"What
you are seeing now, is what my heart has longed for
and what you have prayed to see.This fire
is now upon the earth. From this moment onwards,
you will be hearing reports from various places
around the world.
This fire will come even without the laying on of
hands. It will be seen in great numbers, as people
who are gathered in prayer turn their hearts to me.
Even where there is only two, it will be seen. Even
though they have not prayed for it, it will
come.
You have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit,
it is now time for the Baptism of Fire. Be ready...
And be prepared."
Prophetic
Word:May
13th 1993 St. Mary's Cathedral Praise Meeting,
Perth, Western Australia. Eddie Russell FMI.
The
Baptism of Fire The
Prophecy. The Promise. The Anointing & The
Consequences.
A
short film produced by Eddie Russell FMI tells the
audio visual story of the prophecies from 1990
until now.
Is
it a prophetic message for our times? You be the
judge.
Prophecy,
explanation and comments By
Catholic Evangelist, Eddie Russell
FMI How it
began: The Vision. The Word. The Explanation. The
Confirmation. The
Consequences.
On Thursday 13 May 1993 I saw a
vision of what was revealed in prophecy to be a "Baptism of
Fire" raining on the members of the Cathedral Praise Meeting
in Perth Western Australia.
From
that moment we have witnessed what appears to be an amazing
Revival Anointing spread around the world. This Fire of God
has touched the lives of millions of people regardless of
the denominational boundaries. In different churches it has
different names. Whatever it is called, one thing is for
certain: God is a consuming fire and he is revealing his
awesome presence in these days.
May 13
1993: The night it began.
May 13th 1993 was a very powerful time of praise and worship
at our Revival
Meeting
in Perth. People were caught up in the Glory of God and
His presence was almost tangible. I read from Matthew
3:7-12, when one of the men came forward to share a reading
from "The Parable of the Ten Virgins" in Matthew 15:1-13.
Immediately the Lord gave me a vivid insight to this text,
so I began to explain this revelation and unfold the meaning
of the vision as I understood at that time.
The
Lord said that his people are like these
virgins.
Whilst they all bring their lamps along with them,
many do not bring oil and their lamps are empty. They become
drowsy while waiting on Jesus, and many fall asleep. Others
have their lamps filled, and are excited in anticipation of
Jesus acting in their midst.
He explained that
the lamps represented the 'person' as they too were made of
clay. The wick represented our lives and the oil was the
Holy Spirit; We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and
our lives thoroughly immersed in him. He continued to reveal
that
he was the Fire that ignited the
wicks.
However, if the wick was not trimmed and there was no oil in
the lamp, the wick would burn up and be destroyed when the
Bridegroom came. On the other hand, those who had trimmed
their wicks and were filled with the Holy Spirit, would be
inflamed by the Lord who is a Consuming Fire: They would
enter the Bridal Chamber and their oil would never run
out.
I
understood that to 'trim' the wick meant to
'repent'.
I called the people forward to the podium to repent
and trim their wicks. As they did so my eyes were drawn to
the ceiling: It began to change and became like a lake of
blazing lava, swirling in multicolored fire. The whole
meeting was caught up in deep praise. As the praise grew
higher, the fire began to fall. As it did so, it began to
change from a threatening tumult, to a gentle rain of fire.
This rain of fire looked like shinning electric gold,
brilliant beyond description and it filled the whole
room.
I noticed that it would bounce off those who had not
trimmed their wicks (repented) and they could be
clearly seen in contrast to the fire. Those who were
repentant seemed to vanish as the rain of golden fire passed
through them, and around them: They became totally consumed
and vanished from natural sight. It was as though one was
left, and the other taken away. When the others repented,
the fire consumed them also. While this was happening I
began to speak as the Lord instructed me:
"What you are seeing now, is what my heart has longed
for (Lk
12:49)and what you have prayed to see. This fire is now upon
the earth. From this moment onwards you will be hearing
reports from various places around the world. This fire will
come even without the laying on of hands. It will be seen in
great numbers as people who are gathered in prayer turn
their hearts to me. Even where there is only two, it will be
seen. Even though they have not prayed for it, it will come.
You have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is now
time for the Baptism of Fire. Be ready and be prepared."
Two weeks
later I preached on this Baptism in Birmingham
and a Fire was ignited in the heart of England as the Lord
had revealed that night. Since that time we have received
many reports as he said we would and they have all been
reported in Blaze Magazine.
