The first Jordan River transition is signified by the transition from Moses to Joshua. Just as that generation of Israelites entered into the Promised Land, the global Church is in this Sovereign Appointed Time where we are entering into the promises of God for our generation. Many of them have been 40 years in the making, and are a divine tapestry of precise dates and astounding events woven together by the sovereign hand of God!
God has given supernatural encounters, even signs in heaven that cannot be manipulated by man, to authenticate these promises.
Why?
It is because God is zealous for His people to fully step into the promises that He has ordained for this generation. Through these events and supernatural signs, He is highlighting the immense significance of these promises for us as the global End-Time Church.
Even though these events are from 40 years ago, the Lord is using them to make known His heart and will for this generation and for the global Church including the Church in Asia.
Of course, as the stories regarding these events are recounted here, we also recognise that the earthly vessels that God uses are often flawed and imperfect. However, we do not want to dismiss the prophetic words and promises if they are truly of the Lord.
Ultimately, every prophetic word cannot contradict the full counsel of Scripture (1 Thes. 5:20–21), and even in the midst of embracing these promises given through imperfect vessels, our confidence and hope are always placed in Jesus alone.
(What follows are shortened accounts of the various events, as it would be too long to include every detail. However, we are providing links to resources that give the full story at the end of the email.)
The date was 7 March 1983…
Mike Bickle (then a pastor of a local church in Kansas City, USA) meets Bob Jones for the first time. It was the day that began God’s prophetic season of intense divine encounters and encounters that prepared the ground for what we are stepping into today.
On that day, Bob Jones prophesies the following (which he would repeat over the years):
1. Mike Bickle would be involved in leading a worldwide youth movement of singers and musicians to mobilise millions in prayer for Israel.
2. This movement would receive abundant grace for the prophetic and intercession, and be deeply connected to God’s people in Asia.
3. God would place spiritual intercessors for Israel on the former US President Harry Truman’s property in Grandview as a sign and wonder. (Harry Truman was key in the birth of the state of Israel in 1948, and thus a “political intercessor” for her.)
4. People in Asia would be watching these singers and musicians through “unplugged TV sets” (what we know today to be smartphones) and wristwatches from rice paddy fields.
He also prophesies that Mike Bickle would come to accept his prophetic role after a supernatural sign that would follow: snow would unexpectedly fall on the first day of Spring.
40 years ago, these prophetic words sounded incredible and incredulous, even to Mike Bickle himself. TV sets were bulky and always connected to power sources. Communication via wristwatches was the stuff of sci-fi movies.
Furthermore, he was at that time primarily focused on seeing revival come to his city. There was hardly any inclination towards a worldwide movement of unceasing prayer and worship, Asia, or even Israel.
However, God is so zealous for what He has for this generation that He supernaturally confirmed His words.
Just as Bob Jones prophesied, a winter storm swept through half of the US and snow fell in the Midwest exactly on 21 March, the first of Spring that year.
Further Supernatural Confirmations for a 21-Day Fast
Fast forward to mid-April 1983…
The Lord speaks Daniel 9 and 10 to Mike Bickle and instructs him to call for a 21-day fast in May — specifically from 7–28 May 1983.
Confirmation comes a day later through Bob Jones — in a night vision, the angel Gabriel visits him and gives two prophetic words as an authentication of the fast:
1. Bob Jones was to give the Scripture “Daniel 9” to Mike Bickle, which he would immediately bear witness to;
2. God would send a comet on 7 May that was completely unpredicted by scientists to verify that this vision from Gabriel was true.
Lo and behold, on 7 May 1983, the local state newspaper reported on a surprise comet that was flying by Earth that week!
(It was only on 4 May that scientists announced the discovery of this comet. Various national news outlets reported on it throughout early May, with one headlining it a “surprise visit”. Even today, it is still remembered as a surprise, “out of the blue” comet.)
