If you’ve been following the Christian blogosphere, social media, or new cycle, you’re probably aware of the reports of a supposed “revival” taking place at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. A lot of people are praising this movement as a true move of the Holy Spirit, but it has raised eyebrows among skeptics.

I want to preface this by saying that God can bring true revival whenever he pleases and that he can use whatever means he pleases to do so. But as Christians, we should always use caution when discerning anything that claims to be a move of the Holy Spirit as it would be completely irresponsible not to do so. As with everything we do, we must compare what is taking place with Scripture and test every spirit to see if they are truly from God.

Asbury president, Matt Barnes wrote on Facebook that “God began pouring out his love among the students in a profound way. The students continued praying and worshiping even though chapel had concluded.”

Here’s a clip of what’s taking place:

The event, said to have started after a chapel service focused on confession and repentance, has attracted a group of students who claim to have experienced the “presence of the Lord” through worship and communal repentance. And, for those involved, the experiences and testimonies of a transformative encounter with the divine, they say, are real and powerful.

While the university and its students are enthusiastic about the revival, some are questioning the validity of the claims and the rapid spread of the event through social media. The revival is being compared to a similar event that took place at the university in 1970 but a cursory look at what is going on will reveal that whatever is going on is not attracting solid Bible-believing Christians, but false teachers and heretics.

So who is at this event? Well, only one of the most nefarious false teachers of all time, Todd Bentley.

Todd Bentley was disqualified as a minister after it was found out that he was caught up in multiple sex scandals. Bentley once claimed he healed seven deaf people in one night and also claims to raise people from the dead. On one occasion, after claiming to raise someone from the dead in a hospital, Chris Rosebrough called the hospital only to say that there was no record of what Bentley claimed.

Asbury University is associated with the Wesleyan Holiness movement which Charles Johnson, a Reformed Baptist pastor noted that “Unless what’s happening at Asbury leads them to repent of promoting and supporting Feminist Marxism, it’s not truly biblical revival which leads to a reformation of the affections along with a return to biblical doctrine for the church.”

Asbury University, like most progressive churches, schools, and denominations, promotes women in the pulpit, a clear violation of God’s design for the Church. Asbury is also very theologically lax on homosexuality and teaches Revoice “Side B gay Christianity” theology. As pastor Johnson stated, a true revival featuring repentance and faith should turn people away from these false teachings and cause people to hunger for God’s truth as revealed in His word rather than a superficial emotional display brought on by music.

Charismatic religious movements, particularly those associated with the “third wave,” are well-known for their utilization of emotional manipulation tactics, particularly through music. These movements tend to prioritize ecumenical gatherings, where participants from different denominations and even altogether different beliefs come together, over a strong emphasis on doctrine and theology. In fact, the teachings and preaching aspect of such gatherings are often secondary to the use of music as a means of inciting emotions and a sense of unity among participants. This approach to worship undermines the importance of sound doctrine and scriptural teachings in shaping a person’s faith.

What we see taking place at Asbury right now is quite a bit of emotional manipulation. While perusing social media for clips of the event, in nearly every one of them, there is music being played that was written by false teachers and much of it has lyrics that are questionable at best or even outright unbiblical. Personally, I am unaware of any historical true revivals that took place while a false Jesus was being presented.

Is it possible that some people here truly got saved and brought to repentance? Sure, it is possible and I wouldn’t want to downplay any true salvation experience. As I said, God can use any means He pleases to bring someone to faith, however, He has chosen and ordained the preaching of His word, truthfully and without adulteration, to bring unbelievers to belief in Him. It’s possible that enough of the gospel was preached during this event to cause some to come to faith—but it’s unlikely that a movement that doesn’t cause mass repentance from false teachings to be a true revival. And further, it’s unlikely that a movement that attracts false teachers, charlatans, and prosperity gospel pimps to flee, is a true move of the Holy Spirit.

I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’m saying we should be very cautious.