A New Pentecost for a Starving World: The Spiritual Journey and Urgent Message of Br. Thomas Varkey

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Publish Date:

December 17, 2025

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Roots of Calling and the Fire That Shaped a Life

Long before he became known as The Prophet from Oklahoma City, long before decades of biblical study shaped his voice and theology, Br. Thomas Varkey was a quiet young student in the Salesian Congregation High School, drawn to God with a steady longing he could not explain.

His early formation was steeped in rhythm and ritual. Latin classes, daily church services, and religious observance framed his days as a boarding student. He longed to be a priest. He longed to serve. Yet beneath that passion lived the interior battles of adolescence, moments of shyness, wavering self esteem, and shadows of depression that left him searching for grounding.

In Scripture, he found it. Isaiah’s promise that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength became a lifeline. The Word of God did more than comfort him. It revealed itself as the only place where he felt fully held. What began as refuge eventually became the foundation of a lifelong spiritual mission. He learned early that faith was not an idea. It was oxygen.

These early struggles carved the spiritual sensitivity that would later define his ministry. Rather than turning from God in the face of hardship, he pressed into the Scriptures with deeper determination. The seeds of his future book, A New Pentecost for a Starving World, were planted long before he would write a single page. The hunger he witnessed in others was the same hunger he had wrestled with himself.

When Thomas later settled in the Dallas, Texas area, his life entered a new chapter of formation through the voices of American radio ministers. He listened to Charles Swindoll, Tony Evans, Billy Graham, and other influential teachers whose words carried conviction and clarity. Their devotion stirred something in him. He began attending Bible classes offered by Baptist preachers, developing a thirst not only to learn but to one day teach. What began in adolescence as spiritual survival became a disciplined pursuit of truth.

Over forty one years, this pursuit became the backbone of his theology. Every day of study added weight to his understanding of Scripture and strengthened his conviction that the Christian world needed a deeper awakening. He observed what he describes as an apathy in the Church, a fading intensity in how believers embraced the Gospel. The Epistle of Jude, with its call to contend for the faith, echoed in his mind with more urgency each passing year.

But it was an unexpected experience in Oklahoma City that reshaped everything. His close friend, Rev. Fr. Jose Vettiyankal, often traveled from India to preach across the United States and usually brought an assistant with him. One year, he arrived alone. He asked Thomas to accompany him. At the time, neither understood that this would become the turning point in Thomas’s ministry.

During a service in Oklahoma City, Thomas was asked to speak. What happened next lives in his memory as a moment of pure divine intervention. He spoke for nearly an hour with confidence and fluency he could not explain. He laid hands on those who came forward seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He watched people respond not to him but to the presence of God that filled the room. Something had shifted. He knew it. Father Jose knew it. It was the moment Thomas stepped fully into ministry.

This calling eventually crystallized into his title, The Prophet from Oklahoma City. He carries it with humility but with the awareness that spiritual titles come with divine expectation.

A Theology Rooted in Mercy, Simplicity, and the Promise of Rebirth

A central element of Thomas’s message is his conviction that the world is experiencing spiritual starvation. His book, A New Pentecost for a Starving World, explores the meaning of being born again, drawing from John 3:3, 1 John 5:18, and 1 John 3:9.

He presents spiritual rebirth as a profound event enacted by the Holy Spirit, rooted in the same divine conception that brought Christ into the world. Rebirth is not symbolic. It is transformative, literal, and deeply personal.

His theology deepened further through the study that formed his manuscript, A Shortcut to Heaven: One that Guarantees It in Just Five Minutes, where he explains salvation through biblical stories such as the thief on the cross and the leper who returned to thank Jesus. These narratives, he believes, reveal God’s eagerness to save those who call upon His mercy. He describes the thief who cried out to Jesus in his final moments as evidence that eternal salvation can occur in less than five minutes. He writes passionately about how God’s mercy overflowed onto the thief, and how that same mercy remains available to anyone willing to call out in faith. He also recounts Jesus healing the ten lepers, highlighting the extraordinary generosity shown to the one who returned in gratitude, a moment he interprets as Jesus extending eternal salvation even without it being requested. These reflections ground his theology of divine generosity and the immediacy of God’s saving grace.

Shortcut To Heaven

Thomas also incorporates the parable of the vineyard workers, using it to explain that God offers salvation equally, whether someone seeks Him early in life or at the eleventh hour. What matters, he emphasizes, is remaining in God’s grace until the moment of death. The foundation is simple but profound. Scripture says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, and he believes this promise extends to all who sincerely cry out in faith.

This message inspired what he calls the 5 Minute Salvation Plan, a simple yet powerful invitation for believers to maintain constant communication with God through three prayers addressed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each begins with the tender address “Abba,” which translates to “Daddy” in the original languages of the Bible. His desire is for believers to approach God with the vulnerability, joy, and innocence of a child. He sees in this childlike posture the essence of spiritual renewal and the heart of divine intimacy.

The New Pentecost Vision and the Mission to Awaken the Church

At the center of Thomas’s work is his belief that the world needs a new Pentecost. He sees a global Church drifting into complacency, losing the fervor and simplicity of the early believers.

He is deeply moved by Apostle Paul’s words, that to live is Christ and to die is gain, and by Daniel 12, which celebrates those who lead others to righteousness. These scriptures anchor his mission to call believers back to the intensity of devotion seen in the early Church.

He speaks often of his disappointment that the Gospel is not embraced with the enthusiasm it deserves, but he does not stop at critique. He offers a path forward. His theology emphasizes joy, closeness with God, and the transformative power of simple daily prayer. He teaches that believers who remain in constant dialogue with the Trinity receive divine protection, spiritual strength, and the abiding peace described in Zephaniah 3:17, where God rejoices over His children with his singing. And if God rejoices over us who are his children with his singing, is it too much to ask us who are his children to reciprocate his lullaby song with our ‘baby talk’ trying to soak in all his affection by cuddling and cajoling his tender heart? I don’t think so. And precisely that is what it takes us his children to get closer to his heart day by day and minute by minute! – So says Thomas!

Yes, for Thomas, this intimacy is everything. It is the heart of rebirth. It is the essence of salvation. It is the invitation believers have long forgotten they all possess!

A Voice Carried Across Book Fairs, Pages, and a Growing Movement

As his message grows, so does his audience. Thomas recently shared an article with Ethan Brown, promising additional materials, press releases, and photos for editorial review. He expressed gratitude for being welcomed into the fold of acknowledged authors and looks forward to offering more work for future editions.

His upcoming material includes a second part titled “The Theology Behind the 5 Minute Program to Get to Heaven,” which he hopes to finalize for the next magazine issue.

His journey, shaped by prayer, Scripture, and decades of devotion, now reaches readers around the world. Through Amazon, YouTube, and international book fairs, his voice carries the theme of renewal, simplicity, and spiritual awakening. For Thomas, the mission is not to be famous. It is not recognition. It is the hope that one more believer might rediscover God with the wonder of a child, and that the Church might once again burn with the fire of a New Pentecost.