Thus, with such supernatural confirmations, it was with great anticipation that a few hundred people gathered together in May 1983 to fast and pray for revival in their city.
Unbeknownst to them, God had other plans.
Prophetic Promises for this Generation
The Lord gave four words (corresponding roughly to the four Saturdays in the fast) to Mike Bickle. These words encompass promises that extend far beyond just revival in their city and instead include God’s heart and plans for the End-Time generation.
Briefly, these four promises are:
7 May 1983 — The End-Time Prayer Movement for Israel
God used the comet in the sky to confirm His emphasis on Daniel 9 and 10 (chapters about Israel), and thus the earlier words given by Bob Jones regarding the End-Time prayer movement for Israel.
Through a separate thread of God’s story, which later converged with these promises to Mike Bickle, the comet also confirmed that God was going to raise up an End-Time Gideon’s Army that would be radical, fearless, set apart, and partner with God in great exploits. (This thread will be recounted in the next issue.)
14 May 1983 — 24/7 Prayer with Worship and Psalm 27:4
God spoke that He would raise up 24/7 worship and prayer in the spirit of the tabernacle of David in the context of Psalm 27:4, which was written by King David in the midst of crisis.
God will release the unprecedented revelation of the beauty of Jesus to and through prophetic singers who will sing forth who He is. The knowledge of Jesus is what stabilises hearts in times of crisis (Isa. 33:6), and especially so for the one at the End of the Age.
21 May 1983 — “No disease known to man will stand before this people”
Through this word from Bob Jones, God promised to release an unprecedented measure of His healing grace upon the End-Time youth movement. The End-Time generation’s healing anointing will far surpass the early Apostles, the healing evangelists (e.g. John G. Lake) and even Jesus Himself (Jn. 14:12).
The Lord also gave three passages to accompany this promise: Psalm 28, Matthew 10:8 and 1 Corinthians 15:10.
28 May 1983 — The Unprecedented Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
The Lord promised through Bob Jones of an appointed time when He would sovereignly break in with His Spirit (Joel 2:28–32). However, it would be after a period (what would end up being years) of spiritual drought.
Bob Jones further prophesied that God would confirm this word through a three-month-long physical drought over the Midwest that would be broken by rain on only one specific date picked by the Lord. Sure enough, this word came to pass and it rained as prophesied on 23 August 1983!
40 Years Later…
We stand at this Jordan River Prophetic Moment — this Sovereign Appointed Time where we are witnessing the prophetic promises come to pass. Though they may only be down payments at present, they speak of the sovereignty and great faithfulness of our God!
Here are some of the milestones and prophetic down payments of the above promises over the years, with the most historic at the 40-year mark this year:
7 May 1999 — The International House of Prayer, Kansas City held its first prayer session. It went 24/7 four months later in September 1999.
27 January 2008 — Ownership of the former Harry Truman property was transferred to IHOPKC through God’s supernatural provision. This was exactly 50 years to the date that Harry Truman sold this property to a Jewish family!
10 – 14 May 2022 — In a lead-up to “The Send” gathering, tents for 24/7 prayer and worship were set up on the Truman property, one of which was dedicated to praying for Israel.
7 – 28 May 2023 — The Lord divinely orchestrated the global Isaiah 62 Fast for Israel, mobilising over 5 million intercessors and 7,000 ministries worldwide to pray for her, culminating with over 100 million intercessors joining together in the Global Day of Prayer for Israel on Pentecost (28 May).
Undoubtedly, God has initiated the coming to pass of this promise of a global End-Time prayer movement for Israel.
Surely, we are seeing the acceleration of the actualisation of these promises in this Sovereign Appointed Time!
More to the story
But wait, there is more!
God has also given further promises regarding the End-Time generation that clearly define the kind of people we will become! He has also woven a separate thread in His tapestry of history that would eventually converge through the surprise comet in the sky on 7 May 1983.
Stay tuned!
Further background details on the promises can be found at these links: