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Prophetic word for today

Katrina is hard on Big Easy (Part 4)

First posted: September 26, 2005

Word received: August & September 2005

Received by: Shamah-Elim Bible Studies

 

This is a continuation of the words on hurricane Katrina posted earlier...

 

 

This is the prophetic interpretation of these events:

The 9-11 transition

As we said before, we thought that hurricane Ivan was going to strike New Orleans last year (2004). However, Ivan veered to the east as it approached the U.S. Gulf Coast and struck Alabama instead. Ivan was the 9th tropical storm of the 2004 season (the letter "I" is the 9th letter in the alphabet), and Katrina was the 11th tropical storm of the 2005 season (the letter "K" is the 11th letter in the alphabet). Therefore, it can be said that New Orleans evaded 2004's 9th storm, but was hit by 2005's 11th storm. There is a spiritual reason for this.

 

As we have said before, the number "9" is spiritually related to dynamis power, which is often used by pastors to bring "soothing" and "healing" in the natural realm without dealing with the underlying spiritual issues. When people in New Orleans began praying for Ivan to miss New Orleans in 2004, they released dynamis power into the atmosphere that swerved Ivan to the right, away from them, but they were not interested in pronouncing logos word to judge New Orleans' underlying iniquity. As we have said before, when believers disconnect from God's righteousness, they are still able to release dynamis power by connecting their spiritual "power plugs" to Hittite spirits of deceit. The Lord allows it as a way to ensnare people into a false sense of confidence. Those who are ensnared are those who are more interested in blessings-inducing power than in righteousness-working truth (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

 

As we have said before, the number "11" is related to purifying judgments in Scripture. Therefore, when God allowed storm #9 (Ivan) to miss New Orleans before sending storm #11 (Katrina) to destroy it, He was saying:

"I may allow you to deceive yourself with Hittite power for a while, but you cannot shield yourself from My judgments forever, for My judgments are inevitable. I have come to break the pastoral shield over the Church and the world, and I have come to manifest My Kingdom of Judgments and Justice, for the time has come for My purposes to be fulfilled. I make Myself known to those who seek after My judgments, and I hide My Face from those who abhor My judgments, for I shall not interface with those who are at ease with unrighteousness."

 

New Orleans' 9th ward was the section most heavily affected by the Katrina and Rita flooding. This is no coincidence. It is a prophetic figure of God's judgment against pastoring oriented towards dynamis blessings ("9") rather than towards righteousness-working judgments.

 

"1Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. 2Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. 3Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. 4They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. 5Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? 6For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. 7For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up." (Hosea 8:1-7)

 

Recently, on the Fox News "Factor" TV program, Bill O'Reilly was interviewing a New Orleans evacuee in Houston. At that time, forecasters projected hurricane Rita to hit Galveston and Houston, Texas, head on. This prompted Bill O'Reilly to ask the evacuee if he felt as if the hurricanes were chasing the people of New Orleans, to which he replied, "yes". When the interview ended and Bill O'Reilly was about to go to a commercial break, the interviewee asked permission to make a last-second comment. He then said, "I've been hearing people saying that God was the one who sent Katrina; God does not kill; the devil is the one who kills". I found it interesting that this man felt compelled to make this comment. The interview had already ended, and God had not been explicitly mentioned at all. Yet, it seems as if the question about the hurricanes chasing the people of New Orleans confronted him about God's judgment against Big Easy. Instead of recognizing his city's iniquity, the man reaffirmed his city's "righteousness" by declaring (through his last-second comment) that God did not have anything against New Orleans. Just as verse 5 above declares, the people of New Orleans continue proclaiming their "innocence", and the "black-eyed p's" in the Church are echoing that proclamation. The fact that the interviewee mentioned "God" on his own clearly shows that he must be a regular churchgoer. However, all his churchgoing has done him little good. The matriarchal Church cries out to God, "We know you" (v2), yet she does not really know God, because to know God is to know His judgments (Hosea 4:5-11). The interviewee boldly stated that "God does not kill", which clearly shows that he does not know the God of the Bible:

 

"22So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. 23Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day." (Jeremiah 44:22-23)

[At the time of this writing, New Orleans continues to be a "land of desolation", a city "without inhabitants" (v22). The Lord sent hurricane Rita to emphasize His point. When will the arrogant fools understand? Cursed are they, for they are defying the God of Israel!!!]

