Prophetic word for today
The days of Venus (Part 1)
First posted: May 19, 2006, 9:00 pm UTC
Word received: May 16-17, 2006
Received by:
Shamah-Elim Bible Studies
In our previous posting entitled "Trek across America", we shared on the spiritual significance of the date "November 7". The word below was birthed as we asked God why November 7, 2005 was "Day 162" when taking May 29, 2005 as "Day zero".
As you read this word (and the follow-up words), we urge you to meditate on its practical application in your own life and in the lives of others. Even though we will be focusing on the process that the "American Church" has been undergoing, the process described below is a "spiritual sequence" that is repeated in many individual lives. The unwillingness to recognize this spiritual process can lead to a pointless waste of time, and, in the worst of cases, to ultimate disaster.
If you have read the posting "Trek across America", you will recall that the Lord had us make a table of "day numbers" taking May 29, 2005 as "Day zero". In that table, the date "November 7, 2005" appears as "Day 162". The question then became, "What does the number 162 stand for?". Another related question was, "What is the spiritual connection between the number '162' and the date 'November 7'?" The number 162 is equal to 81 times 2. As I thought about the number "81", the Lord said to me, "Read Psalm 81". As I read that psalm, a verse in particular caught my eye, and that verse just wouldn't "let me be":
"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day" (Psalm 81:3)
The phrase "time appointed" was mistranslated from the Hebrew word kece, which literally means "full moon". In other words, the verse above should really say, "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day". Therefore, it speaks of 3 different trumpet blows. As I meditated on this, the Lord reminded me of two things. First, He reminded me of the 3 different "delay decrees" that God pronounced over America in 2005. The first decree, pronounced on May 11, 2005, delayed America's latter-rain revival for 2 years. The second decree, pronounced on October 27, 2005, delayed the revival 1 additional year. The third decree, pronounced on December 23, 2005, added 1 extra year to the delay, leading to a total of 4 years. Even though the 4th year was forewarned on October 27, 2005, it was not officially added until December 23. In other words, there was an option to take that year back had the American Church reacted differently to God's process after October 27. But, since she didn't, the 4th year was permanently and irrevocably added on December 23, 2005.
As I meditated on the 3 trumpet blows mentioned in Psalm 81:3, the Lord also reminded me of a prophetic word I had read a day earlier. Dear brother and sister, in recent days, there has been a sense of heaviness and "shaking restlessness" in my heart. This heaviness and restlessness are with regard to a soon-coming judgment over California. Despite all the pastoral shields that the Canaanite prophets may want to put up, this judgment is inevitable, for the wrath of the Lord is kindled against the Latin American Ammonite spirit that America has tolerated in her midst. Because of the heaviness and restlessness in my heart regarding California, I began to search the Internet for prophetic words on California in 2006. That is when I found a prophetic word given by a brother named Mike Bickle. This word was posted on christiansnet.com (it is word #9 on that page), narrated by a third person:
At 2 AM on September 8, [2005,] Mike Bickle had an angelic visitation; only the third time in his life he has seen an angel. It came to his room and was standing before his bed, and in front of the angel, standing on the floor was a tall trumpet. The angel raised the trumpet to his lips as if to blow but then lowered the trumpet down without blowing it, and then disappeared. Mike hit himself a couple of times to check and see if this was really happening. The angel appeared a second time, with the trumpet again, again raised it to his lips to blow but did not blow the trumpet and then disappeared again. Then the same exact thing happened a third time and the angel disappeared.
Notice how the angel raised the trumpet to his lips 3 times. Even though the angel did not literally blow the trumpet, it is as if he figuratively blew it each time, but in a "warning" mode. This correlates with the 3 trumpet blows of Psalm 81:3, and the 3 warning periods given to America. Notice also that brother Mike "hit himself a couple of times" after the first simulated blow. This correlates with the fact that the delay decreed (on May 11, 2005) after the first warning period was a permanent 2-year delay, as opposed to the other two decrees which were 1-year delays.
