Since the Declaration of Independence in 1776: every 4th of July has been the beginning of a new year for the United States. It opens a new 12-month gate of time in America; and each season comes with its gains and pains. Every year has its things; and everything has its year. Time is a gate through which purposes must pass to find expression on earth. The year 2020 is a close reminder that we cannot afford to underestimate the power of any year; or the impact a year can make in the lives of people in a nation or around the world. We need to be guided by the Holy Spirit to pray into seasons we are in, or are moving into; and the Lord has left patterns in the Bible that can help us understand the nature and direction of each year, seven years, 49 years, or century – depending on where we stand with Him. This understanding will in turn help us to pray, plan and prepare for the season. Our responsibility as watchmen, intercessors and gatekeepers is to see that seasons submit to Divine Revelation and that God’s will is done in each season. Here is a guide that may help you to pray into the current season of the United States – the 247th year of the nation. Let us bring this unfolding 12-month season under Power. The Holy Spirit will guide you into the details.
The United States marked her 246th year on 4th of July 2022 and also began the journey into her 247th year. What is the significance of being in the 247th year? What can we find in God’s word concerning this gate of time? A lot. It is very important in seeking understanding of any year, to consider the broader seasons it is part of. This helps us to get a view of the year from different angles. It also gives us a balanced understanding of what God is saying concerning the time and season. Every day is part of a week; every week is part of a month; every month is part of a year; every year is part of a seven-year season, 49-year season and a century. We shall consider the 247th year from the angles of its 7-year family, 49-year family and 100-year family – so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, truth will be established. .
A. THE 247TH YEAR IS PART OF A 100-YEAR SEASON:
The United States is in the third century of her nationhood. The first century of the United States began 1776 and ended 1876. The second century began July 1876 and ended July 1976. The third century began July 1976 and will end July 2076. The 247th year of the United States (July 2022 – July 2023) is the 47th year in the current third century.
What does it mean to be in the 47th year of a century? Although the Bible was not written originally with chapter numbers, they provide very strong numeric patterns that can help us understand our dated and numbered seasons. So, we’ll consider numeric patterns in the Bible relevant to the season to answer that question. The Biblical patterns for understanding the 47th season are the 47th book of the Bible (2 Corinthians) and the five 47th chapters of the Bible (Genesis 47, Psalm 47, Isaiah 47, Jeremiah 47,and Ezekiel 47). The 47th book and 47th chapters of the Bible indicate the following about the 47th season:
- 1. It is a season of abundance that could be plagued by scarcity and dryness.
In Genesis 47, Pharaoh received Joseph’s family into Egypt and treated them well. He told them “The whole land is before you”. He gave them the best of the land for settlement. They had no lack of any good thing. It was an ‘era of good feelings’ for God’s people in Egypt. On the other hand, the people of the land lacked food and money, suffered greatly, and sold everything they had (including themselves) for food. Money failed. The people were hungry but had no means of buying food from the government. Joseph knew this was coming and had saved enough food to sustain Egypt. Joseph gave the people what they wanted and bought over the lands and people of Egypt for Pharaoh. While others lost their lands, God’s people received lands.This is a season of living in Goshen for God’s people in America. It is a year of opportunities.
2. It is a season when spiritual considerations must outweigh the natural and material.
The 47th book of the Bible exalts the spiritual above the material and natural. It exalts faith above sight; exalts the inner man above the outward man; and exalts the visible above the invisible. God’s people should be spiritually minded in the 47th year of America’s third century. In Genesis 47, though Jacob had left Canaan and was experiencing material prosperity in Egypt, he did not forget the Promised Land. Close to his death, he got Joseph to promise, under oath, that he would not bury him in Egypt but in Cannan. He did not forget the promise of Canaan because of the pleasures of Egypt. He did not feel intimidated before Pharaoh. He knew his covenant position and rights; and blessed Pharaoh from his spiritual position. In Genesis 47, also, Joseph did not take the land of the priests. This season, the Lord wants you to maintain a spiritual focus amid blessings or adversity; and utilize opportunities that come your way with heavenly wisdom. In this season, rather than lose what you have to pressure, you’ll receive what you need but do not have. Never focus on the way things appear “… For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
3. It is a season for acknowledging the Lord as Sovereign and King over all the earth. It is a time to celebrate God as the Lord and Owner of all things.
Psalms 47 draws our attention to God and gives us the strategy for victory in this 47th year of America’s third century. This is a time to clap hands and shout and sing praises to God. Psalm 47:1-9 says, “Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! [2] For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. [3] He will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet. [4] He will choose our inheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah [5] God has gone up with a shout, The LORD with the sound of a trumpet. [6] Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! [7] For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. [8] God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. [9] The princes of the people have gathered together, The people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted”. As Pharaoh became the owner of, and had claim to, all Egypt in Genesis 47, that is how Psalm 47 shows that all things belong to God. He can put one down and raise another up. This is the year of the Great King in America.