 

"For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates" (Jeremiah 46:10)

 

Like most believers, the interviewee mentioned above suffers from a disease called SSMS ("Selective Scriptural Memory Syndrome"). They go to church to hear the passages of Scripture that make them "feel good", and they do not hesitate in discarding any passage that can make them feel uncomfortable or "less at ease". Cursed are these believers (John 3:18-20), for they are molding a calf unto their own personal liking (Hosea 8:3-5)!!! They do not care to know the true God!!! Any time God reveals Himself, they simply turn their head and say to themselves, 

"No, I didn't see that; that couldn't have been God; that must have been satan. Yeah, that's right! That must have been satan! Rest, o my soul, because your God is a good God, a God who does no harm to no one. Yeah! That's right! My God is nice and kind."

 

Those who speak like this are sowing in the wind, and those who do so, shall reap the "whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7). This is why whirlwinds Katrina and Rita have come against them, and those around them will suffer collateral damage on account of their reluctance to judge their neighbors (1 Corinthians 5:6-7).

 

In 1992, a song called "Live and learn" (by "Joe Public") hit the pop charts. These are the song's lyrics (the words in italics are the words I wasn't able to discern with certainty):

 

Here is a little story of our life
Everybody that lives surely dies
A lot of people ask the questions why
Some people have to go through so much more
Before they really learn about life's score
The subject is not to be ignored

-------- (Chorus)--------

I don't wanna be the one to tell you how it's gotta be
Living is the only way you're ever really gonna see
//You got to live and learn// (Go, go, go, go)
Before your bridges burn (Brothers and sisters)
You got to live and learn (Go, go, go, go)

There is so much wrong and negativity
Enough for the whole world to see
I know there's still a possibility

You raise a little kid, he turns out bold
It maybe from the way you treat him cold
I guess that's how the story's told

[CHORUS]

Large - If large is how you're living
While you're living large
Are you taking what is given to you in the form of true experience?
'Cause, if you're not, your whole life will be spent
Doin' time for a crime you say you didn't even do
The only fool that you're fooling is the fool that is you
Didn't even turn a wallet kick to see that you'd be a sprinter
I guess it's true what they say,
That without living there is no learning

[CHORUS]

Mary, Mary, Mary is quite contrary
Yo! How did you earn your dough?
You didn't even finish school, you ain't got no job
But to the human eye, it's pretty simple


They're always talking about what you want is respect
But never think about the little boy you neglect
Spending his formative years in a living hell
Not realizing one day he'd end up in jail

And from the other hand, Stan, my man, who planned a scam
And, ... , it was the ultimate rip-flam
People say it was easy as pie
But little Dedan knows he's about to die

[CHORUS]

 

This song is about not being permanently dependent on others; it is about walking on your own and about self-accountability. It speaks about the multiple excuses people give for their failed lives, as they blame everyone but the man in the mirror. It talks about the need for people to learn from their experiences instead of rationalizing them, and it connects "learning" from the past with "bridges", which speak of transition. In other words, the song is saying that those who are not willing to admit their mistakes and learn from the past will lose the opportunity to make a transition into new dimensions in their lives.

 

Notice how the song asks (matriarchal) "Mary" (who is "contrary" to the Spirit being uncovered) how she "earned her dough". In other words, the song confronts "Mary" about the "righteousness" of her "success". It then speaks about the human "eye", which, as we have said before, is spiritually related to judgment making. This means that the song declares a judgment on the unrighteous foundation of "Mary's" "success".

 

Notice also how the latter part of the song speaks about people who want respect from others while at the same time neglecting the little ones under their care. This is exactly what the Church is doing!!! She wants the world to respect her and to see her as an "important element of society", while at the same time she is neglecting and domineering over the "little ones" that God placed under her care, without worrying that many of the "little ones'" spiritual callings are ending up the fires of Gehenna:

 

"48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:48-51)

 

Notice also how the last two lines in the song speak of people who are trying to live the "easy" life without realizing that they are reaping death. It is sad that a hip-hop song can speak deeper words of wisdom than most of the bombastic sermons preached by the renowned "ministers" who domineer over God's people!!! To quote the song above, when New Orleans claims she ain't done nothing wrong, New Orleans deserves to be told, "The only fool that you're fooling is the fool that is you!!!".

