Chuck Pierce
Charles D. Pierce is the founder and current president of Glory of Zion International Ministries.[1][2] He is most known for his "prophecies,"[3] including a successful prediction that Donald Trump would be elected to the US presidency and a failed prediction that Donald Trump would be reelected in 2020.[4]
Pierce is an author of several books of prophecy and frequent speaker on the subject. In 1999 he was a founder, and is one of the current leaders of, the New Apostolic Reformation.[5][6]
Early Ministry
[edit]As of 1999, Pierce was vice president of Global Harvest Ministries.[7]
Glory of Zion International Ministries
[edit]Pierce is the founder and current president of Glory of Zion International Ministries, located in Corinth, Texas. Glory of Zion International Ministries is a Vertical apostolic network. It includes a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) former Boeing aircraft factory as its headquarters and Sunday worship center; 600 house churches where small groups meet to view the services online; 1000 associated 501(c3) nonprofits; and more than 100 privately owned businesses. All of these associated entities tithe to the ministry.[8] In 2022, their total contributions were US $21 million.[1]
New Apostolic Reformation
[edit]In 1999 Pierce was a founder and is one of the current leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a term associated with fellow founder C. Peter Wagner. The New Apostolic Reformation is a neo-charismatic dominionist movement, run by the "spiritual oligarchy" of independent networks of apostles and prophets,[9] which seeks to set up a theocracy in the United States. It intends to do this through the Seven Mountain Mandate, which states that Christians should control seven aspects of society: family, religion, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, and government.[10][11][12] Pierce, along with fellow apostle Dutch Sheets, wrote the book Releasing the Prophetic Destiny of a Nation in 2005. It is an account of prophecies delivered by both authors while on a tour of the 50 states of the US. Those that participate in the NAR see themselves as being in a spiritual battle with demonic forces and expect that God will enter the war soon and deliver them to victory.[13]
Pierce is a member of Wagner's Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, along with other prophets such as Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickle, Dutch Sheets, and James Goll.[14]
Notable predictions
[edit]In 2008, Pierce predicted that Donald Trump would one day be president of the United States. He also predicted that Barack Obama would be president.[4]
Pierce, along with several other charismatic leaders, incorrectly predicted that Trump would be reelected in 2020.[4] This led to a group of charismatic leaders drafting a "Prophetic Standards" document governing behavior of "prophets" when their predictions are wrong. Pierce has not signed the document as of 2021.[6]
In September 2019 and again in January 2020, Pierce predicted that the world would suffer a plague in February, March and April 2020.[3] In March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic was rapidly spreading in the United States, Pierce's son expressed concern that this was the end of the world. Pierce responded that it was not the End Times since "The Lord’s shown me through 2026, so I know this isn’t the end of time.".[15]
Criticism
[edit]In her 2021 doctoral dissertation, "From Peter Wagner to Bill Johnson: The History and Epistemology of the 'New Apostolic Reformation'", Yvie Ruth Baker asserts that Pierce has employed several strategies for confounding verification of his prophesies. These strategies included the fact that "contexts given for these [prophesies] usually were unrecorded or private, hence not traceable". For the prophesies that Baker was able to trace, "I found that the claim was either fabricated, details were changed, or his prophecies differed substantially in meaning and intent from his later claim. These included his claims to have predicted the September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, Trump's election in 2016, and the COVID-19 virus."[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Glory of Zion International Ministries". Ministry Watch.
- ^ Jack Jenkins (December 13, 2018). "At Trump's hotel, spiritual warriors pray for the president in his 'darkest hour'". National Catholic Reporter.
- ^ a b "Chuck Pierce Prophesied Last Year About the Coming Plague - He Says This Passover Will Be a True Passover". CBN News. April 7, 2020.
- ^ a b c Dave Roberts (May 4, 2021). "When prophets fail". Premier Christianity.
- ^ Peter Montgomery (March 17, 2017). "POTUS Shield: Trump's Dominionist Prayer Warriors and the 'Prophetic Order of the United States'". People for the American Way.
- ^ a b Julia Duin (April 29, 2021). "Charismatics issue 'prophetic standards' to address false Trump prophecies". Religion Unplugged.
- ^ "Harbor Light hosts guest speaker". Petoskey News. 14 October 1999.
- ^ Brad Christerson & Richard Flory (2017). The Rise of Network Christianity. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Taylor, Matthew (December 12, 2022). Charismatic Revival Fury: Modern-Day Apostles and the Spiritual Oligarchy (Podcast). Axis Mundi Media.
- ^ Rosenberg, Paul (January 2, 2024). "Meet the New Apostolic Reformation, cutting edge of the Christian right". Salon.com.
- ^ Geivett, R. Douglas; Pivec, Holly (December 2014). "A New 'Reformation' That Many Don't Realize They've Joined". God's Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement. Weaver – via Biola University.
- ^ Lehmann, Chris (April 15, 2024). "The Trump Revival". The Nation. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ ""Unfriending" America: The Christian right is coming for the enemies of God — like you and me". Salon. June 17, 2023.
- ^ Clarkson, Frederick; Gagné, André (August 9, 2022). "New Apostolic Reformation Faces Profound Rift Due to Trump Prophecies and 'Spiritual Manipulation of the Prophetic Gift'". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
- ^ "This is not the end of the world, according to Christians who study the end of the world". Washington Post. March 17, 2020.
- ^ Baker, Yvie Ruth (2021). From Peter Wagner to Bill Johnson: The History and Epistemology of the "New Apostolic Reformation" (PDF) (Thesis). University of Otago. p. 266.
