Understanding This Moment
America has been on an accelerated decline, like a vehicle careening over
a cliff. This unravelling has been conspicuous to Christians for the last two
decades. Oddly enough this loss of ground occurred at the same time that
many ministries experienced growth. What happened?
While we sought revival and talked about a Great Awakening the
Progressive Left aggressively and successfully discipled America through
college classrooms (43% of professors are Marxist) news media,
entertainment, legislation and judicial and political activism. The church
focused on spiritual activity and they focused on the pragmatic takeover of
institutions. This sustained pattern of public persuasion combined with well
funded coordinated activism produced a dominant alternative worldview
that unraveled the foundations of Western civilization. In a word, they were
smarter and more committed to persuading people than we were.
I remember the moment all this came into clarity for me. It was on February
18, 2017, I was speaking in Colorado Springs at an event hosted by my
friend, Lou Engle. It was billed as a Daniel 2:22 conference. Lou promised
it would be a unique event, saying: “This is more than a conference. It is a
summit of divine intelligence to hear the Lord release divine strategy on
where to go from here. We need prayer fires to burn with divine intelligence
like never before in a new day of justice and revival in America.”
A DIVINE PATTERN EMERGED BEFORE MY EYES
As I stood on Lou’s platform it came to me like a heavenly download. God’s
“divine strategy,” when unfolded, would follow a Biblical pattern laid out in
the journey of Israel and a ruler named Cyrus. This pattern involves five
stages – and we’ve already hit the halfway point!
But, before I talk about the future let’s take a look at what I’ve said so far.
In 2015 I published 11 predictions about Trump…
Prediction Number 1: The 45th President of the United States will be an
Isaiah 45 ruler
“The 45th President of the United States will be an Isaiah 45 ruler and he
will be likened to King ‘Cyrus.’ I believe the only person that fits this
description is Donald Trump.” – Lance Wallnau
After Donald Trump made his
surprising announcement about
moving the U.S. Embassy to
Jerusalem, liberal magazines,
“Vox,” “Salon,” and “The Daily
Beast’ were making fun of the
“Cyrus Trump” prediction. That
ended when the Jerusalem
Sanhedrin minted a TrumpCyrus coin in celebration the
U.S. Embassy move. Donald
Trump’s profile is superimposed
over King Cyrus on one side and the third temple on the other. It’s called
the “temple coin.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke at the White house: “I want to tell you that
the Jewish people have a long memory, so we remember the proclamation
of the great King Cyrus the Great — Persian King,” Netanyahu told Trump.
“Twenty-five hundred years ago, he proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in
Babylon can come back and rebuild our temple in Jerusalem.”
“And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump
recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” Netanyahu continued. “Mr.
President, this will be remembered by our people through the ages.”
Both Cyrus and Trump made decrees that coincided with the cycle of 70’s
that scripture so often employs with regard to Israel. Isaiah prophesied 100
years before Cyrus was born and called him by name. Another Prophet,
Jeremiah prophesied 70 years of Babylonian domination of the Jewish
people (Jeremiah 29:10). Cyrus stepped into history right on schedule and
inaugurated the end of that 70-year era with a single proclamation.
Note the curious phenomena of the 70-year cycles. On May 14, 1948,
the independent state of Israel was proclaimed as British rule came to
an end. 70 Years later Donald Trump decreed an end to the debate
over Jerusalem’s status as capital of Israel and moved the American
Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In the Bible a matter is especially confirmed when repeated. When
Joseph understood that Pharaoh’s dream was doubled he said: “And
the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God…”
(Gen 41:32) This applies to Cyrus Trump. On March 21, 2019 Donald
Trump reversed decades of U.S. policy Thursday by endorsing permanent
Israeli control of the disputed Golan Heights, saying the area seized from
Syria in the 1967 Middle East war is “of critical strategic and security
importance” to Israel. It puts the United States at odds with most U.S. allies
and the United Nations.
The Israeli leader referred to Trump as “my dear friend Donald,” and
likened him to leaders of the past.
“In the long sweep of Jewish history there have been a handful of
proclamations by non-Jewish leaders on behalf of our people and our land.
Cyrus the Great, Lord Balfour, President Harry S. Truman, and President
Donald J. Trump,” Netanyahu said.
There it is. A two-fold witness.
Prediction Number 2: The Wrecking ball
“Donald Trump is a wrecking ball to the spirit of political correctness.”
– Lance Wallnau
When Saul of Tarsus
was converted he was
told: “It is hard to kick
against the pricks.” The
prick was a sharp stick
used to prod the
movement of oxen or
cattle. The wise rabbi
Gamaliel cautioned that
opposition to the early
church may be a
mistake, saying: “… if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men;
you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39)
Hollywood, Media and the Entertainment elites have made an open display
of hostility to the Trump Presidency, sparing no opportunity to berate and
deride him whether on Broadway, Oscar’s, Emmy’s, or Tony Award shows.
The problem with this is that 50 million Americans don’t like being told they
are stupid and morally defective and the feedback has come home loud
and clear as liberal award shows bombed in ratings. Even as box office
sales suffered the real story about Hollywood shifted to Harvey Weinstein,
Kevin Spacy, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Mark Halpern and many others.
Anti Trump news media outlets
have likewise suffered a
massive loss of credibility as
they continue to crusade against
the President. Analysis shows
that media (apart from MSNBC
and CNN) is negative about
Trump 93% of the time.
• President Obama presided over the worst economy since 1947 and
Donald Trump has presided over the greatest economic performance
since 1967. Record low unemployment for blacks and Hispanics is
not celebrated by media in it’s 24/7 pursuit to cripple his presidency,
yet Trump’s approval ratings continue to hover around 41-44%
according to CBS and 47-50% according to Rasmussen. Their
inability to destroy him is a point of exasperation in a town like
Washington where politicians fear the wrath of media.
• Overall 62% of people say their trust in traditional media has
decreased because of fake news (R 75%; D 50%; I 62%). The
“wrecking ball” is gradually making the crooked places straight, or
failing that, making the crooked places look crooked.
Prediction Number 3: “He Will Undo the Belts of Kings.”
Regarding Trump’s foreign policy, Isaiah 45:2 describes Cyrus as someone
who “will undo the belt of kings.” What does this mean? In Hebrew
language it describes undoing the military capacity of his adversaries. on
April 13, 2018 U.S. warships launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian
base. In that moment world leaders recalculated their willingness to test the
new President’s resolve.
We are watching Isaiah 45:2 in Trump’s trade policies with China as they
attempt massive intellectual property theft and economic warfare against
the United States. He has enacted tariffs other administrations ignored.
Likewise, Trump has drawn a line with North Korean and Iran.
Prediction Number 4: “His advisors will determine his success or failure.”
Sen. Jeff Session made an error in “recusing” himself and stepping aside
from his role in protecting the President. The story behind the Democratfunded Russian Dossier and the collusion of FBI and CIA intelligence
agencies is now becoming public knowledge. The other advisor who not
only hurt but betrayed Donald Trump was James Comey.
Comey was in fact working
behind the scenes with
former Obama Intelligence
leader James Clapper (who
worked at CNN) in setting the
President up to review the
Russian Dossier so that
Clapper could signal Jake
Tapper at CNN to break the
story.
Trump’s team is now getting
stronger. The addition of
Mike Pompeo and John
Bolton to his foreign affairs
team provides him with what he needs to solidify his strength as a wrecking
ball “to make the crooked mountains straight.” (Isa 45:3)
Prediction Number 5: “His success will be
dependent on the unity of the church, the support
of its leaders and its power in prevailing prayer.”
His electoral success is actually due to Christian
turnout and he knows it.
In 2016, 23 million new voters showed up that
were not calculated in traditional categories.
These are called SAGECONS: spiritually active
governmentally engaged conservatives, as
described by George Barna in his book “The Day
Christians Changed America.”
Prediction Number 6: The President will seemingly produce “chaos” in
order to initiate a new “order.” Putting these words together it describes an
unorthodox style of creating the outcome you want by discovering new
possibilities in the chaos. The word is: “Chaordic” leadership. Trump, like
Lincoln and Churchill is a leader placed by providence into a position in the
midst of a historic national crucible. This will manifest alongside an
economic “reset”.
• There are two sides to the American economy. On one hand Wall
Street wealth recovery is historic. The same data is clear regarding
record unemployment, new jobs, projected GDP and the message to
South Korea, the E.U. and NATO regarding the need to contribute to
their own defense.
• The weakness of both Republicans and Democrats in regard to U.S.
debt management is shocking. Trump himself warned America in
2014 that when debt hits 22 Trillion dollars the country will be in a
crisis. We are hitting this critical debt zone now – and Trump has no
backing to deal with it. What is tragic is the fact that with just a little
discipline in spending, the American economy is strong enough to
expand its restraint on rogue nations and lift millions out of poverty.
By not managing debt and in fact increasing national debt, selfish
politicians put the entire nation and world at risk. When this bubble
bursts it will be the end of America as we have known it.
Prediction Number 7: “Common Grace” Vessels rising.
Trump is a “common grace” vessel who comes into office like Lincoln,
viciously maligned, misunderstood and underestimated. Like Lincoln he will
know the Lord through divine encounter experienced in the crucible of his
service in America’s cultural unravelling. “Common Grace” is a theologian’s
term formed during a time when secular mayors and magistrates needed
Protestant teachers to explain what was expected of them as Protestantism
spread. Common grace is the enablement God gives secular magistrates
and leaders to restrain evil and promote the public good.
Prediction Number 8: A Demonic Leadership Backlash
I predicted that the chaos that will
manifest against Trump after his election
will be nothing less than a demonic
backlash against him because of a spirit
of lawlessness reacting to his authority
and the anointing on him as a “common
grace” ruler. This unhinged behavior
began on day #1 at Trumps
Inauguration.
Prediction Number 9: All of this will be done for the sake of God’s People
Isaiah says of Cyrus, “For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I
have called you by your name.” (Isa 45:4.) Cyrus was raised for the sake of
God’s people. Donald Trump is in office for many reasons, not the least of
which is the vulnerability of Israel and Christians. Secure Americans do not
realize that 80% of the Christian world is living under moderate to extreme
persecution and suppression from their governments. Iran is set on the
destruction of Israel and the United States but because of Donald Trump’s
leadership it is only willing to use proxy nations in its bid for power.
On May 3, 2018 the
President signed an
Executive Order to
establish a “White House
Faith and Opportunity
Initiative” for revitalizing the
poorest parts of America
with a special focus on
inner city black
communities thru the
“Urban Revitalization Coalition.”
Prediction Number 10: The Years of the Clashing OF Swords
The years 2017 thru 2019 are the Hebrew Years 5777 thru 5779. As the
election approached I saw for the first time the curious connection between
the Hebrew year and it’s meaning in light of current events. In Hebrew each
number has a meaning and the number seven speaks of swords. The
election was 5777 and I heard the Lord say that America was entering a
era of the clashing of swords… a war of words… a battle of utterance and
ideas and influence. The earthly battle is so increasingly intense because
people can be influenced by spirits. Principalities and angels are colliding in
a great cosmic contest to remove the United States as a global power
preserving the present world order. What is spiritual warfare all about? It is
a contest to see which version of reality is going to prevail. Both Heaven
and Hell seek to materialize on earth. Evil rulers unleash hell and righteous
rulers restrain it.