 

As the Lord was reminding me of the lyrics above, He also brought to my mind a song from 1987 called "With or without you" (by a group called "U2"). That song includes a line that says, "I can't live with or without you". As I meditated on those words, the Lord impressed these words in my heart:

The Church can't live with or without Me. They go to church every Sunday because they feel a need for Me, and they feel like they cannot live without Me in their lives. When I present Myself in My True and Righteous Nature, however, they reject Me, and they turn away from Me, for they cannot stand My Righteous and Holy Nature. I have abhorred you, lukewarm Church, for you try to walk with Me and without Me. I have written you a bill of divorce, for I have no time to waste with you any longer. This is the 4th year. You have failed the test, and you shall be cut off, for I have others to raise in your stead.

 

Ever since Katrina, millions of believers across America have been praying for New Orleans, without regard for its unrighteousness. Even so, the Lord has sent another hurricane immediately after Katrina to emphasize the fact that their prayers are meaningless before Him. No amount of dynamis-oriented prayer will be able to counter the judgment- and righteousness-oriented prayer of the prophetic remnant that is praying according to God's will:

 

"10Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. 12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence." (Jeremiah 14:10-12)

 

The 2 missing pearls

In a previous posting, we studied a dream that spoke of how pastors in the Church truly believe that they are operating with "11 pearls" when, in reality, they only have "9 pearls". This means that most pastors truly believe that they are operating in God's righteousness and judgments ("11"), when they are, in reality, operating only in dynamis power ("9") that works iniquity instead of righteousness.

 

After hurricane Katrina, the Lord sent hurricane Rita to wreak havoc, once again, on New Orleans, on the state of Louisiana, and on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In the spirit realm, Rita is a direct continuation of Katrina. According to a name-meaning website, the name "Rita" is an abbreviated form of the name "Margarita" (or "Margaret"), which is derived from the Greek word margarites meaning "pearl". Therefore, it is not surprising that the Lord sent a hurricane named "Rita" to emphasize the transition from "9" to "11" which the Lord is working in the Church. "Pearls" are spiritually related to God's apostolic wisdom and judgments. Therefore, God sent two "pearls", Katrina and Rita, to show the Church that there are 2 pearls missing in her ring.

 

As you may know, Rita caused a "re-flooding" of New Orleans. The reason why God sent Rita along a similar path as Katrina's was to emphasize the fact that Katrina was no fluke. He is calling people to wake up and smell the judgment coffee. He is calling the Church to realize and admit that "something is up" in the spirit realm. Yet, the Church keeps dismissing these events as "mysterious flukes of nature". In her Canaanite-crazy mind, the Church says to herself,

"Everything is fine. I am doing great. Jesus is about to rapture us to heaven, and all will be over. We are ready for takeoff. There is nothing to examine. We ain't done nothin' wrong. We are OK the way we are. We may need a little 'tweaking' here and there, but, other than that, we are fine. God is OK with our work, so the anger of Katrina could not possibly be a reflection of God's attitude towards us!! No way! We are OK! We are fine! Anything contrary to this is a nasty rumor from satan, who is always trying to make us look bad! We the pastors are doing things right! No pearls missing here!"

 

Ironically, there is an old song from 1977 called "Margaritaville" (by Jimmy Buffet). At the end of the song, the singer admits, "And I know; it's my own damn fault". Even though the word "damn" may sound obscene, it does hide a spiritual truth behind it. God abhors unrighteousness, and He is always out to destroy it. In that sense, therefore, all unrighteousness (i.e.- spiritual "fault") is "cursed" or "damned". The Lord longs for the day when His people, as a whole, will stand before Him and say, "I admit it; it is my fault" (Joel 2:12-17). Yet, even after Katrina and Rita, the arrogant matriarchal Church is still unwilling to sing what Jimmy Buffet sings in "Margaritaville". The Church prefers to sing, "I don't know; it must be satan's fault".

 

"Texas on My mind"

In the wee hours of Tuesday, September 20, 2005, I woke up all of a sudden. As I lay there, a little surprised by the sudden awakening, the Lord impressed the word "Houston" in my mind. Then, He told me, "Read it backwards". When I did, I saw the word "not suoH" in my mind. As I wondered what that might mean, the Lord said to me, "the letters suoH are an acronym". As I wondered what "suoH" could mean, He said, "striking u over Here". Combining it all, "Houston" backwards meant "not striking u over Here". I immediately understood that He was referring to hurricane Rita not striking Houston directly. I was puzzled in my natural mind, however, since all the forecasters projected Rita to be on a direct collision course with Galveston and Houston, Texas.

