The other day I was listening to the IHOP singers and one of them started a 'chant' personalizing that she was "the apple of God's eye." I happened to catch her give one of the musicians a mischievous eye and smile when she repeated it and others picked it up. Maybe it is just her way, but it troubled me and seemed purposeful - a knowing "appropriation" of a uniquely specific God-to-Israel verse. The Church has not replaced Israel as the apple of God's eye. Church people are no more worthy of God's love and loyalty than Israel.
It disturbed me seeing that in one of my most favorite musical teams at IHOP, but this is an overwhelmingly young congregation. They did not come to Kansas City untouched by the indoctrination of what their peers believe about Israel. Every young congregation needs to look at IHOP-KC as a cautionary tale: if young people are not rooted and grounded in God's intentions and plans for Israel and how they fit in, a coup may be waiting in the wings. Some of the ideas of equality and social justice are not rooted and grounded in God's Word at all.
I know that the apple of God's eye can include all followers of Jesus who have been grafted in, however, many do not realize that is because we Christians have become the "commonwealth of Israel." It is only those Christians who embrace Israel who are going to go on into "the fullness" of spiritual maturity to the identification by God of being called "Zion" along with the "one new man" Messianic believers. I honestly do not think that embrace is a mere elective; it will be the ultimate litmus test of our caring about God's way or our way.
As far as Israel is concerned, I don't consider what is happening at IHOP-KC a distraction, but a pointed indicator of the warfare ahead for standing with Israel as a Christian. It is not only an indicator, but the first major case of a hostile take-down of a ministry that was raised up for such a time as this to watch over worldwide prayers being made on Israel's behalf to the throne of God.
That is why God gave Mike Bickle a dual mandate for 24/7 prayer and worship houses network to ultimately pray for Israel's salvation in such a time as this. The heat is on and the work of the enemy has benched Bickle and sidelined the vision of IHOP-KC. If you took a poll at IHOP-KC and alumni, I believe it would show overwhelming that they believe IHOP-KC could continue to thrive as a 24/7 prayer and worship house network WITHOUT praying for Israel except as a token gesture. But that is not the vision God gave when establishing it.
In the past week Jeremiah Johnson published a dream he had about Mike Bickle being "the pope" of 24/7 prayer houses. In the dream God gave JJ a prophetic word telling how God was taking Mike's 'pope crown' away, throwing it down and breaking it and JJ was to distribute it out pieces of it to other prophets. Johnson named a few. Then he said he gave a piece of Mike's "crown" to the believers in Asia and they would be the ones that carried the ISRAEL MANDATE. That is so against what God's WORD says about the mandate to pray for Israel being ALL Christians in ALL nations!
God never set up Mike Bickle as "the pope" of the work he was called by God to build, and he sure never acted like "the pope" in the eyes of those of us who watched him over the years. I am reminded suddenly of the rebellion of Korah who led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, accusing them of exalting themselves above the congregation of the Lord ( Numbers 16:1-3 ). BEWARE what you accuse Bickle of. Tread carefully.
Mike's rollout of the fasting and prayer for Israel and for the worldwide intercessors who would be praying for Israel at the end of May 2023 was with all humility. In honesty, much of what has come out from the prophets smacks of envy to me. There is always a willingness to assume the worst about someone we feel competitive against.
I know that many are thinking, well what do you do about the accusations of sexual impropriety against Mike Bickle, just give him a pass? No. But I do recognize that ALL OF THE ACCUSATIONS four months later are still just accusations even though most of the charismatic world has already accepted all the accusations as true, and dismissed Mike Bickle without so much as even knowing, much less questioning his accusers.
This is why God calls us judge all matters His way - not our own way, and not the world's way! Because His way is measured, calm and just - it does not spiral into judging matters based on our emotional ties with someone, like an accuser.
We are instructed by God that we HAVE TO judge matters without "respect of persons" - without strong emotional ties that do not allow us to judge without prejudice or bias; and on the basis of facts, not accusations alone. Anyone can make accusations for any number of reasons, but facts are the high standard to convict anyone of anything justly. Family members make terrible investigators, prosecutors, judges and juries because they are too clouded with emotion to focus only on facts.
I have watched the accusations made against Mike Bickle quickly grow into being a serial "predator" who "manipulated using prophecy" to "groom" young women for "future forbidden relationships" to being the spiritual world's version of Jeffrey Epstein, allowing other sexual predators a place to pick out victims. No evidence, just accusations that are being hidden from the rest of us. I have seen prophets pontificating on how he was always the spiritual offspring of other older prophets who were tied with IHOP early on who had their own sexual sins. What bitter, envious, wrong-spirited accusations against Mike Bickle!
It has been a full on demonic assault against him. It may not be a human conspiracy, but it sure is a demonic conspiracy. Mike Bickle carried a mantle for raising up 24/7 prayer and it was for the purpose of creating WORLDWIDE PRAYER HOUSES THAT WOULD BE ENGAGED IN THE PRAYER FOR ISRAEL MANDATE. Never has Israel needed worldwide prayers more than now.
