NET WORLD
Sept. 2007 - NEW VISION FOR THE NEW SEASON
Rosh HaShana, a time of new beginnings
On
Sept. 13-14, 2007, is ‘Rosh HaShana’, the
first day of the new Hebrew calendar. Our
experience with the Lord in the recent few years comes into alignment with
the prophetic voices,
which speak of change of seasons marked
by the feast of ‘Rosh HaShana’. We
have observed the
prophetic words that came forth for the recent Hebrew years; we found out that they accurately described
the prevailing work
of the Holy Spirit during each successive annual
cycle. However, that
is not our motivation to
write this article; this is a prophetic word that is the culmination of seeking the face of the Lord over a number of recent events and the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Looking
back, we have received significant
new revelations at
the times of ‘Rosh HaShana’. Even
though we that live in Athens observe the
calendar of the western world,
and, do not observe the
Hebrew calendar, the
Lord seems to operate more
on the basis of the Hebrew calendar… can
this be because He
was the originator of
the Hebrew calendar? Can
it be, that the Hebrew calendar is
a more accurate earthly
mirror of God’s times and seasons?
Truth
is, the ‘Gregorian’ calendar
in use by our western civilization
does not depict the real cycles of life. The middle of winter is not an appropriate benchmark
for a new start. What was happening in
December continues to
happen in January! There
are no real new beginnings in
January; life simply goes on! We are conditioned to
think of January as
1 –which
is the start–, and of December as
12 –which
is the end–. But when we examine the
life and social cycles apart from that influence, we
see that the real start takes place around September. Then,
by August of the following year
we come to a certain degree
of closure, rest,
and gathering new
energy for the new life cycle due to start in September!
In
business, in the academic world,
in the lives of most families with
kids going to school and working parents
returning from summer holidays, September
is not only a time of change of natural seasons
from summer to autumn, but also the time that marks a new beginning of
the real annual cycle of our lives. Even though few realize it,
most people find ourselves trying
to make a fresh start in September.
Trying
to comprehend the
significance of September in
the spirit realm, it is worth remembering that
the real birth date of Jesus is believed to
be at the time of ‘Rosh HaShana’, marking
a change of seasons for
the world, signifying the
“acceptable year
of the Lord”
(ref. Isa. 61:2 and Luke 4:19). We know for sure that He was not born on Dec. 25! Can it be that September is
the mark of the real birthday of
Jesus?
Having
discerned the open heavens associated
with ‘Rosh HaShana’, each
year we
take the
opportunity to
stand before
the Lord
and seek
His Face
for New
Vision for
the New
Season…
each year the Lord responds with
fresh vision and more specific directions
for our lives and ministry.
Sometimes
the season change may be more significant than
a turn of a year; some new seasons extend over years, some over generations. We believe that at this time we are shifting seasons that span over decades or more!
The Times and Seasons of God
It
is important for
the people of God to know that He operates in
seasons and timings, which
He created both
for the physical world
and the spiritual. We
read in Genesis 1:14 (NKJV) “Then God
said, Let there
be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day
from the night;
and let them
be
for
signs
and
seasons, and
for
days
and
years”.
The
Creator who established the
seasons, also masters the
change of times and seasons, as
we read in Daniel
2:20 (NKJV) "Blessed be the name of God forever and
ever, for wisdom
and might are
His. 21 And
He
changes the
times
and
the
seasons;
He removes kings
and raises up kings; He gives
wisdom to the
wise, and knowledge
to those who
have understanding”.
Paul
wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:1 (NKJV) “But concerning the
times
and
the
seasons,
brethren,
you have no need
that I should write
to you”. Apostle Paul
had the understanding of
the significance of
God’s spiritual times and seasons. By what he wrote, we understand he believed that God’s people ought to have such understanding.
So,
we have come to know that God operates in
cycles of times and seasons, which
He determines. What
He establishes in
His own timing in the heavenly realm,
affects the lives of people in the world, and determines the
spiritual environment in
which we live. More often than not, He also chooses to
reveal what He does to His friends on
earth. Even though it is written in
Acts
1:7 (NKJV) "It is
not for you to
know times or seasons
which the Father has
put in His own
authority”, that
was said in the specific context
of people asking for a specific thing,
which was not for them to know, and did not have the maturity to
understand.
