VANCOUVER: I saw the city of Vancouver become a major port for hospital ships. These were sailing all over the world, but primarily to Asia, and South and Central America. This region of Southwestern Canada will soon become one of the great missionary bases in North America, particularly for reaching China and the strategic nations of Asia. Many great healing ministries will rise up there, and some will move there to make it their base. Another bridge for missionaries to cross over into these Pacific rim nations will be Western Canadian businesses, which will rise up and establish strong business links to these nations. The future of Southwestern Canada is strongly linked to Asia.
SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA: I saw a black cloud darkening over this portion of Canada-just east of Calgary to east of Montreal. Then it started spinning and became a powerful storm of confusion and disorientation, growing tighter and tighter in order to become stronger, doing much damage before suddenly breaking up. It was followed by brilliant sunshine. When people started coming out of their storm cellars, they were all saying, "We will not let that happen again!" I felt this storm was both political and spiritual. Though this storm was preventable, it did much damage. However, the result left behind an almost fresh, virgin territory in which strong, brilliant, spiritual, and political leadership will prevail, setting a very bright course for the future.
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The Turning by Rick Joiner
Part 1
In Luke 17:20-21 the Lord stated, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." This past week will go down in history as one of the most important weeks in the spiritual history of the world. There were major signs of this, but few observed them. As the above verse says, most are looking for physical signs, and this causes them to miss some of the most important events that are taking place. The real signs are happening in the hearts of men instead of events that make the news.
What happened that was so dramatic that it will make last week one of the most important in history? A subtle resolve was released in Christians around the world. They will begin to refuse to give any more ground to the devil. A turning has begun that will ultimately reveal that in many nations the devil reached his "high water mark" last week and he will not advance any further. Christians in many nations will take their stand for righteousness and truth, and the darkness will be turned back.
There was a sign in the natural of this major turning-the blackout over the Northeastern United States. They may come up with other explanations of this event, but what happened was a reversal of the current, or a reversal of the power. The reason that they will probably come up with other explanations for this is because what happened is technically impossible. This was just a little token from the Lord that the power which has been flowing one way for so long, corrupting the morals of our nation, and releasing perversion and deception, are now going to reverse. As this happens, you can count on it being disruptive and unsettling in a multitude of ways, but overall it will be handled very well, and the end result will be the deliverance of a nation from destruction.
The death of Edi Amin was another sign that few observed or understood. This man represented a kind of ruthless demonic power for slaughtering Christians and Jews. A prophecy came forth in 1975 from Bob Jones, saying this man would be demonically protected and kept alive for many years, but when he died it would be because these demonic powers were being weakened. Now we can expect others who operate by the same power to start losing their protection as well.
Other areas where we will start to see a reversal are:
The Removal of God From Our Schools and Public Places.
God is coming back. The defiance of the judge in Alabama to remove the Ten Commandments from his court has the kind of prophetic power behind it to begin turning back the tragic loss of freedom of religion and freedom of speech that has been working for decades to undermine our basic liberties. Many others have defied such orders for a time, but they did not have the kind of prophetic power that this event does.
When I speak of prophetic power in an event, one of the great examples of this in history was when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg. Many others had taken similar stands, but when Martin Luther took his stand for his convictions, even though he was an obscure person in an obscure village, it set off a chain of events that changed the world more than any conqueror in history.
This is the kind of prophetic power that the courageous act of Rosa Parks demonstrated when she took her stand against the humiliation and injustice of segregation by refusing to move to the back of a bus. Who would have thought such an act would spark the revolution that it did? Many others had done similar things without the same kind of results.
The only way to explain it is that it had prophetic authority. God cares so deeply about injustice that we are told that righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne (see Psalm 89:14). He is only looking for someone to stand in the gap that He can use to intervene in the affairs of men.
I am not saying by this that this one event in Alabama will be as big an event as that of Martin Luther, but it has prophetic power behind it and will accomplish much-far more than we would think such an event could.
As a footnote, there are gates of hell and gates of heaven. These are places where either heaven or hell gain entry. It is no accident that Montgomery, Alabama is a place where two such prophetic events have taken place.
The Homosexual Onslaught Of Perversion and Immorality Has Reached Its High Water Mark and Will Be Turned Back. Homosexuality is not only clearly and repeatedly stated to be a sin in Scripture, but it is called "a sin against nature," and "an abomination" (Leviticus 18:22). It is a perversion that leads to a depravity that God will not tolerate long, and will lead to the destruction of a nation. The things that are done in public at gay parades and demonstrations are becoming such a demeaning outrage to the rest of the human race that a huge backlash is beginning.
It is incomprehensible but true that today, in the United States of America, it is against the law to even mention God in schools and public places, except to take His name in vain, while homosexuality is not only flaunted, but promoted. This is not only done in the public schools of the nation, it is being promoted even to young children.