4. It is a season when God humiliates the proud. The 47th season is a season of vengeance against the proud, wicked, and arrogant. It is when the haughty are brought low.
Isaiah 47 Is about the humiliation of Babylon from God. Isaiah 47:1-3 says, “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate. [2] Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers. [3] Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.” Jeremiah 47 is also a witness that God humiliates the proud and exalts the humble in the 47th season. Jeremiah 47 is about God’s counsel against the Philistines. It’s about the plundering of the Philistines. Jeremiah 47:1-4 says, “The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. [2] Thus says the LORD: “Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; They shall overflow the land and all that is in it, The city and those who dwell within; Then the men shall cry, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. [3] At the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, At the rushing of his chariots, At the rumbling of his wheels, The fathers will not look back for their children, Lacking courage, [4] Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; For the LORD shall plunder the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor.”. In this season, the Lord is against things that express Babylon and Philistia and Tyre and Sidon in America. It is time to prophesy against Babylon, Philistia and Tyre and Sidon. How you fare in any season depends on where you stand in relation to God’s purpose for your life and Gods agenda for the season.
5. It is a season of healing and restoration. God intervenes against disease, distress and death in the 47th season.
Ezekiel 47 is about the healing waters that flowed from under the threshold of the temple, became a river and brought healing to waters in the seas and whatever else it touches except the swamps. The healed waters caused the multiplication of fish and fishermen and the growth of trees used for food and medicine. God will release refreshing and healing waters in the United States in this season. The waters of Ezekiel 47 flowed in the United States from 1947 when both Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Voice of Healing Movement kicked off. It became a river that could not be passed. In the Fall of 1922 (the 47th year in America’s second century). Smith Wigglesworth visited the United States with a ministry of healing – after he had been to New Zealand. This is 2022 and the 47th year of America’s third century. We can expect the healing waters to flow again. We should also prepare against a surge of diseases in this season. July 2022 – July 2023 is a year of healing in America.
6. It is a season of triumphs
The 47th book of the Bible is about triumph in adversity. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11! Paul said, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. [9] Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, [10] who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, [11] you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.” In 2 Corinthians 4:8-11, He also said, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh”.
This is a season of triumphs in America. We’ve got things to triumph over. That is the reason Psalm 47 commands us to “Shout to God with the voice of triumph”. That is part of the reason the Lord prompted me to sound this trumpet.
B. THE 247TH YEAR IS PART OF A 49-YEAR SEASON
The 247th year is the 2nd year in the sixth 49 years of the United States. The sixth 49 years began 4th of July 2021 and will July 2070. The Bible patterns for understanding the sixth 49 years of a nation are the sixth day of creation narrative, the sixth book of the Bible (Joshua), the sixth chapters of the Bible and the sixth 7 books of the Bible (Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke). Each of the 6th seven books represents a seven year-season within the sixth 49 years. In the sixth season, God favors those who are in alignment with Him and gives them wisdom and dominion over those who are out of alignment. On the sixth day of creation, God gave the man in His image rule over the animals that He did not make in His image. In the sixth book of the Bible, God gave Israel dominion over the Amorites. In the sixth chapters of the Bible, God gave dominion to His own (2 Kings 6 – Elisha and the Syrian Army; Esther 6 – Mordecai and Haman; Daniel 6 – Daniel and lions and his enemies). This is the season of those who bear the image of God in America. The sixth 49 years of the United States is a season of conflict between the ‘Israelites’ and the ‘Amorites’ in America but God has given dominion to His people. This is the time to take the Promised Land from the ‘Amorites’. The first 7 years of this season (July 2021 – July 2028) is a Joshua 1-4 season when America must cross ‘the Jordan’ and set up the memorial stones. To prosper in this season, we need four things: the Joshua chapter 1 preparation, connection with the Rahabs in the camp of the enemy, the Ark-bearers leading the crossing of the Jordan and strict adherence to divine instructions.
What should we expect in the second year of America’s sixth 49 years? The second year in any season is a time to thwart monopolies. It is a time to dismantle space-blockers. On the second day of creation, God made the firmament to break the monopoly of the waters that dominated space. In the second book of the Bible, God broke the monopoly of Egypt and delivered Israel. The first victory in the sixth book of the Bible (Joshua) was making a way across overflowing Jordan. In this second year of America’s sixth 49 years, God is going to make a way for His people in the United States. The Lord is going to send help from heaven and release power to make a way where there is no way.
