The Next Great Awakening. . .

. . . or Great Deadening?

Part 2: A Political Platform

Cindy Jacobs, who has been called a “prophet to the nations”[4] is identified by C. Peter Wagner as “the U.S. national apostle”[5] in his 2002 book Spheres of Authority: Apostles in Today’s Church. This book is one of the earlier attempts to describe his “New Apostolic Age” in which he calls the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR) – “the most radical change in the way of doing church since the Protestant Reformation back in the 16th Century.”[6] In this book, he lays out the principle that his newly conceived “apostles” will be in charge of designated “spheres of authority” for “the task of implementing what God wants done on earth.”[7] Wagner endows these “apostles” with supernatural gifting to hear new revelation directly from God:

“Apostles receive revelations from God, and consequently they are able to say ‘This is what the Spirit is saying to the churches right now.’ Making such a statement with credibility carries with it tremendous authority.”[8]

In this book Wagner provides a “definition” of apostle in the context of “spheres,” which are governing realms that are also now referred to as “gates” or “mountains”[9] –

C. Peter Wagner believes that apostles are an important part of getting “the biblical government of the church in place” through vertical and horizontal networks. These new-fangled apostles “had a network of which they were at the top. For each of them, the primary apostolic sphere in which their authority received a divine anointing was their particular network.”[11] But these apostles aren’t just in charge of restructuring churches into downline networking hierarchical non-denominational ecumenical structures. These apostles are also in charge of “social transformation,” utilizing the same networking structures for cultural renewal and political action. In Chapter 8, titled “Apostles for Social Transformation,” the first subheading is “Our Goal: Social Transformation.” Wagner explains how the concept of taking over the “spheres” of society developed into a plan of action:

“During the 1990s the idea that the kingdom of God is not confined to the four walls of the local church began to take hold strongly among Christian leaders. We began to take our prayer, ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ more seriously than we had in the past. We believed that not only did God desire to save the lost and bring them into our churches, but that He also desired to change the world we live in for the better.

“We began to talk about ‘city taking,’ and ‘city reaching,’ and ‘community transformation.’ But gradually, toward the end of the decade, ‘social transformation’ seemed to be the most satisfactory way of expressing our outreach goal. The renowned Transformations video, produced by George Otis, Jr.’s Sentinel Group, helped sharpen our thinking. ‘Social transformation’ includes all of the other terms, but it is broader. It encompasses spiritual transformation, educational transformation, and governmental transformation. This can be applied to neighborhoods, cities, regions, and nations.”[12]

We would now recognize this plan as the Seven Mountain Mandate for Dominionism. Wagner believes that each of these newly-concocted “apostles” will be assigned a regional, cultural or territorial “sphere of authority” with which to work out this planned societal transformation. Admitting that “few apostles are pacifistic,” Wagner describes his apostles as “visionary, aggressive, uncompromising, warlike, and often abrasive.”[13] He promises that if you voluntarily “submit gratefully to the authority of the apostle who is over whatever territorial sphere” you find yourself in, then there will be a “powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”[14] It is this much-touted “powerful outpouring” that is now being equated with a “Great Awakening.”

Cindy Jacobs: “U.S. national apostle”

Time for a reality check. What all this means for you, if you are an American, is that you must now submit to Cindy Jacobs, whom C. Peter Wagner apparently appointed to be the “U.S. national apostle” in charge of our nation. According to this new apostolic (NAR) worldview, when these “apostles” come into “alignment,” we will then see a great revival, i.e. a “Great Awakening.”

If this apostolic position of power for Cindy Jacobs is indeed a genuine fact, it explains some strange happenings this past year. If Jacobs truly has been set up as the chief “U.S. national apostle” it explains why she has suddenly and inexplicably emerged prominently as a spokesperson and activist on the national political scene this past year. In a Herescope post of June 24, 2010 we observed this curious fact:

On June 16, 2010 Cindy Jacobs, head prophetess of the New Apostolic Reformation, issued a political statement, an “Urgent Call to Prayer Concerning California’s Proposition 8 and Defense Of Marriage Act.” Written on the letterhead of her “United States Reformation Prayer Network” it has all of the hallmarks of a political action alert. This is a major first for the woman who has been associated with all sorts of strange doctrines and wacky practices. By taking a political position on these high-profile issues Jacobs is obviously attempting to enter the Christian Right mainstream as an ally. Just this week she and fellow “apostle” Chuck Pierce have actually spoken out about the Gulf Oil Spill.

