Chapter 1
What the Devil Doesn’t Want You to Know

The Power of Prophetic Acts

Why are prophetic acts so powerful? When I inquired of the Lord, He directed me to John 8:44, where Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, saying: You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. The context here is one of religious unbelief. Jesus is speaking to religious leaders who stubbornly refuse to accept the truth He preaches. His statement that the devil cannot stand in the truth because there is no truth in him contains the key to understanding the power of prophetic acts.

When we read that the devil is a liar, we assume that he lies to us but not to his minions. If the devil were to speak the truth to his demons, he would have to disclose certain unpleasant facts about the end of time—facts concerning the lake of fire, their eternal demise and Satan’s utter defeat. If he were to let them in on news of their fate, it is safe to assume that his troops would not fight for him so intensely. The primary intent of a lie is always to exert some form of control over the person being lied to. The truth is always more powerful than lies; but those who believe a lie come, within the scope of the lie, under the control of the liar. In the case of the Pharisees, the words of Jesus failed to register with them because they had accepted a lie instead.

For centuries the devil has told the same lies: “White Christians will never repent and make restitution to the nonwhite people they have wronged through the ages. Gentiles will never love Jews. Men will never honor and respect women but will only wish to exploit them.” Such ludicrous statements become more believable when they are sustained by
hatred that is validated by human self-centeredness. This was the case in America where, at one time, the Supreme Court ruled that blacks were not equal to whites in the eyes of the
law; and in Europe, where the Church did not denounce or oppose murderous ethnic cleansings. In such cases the lies of the devil become incorporated into the cultural fiber of
a nation.

On the other hand, when even a small group, made up of people affected by such lies, performs a prophetic act that exemplifies and declares the opposite of what a particular lie proclaims, then a circle of truth is painted around the devil, thereby exposing his scheme for all to see, for he cannot stand in the truth. To be successful, a liar must conceal the fact that he is a liar; otherwise no one will believe his lies. The devil avoids truth so his cover will not be blown. A prophetic act does exactly that, altering and eventually exposing, through the insertion of truth, the devil’s carefully orchestrated cover of intertwined lies. Our hour of opportunity comes once a lie is exposed and its aura of immutability removed. Although circumstances in the natural realm may still look the same, a prophetic act calls the things that are not as though they are. In an act of spiritual warfare directed at the devil, we confess with our lips what we have chosen to believe in our hearts.

This is clearly implied in Revelation 12:11, where we are told that the devil is defeated by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony (confession) and a commitment to warfare so
fierce that we despise our lives even unto death. Spiritual truth can never remain dormant; it has to be declared. And when it is, the truth challenges and eventually changes that which opposes it. As a result, what was thought to be impossible (through Satan’s lie) now becomes possible (through Jesus’ truth)—not just in that time and place but beyond. Like ripples in a pond, the spoken truth moves outward in ever-expanding circles set into motion by the initial prophetic act.

When we punch a hole in the darkness, at first light just filters in through the hole. But the light keeps on spreading, until the once-impenetrable mantle of blackness eventually dissipates. This is why such a simple but courageous act not only destroyed the absolute-ness of Satan’s deception in San Nicolas—that the city was his and nothing would ever change the spiritual status quo—but also continues to spread hope around the world.

The paradigm shifts we will look at in this book usually came into focus first as prophetic acts. Small, isolated and apparently insignificant though not irrelevant, these acts birthed something that continues to expand and grow. What were in the beginning small streams in remote areas of the jungle are gradually coming together to forge mighty rivers. Come with me as we explore these streams and river to determine what has happened so far, how much more is and will be happening and how close we are to claiming the prize. But first, we must equip ourselves with a very important tool that makes the journey possible: prayer evangelism.

Note
1. NASA, “What Makes An Airplane Fly—Level 1,” ALLSTAR (Aeronautics Learning Laboratory for Science,Technology and Research) Network, February 29, 2000. http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/fltmidfly.htm
(accessed June 7, 2000). Lift is that force which opposes the force of gravity (or weight). Lift is produced by a lower pressure created on the upper surface of an airplane’s wing compared to the pressure on the
wing’s lower surface, causing the wing to be lifted upward. The special shape of the airplane wing, called an airfoil, is designed so that air flowing over the wing will have to travel a greater distance faster, result-ing
in a lower pressure area and thus lifting the wing upward.
2. Charles H. Kraft, “In Dark Dungeons of Collective Captivity: Response,” in Wrestling with Dark Angels, ed.
C. Peter Wagner and F. Douglas Pennoyer, (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1990), p. 276.