Wednesday, October 24, 2007

California Wildfires: “This is a Sign That God is Blazing Through”

As many of you are aware, more than half a million people have so far evacuated their homes from Mexico to north of Los Angeles, due to the wildfires that are now burning in the state of California. Damage is estimated so far at more than $1 billion with 645 square miles scorched at the time of this writing. Hollywood has also taken a blow. A number of celebrities have been forced to flee the area and many production sets have stopped and been abandoned, according to news reports.

About six weeks ago on Sept. 8, while ministering in Stockton, California, I prophesied publicly about the coming of these fires, which we feel are a prophetic sign of revival that is coming to burn in the state. This will be a wildfire revival that is not tamed, controlled or orchestrated by anyone other than God Himself.

Along with this wildfire prophecy, the Lord showed me revival fires such as those that have burned in Latin America will be spreading through California. I saw a clear connection with the Hispanic community, and revival spreading between Baja, Mexico, the border region and California, where the natural fire is now located. Here is an excerpt from the prophecy:

Wildfire state of California, burn, burn burn! … Get ready wildfire state. I want you to hear me clearly: I’m not saying this as a ‘judgment prophet’ – I’m not saying this in that regard, OK? But you watch and see the wildfires coming. It’s going to be a sign of something in the Spirit. We pray protection over properties. We pray the protection of God. But watch and see. This is a sign that God is blazing through, and He’s clearing and leveling ground for the coming of His Kingdom in California. We say fire of Heaven burn. Fire of Heaven come. We need the flame of God. We need the consuming wildfire of Heaven. Come in Jesus name!

To here the entire clip, you can click here.


Not a Containable Fire

Earlier in the week, ABC News headlines read “Malibu Wildfire 'Zero Percent' Contained.” Acting Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich told reporters, “This fire is zero percent contained which means we're at the mercy of the wind." Eventually, firefighters acknowledged that only the weather – not their own efforts – would determine the course of this blaze. The Lord is releasing a fire that will be zero percent contained by the mind and strength of man in this hour. It will not be bound by convention, tradition or religion. It will burn wherever it so pleases. This is the fire of full possession by the Holy Spirit that will hit the streets in a blazing inferno.

Often, people question the sovereign hand of God in the midst of natural disasters. But we must ever return to the simple knowledge that God is God. In the same way that the Lord causes the sun and rain to fall both on the righteous and the wicked, we must always put a simple trust in Him in situations such as these. Moreover, we should know His heart for redemption and restoration.

Amazingly, only three people have died out of the nearly one million evacuees. This is tremendous grace. Although there has been much property destruction, there are also stories of the miraculous. Over a month ago, when the Lord showed us these fires coming, we also prayed that properties would be protected.

In an interesting story posted on CNN, two residents of Rancho Bernardo, Pepe and Carolina Galmes, found that their house was left perfectly standing, although every other home in their neighborhood burned to the ground around them as sparks rained down from the sky. The dancing hand of God will move as He so chooses.

“Our house was the only one standing on the block,” said Pepe. “It’s a miracle.”

“We couldn’t believe our eyes. It’s a miracle, because our neighbors are gone – and all the row of the houses on the block (burned) and also the forest behind,” said Carolina.

“It’s a miracle. (The houses on our) left and right are down to the ground,” added Pepe.

An Upturn in Real Estate

While in Stockton, the Lord also had me prophesy about an upturn in the California real estate market. The market has been on a downturn for the past year or more, but the Lord showed us that it has reached its lowest point. This needed to happen, because of inflation. But from here, there will be a turn around. Despite the destruction of more than 1,600 homes and buildings, the fires may actually prove beneficial to the real estate market, which is a huge determining factor in the overall economy.

"In the odd nature of economic accounting, this will probably be a stimulus," Alan Gin, a University of San Diego economist, told the Los Angeles Times. "There will be a huge amount of rebuilding in the next couple of years, financed by insurance payments."

Although our heart is never to see destruction, we do feel that there are unavoidable acts of God that He will reveal through prophetic word. What is important is that our eye remains full of light in the midst of these circumstances. We should see that the Lord’s aim is not devastation, but to bring revival. This is a fire of love, but it will also consume everything that stands in the way of love. This is going to be a wild and “out of control” move of Heaven – a holy fire that determines wherever it wants to burn! For more understanding on this unpredictable move of Heaven, see our Part I and Part II articles on “Prepare for the Wildfire.”

Fire From Heaven

This is not the first time we have seen God back His word with literal fire. In 2005, while preaching a week of meetings in Alaska, several small, independent wildfires broke loose every day that I spoke (Click Here for the report). At the end of the week, I spoke on the Spirit of Burning and a huge, 5,000-acre wildfire erupted that day.

In the summer of 2006, we preached at Redlands, California as a wildfire likewise broke loose there. We have also seen regional power outages while ministering, along with bizarre weather patterns (such as snow falling in the springtime in Georgia). We have even seen the Lord cause it to rain inside buildings during some meetings! This type of activity will not be limited to one or two people, but to all those who cultivate a lifestyle in the Glory. God is releasing manifest sons in this hour whose words will be backed with signs in the heavens above and the earth below. The earth is crying out for these sons to be revealed to administer its freedom from the frustration of the curse!

