From the desk of Steve Shultz:
My father was born in China, as my grandparents were missionaries there. There were always Chinese characters around my grandparents house. They spoke fluent Chinese. They adopted a Chinese boy who became a great surgeon. His name was James Sung. James Sung said about me, "He is all boy." That was certainly a compliment I needed. In the 70s my parents took their 25-year anniversary to China. Our roots grow deep there. I believe all of them to be with the Lord now (my mother is still alive though).
Thomas, the apostle, was considered to be an apostle to China. My grandfather authored a book about it.
China was a poor country then, but not any longer! Please pray for this most awesome nation.
Also, would you do me a favor? Please help us keep sending you words by buying as many prophetic items as you are able to from the Elijah List at this link: www.elijahshopper.com. You might save a buck by buying it online through Amazon, but you'll help us build the Kingdom more effectively if you buy things through us. Will you consider that "proposal"? Thank you for supporting us!
Chuck D. Pierce:
China: The Sleeping Giant Awakens
Dear World Changers:
Please continue praying for our strategic trip this week to Hong Kong, then on to Canada on August 2. In China, we will have two days of meetings with key leaders in Hong Kong. Then on Wednesday night, August 1, the Homecoming 2012 gathering begins. There are already 13,000+ from 27 nations signed up for this meeting. My heart has been focused on China since the late 1970s. At that time, the Lord began to speak to me how, in the future, China would become the most influential nation in the world. He said to me, "The Dragon and her children, other Asian nations, will arise to unprecedented control of the economic systems of the earth." At that time, I began to read the history of revival in China and then the history of Communism and persecution.
China is creating a society to advance the Kingdom of God. The House Church system there is the strongest in the world. Their call to Israel is amazing. However, the materialistic, communistic rule can be in direct competition with God's Kingdom plan in days ahead. Satan works through trade systems by changing laws and times.
The Dragon nations will have a great move of God, but then the opposing force will arise and attempt to stop what is being birthed by the Church. Great persecution will arise from these nations. The persecution will come in the form of religious control. China's booming economy will set the pace for the rest of the world! But God!
When the Lord visited me at the beginning of 1986 with a profound vision (the one I shared in the introduction to The Future War of the Church), much of the revelation He gave me was about China. In this vision, the Lord clearly revealed to me what would happen in the next 40 years in 10-year increments. Here are the details from my vision that involved China: In 1986, He showed me how China would rise to power. He said that by 2006 it would have a greater influence and the eyes of the world would start turning toward this nation. China was then chosen as the host for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He revealed to me that by 2016 this would be the most financially influential nation in the world. By 2026, the Chinese could actually rule the world and Russia would begin to submit to their leading.
In 2006, I took a historic mission trip to China with Peter Wagner, Ché Ahn and a wonderful intercessory team. We met with key leaders representing all the movements in China. During our time in Hong Kong, we spoke at a conference with thousands attending the night rallies. I also gathered with intercessors from all over the city. In Beijing, we convened with many of the Christian leaders in that area. There is hunger for God in China. This is the nation of worldwide influence in days ahead.
During that meeting I reviewed what the Lord had showed me about China back in 1986:
• 1986: This will be the turning-point year. The government of the land will arise, and from its oppression much change will begin to occur in the people. (This was the year of student revolutions forming. The Tiananmen Square protests then occurred in 1989, resulting in a massacre.)
• 1996: In this year, the government of the Church will begin to arise in a new way. An apostolic awareness will enter the earth, and leadership with a mind for change will arise across the earth. (This was the year Peter Wagner convened the National Symposium on the Postdenominational Church at Fuller Seminary. Bishop Bill Hamon regards it as the historical turning point for public recognition of the new apostolic movement, of which the International Coalition of Apostles-leaders from around the world aligned in a network to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church-is now a central part of this move. Even though God did not show me the Apostolic Church arising in China, I feel like the context of the overall vision timeline included China. When we arrived in China for our visit in 2006, the leadership of the Church there gave a loud "Amen!" as I shared the overall vision. They also informed me that their greatest "leadershift" began in 1996.)
• 2006: China will come into the world picture. This will be the year China will take its rightful place in the new season. (The Olympics were then scheduled and all eyes of the world shifted to China.)
• 2016: By Rosh Hashanah (September/October), China will take its place as the most influential nation in the world economy. Its economy will be second to none. At this point the United States will realign itself with China and they will be allies.
