The Pentecostal movement began in the early twentieth century. Pentecostal churches trace their origin to the revival movement in the Negro Holiness Church in Los Angeles in 1906. A minority of them can be traced back to the "Latter Rain" revival movement led by A. J. Tomlinson (1865-1943), who founded the Church of God in 1903.

Marked primarily by speaking in a new form of tongues called a prayer language. This was not a foreign language that could be verified but a heavenly, non-earth language or babbling that could not be verified. They  would say if you are a Christian and do not speak in tongues you are not filled with the Spirit. Most of the groups would say this makes you unfit to join their church or teach in it since you can't be guided by the Holy Spirit. The extreme groups (very few in number) would say if you don't speak in tongues you are not even saved.

In the first half of the twentieth century Pentecostalism was also marked by the teaching that the Celts were the lost tribes of Israel. This was later discarded and today most Pentecostals do not know this was ever taught.

Some Pentecostal Denominations include: Associated Gospel Churches

Date: 2001

Parham and Seymour

The father of the Assemblies of God, the largest of the Pentecostal denominations, was Charles Parham.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Parham stated the gift of tongues was reinstated and the students at his school in Topeka Kansas suddenly had the ability to speak in at least 21 foreign languages. This lead to missionaries going to India and other places, with the idea that once they got there they would be able to preach the gospel in the native language of the people. Since this was not the true gift of tongues as mentioned in acts 2, it failed miserably.

In 1905 Parham closed his school in Topeka Kansas and started a new school in Houston Texas. It was at this school that he met William Seymour. Seymour was a black holiness preacher. Seymour wholeheartedly accepted the teaching that tongues, not holiness was the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. He rejected Parham's teaching that the lost tribes of Israel are the Anglo-Saxon races and in the supremacy of the white race. Parham became an avid supporter of the Klu Klux Klan. He continued to support the Klan throughout the rest of his life.

Seymour rented an old abandoned African Methodist Episcopal church at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles California. Seymour became known as the man "given to dreams and visions" and was call the Apostle of Azusa Street. On April 18, 1906 the revival began. The Los Angeles Times, in their article called "Weird babble of tongues" reported people engaged in "the Jerks," strange "babbling of wordless talk" and trance like states. Soon spiritualists, mediums, and other occult groups began attending and participate in these services.

This quickly got so out of hand that Seymour called Parham for advice on how to handle the situation. Parham came to see things for himself. Parham was outraged and denounced the meetings as "spiritual power prostituted" and denounced the spiritualists and hypnotists that has taken over the services, and the "awful fits and spasms" Seymour refused correction and barred Parham from ever preaching at Azusa Street again and Parham denounced Seymour as possessed. The doctrinal and racial differences between the two men were never repaired.

Today the Assemblies of God still hold Parham as their father, and the teaching that the new "prayer language" is the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. But they reject the teaching of Anglio-Israelism, the KKK, and blacks are accepted in their churches.

They have; however, accepted the Brownville revival, which would now put them more in Seymour's camp.

See also Charismatic movement and the book Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hannegraff