"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders;
insomuch that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect.
Behold, I have told you before."
(Matthew 24:24-25)
Avivamiento. A new name to you, as it was to me? Well, it came to my attention as being essentially the origin of the "vision" behind the creation of the Wales Revival Alliance last year, and in following through on this I am sadly obligated in seeing the grave dangers to sound a stark warning about what is really afoot here.
The Avivamiento World Revival Center (no small claim here!) in Bogota, Colombia, South America, is run by husband-and-wife "pastors" Ricardo and Ma Patricia Rodriguez. Now, while our ladies have a most important complementary role to play in the Church, they are not called by the Holy Spirit to positions of leadership, which He assigns only to men. So in this respect alone, this Colombian outfit is displaying open challenge to what is truly Godly, and so inevitably falls outside His blessing, making genuine revival in such a scenario an actual impossibility. But quite aside from this observation, video evidence vividly demonstrates that the only thing being revived at Avivamiento is the so-called 'Toronto Blessing' - in reality a diabolical curse of epic proportions, originating not in Heaven but in Hell, and bringing not gentleness, sobriety and orderliness which is the evidence of the ministering of the Holy Spirit, but absolute chaos in its wake! Please go to their website, and watch the shocking short 'Our Ministry' video on the Homepage. What you will see is these two artful performers working the crowd, whipping them up into an altered state of consciousness whereby all discernment, reason and inhibition is flat-lined and a grotesque mass Kundalini manifestation is engendered.
United in the spirit of antichrist:
the Arnotts and the Pontiff of Rome.
Nothing new under the sun; this is all deju-vu at its ugliest. And it should come as no surprise at all that John and Carol Arnott, the similarly Scripture-sinking husband-and-wife supposed "pastors" of the Toronto Airport (Vineyard) Church, now branded 'Catch The Fire' - where the Toronto Curse broke out in 1994 under their (mis)leadership - were star guest speakers at the recent Avivamiento 'World Revival Congress 2023.'
And so from Colombia and Canada to Wales...
An attendee at said Congress was a Welshman by the name of Paul Button, hence the photo of him there with the Arnotts - these religious renegades who he fetes as being "an amazing couple!" - as reproduced above. Mr. Button is the man claiming to have received the "vision" for establishing the Wales Revival Alliance, the day after returning from last year's June, 2022 Avivamiento conference. It is quite beyond question that his mindset and spiritual worldview has been moulded by what he has partaken of in far-off Bogota, which he is so desirous of emulating back here in Wales. I would recommend, if I may, the viewing of another short promotional video, this one being embedded on the Homepage of the Wales Revival Alliance. There you will see Mr. Button praying over a woman who is being most notably affected not by the Holy Spirit but rather by a classic Kundalini manifestation. He is clearly and most worryingly unable to ascertain the difference!
The lack of discernment in such important things extends to the abject failure to be able to recognize the true signs of the times. The WRA site proclaims that "revival is brewing" in Wales, which fantasy simply does not in any way tally with the Word of God, which in no uncertain terms tells us that these the Last Days are not marked by revival but by rampant deception and outright apostasy on every level... of which Wales is so wretchedly absolutely awash! As it is written:
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables."
(2 Timothy 4:3-4)
And such a fable that folks are being turned to is that "revival is brewing," which hype tickles itching ears with what folks want to hear rather than what they need to hear... which is that the axe of God is being taken to the root of the badly diseased tree, and this land is in line not for blessing but for righteous judgment! Assuredly, the only "revival" that we might witness is a counterfeit one, arising from people's insatiable thirst for untested "signs and wonders," a feel-good experiential faith, highs that excite the flesh while feeding the spirit not with the pure bread of life but with a Laodicean loaf shot through with frankly dangerously contaminated leaven!
At this point, some background detail on Mr. Button may prove helpful. A successful businessman, he pastored a fellowship formed in the village where he lives in the Vale of Glamorgan, this being Liberty Church Colwinston. Its Facebook post for July 17, 2017 is informative:
"It all started with an Alpha course which we ran in Colwinston's Sycamore Tree pub in January to March 2017. After the course ended people did not want to stop meeting so we ran another Alpha course in Colwinston village hall starting on April 30th (finishes July 23rd). People still don't want to stop meeting so we have launched Liberty Church, Colwinston (linked to Liberty Church, Swansea). We meet every Sunday at 4pm in the village hall..."