C. THE 247TH YEAR IS PART OF A 7-YEAR SEASON
The 247th year is also the second year in America’s 36th seven years. The 36th seven years began 4th of July 2021 and will end 3rd of July 2028. This seven-year gate of time is a book of Zephaniah season. So, the 36th book of the Bible is the key to unlocking the mystery of this season. The other patterns are the nine 36th chapters of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, 2 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). These Bible patterns indicate that the 36th season is a time of intense conflict against darkness. Esau dominated Genesis 36. Jerusalem was destroyed in 2 Chronicles 36. Sennacherib sought to invade Judah in Isaiah 36. The king of Judah burnt Jeremiah’s scroll in Jeremiah 36. The 36th book of the Bible is about the dark and gloomy ‘Day of the Lord’. The 36th season is a season of invasions from the kingdom of darkness. It is a season of wrath against Light. Alignment with the Light of the World is the Victory Button.
VICTORY IN THE FIRST YEAR: God gave a remarkable victory in the first year of the 36th seven years with the defeat and overthrow of Roe v Wade. That is the triumph of light over darkness. The Truth needs, and will get, more wins in this critical season.
THE SECOND YEAR: The second year of this 36th seven years (the 247th year) is for breaking the power of evil monopolies in politics, economy, media and so on. These are obstacles to ‘the next level’ in God’s plan for America. We are in a time of intense spiritual war. The keys to winning the battle are prayer, divine wisdom, and prophetic intervention. The second book and chapters of the Bible bear witness to this. The Holy Spirit is calling God’s people in the United States to get together and pray like never before. If we do, the Lord will stretch the prophetic rod against the space and way blockers in the land. This is the year of ‘the Way Maker and Miracle Worker’ in America.
D. THE 247TH YEAR IS PART OF THE FOURTH 7 YEARS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
The 247th year of the United States consists of the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023. Knowing this helps us to understand where this year of the United States belongs in the 21st century and how this season of the 21st century may impact America especially because she is a principal global player. Every season of the 21st century impacts the nations. The third seven years of the 21st century (2015-2021) changed the course of nations. The fourth seven years of the 21st century (2022-2028) will heat up the nations. It has begun. 2022 is a year of seeking the pleasure of the King but some world leaders mistakenly think they are the King and so are zealously pursuing their pleasures. The Lord will permit some for a grater purpose. He will stop some, but some He will allow to run on and perish like Ahab in First Kings 22. The year 2023 is a Book of Isaiah year. It is the beginning of a prophetic battle against arrogant leaders and nations. Pray that the government of the United States will not collide with the Lord in her 247th year.
PRAYER POINTS
- 1. Pray against situations that take away everything people have from them in this season. Pray against economic recession and depression. Pray that God will supply the needs of His people. Pray that as the Lord released the firmament (heaven) to make a way on the second day of creation, that the Power of Heaven will be released against the forces of hell in the 247th year of the United States.
- 2. Pray for grace to keep your eyes on the spiritual rather than on the natural. Pray that God’s people will not be swayed by material pleasure or pressure in this season. Pray that America will be redirected to have a godly spiritual focus.
- 3. Pray that the Lord will judge the proud way-blockers in America in this season. Pray that God will release power against evil monopolies in America. Pray that God will make a way where there is none for His people in the 247th year of the United States. Pray that God will overthrow the wicked in authority and raise, for America, a leadership and government that is built on righteousness. Pray also that the mercy of God will protect His people from the judgment of the wicked in the 47th season.
- 4. Pray for God’s help and intervention in the direction od disease control in this season. Pray that healing waters will flow across the United States, from dedicated altars, and bring healing to our lives and situations. Pray that revival will come to America. Pray that the Lord will launch His people in America into a new realm of the prophetic in this season.
- 5. Pray that the spirit of death will come under check; and that its channels be blocked, in the United States in this 247th year. Pray that the church will have wisdom for this season beyond what the world can handle; and that the Wisdom of God will save America in this season.
6. Pray that America will not wear the Face of Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Sidon in this season as in the 47th chapters of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
7. Pray, in this season, that God will not see the United States like the Amorites (United Nations of Canaan) whom He judged and dispossessed of lands in the sixth book of the Bible.
8. Pray that America aligns with the Light in this season. Pray that she does not wear the face of Esau that obstructed Jacob’s storyline in Genesis 36; or apostate Jerusalem that was destroyed in 2 Chronicles 36; or Sennacherib that harassed God’s people in Isaiah 36; or the king of Judah that shredded and burnt Jeremiah’s scroll in Jeremiah 36. Pray she does not take sides with darkness.
God bless America! Happy 247th year!!!
See also: The Sixth 49 Years of the United States