 

When Houston took in the refugees from New Orleans, I perceived a "breath of fresh air", a breath of "selflessness" and "sincere concern" that the corrupt authorities of New Orleans and Louisiana had not exhibited. Without worrying too much about the short-term economic impact on their city, Houstonians opened their arms and took in thousands of refugees quickly and efficiently. Unlike the matriarchal Church, Houston was not doing this out of any personal, selfish interest. Unlike the matriarchal Church, Houston did not see this as a "photo op" but rather as an opportunity to provide logistical support for people who weren't being helped by those who should have helped them from the beginning. Houston willingly took on the logistical nightmare of feeding tens of thousands of displaced people from a different city and state.

 

Comparing the Church's "humanitarian" help versus Houston's help is like comparing apples and oranges. Why? Because each had a different role assigned by God. Houston's task was to "cover" New Orleans physically, while the Church's main role was to "uncover" New Orleans spiritually. In other words, the Church was called to expose New Orleans' iniquity and to make New Orleans understand the spiritual reasons that led to God striking against her. While New Orleans healed physically under Houston's "roof", she was supposed to heal spiritually as the Church denuded her unrepentant unrighteousness; by denuding her evil, the Lord would have then been able to cover New Orleans in salvation attire as she repented:

 

"21And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." (Luke 15:21-24)

 

However, instead of being on the "opposing team", the Church was exposed as being on the same "team" as the evil in New Orleans. Instead of caring about New Orleans' true restoration, the "black-eyed p's" in the Church (cursed are they) saw Katrina as a "photo op"; they were more interested in "looking good" than in "doing good", which, according to Scripture, means operating in God's righteous judgments:

 

"39Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. 40Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness." (Psalm 119:39-40)

 

When the Church failed to "process" New Orleans spiritually, the Houston refuge turned from a "holding cell" for a prisoner on "spiritual trial" into a "hiding cave" for a runaway fugitive. Because the Church had failed to do the spiritual part of task, it exposed Houston to God's wrath, for Houston was now serving as a hiding place for the "mice" that had crawled away from His judgment waters (Amos 5:24) in New Orleans. God did not want to unleash His wrath on Houston, for it was not Houston's fault that the Church had failed to live up to its part of the bargain. This is why the Lord sent Rita on a path that had it hitting Houston head on. This forced Houston to evacuate all its people, including the mice from New Orleans. After the mice left Houston, God caused Rita to make a sharp and unexpected turn north to strike Louisiana and flood New Orleans once again. This is equivalent to what happened with Jonah and the ship that was headed for Tarshish (Jonah 1:1-17). As Jonah fled from God's calling and boarded the ship, he placed the ship in the path of God's wrath. God sent a "great wind in the sea" against the ship (Jonah 1:4), and it was only until the good people of the ship threw Jonah overboard that the great wind ceased and the ship was spared. It is interesting to note that the "good" thing to do under those circumstances was to throw a man overboard! Sometimes the "good" thing to do looks "bad" and "cruel" to the natural mind.

 

Houston has been given a "logistical" role in the New Orleans situation. If Houston at any moment decided to adopt a "spiritual" role condoning New Orleans' sinfulness, God would immediately send judgment against it. Therefore, Houston must be careful not to overstep her assigned "covering" boundary.

 

Besides Houston, Galveston got in the path of God's wrath because of the Church's failure regarding New Orleans. As many of you may know, Galveston was hit by a terrible storm in 1900 that killed thousands and desolated that city. After that, Galveston built a 17-foot seawall. As we have said before, the number "17" represents the manifestation of God's prophetic remnant in these latter days, which is coming with a full-blown manifestation of God's judgments. Therefore, the 17-foot seawall surrounding Galveston was a spiritual figure of that city's preparation and respect for God's remnant judgments. In a spiritual sense, they were showing respect for God's prophetic remnant, which was coming in the form of Rita, tropical storm #17 of the 2005 season. This is the reason why God wanted to spare Galveston from a head-on collision with Rita as well.

 

The Lord placed a high pressure front to the north of Texas and Louisiana which was designed by Him to hold Rita in place around that region for hours and hours. That way, Rita could continue pounding that region with rain. God did this to emphasize the deliberateness of His attack over that region. Why does the Church continue attributing all of this to "randomness" or even to the "devil"? When will they understand that something "is up"? When will they care to find out what that "something" is?

