Intercession for America in 2001: Part 1

The year 2001 was one of the most pivotal years in history. Everything changed in that year, not only in America but for the whole world.

As I have written many times, the Pentecostal Age ended on May 30, 1993 on the 40th Jubilee of the Church since Pentecost in Acts 2. The Old Testament pattern which set the timing for this was the 40-year reign of King Saul. Then David was crowned King of Judah, and he reigned in Hebron for seven years and six months (2 Sam. 5:5).

It is clear to me today that this set the pattern for the time from May 30, 1993 to Nov. 30, 2000, which is seven years and six months. It was a time of transition in authority from Saul to David, that is, from the realm of Pentecost to the realm of Tabernacles. We saw this as a transition into the time that the overcomers would be given spiritual authority in the earth to decree and determine the events of world history.

In the Old Testament, Israel and Judah had been given that authority, but their constant rebellion against God set the pattern for the nations to follow their example. Their rebellious hearts (collectively) decreed to the nations that rebellion against God was the order of the day.

In the New Testament, the Church was given authority, but in the past 2,000 years it also proved to be little better than Israel and Judah in the Old Testament. The Church set the rebellious pattern of King Saul, and the world followed its decrees.

That has now changed. In 1993 God began to shift this overall authority to the overcomers, who, by definition, are NOT in rebellion against God. If anyone is in rebellion, he is not an overcomer, regardless of how he may view himself. He or she must be (like David) "a man after God's own heart." Perfection is not the issue, even as David was not perfect. But when David sinned, he repented. That is the essential difference between Saul and David.

The Jubilee Prayer Campaign from Nov. 1993 to Nov. 2000 was conducted under the partial, transitional authority of the overcomers. It culminated on Nov. 28-30, 2000 with a special gathering of believers in Wisconsin, where the Word went forth that the company of David-overcomers had made the New Jerusalem its capital city, according to the pattern of 2 Sam. 5:7.

Of course, we wondered what would be next. How would we see this spiritual authority manifested? Would it come all at once? The answer proved to be that God would have to train the overcomers in how to utilize this authority by the leading of the Spirit. As in the past, we were to "learn by experience."

On January 22, 2001 God suddenly began to lead us in a more powerful way, not only to give us training, but also to begin to intercede for America. The first actual decree was to be made on January 29, 2001, so we had a week in which to prepare. It was a decree to overthrow the "Golden Calves" (1 Kings 12:28) that America had been worshiping as a substitute for God Himself. It was essentially a spiritual battle on behalf of America that would begin to set the pattern for genuine repentance in America and (by extension) the whole world.

Within an hour of our decree on Jan. 29, the mail arrived at my office, in which came a letter, along with some ashes. The letter confirmed the reason and purpose for our decree that we had just made. The author of the letter knew nothing about what we were doing, and was actually the spokesperson for our spiritual opposition--those who worship the Golden Calves, thinking it is the true God who brought Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 32:8). In part, it read,

"You are leading a group of people all across this land through the churches that I, by My hand, shall destroy. . . Henceforth, I shall bring you to the ground."

It was signed "Comander in Chief of the Army of the Lord."

Obviously, she felt that she was the one called to bring forth the Kingdom of God, and so she sent one of my writings back to me in the form of ashes. I have no doubt that she sincerely thought she was doing the will of God, as she couched all of her wrath in religious terms. Nonetheless, the spirit of the letter itself reveals its true source. And the fact that God had warned us and led us a week in advance of the letter showed us what was really going on here.

The Lord told us not to respond to her directly, but to petition the Heavenly Court that Jesus Himself would decide the case and vindicate whomsoever He will. We did so on February 2, 2001.

A week later, on February 8 we were led to file a new petition before the Heavenly Court, in view of the fact that this opposing army had, in effect, attacked us unjustly and unlawfully. In part, our petition was as follows:

"We also petition for a complete cleansing of Your Heavenly Kingdom. . . Father, please clean America of her sins and dress us in new garments, so that we may approach You as Your Son Jesus Christ has on our behalf. Create new hearts within the people of America, so that we may lead Your flocks into shepherdhood and bring forth Your Heavenly Kingdom here on earth. Thank you for your time, and thank-you for opening our eyes to see Your hands in action around us."

In disputes of this nature, it is not up to us to rule in favor of ourselves. When Moses and Aaron were challenged in the Korah rebellion (Num. 16), he did not presume to defend himself, but appealed to the One who is the source of all authority (Rom. 13:1). In essence, He told us to do as Moses did and submit our "rods of authority" to God. Whichever rod would bear fruit would indicate which side had been given spiritual authority.

The Father said that He would give His divine ruling on February 22, 2001. As it turned out, someone was led to organize meetings on Feb. 21 and 22, which we attended. They were held at the DoubleTree Hotel in Minneapolis. When Tom and Michele BERRY showed up at the meetings, it was clear that this "double tree" had borne fruit ("berries"). They were the "signs following" to let others know that we really did have the authority to overthrow the Golden Calves in America, in spite of the objections from the opposition which mistakenly thinks these calves are the true God.

Once that issue was settled, God immediately began to call us into spiritual warfare to overthrow other spiritual idols that America worships as a nation. We learned that there were seven "princes" over America that had to be overthrown in the process of bringing America to the place of repentance. This we did. I will continue with this in the next web log.