The battle for the soul of our nation intensifies!
After many months of preparation, yesterday I spent the day in the Saints in the Stadium event in St Helens. Over 2000 people from across the nation came with a united desire to pray for the soul of the nation and for the advance of the Kingdom of God. It seemed like the most unfortunate timing in my schedule to go straight from that event to a business meeting in Belgium. I have been intensely busy with the preparations for Saints in the Stadium, and I had not looked at the address for the location of our meeting. As I arrived at the hotel in Waterloo I started to sense that the Holy Spirit of God was whispering to me.
Over dinner my host explained some of the history from 198 years ago:
The British Duke of Wellington had anticipated over a year before the now famous ‘Battle of Waterloo’ that he would at some point have to confront Napoleon and his goal of dominating Europe. With this in mind he had carefully surveyed the territory and prepared his options. In particular he had chosen the area of Waterloo because of the particular terrain. He chose a location where his troops had a strategic view of the hills and valleys, but where Napoleon’s troops from the other direction would perceive the land to be a level playing field.
Lessons for us:
- Plan ahead strategically don’t just react to events.
- Choose the terrain for the battle – don’t let the enemy choose the battleground
Wellington led an international army called the Seventh Coalition – comprising troops from Prussia, Austria, Russia and Great Britain. In the battle with Napoleon’s troops many soldiers attacked their own people because of the mud which covered everyone, making it hard to identify the enemy.
- We must be aware of the danger of attacking those on the same side as us because the battle is messy!
- We need to be in a coalition. It is called the Body of Christ – crossing boundaries of nation, culture and tradition.
We are part of a ‘Seventh Coalition’ in that 7 is God’s number. As I walked around Waterloo this evening I came across a sign on a building “ring 777 for assistance’ !
Yesterday in St Helens we made powerful declarations of our desire to work together as One Church in the United Kingdom. The Seventh Coalition is forming, we must think ahead in good time because the confrontation with the forces of domination and control are gathering. Napoleon intended to destroy the British and take control of Europe. The Seventh Coalition under Wellington was prepared and prevailed. Waterloo now has a museum dedicated to these events and the Lion representing the victory of the Seventh Coalition.
The last thing Wellington did before going into battle was to go and pray in St Joseph’s church.
Let us not be overconfident: Wellington’s comment after victory was that the battle “was the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.”
Let the Lion roar again!
John D Manwell's Blog 
Something New Emerging
April 1, 2020Some time ago I had a detailed, vivid, and dramatic dream.
I have been reflecting on it and have come to a conclusion that it was a God given insight into some of the changes that we are experiencing across the world.
The dream:
I was walking along a very ordinary road in clear daylight when I came up to a strange and grotesque sight: On the pavement I was walking along there was a medium size snake, about 4 or 5 feet long, and it was trying to swallow a lizard. The snake struggled and the lizard was wriggling like crazy – fighting for it’s life.
I leaned down to look closely and found myself looking right into the eyes of the snake. Its eyes were frantic and yet looked defiantly right back at me. I was very close up and saw the lizard struggling less, as if losing strength. With a last big effort, the snake seemed to swallow the lizard – and it went out of sight down the throat of the snake. It seemed like the snake was victorious.
I watched the snake writhe, as if the fighting lizard was not properly going down. Suddenly, the snake vomited out the lizard, which was now inside a transparent membrane – and still fighting for freedom. I knew as I watched, that the transparent membrane was an ‘amniotic sac’ – a fluid filled membrane that holds a fetus in a womb. As the lizard was thrown up on the roadway, the snake expired from the effort and collapsed dead.
The lizard then tore open the amniotic sac and got itself free – and ran away.
That next morning I had a fairly clear conviction about the meaning of the dream, and I have pondered on this for some time. I feel it most strongly relates to political and governmental change.
I believe that the snake is a picture of the leadership that has been in place in many situations for a long time – governmental, business and media organisations, as well as perhaps charities and religious groups. This unhealthy leadership has been attempting to devour the new leaders who are emerging across the earth. The lizard represents a new type of leader, and this new generation of leadership has been in the birth process. What appeared to be the old attempting to devour the new, has been turned on its head, and become the birth of the new, and death of the old.
The birth of the new
We have observed a renewed political openness to what has been called ‘populism’ – which seems to be the hunger of people around the world for a new type of leadership. What has emerged so far might be simply the early manifestations of the yearning that is in the people.
I also wonder if the amniotic sac hints at the refreshed challenge to the global and grotesque practice of infant abortion.
I’m convinced that the snake powerfully typifies secular and godless controlling authority, and the lizard represents leadership that is spiritually awake and sympathetic to God’s agenda.
I discern that there are a variety of actual out workings of this dream around us already. I believe that God has been compelling me this past week to write and publish the dream and this part of the interpretation.
The new is emerging and we are in it!
Tags:abortion, atheism, crisis, global crisis, global debt bubble, jubilee, Kairos, leadership, mutuality, new life, new season, opportunity, populism, secularism, Social impact, spiritual, Spiritual warfare
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