Is the Tide Turning?
Earlier this month, a strange thing happened: a major news outlet reported on a prophetic word. During an interview with FOX News, Shawn Bolz said God had given him a prophetic word that “the tide is turning now” regarding the coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19) and that the disease would soon come to an end. The story exploded in popularity, becoming FOX News’ No. 2 story of the day.
Just three days earlier, he told Charisma News the same thing. At the time, coronavirus had reportedly infected over 82,000 people around the world and caused more than 2,800 deaths. The World Health Organization would declare COVID-19 a pandemic just 11 days later. Yet in the midst of this global crisis, Bolz confidently shared his prophetic word:
“The Lord showed me the end of the coronavirus. The tide is turning now! He is answering the prayers and cries of the nations and is putting an end in sight. The exaggerated fear-based tactics of the enemy and several media outlets for political reasons are coming to an end. The enemy has been trying to distract and steal from several equally important purposes and issues by dominating airwaves with conspiracy and fear. Even now, several vaccines are coming out, as well as a natural dying out of the virus itself. The Lord is saying, ‘I am removing the threat of this.’ Within a short amount of time, the extreme threat will feel as though it is in the distant past.”
Later, Bolz told Charisma founder Stephen Strang, “This will not become a pandemic with pandemonium and millions dying. They’re going to say that millions will die, but millions won’t die, especially in America.”
Coronavirus has since infected more than half a million worldwide—including more than 70,000 in the U.S—and killed more than 22,000 people. Unemployment rates have been rising, the stock market has been plummeting, and hope is running out for many.
Yet prophets are still speaking out and sharing prophetic words regarding this tumultuous season—and some of their predictions quite boldly defy the consensus of experts.
“You have people who work alongside the World Health Organization … saying, ‘We’re going down the doomsday road,'” Bolz says. “Then you have the prophetic community and the church saying, ‘That’s not where we’re going. That’s not God’s story for our generation.’ And that’s even more important than how fast it turns—is that God has a story for our generation, and it’s not to take out a whole generation of people to purge or do something. That’s not a prophetic word from God or God’s desire. … And the second thing is that I believe right now there’s about to be an economic upturn, not downturn. I believe the Lord showed me that Trump would win another term in office.”
Charisma rounded up some of the most notable voices prophesying about the COVID-19 crisis.
Chuck Pierce
In March, Chuck Pierce wrote that he prophesied in September a “massive plague-like invasion” would test the world until Passover (April 8-16), at which time the trial would end. Pierce believes prophecies by Cindy Jacobs and Susan Stanfield also bolster his own word. He wrote for charismamag.com:
“During that Head of the Year 5780 gathering on Sept. 26-29, 2019, I began to prophesy that the nations would come into turmoil until Passover. At Starting the Year Off Right 2020, God was saying that there would be a massive plague-like invasion that would test us through Passover. When I prophesied that in Las Vegas on Jan. 26, I did get several comments and certain rebuttals for repeating that our nation would go into some sort of major trial through April. I believe that we are seeing this not only in this nation, but throughout the nations at this time in history.
“In Joel 2 and 3, we find these statements: ‘Do not be afraid, land; exult and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! Do not be afraid, beasts of the field, because the wild pastures flourish, because the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their abundance. And children of Zion, exult and rejoice in the Lord your God’ (Joel 2:21-23a).
“‘Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather there. Bring down Your warriors, O Lord. Let the nations be roused, and go up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. … Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision’ (Joel 3:11-12, 14).
“As God’s kingdom people, we must understand this is where the Spirit of God now has us in the earth realm. We must always hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the church. Several interpretations could be given over the situation of COVID-19 as havoc occurs throughout the nations. Some would even say that this virus has stopped any movement where revival can continue. I would say: ‘God has put a pause until He sees who is willing to cross over with Him through His blood at Passover.’ This Passover will become a dividing line for our future!
“Cindy Jacobs prophesied to me on Jan. 3, 2020, that in the first three months of this year, I would have to be cautious in how much I travel. I had gone 570,000 miles last year and was weary from all the travel and warfare. She actually shared that the Lord was saying that I needed rest, but I recognized the admonition to be a caution on my travel for the first three months of 2020. Therefore, I have watched the Lord make sure I’ve had more time to rest and write, and have actually stopped most international travel during these three months.
“Susan Stanfield, who has worked here for 40 years, shared with us that the Lord told her to ‘Gird up your loins for spring storms ahead.’ I believe this is what God is saying to all of us. At the beginning of 2020, the Lord said to me to ‘Tighten your belts!’ This is the same principle as ‘girding up your loins.’ The Lord said this would be a hard financial year. However, if we would gird up our loins, we would end up doing exploits. Let’s get ready to cross over!”
