‘New Pentecostals’, like the ones you’ll find at mega-churches such as Sydney’s Hillsong, are heavily into prophecy. The ability to forecast future events is regarded as a direct gift of God - specifically, his Holy Spirit division - and is one of the most highly-prized Pentecostal talents.

The Australian Prayer Network (APN) offers a collection of ‘Prophetic Words’ wherein we can avail ourselves of the divine wisdom. These forecasts come straight from the horse’s mouth, the prophet merely acting as a voicebox for his or her incorporeal master - especially when the prophecy is preceded by the words, ‘Thus saith the Lord’, as in, ‘Thus saith the Lord, thou shalt wear thy blue dress to the party next Saturday’; or sometimes, more dangerously, ‘Thus saith the Lord, thou shalt marry Jim and not Fred’ or ‘thou shalt become a missionary to Zaire’. It therefore comes as a surprise to see APN attaching the following exemption clause to its collection of pearls:

The extent to which [these prophecies] reflect the word of the Lord is left to the discernment of the reader.

Brian Pickering, the APN’s National Coordinator, knocks around with the Jim Wallace/Warwick Marsh crew, so we can guess what the prophets have in mind for our political system:

I prophesy this: the Holy Spirit will cause a Government shift in this land [prophets like talking about 'shifts', as in seismic shifts] that other nations all over the world will want to study … They will want to know why you have such a model Government … And the only reason you will be able to say is, because we have modelled our Government upon the laws of God …

There will be such a revival come that you are not going to discuss whose name should be prayed at the opening of parliament. You won’t even have to worry because those parliamentarians will bow their knee at the beginning of a session and they will declare the Lordship of Jesus. And they will want to do it …

(Cindy Jacobs, American prophet, speaking at Victory Life Centre, Perth in 2003)

Apart from blatant dominionist propaganda of this sort - www.unbelief.org/articles/australias-theocratic-right/ - God’s prophets have the handy knack of pushing whatever the latest Religious Right campaign happens to be:

The Lord is going to launch many of His people into strategic positions that will capture the airwaves. The influence of television, movies, radio and other forms of visual media [radio is a visual medium?] have often been used by the enemy ['the enemy' refers to Satan and his minions] to poison and pervert the mindsets of society … The airwaves must be contended for. They belong to the Lord and He desires to use them as one of His most valuable tools during the season of harvest.

(Patricia King [Pat Coking], ‘Extreme Prophetic’, Feb. 2004)

So why did God let the enemy take over the airwaves in the first place? Truly he moves in mysterious ways.

But most prophecies appearing on the APN website are simply banal. They contain little hard content and remind me of standard astrological predictions that you’d read in a newspaper, or, if you were foolish enough, pay to hear on the telephone or read on the Net. The only real difference is that a few references to God are thrown in:

I recently awakened and heard the words, ‘Valley of Decision’. There is a process occurring in the earth realm that is bringing the winepress to a new place of fullness. [Don't worry if you can't understand it. Prophets love this faux-biblical mode of expression and are trying for 'spiritual communion' rather than mere audience comprehension. It's no wonder that Pentecostals see New Age groups as direct rivals.] … Don’t let inordinate affection cause you to misalign inappropriately … Break the negative atmospheric presence around you by prophetic declarations of victory! … This is a year where we must have an ‘over’ mentality. Overtake or be overtaken. Overthrow or be overthrown. Overturn or be overturned. Overcome or be overcome … [God's] Kingdom advances in victory. This occurs through violent spiritual conflict and warfare … Understand the sword and the fire because they are both important in the battle ahead …

(Chuck D. Pierce, Glory of Zion International Ministries, Denton, Texas, March 2005)

Didn’t like that last bit, eh? Neither did I. And I didn’t like it much when Cindy Jacobs declared that:

This [2004] is the year that leaders who have opposed Me [i.e. God] are going to suddenly die.

Let’s conclude with something more peaceful from Lyn Nikkelson, ‘Australian intercessor’, (18 Mar. 2004):

[T]his is the day of visitation, says the Lord. [OK, everybody on their toes. According to Lyn, these are the very words of God.] I have heard the groanings of My people, and heard their cry from My throne. Their intercessions have filled the Golden Censer before the throne with sweet perfume …

My hand is stretched out in mercy, healing and love to the Fathers in the land. I bring healing, not judgment. I come to heal your brokenness and your rejection as fathers. Those who have been robbed of a father’s love, those who have been denied their right to be fathers to their children. [The Fatherhood Foundation would be very pleased about this, not to mention the more militant Blackshirts.]

… [A]llow Me to do a new thing, and to give you beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning. [Lyn, you're sure we haven't wandered into an ashram somewhere?] For My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

As of early 2005 the APN had over 3,500 members ‘representing Churches, prayer groups and individual intercessors all over the nation’. It’s not a huge number, but it’s still pretty daunting to think that so many people are bewitched by this vacuous blathering.

Filed in: Christian Right, Pentecostalism