Meeting the Challenge

Just as individual people make decisions in the world, so also do collective bodies of people, such as nations, churches, and The Church.

One of the first lessons I learned years ago when I first began learning about spiritual warfare was that God knows how to monitor the collective decision of whole groups of people. He did this all the time in biblical days, saying "Israel has said . . ." or "Jerusalem has done . . ." Obviously, He was not referring to single individuals, but to collective groups. We might think of this as a spiritual "vote" on various issues, where God looks at each heart as it casts its vote.

I recall a case over 20 years ago when God said to issue a prayer call to all the pastors in Corpus Christi ("the Body of Christ"), and their response, God said, would indicate the heart of the Church itself. In other words, those particular pastors would act as a cross-section of the Church.

On January 29, 2001 the opposition letter that arrived at my office (an hour after we answered the petition in the divine court) was a typical type of response from the Church itself. The woman who wrote it thought she was acting on her own, when in fact she was responding to spiritual forces unknowingly. The timing of her letter proves this.

The interaction between the timeless realm of the spirit and the time-bound realm of earth is seen clearly as well, in that her letter ARRIVED at the appointed time, but she dated it four days earlier--before we had answered the petition. In other words, she did not have to write it AFTER the petition was answered. She was led to write it by spiritual time, where all time is one. The letter's arrival, however, was timed perfectly to coincide with the in-the-world event on January 29, 2001.

Along with her letter, she sent a baggie containing some ashes, along with the headline of one of my newsletters, to indicate that she had burned that newsletter. In praying about this, the Lord said that this constituted "a callenge to your authority," but that I was not to respond directly. Instead, I was to file a petition in the divine court on February 2 in similar fashion to what Moses did when his authority was challenged by Korah in Numbers 15:16. We were to lay our "staves" before Him and see which one would bear fruit (Num. 17:5).

We did this, and the Lord said that we would receive His verdict at noon, February 21. As it turned out, this was the opening day of a short local conference called again by Sunny Day Roberts. Some friends, Tom and Michele Berry were led to attend, and their plane was scheduled to arrive at 11:32 a.m., Feb. 21. The Lord told me that they were the sign of the staves bearing fruit ("berries"), so I knew their plane would be a little late. Sure enough, it arrived precisely at noon--right on schedule, God's time.

These may seem like strange coincidences, but even little things are significant once we understand the inter-relationship between the spiritual and earthly worlds. There is no way to monitor how these worlds link without a combination of divine revelation and a knowledge of timing. In this case, since God told us the precise date and time to watch for His verdict, it was obvious that the arrival of the Berry's--late, but on time--carried significance. Without prior revelation, however, this event would have been lost in the sea of world events.

The competition for Kingdom authority can always be counted on to oppose the overcomers. They never agree with God's verdicts when those verdicts go against them. This is because they are by nature rebellious and in opposition to God. King Saul was this way, and obviously, so are the Babylonians. And so the Lord informed us that this verdict on February 21 would only stir up an "all-out war," beginning 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time), February 26, 2001. It would be concluded at 10:32 a.m. on Feb. 28.

I was scheduled to fly to Seattle to teach from Feb. 23-27, so I knew that the sign of all-out war would be seen there, although I was to leave the day before the end of the battle.

This battle was to be fought against the golden calves over America, represented by seven "princes." There would be three battles to overthrow these seven. The first battle (Feb. 23-27) would serve to overthrow the first two princes: Beelzebub and the Prince of Revenge. These were to be replaced by Joy and Peace (Spirits of God) the day after I returned home from Seattle.

This replacement was made at precisely 10:32 a.m. on February 28 (according to our revelation that this would be the end of the battle). Twenty-two minutes later, at 10:54 a.m. (PST), a 6.8 Richter earthquake struck Seattle, cracking the Capitol Dome in Olympia, Washington. Olympia itself is very symbolic, since it represents the capitol of the Greek gods in ancient times at Mount Olympus. More than that, the state of Washington itself represents Washington D.C. Thus, the cracked Dome in 2001 was a sign of the breakup of the national government itself in years to come, as the false gods are replaced.

The earthquake took place more precisely under the tip of Devils Head on Key Peninsula not far from Seattle. It is so named because it is in the shape of a serpent's head. On Oct. 2, 1999 other friends of mine (Dave and Sherry) had stood there, speaking a prophetic word to "cut off serpents head." So the fact that the quake occurred under that spot shows that they were actually prophesying and setting into motion a future spiritual battle that would manifest as a 6.8 Richter earthquake on Feb. 28, 2001.

The second battle in 2001, the Lord said, was scheduled for March 8 in which we overthrew the Prince of Usury. The stock market then reacted in a "free fall" of 1600 points, ending only at the precise moment when our third battle began at 1.47 p.m. (Central Time) on March 22.

The third battle was scheduled for March 22-24, in which we overthrew the last four princes: the Red Dragon, the Prince of Counterfeit, the Prince of Slavery, and the Prince of Influence. These were replaced by the Spirit of Maturity, Temperance, Responsibility, and Faithfulness.

Keep in mind, of course, that believers have been fighting this warfare for thousands of years. Daniel 10 actually refers to this ongoing battle. While we all see earthly effects in our own time, we are actually fighting along side of Daniel and all others who have been engaged in this battle, because there is no time in the spiritual realm. It is as if we are each involved in a different part of the battlefield. When the last believers have finished their part in this battle, then it will be concluded, and the earth will reap the benefits of that final victory.

As for the meaning of these seven princes, Beelzebub is about Zionism and has to do with the Temple Mount in old Jerusalem. Beelzebub is the prince that has run America's foreign policy since 1948.

The Prince of Revenge is the spirit behind America's reaction to the Twin Towers disaster on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Prince of Usury is about the banking system. He came to America on April 13, 1912, and his sign was the sinking of the Titanic (representing America).

The Red Dragon prevents the birth of the Manchild.

The Prince of Counterfeit has to do with Lev. 10:1, where Nadab and Abihu offered "strange fire" to the Lord. It prophesies of counterfeit moves of the Spirit. We need Temperance, or self-control, so as not to panic and fall into imitation revivals.

The Prince of Slavery gives us a slave mentality. We need to take Responsibility for our lives and actions.

The Prince of Influence runs our advertising agencies, causing us to be unfaithful to Truth and to God Himself.