By George E. Markakis, posted on www.cdrm.org/defendeurope,
on July 28, 2004
The fruit of spiritual mapping and warfare, prayers,
supplications and intercession
The fruit and power of blessing our land, nation, cities
and people
TOPIC 3 of 4 – what is in the
new season?
What is the importance of Hellas for
Europe and the western civilization?
The call of Hellas and Europe back
to Life
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Can God be telling us something through football (soccer) and sports in general? Food for thought, for those who are interested in discerning the times and seasons of God.
As I watched the Hellenic national football team come
closer to the finals game after game, this thought crossed my mind: “Hellas
has come out of (the times of) reproach” – notice that it is not merely
some Hellenic team, but the national team, i.e. representing the whole
nation of Hellas. This UEFA Championship is a clash of nations, where Hellas
was like a grasshopper competing with giants!
As I was watching the finals, Hellas playing against
Portugal, about 20 minutes into the game, this thought crossed my mind: “1-0”,
i.e. Hellas would win with one goal. Indeed, that turned out to be the final
outcome of the game, which gave the victory to the Hellenic national team – an
outsider, an unexpected contestant for the Cup, and one that no one expected to
be of any significance! All reports spoke of an unprecedented and shocking
surprise, as Hellas beat the UEFA hosting nation of Portugal in its own
territory.
That would be no more than the outcome of a football
match, if the Holy Spirit had not brought certain things to my attention, which
I thought appropriate to make known to anyone who might have the interest to
know.
With 30 minutes left to end the game, the Portuguese
pressed very hard to score, and the pressure caused heartbeat – that is when
these words were whispered in my mind: “Don’t worry, they will win!”
Why was the Holy Spirit sharing with me the outcome of
the football game? Here are some other interesting facts, which I could not
help but wonder if they carried any significance at all, and what that would
be…
The scorer of the only goal was Angel Charisteas; his
surname comes from the root of the verb “charizo”, i.e. to give as a
gift. From that root, “charisma” is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and
Apostle Paul uses that word to speak of the spiritual manifestations of the
Holy Spirit, which are gifts from the Lord. The same root gives us the word “charis”,
which is “grace”!
Concerning his first name, Angel, one of the TV
speakers said: “the angel of Hellas scored the winning goal”…! Some time
before he said that, I was wondering what is happening in the spiritual realm,
which has turned a small and insignificant team to the highest glory of
European sports? I asked myself: “do those players have one angel each,
aiding them to play?” I shook my head and decided that angels would not be
involved in such activities… but when I heard, “the angel of Hellas scored
the winning goal”, it made me think it over!
As I was pondering all that, I heard another TV
speaker say: “with the help of God we won”! That brought some Brazilian
football players to mind, who are Christian believers, and dedicate time to
pray to the Lord to help them play well. When they score goals, they always
give the glory to the Lord for their performance in the field. They say that
God helps them!
As the stream of “coincidences” was growing larger by
the minute, I observed a TV shot of a football fan wearing a shirt that read: “it
is the year of Hellas”… hmmm. Then the TV speaker said: “Spanish website so
and so reads about the victory, ‘the resurrection of the poor’!” (Poor
here stands for small, insignificant and lacking)
Before anyone thinks that I am going on a
nationalistic ego trip, let me explain: I believe there are times and seasons
for everything, and that includes nations. There are cycles of years and
generations which determine what is happening, and what is not, with a nation.
I am not concerned about the success of a football team per se, but I am deeply
interested to read the signs posted on the way, which reveal, or, confirm to
me, what God is doing with my nation, or, any nation for that matter. What God
is doing with Hellas at this time is a matter that is of concern to all of
Europe, and all the western civilization, as we will see later in more detail.
Reading the present signs is not the only, or, main
source which caught my attention – I have known of this shift for years, and
expected it to come, which now becomes manifest through various channels, one
of which is the sudden rise of an insignificant national football team to the
pinnacle of earthly glory.
As we were watching the victory celebrations on TV
with relatives of our extended family, an elderly aunt who is religious and
involved in the Orthodox church said to me: “When (the renowned Orthodox
ascetic monk) Paisios was dying in 1994, he said, ‘I wish I had lived
for another 10 years, to see Hellas rise to her glory’!” Then she added: “somehow
Paisios knew 10 years ago that something would change about Hellas by 2004”.