Mr. Button is here seen to be a big Alpha fan, which is not good news in and of itself. But what is also revealing is the link to Liberty Church, Swansea, which before moving to its present accommodation had been birthed at the Bible College of Wales, which is a New Apostolic Reformation institution run by Cornerstone Community Church of Singapore. Not only has he preached at the College, he actually graduated from there (as did his wife) in 2016. (Before we move on, let us note well that Liberty Swansea, just like the Avivamiento outfit, is similarly unBiblically run by husband-and-wife "pastors"). The College quite unsurprisingly runs NAR 'Bless Wales' conferences; a Liberty Colwinston FB entry for 2019 promotes the 'Bless Wales' conference of that year, when the star guest happened to be the Dominionist deceiver and NAR leader Dutch Sheets. We might also carefully note that Mr. Button was an enthusiastic participant at this year's 'Curse - sorry, Bless - Wales' shindig, which featured the dreadful "prophetess" Emma Stark. There's no question at all that this College has played a central role, along with Avivamiento of course, in formulating this man's theological make-up.
In July, 2021, Mr. Button graduated a second time, on this occasion from the Leicester-based Mission 24's 'School of Ministry & Mission,' subsequently becoming one of this organization's Team Evangelists and the Lead for Wales. Key NAR concepts are seen in the hype for this school: equipping, activating, signs and wonders, impartation... at £1,200 for an 11-month course, no less! (Friends, we will search the New Testament in vain for any hint of the need for any believer to attend such a school. Please think on this significant omission). Very concerning is that it intends to be running its courses not only in Leicester but also in South Wales. This will be at a venue to be confirmed, but it seems likely that the WRA's aim of purchasing its own building in Aberkenfig near Bridgend figures in these plans. What is also conjecture only at this stage, of course, is that Mr. Button could be installed as pastor; it would seem likely that the Colwinston venture has folded, as there have been zero posts on their FB page for over three years now. (Anyone knowing if it is actually still going, please do correct me!)
The Wales Revival Alliance makes much of its association with Chroma Church, also located in Leicester, which has Vineyard/Wimberism/Third Wave origins, and - surprise, surprise - also has husband-and-wife "pastors" at the helm. Charity Commission data shows that they have NAR/Bethel, Redding connections; their published accounts for the year ended March 2022 contains the following entry: "This year we hosted three students from Bethel Church, Redding, California completing their third year of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry." Bill Johnson's Bethel is a veritable epicentre of apostasy; Chroma's strong link to them sadly speaks volumes.
The reference to "power evangelism" on the WRA site shows that Wimberism - i.e. the belief that the demonstration of "signs and wonders" is vital to get people to embrace the Gospel - is a most important pillar of their platform. This being despite the clear Scriptural teaching that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17). Yes, hearing ONLY! And when it comes to the question of pulling folks in via "signs and wonders" did not Jesus Himself declare, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." (Matthew 12:39). It might be opportune to also make mention here that John Wimber was keenly ecumenical, as is Mr. Button. In this context four churches are involved in the WRA week-long mission to take place in the Bridgend area, July 17th-23rd.
In conclusion please, please, remember that the Bible speaks only of an apostasia, the Falling Away from Truth in the Last Days, which are now not future but present tense. Let's say it as it is: the fictional coming great revival that the likes of the Wales Revival Alliance speak of as fact is completely antithetical to the unalterable Word of God.
WHOSE VOICE, PRECIOUS CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, WILL YOU LISTEN TO?
* * * * * * *
Some further reading on topics touched upon in this article:
https://watchman4wales.blogspot.com/2022/09/ladies-in-leadership-husband-and-wife.html
https://watchman4wales.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-bless-wales-conference-brangwyn_30.html
https://watchman4wales.blogspot.com/2022/07/percy-is-prophet-pernicious-pied-pipers.html