 

As people evacuated from Houston, they experienced tremendous delays on the roads leading out of town. This was a physical manifestation of the delay in America's revival caused by the "spirit of ease" that the Church in America refuses to let go of. During the drawn-out evacuation, a bus carrying elderly people from a Houston nursing home exploded, causing the death of 24. The bus was headed for Dallas, and was near Dallas when the explosion occurred in the early hours of Friday, September 23, 2005. The night before, a few of us were studying the Word, and, as we were studying the Lord's entry into Jerusalem (Luke 19:35), He led us to the following passage:

 

"9And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:9-11)

 

We then spoke of how spiritual "elders" are to use their authority to exalt Jesus and to see Jesus manifested in their brethren (Galatians 6:1-4), instead of using it to exalt themselves over others. This is why the 24 elders in the passage above cast their crowns before the One sitting on the throne. Therefore, the death of the 24 elderly people is a prophetic figure of God's judgments against the elders in the Church who have refused to cast their crowns before the Lamb, choosing instead to use their crown as a way to get recognition and adulation from others. The fact that the 24 died near Dallas is no coincidence. As we shared before, a very well-known "minister" from Dallas took "center stage" after the Katrina disaster, and he was one of the many "ministers" who was out rationalizing New Orleans' unrighteousness. As we said before, this "minister's" spiritual light has been fading as he has allowed the brethren around him to adulate him, and he has even allowed brethren to publicly bow before him as if he were a king. He therefore personifies the "elders" in the Church who refuse to cast their crowns before the throne, and this is why the 24 elderly people died in a "freak" explosion as they approached the city where this man "ministers".

 

Notice that the crowns on the 24 elders were not "removed" from their heads by someone else. The elders themselves were the ones who cast them before the throne. This means that the surrender of those crowns must be proactive. There must be an active effort on our part never to accept adulation and worship from our brethren. Whenever anyone starts bowing before us, we must immediately lift him up and say to him, "Hey, man, what are you doing? I am a man, just like you. What God has done through me, He can do through you. It is through faith, not 'spiritual status', that His power and dominion are activated. You and I were bought with the same blood, and we are both worth the same price in the eyes of the Lord and God who created us! God has given me grace so that I can lift you up and help you to be 'One with God', not 'one below me'!"

 

"25And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. 26But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man." (Acts 9:25-26)

 

"18And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God." (Luke 18:18-19)

[Notice that Jesus did not accept the ruler's "compliment". Why? Because the ruler was adulating Jesus the man. He was not worshipping the God inside the man but rather the man himself. Not even Jesus accepted glory from men (John 5:43-44). He only accepted worship when He saw that the other person was worshipping the Son of God inside of Him, because anyone who worships the Son is automatically worshipping the Father (John 5:22-27).

 

Fellow brother and sister, the new man that was placed inside of you when you were born again (Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10) is a "son of God" (Romans 8:15-17). All of us who are your brother or sister must cast our crowns before that "son of God" in you, and we must give of ourselves so that the "son of God" in you be lifted up. When we lift up your inner man, we are lifting up Yeshua, and when we are lifting up Yeshua, we are exalting the Father.]

 

The name of the "Dallas" ministry we have alluded to in these words (on Katrina) appears in 2 passages of Scripture. Ironically, it always appears in the context of God's open judgment against evil and in the context of spiritual regeneration, which are precisely the things which the "minister" from Dallas has refused to do:

 

"1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them." (Jeremiah 18:1-10)

 

"13And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. 14Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. 16For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 17Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." (Zechariah 11:13-17)

 

The name of his ministry was given to him by God, not as a "trademark", but rather as a description of what he was called to do in the spirit realm. In this Katrina disaster, he has been shown as failing to live up to his calling from the Lord. This man has many wonderful qualities, and he was called to use them to transform America's southwest, but, just like many others, he has betrayed his prophetic-remnant calling, and he has chosen to sit on his comfortable fat-frog throne to rule over tolerated unrighteousness. He was called to act as an evangelistic destroyer of Canaanite-Amorite strongholds of unrighteousness, but he chose, instead, to side with and tolerate those whom he was called to mark as his "irreconcilable spiritual enemies". 

 

"3I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. 4A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. 5Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer." (Psalm 101:3-5)

 

This man has not lived up to the spiritual principles laid out by the 2 passages in Scripture where his ministry's name appears. He has lost these 2 pearls and has only been left with 9. God's judgments are upon you, brother, for, if you refuse to heed God's spiritual warnings against you, you shall be cut off within the next 4 years, because, to whom much is given, much is required of him.

