Zohran Mamdani was sworn in today as the first Muslim mayor of New York City. He is also a Marxist ideologue, and he has plans for the city. God, however, also has plans for the city, which I explain below.
This morning, as I was thinking about New York City
and its future, I was reminded of an incredible vision that Joseph Skinner
(1930-2013), from NE India, shared with me 25 years ago. I decided to
check my files and was elated to find Joseph’s handwritten account of the vision
God gave him for New York City.
The
Incredible Vision
If this had come from just about anyone else, I would probably dismiss it as the work of an overactive imagination. However, I knew Joseph very well having ministered with him many times and having stayed in his home in India. He also ministered with us in Canada and America and stayed in our homes each time.
Joseph was a very humble man, a man of prayer, and used by God in a genuine prophetic gift. He preached the most powerful missionary message I ever heard to our congregation in New Brunswick, Canada. His theme was how Jesus was the first cross-cultural missionary in that He left the glories of heaven and come down to earth to live among, and redeem, sinful humanity.
He was the pastor and overseer of over
400 churches and at least two Christian colleges in NE India. He was also a world
traveler, and he experienced this vision during a layover in NYC in 1980. The fact that he had no emotional attachment to NYC adds credibility to the vision. Here it
is in his own words.
It was in the summer of 1980 in New York City while I
was praying in a hotel room that the Lord gave me a vision of New York City with
all its high-rise skyline. I saw the entire city and a bright shining cloud was
hovering over the city. I saw lightening flash from the cloud and then the rain,
a silvery rain as bright and shining as glittering silver started falling from
the cloud. It became a very heavy rain, falling all over the city. That rain
started soaking through those high-rise buildings and flowed down, down to the
basements of the city and everything was soaked wet with that rain. And that rain
kept on falling over the city.
When I asked the Lord the meaning of this vision, the
Lord answered that He would pour out His Spirit on the entire city in such a
mighty way just like the torrential rain I saw in the vision. The outpouring
would be so great it would amaze the world. The work of the Holy Spirit would
soak and affect every strata of the society from the top down to the lowest character
of the society. God said He would sanctify the city, heal its characters,
change the city and its people and show forth the power of His salvation. The
world would be amazed at His acts of love and power upon the land.
I am here reminded of the word of the Lord to the Jews
who had been led away captive to Babylon. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God
said to them,
For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to
give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and
pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
Here’s
the Plan Going Forward
My exhortation to the Christians of NYC and America,
is to avoid being pulled into a reactionary mode wherein you are continually
attacking Mamdani and Islam. Instead, take a proactive approach wherein you focus
on proclaiming Jesus in all His majesty and glory and telling the wonderful
things He has done for the human race.
This was Paul’s approach in the idolatrous, occultic
city of Ephesus where the massive temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world, dominated its skyline. Paul ministered there for three
years and had such an impact that people began leaving Artemis and publicly
burning their books of sorcery and magic.
So many people began turning to Jesus that a riot
broke out. It was instigated by the merchants who sold souvenir images of
Artemis and her temple to the continual stream of visitors who came there to
admire her temple and worship at her shrine. These merchants claimed that their
livelihood was in danger because of Paul’s preaching. Yet, when the city clerk
quieted the mob, he pointed out that neither Paul nor his followers had done any
damage to the temple nor had they blasphemed their goddess (Acts 19:17).
Paul’s proactive message of Jesus in all His majesty
and glory left no room for other gods and goddesses. Yes, there is a time to
confront evil and speak the truth to every situation, but we must guard against
falling into a reactionary mode. Remember Paul’s words to the believers in
Corinth, another pagan city, where he reminded them,
And I brethren, when I came to you, did
not come with excellence of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of
God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified (I Corinthians 2:1-2).
Now that we know God’s plan for New York City, let us
proclaim Jesus in all His fulness and pray for another Great Awakening to sweep
through the City and all across the land.
Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, revivalist, and ordained minister. He is the founder of the "1726 Project" dedicated to showing the impact of the First Great Awakening on the founding of America. Check out his many book, including 1726: The Year that Defined America, on Amazon and at his website, http://eddiehyatt.com.