Prediction Number 11: Fault Lines in The Church
By 2020 the division among evangelicals regarding Trump will expose a
fault line in the church. The result will redefine kingdom leadership for the
next decade – and advance some voices that have been hidden.
The Washington Post, on April 18, 2018, described a gathering of
approximately 50 evangelical leaders meeting behind closed doors to
discuss the future of evangelicalism amid concerns that their movement
had become too closely aligned with President Trump.
On October 31st, 2017 the church passed the 500th Anniversary of the
Reformation. The American church will experience a clashing of swords
between the religious spirit and the Holy Spirit and this will ignite a vigorous
debate about the role of the church in politics. The subject will shift when it
is seen that the issue really is the churches role in law, media, economics,
education, justice and government. Are we called to make disciples in
nations or of nations? The theology over the actual existence of Sheep and
Goat nations will be hotly debated.
BACK TO THE STORY — AS I STOOD ON LOU’S PLATFORM IN
COLORADO SPRINGS, A DIVINE PATTERN SUDDENLY OPENED UP
BEFORE ME.
It came to me like a heavenly download. God’s “divine strategy,” when
unfolded, would follow the pattern involving Cyrus in the Bible.
It is MANIFEST CLEARLY in this 5-phase historic sequence:
1.) Jeremiah – the Prophetic voice! Jeremiah prophesied a 70-year
captivity. After 70 years, Cyrus came to power and issued a decree
authorizing the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their
house of worship. The Cyrus ruler, Donald Trump, took office the
same year Israel celebrated its 70-year anniversary as a modern
nation state.
2.) Daniel – the Intercessor! Daniel took Jeremiah’s prophecy to
intercessory prayer and engaged principalities in a battle that shifted
circumstances in alignment with the prophecy. Likewise, Lou Engle
and multitudes of intercessors prayed and fasted intensely for God to
intervene in America and He did in a manner nobody expected.
3.) Cyrus – the disruptive Ruler! Cyrus, an outsider to the Jewish
community, came into power during Israel’s captivity to Babylon and
became a friend to God’s people. Donald Trump, an outsider to the
evangelical world, came into office and became a friend to God’s
people. Trump was not the deliverer the Christian community
expected God to use. Back in February 2017 Christians were looking
for a candidate like Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Ben
Carson or Marco Rubio, but God had a different idea.
4.) Zerubbabel and Ezra: the Spiritual Reformers! Zerubabbel
represented the first wave of God’s remnant people responding to
the work of God. Ezra the Levite followed as a church Reformer who
rose up to educate, mobilize and activate a remnant to rebuild the
spiritual house – “as one man!” (Ezra 3:1)
5.) Nehemiah the Civic Restorer – who built a wall! Nehemiah
followed Ezra and scholars believe Ezra wrote both the book of Ezra
and Nehemiah. He rose up inside the secular power structure in the
court of Artaxerxes as the kings trusted cupbearer. Building on the
work of Ezra, Nehemiah went to work restoring the walls and gates.
He did this to restore the sovereignty and security of the Jewish
nation.
The pattern visible in 1-5 is obvious, even though it is hidden in plain sight.
THE NEXT STAGE
God has given us a window of mercy. If we were sufficiently united, we
could see a national “reset” for America. The questions being asked are:
“Should we see Donald Trump as a temporary reprieve? A momentary stay
of execution allowing a brief season of reviving?” Those who think this way
quote Ezra 9:8 “And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from
the LORD our God…”
We are stalled at steps 4 and 5. God has begun an amazing shift in
America, but the people remain confused and bitterly divided. In spite of all
Trump has done, and endured, evangelicals are still uncomfortable with his
tweets!
The next stage is where Zerubbabel mobilizes, Ezra teaches, and the
Remnant aligns so that Nehemiah shows up and builds. I see this as a
window of great opportunity linked with catastrophic consequences if we
miss it.
This moment calls for a focus on what needs to be done now and how the
front lines advance so that revival and reformation can actually happen.
The church has entered unchartered waters.
Reformation is a re-forming of the wineskin to meet the need! Let’s
start by identifying the remnant. Daniel intercessors played a major role in
the election of Donald Trump. As intercessors fasted and prayed and
pressed through in spiritual warfare God moved on a company of 25 million
Christian believers who turned up and voted in an unanticipated last-minute
surge.
George Barna, the statistician, categorized this group as a demographic
missed by other pollsters. He calls them SAGECONS – “Spiritually Active
Governmentally Engaged Conservatives”. I believe God used this
SAGECON group to stop the progressive unravelling of Judeo Christianity
in the West. Overnight they showed up as a remnant that won the electoral
college. What is amazing is the fact that they were uncoordinated yet
SAGECONS voted in 83% agreement!
Three things need to occur. The SAGECONS (24 million) and other parts of
the church must be freshly educated, mobilized and activated. 61% of
SAGECONS want their church to be more involved in politics and
government, preparing their people to take an active and intelligent part in
the process. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of Pastors (some
estimate as low as 2.6%) are comfortable having this conversation.
Once the 2018 midterms were passed a tense two-year period has begun
and will culminate in a Presidential contest more intense than any other in
American electoral history. If this Cyrus is to stay in power the Ezra’s and
Nehemiah’s will need to emerge. Only then can community transformers
be identified and unleashed to do their work. It is during this stage that the
harvest of 75.4 million Millennials will be at the center of the Lord’s harvest
work. Campuses and national media will be the epicenter of this battle – and
we need to be ready.