 

"47And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:47-48)

 

Ever since the word on "Flight 358", where we were prompted to speak about the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the Lord has left a certain "uneasiness" in my heart about the city of Dallas, and the incidents surrounding Katrina have increased this uneasiness. "Coincidentally", the most well-known Christian ministry in New Orleans is strongly related to another well-known ministry based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. There seems to be a spiritual connection between Dallas and the New Orleans incidents, and that spiritual connection is unpleasant to God.

 

"13Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. 14Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. 15Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them." (Jeremiah 14:13-16)

[Through Katrina and Rita, the Lord poured out Big Easy' wickedness upon her (v16), and He judged all those around her who have stood idly as she has continued in her unrighteousness.]

 

The 9-11 comparison

Throughout the Katrina and Rita aftermath, many people, including "ministers", have constantly equated this disaster to the 9/11 tragedy. However, these two "attacks" on America are really completely different in their spiritual nature, as shown by the following differences:

 

  1. The attack's agent

    9/11 was caused by the deliberate act of evil men with evil ideals. Katrina and Rita were "weather" events triggered by conditions and actions in the spirit realm.

     

  2. The attack's motivation

    On that fateful Tuesday morning of 9/11/2001, my immediate reaction upon learning of the attack was to declare within me, "Arab terrorists did this because America loves Israel". It was evident from the TV images that morning that the plane crashes were attacks from people who hated America for being on the side of Israel.

     

    Fellow believer, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim terrorists (cursed are they) do not hate America because of the ban on prayer in public schools! They do not hate America because of sinful cities such as New Orleans or Las Vegas (in fact, some of the terrorists went on an "escapade" to Las Vegas a short time before killing themselves on 9/11)! They do not hate America because of America's "secularization"! If that were so, they would hate Europe a million times more than America! They do not hate America because of its pornography and moral degradation! If that were so, they would have launched attacks against Amsterdam years ago! They hate America because America is the only major power in the world that has consistently defended Israel's right to exist as a nation. That is the very spiritual root from which all their hatred spews forth.

     

    Excluding a few idiotic pastors (like the one mentioned in a previous word), most believers would wholeheartedly agree that America's support of Israel's existence is a good and righteous thing. God had repeatedly prophesied thousands of years earlier that He would spawn the rebirth of the nation of Israel (literally and figuratively), so anyone who opposes Israel's spiritual right to Palestine is defying God's will.

     

    When God sends judgment attacks against a nation's unrighteousness, He never uses that nation's righteous attributes as the main entry point for His attack. By loving Israel, America, as a nation, is showing its love for the God of Israel. If the attacks of 9/11 were a judgment of God against the U.S., He would in effect be condemning America for loving Him! If God had been judging America's sinfulness on 9/11, He would have sent an attack on a place or persons who symbolized that sinfulness (just as He did with New Orleans). The attack of 9/11, however, was an attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, which were symbols of America's economic and military influence around the world, an influence which God has endowed America with because of its obedience to God (when it has been obedient). It is ludicrous to think that God would attack America because it has been influential around the world, when it was He who gave America that influence to begin with.

     

    A nation's righteous attributes can never be the "magnet" that draws in an attack from God. Righteousness always attracts His grace (Romans 5:21). When curses from God do come, they are drawn in by Canaanite unrighteousness and Girgashite stagnation, and those curses always attack the Canaanite and Girgashite influences in a direct way.

     

    Therefore, it is safe to say that the 9/11 attack was motivated by evil people with an evil motivation: their hatred for the nation of Israel which God has established in the land of Palestine. It was not an attack on America's unrighteousness. Instead, it was a direct attack of envy and hatred against America's righteousness.

     

    On the other hand, the attack on New Orleans was brought on by that city's wickedness. For decades, that "easy" city knew that its levees wouldn't hold against a major hurricane. Over 1100 days before Katrina, New Orleans' biggest newspaper ran articles prophesying the disasters that would befall the Big Easy when a major hurricane hit. Yet, Big Easy's leadership and its indolent citizens decided to "take it easy". To them, Judgment Day was always any day but today. It is evident, therefore, that the attack on Big Easy was drawn in by the unrighteous "spirit of ease" that has ruled that wicked city.

     

  3. The immediate reaction to the attack

    Immediately after 9/11, the sacrificial spirit of Americans was made evident. New York police officers and firemen rushed into the towers in an effort to save people. They were more concerned about saving others than about their own safety, and many of them died as a result. Americans rushed to donate blood for fear that it might be needed to help the survivors. Many of those who escaped the towers began crying out to God. Some immediately ran into church buildings to pray. They were more interested in praying for the ones left behind than about their own safety. The people on Flight 93 bravely confronted the terrorists and they preferred to die before allowing them to attack Washington.

