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EUROPE: An Invasion of Kingdom Purpose
Doug Fortune
In South Africa I ministered in Capetown, Durban and Pretoria. This trip really 'set the stage' for my experience in Europe. While in South Africa, I was privileged to be with some of the strongest apostolic leaders of our day and to actually see an apostolic model operating. The Feast of Tabernacles Conference in Capetown gathered leaders from all over Africa, Europe, and several other continents. What a powerful word of Kingdom purpose and destiny was released there! I don't know that I can really explain it, but I felt a major shift in the heavenlies during the conference. Maybe I just watched too much Star Trek as a kid, but it felt like the opening of a portal during the conference. Along with several other meetings while in Durban, I was privileged to minister to over 300 pastors that meet weekly for an apostolic forum. Imagine that... more than 300 leaders meeting weekly! While in Pretoria I ministered at a similar forum with about 150 leaders that meet on a regular basis. I saw unity, structure, and a deferring to others while acknowledging the grace upon each other. I don't know that I can explain it fully, but I believe that somehow there is a spiritual 'link' between Africa and Europe. The gospel spread from Europe to Africa in past centuries and now I believe that spiritual 'seed', that spiritual deposit will reap a reciprocal harvest in Europe. Also, while in Capetown I visited the Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek, which was erected as a remembrance of the many thousands of French Huguenots (Protestants) that fled from religious persecution in the 17th and 18th centuries to South Africa. The French Huguenots were Protestant Reformers branded as heretics and therefore persecuted and massacred. In fact an estimated 110,000 Huguenots were slaughtered in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre alone in the year 1572 in Paris. Interestingly enough, amnesty was granted in 1573 that pardoned the perpetrators. The blood of those Huguenot martyrs still cries out today from French soil. That very blood of Huguenot Reformers will serve to water the seeds of this Kingdom Reformation that is coming. Many of the French Huguenots found refuge in Africa and I believe that somehow once again Africa will provide a 'refuge' of sorts. This time I believe it will be Africa providing 'refuge' on French soil, for those who seek present truth and resist religious tradition. CREATIVITY- Our first stop in Europe was to minister in Paris, France at two churches, one of which was a primarily African church. To me Paris represents the Arts, as it is home to the Louvre and other major museums. Even though it may be in its' infancy, I believe there is a restoration of the Arts to the Church beginning to happen now. I am not simply speaking of Art that is decorative or inspirational in nature, either. Art influences everything. Someone designed and drew plans for the chair you may be sitting on, the building you may be in, the car you drive. Other than nature, most everything we depend on began with 'art'. Leonardo da Vinci's 'art' went way beyond the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, as he has been one of the most innovative and influential minds in Western civilization. This is the kind of restoration of the Arts to the Church that I am speaking of- innovation and creativity leading to influence in many arenas of society. CREATION- The next stop was to minister in Lausanne, Switzerland. Lausanne is located on the shore of vast Lake LeMan that is surrounded by the Swiss Alps. With the height of the mountains reflected in the depth of the lake, to me Lausanne represented the call to 'come up higher' and reflect the High Calling of Christ in the very depth of our being, as Deep calls to deep (Psalms 42:7). Switzerland is filled with the beauty of nature, and I believe in a complete restoration of all creation. The curse that Adam brought upon creation as he forsook the likeness of God will be reversed as Sons of God arise into the fullness of the image and likeness of Christ. "For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known [waits for the REVEALING, the disclosing of their SONSHIP]. For the creation (NATURE) was subjected to frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration), not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of Him Who so subjected it--[yet] with the HOPE That NATURE (creation) itself will be SET FREE from its bondage to DECAY and CORRUPTION [and gain an entrance] into the glorious freedom of God's children." (Romans 8:19-21 Amplified Bible) PROCREATION- Lyon, France was the next stop on the itinerary to minister at a primarily African church. Interestingly enough, I was ministering in Lyon at the very time of the Festival of Lights that is celebrated each year. The Festival of Lights is a Catholic celebration venerating Mary, the mother of Jesus, as centuries ago they dedicated the city of Lyon to Mary. Obviously Mary is not to be venerated or worshipped, and because of the Catholic preoccupation with Mary, traditional Christianity has perhaps missed out on of the most crucial and relevant Biblical personalities. While in Lyon, I ministered on the importance of the life of Mary to us. We can learn much from Mary, as she serves as a prototype for the Church as the 'Word is being made flesh' within us. Remember Mary's declaration, "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; BE IT UNTO ME according to thy WORD." (Luke 1:38) Mary broke out of the confines of the 'possible' into a supernatural impregnation to birth a Holy Thing- the Son of God; "For with God NOTHING shall be impossible." (Luke 1:37) I believe that Father is raising up spiritual 'Marys' that will declare, BE IT UNTO ME according to thy WORD! These 'Marys' will break out of the confines of the 'possible' into a supernatural impregnation to birth a Holy Thing in the earth- the Sons of God. APOSTOLIC ORGANIZATION AND MISSION- Next it was on to the Netherlands and Belgium. At The Haag, Netherlands I ministered at a governmental apostolic reformation Church. Located in the very seat of the government in Holland, Dominion Centre