Prophecy
fulfilled?
Two years
later I came across the November 1980 edition of the "New
Covenant" Magazine. To my surprise and delight, it had an
article called "A Baptism of Fire" written by Fr.
Michael Scanlon T.O.R. It mentioned a prophecy given in
January 1980 to the National Advisory Committee for the
Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the USA:
"You
will have to stand for what you believe. You will have to
choose between the world and me. You will have to choose
what word you will follow and who you will respect. And in
that choice, what has not been accomplished in a time of
blessings and gifts will be accomplished in a baptism of
fire. The fire will move among you and burn out what is
chaff. The fire will move among you individually,
corporately, in groups and around the
world." I had not read this article before as far as I
could remember and it hit me with force when I did. The
similarity to what I had prophesied at the St. Mary's
Cathedral Praise Meeting in Perth, on Thursday, 13 May 1993
was uncanny. The Cathedral prophecy seemed to reveal that it
was now time for the fulfillment.
Baptised
with the Holy Spirit and Fire.
He
will baptise you with the Holy Spirit
and Fire.
Father
Scanlon's article mentions the same Scripture that
was given to me on that night at my meeting, "I
baptise you in water for the sake of repentance,
but the one who comes after me is more powerful
than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals.
He will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and
fire"(Matt. 3: 7-12,).
Notice the text says "and" fire. This
denotes a distinctly different baptism in the same
way that the horse is distinct from the cart. They
are separate things and function differently with
the one not relying on the other even though they
go together.Furthermore it is not referring
to the fire "of " the Holy Spirit. The word "of"
denotes a belonging to, or a consequence of
something such as Paul "of " Tarsus, Jesus "of"
Nazareth or the heat "of" the day.
When
we think of being touched by fire, we think of pain
and shy away from it.
Comparing
these two prophecies, I notice that in the last two
sentences of the 1980 prophecy it says, "The fire will
move among you and burn out what is
chaff. The fire will move among you
individually, corporately, in groups and around
the world.".
This prophecy does not seem to be referring to the
secular world in its social, economic, or political
disasters, or the commonly held belief of the fiery
destruction of the unrepentant sinner at the final judgment.
Even so, it is true to say that where sin abounds grace
abounds even more. It is sin and human imperfections that
cause world problems and the decay of moral principles based
on God's law is wreaking havoc. We are certainly in a time
of abounding sin and therefore a greater need for effective
evangelisation in a world that seeks phenomena as a sign of
truth and reality.
These prophecies on the other hand, seem to be
referring to problems in the Church and in the lives of
individuals and are addressed to Christians. It is
especially relating to our need for the purifying Grace of
God's Love to burn away the dross and chaff of sin that, in
spite of our initial conversion and love of God, clings to
us through the habits of our former sin nature that Saint
Paul refers to as "the old man". It seems therefore to be a
preparation for the coming of the Bridegroom in a conversion
experience by removing the spot and wrinkle of sin in our
lives and it especially calls for repentance as a prelude to
Revival.
If on the other hand, it is a preparation for the
Bridegroom at the end of time, then the Baptism of Fire will
indeed mean the destruction of the sinner as commonly
understood. However this does not seem to be the emphasis
here and so it seems more to do with entering into a deeper
and more intimate relationship with Christ and the Word of
God and, through effective evangelisation, remove the chaff
of sin by conversion to Jesus Christ as Lord and
Saviour.
The understanding regarding the term "Baptism of
Fire" in this context is related to "Baptism" as meaning to
be "Fully immersed into" and God as a "Consuming Fire". - It
means therefore to be "Fully immersed into God" somewhat
akin to St. Theresa of Avila's seventh mansion. It is also
referring to Jesus as the Word and therefore also understood
as being immersed in and consumed by, the Word of God. The
prophet Jeremiah says, "Is not my word like fire, says the
Lord, like a hammer shattering the rocks?" (Jeremiah
23:29).
It does not suggest nor propose a new Baptism. - Each
Catholic has Sanctifying Grace infused in the soul at their
[water] baptism and sealed at Confirmation. The
charismatic experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, an
event ministered by Jesus himself, is not therefore another
baptism but a release and outpouring of what is already
present. The Baptism of Fire as understood here is also an
action of Christ by the Holy Spirit in order to bring us
into relationship with him and to make us more effective in
the work of evangelisation by giving a renewed enthusiasm
and insight into the unfathomable love of God for ourselves
and for others.
