We will again, very soon, see multitudes being converted and being empowered with the Holy Spirit.[1]

The date of this prophecy is 1991 or 1992. It may have been written in 1991 but it was published in 1992. Its original location on the internet had a URL with “92” in it. Its link text was “Prophetic Bulletin – 1992 The Post-Charismatic Era by Paul Cain.”[2] But more recently the attribution of this prophecy changed to Rick Joyner and the new date is June 1, 1991.[3] Joyner publishes Prophetic Bulletin and most articles in it were written by him in the 1990s; some were guest writers. (After the Post-Charismatic Era article, Cain and Joyner co-authored a controversial article on Bill Clinton: “The Clinton Administration: Its Meaning and Our Future.”)

It is believed the article title and text remains the same. An old article that referenced that “Charismatic” article published by MorningStar attributes it to Cain, and quotes some of its text, but says it appeared in a Sept. 1993 edition of “The Morning Star.”[4] It is not clear how many publications it appeared in. (Popular prophecies typically get distributed and reprinted in different publications.)

The full context of the paragraph containing the above brief prophecy excerpt was:

So some of what appeared to be foolishness in the Charismatic Renewal really was the wisdom of God, but some of it really was human folly. We must learn to discern the difference and remove that which is folly, and an unnecessary stumbling block to sincere seekers. We must honestly evaluate the hard lessons that were learned in the last movement so that we do not make the same mistakes again. The Lord is going to give us another opportunity to do it right. We will again, very soon, see multitudes being converted and being empowered with the Holy Spirit. We must realize the limits of our own wisdom so that we do not automatically disregard that which we do not understand, even when we consider it to be foolishness, but let us quickly discern and repent of that which is our own human folly.[5]

Cain goes on to reiterate the basics of his prophecy:

We are nearing a Second Harvest that is about to sweep some of the most dry and barren institutional churches and empower them with the Spirit of God.[6]

This leaves little to no doubt what Cain was saying. “Multitudes” getting saved or a “Second Harvest” would be a revival. The plain meaning of “very soon, “nearing” or “about” would be anything from a few weeks to a few years.

This prophecy failed. It was not fulfilled in 1991, 1992, or 1993, or since then. This was yet another failed Cain revival prophecy. He failed in 1990, 1992, and 1996 when he prophesied a healing revival for that year. Rick Joyner also published or promoted that failure. So much for being a “high-level prophet.” Cain had a bad habit of prophesying his incorrect pet eschatology. Bob Jones did the same thing as did/does Mike Bickle.

In the above longer excerpt you see a red flag for prophecy where opinion is mixed with prophecy. It is mostly an editorial opinion. First there is opinion, then the prophecy, followed by more opinion. Since his eschatology was his opinion you could actually argue the whole thing was his opinion: he was speculating there would be another Pentecost or another revival.

He makes big sweeping generalizations with interpretation about church history. It is heavy on opinions and light on facts.

The more opinionated people are, the worse they are at prophesying. Paul Cain was extremely opinionated about revival and terrible at prophesying it. (Click the Paul Cain tag link below for more examples.)

End notes
  1. Rick Joyner, “The Post-Charismatic Era,” June 1, 1991. https://publications.morningstarministries.org/post-charismatic-era [May 3, 2020].
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/19981203142336/http://eaglestar.org/MSPB.htm [May 3, 2020].
  3. Joyner.
  4. “Somebody Moved The Goalposts: A ‘Mainstream’ Report for Spring 1993,” n.d.  www.banner.org.uk/ms/ms193.html [May 3, 2020].
  5. Joyner.
  6. Ibid.

In the 1980s and/or 1990s Rick Joyner was associated with a controversial Kansas City church movement tied to Mike Bickle, Bob Jones and Paul Cain. He and others were making all kinds of prophecies some of which were related to their new eschatology and false teachings on church government. His prophecy collapsed after the church collapsed.