The “Great Awakening” has been one of the consistent themes accompanying the public outing of America’s new apostolic Grande Dame[15] Cindy Jacobs is apparently running on a platform of a “Great Awakening.”

On July 17, Jacobs reported that “God spoke to her and warned that America was on the verge of slipping into ‘another Great Depression’ and the only hope of stopping it was for massive prayer, fasting, revival, support for Israel … and, of course, proper voting.”[16] Jacobs reported that she heard a message from the Lord that said, “If the Church doesn’t fast and pray for a faster acceleration of revival and awakening, the iniquitous sin structures in the nation will tip the scale that is teetering and there will be another great depression.”[17] This “awakening” message of Jacob’s was widely distributed, and one account said it was accompanied by “signs” and “wonders”:

We must rise up and press in to the Lord for a full release of the Awakening and Reformation that our nation so desperately needs. God has spoken that He is releasing the beginnings of awakening, and He desires to release in a greater measures a mighty awakening with signs, wonders, miracles, and creative miracles through those who will press in to Him as never before.[18]

Shortly before this episode, Jacobs headed up a prayer initiative for the BP Gulf Oil Spill on June 30, 2010, billed as a “Solemn Assembly: Standing in the Gap on Behalf of the Land: Crying out in response to the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis and its affect upon our nation and the nations of the world,” in Montgomery Alabama. Joining Jacobs and her husband Mike was John Kilpatrick, who is best known for his pastoral role in the frenzied drunken and shaking phenomena of Pensacola, Florida in the 1990s.[19]

Just prior to this oil spill prayer event, Cindy Jacobs had been in Georgia for the “Awake Georgia” conference held June 24-26, which also featured the well-known NAR apostle Dutch Sheets. Dutch Sheets has his own brand of an “The Awakening and Reformation Tour,” complete with a promo video proclaiming the fulfillment of “God’s Dream,” an esoteric theme of global Dominionism efforts. Not surprisingly then, after this “Awake Georgia” conference was over it was also described as an “awakening”:

“We have stepped into a ‘Kairos Season of Awakening’ in Georgia! A season of the flames of awakening burning more and more brightly within our hearts. A season to fan the flames of passion, to fervently press into the Lord for increased faith to operate in signs, wonders, and miracles, and to cry out to the Lord with passionate desire to be those He will use to disciple nations.”[20]

John Benefiel was also a featured speaker at this “Awake Georgia” conference. He heads up the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) that partners with Cindy Jacobs’ US Reformation Prayer Network (USRPN) and the US Alliance for Reformation headed by Dutch Sheets. Each of these purported “prayer networks” is actually an apostolic downline political/spiritual “sphere of authority.” All this prayer activity is a cover for their Dominionist agenda to build the 7 Mountains. For example, HAPN’s prayer activities are described in terms of grassroots political organization:

Raising Up An Army of 10,000 Mighty Men & Women of God 
Across the State of Georgia
 To Advance Christ’s Kingdom On Earth… as It Is In Heaven

The Spirit of the Lord has charged each state coordinator within the HAPN to raise up 10,000 men and women of God to stand in intercession, making declarations and decrees, and doing the work of ministry in all the seven mountains of culture to advance the Kingdom of God. By faith, I know that there are thousands already engaged in this work across the great state of Georgia. I am asking the Lord — and you — to help us build bridges of networking and partnership all across this state that we might discover how the Lord would have us to co-labor with each other to see our state and region enter into Awakening in our Day and Reformation in our Lifetime through healing the land, setting captives free, dismantling strongholds, laying foundations for Kingdom work, building relationships of effective ministry where we live, work, and play, and bringing the culture of Christ Kingdom to bear upon every sector of society through gifted, trained, equipped, empowered, celebrated, and supported men and women of God.[21]

As part of this politicized prayer initiative, Cindy Jacobs launched what is called the “ROOT 52 National Prayer Strategy” this year via her United States Reformation Prayer Network. Concerning this prayer “strategy,” note that these apostles teach that they can issue “decrees” from heaven that will implement their ambitions on earth. Jacobs explained that:

The first two weeks will be a special concerted time of prayer for the governmental leadership of the nation and then we will go state by state in the order that they joined the Union. By the end of the year, we will see all 50 states have a covenantal root established or deepened as we build a highway of prayer across the nation from state to state.

