The Passing Shadow - Elisha's Riddle

This week . . . a manifestation of the Kingdom in terror-weary England, and the passing of the shadow.
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God’s Glory in Manchester

Since March, England has been rattled with several terror attacks, one of the worst taking place at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, which saw the loss of 22 lives. This past weekend, Grande returned to Manchester to do a benefit concert alongside famous musicians from all over the world. Their main purpose was to declare the power of love over evil and injustice.

There was a deeply spiritual undercurrent to this event, especially when Ariana Grande stood alongside the Black Eyed Peas and led the whole crowd in the chorus of the famous song, Where is the Love? You can be sure that all of heaven drew near and listened as millions of people sang out in unity the following lyrics:

Father, Father, Father help us with some guidance from above!

The band then went on with a very fitting rap for today:

Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema

They then wrapped it up with several more pleas to heaven in their beautiful chorus…

God is Good!

Then after countless people cried out Father, Father, Father, (whether conscious of the power of that statement or not), an amazing moment took place when Justin Bieber came on stage in what many considered to be one of the most powerful points of the evening. To the thousands of people in attendance and the millions watching on TV and web, Justin Bieber with tears in his eyes declared, “God is good in the midst of the darkness!” He repeated this a few times, then told everyone God loves you so much!

Right at this moment, the BBC News camera began picking up on a scene in the audience which has since gone viral — a police officer dancing with a group of young people in a circle. This image of love and unity, all under the voice of a musician declaring the goodness and love of God, was unbelievable.

Katy Perry and a Prophetic “Roar”

Later, Katy Perry took to stage and performed her famous song Roar, with the declaration, “You’re going to hear me roar!”

Many people do not know that as a young girl Perry was prophesied over by the late Kim Clement, years before she was known by anyone. Clement declared over her as a little girl that she would be world-renowned and that she stand would before kings and leaders (Perry is now one of the most famous people in the world with the largest Twitter following and has performed in front of the president at the White House and in other incredible places.)

While Katy may not yet be walking in the fullness of her calling (though too many Christians are quick to criticize and demonize her and others like her), the prophetic word is still active in her life and God is deeply at work in her music. For those with ears to hear, listen carefully to this…

Perry’s words You’re going to hear me roar!! is the prophetic voice of the Lord to England and to the rest of the world right now, for the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has overcome death and fear (terror).

The apostle John was once given a vision of a book filled with tragedy, war, terror, and death and began weeping because no one was able to break open the book and conquer its contents. He carried the tears of everyone who has ever encountered these things (the tears that Ariana Grande shed while talking about meeting the mother of one of the victims)… But in that same moment, a wise man approached the apostle John and told him, STOP WEEPING! BEHOLD, THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH HAS OVERCOME!

And how does God overcome? Through love! Through the resurrection of Christ, and humanity’s co-resurrection with Him… The roar of Jesus is mercy and redemption, which brings healing to the nations and glory to His Kingdom. It is not the roar of violence and retaliation, but the roar of peace and victory.

Justin Bieber stood in front of millions of people and, without giving the reference, quoted the apostle Paul in the book of Romans. He said, we do not overcome evil with evil, but we overcome evil with good.

The goodness of God roared in England and will continue to do so throughout the nations in the years ahead, washing away the darkness and terror that is trying to plague the earth. For those with eyes to see, the Kingdom is already manifesting, though it may not look like the revival people expect.

“But in the end, it’s only a passing thing–the shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come.”

Give yourself a few minutes and watch the following clip with some timeless and relevant words from The Lord of Rings…