My friend Philip, who lives in Mankato, Minnesota, shared recent revelations from the intercessory group where he fellowships. I immediately recognized the value of this revelation, and that is what I want to share with you.

The Father is calling for a 40-day time of intercession beginning August 6 and ending on the Day of Atonement, September 14, 2013.

Forty Days of Repentance

The Jews call this forty-day period Teshuah, or “repent.” It was the theme of John the Baptist’s message leading to the ministry of Jesus Christ. Essentially, this forty-day period includes the entire 6^th month, called Elul, “searching” (for Christ) and it ends on the Day of Atonement, which is the 10^th day of the 7^th month (Hebrew calendar).

Teshuah began on Tuesday, August 6, the day before the first of Elul. It was the start of a time of repentance as well as the time of Elijah (or John the Baptist) leading to the Day of Atonement and the baptism of Christ.

The Famine of Hearing the Word

Amos 8:11, 12 says,

¹¹ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord.” ¹² And the people will stagger from sea to [shining] sea, and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.

We suffer from a famine of the word, even in the midst of an abundance of Bibles and churches. Years ago I came to understand that the famine prophesied by Amos was connected to Elijah’s famine. The Elijah drought/famine was literal, but the famine in our day would be of hearing the word of God. Later, the Father showed me the cause of this famine, specifically as it applied to America. It was explained by yet another three-year famine in Scripture, this time the one which occurred in the days of King David. We read of this in 2 Sam. 21:1,

¹ Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David sought the presence [paniym, “face, presence”] of the Lord. And the Lord said, “It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

In other famines, we are not told their spiritual causes. But here we are told specifically the cause of this famine. It was because Saul had “put the Gibeonites to death.” Who were the Gibeonites? Why was this a cause for divine judgment? We are told in Joshua 9 that the Gibeonites made a covenant, or treaty, with Joshua. Joshua 9:15 says,

¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

The treaty was made by stealth, for they pretended to be from a far country. Nonetheless, even after the truth was known, Israel was bound by this covenant, for we read,

¹⁹ But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them, even let them live, lest wrath be upon us for the oath which we swore to them.

In other words, from then on, Israel could never use their deception as a pretext to annul the covenant. Yet King Saul was presumptuous enough to “put the Gibeonites to death.” In other words, he violated the covenant between Joshua and the Gibeonites. This brought God’s “wrath” upon the whole nation of Israel—not in the days of Saul, but later in the days of King David. Saul seemed to get away with his actions, but in the end, Israel suffered the penalty for Saul’s sin, because Israel was held responsible for Saul’s actions.

God held off on the judgment until the time of David. If the judgment had struck Israel during the reign of Saul, the famine might have continued for a very long time, because the word of the Lord had departed from Saul. He was incapable of receiving this revelation. David, however, inquired of the Lord and thus gained understanding of both the problem and the solution.

David sent word to the Gibeonites, asking them what they would require as restitution to restore the breach and to satisfy the terms of Joshua’s covenant with them. Their answer is seen in 2 Sam. 21:5, 6,

⁵ So they said to the king, “The man who consumed us, and who planned to exterminate us from remaining within any border of Israel, ⁶ let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

David chose seven men of the house of Saul to be handed over to the Gibeonites, and 2 Samuel 21:9 says, “they were put to death in the first days of harvest at the beginning [or the first day] of barley harvest.”

This event is thus dated. They were hanged on Easter, the day that the priest was to wave the sheaf of barley in the temple, beginning the seven-week countdown toward Pentecost. After the first fruits of the barley were waved to the Lord, the people were allowed to harvest their barley (Leviticus 23:14). Hence, it is called the first day of barley harvest.

America’s Problem

In the 1800’s, as the white settlers began to move west toward the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. government made countless treaties with the Native Americans. Hardly a treaty was made that was not broken in some way. Too few Christians objected to this breach of divine law, whereas they should have marched to Washington D.C. and demanded that they keep their oaths. This did not happen, however, and so they allowed America to come under divine judgment.

This, I believe, is the origin of America’s blindness and deafness that prevents them from hearing the Word of the Lord. This is the source of today’s famine.

Most of my readers are familiar with the idea that King Saul represents the church. Saul was crowned on Pentecost, the day of “wheat harvest” (1 Samuel 12:17) and manifested signs of Pentecost throughout his time as king of Israel. If you are not familiar with this side of Bible prophecy, read my book, The Wheat and Asses of Pentecost.

By contrast, David represents the overcomers, who are called to rule after Saul’s reign ends.

We see, therefore, that the church in America is liable for the sins of its government, especially during the 1800’s, when their government leaders were elected by the people. The majority of the people claimed to be Christians. So the prophetic parallel can easily be seen between King Saul’s plan to exterminate the Gibeonites (Native Canaanites) and the U.S. government’s plan to exterminate many of the Native Americans.