Neither one of us believed for a moment that a very old monk, living in the
mountains alone, symbol of ascetic life away from the world and of a life fully
dedicated to prayer, had foreseen a football match victory, or, the improvement
of the athletes of the nation. It was clear that the deceased monk had foreseen
a change in the spiritual realm of the nation, due to arrive by 2004.
With my intellect fighting to accept the message of
the Spirit of God, an uncle started saying out loud again and again: “now
they will no longer despise Hellas any more”.
Here below one of the few emails I received
immediately after Hellas won the European Championship – I believe it is a
prophetic message!
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-----Original Message-----
From: Jan Willem
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2004 12:05 AM
To: George E. Markakis
Subject: European champion
Congratulations! This extraordinary victory in the European football
championship can only be from God. This is a divine intervention and an act of
God!
We believe that this championship is a prophetic sign for the Greeks,
showing what the Lord wants to do in and through them. Furthermore, we believe
that through this championship the Lord is reaching out to the Greeks in mercy,
so their sense of identity will not be too much dependent
on the Olympic Games.
This is an answer to prayer. In a land where there is only individualism
and disunity, God is showing to the Greeks that it is possible to work together
as a team. It is the discipline and strength of unity (no big stars) that did
it.
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Why would the Lord make me a witness to all that? He
knows I have no particular respect for soccer, or other sports, since I quit
being an athlete myself ages ago. If I were at home in Athens during the UEFA
games I would not have paid attention to them. But I was on vacation, visiting
with my wife her family in Cyprus. I was forced to watch the games because it
was the only activity the family would do. It appeared the Lord wanted to teach
me something new, which I had not paid attention to before. He later brought
the following scripture to my attention, through which I understood the message:
I
believe the Lord was trying to tell me that all our efforts in prayer, all the
energy we have put in organizing corporate prayer meetings, all our spiritual
mapping and warfare – they were not in vain! Fruit is coming out, and it is
good fruit! We have been blessing our nation, and the Lord has taken serious
notice of our work – His mighty hand, which was against us for many years
because of our iniquity and godlessness, is now turning to being a hand of
blessing! I have already written in other documents about the substantial
improvement in the weather conditions and the standard of living in Hellas in
the recent years, and especially since corporate prayer efforts began uplifting
the nation – now I can see that the nation is also rising up to much higher
standards in all aspects of social life.
What
is the conclusion? Shall we say: “long live Hellas?” – why not, but
nationalistic outbursts is not what I had in mind. I was more focused on “let
us keep blessing our cities and nations; let us continue to uphold our leaders
in government before the Lord; let us pray for the peace and prosperity over
the lands where the Lord has placed us to be in dominion”!
The
devil is out there to steal, to kill and to destroy – but we need to watch out
for him, to destroy all his works, and to enforce the reign of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who is out there to pour out gifts, to give life and to establish His
Kingdom in which there are no tears, no illness, no pain, no worries, no fears
and insecurities, nothing bad, evil, or wrong!
We
can experience glimpses of His glory in our daily lives even from today! The
more righteous people stand before the Lord in a place, performing their duties
as priests of the Most High God, the more we shall be experiencing His goodness
in our lives, and our cities and nations will be exalted – for in the peace and
prosperity of our land, we shall have peace and prosperity!
Please permit me a risky deviation here, one that will
raise some eyebrows among the western, protestant, evangelical mindsets, which
fail to see any good in the traditional Greek Orthodox Church. God’s
instruction that we should pray for, and bless our land, nation, cities,
governors, and all people, is not necessarily restricted to
“born-again-from-above” believers in Jesus Christ (as the western, protestant
Gospel understands spiritual regeneration). The Old Testament Hebrew priesthood
and their rulership and authority among the people did not automatically
qualify them as fully committed and dedicated people of God – yet, by
commandment, respect was due to them. Paul even went as far as to say that all
authority is given from God the Father – as such, the blessing of those in
authority over the people they lead is of most important order. Having said
that, here is interesting bit that has likely affected the outcome of the
European Championship; both the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox
Church, as well as the Archbishop of Athens and all Hellas officially blessed
the national football team to perform well… Both the Prime Minister and
opposition party leader publicly expressed their support and encouragement to
the sportsmen representing the nation! The Prime Minister flew to Portugal to
be present at the finals!