These events are not recorded here as a theological
insight or definition, but rather as a report as it appeared
on the night. Therefore the theology of these prophetic
insights could be well questioned, and perhaps, until more
fully understood, should be in order to plumb their deeper
meaning. However, theological speculation is left up the the
theologians to debate and hopefully that will be done in a
spirit of faith and reason and not idle rejection due to
their phenomenological nature.
Some
examples of chaff: Hinduisation of the
Church. The
New Age Movement, Pantheism, Hinduisation
and Occultism in the Church have corrupted
Christians in an alarming way. Many cannot
distinguish between authentic Christian Mystical
Meditation and Eastern mystical Yoga and Zen
Buddhist meditation techniques. Neither can they
seem to distinguish authentic Christian
spirituality from Creation spirituality. Nor
between Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh,
from the Cosmic Christ, so called Christian Zen and
the Enneagram.
Syncretism. These
people think that they can synchronise other
religions with the Holy Spirit to get them closer
to Jesus, thinking that He won't mind. When their
practices are questioned, they angrily defend them
with a zeal and vigor that one should have for
Jesus. When I questioned the validity of the
Enneagram recently, the person grew very angry and
said, "how dare you speak about the Enneagram
like that!...".
Richard Rhor, a very popular preacher
who is well known in the Charismatic Renewal for
example, stated in an Enneagram Workshop he was
conducting for Nuns in England, that when he looked
upon the Enneagram,
he looked upon the face of Christ! When I heard
this on the tape I was horrified at such blatant
heresy. Worse still, no one questioned it. They
simply accepted his argument and completed the
course.
What
is the Enneagram and where does it come
from?
The Enneagram is from Sufism and was developed by
George Ivanovitch Gurdijeff in its current form. Gurdijeff
was an Armenian living in Russia from 1877 to 1947.
Gurdijeff, who was an occultist and Sufi master, held the
view that the universe is "a living and evolving structure
administered by conscious beings" and, that universe is also
"an intelligent organism."
In his book, "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" for
example, Gurdijeff puts forward the argument that Beelzebub
is not the Prince of Darkness found in Christian theology,
but a member of the Cosmic Council. Gurdijeff also spoke of
the planets and the moon as living beings. He was also
deeply immersed in esoteric circles and taught about
planetary influences, astral bodies, clairvoyance,
telepathy, Kundilini
and the Tarot Cards to name a few occult practices.
Never-the-less many clergy and religious teach the Enneagram
claiming that they have so-called, "Christianised" it. When
nature is raised to the level of God, or God is brought to
the level of nature, we have a heresy, and this is exactly
what happens when people like Rhor make the Enneagram
Christ, and Christ the Enneagram.
"In
the name of the Mother, and of the Son, who is in
the Spirit."
Many
teachers spout their own opinions, heresies or questionable
theologies on the things of God, ignoring Holy Scripture and
the authentic teachings of the Church. Talking to a Deputy
Principal of a Catholic College in Perth recently, I was
told that the R.E. teacher at his College ended her class
with the sign of the cross, saying, "In the name of the
Mother, and of the Son, who is in the Spirit." [*Authors
Note - The above problem was dealt with and
corrected. Adherence to the New Catholic Catechism has been
established in this College. Over the years the Catholic
Education Office in WA has been diligent in introducing the
New Catholic Catechism. Recently, Principles and Teachers
have been studying the new "General Directory for
Catechesis."]
The
Lord's prayer rewritten and abused by
excommunicated Catholic Priest Matthew Fox, founder
of
Creation Spirituality.
The
Heretical Lord's Prayer from the New Zealand Book of Common
Prayer.
"Eternal
Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all
that is and that shall be Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven, the hallowing of your name
echo through the universe! Your heavenly will be done by all
created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need
for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another,
forgive us. In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of
evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that
is love, now and forever.
Amen."
It
is one thing to rewrite someone's prayer, but the The Lord's
Prayer in Matthew 6: 9-13 was taught by God
Himself! It
is the only prayer that God came to earth and spoke with His
own mouth. It is God's Perfect Prayer outlining a formula
that God Himself will accept and respond to. Matthew Fox
raises himself higher than Jesus Christ of Nazareth and has
the nefarious audacity to correct the Son of God.
The
Eucharistic Heresy.