The Kansas City Metro Vineyard published a newsletter in the early 90s which promoted their church as a model of the newly emerging church. This church had been closely associated with the signs and wonders movement of John Wimber and officially was absorbed into the Vineyard until Wimber discovered how crooked it was. KC “Prophet” Rick Joyner prophesied:

Single presbyteries will form over cities and localities. These will be made up of pastors and leaders from all backgrounds. Their unity and harmony in purpose, as well as that of the various congregations, will become a marvel to the world. . . .

Some leaders will actually disband their organizations as they realize they are no longer relevant to what God is doing. Others will leave them behind to disband by themselves. Ultimately, all circles of ministry or influence with individual identities will dissolve into a single identity of simply being Christian for all who become part of this harvest.[1]

Update: original source

Single presbytery claim source

This was a ridiculous prophecy and unsurprisingly it failed. The disturbing thing, however, is it was believed by the Kansas City Prophets and the people who followed them. They actually tried to shut down churches in Kansas City and some closed. They would prophesy that God was telling pastors to close their churches and join their church.

One pastor, Ernie Gruen, was so outraged he took a public stand against them, preaching against their corruption. His activism led to the KCP church getting shut down.

The presbytery prophecy failed for the model church in their ‘model city,’ and it has never been accepted as sound doctrine, either. Until it gains credibility (don’t hold your breath), it is unlikely this prophecy will ever be fulfilled. It is a very tough sell. Joyner himself doesn’t spend a lot of time promoting it, so the conclusion is he now agrees he made a false prophecy.


[1] KC newsletter, p. 3, cited by Sarah Leslie, “Research Notes: Analyzing The ‘Cell Church’ Model,” Christian Conscience, 1999. http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/cellcurch.html [Apr. 26, 2020].

On September 7, 1992, David Wilkerson prophesied:

“I have had recurring visions of over 1,000 fires burning at one time here in New York city. I am convinced race riots will soon explode! New York City is right now a powder keg-ready to blow!… federal and State Welfare cutbacks will be the spark that ignites the fuse.

Next year, New York City could have over 100,000 angry men on the streets, enraged because they have been cut off from benefits…. Federal troops will have to move in to restore order. New York City will have tanks running down its avenues…. Churches will be closed for a season because it will be too dangerous to travel about.

Fires will rage everywhere.”

It did not happen. This was a false prophecy. After it failed, he claimed the prophecy was true except for the date. He said he had added the date. The prophecy would happen later.

“This is a common expedient for those who assume themselves to be prophets,” said Tom Riggle, “moving the goal-posts, hoping that others will forget by then.”[1]

It still had not happened by the time Wilkerson passed away in 2011. It is extremely difficult to imagine it will ever happen. It is just so extreme.

Experience

Wilkerson did not have a long track record of many fulfilled prophecies before or after this. This despite people calling him a prophet. He may have preached a thousand good sermons but it wouldn’t make him one bit better at delivering one true prophecy. It is a completely different kettle of fish.

Frequency

Note that Wilkerson said he had had “recurring visions.” It is easily assumed that recurring visions are incontrovertible evidence of authentic prophecy. (People have been assuming one of Paul Cain’s popular but unfulfilled prophecies is still valid because he says he had recurring visions.) The frequency probably convinced first Wilkerson and then the people who heard his prophetic word it was legitimate. The conclusion is frequency can be easily misinterpreted and is dangerous because of how easily it can lead to deception.

Accountability

He would have done better to submit his opinion of the future to a group of leaders for their input before going public. No doubt a lot of people who believed his prophecy and stayed in New York lived in fear for a long time; whereas others probably left the city. Any time a potential prophecy can affect a lot of people in a big way it should get outside counsel before distribution as long as that is possible. No public record was found of Wilkerson saying he did this; likewise no endorsements by other pastors, prophets, or leaders who said they believed it or received a similar impression independently, before or after he did.

End Notes

[1] Tom Riggle, “David Wilkerson False Prophecies & Unscriptural Teaching,” July 30, 2007. http://www.geocities.com/asterisktom/wilkerson.html [Dec. 20, 2008].