Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) was born to an impoverished family in Yorkshire, England. Converted at the age of 8, Smith was illiterate until his twenties and learned to read by reading the bible. A plumber by trade, he eventually gave up his profession to preach the gospel. In 1907 he was baptized in the Spirit at an early pentecostal meeting in Sunderland and began preaching with ‘signs following’. Called the ‘Apostle of Faith’ there are many stories about his life, including the deaf hearing, the lame walking, cancers going and even the dead being raised.
Just before he died in 1947, Wigglesworth is reputed to have given this remarkable prophecy at the Annual Conference of the Elim Pentecostal Churches:
“During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the Church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterized by a restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches.
In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say, ‘This is the great revival.’ But the Lord says, ‘No, neither is this the great revival, but both are steps towards it.’
When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed, the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to the mainland of Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.”
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