The Lord is releasing a generation that moves in the Spirit of Elijah, whose tongues are literally flamethrowers. Elijah called down fire from heaven, and the mantle of the two witnesses that will be on this last days church will also walk in this same authority.

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire (Rev. 11:4-6, NKJV).

This is not some haphazard thing the Lord is releasing in this hour. Nor will He entrust such words to those who lack compassion. Even the Lord’s judgments are for the sake of removing every obstacle to intimacy. Our enemies are not people or families affected by this disaster, but rather, we wrestle against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NKJV).

The amazing thing about these wildfires in California is the tremendous grace and protection of God in the midst of them. If the Lord is behind this, we know He will use it for the greater good of all the communities involved. Let us continue to pray for the families affected by these fires and continue to press in for wholesale revival in California.

Monday, October 01, 2007

Bilocation & Unexpected Miracles

This week, I would like to share with you an unusual miracle that happened earlier this summer. I believe that those who have been pressing in for a new level of Glory and supernatural abilities are being graced with these unexpectedly in this hour. These are not just healing abilities, prophecy or any of the standard spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. What God is releasing is are unusual miracles as the scriptures say were worked by Paul in Acts 19:11, as well as signs and wonders like those done among the people in Acts 2 and 5.

Throughout history, a common experience among miracle workers and ecstatics is bilocation – when the believer’s body appears in two places at one time.

I had a bilocation experience of my own that occurred on my 31st birthday. Scheduled to visit Ireland for a conference over the summer, I felt that the Lord would have me pull back from the originally planned European itinerary. While I cancelled my own itinerary, our associate ministers Dave Vaughan and Justin Abraham continued to conduct the meetings. While I was at home, part of me longed to be in Ireland, as if I was supposed to go – although the Lord had clearly told me not to do so.

While David was speaking at the meeting in Ireland on my birthday, he and Justin had felt like I was with them the entire day. They were even joking, saying, “The spirit of Crowder is with us!”

That day in the meeting, Dave looked up, surprised to see me standing there, against the wall in the church. He assumed I had just come as originally planned to surprise them, as I was still scheduled to meet up with them a week later. But then, just as soon as he saw me with his open eyes, I vanished into thin air. He had so clearly seen me that he said something about it to the people there. Then, only moments later, he looked again, and there I was standing against the wall in the very same place he had seen me earlier. At this point, he knew this experience was from the Lord.

Meanwhile, due to the time difference, I was still sleeping at home in America. That morning, when it occurred, my wife dreamed that we were planting two seeds. How would you like God to enable you to plant two separate seeds at once? Watch out for more than just bilocation in these days. Miracles of trilocation (three places at once) and even multilocation (showing up numerous places at once) will be more and more common as the Glory of God invades the earth.

Interestingly, we had specifically prayed for some time that the Lord would allow us to experience the miracle of bilocation. But when it happened, it came unexpectedly, without notice.

Bilocation has also happened to Jeff Jansen, a minister friend who showed up at a Christian conference while he was elsewhere eating with some friends. During the meeting with these friends, Jeff was eating some supernatural manna that had fallen earlier in a revival meeting. But at the same exact time, he was signing into the conference and greeting about 30 separate people that witnessed him. Jeff simply said, “Bless you” to each of them.

Jeff only remembers eating with the couple, however, he says he was intoxicated on the Glory at the time and that he felt like he was two places at once. Likewise, I have no recollection of being in Ireland.

One of the strangest stories of this century is that of Padre Pio, the mystic and stigmatist whose life was full of bizarre occurrences. During the world war when a squadron of planes was flying over an Italian town to bomb it, they reported seeing a monk, floating in mid-air over the city, as well as a type of force field that prevented them from firing their munitions. The confused commander called them back in, and sent another group of planes to finish the job. However, the second group reported the same scenario: flying monk with force field.

After the war, the commander visited this small Italian town, and realized it to be the home of famed Padre Pio, whom he recognized perfectly from the pilots’ descriptions. Not only had Padre Pio been flying over the town, but he was also bilocating at the same time (his body showing up two separate places at once!). During this entire time, Pio had been interceding heavily for his city that it would be protected. In awe of what had happened, the army commander came to faith.

We should understand that miracles can overlap simultaneously in the Glory realm. Just as Padre Pio levitated and bilocated at the same time, so have many believers glowed with visible light surrounding their bodies whilst being lifted from the ground. Sometimes, this Heavenly aura is so bright and dazzling that it lights up an entire room.

This level of unusual wonders is almost always affected by the Lord through the ministry of angels. We would encourage you to expect the unexpected in this season. This is a season of surprises. Many of you will feel yourselves getting into the Christmas spirit early this year, because God is going to drop some unusual gifts in your lap.

We would encourage you to join both Jeff Jansen and John Crowder for The New Mystics Great Lakes Regional Glory Conference held in Kenosha, Wisconsin (halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee). We are expecting a dynamic release of unusual signs and Glory to accompany this event, held Nov. 1-3. The event is free, but please register online at www.thenewmystics.org to ensure seating.