exercises governmental spiritual authority over the region. The Dutch are known as being very organized and precise, every square inch of land is utilized, nothing wasted. For centuries windmills have been used in conjunction with canals and dikes as over 1/3 of their land has been reclaimed from the sea. They have definitely figured out how to manage wind and water. Spiritually speaking, the 'wind' is symbolic of the things of the Spirit, and 'water' is symbolic of the Word of God. All to often in the Church you find people who are either very sensitive to things of the Spirit, yet are not well founded in the Word of God, or those who are well grounded in the Word, but don't flow much in the Spirit. I believe that Father is raising up a people of governmental spiritual authority that operate adeptly in both 'Wind' and 'Water'. GOVERNMENTAL INFLUENCE- Gent, Belgium, a beautiful and ancient city, was next on the itinerary to minister. Just a few miles away, the governmental seat of the European Union is located in Brussels, where our host while in Belgium works in governmental affairs. Think about this for a moment... even though Belgium is a very small country, it is home to the seat of government of a major world power- the European Union. To me, Belgium speaks of governmental influence beyond size. This is exactly the type of restoration that Father has in mind for the Church- governmental influence that stretches far beyond size. Father has never required a 'majority' in order to rule. SEEDS OF KINGDOM CIVILIZATION & CULTURE- We then flew to Italy for our last stops. Our time in Rome was just to visit and in Naples I ministered in a primarily African Church. Once again, I was impressed with the 'link' between Africa and Europe. Rome and Naples represent the very seeds of Western civilization and culture. The Roman Pagan Empire eventually evolved into the Roman Papal Empire, with the defeat of Pagan Emperor Maxentius and the rise of Emperor Constantine. Constantine is said to have had a vision the night before a battle. In this dream he saw the symbol of Christ shining above the sun. Seeing this as a divine sign, it is said that Constantine had his soldiers paint the symbol on their shields. Following this Constantine went on to defeat the numerically stronger army of Maxentius at the Battle at the Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Constantine saw this victory as directly related to the vision he had had the night before. It is said that henceforth Constantine saw himself as an 'emperor of the Christian people'. If this made him a Christian is the subject of some debate. His continued belief in Paganism is revealed by the laws he passed. For example, Constantine issued laws confirming the rights of flamens, priests and duumvirs. His belief in Pagan divination is confirmed by legislation calling for the consultation of augurs after an amphitheater had been struck by lightning in the year AD 320. Constantine explicitly allowed public divination as well as public Pagan practices to continue. However, Constantine's Edict of Milan in AD 313 caused the persecution of Christians to cease and a few years later in AD 325 the Council of Nicaea made Christianity the religion of the state. Government officials then became officials of the church, regardless of any type of spiritual regeneration. A painting at the Vatican depicts the situation quite well, as we see in the painting a pagan shrine toppled over and replaced by a cross. I believe Constantine simply replaced one form of paganism for another. Unfortunately we see these same seeds of replacement rather than regeneration manifesting in Western Christianity, however that trend is beginning to change. While in Naples, we saw the amphitheatre where Christians were fed to lions. Many are not aware that Christians were not martyred at the Coliseum in Rome. I believe that blood of martyrdom still cries from the ground and will serve to water the 'seeds' of Kingdom Reformation. While in Rome, we visited the Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica to discover some interesting facts that point to a spiritual parallel. Vatican City is an independent state within Rome. It has its own constitution, postal system, seal, flag, and the Vatican also has its own army, the Swiss Guard. Entirely surrounded by Rome, Vatican City is the smallest independent nation in the world and is classified as a microstate, with an area of 44 hectares (less than 110 acres). Yet we know that the real influence of the Vatican literally spans the globe and millions of people. Can you see the parallel? I can see the Kingdom of God established in thousands of small 'independent states' worldwide. These 'independent states' are churches and believers that are independent from the system of the world, and totally dependent upon Father. I can see their influence spanning the globe and millions of people. They are the 'seeds', watered by the blood of past and present martyrs, of a new Kingdom civilization and culture. I guess I am foolish enough to believe Scriptures such as these: "The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15) "Do you not know that the saints (the believers) will [one day] judge and GOVERN the WORLD?" (1 Corinthians 6:2 Amplified Bible) "For the EARTH shall be FILLED with the knowledge of the GLORY of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14) "The EARTH is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalms 24:1) "Blessed are the meek: for they shall INHERIT the EARTH." (Matthew 5:5) Many in Christendom view Europe as a 'dark' and difficult place for the gospel of Jesus Christ. In many ways this may be true, however I believe that 'darkness' is an excellent environment for an invasion of Light. I seem to recall reading of a similar scenario that eventually turned out to be rather successful, when in the midst of a Roman occupied territory filled with spiritual darkness, Someone started a church with only 12 men, most of whom were fishermen. It worked then... it can work today. I am looking for an invasion of Europe with Kingdom purpose. If you have comments or ideas concerning the subject of this article, I would like to hear from you. Doug Fortune |
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