According to ourchurch.com, the Lord said to Mike Bickle after the vision that "California has a minute". The Lord also spoke Ezekiel 22:30-31 and Zephaniah 2:2-3:
"30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. 31Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 22:30-31)
"2Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. 3Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger." (Zephaniah 2:2-3)
A brother somewhere suggested that the "minute" can
be interpreted in terms of the following passage:
"8But, beloved, be
not ignorant of this one thing, that
one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,
the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up."
(2 Peter 3:8-10)
Notice how this passage is in the context of God waiting, giving people an opportunity to repent (v9), but also unleashing sudden destruction (v10) upon those who ignored His patient warnings. If a "day" is as a 1000 years, then one "minute" would be as 253.646 days, approximately. Therefore, if September 8, 2005 at 2:00 am was the moment when the "minute" started, the "minute" (taken as 253.646 days) would run out on May 19, 2006 at 5:30 pm. Allowing for half an hour of silence (Revelation 8:1), the final time would be May 19, 2006 6:00 pm. If brother Bickle had his vision in the Kansas City area, all the times above would be in U.S. Central Daylight Savings time (6 hours behind London time).
A summary of the 3 ignored warnings
Before we make a summary of the 3 warnings that America has ignored, an important point must be emphasized. When prophets speak of God being angry at America, they are quick to point out the abortions, the banning of prayer in schools, the pornography, and the lewdness. However, God's most intense anger is not at the sinning American unbelievers. His wrath is against the American Church, that cursed institution that has turned Christianity into "Churchianity", convinced that the "Kingdom of God" consists of pushing "Christian" legislation through Congress. Cursed be the promoters of Constantinople in America! Cursed be those who have reduced Christianity to external matters that do not deal with the root spiritual issues! Cursed be those who insist on cleaning the world's eye without cleaning the Church's eyes first (Matthew 7:3-5)! Cursed be those who want to submit the world to the Church instead of submitting the Church unto God! Cursed be those who condemn the world for its sinfulness without realizing that the soul (not the Spirit) reigns supreme inside the Church! The world's sinfulness is an outgrowth of the soul ruling over the Spirit, and anyone who tries to eradicate that sinfulness without first submitting his own soul to the Spirit is like a man trying to wash dishes without using his hands or his feet. A Church where frog-queen pastors are allowed to rule over God's people cannot conquer the world. A Church that abhors God's judgments cannot bring righteousness to the world. A Church that belittles the potential of God's "little" people cannot fill the world's atmosphere with God's prophetic purpose. I defy any pastor on the face of the Earth to challenge the spiritual validity of the words above. I know that I shall stand before the presence of the Lord to give an account for every word that I have spoken, and my conscience is clear, for, as I am typing these words, I am already standing before the presence of the God of Israel. He knows what I am typing, for He is the one breathing these words into my inner being. Within 10 years, the validity of each word here shall be made evident before all. The American Church, in its current form, shall by then be no more, for God's work shall be done quickly. There is a remnant of My people sick and tired of waiting, for enough waiting has been done, says the Lord of hosts.
"39And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. 40And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? 41Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth." (John 9:39-41)
America's first "testing period" ended on May 10, 2005. Since America failed this first test, a failing grade and a warning was issued on May 11, 2005, the day that an "insignificant" little Cessna plane entered into restricted air space in Washington, D.C., coming within 3 miles of the White House. The second "testing period" began the next day, on May 12, 2005. God began bombarding America with natural disasters, in an effort to jolt the spiritual senses of the American Church, since the nudge of the first "testing period" had gone unheeded. Like a stubborn mule, however, the American Church refused to budge. As we shared throughout the 8 postings on Katrina, the American Church remained the same despite the prophetically-loaded joltings from God. Therefore, through an event broadcast around the world (the 2005 baseball World Series), God made it painfully evident how America was being overwhelmed by a Latin American Canaanite-Hivite-Amorite influence, an influence that was instrumental in upholding the pastoral matriarchy over America. On October 27, 2005, exactly one year after the prophetically-promising Red Sox victory in the World Series, the Latin-dominated White Sox (from matriarchal Chicago) defeated the rising stars (Astros) from hospitable Houston, signifying how God's "remnant project" had once again been "vetoed" by the American Church's matriarchal "leaders". The second "testing period" had ended the day before, on October 26, 2005, and a second failing grade and warning were issued on October 27, as the White Sox celebrated their victory in the 2005 World Series.