This attack on Mike Bickle began to unfold on the very month - March - when Bickle first shared his vision for the 21-days of prayer for Israel's salvation to engage the worldwide intercessors who would be meeting in Jerusalem at the end of May to pray for Israel. Most of that second group that Mike was directing prayers for them to catch the Israel vision, had NO inclination to understand GOD's HEART for Israel - that is why Mike called for IHOP to completely immerse themselves in Fasting and Prayer for this extensive worldwide group of intercessors to get the revelation.
The truth is, most of IHOP-ers have had no clue why they should be involved with the Israel Mandate.
[My source of this comes from an "insider" in IHOP who confided it was so before the controversy of 2023). Most IHOP-ers only have the vision for 24/7 prayer and worship. I believe the same is true in the international network of associated prayer houses. IHOP-KC was a foothold that if this controversy had not broken out, would have become the launching point of God's vision of the "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15) breaking new ground internationally. I pray God will make a way for that to be carried out still.
Also I do believe the lack of understanding at IHOP about the essential role of the Israel Mandate is due to a lot of generational baggage younger people have been indoctrinated with. They have been taught to equate Israelis and Palestinians as mutually aggressive rather than understanding the the terrorists who rule Palestinians have for over 70 years been fully committed to annihilation of all Israel. Many Christians have bought into the lie that if they are not pro-Palestinian and instead support Israel, that they are not really being "Christian" about it. Lie.
I don't believe that it is by coincidence that Accuser #1 had a 20 years later traumatic revelation in March of what her sexual activities with Bickle meant to her.
Her view was that he had victimized her, not that she as a 19 year old woman had decided to engage in a romantic involvement with a married man. At 19 she is responsible for her own decision regardless of how she might idolize Mike. For me it is not so hard to understand that she would throw Bickle under the bus as a predator, so she could remove herself from any responsibility or accountability. She would not be the first woman to do such a thing - feigning innocence and blaming the man entirely.
We have been overly sensitized to the #MeToo Feminist version of sexual encounters, that many men are eager to prove they are not one of those brute beasts males who take advantage of the weaker sex. Hence they "Believe the Woman"
In the Deep South 100 years ago, when a white woman would have consensual sex with a black man, then afterwards have fearful regrets of being caught, she would accuse the black man of rape. Of course her word was accepted over his and he would end up swinging from a tree for consensual sex.
Pardon me speculating but I fear this is exactly what is happening to Mike Bickle. If it were not the case, then he wouldn't be left hanging for the past four months being tried in public opinion instead of getting a real, just, fair, impartial investigation and hearing of the facts - within the body of Christ. If there are none among us who can be considered impartial judges, able to hear the facts and give judgment without bias or prejudice, then we are far truly in horrible condition as His representatives on the earth.
The refusal to allow cross examination of the accusers and with the "Advocacy Group" now making videos to tell 1-sided stories that further inflame public opinion is a huge red flag to me. One of the women featured in the YouTube Advocacy Group gave us another layer of the story by saying it was because she was seeing the life of the husband of accuser #1 blowing up, she got him to confide in her the story his wife told him about Mike Bickle.
That is what set everything in motion. Why must we just accept that she told her husband the whole truth, keeping nothing back? People keep secrets even from their spouses, especially guilty secrets. How much greater do the stakes become to the accuser's marriage if an honest and fair cross examination pokes holes in what she told her husband? It is motivation to stick with the story, isn't it?
Any group that seeks to silence a fair hearing for Mike Bickle is censoring fact-finding and that will only lead to gross injustice. Personally I believe there is much jealousy being exposed in those who are so willing to believe the worst of Mike Bickle without a fair investigation and hearing by judicial, spiritual elders in the international body. Also that among many of the women involved in the controversy surrounding this there is an aspiration for a spiritual version of the Feminist movement in Christian circles. I believe the hearts of many are being exposed, and really it is for the purpose of everyone being able to repent for their failures and sins, not just playing at holier than Mike.
I pray God will speak mightily into this nightmare at IHOP-KC which is bringing denunciation of prophesy altogether and causing others to walk away losing faith. "Its all been a lie."
As for Mike Bickle, he has confessed to an out-of-bounds relationship with accuser #1 that was just short of actual sexual intercourse. Still forbidden, but he also said he confessed his sin before God, repented of it - which means turned away from the behavior - and believed it was a sin under the blood of Jesus.
As for accuser #1, it ludicrous to me to believe that after 20-something years of keeping her secret from everyone, she finally had a sudden revelation while watching the trial of Bill Cosby that her sexualized romance with Bickle had been all his fault. She never told anyone in all those years what had taken place. That is guilt, not repressed memory.
I believe we should pray for God to arise and shake the lies out of this whole thing. Let the sunshine in and the truth be known.
* UPDATE: On
2/1 the investigator for IHOP released her findings
which can be downloaded. From these findings & additional information,
I stand by completely what I wrote above several days ago.
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