On
the other hand, as we read earlier, Daniel
said “He gives
wisdom to
the
wise,
and
knowledge to
those
who
have
understanding”;
he said that in the context of
God’s revelation to
the King of Babylon Nabuchadnezzar
through dreams concerning “the latter days”
(ref. Daniel 2:28). God revealed things
pertaining to “times and
seasons” to
come, on that particular occasion.
God
also revealed things
concerning new seasons on
other occasions, such
as the 7 years of prosperity and
the 7 years of famine in Egypt (ref. Gen. 41:1-32).
He also revealed through
Agabus the “famine that
was to come
to the whole
world” (ref. Acts 11:28). God’s revelation of
times and seasons to
Agabus was one of short term application. But
what He revealed to
Pharaoh and Nabuchadnezzar were
of longer terms. We see then that there
are “small”
cycles as
well as
“large” cycles
of times
and seasons.
One
large cycle that affected several
generations was revealed to
Prophet Jeremiah before
the people of Judah were taken captive to
Babylon for 70 years (ref. Jerem. 25:8-11).
God revealed to
him that the season of prosperity was
coming to an end, and a new season of judgment would
come, that would change the lives of many people in several nations
for generations to
come. The Bible shows us that God ‘speaks’ to
people about coming changes of
seasons (or, epochs, or, “chronos”
in the original Hellenic
text).
Parallel
to the Hellenic word
“chronos” (seasons, epochs),
a word that appears 58
times in 55 N.T. verses is “kairos”,
loosely translated in
modern English as
‘timing’, or, ‘time,-s’. Whilst “chronos” spans
over years, “kairos” marks
the specific historical
moment of an event. Such “moments” along
the historical timeline
may last longer than a day; “kairos” can
be weeks, or, months long, as long that period marks a moment in history when
something worthy of notice took place.
For
example, the “kairos” of
Jesus to suffer, be crucified, resurrected
and then taken up to heaven spanned over
few weeks, but it was only a mark along the historical timeline;
it was the event which marked the beginning of
the “chronos” of
the New Testament era.
We
believe that on this year’s ‘Rosh HaShana’ we are entering a “kairos” moment in history that will mark the “chronos” to come, stretching over the coming decades (and more?)
It
is God who “… gives wisdom ... and
knowledge ...” because He
wants us to work together with
Him in alignment of
purpose and targeted action,
for His Kingdom come
and His Will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Presenting
ourselves before
the Lord
on ‘Rosh
HaShana’ this
year may
be a
decisive factor
for years
to come,
and for the next generation arising.
As
we are looking at
a new “chronos”-era
unveiling before us, as we are watching out
for the “kairos” window
of opportunity for
new vision, it is important to
understand and/or remember where
we are coming (out) from…
Bible history is (also) prophetic
A
very important “chronos”-cycle
that extended beyond
the reach of a man’s lifetime, was
revealed to us few years ago, before the Olympic Games
in Athens in 2004. That prophetic revelation
was first publicly shared
in February 2004.
In short this is what it was: A
70-year
curse was
cast upon
Hellas and
Europe as
a result
of the
revival of
the Olympic
Flame on
the occasion
of the
Olympic Games
in Berlin
in 1936.
That wheel of “chronos” ended in 2006, and a gradual start of a new wheel of time is currently taking place. Even though the transition apparently extends over few years, the coming ‘Rosh HaShana’ marks the “kairos” moment of change.
The
Olympic Flame for the Berlin Games was ignited through
formal pagan rituals in
ancient Olympia on
March 25, 1936. It was then taken by hand to Berlin, where it received formal
worship by Adolph Hitler and his top Army officials, before
it was taken to the Olympic stadium
for the Games.