Part of the strategy is to make proclamations from the Preambles of State constitutions. For the first two weeks, and throughout the year, let us also pray over and make decrees from the Preamble to the United States Constitution and the United States Constitution itself. We also need to “declare” from the Declaration of Independence and pledge our nation to be “one nation under God”.[22]

Jacobs, who happens to also be named as a “prophet” in the NAR, said that she “heard two distinct prophetic words for 2010 – they are ‘Win in 2010’ and ‘Arise and Shine America’” and called her followers to “battle… until we see the Great Awakening and Reformation back to biblical worldview.”[23] Her “ROOT 52” USRPN National Prayer Strategy incorporates the theme of “seven gates or mountains,” and has been accompanied by a “torch of prayer” that goes en-route from “state-to-state in the sequence that they joined the Union and came to form the United States of America.” It also

encompasses all 50 states standing together in covenant both to fast and pray in agreement during the first two weeks of 2010 for our national leadership and national governmental structure. We will then move forward each week with individual states continuing to bow in repentance before God and taking up the torch of prayer and fasting until we complete 52 weeks, equaling 1 year. (50 states plus 2 weeks for government leadership).[24]

Cindy Jacobs’ prayer activities are totally interconnected to her political commitment to the “7-M Mandate” of social transformation, which she has described aggressively as

“His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven… we need to understand that every sector of society needs to be governed by the knowledge of God…. Generals are strategists. And so we as generals have these different mountains of society that we want to take systematically. And some of you will fit on each of these mountains…. You will become the principals of the universities on the education mountain. You will write the textbooks that are read. The law of God becomes the law! God is calling his next generation to be the heads of nations….”[25]

In this same youtube video cited above Jacobs gives an account of how she has anointed two young men, one in Argentina and one in Mexico, to be the next presidents of their nations. This is the highest calling of the way-up-the-ladder apostles in the NAR. They actually believe that they are supposed to appoint and anoint leaders, not only of churches, but even the political leaders of nations! How can they do this? C. Peter Wagner begs us to enable these new-fangled apostles with our tolerance and affirm their divine “destiny”— arguing, “Let’s agree that apostles are expected to be further up the scale toward perfection than other believers.”[26]

Now that we know that apostles are more perfect than the rest of us, it is quite fascinating to see how far and wide Cindy Jacobs has gone in the political Right. She was part of an “The Awakening 2010” conference this year, hosted by a group called The Freedom Federation, which also featured the eclectic mixture of “Rick Joyner, Ken Blackwell,
 Tony Perkins, Richard Land, Cindy Jacobs, Ergun Caner,
 Wendy Wright, Lou Engle, Samuel Rodriguez, and many more
 Christian cultural leaders.”[27] This rise to fame was apparently planned for some time because Cindy Jacobs, along with the other self-anointed self-appointed “apostolic elders” of the NAR, in October 2009, predicted a “Third Great Awakening” for 2010. They also “prophesied” their involvement in the rising Tea Party Movement, which they claim is the formation of “a new third political party”:

Over the next years in the United States there will be a new third political party that will arise. The Lord is preparing His leadership for this party that will come out of the citizens of the United States groaning under the corruption of the old guard. Many leaders are being tested and tried in the fire right now who will take leadership in due time, for it will begin not so much as a political party but a movement. The movement will become a party in time.[28]

Running on the “Great Awakening” plank, Cindy Jacobs hosted a third annual Convergence conference, “Convergence: A Cry to Awaken a Nation,” held on March 4-6, 2010 in Cedar Hill, Texas, and described its theme as to “see the nation experience a Great Awakening that turns us back to God.” This conference featured Janet Porter, who coordinated the May Day 2010 event at the Lincoln Memorial with the assistance of Mike and Cindy Jacobs who “helped us to birth the idea of May day.”[29] Convergence 2010 also featured Lance Wallnau, who is the chief promoter of the 7 Mountain scheme for Dominion.

The Great Awakening campaign theme continues right into election season, as another conference planned by Cindy Jacobs is timed just before the elections. The “Open Heavens Conference” is scheduled for October 21-23 in Melville, New York, and it is billed as “Releasing the Apostolic & Prophetic.” Its stated purpose is similar to that of all of the other conferences – a Great Awakening –

The Church is in a very critical hour. Not only is the moral foundation of America fractured, but the moral foundation of the Church is fractured as well. The Church has a mandate to be spiritual salt and light. In order to see God’s Kingdom advance in the earth, the Church is in a desperate need of another Great Awakening.[30]

All of this above represents mere snippets, randomly collected small pieces of evidence that the planned “Great Awakening” is nothing more than a scheme to take Dominion over various segments of American culture and society. Elsewhere around the world, there is increasing evidence that the self-anointed self-appointed apostolic networks are coming out into the open and claiming their “destiny” to rule the nations.[31]

The Truth:

Since their inception, the self-anointed self-appointed apostles of the New Apostolic Reformation have claimed to have supernatural powers, and they assert that they are a revival of the authentic New Testament early church “apostles” that were somehow lost during the church ages. They believe that they receive revelation from God that is on a par with, or supersedes that of written Scripture, the Word of God. They state that they can issue edicts and decrees that having binding power over spiritual and physical realms, and they demand absolute allegiance. They write that they are aligning themselves into networking hierarchical downline cellular structures where they can control the world.