     

    The 9/11 attack brought out the spirit of prophetic sacrifice in Americans. As we have shared before, the Lord allowed the enemy to attack America in order to have a spiritually "legal" entry point to unleash His wrath on the Muslim stronghold in the Arab world. As a result of the Twin Towers, two hideous regimes fell. As a result of America's prophetic sacrifice, two entire nations were liberated from oppressive and corrupt regimes, and a spiritual door has been opened in the Arab world through which God will manifest His Glory in the latter days.

     

    On the other hand, the Katrina attack on New Orleans immediately brought to the surface that city's wickedness. Looters went out on the street to steal TVs, expensive sneakers, and electronic equipment. Thugs broke into houses to rape and steal. Snipers began shooting at rescue teams who were trying to rescue people. Unlike New York's mayor Giuliani after 9/11, the New Orleans mayor skipped town and immediately bought a house in Dallas, and was nowhere to be seen as his city was gripped by confusion and lawless chaos during the first days after Katrina. Many members of the New Orleans police department skipped town, as they were not interested in sacrificing their lives amidst all the chaos that had gripped their city. God's judgments always expose the hidden roots of unrighteousness and iniquity. Therefore, it is evident that Katrina was a judgment from God against New Orleans that exposed her long-tolerated wickedness.

     

  4. The longer-term consequences of the attack

    As a result of the voluntary prophetic sacrifice evoked by the 9/11 attack, something broke in the spirit realm and a longing desire for God broke out across America. Everybody in America started singing "God bless America", and they would sing it at public events such as baseball games. People who were not regular churchgoers began filling churches all over America. The president of the U.S. freely quoted from the Psalms and Isaiah in his speeches without drawing any criticism.

     

    On the other hand, the Katrina disaster did nothing of the sort. Instead of creating a longing desire for God, it evidenced the unrighteousness of the Church in America. Pastors appeared on secular news programs rationalizing looting, snipers, and rape, as their stunned "secular" interviewers heard them. The churches did "fill up" after Katrina, but they filled up with "involuntary" members who were there out of a need for shelter, not out of a need for God, and most of these "involuntary" churchgoers are hoping that New Orleans can get back on its feet and celebrate Mardi Gras next year!

     

    9/11 occurred in 2001, amidst the "3rd prophetic movement" which we have mentioned in other words. This prophetic-intercession movement opened a door in the heavenlies, and America's prophetic sacrifice during 9/11 busted that door wide open. Unfortunately, just as it has done after Katrina, the Church botched up God's work after 9/11. As people began filling the churches in search of answers, no one in the Church was able to provide them with those answers. As always, 9/11 was another "mysterious evil" that had appeared in the world. No one in the Church understood what God was doing. God had allowed America to suffer through 9/11 in order to establish a spiritual outpost in the Arab world through which the latter-day revival will impact the Arab people in these latter days, and God was rewarding America with a spiritual awakening as a result of her voluntary sacrifice.

     

    Most of the pastors in the Church were so thrilled about the "growing membership" that they did not realize what was going on in the spirit realm. They saw 9/11 in terms of their own benefits. They saw it as a way for God to aggrandize their earthly, little kingdoms. At no point did they understand or care about the millions of Arabs who were thousands of miles away. For the cursed frog queens that rule in the Church, everything is measured in terms of personal, short-term benefit. To them, the political and spiritual liberation of a villager in Afghanistan or Iraq was of no consequence. To a matriarchal pastor, there is no point in caring about such a person. Why would a pastor care about a villager thousands of miles away who will not attend "his" or "her" church and who will not give offerings to it or help clean up after services? The self-centered Church saw 9/11 as a "great opportunity" to enlarge herself. The NYPD officers showed more selfless, prophetic sacrifice than the pastors in the Church. This is why the post-9/11 spiritual awakening quickly subsided after a few months. As always, the matriarchal Church got in the way of God's plans. Some 7 months after 9/11, the "3rd prophetic movement" officially ended in the spirit realm, and it had failed once again to bring the latter-rain revival.

     

From all of the above, it becomes evident that the 9/11 attack was an attack from the enemy against America's righteousness, while Katrina was an attack from God against America's unrighteousness. Shortly after 9/11, the Lord impressed this passage of Scripture in my heart as I was praying for the liberation of Afghanistan from Taliban oppression:

 

"15Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. 16Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD." (Isaiah 54:15-17)

[Notice that this passage can only be applied to those who manifest God's righteousness (v17). Many pastors idiotically apply this passage to any circumstance, without discerning if the righteousness criterion is met.]