In
line with God’s character and
ways of operation shown
in the Scriptures, a
judgment like that of “70 years of captivity in
Babylon” was imposed upon
Hellas and Europe. The events of the Scriptures (also)
serve as “prophecies” of
future events to happen during the New Testament era;
in that context, as
the people of God in the Old Testament suffered
captivity for 70 years, same thing happened to
the Church of Europe.
As
a result of that judgment, something
like a dark veil spread over Hellas and Europe, causing a
degree of spiritual death.
The Church in Europe remained barely
alive, but without spiritual
authority and without the
same kind of powerful fruit
as the Church experienced in
other parts of planet Earth.
As
it is written in
Revel.
3:1: “you have
a
name
that
you
are
alive,
but,
you
are
dead”.
As a result of the spiritual death
of the Church, there was no one to stand as “watchman” in
the spirit realm, and much of the Continent was
overtaken either by a spirit of dead religion, or,
by the spirits of
atheism and secularism. It
is no coincidence that
verse 2
says “Be watchful,
and strengthen the things
which remain, that are
ready to die”.
In the
biblical history, God
used Jeremiah to
prophesy the judgment before
it happened. He
later used Daniel to intercede for
that “chronos”-era
of punishment to
come to an end.
In
the case of modern Hellas and Europe, we don’t know if someone prophesied
prior to 1936, but in Athens we experienced something
equivalent to Daniel’s intercessory
prayer through the
‘Prayer Chain
Network’.
Without
going into much detail, certain prophetic
meetings organized by
the ‘Prayer Chain
Network’
turned out to be prophetic fulfillments
of certain biblical
events. In 2001 we held an intercessory Prayer
Conference of repentance, which
corresponded to the intercessory
prayer that
Daniel prayed
before God (ref. Daniel 9:3-19).
We don’t know the date when Daniel
prayed, but we know that his intercession preceded,
and, caused
the decree
of Cyrus
which took place in 538 B.C.
In
2002 we held another Prayer
Conference of prophetic declarations
and words of faith for restoration decreed
over the land; that corresponded to
the decree of Cyrus of Ezra 1:1-2
that started the
process of return from the captivity to
Jerusalem. The decree
of Cyrus
was issued 66 years
after Judah was taken to captivity (604 to 538 B.C.). The
Prayer Conference of
prophetic declarations took
place 66 years after 1936…
We did not know it at that time; we simply did what the Lord told us.
In
Daniel chapter
10 we
read about the vision that God showed him and what He told him concerning the
“kings of
Persia and
Greece”.
That took place in 538 B.C., 68 years after the captivity. Likewise,
68 years after 1936, in
2004, the
Olympic Games took place in Athens; it was a period when we fought against the
“kings of
Persia and
Greece”
through many prayer events, conferences and
intercessory meetings.
Such
prophetic events and historic meetings
started in 1999 and continue to
this day, at the rate of at least 3 to 4 major ones, and, dozens of smaller ones,
each year. All of those events were organized at
the specific instruction
of the Lord.
The
Lord raised up the ‘Prayer Chain
Network’
to lead the process of
change of the spiritual atmosphere
of Hellas. As Athens was historically a
sort of birth-place of the European and
western civilization, so
today the Lord uses Athens once more as a sort of birth-place of revival of
the Continent. Some
of the most recent important and
strategic events took place in March, and then in the summer, of 2006 and 2007. We need to commemorate two
of them, which are of historic significance.
1. 24-hr
Praise & Worship Conference, 24-27 March, 2006
The
revelation concerning the
70-year curse was also followed by
prophetic words regarding the
reversal of the curse, which generated specific
intercessory activities. The
Lord gave us instruction what
to do. On March 25, 2006, when the 70 years came to completion, we
organized the 1st ever
24-hour Praise and Worship Celebration
and a 4-day international Prayer
Conference in Athens, where we declared the ending of the curse and celebrated by faith the beginning of a new spiritual season for Hellas and Europe.
Following that historic event, several prophetic words have been spoken, declaring a new season and revealing the presence of a new spiritual environment. That may be particularly true of Athens and the nation of Hellas, but is equally