the Spirit, the anointed Word, and the spontaneous prophetic utterances that came forth. I recognized that here was a corporate anointing—with the Spirit Himself very much in control. The people as well as the leadership were participants in this fresh anointing. To myself and many others it was a new day dawning, a day in which the Lord would unfold Truth in a new dimension for the edifying of the body of Christ. The “unity of the Spirit” was very evident. Then, in the spring 1949, I was contacted by one of the leaders of the Sharon Institution (where the revival had started) who invited me to come to Sharon and help—primarily to handle the correspondence which was increasing rapidly because of the reports that were circulating about this new move. I accepted the invitation and enjoyed my new job: handling the correspondence and teaching occasionally in the Bible school and in the local church. I also enjoyed the fellowship I had with the people who were living on the campus grounds and involved in the work in one way or another. None of us in those days used the term “Latter Rain.” I was never at any time a part of the Latter Rain Movement—as it was called and identified in the USA. It was simply a new move of God’s Spirit. But within two or three years, it seemed to many of us that the anointing that once prevailed was becoming less evident, and “the unity of the Spirit” was being eroded. We felt that the authority of the Spirit was being assumed and replaced (not intentionally, I am sure)—by the authority of certain ministries in leadership. It is difficult to define it accurately, and I do not attempt to do so—nor to accuse anyone. For I am aware that a division that takes place among God’s people may often have its roots in deeper soil than is evident on the surface. Some of us felt we must withdraw from it all—but it was not without a lot of prayerful heart-searching. (This was early in the spring of 1953.) The larger stream of the “Latter Rain” was still flowing strongly in the US and in other places. Soon after, it would take the name of “Charismatic” as some of the older denominations came into it. I had no leading or desire to become a part of any of this. I chose to go back to my trade as a carpenter, at which I remained for the next 30 or 35 years. During this time, I would accept the occasional invitation to visit certain groups here and there, generally small independent groups—some of whom had been touched by the “Latter Rain” and others who had not. Like many of the Lord’s people, I had not anticipated going through long years of “wilderness” experiences but kept looking forward to a life of successful ministry for the Lord. But in more recent years, I have been thankful that He spared me from involvement in the ecclesiastical systems for His own purposes. Now I can relate to many who have found the way to be “a waste and howling wilderness,” when the very heavens seem to have been as brass. Then the sun breaks through, and we begin to understand that God led us this way for His own purposes: “And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knowest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make the know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live” (Deut 8:3). So let us take courage! Many times we see no good purpose in what we are doing. But let us learn to follow the Cloud of His Presence, with confidence He is leading us in the right way. During those days of revival and afterwards, several movements have swept through the Pentecostal/Charismatic Christian world, and Warnock’s books, although they are very gentle and generally avoid negatives, squarely address the errors of these movements. His book Feed My Sheep, which was published in 1980, was in response to the growing tendencies he witnessed in many different groups—an undue emphasis upon leadership and upon an apostolic and prophetic authority over the Church. The core of Warnock’s message is that God desires above all else that his Church walk in the fruit of the Spirit—in perfect love. Everything else—spiritual gifts, five-fold leadership, evangelism—is but an intermediate state designed to lead us into the exercise and infilling of perfect love. He demonstrates repeatedly that God intends for the Church to attain this perfect love on this earth, in this dispensation—and that this is the fruit for which God is waiting before the earth is “ripe” for his coming. He also compellingly shows that the “end times” are not to be a time of escape for the Church, but instead a time of purifying—a time in which the Lord completes and perfects his Church, often through perseverance in suffering. Although he does not consider himself a writer, he has written 13 books—writing only when he feels impressed of the Lord to do so. He has also traveled some in ministry—including ministry alongside Bob Phillips and David Wilkerson in two of Wilkerson’s “Call to Repentance” conferences in 1986 (which is where we first became acquainted with him). Many of his messages (including his messages from those conferences) are available for download at this website and at www.sermonindex.net. Warnock’s books are rich and deep, and they point clearly to “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The call to spiritual maturity and to “go all the way” is evident in all his writings. These books are not easy reading, but they will challenge anyone who reads them with a seeking heart. His books are not available in bookstores, but are advertised only by word-of-mouth and are sent out far and wide on a “free, as the Lord enables” basis. They can be obtained in the following ways: In downloadable format on the website of Christine Harbord at www.meatindueseason.org. Hard Copies: US Residents: There is now an outlet in the USA for the distribution of Warnock’s books. US residents please contact Patti Rowe for copies: Light at Eventide To contact George Warnock personally, write to: George H. Warnock Spanish copies of his books are also available through: Columbia Para Cristo Books:Feast of Tabernacles (1951) "Beauty for Ashes Series" (Five Books)The Family of God (1985)
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