This pompous and grandiose scheme might be funny, or whimsical, or even the farcical stuff that comedies are made of, if it weren’t for the fact that these men (and women) have gained great ground and credibility in certain political circles. One might ask why no one is pointing out that these “emperors have no clothes” this is all so patently absurd. Nevertheless, these men (and women) have stated that in order to access God and His will, one must go through them. To obey them is to obey God. And to stand back and permit these leaders their positions of mountainous power, is to further the “kingdom of God on earth,” they say.[32]

The biblical truth is that “apostles” in the New Testament sense have always been “simply those who are sent out with a particular mission. From this concept we get the word ‘missionary.'”[33] The church has always had missionaries. But the original New Testament Apostles, who received their doctrine of the Gospel of Salvation by direct revelation from God, and who wrote the books that are in the Canon of Scripture, did not continue into our present age. This false teaching of the NAR conflicts with both Scripture and solid New Testament history.[34]

“Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.” (Isaiah 57:7-9)

Endnotes:
1. “Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE): Word of the Lord for 2010,” compiled in October 2009 by Cindy Jacobs of Generals International, published on TheElijahList, January 21, 2010, http://www.elijahlist.com/words/html/textonly-012110-ACPE.html
2. Cindy Jacobs, United States Reformation Prayer Network, “Florida Root 52 State Prayer Guide,” July 16-23, 2010, distributed by Jacquie Tyre to her lists, July 14, 2010.
3. Remarks by Cindy Jacobs transcribed in “Jacobs: ‘The Bible is the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People,” April 16, 2010, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/jacobs-bible-government-people-people-and-people Video coverage and more articles from the perspective of the political Left can be found at: http://www.alternet.org/news/146634/exposing_the_christian_right%27s_new_racial_playbook_/ and also here: http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/04/8311/
4. “Cindy Jacobs: The Great Awakening Part 2,” posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehIDBzDpEW0&feature=related. Here
she is described as “Cindy Jacobs, the prophet to the nations.” See also her interview with Peter Kairuz on “The 700 Club Asia,” April 9, 2009, “Cindy Jacobs: The Great Awakening Part 1,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bHesSNQ_Zo&feature=related, where one can hear her say, “God is on the move. The Lion of Judah is arising. And he is demolishing everything before him that is not righteous. He is coming with his refiner’s fire.”
5. C. Peter Wagner, Spheres of Authority: Apostles in Today’s Church (Wagner Publications, 2002), p. 97.
6. Ibid, p. 121.
7. Ibid. pp. 22 and 15.
8. Ibid, p. 24.
9. See Herescope posts, “The 7-M Mandate,” June 15, 2007, https://herescope.net/2007/06/7-m-mandate.html and “Neo-Kuyperian Spheres,” June 28, 2007, https://herescope.net/2007/06/neo-kuyperian-spheres.html and “Seven Mountains: Set To Go Viral,” June 24, 2010, https://herescope.net/2010/06/seven-mountains.html
10. Spheres of Authority, p. 27.
11. Ibid, pp. 31, 60, 76.
12. Ibid, pp. 101-102.
13. Ibid, pp. 60, 103, 110. For more “sphere of authority” quotations along these lines, see the lead quote at this Herescope post: https://herescope.net/2010/05/mainstreaming-dominionism.html
14. Spheres of Authority, pp. 117-118.
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_dame
16. “Cindy Jacobs Issues “A Serious Warning and a Call for Urgent Prayer,” July 20, 2010, http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cindy-jacobs-issues-serious-warning-and-call-urgent-prayer reporting on “Cindy Jacobs: An Urgent Call for Massive Intercession” put out by TheElijahList, July 20, 2010, http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word_pf.html?ID=8968 as a promo for her book The Voice of God.
17. Ibid.
18. Jacquie Tyre of Kairos Transformation Ministries in Georgia put Cindy Jacobs’ prophecy out in her newsletter on July 20, 2010, along with this added commentary. Linking political action to this anticipated “awakening,” the title of the newsletter was “A Call for Urgent Prayer & a Reminder to VOTE & PRAY for today’s General Primaries across Georgia.”
19. Jacquie Tyre, “Prayer Gathering with Cindy Jacobs in Montgomery: Gulf Oil Spill,” Kairos Transformation Ministries newsletter, June 28, 2010. Documentation on John Kilpatrick can be found at this webpage: http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/pensacola.html