“In the multitude of people is the king’s glory; but in the lack of
people is the ruin of a prince.”
(Proverbs 14:28)
Our great need at this time is for UNITY and PERSEVERANCE. When the
time came for Elisha to conclude his life and ministry, the king of Israel,
Joash, came to him in desperation seeking a miracle of prophetic
deliverance for the nation. The old Prophet told the King to shoot an arrow
through a window. Then he told the king to take the arrows and “Strike the
ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. The Bible says
something interesting at this point: “So the man of God was angry with him
and said, ‘You should have struck five or six times, then you would have
struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike
Aram only three times.’ ” (2 Kings 13:19)
The walls of Jericho have fallen flat around us, and the arrow of
deliverance has been shot. Now is the time to advance, go forward and
smite the arrows on the ground five or six times. The name Joash is taken
from the Hebrew name אוֹיָשׁ) Yo’ash) which meant both “fire of YAHWEH”
and “YAHWEH has given”. The words “fire” and “God has given” aptly
describe Donald Trump. God has given a fiery leader. He will help us if we
can smite the arrows with determination. Consider what this verse tells us.
God gave Israel a breakthrough. The leader had faith enough to seek
divine intervention but for some reason he did not maximize the opportunity
YAHWEH had given! Let that not be said of us. Will we fail to smite the
arrows? Will we settle for merely 2 more years or press into Gods provision
for 5 or 6 years of intervention that could save and transform the nation?
“You should have struck five or six times!”
We must seize this moment and bring together the streams of the river of
God to heal the corrupted parts of America or we will miss the moment and
witness the collapse of the Judeo-Christian West and with it a domino-like
collapse of religious liberty around the world.
American decline is not inevitable. We can change the course, but it
will require the right ALIGNMENT.
SHEEP NATIONS AND GOAT NATIONS
This is a 2019-2020 window. The people who have been praying and
preparing for revival need to hear the sound of the trumpet. Now is the time
to awaken the understanding, mobilize the remnant and activate this
remnant for impact. Believers need to understand how to build their own
“sustained pattern of public persuasion” to “occupy” and not give up ground
all around them in the culture war that rages.
America still has an unfinished assignment in the earth. God is doing a new
thing and that thing involves the discipling of nations not just the
evangelizing of masses. The Last Days is going to be a battle of voices and
kingdoms contending for the destiny of nations. According to Jesus, nations
will become aligned for or against Him. They will be either sheep or goat
nations. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with
Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered
before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats.” (Mathew 25:31-32) What is a Sheep
Nation? What exactly is a sheep nation? At its root a Sheep Nation is
simply defined by the way a nation treats the people connected to Jesus.
When speaking of Sheep nations Jesus said: “As you have done to the
least of these you have done to Me.” A Sheep nation is a nation that is not
hostile to the people of God: Christian and Jew. They do not persecute the
followers of Jesus. Goat nations and goat systems are animated by an anti
Christ spirit, a disposition to resist, harass and silence the move and people
of God.
In the end there will be just two types of nations: “Sheep nations” and “Goat
nations.” (Mathew 25) We live in the period when these nations are being
formed and global Christian leaders are seeking guidance. They look to
America. We are the world leaders in church growth and training for revival,
signs and wonders. We know how to build big ministries but are less skilled
in actually transforming culture around us.
God is moving in “mercy’ toward us at this moment in history. If America
goes down prematurely the church in these emerging Sheep nations will
experience increased persecution. We need time. We need to solidify what
God has done. The Christian community is the key to this. We are part of a
global move of God and it involves revival and reformation of nations.
Here is an important distinction. Revival involves a personal encounter with
God. Revival is personal – Reformation is institutional. Revival is for God’s
people. It is a grass roots phenomenon. It impacts the spiritual
environment. In a sense, it brings power for change from the outside in, or
the bottom up. Reformation works from the other end and changes culture
from the top down.
We are at a tipping point. Though God intervened to interrupt our
American unravelling it was done in a manner that was unexpected. The
Christian community is still confused and disoriented in terms of what
happened and how to advance in the face of it. It’s as if the walls of Jericho
have fallen down and the encircling tribes of Israel are standing in place,
dumbfounded, because there is no organizational core that is leading.
Many of us have believed for the last decade that a revival of some sort or
an outpouring was coming that would culminate in a great end time
harvest. Looking more closely we began to see that the harvest may be
different and perhaps even bigger than we imagined. The Lord Jesus was
promised Nations as His inheritance (Psalm 2:8). You are part of that.
Remember this pattern.
You are living in an exciting moment of history. True, we are divided and
many are distressed, but even this period of trouble is consistent with what
Daniel was shown when he prayed to see Jeremiah’s 70-year promise
fulfilled.
When the angel Gabriel broke through to Daniel he said he had come to
give the great intercessor insight into what God was doing. You can read all
this in Daniel 9: 20-25. When the prophet was shown the future he not only
saw Israel returning to the land he saw Nehemiah’s wall project completed
and saw the coming of Messiah.
There is a special insight I want you to see. Note these words – “the street
shall be built again and THE WALL, EVEN IN TROUBLESOME TIMES.”
(Dan 9:25) Nehemiah was building in the face of fierce opposition. Take
courage. Times of trouble and times of distress don’t stop Gods people
from finishing their assignment. America isn’t forsaken. We will pull
together and get the job done, even if it’s done in a “troublesome” time.