I need to think more about it … “by the blessing of
the upright a city is exalted”… official national leaders (both the religious
and political ones) blessing their people – there must be something powerful
about that when it comes to the performance of a nation!
I have always wondered, how is it possible that Hellas
has been such a blessed nation and land, even though it is regarded along with
Israel the hardest ground for the (western, protestant) Gospel to spread? On
other fronts, I have wondered, how can it be that Hellas can stand up to a
giant like Turkey, even with all the help, support and (provoking) favor of the
USA, Great Britain and Germany?
Could it be? Could it be that the effect of prayers
for the peace and prosperity of the land are more powerful than financial
indicators and dominating world powers command? Every day, in thousands of
locations all over the land, thousands of Orthodox priests, as part of their
liturgy lift up prayers for the blessing of those in authority, for the peace
and prosperity of the land… I doubt there is any nation in the world which
fulfills daily and to such great extent the commission of Apostle Paul:
1Tim 2:1 (NKJV) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
If the spiritually unregenerate Orthodox priests do it
all the time, how much more should we, the spiritually anointed royal
priesthood of the order of Jesus Christ, do it! It can actually change the
spiritual atmosphere of a nation, and Hellas is a sign of the Lord to prove it!
I believe that this is what is happening with my nation,
Hellas at this time – because of our priestly intercession before the Lord,
Hellas is now coming out of the reproach of centuries – as such, I also believe
that a massive shift in the spiritual realm of the nation denotes the timing of
God for the spread of the Gospel over a very dark region: Hellas, Europe and
all of the western civilization (which is the offspring of the Hellenistic
mindset).
I therefore want to encourage all those who called
Hellas “the graveyard of the missionaries”, and “burnt ground”, to reconsider!
Those who live in the memories of the past about this nation need to renew
their minds, and begin to see things with the eyes of God!
Hellas is a blessed nation, with effective and
responsible governments that command the admiration of the other European
nations, of very high standard of living, of blessed extended families, of
lasting peace and prosperity, of open heaven and major outflow of the Spirit of
the Lord among those who seek His Face and have set themselves apart from the
world for Him. Hellas has a record of growth in the recent years in almost
every aspect of social, political and religious life; things are becoming
better every day, everywhere!
The outcome of the UEFA 2004 soccer games was merely
no more than the result of how much this nation is coming under the blessing of
the Almighty God, the Father of Lights, from whom all blessings flow!
What is the moral of the story? A turn of the tide is
possible – a turnaround is already at hand, which removes the reproach of
centuries, and restores glory where it could be least expected! Let us hold on
to this moral, as we read on…
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was first received by
the Jews. It came through the Jews to the world, and it was originally taken
out of Jerusalem to the world through the Jews, namely, the early Apostles and
other disciples and converts of Jesus Christ. Some prophetic voices call that
the 1st Day of the Gospel, or, the Church.
One significant moment for the Gospel was when the
Holy Spirit did not permit Apostle Paul to go deeper into Asia, but diverted
him to Macedonia, a land which was part of the broader Hellenic peoples and land.
Some of the most significant early churches were established in Hellas, and
Paul’s epistles written to those churches are still today of the uttermost
significance in regard to divine direction on church theology and practice.
Hellas was the first European land which received the Gospel, and provided the
language of communication of the New Testament to the world. It was the land of
the Apostle Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles of the world. Hellenic was the
official language, but also the prevailing culture of the Roman empire of the
times. Hellenic were and still are the foundations of the western civilization,
philosophical mindset and social structure. Through Hellas, the Church spread
to all of Europe, and established what is known as Christendom; that would be
the 2nd Day of the Gospel, or, the Church.
