I
have had this prophecy stirring within my spirit for about 2 weeks. I
know almost nothing about present day Rome and I have never been there.
I wasn’t studying about Italy or Rome and I have no logical connection
to having a prophecy regarding Rome. Yet in my spirit I have been
strongly hearing every day " AND I WILL SHAKE ROME". Today the
Lord is beginning to give more insight on it and so I will share as I am
seeing it.
In
my spirit, I’m hearing the Lord say, " And I will shake Rome.
Yes, it is more possible that Rome will be reduced to rubble than that
things would remain as they are. Look and see that there will be an
awesome work of redemption over that city. There will be a shattering
and a scattering of the powers that be and there will come great change
to that city. The "Eternal City" will be broadsided by
Eternity and the purposes of Eternity will come to bear. Religious
shackles will be blasted and ancient columns will be laid waste. Every
ruling power in Rome will feel the heavy hand of the Lord coming."
A
Response to the Blood of the Martyrs
"Precious
in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalms 116:15
That
word "precious" means "very noted" and "of
great significance." The blood of the thousands of martyrs in Rome
is VERY NOTED and OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE to the Lord. There are
redemptive purposes to that bloodshed that are coming to bear on the
city of Rome. That blood was not just shed for the "greater
church". Truly there will be response from heaven that is felt and
reverberated in Rome itself. Truly that blood has been a seed itself and
there is a soon bursting forward of that seed. It is impossible that the
blood of the martyrs not produce a major intervention of the Kingdom of
God in that very place. There will be remembrance made of every martyr’s
blood in that city. I have no words to express how powerful that will
be. Much of the blood was assigned a Third Day harvest time (see Hosea
6:1,2). Every sector and every fiber of Rome will know the supernatural
intervention of God. If necessary no stone will go unturned. This is not
just about judgment. Rome has experienced judgment before. This is about
Redemption. Surely the Lord will raise up a mighty people of praise to
Him in that city. Surely a true standard of the Lord will be raised to
Him in that city. Surely a true memory of the apostles of old will
flourish. Surely Peter did not give his life in that city to simply have
a monument that carries his name. Surely if the letters of Paul bore
such great fruit, how much more will be the fruit of the blood he shed.
Surely eternity has been impregnated into that ancient city.
Remembering
the Martyrs
Truly
we lack many of the personal stories of what took place in the Roman
Coliseum. We know that they were crucified, fed to the lions, boiled,
stabbed, sown into animal skins and in many other ways grotesquely
killed. Yet to every personal incident there was a personal story with a
personal family dynamic. These are all recorded in great detail in
heaven. Not one ensuing fatherless child has been forgotten. The cost
was immensely high and that blood still cries out for an answer from
heaven. It will come.
Peter
the Apostle
Even
before his own death, this great apostle suffered something more
difficult than his own death. In Rome itself, Peter’s wife was
martyred before him as part of Nero’s persecution. She accompanied him
on many of his missionary travels and was herself a very true servant of
the Lord. It is said that Peter spoke many encouraging words to her as
she was led away, encouraging her to "remember the Lord."
Peter was later specifically instructed of the Lord to return to Rome
and face martyrdom. He returned to Rome and told the brethren of his
encounter with the Lord and what would happen to him. He was severely
scourged and then crucified upside down at his own request – as he
didn’t see himself ‘deserving’ the same crucifixion as his Lord.
Paul
the Apostle
After
having survived being stoned, numerous tortures and at least 7
imprisonments, Paul was apprehended and beheaded on orders from Nero. As
we know several incidences of the Lord miraculously rescuing Paul from
death, it is safe to assume that the Lord had specific predetermination
where He would allow Paul’s blood to be spilled.
Leo
the Great, in speaking of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, said these
words, "as if God’s Grace could be quenched by the death of
saints, whose greatest gain it was to win eternal happiness by contempt
of this fleeting life. ‘Precious’, therefore, ‘in the eyes of the
Lord is the death of His saints.’ Nor can any degree of cruelty
destroy the religion which is founded on the mystery of Christ’s
cross. Persecution does not diminish but increase the church, and the
Lord’s field is clothed with an ever richer crop, while the grains,
which fall singly, spring up and are multiplied a hundred-fold. Hence
how large a progeny have sprung from these two heaven-sown seeds is
shown by the thousands of blessed martyrs, who, rivaling the Apostles’
triumphs, have traversed the city far and wide in purple-clad and
ruddy-gleaming throngs, and crowned it as it were with a single diadem
of countless gems." (from The New Encyclopedia of Christian
Martyrs)
How
do we respond?
I
pray and believe that the Lord is stirring appropriate heart responses
in many of His people towards Rome and it’s future. Only Jerusalem has
had more righteous blood given up in martyrdom. Possibly only Jerusalem
will have a more powerful direct intervention of the Lord of Hosts. Both
cities are over run with religion but not God. Both cities WILL BE OVER
RUN WITH GOD and not religion. Both cities are major battlegrounds. The
price for victory has already been paid in both cities. There absolutely
will be a massive response and intervention of heaven into both of these
cities.
Let’s
love Rome
Rome
has never ceased being strategic. In the many ways we are now loving
Jerusalem we also need to extend love towards Rome. If you know
Christians in Rome then encourage them and if possible visit them. It is
now in my heart to visit the city and speak and proclaim God-things over
it. Prayers, intercession and visitations are in order for Rome. God
will intervene in that city regardless of us because the price has
already been paid. However, we are to function as agents of grace
,working together with the Lord, that the human toll not be too severe.
May God stir and touch your heart for Rome.
Johnny
Enlow