The third "testing period" began the next day, on October 28, 2005. This period saw the worsening of conditions in Iraq and a rapid decline in Bush's poll numbers. A state of malaise and spiritual aimlessness gripped the American nation. Even so, the political and "religious" leadership kept saying, "We have everything under control". Like an exposed but self-deceived Korah, America's leadership refused to put up the "White Flag" and say, "We are doing things wrong; there is a fundamental flaw in the way we are doing things; we are enabling the wrong people, and we are repressing the righteous people".
As we have shared before, God unleashed massive judgment against the "xmas spirit" in 2004. However, the idiotic and contumacious "conservative" Church thought that it was "satan" attacking her cursed "traditional" values, and she went on with the celebration of xmas in 2005, more determined than ever to prove to "satan" (i.e.- to God) that she was right and that He was wrong. In Hebrew, the word "satan" literally means "adversary, opponent". Therefore, as God opposed the American Church, she began to see Him as their "satan" (i.e.- their adversary). Cursed is anyone who declares God as their "satan"!!!
"24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26And if satan cast out satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. 29Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. 30He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. 33Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. 34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew 12:24-37)
[Notice how verse 33 calls for a "place of definition" where you either side with "good" or with "evil". As God unleashes His horses of the Apocalypse, His plan is to take the Church to the all-or-nothing valley of decision. As Cain is withered into a pathetic Korah by the red, black, and green horses, you are called to either side with Korah or "quickly step way, way, away from him" (Numbers 11:26, 11:41-50). There is no such thing as a safe middle ground.]
As the xmas 2005 season wore on, a silent but very real decree was pronounced over America. On December 23, 2005, a third failing grade and warning were decreed by God. The period from October 28 to December 22, 2005 had been the 3rd "testing period". As a silent sign of America's failing grade, a Hispanic magazine printed in America called "4to Poder" released an issue on December 23, 2005 that boldly argued that the Twin Towers had been blown down by Bush himself (in alliance with bin Laden), in an effort to justify the eventual invasion of Iraq!!! This was one of many "silent signs" that appeared on that day and subsequent days. These signs served as a silent evidence of how America has allowed the (Latin American) Ammonite spirit to corrode her from within. These signs were more "silent" than the signs for the 2 previous failing grades, because they were according to the "sign of Jonah":
"38Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas" (Matthew 12:38-39)
On the next day, December 24, 2005, America entered into her 4th "period", but, this time, it is no longer a "testing period". It is now a period of deceitful calm before a pounding barrage of deadly blows. The 3 previous testing periods had been 3 trumpet blasts giving the American Church ample time to submit to God. Because the American Church continues to cling to her matriarchal structures, structure-shattering trumpet blasts are on their way.
Notice that we did not indicate when the 1st testing period began in the table above. As I asked the Lord what date to write into that slot, He made me notice an interesting fact: the length of the 2nd period (168 days) is 3 times as long as the length of the 3rd period (56 days). The Lord then brought to our remembrance an unusual dream we received on April 30, 2006 (19 days ago). This dream ends with the words "2 x 3, 3 x 2". I then understood that the first period was 2 times as long as the 2nd period. In other words, the numbers "2" and "3" were the factors by which the periods decreased in length. This means that the first period was 336 (= 168 times 2) days long, which means that the starting date was June 9, 2004. Both the 2nd and 3rd periods were preceded by a "milestone date" (May 11, 2005 and October 27, 2005 respectively). Therefore, the date immediately prior to the 1st period --- June 8, 2004 --- was also a milestone date in the spirit realm. It was, in a sense, the "starting block" from which America's testing periods officially began.
