ALLEGED PROPHECY BY SMITH WIGGLESWORTH
Passion to a revival tends tocause a global spread of an alleged prophecy. How difficult it is to discern between the false and true prophecies, when a strong desire leads...
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.’ Comfort for the contrite
And it will be said: ‘Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.’ For this is what the high and exalted One says – he who lives for ever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. I will not accuse them for ever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me – the very people I have created. I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their wilful ways. I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will heal them.’ But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’ ISAIAH 57:1-2, :13-21.
An influential prophet has recently proclaimed a worldwide revival in Australia. This kind of news is always more than welcome for Christians and prophecies of an impending revival is rampant around the world because it is the longing in Christians’ hearts. On YouTube, he prophesied an exciting message to Christians in Australia, the summary of which seem to be as follows.
All churches in Australia have been praying and seeking God for the promised revival. Now as it is around the corner and so, prepare for it. In 1927, exactly 90 years ago a great man of God named Smith Wigglesworth came to Sydney. During his ministry in Sydney, the Lord spoke the prophetic words through him:
‘Australia, you have been chosen by God for a great movement of the Holy Spirit, this movement of God will be the greatest movement of God ever known in the history of mankind. A great revival will begin in Australia, spread throughout the world and usher in the beginning of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This will be the final revival before the coming of the Lord’.
As all the nations of the East see the sun first before the nation of the West, in the same manner, the nation that is in the Far East, Australia is the first to see the Lord. Australia is a nation of promise, an Isaac, a son of promise. When the rebirth comes, she will be the first nation to see rebirth. So, the revival will go out to the rest of the world from here. This is the promise given in 1927, ninety years ago by a true prophet of God, but not false prophets who renounce God’s Word for money. Even though the nation of Australia has turned away from God, God still remembers the promise of prophecy that he made to Smith Wigglesworth way back from 1927!
If this prophecy is really from the Lord, how exciting it is! The renowned prophet referred to Smith Wigglesworth in his prophecy, who was one of the greatest men of God and was called ‘The Apostle of Faith’. Smith Wigglesworth was indeed a tremendous man of faith, who was born in 1859 in Yorkshire, England and passed away in 1947. He converted to Christ at age of eight and started winning people to Christ. At the age of forty-eight he was baptised in the Holy Spirit, when his ministry changed drastically. He believed that God could do the impossible and with deep love and compassion towards the poor and the sick, he healed numerous people. Even twenty people were reportedly raised from the dead after he prayed for them.
His life was always very tough, in which he himself fought an unthinkably fierce fight against appendicitis and kidney stones. However, although he believed in complete divine healing beyond a shadow of doubt, he faced illness and deaths of many people he loved, which included the death of his wife, his closest confidant and strongest supporter, and also his son. His daughter had a lifelong deafness and he himself suffered lifelong sciatica. All these are simply God’s mystery, which we cannot reason.
In 1936, Smith Wigglesworth prophesied about the charismatic movement, in which he accurately predicted that the established mainline denominations would experience revival and the gifts of the Spirit. He did not live to see it as he himself told, but his prophecy has certainly been fulfilled in our days.
I have read almost all his books and testimonies by witnesses, and yet I have not been able to find any authentic documentation that Wigglesworth prophesied revival over Australia, and yet, there are many publications that make this claim, causing a global spread of his alleged prophecy:
‘You have been chosen by God for a great move of the Holy Spirit…this move of God will be the greatest move of God ever known in mankind’s history and will start towards the end of the 20th century and move into the 21st century. This move of God will start a great revival in Australia and spread throughout the world…’
The Bible does not explicitly mention a revival of global scale. I believe that the passage from Isaiah 57 quoted at the beginning describes the nature of a true divine revival, which starts in the hearts of individuals who are lowly and contrite in heart. We should not be praying “peace, peace”, if the Lord first requires us to repent with a sincere heart. Our hearts need to be aligned with his perfect will. According to the quoted passage from Isaiah, it is only to those who live in righteousness and seek after the Lord that the promise of his grace is given, not to those who just entertain presumptuous hope of revival, happiness and peace. Discerning voices is quite difficult.