092 - 4:18 At Last
Letter from the Editor
We are just six days into the Global Yeshua Fast, pressing into the Lord for revelation and intercession for His purposes for Israel. It’s often been these very seasons of intensified consecration and unified focus that have become the highpoints of our history in prayer together. Likewise, God always seems to maximize these seasons of fasting by encountering us in deeply personal ways as well. If you haven’t yet joined the fast, it’s not too late to consider jumping in now, to whatever measure you have faith. At the same time, today’s briefing should be a great encouragement to you. It relays a very recent and significant prophetic word that speaks to a present shift amidst the Body of Christ that is sure to impact many.
-- Cheryl Amabile
4:18 at Last
For most of the past fifteen years, we’ve engaged in an annual fast from March 1st through April 9th, the anniversary of the Azusa Street Revival. The first of these recurring fasts was catalyzed by a series of prophetic dreams concerning a spiritual confrontation with the Prince of Persia. This was precipitated not long after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the newly elected president of Iran, had made the despicable and harrowing statement that Israel should be "wiped off the face of the earth." God led us in extraordinary ways during that fast.
This year, Lou Engle felt strongly compelled by the Lord to call a fast for Israel once again. He ended up moving the dates to April 14 - May 23 in order to culminate on Pentecost, while bridging the Jewish and Western calendars. The International House of Prayer in Kansas City agreed to partner in the fast, along with multiple other groups and networks. As it turned out, IHOP-KC got a head start, as they had already arranged to fast from March 1 - April 9 before the dates were changed. This allowed for two significant back-to-back 40-day fasts.
On April 9th, the last day of IHOP’s fast, they received a dramatic prophetic word from a pastor and prophetic minister named Chris Reed. Mike Bickle had met Chris a few months prior, and invited him to come and speak at IHOP’s weekend services, unrelated to the fast. It just happened that last weekend was the first opening in Chris’ schedule. So, Chris arrived in Kansas City on the morning of day 40, April 9th, just as the news broke of Prince Philip’s death in Great Britain.
One of the first things Chris shared with Mike and his leadership team was that God had given him a prophetic riddle about Prince Philip back in November 2019. He showed Mike the word on his phone, time-stamped from over a year earlier. The riddle was, “When the prince will pass, it will be 418 at last.” Chris wasn’t sure what God meant by this, but to Mike and his team, it had everything to do with Luke 4:18.
Back in April of 1990, Mike Bickle was with Paul Cain in a hospital room in Dallas where Paul’s mother was dying at the age of 104. Weeks before, she had told Paul that she would give him the most important prophetic word he ever received. However, she slipped into a coma before delivering the word. That day, with Mike present, Anna Cain suddenly awoke from her coma to prophesy to her son, saying, “Paul, God is giving to you and to the world, Luke 4:18.” As soon as she finished speaking, she lost consciousness once again. Shortly afterwards, Anna died at exactly 4:18 in the afternoon on April 18th… a sign and a wonder!
You are likely familiar with Luke 4:18, which is the gospel account of Jesus at the end of his own 40-day fast. Luke tells how Jesus returned from the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. He then went to the synagogue in Nazareth, where he had grown up, and opened the scroll of Isaiah to read:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;”
After reading the passage, Jesus went on to proclaim, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In hindsight it is easy to see the momentous shift that was taking place in that moment of history. Yeshua, who had dwelled among His people in the flesh for thirty years, was suddenly revealing himself as the One whom Isaiah had foretold. He went on from there to fulfill every word that had been written of Him, from his authoritative preaching, astounding miracles, signs and wonders, unto his rejection, bitter suffering and ultimate death that allowed oaks of righteousness to spring up before all nations.
Now, we understand from the word of the Lord that we have come to yet another day when this scripture is fulfilled. Something shifted as of April 9th. We don’t know all that it will look like, but we know that every word Isaiah used to describe Jesus’ ministry is to become fitting, once again, in describing the ministry of His people who are fully yielded to Him. Just as it was with Yeshua, this will be unto the glory of the One who sent Him, and unto the salvation and deliverance of multitudes whom He has longed to gather under His wings, at last!
Would you join us in praying for many to come out of this 40-day fast in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray for the opening of the scroll of Luke 4:18 over your own life and the lives of prepared vessels across the Body of Christ.
Pray Joel 2:28, that God would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. Pray for a release of His glory, with the fear of the Lord and with miracles, signs and wonders as He did at Azusa Street and other historic revivals since Acts 2.
Pray for the revealing of Yeshua. That the understanding of his identity and nature, as first made known in Nazareth, would come full circle to the Jewish peoples once again. Declare sight to blind eyes and the opening of ears to hear the preaching of the gospel. Pray for the broken-hearted and oppressed to experience the healing and deliverance of their Messiah.
For more on Paul Cain and the remarkable Luke 4:18 storyline, see the following briefings:
#043 A Cataytic Moment
#045 The Youngest and Smallest
#060 You Said You Would Deliver Us
Click here to watch Lou Engle preaching on Luke 4:18 at Upper Room Dallas on 4/18/21.
Also, here is a link to Mike Bickle’s message on 4/16/21 covering Chris Reed’s word and the implications of the Luke 4:18 storyline.
