Mythbusting the Super Bowl prophecy

There is a prophecy rumor going viral since the Super Bowl.

“When the Chiefs win the Super Bowl revival is going to break out…God is raising up His apostolic ‘chiefs’ around the nation.”

This claimed prophetic word appears to have originated with Bob Jones, a now deceased member of the Kansas City Prophets (an influential group in prophetic circles in the 1980s). Shawn Bolz, a popular Christian author who teaches on the prophetic, claims that Bob Jones uttered this prophecy sometime around 2003-2005.

Bob Jones passed away in 2014, but he had a long history of making prophecies. He even claimed the archangel Gabriel had appeared to him on a white horse when he was 7 years old, blew a trumpet in his face, and threw a bull skin at his feet. Jones, along with Todd Bentley, also stated that they visited the third heaven on a daily basis.

In spite of their reported daily visits to heaven, both Jones and Bentley struggled with staying heavenly-minded here on earth. Jones was removed from ministry at his Vineyard church in 1991 after confessing to sexual misconduct with two women. This misconduct included encouraging the women to undress in his office “so they could stand ‘naked before the Lord’ in order to receive a ‘word'”. Bentley has had ongoing issues with sexual misconduct allegations for the past 15 years and was declared unqualified for ministry earlier this year. These facts alone should cause us to think twice before accepting any prophetic words either man might give. 

New Revelations

Following the Super Bowl, there were a number of fresh “words from the Lord” coming out of various US-based prophets.

James Goll, a former member of the Kansas City Prophets, appears to see himself as one of those “apostolic chiefs” that God is raising up according to Bob Jones’ prophecy. He posted this on Facebook after the Super Bowl:

So did Seer Prophet Bob Jones speak about this Super Bowl moment? I believe he did multiple times with multiple people… Consider these numbers: 1) Today is 02/02/2020, 2) It was Coach Andy Reid’s 222nd win, 3) It is the 50th anniversary since the KC Chiefs have won the Big One! I live in Franklin, TN and moved from KC with my family, 22 Years ago. Oh... does God have keys as signs for multiple cities and nations? Of course! But some are for us all! Today, coming from the root system of the KC Prophets, but living in another city, I cheer. Today is also my earthly Father’s Birthday - 02/02/1924. I think this is a Father’s Day declaration, “Good News Announcement! Revival is Now Here!”

Che Ahn tweeted: “This #SuperBowl victory by #KansasCity is a prophetic sign post that #revival is here!”

Steve Shultz of the Elijah List concurred: “Revival is coming!! REVIVAL IS HERE!!”

Numerology

Number sequences seem to be an important theme in this movement. Here are some of the numbers I noticed being claimed on posts and in comments:

• Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson, and Paul Cain, who were known as the ‘Kansas City Prophets,’ were all buried on 2/22
• This win is on a palindrome day of 02/02/2020 (hasn’t happened for 909 years).
• The Chiefs Super Bowl win is 33 days into the year and 333 to go because it’s a leap year.
• One person said: "I was in LA last weekend and as I was coming in, I was getting some pretty strong clues from Heaven that the Super Bowl signified an important shift, and that Kansas City was going to win. My flight coming in was #2222. My car rental ended in 220. I had about 3 other strong 222's."

The focus on number sequences seems odd to me. While the Bible contains some significant numbers, and God is obviously sovereign over numbers, numerology is a form of divination. Numerology is defined as any belief in the divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is often associated with the paranormal, alongside astrology and similar divinatory arts.

Divination is expressly condemned in scripture (Deuteronomy 18:9-12, 2 Kings 17:17, Jeremiah 14:14). Psychics teach people to pay attention to number sequences in order to begin communicating with “spirit guides.” Former New Agers warn: “All actual spirit guides are fallen angels, also known as demons.”

Rick Joyner of Morning Star Ministries had some more information about the numbers. He put out a video on Facebook affirming that he had heard the prophecy made by Bob Jones and he explained that the number 2 represents unity.

Ironically, there were some prophetic utterances that were not very unifying. As if the political divide in the body of Christ could not get any larger, prophet Johnny Enlow gave prophecies regarding how Trump, as our commander in “chief,” is “the most strategic, human kingdom asset in generations.” He claims those who don’t recognize him as God’s gift to our nation are under “brain washing and mind control” or maybe “an occult-like spell.”

Enlow shared a number of other prophecies regarding prosperity. He claims: “We will see the wealthy suddenly become 15% and then 25% and then 50% and then 70%.”

Multiple prophets, including Enlow, Goll, and Ahn have commented on the numerical significance of 2 Chronicles 20:20. They see this verse as God’s message for the year 2020. I’m assuming they are referring to the last sentence of that verse: “believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 

So what exactly is going on here? Who are these people and what are they talking about? How is Jesus being glorified in all of this?

The New Apostolic Reformation

Last year, I stumbled upon a new version of Christianity in my town. As I began to research, I learned that this movement is termed the 'New Apostolic Reformation' (NAR for short). Some Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God, have written lengthy articles against some of the core doctrines of this new movement, such as the claim that God has restored the governing offices of apostles and prophets. This movement is mostly made up of independent charismatic churches that are connected through apostolic networks.

Some of these ministries appear to have fairly biblical-sounding statements of faith, but when you dig deeper you often find numerous Word of Faith, prosperity, and New Age teachings (including what are considered by many Bible-believing Christians as necromancy, clairvoyance, astral travel, fortune telling, “grave sucking,” and other beliefs and practices). Heretical teachings about Jesus Christ and the Gospel message have also been documented. Though some of the prophets in this movement say that all new revelations must align with scripture, they will themselves give new revelations that contradict scripture and/or endorse others whose revelations contradict scripture.

The Bible vs modern revelation

Evangelical Christians used to be united around Christ and his word as our superior source for truth. This was resulting in less focus on denominations and more working together as one body in Christ. However, NAR leaders seem to have a much higher view of the role of human leaders. Contrary to 1 Corinthians 1 where Paul urges the believers not to be divided by various leaders, they claim that God is moving people under an “apostolic government” under the “personal leadership of apostles”.

Though I only recently learned the name of this movement, some of the Word of Faith and prosperity teachings have been infiltrating my circles for years, even influencing me in a negative way. It appears that some of these apostolic leaders have mainstreamed Word of Faith and prosperity teachings that used to be considered heretical by the majority of Bible-believing Christians. I have found enormous healing and freedom by rejecting these false teachings and purifying my mind with the simple truths of God’s word and surrender to God’s will for my life.

My pastor often reminds our congregation to test everything he says against scripture. And I have full faith that if we will be diligent to draw closer to the Lord and study his word, he will work in our hearts and revive us by his Spirit.

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Jessica Miller is married to Jeff and she volunteers as her church’s director of outreach, missions, prayer, and hospitality. Prior to marriage, her life was radically altered by a couple of years she spent living in the Middle East. She blogs at myjourneytomotherhoodinterrupted.com and has degrees in biblical studies, women’s ministries, and counseling.

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