Jeremiah Johnson
Jeremiah Johnson told Strang on a recent episode of the Strang Report podcast that God would supernaturally intervene in this crisis to help Trump “knock this [crisis] out of the park.”
“Recently on March 16, I had received a prophetic dream at night where I was taken to a baseball stadium, and on the pitching mound was a tall, slender man who was demonically possessed. His eyes were very dark, and he was foaming at the mouth. And in the batter’s box was none other than Donald Trump. Trump was actually wearing a pinstriped, New York Yankees jersey with the number 3 on it, which I immediately recognized was Babe Ruth’s.
“I noticed that the count on the scoreboard was 3-2: 3 balls, 2 strikes. I knew in the dream that the demon-possessed pitcher intended to throw a fastball right past Donald for a strikeout. As I held my breath and watched the pitch come out, I was suddenly stunned to watch the ball be slowed down by a supernatural force in the air. And by the time the ball got to Trump, it was going very slowly, and he hit the ball out of the park for a big home run.
“In the dream, I heard the voice of God say, ‘The enemy has intended to strike out Donald Trump at a very critical hour in history. But behold, supernatural help is on the way, for I will slow down the advancement of the enemy and allow him to knock this out of the park. For it is simply a matter of time before the victory comes.’ So I had that dream on March 16, and woke up very encouraged and felt a great sense of peace.”
Thomas Otranto
Prophet Thomas Otranto said America would experience an economic crash, through which God would use Donald Trump. On an episode of the Adventures in the Spirit With Jared Laskey podcast, Otranto told Laskey about a dream which he believes God prophetically gave him.
“I had a dream, and God showed me what Trump went through,” Otranto said. “He said Trump went through bankruptcy. And He said he was in debt, millions and millions of dollars in debt. He said, not only did he turn that around, but he got blessed. And that was part of his training and what God was doing, because America is going to do the same thing. America is going to go through bankruptcy. … God’s using Trump. He has an anointing on him; He was called. … But there’s going to be a crash first, and we’re going to go through some hardships. There’s going to be a time of upheaval in America. There [are] going to be issues in the streets, and people that are going to get desperate to do desperate things. But don’t worry; God’s people are going to be protected. And He showed me that there [are] great warring angels that are going to be sent to protect us around our house. Even if people try to get at you, there will be like a wall that stops them.”
Anthony Medina
Anthony Medina, co-founder of HopeFires International and a member of the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, believes the coronavirus is a spiritual warfare tactic by the enemy.
“As I prepared to participate in the Global Day of Prayer called by Cindy Jacobs and many other respected leaders, I heard the Lord say that the tactic of the enemy against the global church right now is to knock the wind out of it via the spirit of fear,” Medina wrote on Charisma News. “He is trying to spread a pandemic of fear in the church of Jesus Christ. He knows that if he can blindside us with demonic fear, the fear of the Lord will be overtaken, and the doorway to wisdom on how to pray and decree against this thing will be closed. Understanding will be lost, and confusion will come. The Lord then said that what the enemy is trying to do is grip the church with nosophobia. What is nosophobia? Nosophobia is defined as “the irrational fear of contracting a disease.” Nosos is the Greek word for “disease.” Fear to the believer in the fullness of Christ should be irrational because God has not given us a spirit of fear (1 Tim. 1:7). We are to push back against the demonic spirit of fear and stand in the fear of the Lord.”
Curt Landry
During an interview on the Greenelines podcast, Curt Landry—founder of Curt Landry Ministries—told Dr. Steve Greene that Christians should expect miracles during Passover week in April.
“Right now, the enemy is ratcheting up,” Landry said. “They’ve closed restaurants and bars and even cities. Everything is closing down. April 8 is when the blood of the Lamb overtakes the curse of death. I believe on April 8, starting the week of Passover all the way through Easter on April 12, you’re going to see miraculous healing and miraculous deliverance in Israel and the United States of America in regard to a turnaround with this virus.
“I believe what you’re going to see— … not saying right on the eighth, but in that week—[is] a solemn, sanctified, sovereign turnaround of the Lord’s hand. He’s going to show the world and believers that, guess what, it isn’t time. This isn’t the apocalyptic end. This is a wake-up call. And I know this is a dangerous virus … but we’re going to find out that with the prayers of the saints, and the alignment of the nations with Israel and with God, this virus is going to have to bend its knee to the blood of Jesus.”