Another corruption of faith is that the Eucharist
in the Catholic Church is only a "memorial" supper and not
the "real" presence of Jesus, body soul and divinity. This
idea has been growing rapidly in the USA and it has come to
my attention that this is a position proliferated in
Australia too.
Christians are compromising their faith and morality
in many ways, and are confused by the many voices that
surround them. Many theologians seem to consider themselves
to be teachers of the Church rather than the Bishops who are
God's appointed Teachers and, holders of the Faith. The
"Baptism Of Fire" will have a devastating effect on this
kind of corruption. It will burn it relentlessly and, anyone
who chooses to cling to it.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the most important
document this century. It has the ability to combat this
crisis of truth if we have the courage to take it up and use
it. It is a powerful weapon against false doctrine and
suspect practices.
"The
Baptism of Fire" is the manifestation of God
amongst His people.
This fire
comes to bring about a true repentance of the heart towards
God. The consequence of repentance is the Baptism of Fire
itself. It is a direct action of God (who is a consuming
fire) upon the person that is often seen, and experienced,
naturally and supernaturally. This action of God purifies
and brings a complete refreshing of the whole person
spiritually, mentally and physically.
The difference between this particular Baptism and
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, is the fact that the Baptism
of Fire is usually experienced by those who have already
received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. These people
testify that it is a different experience altogether. It
brings with it a renewed enthusiasm for evangelisation,
Scripture, a greater empowering of the Charismatic Gifts and
Ministries and a deep love for the Church and its mission to
the world.
This
fire is not a new manifestation in the
Church. The well
documented account of St Philip Romolo Neri, Apostle of
Rome, 1515 - 1595 testifies eloquently to
this.
The Miracle of the
Heart.
In the catacomb of S. Sebastiano a few days before
Pentecost in 1544, the well-known miracle of his heart took
place.
Bacci describes it thus: "While he (Saint Philip
Neri) was with the greatest earnestness asking of the
Holy Ghost His gifts, there appeared to him a globe of fire,
which entered into his mouth and lodged in his breast; and
thereupon he was suddenly surprised with such a fire of
love, that, unable to bear it, he threw himself on the
ground, and, like one trying to cool himself, bared his
breast to temper in some measure the flame which he
felt.
When he had remained so for some time, and was a
little recovered, he rose up full of unwonted joy, and
immediately all his body began to shake with a violent
tremour; and putting his hand to his bosom, he felt by the
side of his heart, a swelling about as big as a man's fist,
but neither then nor afterwards was it attended with the
slightest pain or wound." The cause of this swelling was
discovered by the doctors who examined his body after death.
The saint's heart had been dilated under the sudden impulse
of love, and in order that it might have sufficient room to
move, two ribs had been broken, and curved in the form of an
arch.
From the time of the miracle till his death, his
heart would palpitate violently whenever he performed any
spiritual action.
The
fire burns the chaff.
As a
purifying and refreshing fire it burns out the chaff of
corruption, complacency, timidity, lethargy, sin and dryness
of spirit. This fire purifies faith and burns away unbelief
rather than bringing pain to the person who is repentant. -
It does not bring condemnation but acquittal and newness of
life with new opportunities to achieve one's calling in God.
Those who have experienced this fire say that they feel
completely renewed and invigorated. - Those who have
experienced the Baptism of Fire report a greater freedom and
a refreshing of soul. For example, people tell us they have
experienced a greater empowering by God and become refreshed
and enthusiastic about their ministry and Christian
life.
Different people have different experiences. A
Catholic priest reported that he saw flickering fire all
over his body that did not burn. The fruit of this
experience was that his priesthood and zeal for proclaiming
the Gospel grew with passion. Other experiences are heat or
fire on top of the head. Others feel a gentle fiery rain
often all over the body and a falling fiery rain can be seen
in the room where people are praising God with heartfelt
gratitude. Some see these things and others do not.
Never-the-less, everyone reports a new enthusiasm and zeal
in their faith.
It is
time to heed the times.
When the
fire fell on the Cathedral Meeting in 1993, it lined up with
a vision that I received at an FMI Directors' Meeting three
years previously in 1990 while interceding for the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal in Perth. I could see the sky, dark and
billowing downwards ready to burst open with whatever force
lay behind it. Below, I could see a valley with high
mountains either side. In the valley were thousands of
people milling around looking lost. Suddenly, with a flash
of light that streaked across the sky, the clouds ripped
apart and torrents of fire fell like water from a burst dam.