America has been on an accelerated decline, like a vehicle careening over
a cliff. This unravelling has been conspicuous to Christians for the last two
decades. Oddly enough this loss of ground occurred at the same time that
many ministries experienced growth. What happened?
While we sought revival and talked about a Great Awakening the
Progressive Left aggressively and successfully discipled America through
college classrooms (43% of professors are Marxist) news media,
entertainment, legislation and judicial and political activism. The church
focused on spiritual activity and they focused on the pragmatic takeover of
institutions. This sustained pattern of public persuasion combined with well
funded coordinated activism produced a dominant alternative worldview
that unraveled the foundations of Western civilization. In a word, they were
smarter and more committed to persuading people than we were.
I remember the moment all this came into clarity for me. It was on February
18, 2017, I was speaking in Colorado Springs at an event hosted by my
friend, Lou Engle. It was billed as a Daniel 2:22 conference. Lou promised
it would be a unique event, saying: “This is more than a conference. It is a
summit of divine intelligence to hear the Lord release divine strategy on
where to go from here. We need prayer fires to burn with divine intelligence
like never before in a new day of justice and revival in America.”
A DIVINE PATTERN EMERGED BEFORE MY EYES
As I stood on Lou’s platform it came to me like a heavenly download. God’s
“divine strategy,” when unfolded, would follow a Biblical pattern laid out in
the journey of Israel and a ruler named Cyrus. This pattern involves five
stages – and we’ve already hit the halfway point!
But, before I talk about the future let’s take a look at what I’ve said so far.
In 2015 I published 11 predictions about Trump…
Prediction Number 1: The 45th President of the United States will be an
Isaiah 45 ruler
“The 45th President of the United States will be an Isaiah 45 ruler and he
will be likened to King ‘Cyrus.’ I believe the only person that fits this
description is Donald Trump.” – Lance Wallnau
After Donald Trump made his
surprising announcement about
moving the U.S. Embassy to
Jerusalem, liberal magazines,
“Vox,” “Salon,” and “The Daily
Beast’ were making fun of the
“Cyrus Trump” prediction. That
ended when the Jerusalem
Sanhedrin minted a TrumpCyrus coin in celebration the
U.S. Embassy move. Donald
Trump’s profile is superimposed
over King Cyrus on one side and the third temple on the other. It’s called
the “temple coin.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke at the White house: “I want to tell you that
the Jewish people have a long memory, so we remember the proclamation
of the great King Cyrus the Great — Persian King,” Netanyahu told Trump.
“Twenty-five hundred years ago, he proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in
Babylon can come back and rebuild our temple in Jerusalem.”
“And we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump
recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” Netanyahu continued. “Mr.
President, this will be remembered by our people through the ages.”
Both Cyrus and Trump made decrees that coincided with the cycle of 70’s
that scripture so often employs with regard to Israel. Isaiah prophesied 100
years before Cyrus was born and called him by name. Another Prophet,
Jeremiah prophesied 70 years of Babylonian domination of the Jewish
people (Jeremiah 29:10). Cyrus stepped into history right on schedule and
inaugurated the end of that 70-year era with a single proclamation.
Note the curious phenomena of the 70-year cycles. On May 14, 1948,
the independent state of Israel was proclaimed as British rule came to
an end. 70 Years later Donald Trump decreed an end to the debate
over Jerusalem’s status as capital of Israel and moved the American
Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In the Bible a matter is especially confirmed when repeated. When
Joseph understood that Pharaoh’s dream was doubled he said: “And
the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God…”
(Gen 41:32) This applies to Cyrus Trump. On March 21, 2019 Donald
Trump reversed decades of U.S. policy Thursday by endorsing permanent
Israeli control of the disputed Golan Heights, saying the area seized from
Syria in the 1967 Middle East war is “of critical strategic and security
importance” to Israel. It puts the United States at odds with most U.S. allies
and the United Nations.
The Israeli leader referred to Trump as “my dear friend Donald,” and
likened him to leaders of the past.
“In the long sweep of Jewish history there have been a handful of
proclamations by non-Jewish leaders on behalf of our people and our land.
Cyrus the Great, Lord Balfour, President Harry S. Truman, and President
Donald J. Trump,” Netanyahu said.
There it is. A two-fold witness.
Prediction Number 2: The Wrecking ball
“Donald Trump is a wrecking ball to the spirit of political correctness.”
– Lance Wallnau
When Saul of Tarsus
was converted he was
told: “It is hard to kick
against the pricks.” The
prick was a sharp stick
used to prod the
movement of oxen or
cattle. The wise rabbi
Gamaliel cautioned that
opposition to the early
church may be a
mistake, saying: “… if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men;
you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:39)
Hollywood, Media and the Entertainment elites have made an open display
of hostility to the Trump Presidency, sparing no opportunity to berate and
deride him whether on Broadway, Oscar’s, Emmy’s, or Tony Award shows.
The problem with this is that 50 million Americans don’t like being told they
are stupid and morally defective and the feedback has come home loud
and clear as liberal award shows bombed in ratings. Even as box office
sales suffered the real story about Hollywood shifted to Harvey Weinstein,
Kevin Spacy, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Mark Halpern and many others.
Anti Trump news media outlets
have likewise suffered a
massive loss of credibility as
they continue to crusade against
the President. Analysis shows
that media (apart from MSNBC
and CNN) is negative about
Trump 93% of the time.