As I stared at the date "June 8, 2004", I was unable to recall any specific important event reported on that day. Yet, the date had a ring of "tremendous familiarity" about it. When I went on the Internet to search for information about June 8, 2004, I was surprised to find that that was the exact date of the most recent "transit of Venus". To be honest with you, I was not aware that a "transit of Venus" had taken place that day. In fact, I had no earthly idea what a "transit of Venus" was, to begin with, until now. If you had joyfully told me on June 8, 2004 that a "transit of Venus" was taking place in the sky, you would have drawn nothing but a blank stare from me, accompanied by the proverbial "sound of many crickets".
According to wikipedia.org, a "transit of Venus" occurs when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth. It is analogous to a solar eclipse by the moon (when the moon is directly between the Sun and the Earth), with the difference being that Venus does not produce a notorious decrease in sunlight, since it looks so small in the sky. Venus is actually 4 times bigger than the moon, but its distance from Earth makes it look much smaller. During a "transit of Venus", the planet Venus looks like a small black disc moving across the face of the Sun. This trek across the Sun's face usually lasts for several hours; the 2004 and 2012 transits, for example, are 6 hours long.
The transits of Venus are the rarest of all predictable astronomical phenomena. Currently, they occur in a 243-year pattern, and they almost always occur in pairs that are 8 years apart. According to wikipedia.org, the next transit will occur on June 6, 2012. Prior to 2004, the last pair of transits took place in December 1874 and December 1882. After 2012, the next transits will be in December 2117 and December 2125. The last transit that did not come in pairs was in 1153. The next solitary transit would be scheduled for 3089.
The transit of Venus has been an astronomical event widely celebrated by different cultures throughout history. Part of the reason for the interest in this event is derived from the astronomical significance of Venus itself. According to wikipedia.org, Venus is a terrestrial planet that is very similar in size and bulk composition to the Earth; therefore, it is sometimes called the Earth's "sister planet". Besides the Sun and the moon, Venus is the brightest of all celestial bodies in the firmament. It is the only heavenly body besides the Sun and the moon that can be seen during the daytime (except for the occasional nova). It is referred to as the "Morning Star" or "Evening Star" because it is often the brightest celestial body (apart from the Sun and the moon) just before sunrise and sunset . To the Jewish people, it is known as Noga ("shining"), Ayeleth-ha-Shakhar ("deer of the dawn"), and Kochav-ha-'Erev ("star of the evening"). The Chinese know it as the "Gold Star" (Kam Sing in Cantonese, Tchin Shing in Mandarin).
The observations of transits of Venus was important to scientists in the 18th century because they allowed scientists to better estimate the distance between the Sun and the Earth using the "method of parallax". This distance was important to scientists, because it then allowed them to make a more exact estimate of the solar system's actual size. To astronomers, this distance is so fundamentally important that it is simply known as the "Astronomical Unit" (AU). Other astronomical distances are often given in terms of the AU.
German scientist Johannes Kepler was the first to predict a transit of Venus in 1631, but his calculations were not exact enough to predict the fact that the transit would not be visible throughout most of Europe. The first observation of a transit of Venus was made by Jeremiah Horrocks from his home near Preston, England, on December 4, 1639. His friend William Crabtree also observed the transit from Salford, near Manchester, England. Horrocks corrected Kepler's calculations, and was the first to determine that the transits of Venus would occur in pairs 8 years apart. He knew that a transit would occur in 1639, but he was unaware of the exact date and time.
Venus has some "peculiar" characteristics. Just like all the other planets, Venus's orbit is elliptical, but, it is the solar planet whose orbit is closest to a perfect circle, with an eccentricity of less than 1%. Venus is the planet that gets the closest to the Earth, and it has a "slow retrograde rotation", meaning that it rotates very slowly from east to west, instead of west to east like the Earth and most other major planets. This means that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east in Venus. Its rotation is so slow that it takes some 116.75 Earth days to complete a day-night cycle. In other words, if you are having a "long day" at the office, you are having a "Venus day". Because days are so long in Venus, a year lasts only 1.92 Venusian "days". Due to the nature of its rotation, Venus always presents the same face towards the Earth when the two planets are at their closest approach. The exact reason for this "coincidence" is still unknown.