The result, of course, as I have said in the past, is divine judgment upon America and the church. The first important judgment was when God put us into captivity to Mystery Babylon in 1913, after the powerful bankers conspired at Jekyll Island in 1910 to write the Federal Reserve Act.

We are now nearing the end of our captivity, but the original cause of that captivity needs to be addressed. That is the purpose of the forty-day intercessory period beginning August 6, 2013.

Historical Background

In the 1850’s the issue of slavery was coming to a head, especially with the Dredd-Scott decision by the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Roger Taney, ruled that “Negroes have no rights which the white man is bound to respect.” This mindset was common in those days, having passed into America from the Old World, where Catholic Christianity had long condoned black slavery in spite of claiming to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

While they justified slavery on biblical grounds, they did not accept the biblical view that even slaves have rights under God. In Scripture, slavery was imposed by court order to pay restitution that was owed, or by taking captives in a just and righteous war. The Bible never condoned kidnapping anyone for the purpose of slavery, as was done with the black slaves taken from Africa. Furthermore, if a man mistreated a slave, the slave was to be set free (Ex. 21:26, 27). Biblical slavery was not like slavery among the nations.

While there were many Christians who understood this from studying Scripture, they fought an uphill battle against the long-established mindset of the Church. This attitude carried over to their relations with the Native Americans as well. Treaties were regularly violated, as if to say, “Indians have no rights which the white man is bound to respect.” The carnal mind is selfish and seeks only its own advantage. Sin is justified on the grounds that others somehow do not deserve to be treated in a moral way.

The Dakota Uprising

In 1862 this carnal mindset came to a boil in southern Minnesota with the so-called “Sioux Uprising.” In July 1851 the treaty of Traverse des Sioux, two bands of Dakota ceded land in southwestern Minnesota, Iowa, and parts of South Dakota to the U.S., while creating a Dakota reservation along the Minnesota River. The federal government agreed to pay $1.665 million for the land.

A month later, two more Dakota bands ceded land in southeastern Minnesota for a sum of $1.41 million. This was the Treaty of Mendota. In 1858 the reservation land north of the Minnesota River was taken as well, and the reservation land was cut in half.

The U.S. Civil War broke out in 1861, and the promised payments were late. It was widely rumored that if the payments were made at all, they would not be made in gold as agreed, on account of the Civil War. The Dakota then demanded that the payments be made directly to them, rather than through traders. When the traders learned of this plan, they refused to sell provisions on credit, in spite of widespread hunger and starvation on the reservation. At the same time, crop failure occurred in the summer of 1862.

To resolve the dispute, the Indian Agent Thomas Galbraith negotiated with Andrew Myrick, the spokesman for the traders. Myrick said, “So far as I am concerned, if they are hungry, let them eat grass.”

There was food in warehouses, but in spite of the starvation, the U.S. agent refused to give out any food to the Dakota until their money arrived from Washington. The money, however, was delayed while the government in Washington debated whether the payment should be made in gold or in paper currency. Meanwhile, the Dakota were starving, angry, and desperate.

In August of 1862 some of the Dakota became desperate enough to fight back, and this became known as the “Sioux Uprising.” U.S. troops were sent to quell the uprising, and trials were held, sentencing hundreds of Dakota to be hanged. In November, General Pope sent a list of names to President Lincoln of those convicted, urging him to condone the execution of all that were convicted. He warned of mob violence if his recommendation were not followed.

Such a mob action actually took place on December 4, 1862, when hundreds of civilians tried to raid the camp where the Dakota were being held prisoner. Of the 300 or more who had been sentenced to death, many on flimsy evidence, Lincoln ordered all but 38 be released. These were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota on December 26, 1862 and buried in a single grave at the edge of town.

In April 1863 Congress passed a bill banning all Dakota from setting foot in Minnesota. This law has never been repealed and is technically still in force today.

One missionary who witnessed the harsh way that the Dakota had been treated, wrote to Bishop Whipple, saying, “If I were an Indian, I would never lay down the war club while I lived.” Hence, there were some who recognized the lawless attitudes of the people.

The Dakota wars continued periodically, ending finally in 1890 at the Battle of Wounded Knee.

The Pentecostal Revival

Just 20 years later (1910) the big bankers met at Jekyll Island to discuss writing the Federal Reserve Act that would put America into bondage. The bill was passed in 1913, while the bankers pretended to oppose the bill. The Act resulted in America’s bankruptcy in 1933. The banks foreclosed, taking its government and institutions in payment of debt, even taking the citizens as collateral. The work of changing the nation from a Christian Republic to a Secular Democracy then began, and the rest is history.