 

Because of this passage, I knew in my knower that the fall of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein were but a matter of time. The Taliban fell quickly, and, despite the fact that satan worked to delay the fall of Saddam, he eventually fell too, because the Lord God had decreed it through His people.

 

In the aftermath of Katrina, I have heard some preachers who have foolishly equated New Orleans to a "suffering Job". It is amazing how the Canaanite spirit can "lunatize" people who are supposed to know so much "Bible". This is the testimony that God gave of Job before he was attacked:

 

"And the LORD said unto satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" (Job 1:8)

 

You can only apply an analogy to a situation when the analogy matches. We cannot go around randomly applying passages to different situations without checking if the situation matches the passage's spiritual criteria. Can we really say the words above about New Orleans? Can anyone in his spiritual senses stand up and say, "New Orleans is a perfect and upright city that fears God and turns away from evil"? Obviously not! In fact, New Orleans is the entire opposite of this. Therefore, to equate Job with New Orleans is like equating Jesus with Judas the traitor simply because they both died hanging from a tree; a "closer" look reveals that Jesus died because of His righteousness, while Judas the traitor died because of His unrighteousness.

 

It is understandable for the world to compare 9/11 with Katrina, but, it is not "understandable" for the Church to be doing such a comparison. Believers should know better!!!

 

As I was meditating on how the matriarchal Church bungled up the spiritual awakening in America spawned by the sacrifice of 9/11, the Lord reminded me of a song from 1987 by an Irish group called "U2". This song made it to #1 in America's pop music charts (and around the world). The name of the song is "I still haven't found what I'm looking for", and these are the lyrics (the words in italics are the words I wasn't able to discern with certainty):

 

I have climbed the highest mountain

I have run through the fields

//Only to be with You//

I have run, I have crawled

I have scaled these city walls, these city walls

Only to be with You

//But I still haven't found what I'm looking for//

 

I have kissed honey lips, fervor healing fingertips

That fill like fire this burning desire

I have spoke with the tongue of angels

I have held* the hand of the devil

In those wonderful nights

I was cold as the snow

//But I still haven't found what I'm looking for//

 

I believe in Kingdom Come

Then all the colors there will bleed into one, bleed into one

But, yes, I'm still running

You broke the bonds, and You loosed the chains

Carried the cross and all my shame, all my shame

You know I believe it

//But I still haven't found what I'm looking for//

//But I still haven't found what I'm looking for//

 

* We understand the word "held" in the sense of "held back", the way it is used in Romans 1:18 in the King James Version. In other words, we understand "held" to be a synonym for "rebuked".

 

Notice how these lyrics are directly sung to Jesus by a person who truly believes in Jesus' salvation. However, the song betrays a constant sense of frustration. In the first paragraph, it speaks of someone who has run high and low, who has worked tirelessly in a desire to be with Him (Jesus), but who still hasn't found Him. In the second paragraph, it speaks of someone who has had tremendous "religious experiences" where he has spoken in tongues and felt the fire of God as he has rebuked the hand of the devil, but who still hasn't found what he is looking for. In the third paragraph, it speaks of someone who believes in the Lord's coming glory where all the man-made separations will be destroyed and where we can be One with God. Yet, in the midst of all that, he still hasn't found what he is looking for. This song is a perfect expression of the frustration that many feel as they go through the "church" experience. They know that, in the midst of all their religious work and religious experiences, there is something missing. They feel a void and a longing for a God they cannot find. They know He is there and that He wants to be with them, but, no matter how hard they try, they can't seem to get to Him. It brings rivers of tears to the eyes of Jesus to see these people in churches across America and the world. It grieves His heart to see all these people who long to be with Him but who are being held back by religious barriers that they are unable to perceive. While the Church is busy playing "church", these precious souls are perishing. They are dying of thirst and hunger as they long to truly know God. I shall see the days when these precious souls will finally find the God they are looking for. I shall see the days when their thirst and hunger shall be satiated. I shall see the days when the Church will understand that the Old Testament days are over and that we can have a One-to-one relationship with God, the Consuming Fire, the Judge of all. O, how my soul longs and burns to see those days!!!

 

"23Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 25Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works." (Psalm 73:23-28)

 

There is more to say regarding Katrina, but we will share it in the next prophetic word...