A Call to “Esther”
In Revelation 13:8, Jesus is called “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Amazing – God plans for satan’s defeat before he launches his attack. Isaiah 46:10 actually states that God “declares the end from the beginning.” He is the only One who doesn’t start at the beginning – He starts at the end!
For we Americans, this means God had already planned for our recovery and turnaround before we rebelled from Him. He is working those plans now, moving on human hearts and orchestrating Spirit-led events. One of those events is the Million Women gathering on the Washington Mall this upcoming Saturday, October 12, hosted by Lou Engle (The Call; Lou Engle Ministries) and Jenny Donnelly (The Esther Network; Her Voice Movement).
I believe this gathering, in God’s plan, is a continuation of what began on 7/7/07 in Nashville, TN. On that day, 70,000 plus believers gathered to stand in the gap for America, praying to end her alliance with Baal and renew her covenant with God. (My family and I were there that day). Holy Spirit had specifically given this date to Lou Engle, leader of The Call events, before he even understood why. The explanation is both intriguing and significant.
The words “seven” and “oath” are the same word in Hebrew (shaba).(1) This is because an oath of covenant - in a marriage, for example - was repeated seven times. The oath was often called “seven-ing oneself.”(2) In Scripture, when Israel turned from idolatry and the serving of Baal in order to renew covenant with Yahweh, “7”s were, at times, involved in the process (see Judges 6:25). The number “7” was also included in the circumstances surrounding Israel’s judgment for aligning with Baal (see Judges 6:1). The Lord revealed to Lou that He sovereignly chose this date to symbolize the following two things for America: 1) ending her covenant with (“divorcing”) Baal, and 2) renewing covenant with (“remarrying”) Yahweh.
The gathering on 7/7/07 was significant in this process, a process that continues to this day. Coordinated efforts have taken place in ALL 50 states to follow up The Call Nashville. Much repentance has occurred, and thousands of prayers have been prayed to further this process. Now comes this Saturday, October 12, on the heels of the worldwide day of prayer for revival in America that occurred on September 22 and three weeks of concerted prayer. Lou relates October 12 to Esther and to the prophetic call in Jeremiah 9 for the wailing women to intercede for Israel. He says of this day:
“There are moments in history when a door for massive change opens. Great revolutions for good or for evil occur in the vacuum created by these openings. It is in these times that key men and women, even entire generations, risk everything to become the hinge of history: the pivotal point that determines which way the door will swing.
“Esther was a ‘hinge of history woman.’ She was an orphan Jew in pagan Persia, was adopted by Mordecai, her uncle, and then, because of her beauty, taken into an evil king’s harem. She was then appointed by the unseen dancing hand of Providence into the position of Queen of Persia. At that time, the king promoted wicked Haman, who issued a decree of destruction against all the Jews of the Persian empire. Suddenly thrust into a do-or-die defining moment, Esther chose to risk her life by going into the king’s presence illegally, rather than live for self-preservation. There, she made intercession before the king and, in so doing, saved the Jews worldwide from genocide. Esther’s story has become the divine template and inspiration for every generation that lives under the shadow of anti-Christ legislation, persecution, and anti-family ideologies threatening to destroy them.
“Welcome to the American crisis! Welcome to a new Esther Moment! The Lord is summoning A Million Women, Esthers young and old, with their husbands and children, to descend upon the Washington D.C. Mall this Saturday, October 12, the actual Day of Atonement, in a LAST STAND moment for America. There, Esther will PRAY, FAST, and cry out for her children, for death has climbed through our windows (Jeremiah 9:21). There, she will find healing and deliverance in the presence of worship. There, she will apply the blood of Jesus to the doorpost of our personal and national guilt, and declare the victory of the Cross over witchcraft and the powers of darkness. There, she will take her STAND and inject herself into the public battle for the revival and reformation of America.
“When there is no natural hope for a nation, where there is no natural remedy, God still has a holy prescription, ‘Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a Solemn Assembly, call a fast, gather the peoples’ (Joel 2:15). Let the Esthers, the children, and the Mordecais gather and call on the Lord on the Day of Atonement, a Day that must not be missed. Who knows if you have come into the Kingdom for such a time as this!”(3)
Francis Frangipane studied the history of revivals, and saw that there was an organized prayer movement preceding each one - except the Jesus People Movement. “Why?” he asked the Lord. “What enabled You to bring this revival?”
The Lord told him, “I answered the prayers of a million mothers.”
In the countercultural revolution of the ’60s, with millions of young people drowning in drug, sexual, and ideological rebellion, a million mothers cried out to the Lord. And He answered. The war against darkness now is perhaps even greater than then. And we must cry out once more for Holy Spirit’s deliverance of an entire generation.
Pray with me:
Father, place Your favor on this gathering. Move on the hearts of a million believers to attend in D.C., and millions more around the nation to participate online. And on Yom Kippur, this Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16: 1-34; 23: 27-28), cleanse America of our sins and heal our land. Bring true freedom from Baal’s hold.
On this most solemn day of the year in the life of Israel, when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat, may the blood of Jesus bring mercy to America. On this day, when the scapegoat symbolically carried the sins of Israel into the wilderness, never to be seen again (Leviticus 16:20-22), remove America’s stain and uncleanness through the sacrifice of Christ.
Lord, we continue to pray for those devastated by the recent hurricane. Our hearts break as we see the suffering. Thank You for the generosity we are seeing from so many. We ask You to help those searching for the victims and also to those working to take them supplies. We ask for comfort and strength for the hurting. We know thousands will now have to rebuild, find new jobs, and try to put the pieces back together. We also pray for Florida as they brace for another hurricane. We ask for grace, great grace. Stop this storm, we pray.
We ask for all of this in the great name of Jesus. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that America’s covenant with Baal has ended, and we are renewing covenant with the Lord.
You can find out more about this upcoming event at A Million Women.org.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 7650.
Spiros Zodiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible - New American Standard (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1984; revised edition, 1990), p. 1642.