If Hellas was the gateway through which the Gospel
entered Europe, Hellenic was the European culture and philosophy of mind which
identified with Christendom. Again on nationalistic ego trip? No, not really –
merely on a pragmatic outlook of the historical strategic significance of
Hellas, both for the world, as well as for the Gentile Church of Jesus Christ.
Such is the redemptive gift of this land and nation, I could easily deduce.
Each nation has most important redemptive gifts from the Lord, which can be a
blessing to the rest of the world – all nations are needed to complete the call
of God for the world. I do not believe in Nazi type “special races”, even more
so when they pertain to flesh which perishes and comes to nothing; but here we
focus on a particular nation, to which a sovereign act of God has now drawn our
attention, because He wants to communicate something to us, through the signs
of times He is sending.
Day 3 for the Gospel/Church is not directly linked to
Hellas; European nations took the Gospel of the Kingdom to the uttermost parts
of the earth during the last few hundred years – that was a great Day, but it
was also marked by the death of Christendom in Europe. Worth noting, however,
that those European nations carried along with the Gospel of the Kingdom the
Hellenistic philosophical mindset and culture, which spread alongside the
Gospel and the Church – in fact, the spread of the Church turned out to be the
medium of the spread of the Hellenistic mindset and culture, but, that is
another study, not for here and now. The European Church is at a point that it
cannot really be revived any longer; Europe has turned to a secular, atheistic
land and culture, where reference to Christendom is associated to relics of the
past, huge cathedrals and empty religion. Many are those who recognize that
there is no hope for the European Church, humanly speaking.
But God… but God is God of the impossible, of the
resurrection and of building up the ancient ruins! Certain prophetic voices are
rising up to proclaim that the 4th Day of the Gospel/Church is at
hand – it was the 4th day that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead –
it is on the 4th Day of the spreading of the Gospel on the earth
that God is calling the dead European Church out of the grave. IF Hellas was
indeed the gateway, then, where would the tombstone be positioned to seal the
grave? On the gate, perhaps?
If Jesus is approaching the grave of dead and buried
Lazarus to call him out, first the tombstone must be removed! Could it be that
the tombstone of death, placed over Hellas to seal the burial of the European
Church, is now being removed? Could it be that Jesus is coming back to Hellas,
at the gate of the Gentile Church, to call His Church back to life?
The 4th Day is an important prophetic
approach that may help explain why the events in Hellas are of strategic
significance for Europe and the western world. I will expand on this no further
– I believe the message is sufficiently communicated!
Thank you for praying for Hellas during this season of
the Olympic Games; I believe the Lord wants to bless us all during the games,
and wants to redeem what they stand for – truce and peace, cooperation and
working together.
At the same time, I believe He is grieved, and highly
angered, when we glorify demons disguised as mythological pagan gods, such as
Zeus (to whom the Games are dedicated), Apollo, Athena (whose figures and names
are the dolls and theme of these Games), etc. However, as the people of the
world pay their respects to Zeus, we, the people of God are called to maintain
our God given place as priests, begging the Lord for His mercy, instead of
judgment, His goodness, instead of delivering us to our enemies for our
punishment.
Right now there is a struggle of life and death. Death
is calling Lazarus to permanent obscurity, but life from God is at the gates,
calling the dead Lazarus back to life!
The real man Lazarus was called out of the grave by
the real man Jesus. But Europe as a corporate man – a collective entity – needs
the corporate Body of Jesus to call him out of the grave; Europe needs a
collective voice to rise up, to resist death, and command life back into the
dead body…
Will the Body of the Lord in Europe stand together as
a corporate man, a collective entity, as one voice? Will the Voice of the Lord
be heard at the gates of the grave?
Lazarus (Europe), rise up! Death is defeated, Jesus
has the keys of Life and Death!
Hades, we command you: let Lazarus (Europe) go – the life
of God is coming back to him (Europe), and the Blood of Jesus has atoned for
his (Europe’s) sin!
The Life of Jesus is standing at the gates of Europe, entering once again the dead continent – we hereby proclaim the resurrection and the life of Europe! Europe is rising up to meet the Savior!
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All ownership rights reserved by the
author, George E. Markakis
8,
Akominatou street, Athens, Greece
http://www.cdrm.org Email: markakis.g@cdrm.org
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