A Word for America ..  

On the 3rd February, 2008, the biggest day in American football rolled around for another year. Millions across the United States were again glued to their televisions for the outcome of the NFL SuperBowl .. a televised battle-royale watched this time by more people than in the history of the game.

Within days of the result of the SuperBowl being known, I received some insight from the Lord for the United States; about a season that is coming "soon". Let me set the scene for you so you can understand how I received this insight …

Being in Australia, I did not watch the game and only heard the outcome as a passing news story on the radio. But, according to all those in the know, the outcome of the SuperBowl was going to be no surprise. The New England Patriots had been undefeated in every single game of their season. They were the clear favourites based on their past form. The New York Giants had not seen results quite as good, but their form was sufficient to see them playing in the biggest game of the year. Staggeringly, on the day, a massive upset took place .. the New York Giants, considered the underdogs, convincingly triumphed over the previously undefeated New England Patriots … and it was after hearing the outcome that the Lord gave me some unexpected insight …

Now, before we get into the specifics, allow me to preface this insight by saying a few things:

1)  It has not been since I was in New York State on September 11, 2001, that the Lord has spoken to me specifically about the United States. I have not been "seeking a word" for the US nor have I had any particular focus of attention on US matters. I am primarily focussed on issues that concern Australia, which is why the receipt of this insight is both surprising and telling.

2) I love the United States. I have spent many weeks away from my family ministering to a spiritually hungry and passionate people who are generally well intentioned. I wish no harm on the US, for without your assistance during previous times of conflict, I and my family in Australia may not be enjoying the freedom we do.

3) As an Aussie outsider looking at the result of a game I do not understand, I may indeed be wrong, but I reckon if you’re considered the underdog and you end up winning the biggest game of the year against an as-yet-undefeated foe, then that’s a pretty convincing win regardless of the margin in the final score!

4)  In most cases, when I use the terms "America", the "United States" or the "US", I am not referring to all Americans as individuals. I am referring to America as a nation, along with her foreign policies and general national psyche.

So with those comments in mind, hopefully helping you understand my heart, I am left with the specific insight given by the Lord. That is …

"Soon" a season is coming for the United States, both on home soil and abroad, when the "giants" will defeat the "patriots" to the shock of all who have grown to believe that American liberty and democracy is undefeatable.

It is the "giants" who were made manifest in New York in 2001 that will be the same "giants" who will stunningly and convincingly defeat the "patriots", leaving a new kind of England as impotent as the "old England" presently finds itself.

This will result from what the Lord called "a great conflagration". When this happens, the global landscape will begin to change.

To unpack this insight a little, we must see that the first European settlers who came to a land of promise, did so to establish a "New England". Over time, the generations that followed have become the great American patriots having established not just a "New England" but, in a very real sense, a new kind of empire through which there is not a country on the earth where America’s influence is not felt unlike that of the old British Empire, upon which "the sun never set".

In relation to the "giants" who were made manifest in New York in 2001 that will be the same "giants" who will stunningly and convincingly defeat the "patriots"; am I talking about a Muslim uprising?  Perhaps, but most likely not.  Am I talking about Al Qaeda?  Maybe. Whatever the packaging, I believe that the Lord’s imagery of the "giants" actually represents an immensely powerful and murderous spirit, held back until now, that is to be unleashed through specific people who will exact an unexpected yet stinging defeat on patriotic America. Think Nebuchadnezzar, unrestrained by God and under the influence of the Prince of Persia, defeating Israel and leading them into captivity. This is similar to what I believe I have seen and heard.

Likewise, as an international outsider looking in, and as a man whose primary "portfolio" is that of the men of Issachar, please allow me to make some further illustrative comments based on my prophetic perceptions about America right now.

While it may be true that this insight is not "new" information to those who call America home, as an outsider looking in, since 9/11 there seems to have to been a massive groundswell of patriotic pride sweeping the United States, and with it has come what appears to be an arrogance on both a grand and alarming scale. It appears to be an arrogance that believes that the US can do no wrong, that all its battles are just, and that there is no battle America cannot win.

Indeed, there was a time when America were righteous in defending "liberty and democracy" in those nations who chose that way of governance, but this new-found patriotic arrogance has now extended to a determination to spread "liberty and democracy" to every nation, whether it’s asked for or not, and whether the cultural headspace of those its being imposed on can handle it or not. And that’s a significant shift .. from defending to spreading. I believe this makes it akin to the Pax Romana, the "Roman Peace", which only ever came as a result of invasion and much bloodshed. Likewise, America’s determination to proselytise the democratic way of life seems to result in a liberty and democracy that almost exclusively comes at the end of a gun barrel.

Further, to wrap that kind of conduct in Christian language in order to suggest these are righteous acts, is not a manifestation of the Kingdom of God. Rather, it is an empirical patriotism empowered by self-deception and fanaticism .. and this is never more clearly being seen than in the response to Barack Obama.

Now, I understand that the growing support for Obama has come out of an anti-war sentiment, but that’s not my point. The point is, who would have thought that a key to political success, regardless of a seeming lack of substance, was to "preach his rallies" in a Martin Luther-King Jr. or JFK kind of way? Or worse yet, like a good ol’ Pentecostal? And who would have thought that Joel Stein, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, would have said that "we know we’re being had, but we kinda like it." (Quote from E! News)

It’s that same kind of self-deception wrapped in Kingdom language, the language of hope and faith, that is likewise fuelling the patriotism I’m speaking of. The trouble here is, that those who are buying the "righteous patriotism" pitch, don’t seem to know they’re being had … but regardless, they still like it. As Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church might say, many Americans have "fused the cross and the sword" into a patriotic fundamentalism that is toxic, grossly in error and inherently dangerous.

I waited almost a month to publish my original insight as I took the time to meditate on what I’d received. I continue to seek the Lord over what He meant by "a great conflagration". More information is coming but I must process what I have received and test it with faithful brothers before releasing it .. if at all.

All I can do for now is present what I have received for your discernment, judgement and prayer. The rest, for now, belongs to God.