The interim between 1890 and 1913 saw the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as Pentecost was re-established. However, this failed to stop the judgment of God, for they did not think to repent on behalf of their government. Pentecost is called the feast of Weeks in the law and is a celebration of the day that God spoke the Ten Commandments to Israel. Under the New Covenant, it signifies the law being written on our hearts, rather than on external tables of stone.

Unfortunately, the Pentecostals themselves a century ago did not really comprehend the meaning of Pentecost. They were caught up in the signs and wonders of Pentecost, but did not carry this into the area of righteous laws and equal justice for all. Even if some had come to understand these things, their numbers were insufficient to change the culture of the people or of the Church in general.

The Holy Spirit is always poured out to empower people for some purpose. In my view, God poured out His Spirit in the early 1900’s to prevent divine judgment through repentance and understanding of the divine law. The law teaches us what sin is, and this knowledge ought to lead to repentance. Whatever they did during those years, it was insufficient to prevent the bankers from putting America into captivity.

Dec. 23, 2013 will mark the hundred-year anniversary of the Federal Reserve Act. It appears that we today are being called to repent, even as the Pentecostals were called a century earlier. Their call was designed to prevent this captivity to Mystery Babylon; our call is to end the captivity through repentance.

God’s Liability Laws

In 1862 the Dakota were blamed for the uprising, but the majority of the Christians must take responsibility for CAUSING the uprising. Biblical law shows that if anyone causes something to happen, he is liable. This is seen, for example, in Matthew 5:32. Paul also warns parents not to provoke their children to anger (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21).

Furthermore, we read countless times how Israel “provoked” God to anger (Num. 14:11, KJV), and then when He judged them, they often thought God was being unjust! Such is the carnal mind, which cannot see past its own self-interest and comfort. This lack of genuine love is the mindset that the Church has exhibited throughout most of its history. This is what was manifested in 1862, and we are being called to repent of this sin.

The Intercession

This 40-day period of intercession is timed to coincide with Teshuah, the forty days leading to the Day of Atonement. The revelation being brought forth by various brethren includes Psalm 81:3, which was given to my friend Philip.

³ Blow the trumpet at the new moon, [and] at the full moon, on our feast day.

This “new moon” is a reference to the feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hoshana), which will begin the evening of Sept. 4, 2013. It appears that at Trumpets, Sept. 4 or 5, some of us will go to the headwaters of the Blue Earth River, even as we went to the headwaters of the Mississippi River three years ago.

In 2 Samuel 21 we see the story of the seven sons of Saul who were hanged on the first day of barley harvest in order to pay for the sins of their father. Saul broke Joshua’s treaty with the Gibeonites, bringing divine judgment to the whole nation of Israel. We know from studying the Scriptures that Saul was a type of the church under Pentecost. That means the seven sons of Saul represent the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3.

This means also that these seven were intercessors on behalf of their father, Saul, because they took the liability for his sin upon themselves. They paid for his sin. So also are we today paying for the sin of our father, the Saul-church. Of course, we have the advantage in that we are part of the body of Christ, who has already paid for the sin of the whole world (1 John 2:2). For this reason, we do not have to die physically, for Jesus already paid that price, being “hanged on a tree” (Acts 5:30, KJV). Our death is in the form of repentance, dying to self, crucifying the old man, so that we may also walk in resurrection life.

The fact that the seven sons of Saul were hanged identifies them with the intercession of Christ, but also with the 38 Dakota men who were hanged in Mankato.

The ten days from Trumpets to Atonement (Sept. 5-14) are the final days of repentance to prepare for the feast of Tabernacles each year. All of you who want to be part of the prayer campaign and time of intercession to “End the Famine” should unite in prayer during this time.

The following model prayer is only a suggestion that is designed to unify us in our prayer focus. This prayer is directed to God, asking His forgiveness for sin. A separate matter is to ask the Dakota themselves for forgiveness.

The Model Prayer

Father, we come before your throne of grace in the name of Jesus and under His blood.

We ask forgiveness for the sins of our fathers and for the Church. Forgive our carnal attitudes and selfish motives. Forgive us for blaming others for their sin after we have provoked them to anger. Forgive our hypocrisy and pride. Forgive us for our ignorance of your laws and for justifying sin both ignorantly and wilfully.

We confess the sins of our fathers and recognize our own liability as well. Cause us to know Your will and your mind, so that we may live and move in the Spirit of Christ, manifesting the life of Christ to all men. Where we have provoked others to anger, let us instead provoke others to love and good works [Hebrews 10:24].

Father, release us from the famine of hearing your word. Open our eyes and ears, that we may know Your will and teach Your word until it is the basis of our government and culture. Write your law in our hearts until it becomes part of us, causing us to be like Jesus and to do all the works that He did.