• President Obama presided over the worst economy since 1947 and
Donald Trump has presided over the greatest economic performance
since 1967. Record low unemployment for blacks and Hispanics is
not celebrated by media in it’s 24/7 pursuit to cripple his presidency,
yet Trump’s approval ratings continue to hover around 41-44%
according to CBS and 47-50% according to Rasmussen. Their
inability to destroy him is a point of exasperation in a town like
Washington where politicians fear the wrath of media.
• Overall 62% of people say their trust in traditional media has
decreased because of fake news (R 75%; D 50%; I 62%). The
“wrecking ball” is gradually making the crooked places straight, or
failing that, making the crooked places look crooked.
Prediction Number 3: “He Will Undo the Belts of Kings.”
Regarding Trump’s foreign policy, Isaiah 45:2 describes Cyrus as someone
who “will undo the belt of kings.” What does this mean? In Hebrew
language it describes undoing the military capacity of his adversaries. on
April 13, 2018 U.S. warships launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian
base. In that moment world leaders recalculated their willingness to test the
new President’s resolve.
We are watching Isaiah 45:2 in Trump’s trade policies with China as they
attempt massive intellectual property theft and economic warfare against
the United States. He has enacted tariffs other administrations ignored.
Likewise, Trump has drawn a line with North Korean and Iran.
Prediction Number 4: “His advisors will determine his success or failure.”
Sen. Jeff Session made an error in “recusing” himself and stepping aside
from his role in protecting the President. The story behind the Democratfunded Russian Dossier and the collusion of FBI and CIA intelligence
agencies is now becoming public knowledge. The other advisor who not
only hurt but betrayed Donald Trump was James Comey.
Comey was in fact working
behind the scenes with
former Obama Intelligence
leader James Clapper (who
worked at CNN) in setting the
President up to review the
Russian Dossier so that
Clapper could signal Jake
Tapper at CNN to break the
story.
Trump’s team is now getting
stronger. The addition of
Mike Pompeo and John
Bolton to his foreign affairs
team provides him with what he needs to solidify his strength as a wrecking
ball “to make the crooked mountains straight.” (Isa 45:3)
Prediction Number 5: “His success will be
dependent on the unity of the church, the support
of its leaders and its power in prevailing prayer.”
His electoral success is actually due to Christian
turnout and he knows it.
In 2016, 23 million new voters showed up that
were not calculated in traditional categories.
These are called SAGECONS: spiritually active
governmentally engaged conservatives, as
described by George Barna in his book “The Day
Christians Changed America.”
Prediction Number 6: The President will seemingly produce “chaos” in
order to initiate a new “order.” Putting these words together it describes an
unorthodox style of creating the outcome you want by discovering new
possibilities in the chaos. The word is: “Chaordic” leadership. Trump, like
Lincoln and Churchill is a leader placed by providence into a position in the
midst of a historic national crucible. This will manifest alongside an
economic “reset”.
• There are two sides to the American economy. On one hand Wall
Street wealth recovery is historic. The same data is clear regarding
record unemployment, new jobs, projected GDP and the message to
South Korea, the E.U. and NATO regarding the need to contribute to
their own defense.
• The weakness of both Republicans and Democrats in regard to U.S.
debt management is shocking. Trump himself warned America in
2014 that when debt hits 22 Trillion dollars the country will be in a
crisis. We are hitting this critical debt zone now – and Trump has no
backing to deal with it. What is tragic is the fact that with just a little
discipline in spending, the American economy is strong enough to
expand its restraint on rogue nations and lift millions out of poverty.
By not managing debt and in fact increasing national debt, selfish
politicians put the entire nation and world at risk. When this bubble
bursts it will be the end of America as we have known it.
Prediction Number 7: “Common Grace” Vessels rising.
Trump is a “common grace” vessel who comes into office like Lincoln,
viciously maligned, misunderstood and underestimated. Like Lincoln he will
know the Lord through divine encounter experienced in the crucible of his
service in America’s cultural unravelling. “Common Grace” is a theologian’s
term formed during a time when secular mayors and magistrates needed
Protestant teachers to explain what was expected of them as Protestantism
spread. Common grace is the enablement God gives secular magistrates
and leaders to restrain evil and promote the public good.
Prediction Number 8: A Demonic Leadership Backlash
I predicted that the chaos that will
manifest against Trump after his election
will be nothing less than a demonic
backlash against him because of a spirit
of lawlessness reacting to his authority
and the anointing on him as a “common
grace” ruler. This unhinged behavior
began on day #1 at Trumps
Inauguration.
Prediction Number 9: All of this will be done for the sake of God’s People
Isaiah says of Cyrus, “For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I
have called you by your name.” (Isa 45:4.) Cyrus was raised for the sake of
God’s people. Donald Trump is in office for many reasons, not the least of
which is the vulnerability of Israel and Christians. Secure Americans do not
realize that 80% of the Christian world is living under moderate to extreme
persecution and suppression from their governments. Iran is set on the
destruction of Israel and the United States but because of Donald Trump’s
leadership it is only willing to use proxy nations in its bid for power.
On May 3, 2018 the
President signed an
Executive Order to
establish a “White House
Faith and Opportunity
Initiative” for revitalizing the
poorest parts of America
with a special focus on
inner city black
communities thru the
“Urban Revitalization Coalition.”
Prediction Number 10: The Years of the Clashing OF Swords
The years 2017 thru 2019 are the Hebrew Years 5777 thru 5779. As the
election approached I saw for the first time the curious connection between
the Hebrew year and it’s meaning in light of current events. In Hebrew each
number has a meaning and the number seven speaks of swords. The
election was 5777 and I heard the Lord say that America was entering a
era of the clashing of swords… a war of words… a battle of utterance and
ideas and influence. The earthly battle is so increasingly intense because
people can be influenced by spirits. Principalities and angels are colliding in
a great cosmic contest to remove the United States as a global power
preserving the present world order. What is spiritual warfare all about? It is
a contest to see which version of reality is going to prevail. Both Heaven
and Hell seek to materialize on earth. Evil rulers unleash hell and righteous
rulers restrain it.
