Prophetic word for today
Tigers loose in New York

First posted: August 2, 2004
Word received: August 1, 2004
Received by: Shamah-Elim Bible Studies

On July 31st, 2004, a tiger named "Apollo" that belonged to the "Cole Bros." traveling circus (stationed at Queens, New York at the time) escaped as he was being moved from one cage to another. The 7 and a half year-old tiger then proceeded to run around the Forest Park area while the circus people and police chased after him. Apollo ran right through a family's birthday-celebration picnic as the family watched in amazement, and even ran onto the Jackie Robinson Parkway, causing multiple car accidents as drivers suddenly hit their brakes and swerved to avoid the tiger. After about 30 minutes, the tiger was finally "convinced" back into his cage with a piece of meat, without the need of tranquilizers. After returning to his cage, Apollo seemed relatively calm, and even took an afternoon nap to rest from his 30-minute "jog".

Circus owner John Pugh was interviewed, and declared that the circus had been coming to Queens for 17 years, and that this was the first time that anything like this had ever happened.

The next day (August 1st, 2004), captain John Durkin, of the New York Emergency Services Unit, (who was the leader of the team chasing after Apollo) was interviewed on NBC's Today show, and declared the following:

"At about 1:04 PM, yesterday afternoon, we started receiving numerous 911 calls of a tiger in the vicinity of Forest Park in Queens"

During the interview, captain John Durkin was asked about the fact that New York police had just dealt with another grown tiger being kept illegally as a pet in a New York apartment, to which captain Durkin replied,

"It's just, I guess, a quirk that in the last couple of months we've had two tigers"

This is the prophetic interpretation of these unusual events:

Captain John Durkin mentioned the exact time when the police started receiving calls reporting the loose tiger. It was 1:04. God made him give this exact time to point to Psalm 104:

The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God" (Psalm 104:21)

When you study the entire psalm, it becomes evident that it is a prophetic word that describes the glorious remnant Church of the latter-day revival. Lions in Scripture are used as a figure of judgment, so Psalm 104:21 above is prophesying that the latter-day Church will be full of believers acting as young lions, executing God's spiritual judgments on all the fleshly carnality that may try to enter the Church. Instead of the non-Christians throwing Christians to the lions to be eaten by them, it will be Christian lions eating up anything non-Christian that tries to enter the Church to contaminate it. It will be a Church where the entire atmosphere will be full of God's spiritual judgments (Psalm 105:7). The fact that Psalm 104:21 speaks of young lions points to the fact that these judgments will not be executed only by "recognized" full-time "ministers", but by believers in general, even those whose spiritual authority is not humanly visible.

The Lord spoke this word to a brother and I as we studied Psalm 104 on Monday, July 26, 2004, and He allowed us to visualize a Church with these hungry, young lions of God roaming all over the place, so it was not surprising to me that God would manifest this vision before the end of the week through Apollo, the young tiger who roamed around the streets of New York for 30 minutes. The name "Apollo" is related to the Greek word "Apollyon" which appears in Revelation 9:11. Notice that the tiger caused people to call 911 starting at 1:04 PM, according to Captain John Durkin. What amazes me even more is the fact that the Lord led the brother and me to study Psalm 104 because we were studying Revelation 9:9, where it speaks of the locusts' wings making the "sounds of chariots of many horses", which led us to Psalm 104:3, where it speaks of the Lord who "makes the clouds His chariot, who walks upon the wings of the wind". Contrary to popular belief, the locusts of Revelation 9 are not evil beings, but rather the prophetic latter-day Church that will be released from the spiritual prison in which it is currently trapped and will unleash God's prophetic judgments in the latter days. Man has tried to understand Revelation chapter 9 literally, thinking of literal animals, without understanding the true prophetic figure in this passage. 

The fact that Apollo was roaming through "Queens, New York" means that these young lions of God will roam through a Church ruled by the pastoral matriarchy that we speak so much about in our articles. They will cause havoc in a soul-oriented Church that emphasizes blessings and comfort over God's judgments and prophetic purpose.

The fact that Apollo ran through a family picnic refers to the current condition of the Church as a social club where families gather to have a "good, enjoyable time". God intended the Church to be a place where believers would have one-to-one encounters with Him and would come together to strengthen each other's spiritual gifts and callings. The young lions of God will roam through the Church's picnics and interrupt the "soulish" communion that plagues congregations all over.

