ACPE Word of the Lord for 2012

The Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders met in late November to seek a word of the Lord for the coming year, as they have since 1999. Due to world-wide shaking, this was probably the most sobering council gathering to date. Many prophets around the world believe that the United States must make a major shift toward reformation in 2012 and that it will be a "do-or-die" year for the country to be re-established on the course of becoming the "city set on a hill" envisioned by our Founders.

Twelve in scripture represents government. This presidential election cycle will determine where we stand as a nation. The United States has already lost a measure of its greatness but, without a shift, will lose even more in the coming days.  In the Word for 2011, we felt it would either be a "tipping point year" or the year of the "perfect storm". Internationally, this seems to have been very accurate, as it was quite literally the perfect storm for Japan, much to our sorrow.
  
However, there was a sense that 2011's shaking was nothing like we'll see in the coming world-wide shaking. In the coming season, the whole Body of Christ must find her voice and authority in the nations of the earth and learn to "occupy" until He comes. The Council does not believe, however, that the end of the world will come in 2012, as some predict.

Shaking

There was a sense that Hebrews 12:27-29 was pertinent, as well as Revelation 12:10-12.
  
27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. Heb 12:27-29 NKJV

Remember, our reality is that we live in a kingdom that cannot be shaken.  We must hold fast to the unshakable one.  What do we have in our lives that cannot be shaken"  Find out.  Those things that have shifted in this past season of purging and pruning will take us to a new and higher place in our lives and faith.

"10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." Rev 12:10-12 NKJV

There is a coming shift where the Body of Christ will rise up as the "ekklesia" or legislative authority. Many pastors will throw off the bondages of political correctness and find their voice. Preachers will thunder from the pulpits and not compromise scripture. This will cause many politicians to realize that they have gone too far by standing in the place of the "accuser of the brethren" and the fear of the Lord will fall upon many.
  
This ekklesial shift will, for a time, cause the enemies' wrath towards believers, but they will find they have gone too far. The pastors of the United States and Europe will become the mouth pieces for both an awakening and a reformation. A new generation of Wesleys and Wilberforces will stand together and once again call for the church to rise as a moral authority.
  
This is an Acts chapter four season, where the enemy will persecute, but the church will counter in prayer like in days of old. Signs and wonders will break out and many will be saved.  Religious systems will fall and what remains will be God"s remnant. We must hold our positions without wavering.

Counter-attacks against reformers will be fierce, as Satan fights back with great wrath. This will happen in the media, but those who attack will find themselves under fire as God takes up the battle. Out of this will arise the ekklesia as a shining light that cannot be shaken!
  
Do not be intimidated by these attacks and you will win. The church will find her voice. The liberal media will particularly come against those who are pro-life and pro-biblical defense of marriage. Hate crimes will be tolerated and called acts of justice.

First, a holiness movement will come to the church and sin will not be tolerated. Those who will not repent will be exposed, because the Lord will remove those who are in sexual sin and pornography from His pulpits.

Economies Will Shake

Several additional scriptures were given that point to global economic shaking.

"34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." Dan 2:34-35 NKJV

This will be the time when God"s kingdom will become that which fills the whole earth. The ekklesia will be the mountain that fills the whole earth. It was not given to us what this all means, but we had a surety that He has a plan. As the mountains crumble, God has prepared His people in banking, economics, education and governments who will have the answers. Even the military will change its systems.

Europe is going to shake, shake, shake. The EU, who felt they could leave God out of their government and even imprison pastors for preaching the gospel, is going to be dealt with by God, Himself. In the midst of the shaking, God is going to awaken the church as never before seen in history. Other nations such as Russia and parts of Asia will shake as well. In some nations, dictators will topple who have seemingly had such a deep hold on their nations that they have been considered immovable.

Many nations will experience rioting in the midst of the economic shakings. God will use this season to uproot the anti-Christ spirit, as many who were formerly favorable to "isms", such as Islam, will see it for what it truly is and turn to Christ. Turkey and Egypt will try to intimidate Israel. Again, the Lord spoke to us that we must stand with Israel.
  
Egypt will have its own Isaiah 19 season as God awakens the church in the squeeze and a great move of God will prevail in the end, even though for a season it will seem like the devil has the upper hand.

Even the United Nations will be shaken in this hour as never before and its agenda against Israel will be revealed.

Things are going to "crack open" financially. There will be a shaking of economic systems across the face of the earth. However, during this time, God will raise up his Josephs who have been prepared for this hour. The Lord was clear to us that we were not to get into fear.

We asked how to prepare and He said that we must have "crisis preparedness". This, we felt, meant that it was good to have some sort of provision, such as one would have in the event of an earthquake or some other disaster. While storing some amount of provisions was felt wise, there was a caution against hoarding motivated by fear.

"10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 'Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD  your God is giving you to possess.'" Josh 1:10-11 NKJV

There were three important things to remember in this season:

1. Face your fears.
2. Prepare provisions
3. Realize that the Kingdom of Heaven cannot be shaken.

Israel will continue prospering in the midst of this shaking and many will go there for advice about how to establish their banking systems. Israel is in an Isaiah 60 season.

