Prophetic Headlines Discussion
Session 1: Issues Affecting Our Near Future
I. Introduction to the Series:
A. Heavy Prophecies:
In this series we are going to look at some of the things that God's prophets are declaring are on the horizon for us in America. There is coming a series of events that can only be described as The Perfect Storm (a term John Paul Jackson has been using for years to speak about these events and trends); the resulting impact promises to permanently change this country and our way of life. It includes great difficulties that have been appointed to our nation in order to awaken the Church to turn towards the Lord. We are going to enter into some provoking discussion about what is being prophesied, what has already unfolded and the effects of what is coming.
B. When I First Came Across These Headlines:
1. Unbelief:
I normally approach subjective prophecies like these with a good bit of skepticism until I have reason to think otherwise because there are so many voices out there that are far more soulish than revelatory.
2. Disconnect:
Even after I confirmed the sources as reliable with a history of prophetic accuracy I still didn’t really know what to think about all this. It all seemed too heavy to be able to really put my faith in it, and if I did believe it then I still had no feeling for what it would look like or how it could possibly happen.
C. Events that have Now Already Unfolded:
1. 9.1+ Quake Rocks Japanese Island (on March 11th, 2011 a 9.0 earthquake occurred off the coast of Japan devastating the island).
2. The Trial for the Unborn - the conscience pulse of our nation. To vote or not to vote, and a nation hanging in the balance (occurred during the presidential elections in the Fall of 2012).
3. India’s Shaky Ground – Northern Quakes Challenge Infrastructure (occurred 9/20/2011).
4. Emergency Meetings of Economic Advisors Called in Europe (occurred July 10, 2011).
D. Events that We Appear to be in the Middle of Now:
1. The Meteor Showers of 2012 and 2013 (occurred November and December 2012)
2. Overhauling the FDA; unveiling the corruption of payoffs and buyouts (2 states have now legalized recreational use of marijuana).
3. The Embattled Bill of Rights, the Basis of Our Freedoms on Trial (the series of recent shootings are now causing government officials to revisit gun laws).
4. The Last battle of the Marine Corps; the few and proud may become fewer. Necessary or Unnecessary? Corps or single Brigade? Will they survive (current discussion around downsizing the Marine Corps)?
E. God Revealing His Plan to His Servants:
As a simple foundation of prophecies like these, it is helpful to know that it is actually God’s way to speak to His prophets before He brings judgment. It’s not new or odd; this is the way God has promised to interact with His people.
“When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets (Am. 3:6-7).”
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me…Say this to them…As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done (Ez. 33:7, 27-29).”
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come (Jn. 16:13).”
F. References for this Series:
1. Terry Bennet transcript: (http://www.terrybennett.net/mbinterview.html)
2. Terry Bennett headlines: (http://www.terrybennett.net/headlines.html)
3. John Paul Jackson perfect storm word: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sNnKVl3jAs)
4. John Paul Jackson headlines: (http://preparingfortheperfectstorm.com/john-paul-jacksons-prophetic-headlines/)
II. The Two Prophetic Voices of this Study:
A. About Prophets:
1. Not infallible men:
All of us (including anointed prophets) are flawed humans beings who struggle with sin, we are capable of poor choices and all have bad days. It isn’t wise, safe or real to put someone on a pedestal and see them as infallible.
2. Not infallible prophecies:
It is important that we understand that the prophetic gifts are like all the gifts of the Holy Spirit in that they are subject to the believer’s participation with the Holy Spirit. This means that the perfect words of God have to make it through an imperfect vessel before they come out. We need to understand that this leaves a margin for error, where it’s possible for some parts of a prophetic word come to pass while other parts may have been misunderstood by the prophet and not come to pass.
3. The Impact of prayer:
Another dynamic that can impact the fulfillment of a prophetic word is repentance and prayer. These things can change, limit or in some cases total avert the unfolding of prophecies that God really was speaking. See Jonah and Nineveh (Jh. 3:1-10) and Hezekiah and Isaiah (2Ki. 20:1-6).
4. Uncertainty of timing:
For even the seasoned prophets timing is always the hardest element to identify. It is the tendency of the messenger to prescribe a time frame even when the Lord did not and it’s normally human error to assign the time frame as immediate or near in it’s fulfillment. An added difficulty in clarifying timing is that sometimes the Lord will unpredictably give a time extension out of His mercy (2Ki. 22:19-20).