Homosexuals, who are demanding tolerance from all others, are now seen to be the most intolerant of all in threatening and attacking those who they perceive to stand in the way of their drive to dominate only the political, public, private, and even the religious life of the nation. This has gone as far as it will, and will be turned back.
In this there is a real danger for Christians. Satan will not cast out Satan. Anger, bitterness, and violence will not cast out perversion. God does love every single homosexual and desires for them to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Every human being should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity by Christians-regardless of their religion or sexual orientation. We should be outraged and take a stand against injustice inflicted upon homosexuals. Do not forget Abraham, who interceded the way he did for God to, if possible, spare Sodom. Because they may have overreacted to the intolerance and injustices that they have been subject to does not mean that we should. Our goal or desire should not be the destruction or even injury to any human being, regardless of the grip that sin now has on their life, but rather their salvation and true freedom.
Even so, sin is a choice, not a biological condition. True religion cannot be imposed on others. What needs to be pushed back is the imposing and even militant flaunting of this perversion and immorality on others, but we should care and work for the civil rights of every person to be preserved.
Great Lights Are Being Sent to Break the Oppression and Bondage Off of "The Dark Continent." The "dark continent" I am talking about here is not Africa, but Europe. Missionaries from Africa are going to help save Europe from the veil of deep darkness that now grips this continent. This is the bread that was cast upon the waters by the European nations who sacrificed so much to send missionaries all over the world with the gospel. Now, for the sake of the fathers, missionaries from the nations they sent them to are returning as grace from the Lord to help save Europe.
This is another "reversal" but it is from the Lord, and it will turn back the tide of darkness in many of these nations. Even so, some, such as The Netherlands, are in danger of natural disasters soon washing them away if the turning of repentance does not come soon. Pray especially for The Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, and France.
There are other areas, such as abortion and the regard for life that we will begin to see light prevail over the darkness after many decades of retreat. Many nations that have been poor and oppressed will begin to prosper because of turning to the Light. Many nations that have been prosperous, but have turned to the darkness, will begin to slide economically. This is because Satan is losing his power to give the kingdoms of this world to those who bow to him. He may become even more enraged, and will yet do much damage as he loses his exalted place in the affairs of men, as he is "cast out of heaven," but his time is short, and the reversal has begun. It may take years to be able to see it clearly, but last week marked the beginning of this turning.
The Turning
Part 2
This week we will continue the prophetic theme that we began last week concerning the way that major turning points have been reached, as well as some of the ways we are going to see Luke 17:20-21 fulfilled:
"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
There are major spiritual shifts coming, which will result in the reversal of the way things have been flowing for a long time. These shifts have already begun, but some may take quite a while before they can be seen as a reversal. Some involve nations, even whole continents and cultures. Just as an aircraft carrier cannot turn like a speedboat, but can take miles to turn around, some of the things that have begun to turn may hardly even seem to be turning for a time. Even so, they have begun to turn, and we will soon see a complete reversal in the direction in which they were going.
First, let me review a few things that have been included in previous prophetic writings from our ministry, or statements put out by some of our prophetic friends. We need to consider how these words were fulfilled to understand where we are now.
When Bob Jones first prophesied that the next President would be "a burning bush from Texas," George W. Bush was not yet a candidate, and we really did not know to whom this referred. When George Bush announced his candidacy, James Robison told me that he was going to be the next President. I had already forgotten Bob's "burning bush prophecy" and to be honest I was a little skeptical about Bush becoming the next President. Later, when looking over Bob's prophecy, I became a believer. However, I confess to feeling that Bush was more of a politician than a man of principle like Alan Keyes and Gary Bauer who I would have personally preferred. However, I think my perception of George W. Bush was wrong.
Then there was another aspect of the "burning bush" that seemed improbable. In Bob's prophecy it would be the church that elected George Bush as President. This was more literally fulfilled than I think any of us realized. It was not just because Christians voting made the difference in the election.
Bob Jones shared his "burning bush prophecy" in several black churches in the Panhandle of Florida just before the election. It persuaded them to vote for Bush instead of Al Gore. If you watched the election coverage that night, Gore was awarded the state of Florida at first because they forgot the Panhandle poles closed an hour later as they were in the Central Time Zone. Even when they caught this mistake, the Panhandle was expected to go for Gore, but to everyone's surprise it didn't. By just a handful of votes, the Panhandle counties were surprisingly carried by Bush. In fact, one count was that Bush carried the state by 341 votes. This was a number given to Bob many years ago to represent a coming unity between three major things (three "for" one or three becoming one).
Bob Jones jokingly claims that he was the one who got Bush elected, but I think this is literally true. The handful of black churches he went to and persuaded to vote for Bush instead of voting for Gore is likely what made the difference. I think we could also say that George Bush was elected by the black church because of this. Of course, neither will ever be credited for this in man's history books, but I think on that great Judgment Day when God's history books are opened, we are going to find out that this is really what happened. So, what is my point? First, God really is the one who decides who is going to sit in authority. He also has ways of doing things that reveal His heart, so we should study them. As a part of this whole revelation about "the burning bush" and who would be the next President, we need to understand what the "the burning bush" part of this prophecy meant. Some have interpreted this to be the way the Twin Towers went up in flames during his presidency, or as a symbol of the war that we are now in. However, I do not believe this has yet been fulfilled the way it was intended, and in fact it seems to have been going in the opposite direction. For Bush to fulfill this calling, there will have to be a major "turning" in the foreign policy of the United States. If this change does not come about, George W. Bush will not be reelected.