Prediction Number 11: Fault Lines in The Church
By 2020 the division among evangelicals regarding Trump will expose a
fault line in the church. The result will redefine kingdom leadership for the
next decade – and advance some voices that have been hidden.
The Washington Post, on April 18, 2018, described a gathering of
approximately 50 evangelical leaders meeting behind closed doors to
discuss the future of evangelicalism amid concerns that their movement
had become too closely aligned with President Trump.
On October 31st, 2017 the church passed the 500th Anniversary of the
Reformation. The American church will experience a clashing of swords
between the religious spirit and the Holy Spirit and this will ignite a vigorous
debate about the role of the church in politics. The subject will shift when it
is seen that the issue really is the churches role in law, media, economics,
education, justice and government. Are we called to make disciples in
nations or of nations? The theology over the actual existence of Sheep and
Goat nations will be hotly debated.
BACK TO THE STORY — AS I STOOD ON LOU’S PLATFORM IN
COLORADO SPRINGS, A DIVINE PATTERN SUDDENLY OPENED UP
BEFORE ME.
It came to me like a heavenly download. God’s “divine strategy,” when
unfolded, would follow the pattern involving Cyrus in the Bible.
It is MANIFEST CLEARLY in this 5-phase historic sequence:
1.) Jeremiah – the Prophetic voice! Jeremiah prophesied a 70-year
captivity. After 70 years, Cyrus came to power and issued a decree
authorizing the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their
house of worship. The Cyrus ruler, Donald Trump, took office the
same year Israel celebrated its 70-year anniversary as a modern
nation state.
2.) Daniel – the Intercessor! Daniel took Jeremiah’s prophecy to
intercessory prayer and engaged principalities in a battle that shifted
circumstances in alignment with the prophecy. Likewise, Lou Engle
and multitudes of intercessors prayed and fasted intensely for God to
intervene in America and He did in a manner nobody expected.
3.) Cyrus – the disruptive Ruler! Cyrus, an outsider to the Jewish
community, came into power during Israel’s captivity to Babylon and
became a friend to God’s people. Donald Trump, an outsider to the
evangelical world, came into office and became a friend to God’s
people. Trump was not the deliverer the Christian community
expected God to use. Back in February 2017 Christians were looking
for a candidate like Mike Pence, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Ben
Carson or Marco Rubio, but God had a different idea.
4.) Zerubbabel and Ezra: the Spiritual Reformers! Zerubabbel
represented the first wave of God’s remnant people responding to
the work of God. Ezra the Levite followed as a church Reformer who
rose up to educate, mobilize and activate a remnant to rebuild the
spiritual house – “as one man!” (Ezra 3:1)
5.) Nehemiah the Civic Restorer – who built a wall! Nehemiah
followed Ezra and scholars believe Ezra wrote both the book of Ezra
and Nehemiah. He rose up inside the secular power structure in the
court of Artaxerxes as the kings trusted cupbearer. Building on the
work of Ezra, Nehemiah went to work restoring the walls and gates.
He did this to restore the sovereignty and security of the Jewish
nation.
The pattern visible in 1-5 is obvious, even though it is hidden in plain sight.
THE NEXT STAGE
God has given us a window of mercy. If we were sufficiently united, we
could see a national “reset” for America. The questions being asked are:
“Should we see Donald Trump as a temporary reprieve? A momentary stay
of execution allowing a brief season of reviving?” Those who think this way
quote Ezra 9:8 “And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from
the LORD our God…”
We are stalled at steps 4 and 5. God has begun an amazing shift in
America, but the people remain confused and bitterly divided. In spite of all
Trump has done, and endured, evangelicals are still uncomfortable with his
tweets!
The next stage is where Zerubbabel mobilizes, Ezra teaches, and the
Remnant aligns so that Nehemiah shows up and builds. I see this as a
window of great opportunity linked with catastrophic consequences if we
miss it.
This moment calls for a focus on what needs to be done now and how the
front lines advance so that revival and reformation can actually happen.
The church has entered unchartered waters.
Reformation is a re-forming of the wineskin to meet the need! Let’s
start by identifying the remnant. Daniel intercessors played a major role in
the election of Donald Trump. As intercessors fasted and prayed and
pressed through in spiritual warfare God moved on a company of 25 million
Christian believers who turned up and voted in an unanticipated last-minute
surge.
George Barna, the statistician, categorized this group as a demographic
missed by other pollsters. He calls them SAGECONS – “Spiritually Active
Governmentally Engaged Conservatives”. I believe God used this
SAGECON group to stop the progressive unravelling of Judeo Christianity
in the West. Overnight they showed up as a remnant that won the electoral
college. What is amazing is the fact that they were uncoordinated yet
SAGECONS voted in 83% agreement!
Three things need to occur. The SAGECONS (24 million) and other parts of
the church must be freshly educated, mobilized and activated. 61% of
SAGECONS want their church to be more involved in politics and
government, preparing their people to take an active and intelligent part in
the process. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of Pastors (some
estimate as low as 2.6%) are comfortable having this conversation.
Once the 2018 midterms were passed a tense two-year period has begun
and will culminate in a Presidential contest more intense than any other in
American electoral history. If this Cyrus is to stay in power the Ezra’s and
Nehemiah’s will need to emerge. Only then can community transformers
be identified and unleashed to do their work. It is during this stage that the
harvest of 75.4 million Millennials will be at the center of the Lord’s harvest
work. Campuses and national media will be the epicenter of this battle – and
we need to be ready.