Venus's atmosphere is filled with carbon dioxide and nitrogen, which leads to an atmospheric pressure 90 times greater than that on Earth. Even though the planet Mercury is closer to the Sun than Venus, Venus's surface temperature is hotter than Mercury's due to the greenhouse effect caused by the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Even though Venus has a very slow rotation, its temperature is evenly distributed across its entire surface. The thick cloud cover in the atmosphere causes most of the solar irradiance to be reflected off the planet, which leads to its brightness in the Earth's firmament. Even though little heat from the Sun is able to get into Venus, there is little surface heat that is able to get out either, which leads to relatively uniform temperatures that do not vary between the night and day sides of Venus.
Venus is a very dry planet, which leads to rocks that are much harder than the Earth's. This enables the formation of steeper mountains and cliffs. Even though it was long believed that Venus had a moon, it is now a known fact that Venus is moonless.
Yesterday (May 18, 2006), the Lord led me to a webpage I had never visited before (on www.elijahlist.com). If you scroll down to around the middle of that webpage, you will find a small section entitled "Three coming waves on our nation". In this word, Johnny Enlow (www.theisaccharianpost.com) declares that America would be facing "three coming waves that will proceed from His throne". Later on, he writes, "To the degree that these waves become ingrained into our national fabric, to that degree will things subsequently go well with us. To the degree that it doesn't take root, to that degree will we face difficulty". He then comments on how the Lord has spoken to him about the spiritual significance of the "recent Venus phenomenon". Therefore, it seems as if brother Enlow wrote these words shortly after the 2004 Venus transit. It was amazing to me, therefore, that God was tying the June 8 2004 transit of Venus with 3 coming waves on America. The wording in brother Enlow's prophecy also reveals that God would be testing America's response to these 3 waves. Through this prophetic word, therefore, God was declaring that the transit of Venus was signifying the start of 3 "testing periods" upon America.
If we incorporate June 8, 2004 and May 19, 2006 into our previous "periodic table", we get the following:
Notice that the number of weeks for all 3 testing periods are multiples of 8 (48=8*6, 24=8*3, 8=8*1). The number "8" speaks of God's effort to regenerate America. In other words, the 3 testing periods were evaluating America's willingness to be spiritually regenerated from the ground up. The American Church, however, was too happy with her religious wooden house to tear it down. She saw no need for a new house, telling God that a few fix-ups were all that was needed. This is the reason why she failed God's 3 tests.
Notice also that the total number of weeks for all 3 testing periods is 80 (48+24+8), which equals 8 times 10. The number "10" points to the "missing tithe" and to the selfless prophetic sacrifice that God was calling America to make. The American Church, however, was unwilling to be burned to ashes and to rise in newness of resurrection life. She did not trust God enough to place herself in His surgical hands.
Notice also that the number of weeks for the last period is 21, which is not a multiple of 8 (instead, it is a multiple of 7). As we have said before, the number "21" speaks of spiritual warfare that leads to a spiritual breakthrough and an angelic visitation (Daniel 10:1-3, 12-14). During these past 21 weeks (ending today, May 19, 2006), a war has been waged by the prophetic remnant, a war that will lead to an angelic visitation from above. Had America passed God's tests, this visitation would have been unto blessing. Because she failed, however, this visitation is unto harsh and overpowering judgment.
Why would God mark the start of America's 3 testing periods with the June 8 2004 transit of Venus? To answer that, we have to visualize the spiritual significance of Venus and its transit based on the historical and astronomical information mentioned above and on what the Lord has said about Venus in Scripture. God willing, we will do this in a future posting...