20. Ibid.
21. Jacquie Tyre, Kairos Transformation Ministries newsletter dated April 21, 2010.
22. This “ROOT 52 National Prayer Strategy” newsletter from Cindy Jacobs, was posted here on March 30, 2010: http://www.injesus.com/getMessageContent.php?msgID=HB007H5J For more information about this national prayer strategy, see the “50 State-by-State Weekly Prayer Calendar,” http://txapn.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/50_State_by_State_Weekly_Prayer_Calendar.pdf and the “Prophetic Words on Covenant Roots by Chuck Pierce,” http://txapn.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Prophetic_Words_on_Covenant_Roots.pdf and the “Root 52 Proclamation,” written by Cindy Jacobs on December 21, 2009, which confesses national sins corporately, and is and titled “Proclamation of a Year of Repentance, Fasting and Prayer To Call the United States back to Her Christian Roots During the Year of Our Lord 2010,” http://txapn.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ROOT_52_Proclamation.pdf
23. Ibid.
24. “7 Mountains Mandate – Cindy Jacobs,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD6OmQe_t2U&feature=related
25. Spheres of Authority, p. 38.
26. Newsletter by Matt Staver, Liberty Counsel, dated April 7, 2010. “The Awakening Schedule” is posted here: http://freedomfederation.org/content/schedule. See photos of this event here: http://freedomfederation.org/index.php?url=content/summit and videos here: http://freedomfederation.org/videos. To read about the downline networking structure of this organization to the precinct level, see this webpage http://freedomfederation.org/content/about and note the wide range of organizations that have joined together under this hierarchy for political action: http://freedomfederation.org/content/members. Also see article of August 2, 2010, “Oak Initiative Warns Democrats ‘We’re Coming After YOU!’” at http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/oak-initiative-ad-warns-democrats-were-coming-after-you and http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/sputtering-start-religious-rights-rebranding
27. “Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE): Word of the Lord for 2010,” compiled in October 2009 by Cindy Jacobs of Generals International, published on TheElijahList, January 21, 2010, http://www.elijahlist.com/words/html/textonly-012110-ACPE.html In 2009 Cindy Jacobs and the ACPE had prophesied “The Beginning of a Third Great Awakening,” http://www.generals.org/newsletters/e-newsletters/acpe-word-of-the-lord-2009 . This theme continued in 2009. For example, an AWAKE Arizona ’09 conference was held in the Phoenix area that featured Dutch Sheets and Lance Wallnau http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word_pf.html?ID=7711
28. “Join Mike and Cindy Jacobs for Convergence: A Cry to Awaken a Nation – March 4-6, 2010 – Cedar Hill, TX,” advertised on TheElijahList, http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word_pf.html?ID=8394
29. May Day 2010 event program, http://f2a.org/mayday/MayDay2010Program-Color.pdf
30. Open Heavens Conference, Releasing the Apostolic and Prophetic with Matt Sorger, Cindy Jacobs, James Goll, Roberts Stearns and Steve Swanson, Oct. 21-23, 2010, Melville, NY, co-sponsored by TheElijahList, advertised August 18, 2010.
31. See, for example, this website from South Africa, where Natasha Vermaak is sponsoring a conference called “Ariel Gate Summit,” which is billed as: “This is our first Ariel Gate Summit and we aim to gather Kingdom intercessors and leaders who are ready to read the scrolls from heaven, legislate in the heavens and then begin to administrate into the earth. It is time to see the Ecclesia of God establish His Kingdom government in the earth!” http://www.arielgate.co.za/Events_-_Conferences_and_Schools.html and http://www.arielgate.co.za/About_us_-_Future_Perfect_-_Ariel_Gate.html and http://www.arielgate.co.za/About_us_-_Natasha_Vermaak_.html
32. Herescope has run a series of posts on these topics, for example: https://herescope.net/2007/03/apostolic-regions-spheres-of-authority.html Also see this unfinished report: http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/cellcurch.html
33. For a good understanding of the role of apostles in the modern-day church, see Pastor Anton Bosch’s excellent book Building Blocks of the Church: Re-examining the Basics, available here: http://home.etcable.net/hestervanboven/Books.htm See especially chapter 8, on “Apostles.” This quote was taken from page 130 of his text.
34. Ibid.

Part 1 of this series is HERE.