The "burning bush" in Scripture was a bush on which the fire burned but it was not consumed. Of course, there have been few Presidents in history that have been under as much fire as this one, and at least to date it has not consumed him. However, the main point of the burning bush in Scripture was not the natural phenomenon of it burning and not being consumed. It was that the Lord spoke through the burning bush to call His deliverer and set His people (Israel) free from their bondage.
Not only has this not happened yet, but the Bush Administration has formulated a foreign policy that has only increased Israel's bondage. This policy not only has the potential to nullify any chance for Bush to be reelected, but it can actually lead to terrible consequences for our nation. You can trace the fall of the British Empire to their opposition to the purposes of God with Israel. Likewise, if there is not a turning, our foreign policy will continue to drift further and further from biblical prophecies concerning the purposes of God with Israel in the last days. These prophecies are both an irresistible force and immovable object. Those who go against them will not last long.
How has this happened? This is a "Haman spirit" in the U.S. State Department. Remember that Haman was the one who tried to orchestrate the destruction of Israel in the book of Esther. This same spirit that tried to use Haman has stopped trying to destroy Israel, and throughout history has used others such as Peter the Hermit, and Hitler. Just as the Lord raised up Esther to save Israel, as well as reveal Haman, who died on his own gallows that he had built for Mordecai the Jew, the Lord is raising up a "new order of Esther" to do the same.
As those who have followed our ministry have heard us say many times over the years, the same spirit that rose up in Nazi Germany came to the United States after World War II. This is because the United States not only has such a purpose with Israel in these times, but we have the largest population of Jews in the world. This spirit will not manifest itself as a Nazi again. It will be far more subtle. However, the primary places it is trying to gain control over is the U.S. State Department and the United Nations. However, those who are a part of a strategy to destroy Israel will ultimately fall into their own trap.
Let me add at this point that we are not warring against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers in high places (see Ephesians 6:12). The individuals who are being used in this way may not know or understand it, but they are promoting policies that will not only weaken Israel, but are actually putting her existence in jeopardy.
It will probably get to the point where it appears that this strategy will have worked before it is revealed in such a way that it will actually empower Israel to remove her enemies in many places.
The Lord is not going to let Israel be destroyed. As an abundance of Scriptures reveal, there are not only a host of prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled with the nation of Israel. There are many promises of God that He made to Israel, which are clearly made to the "natural seed" of Israel, the "Jew according to the flesh," and not to the "spiritual seed" of Israel, which the Lord declared could not be changed without impugning both His Lordship and His integrity. Many of these have to do with the land that Israel was promised, which the United States has long been pressuring Israel to give up in exchange for peace.
Israel may in fact be pressured to give up more land, but this will never lead to peace; rather it will lead to a much more devastating conflict. God' s Word will be proven true in the end. Everyone who has stood in the way of it coming to pass has been removed. Regardless of how pious our President is, and sincere in trying to obey the Lord in other areas, he will not be reelected unless his policies toward Israel change.
I have had believers, not only in our own country but around the world ask me how our President could be a Christian and do what he is doing to Israel. First, nowhere does it say that one has to understand all of the prophecies concerning Israel or these times to be saved. I have personally gone from believing that our President was mostly a politician to believing that he is probably one of the most principled leaders that we have had in recent times. I am convinced that he is sincerely trying to live by the light that he has been given. For this reason the Lord is going to have mercy on him and our country, by showing him what presently and shamefully he is doing. I say "shamefully" because some of them are hypocritical to even the most simple observer, which he must somehow presently be blinded to because he really is a man of principle.
Like King Ahasuerus in the book of Esther, our President must not understand what some of his closest advisors are trying to do through him that threatens both Israel and Christians. This "Haman spirit" that has risen to such a place of influence in our government must soon be revealed, and I believe it will be done in such a way that it will be destroyed in the very "gallows" that it set up for the Jews.
There is a "new order of Esther" arising that will be used to expose the devil's continuing plots to destroy the Jewish people, as well as Christians who have a common destiny at the end of this age. I will continue on this subject next week in The Word for the Week entitled, "Saving A Nation."
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A Personal Note From Rick
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For the past three years, this Word for the Week has mostly been devoted to teaching, and I have used the Special Words section of our website to issue prophetic perspectives. However, since this past June, I have had more prophetic dreams than I think I have had during the previous thirty years of my Christian life. Because of this, The Word for the Week will be used at least for a time, mostly for a prophetic perspective, as this is frequently what I am getting at this time.