“God’s people are being faced with a decision: Do I bow in fear—or stand for truth?”
So begins a 30-second trailer for The Domino Revival, a film that takes viewers on “an extraordinary journey” with a group of pastors who claim to preach the truth, heal the sick, and cast out demons. But what “truth” is being proclaimed throughout this “profound cinematic experience”? Is it, as sworn in U.S. courtrooms, “the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”?
If the film doesn’t proclaim the whole truth of God’s Word, we’re left with a challenging question: Is this a true revival?
$12 for a Soul
For one day only on October 24, The Domino Revival was featured in over 1,000 theaters across the nation. Now, due to popular demand, it’s showing again on November 13.
While the executive producer claims he “didn’t make a movie … just for charismatics,” one doesn’t have to buy a ticket to see just how far the film pushes the worship envelope. In a two-and-a-half-minute trailer on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), you can see a person, supposedly being healed, falling backward; a few people in various contortions, presumably being delivered from demons; a crowd of people, arms raised, jumping up and down to the beat of a worship band; a preacher, suit jacket still on, jumping into a baptistry; and to close the preview, another preacher screaming a Bible verse into his microphone.
Not really a worship style every Christian would be comfortable with. Shouldn’t worship be an act of reverential fear? (Psalm 5:7; Revelation 14:7).
Yet many claim to have experienced “deliverance” through the film. According to the producer, “people were canceling their own suicides, praying for each other in the movie theater, and casting out demons in public.” One young girl encountered God, had her legs healed, and later got baptized. “It changed my life,” she said. “I just felt so much lighter. I felt warm and loved for the first time in my entire life.” Another young girl was delivered from suicidal thoughts. “I raised my hand and the fire of the Holy Spirit went from my fingers to the bottom of my feet,” she said. “I was trembling and I was shaking. … I got deliverance.”
Such “deliverance” came at the end of the film. Instead of the usual rolling credits, viewers were surprised with a 25-minute livestream revival service being simulcast across America. In an interview with CBN News, the producer explained his intent to turn thousands of theaters into “tabernacles in the wilderness.” He also gave a sales pitch for the November 13 showing, urging people to buy tickets for their friends because the film is “an evangelism tool” to reach those who might not go to church. “Buy them the tickets,” he said. “$12 is worth their soul.”
Falling Dominoes
The film’s title is linked to Domino Park in Brooklyn, New York. The idea was that the revival that started there would spread from person to person, church to church, and city to city like a branch of falling dominoes. It’s already happening at Free Chapel Church in Gainesville, Georgia.
What began as a two-night revival service on October 23 keeps being extended due to “a real move of the Spirit that has broken out,” said a guest evangelist. “I have never seen more people in the altars seeking God.” On October 30, “there were over 5,000 people on the property for revival,” he said. The next evening, thousands of young people chose to forego trick-or-treating to attend the service. Afterward, the lead pastor expressed his joy on X (formerly Twitter): “Last night was a Halloween I will never forget. Hundreds of youth were singing, dancing, and celebrating Jesus!”
According to The Domino Revival producer, what’s happening at Free Chapel Church is just another domino falling in reaction to “the chaotic culture.” “People are revolting against … this new America, the new ideals, the new definitions of things,” he said. “They’re finding it’s not working, and what appears to be freedom is actually not freedom at all.”
A Remnant for Revival
While we can appreciate the call to “stand for truth” in a culture that continues to redefine morality, it’s appropriate to ask whether “the whole truth” is being proclaimed. In the last days, God will have a remnant who proclaims all of it, resulting in a revival the world has never seen. As one preacher stated in the film, “God preserves a remnant to bring a revival.” Regrettably, he didn’t explain who they are: “those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).
What’s missing in these popular Christian revivals is “the whole law” (James 2:10). This includes a commandment many churches have forgotten—the one that begins with “Remember” (Exodus 20:8). Does that one really matter? According to the apostle James, to break “one” is to break them “all” (James 2:10).
No, we’re not discounting the experiences of those who supposedly found deliverance in a setting that seems more like a rock concert than a worship service. We know that only God can read hearts, and He is compassionate enough to reach people where they are. But we must also take note of what Jesus says in Matthew 7:22, 23: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
In other words, it’s not the “many wonders” that make a revival true or false. It’s the call to not “practice lawlessness”—to not break any of God’s commands. No matter what miracles we may witness or even experience, we must test every revival by this standard.
To learn more about true versus false revivals, listen to Pastor Doug’s sermon “Signs of Real Revival.”
Listen to The Domino Revival: A Movement of God? below