Shut the Door

It was sensed from Isaiah 22:15-22 that God wants His church "shut the door" to those who will try to stand in the highest offices of the nations who do not have a father"s heart for the people. Dramatic shifts will take place in election cycles. Some politicians are in the balance and will either vote righteously or go into a deep darkness.

In the United States elections, God is going to "blow away" the covering of some people and reveal the truly righteous and conservative. We are calling for a year of prayer and fasting for the nation. The United States has one year to shift or be seriously shaken.

Three Mountains of Influence

"25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark." Acts 12:25 NKJV

"1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away."  Acts 13:1-3 NKJV

It is a new season for the prophets and the teachers to function together. The teaching gift and a strong foundation in the word of God must team up to keep deception out of the church. We need to recognize those who are in the office of the teacher and "set them in" just like we do the other ministry gifts.

This is especially important this year as the three most important mountains this year will be the church/religion, the family, and the government. God told us that He is bringing families back together and that we should place a focus on them. He is going to heal and restore family relations.

Also, the local church, functioning as the ekklesia of God will change nations in a greater way than we have seen in America since revolutionary days, when pastors went to war for freedom. The spirit of religion will be exposed in the places where it has operated with political correctness.

As the above scripture shows, with Barnabus, Saul and Mark, this is a time of God connecting the generations for ministry. It is a season of mentoring. The Elijah's and Elisha's will stand together. Mantles will shift, as from Moses to Joshua and from the John the Baptist's who have been preparing the way for a new Jesus People generation.

We will see a new missions move where many will hear the call of God to go to the ends of the earth in a measure that we have not seen since the Student Volunteer Movement with J.R. Mott. Many new women will arise in leadership as God raises up a great company of women. It's a Psalm 68:11 season: "The Lord giveth the word: the women that publish the tidings are a great host."

A rising movement of compassion ministries who will fight human trafficking will give the church a voice in society as never before. A plumb line from heaven will drop against sex traffickers. Revelations will come out, even about the involvement of top political leaders who are in sexual sin and it will shock the world. (Note: subsequent to our meeting, a world-wide exposure of sex trafficking made the news)

The Year of the House

"12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" 14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." Matt 21:12-14 NKJV

This is the year of the house. The family represents the house as well as the church.  The ekklesia will become the house of prayer for all nations. This will purge those who have not shifted away from all political correctness. We will be able to see where the true wheat is and where the tares have grown up alongside. This is in God"s purpose so we will be able to see on what side people are standing. We must even be willing to sacrifice our not-for-profit status to speak the truth.

Pride will be revealed and a new humility will come to Christian leaders. The result will be that those willing to become a house of prayer will see great signs and wonders. Mass deliverance will break out and many will be supernaturally set free of deep bondages. There will be another Jesus People movement.

We received the word that the Lord wants a "prayer saturated church" and that He wants the whole church to pray - not just a select few. This word led us to see that God wants us to pray that the prayer movement in the United States would be restored. He reminded us of our prayer history:

1980's - A great move of God with an emphasis in the local church of early morning prayer and of praying the Lord's Prayer.
1990's - The prayer movement became mainly para-church and much was accomplished through initiatives such as AD2000 and Praying Through the Window.  This opened many nations for the gospel as they had never been opened before.  Also, Dr. Bill Bright led a movement of fasting and prayer.
2000's - God raised up the house of prayer movement on campuses.  This will continue and escalate, but prayer is going to return to local churches in a measure that we have not seen, until the whole church is praying.  The zeal for His house of prayer is going to return.  (John 2:17)

Children and Youth

"42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;  44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have you done this to us" Look, your father and I have sought You anxiously." 49 And He said to them, "Why did you seek me" Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business""  Luke 2:42-49 NKJV

Even the children and youth will be affected by this coming prayer movement. Awakenings of both children and youth will sweep the earth. Jesus was twelve when he astounded the wise. There will be a generation of children and youth, especially the "tweens" who will arise in this hour like at no other time.

The prophetic promise to Jesus of Psalm 110:3 will be manifest, "Your people shall be volunteers in the day of your power.  In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of your youth."

Lou Engle puts it this way, "In the dark hours before dawn, the youth begin to collect.  The ground that was dry before now sparkles as far as the eye can see.  It is the enemies' worst nightmare to go to sleep, only to awake the next morning surrounded by an army that materialized out of thin air!  What had been an empty field is now filled with soldiers whose weapons glint in the sunrise.  Literally overnight, an army of devoted young people is going to arise out of this present darkness.  This vast youth army is already mobilizing.  Invisible now - Invincible later."

Cindy Jacobs adds, "This is God's breaker-of-the-dawn army! Fresh troops for the battle, burning with holiness and fiery with passion for the Lord! They are beautiful in holiness, and have the anointing to throw off the shackles of abortion, poverty, pornography, and sexual sins of all kinds, including homosexuality."

"Extreme holiness will be the order of the day. Counter-culture warriors who love God more than sleeping in, who give up the thrill of entertainment because they are enamored with the beauty of holiness. There is nothing more beautiful than holiness.  The seduction of the world cannot hold a candle to it. It is lovely beyond description.  No poet can use human words to describe its essence. They have fallen in love with the Lord Jesus Christ and He is beautiful beyond description."

via Generals International.