As the fire hit the ground and gushed along the valley,
thousands of people vanished in the fire and many were left
behind, stumbling in confusion. Then the Lord said through
prophecy, "This
is how it will be when the time comes. Those who are ready
will go with the fire, but those who are not, will be left
behind in the valley of decision."
I
believe this is that time.
The fire
is on the earth and those who are ready will be caught up
into it. Those who are not will be left behind in the valley
of indecision. God said He will not destroy the world again
by water, but by fire. Perhaps it is a consequence of that
fire we are seeing today. It certainly has a destructive
effect on the three enemies of God in the soul: the world,
the flesh and the devil.Maybe the Latter Rain is not
water as many might suppose, but The Baptism Of Fire? Even
so, it is a time of great revival and an opportunity for the
Church if we are ready to receive it.
(DISCLAIMER: Due to certain Blogs that have aligned The
Baptism of Fire with Pensacola and the Toronto Blessing, it
is worth noting that the manifestation and subsequent
prophesies of the The Baptism of Fire is in no way connect
to the Rodney Howard Browne movement. In fact, no member of
FMI have ever been to his meetings or any other meeting
where the so-called holy laughter revival has been preached.
In addition, there has never been a report or witness to any
strange manifestations as associated with the Toronto
Blessing: It was discerned at that Congress that The Baptism
of Fire is not the Toronto Blessing nor
in any way connected to
it.)
This
is the hour for your decision.
No matter
what biblical or theological terminology is used to describe
this present anointing, we cannot afford to sit lukewarm on
the fence any longer. For those who have the eyes to see,
falsehood and truth are moving apart at a rapid pace. The
New Age is rapidly replacing traditional religion and also
expresses itself in secular terms. The evil of this new
religious consciousness is that it is vehemently
anti-Christian and in particular, anti-Catholic.
In addition we have seen open persecution of the
Church in what were Christian countries. Europe are even
denying their Christian history in the their new
constitution. It seems timely that a manifestation of the
Holy Spirit such as the Baptism of Fire is occurring at this
point in history because it refreshes and empowers the
Charismatic experience too.
I believe this is the day and the hour for your
decision. Do not let it pass you by like those foolish
virgins did. They had not trimmed their wicks nor filled
their lamps with oil. When the Bridegroom came at an hour
they did not expect, they were not ready to enter the Bridal
Chamber. When they came back to the house they found the
door locked and they remained outside alone, and in the
dark. (Matthew
25: 1-13)
BAPTISM
OF FIRE Bible Study - International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia - BAPTISM OF FIRE
Definition.
The Baptism of Fire (en pneumati hagio kai puri): This expression is used in
Mt 3:11. The copulative kai requires that the baptism "in
the Holy Ghost and in fire," should be regarded as one and
the same thing. It does violence to the construction,
therefore, to make this statement refer to the fire Of
judgment. The difficulty has always been in associating fire
with the person of the Holy Ghost. But in the connection of
fire with the work or influence of the Holy Ghost the
difficulty disappears. The thought of John is that the
Saviour would give them the Divine Sanctifier as purifying
water to wash away their sins and as a refining fire to
consume their dross; to kindle in their hearts the holy
flame of Divine love and zeal; to illuminate their souls
with heavenly wisdom. The statement, therefore, in this
verse indicates the manner in which Christ will admit them
to discipleship and prepare them for His service.
Jacob W. Kapp.
Click on the map above and see what happened in
Mexico and the USA.
Jesus is
returning for a spotless bride.
"What has not been accomplished in a time of
blessings and gifts will be accomplished in a
Baptism of Fire."
This
fire is now upon the earth. Are you ready? Are you
prepared?
Read
how the Baptism of Fire reached over 25 million
people in Mexico, South America, USA, Canada,
Alaska, England, Singapore and Australia in
August/September 2002 and read what is prophesied
to come.
Set
My People on Fire -A small movie with a big vision.
By
Eddie Russell FMI about Flame Ministries Revival
Missions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
England, Scotland, USA, Mexico, Uganda, Portugal
and Australia.
It contains an audio voice-over of the Set My
People on Fire prophecy; the vision that inspired
it all.
Music Track; The Rest of My Life by Patrick Carre
FMI from the My Word the Message
Album.
