In 1999, I gave out series of rather lengthy prophecies to some Christian leaders. I stored them in a folder and put them in a storage cupboard after a house move, as I thought that my task of delivering them had been done. I only found them again around two years ago.
A few days ago, when I was writing about prophecies I have received for Italy, I became disturbed about an apparent contradiction between what I see God is already doing in Europe and something that in my prophetic understanding should already have happened before that. So, I read through those prophetic files again to find out if I had missed something important.
Sandwiched between two other prophecies was a section on what I believe is applicable to Brexit. But more importantly, the prophecy is really about what will happen after Brexit rather than Brexit itself. Unfortunately, I am unable to share the whole prophecy, which is around three pages long, as much of it concerns the private matters of individuals. And that was the reason why I had never revisited these prophecies, as I had thought that my business was delivery only.
The Brexit part of the prophecy I gave out in January 1999 says:
“I shall bless England with an awakening, but I shall also judge her. Even when the direction of this nation will seem to have changed, the same powers of hell that shall break loose in the Continent, shall also break loose in the UK. The resistance against the gospel shall be taken away for a moment, in order to bring the great harvest in. After that hell shall break loose, and church shall be faced by tribulation after tribulation. But My genuine servants shall rejoice because of the great harvest, that will keep on coming into the Kingdom.”
Now, after this prophecy, which I received over 18 years ago, I have received many other prophetic words, such as a prophecy about 30 years of reformation in Europe, and more recently, a full interpretation of the prophetic words for Italy, so I have always looked at the near future of Europe positively, although I have always believed that in the long run, dark clouds will be gathering over Europe. But it is our task not just to prophesy what will happen in the next generation, but also to do the work tasked for this generation, hence I have always been more focused on the work we can do in this generation than prophesying what will happen to the next, work such as bringing the Middle Eastern refugees coming to Europe to Christ.
First of all, at the time when I received this prophecy, I had zero understanding of it. And at the time of the referendum I didn’t even remember it, as the more recent prophecies about Europe were fresh on my mind.
Before the Brexit section of the prophecy, the prophecy forecast the increase of Christians in London (which has now happened), and issues linked to the Parliament.
Then the prophecy moves to talking about England, and the seeming change of direction of the nation. We should always read the wordings of prophecies carefully. And the wording of this prophecy is significant, as after England it moves on to talking about the UK, for it was England that voted to change the direction of this nation, but the decision is affecting the whole UK. And it says that it will "seem" that Britain will take a different direction than the Continent, which is where we are now.
But this prophecy is not a political commentary about whether the Brexit decision was right or wrong, but a reminder that the real battle we are in is not against the EU or any other political system, but against the power of principalities. What this prophecy is saying that no matter what, we are still under the influence of the same principalities and powers that Europe is under, and no amount of political decision making will change it.
In essence, what the prophecy is saying is that this opting out from the EU won't matter much, at least on spiritual level. God is saying that Britain will be unable to opt out from the spiritual battles over Europe. It remains to be seen what this means on political level, but that is not really my concern here.
I fear that much of the British Evangelical Church has embarked on a political battle, when it really is a time of harvest. This very weekend when I am writing this, around 600 converts from Islam into Christianity are gathering in a church in Finland, and we are supplying some of them with resources for discipleship. This shows that we can either prophesy against the islamisation of Europe through the flow of refugees, like many do, or we can focus on winning these people for Christ. I think we should rejoice in the Harvest.
I believe that we are entering a season of harvest in Europe, and that there will be a window of opportunity lasting about 30 years.
This is one of the only two prophetic words I have received about Brexit. The other one I received around a week before the referendum, and it troubled me greatly. The Holy Spirit asked me to read Jeremiah 27 when I was praying over the coming referendum. In essence, I believe that Jeremiah 27 gives us an appropriate interpretation of where we are as a nation related to the EU.
'In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord to me: ‘Make for yourselves bonds and yokes, and put them on your neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 And command them to say to their masters, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel—thus you shall say to your masters: 5 ‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. 6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. 7 So all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the time of his land comes; and then many nations and great kings shall make him serve them. 8 And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,’ says the Lord, ‘with the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, “You shall not serve the king of Babylon.” 10 For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’”’” 12 I also spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, “Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live! 13 Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they prophesy a lie to you; 15 for I have not sent them,” says the Lord, “yet they prophesy a lie in My name, that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you.” 16 Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, “Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon”; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste? 18 But if they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, do not go to Babylon.’ 19 “For thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the Sea, concerning the carts, and concerning the remainder of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 yes, thus says the Lordof hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: 22 ‘They shall be carried to Babylon, and there they shall be until the day that I visit them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them up and restore them to this place.’”'
I know this is not the word many will like. But it seems to me that like Babylon, God has instituted the EU to rule nations, at least on the Continent, in our time. Like with Babylon, this might be an ungodly rule, but it is a rule that will, nevertheless, last for a season. The historical context (see this article) to Jeremiah 27 is that at the time, Babylon was suffering from a civil war and the false prophets were encouraged by that, prophesying the imminent collapse of the whole empire. In a similar way, many Christians claim, falsely, I believe, that Brexit will lead to many other exists from the EU. They understand that being outside the EU can be economically harmful, but their support for Brexit has been based on the idea that Brexit will ultimately lead to the collapse of the EU, the “evil empire”.
But even if that scenario were to happen, we would still be fighting against the same principalities and powers than before, for according to the Bible, our battle is not political but spiritual. But it is because of the politicisation of the Charismatic movement in America and their influence here, that many are increasingly seeing the battle against principalities and powers as a political battle.
But I believe that God is saying is that no matter what we want or not, we will have to be living with the empire next door, and that we shouldn’t make our future plans through pretending that it won’t exist tomorrow.
I don’t assume that I understand everything that will happen in Europe and the UK because of Brexit. Neither do I think for a moment that when Jeremiah says in the verse 17: “Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste?” that those words left his lips easily.
I am sure that his preferred option was for Jerusalem to be the capital of Judah, a free and independent nation. But that option was not on the menu.
As for me, whatever happens next politically, my focus will be on enabling the Church to bring in the harvest that God has promised will come. For the prophecy I was given was never about Brexit but that when it would happen, we should get ready to bring in the harvest—in Britain and Europe.
I believe that we are coming to a season of 30 years of reformation in Europe, and that millions of Europeans, including Britons, will find Jesus at this time. And that should be the main concern of the Church—if we still believe that there is a difference between the destinies of people in eternity and not just on earth.
You can connect with Marko on Twitter @markojoensuu and on Facebook at facebook.com/marko.joensuu or by visiting markojoensuu.com.
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