The fact that Apollo also caused havoc at the Jackie Robinson Parkway refers to the fact that God's prophetic remnant, with all its wonderful spiritual gifts and callings, has been spiritually "banished" from churches by pastors who are more interested in promoting their own ministries than in helping to manifest the God-potential of the people around them, the same way that baseball owners kept the wonderful talent of black baseball athletes out of the major leagues. As most of you may know, Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to break this color barrier in 1947, paving the way for the great number of black athletes who have played in the major leagues since then. In the same way, the young lions of God will spiritually roar into the Church and pave the way for the manifestation of the talents and callings of God's people throughout the Body of Christ. The year "1947" is also significant, since the number "47" is related in Scripture to the manifestation of the River of God (since Ezekiel chapter 47 is the one that speaks of it).

The fact that Apollo is 7 and a half years-old points to the number of years that David ruled in Hebron before ruling over all of Israel (2 Samuel 5:5). Apollo's "escapade", therefore, refers to the "breakout" of David's kingship over the entire Body of Christ. David is a figure of the spiritual prophetic remnant that is about to be manifested (Ezekiel 34:23-24, 37:24-25).

The fact that Apollo ran through the Forest Park area is a reference to Isaiah 32:15:

"Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest" (Isaiah 32:15)

The forest, therefore, refers to the latter-day revival when God's Mighty Spirit will be poured upon the Church from on High. During these days, young lions will roam through the forest (i.e.- the Church), making God's spiritual judgments against all carnality that may try to enter the Church. These young lions will not only roam inside the Church but will go out into the world to eat up more and more carnality so that God's spiritual kingdom may grow and grow and grow.

The fact that Apollo was relatively calm after the whole incident shows two things. First, it shows that this incident was not motivated by an animal "out of control", but was rather motivated by God as a powerful prophetic figure -- it was God who prompted Apollo to run through Queens!!! Second, it shows that the young lions who will execute God's judgments in the latter days will not be believers "out of control", but rather believers whose souls are meek and completely submissive to the will of the Spirit. They will be spiritually violent against iniquity, and they will cause great destruction (spiritual and literal) through their judgments, but they will do so out of a heart that is completely surrendered to the will of God.

The fact that the circus has been coming to Queens for 17 years is another prophetic figure. Believe it or not, I have been convinced in the Spirit for some years now that the number "17" in Scripture is related to the manifestation of God's prophetic remnant (this can be inferred from Galatians chapter 1, where Paul speaks of a 3-year period and a 14-year period before his apostolic ministry was finally manifested). Apollo's manifestation on the streets of Queens is a prophetic figure of the mighty remnant's manifestation in the latter days.

The fact that the New York police has had to deal with 2 tigers in 2 months has two meanings. First, it shows that this is more than a "coincidence". John Durkin said "It's just, I guess, a quirk"; the fact that he said "I guess" shows that he is not quite certain that it really is a "quirk"; something inside of him might just be telling him that there is more to this than meets the eye. Second, the two tigers represent the prophetic and the apostolic anointing that the "spiritual Apollo" will have when he is manifested in the Church. The first tiger was found prisoner inside a New York apartment, which is a figure of how pastors have tried to imprison the true prophetic anointing in a "spiritual Sheol" out of which it will eventually break free, as is shown by the locusts of Revelation 9; locusts in Scripture are a figure of "prophets"; this is why John the Baptist used to eat locusts (Matthew 3:4) and why the prophet Joel speaks of "locusts" (Joel 1:4, 2:25) before speaking of the prophetic anointing being poured out over the Church (Joel 2:28-29). The second tiger, i.e. - Apollo, represents the apostolic anointing of judgment that the latter-day remnant will show. As you may know, there is an apostle in Scripture named "Apollos" (1 Corinthians 3:4-6), which relates the name "Apollo" to the apostolic ministry. The fact that lions are a figure of judgment also points to the apostolic ministry, since apostles are endowed with wisdom, and wisdom is given by God to execute judgments (1 Kings 3:9-12).

The fact that this whole incident happened in New York is a prophetic figure of what is to come over New York. I am not allowed by the Spirit to say more on this, but those with ears to hear will understand the meaning of this.