B. Mostly Unimpressed with Prophets:
I want to say from the start that I am mostly unimpressed with the majority of the prophecies that I hear. I think that many of those who are being called “prophets” today really aren’t all that prophetic. Much of what is being “prophesied” I believe would far better be categorized as “I think this is what the Lord is up to” rather than declaring it as “prophetic.” Godly men and women should be allowed to say that they think that the Lord is highlighting this or that or that they think something will go a certain way. We need those types of godly voices and their perspective is valuable. What I don’t think is super helpful is a lot of what happens in prophetic circles where everyone prophesies everything all the time and there is no accountability or weighing of these words.
C. Proven Character and History of Prophetic Accuracy:
The prophetic words we will be looking at in this series however come from two men who have decades of proven prophetic accuracy; Terry Bennett and John Paul Jackson. Both men served with Mike Bickle during the 1980s and were involved in IHOP’s prophetic history.
1. Terry Bennett:
Terry is mentioned in Mike Bickle’s Encountering Jesus series, Terry’s insight and friendship remains valuable to Mike still today.
2. John Paul Jackson:
I think it is valuable to point out that after Todd Bentley’s fall John Paul Jackson took one of the strongest (and Biblical) stances of any of the Charismatic leaders regarding the appropriate path for Todd’s restoration.
G. Disclaimers:
1. Not speaking on behalf of these men:
I am not in any way representing or speaking on behalf of Terry Bennett or John Paul Jackson, in fact my ideas and comments may vary greatly from what they think. In this series we are attempting to take and discuss the things that these men were shown asking the Lord for increased clarity (which is the role of the teacher).
2. Not following our normal teaching pattern:
Most of what we will cover in this 3 part series is extremely subjective, which is not normally how I teach. This content however is very pertinent to the hour we are living in and even the calling on this house, but the specifics are not found in the scriptures.
III. Signs of the Times:
A. Lesser Judgments Promised Before the End:
In the following prophecies Jesus described the generation in which He would return, He prophesies about twelve trends. Jesus doesn’t waste His words, these global trends were given as signs that we are living in the last generation, and they need to be discerned by the Church.
“Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars…for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation…and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes…All these are the beginning of sorrows (birth pains) (Mt. 24:5-8).”
“When you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately… There will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven…There will be great distress in the land…There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear (Lk. 21:9-11, 23-26).”
B. The Twelve Trends:
1. Falsehood: false Christs, false prophets, many deceived
2. Wars: kingdom against kingdom
3. Ethnic conflict: nation against nation
4. Revolutions: civil war and civil revolts
5. Rumors or war: economic warfare, sanctions, military positioning
6. Great distress in the nations: civil panic
7. Famines: global food shortages
8. Pestilences: new strains of diseases, epidemics
9. Great earthquakes: 8.0 to 9.0 + quakes becoming regular occurrences
10. Roaring waters: tsunamis and hurricanes
11. Fear: fearful events, unavoidable tragedies, men fainting from fear
12. Signs in the sky: great signs from Heaven
C. God’s Desire to Expose Motives:
1. America thinks that we are in fine standing:
“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD (Pr. 16:2).”
2. Bringing to light hidden agendas and motives:
“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God (1Co. 4:5).”
3. Judgment teaches righteousness:
Nothing reveals the wicked state of the human heart like when God sends His judgments. The purpose is actually that we would repent and call out to Him.
“When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness (Is. 26:9).”
D. Prepare the Landscape for Even Greater Judgment:
If the Bible is true then we need to understand that much worse things are coming that far exceed the difficulties declared in these headlines. The fulfillment of the headline prophecies are only a beginning of where things are headed in the end time drama. They serve to prepare the Earth, the lost world and the Church for the much greater perils that await us.
“See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants…The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered…The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left… all gaiety is banished from the earth. The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest (Is. 24:1-13).”
IV. Heart of the Headlines Message:
A. Recognize Our Real Adversary:
God is demanding. Our nation hasn’t thought much about what it means when we put ourselves in opposition against God. God is adversarial against any and all who do not align with His purposes. America, even much of the Church in America has become adversarial to Him and thought He has patiently waited He is now about to act in ways that express His displeasure with the paths we have chosen.
B. Bring to Light the Pastoral Crisis in the Land:
The Church in America is in a crisis right now and we don’t even know it; we have settled for being entertained instead of encountering the living God, we have compromised the truth for the sake of larger numbers and we have reduced the Christian life to attending a weekly meeting.
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent (Re. 3:15-19).”