“In the multitude of people is the king’s glory; but in the lack of
people is the ruin of a prince.”
(Proverbs 14:28)
Our great need at this time is for UNITY and PERSEVERANCE. When the
time came for Elisha to conclude his life and ministry, the king of Israel,
Joash, came to him in desperation seeking a miracle of prophetic
deliverance for the nation. The old Prophet told the King to shoot an arrow
through a window. Then he told the king to take the arrows and “Strike the
ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. The Bible says
something interesting at this point: “So the man of God was angry with him
and said, ‘You should have struck five or six times, then you would have
struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike
Aram only three times.’ ” (2 Kings 13:19)
The walls of Jericho have fallen flat around us, and the arrow of
deliverance has been shot. Now is the time to advance, go forward and
smite the arrows on the ground five or six times. The name Joash is taken
from the Hebrew name אוֹיָשׁ) Yo’ash) which meant both “fire of YAHWEH”
and “YAHWEH has given”. The words “fire” and “God has given” aptly
describe Donald Trump. God has given a fiery leader. He will help us if we
can smite the arrows with determination. Consider what this verse tells us.
God gave Israel a breakthrough. The leader had faith enough to seek
divine intervention but for some reason he did not maximize the opportunity
YAHWEH had given! Let that not be said of us. Will we fail to smite the
arrows? Will we settle for merely 2 more years or press into Gods provision
for 5 or 6 years of intervention that could save and transform the nation?
“You should have struck five or six times!”
We must seize this moment and bring together the streams of the river of
God to heal the corrupted parts of America or we will miss the moment and
witness the collapse of the Judeo-Christian West and with it a domino-like
collapse of religious liberty around the world.
American decline is not inevitable. We can change the course, but it
will require the right ALIGNMENT.
SHEEP NATIONS AND GOAT NATIONS
This is a 2019-2020 window. The people who have been praying and
preparing for revival need to hear the sound of the trumpet. Now is the time
to awaken the understanding, mobilize the remnant and activate this
remnant for impact. Believers need to understand how to build their own
“sustained pattern of public persuasion” to “occupy” and not give up ground
all around them in the culture war that rages.
America still has an unfinished assignment in the earth. God is doing a new
thing and that thing involves the discipling of nations not just the
evangelizing of masses. The Last Days is going to be a battle of voices and
kingdoms contending for the destiny of nations. According to Jesus, nations
will become aligned for or against Him. They will be either sheep or goat
nations. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with
Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered
before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats.” (Mathew 25:31-32) What is a Sheep
Nation? What exactly is a sheep nation? At its root a Sheep Nation is
simply defined by the way a nation treats the people connected to Jesus.
When speaking of Sheep nations Jesus said: “As you have done to the
least of these you have done to Me.” A Sheep nation is a nation that is not
hostile to the people of God: Christian and Jew. They do not persecute the
followers of Jesus. Goat nations and goat systems are animated by an anti
Christ spirit, a disposition to resist, harass and silence the move and people
of God.
In the end there will be just two types of nations: “Sheep nations” and “Goat
nations.” (Mathew 25) We live in the period when these nations are being
formed and global Christian leaders are seeking guidance. They look to
America. We are the world leaders in church growth and training for revival,
signs and wonders. We know how to build big ministries but are less skilled
in actually transforming culture around us.
God is moving in “mercy’ toward us at this moment in history. If America
goes down prematurely the church in these emerging Sheep nations will
experience increased persecution. We need time. We need to solidify what
God has done. The Christian community is the key to this. We are part of a
global move of God and it involves revival and reformation of nations.
Here is an important distinction. Revival involves a personal encounter with
God. Revival is personal – Reformation is institutional. Revival is for God’s
people. It is a grass roots phenomenon. It impacts the spiritual
environment. In a sense, it brings power for change from the outside in, or
the bottom up. Reformation works from the other end and changes culture
from the top down.
We are at a tipping point. Though God intervened to interrupt our
American unravelling it was done in a manner that was unexpected. The
Christian community is still confused and disoriented in terms of what
happened and how to advance in the face of it. It’s as if the walls of Jericho
have fallen down and the encircling tribes of Israel are standing in place,
dumbfounded, because there is no organizational core that is leading.
Many of us have believed for the last decade that a revival of some sort or
an outpouring was coming that would culminate in a great end time
harvest. Looking more closely we began to see that the harvest may be
different and perhaps even bigger than we imagined. The Lord Jesus was
promised Nations as His inheritance (Psalm 2:8). You are part of that.
Remember this pattern.
You are living in an exciting moment of history. True, we are divided and
many are distressed, but even this period of trouble is consistent with what
Daniel was shown when he prayed to see Jeremiah’s 70-year promise
fulfilled.
When the angel Gabriel broke through to Daniel he said he had come to
give the great intercessor insight into what God was doing. You can read all
this in Daniel 9: 20-25. When the prophet was shown the future he not only
saw Israel returning to the land he saw Nehemiah’s wall project completed
and saw the coming of Messiah.
There is a special insight I want you to see. Note these words – “the street
shall be built again and THE WALL, EVEN IN TROUBLESOME TIMES.”
(Dan 9:25) Nehemiah was building in the face of fierce opposition. Take
courage. Times of trouble and times of distress don’t stop Gods people
from finishing their assignment. America isn’t forsaken. We will pull
together and get the job done, even if it’s done in a “troublesome” time.