propheticmoments34

A WORD AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT

The week of May 10 I flew to Toronto to attend a conference at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (now Catch the Fire Toronto). That same week my brother Mark sent me a three page compilation of doom and gloom prophecies spoken or written by a variety of people, some of whom could be considered to be prominent prophetic voices in the Christian world. The predictions ranged from total financial collapse to such runway inflation in the U.S. that most Americans would be unable even to buy food. Most of this was to be precipitated by foreign countries defaulting on debt payments and was predicted to begin to happen this summer into the fall.

I had to sort through the fear this ignited in my heart before I could get to what I believe is really the heart of God. Background: As early as 2006 God spoke to me that we were about to enter a rollercoaster period economically that would test believers. In the midst of uncertainty we would learn quickly where our faith really rested. He spoke to me that although it would be a time of uncertainty, it would not be a time of real collapse. These things have certainly proven true. We've been on the edge, but we've not collapsed. We are nowhere near the end of the rollercoaster. Hard times - short of collapse - will continue for some time yet.

So, what of the prophecies of gloom and doom? In Toronto the week of May 10 I believe I heard that we have yet five years to prepare (literally or figuratively), that the hard times yet to come will not be so severe as some are saying, and that we, the church, are being granted a period of time in which to get ready. It is as if God's hand now holds back the tidal wave for the sake of the praying remnant, much as He would have saved Sodom, had there been even ten righteous in it.

Against this backdrop I submit the following. May 13 in Toronto I had such a vivid dream that it physically impacted me. In the dream I saw a TV set that suddenly flashed a white screen with black lettering that said something like, “WARNING: This TV set is now producing TOXIC FUMES.” I could physically smell the burning electronics. The television set symbolizes revelatory prophetic ministry. The warning is that something has gone very wrong in the world of the prophetic. I suspect it has much to do with simply missing the Father's heart, but even more to do with Jeremiah 23:30, "'Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,' declares the Lord, 'who steal My words from each other.'" Could it be that one prophet gives a word that gets picked up by another whose emotions are stirred by it? And that the one whose emotions have been stirred builds on the word he or she has heard, embellishing it a bit without sorting personal and fleshly feelings from the true heart of God? The final product then becomes a distortion and exaggeration of what the Lord actually had in mind. Beware a season of toxic prophecies.

These times of uncertainty and hardship will continue, but by the grace of God and the prayers of the remnant we are being granted a period of time in which to prepare our churches and our lives to meet an expanded need in the world. It won't be so bad as many gloom-and-doomers are saying, but tougher times do lie ahead.

Now see the conference announcement below!