• 2026: The Chinese people will be the most dominant and influential people on earth, and China will have the principal role of bringing in the world harvest. (During our trip, Peter shared with me that for some years he had been prophesying that by 2025 China will be sending more Christian missionaries to other countries than any other nation.)
During our assembly in 2006 with the Chinese church leaders, a key apostolic business leader noted three significant observations: (1) the dechristianization of America, (2) the kingdomization of the Chinese Church, and (3) the Christianization of China. In 2005, China passed its first law regulating tax-free charitable giving that was to go into effect in March 2007. Shortly after passing this law the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs approached a key Christian leader to serve as a government consultant for formulating the laws regulating charities in China. He has also been appointed to a government committee comprised of 100 delegates who would advise leaders on the lifestyle of China's youngest generation. In that same meeting, leaders shared five emerging themes among the Chinese people that would contribute to the historical process I had prophesied:
1. A youthful population
2. A spiritual revival with a focus on outreach
3. Higher education
4. Economic power
5. A strong spirit of venture
Just last week, Managing the Rise of China by CNN's Jason Miks released an interview with historian Niall Ferguson about the rise of China, the likelihood of conflict in Asia and whether Europe is relevant. Portions include:
Question: One of the biggest stories in international terms this century has clearly been the gradual shift in power from West to East, and especially the rise of China. Is China's continued rise inevitable?
Answer: Not much in history is inevitable, but the shift from the West to the East looks like a pretty profound trend that it's hard to imagine suddenly stopping. The IMF has China's GDP exceeding that of the United States within four years, (2016) and the way growth rates are right now, something amazing would have to happen here in the U.S., and something very terrible would have to happen in China, for that not to take place. (I find this amazing that the Lord showed me this specifically in 1986. Also, I remember all of the flack I received when I shared and wrote about this major world shift).
So I think this is the biggest trend in economics, and perhaps geopolitics, in our lifetime. It goes back to the late 1970s and the reforms of Deng Xiaoping. I don't think it's going to stop for at least another 10 or 20 years, at which point demographics and other forces will start to slow the Chinese economy down. But this isn't something that is just about to collapse, and those that think there's a China implosion just around the corner are engaging in wishful non-thinking. It's not going to crash. It may slow, but it's not going to implode.
Question: Asia faces an unusual situation in that it has an established power in Japan, which is contending with two rising powers in the form of China and India. How concerned are you about the prospect for tensions spilling over into clashes in the region?
Answer: We should add into the analysis the United States, which is also an Asian power [and influence], and which has been the dominant Asian power since 1945. I think the big question is the one that Henry Kissinger posed in his recent book on China and elsewhere, which is namely, 'can we avoid repeating Europe's history of great power conflict and rivalry in 21st century Asia? Can we avoid a 1914 moment when the rising power, now China then Germany, goes head-to-head with the dominant power, today the United States, back then the United Kingdom.'
It's clearly a cause for concern that there are so many frictions, most notably over the South China Sea, but also over other issues such as the water problems in the Himalayas. I think there are no good institutional structures in place to avoid the kind of conflict that Kissinger is talking about. You can't really see anything in the way of Asian integration that's comparable to European integration, and in particular you can't see a mechanism for balancing China's growing economic power and the much lesser powers of China's neighbors. And that's a real cause for concern..The U.S. is no longer in a position to be predominant in the Asia-Pacific - those days are over. And so we're moving towards an era of bipolarity in a two-power system, and the lesson is pretty clear from the Cold War and other periods. This is a very tense kind of arrangement - and divided hegemony doesn't usually produce stability.
In Him,
Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries
Email: chuckp@glory-of-zion.org
Charles D. "Chuck" Pierce serves as President of Global Spheres, Inc. (GSI) in Corinth, Texas. This is an apostolic, prophetic ministry that is being used to gather and mobilize the worshipping Triumphant Reserve throughout the world. GSI facilitates other ministries as well, and participates in regional and national gatherings to develop new Kingdom paradigms. Chuck also serves as President of Glory of Zion International Ministries, a ministry that aligns Jew and Gentile. He is known for his accurate prophetic gifting which helps direct nations, cities, churches and individuals in understanding the times and seasons in which we live. Chuck and his wife, Pam, have six children and seven grandchildren. He has authored over 20 books, including the best-sellers Possessing Your Inheritance, The Future War of the Church, The Worship Warrior, God’s Unfolding Battle Plan, Interpreting the Times, Redeeming the Time, and Time to Defeat the Devil.
