The 52nd week is the last full week of the year. It is the exit gate from the year and the bridge to the new year. The full week following the 52nd week of the year belongs to the New Year. This is a book of First Thessalonians week. It is also a 52nd chapters of the Bible.
Here are five things about the 52nd season that could guide us to pray into the 52nd week:
1. The 52nd season is for the celebration of triumph. The 52nd book and chapters of the Bible indicate that the 52nd is testimony time. Nehemiah built the wall in 52 days amid stiff opposition. The 52nd book of the Bible is a celebration of victory and triumph for a church that should not have survived but did. It is a testimony that God’s word triumphs over persecution and hardship. Persecution drove Paul and his team out of Thessalonica but could not uproot the gospel or the church there. The Lord overthrew the plans of the evil one to establish this church. The book is also about hope and comfort in the midst of affliction and conflict. Celebrate the triumphs if the year this week. Rejoice and give thanks for the things the enemy fought to hinder that came through.
2. The 52nd season is for changing leadership batons. King Uzziah died in the 52nd year of his reign. He was king for 52 years – the second longest serving king of Judah – following Manasseh. His son, Jotham took over the baton of leadership. Isaiah spoke of Uzziah’s death in Isaiah 6:1: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple”. Jeremiah 52: 31 mentions the shift of power to Evil-Merodach, king of Babylon. The sixth president of the United States lost re-election to Andrew Jackson in 1828 – the 52nd year of the United States. 1952 was a year of change of batons in the nations. Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1952 following the death of her father, George VI on February 6. On February 26 Vincent Massey was sworn in to become the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada. Dwight Eisenhower, Republican became 34th President of the United States – a shift from the 20 year reign of Democrats.
3. The 52bd season is for overthrow and establishment. It is a third day of creation season. It is a time to re-enact the overthrow of the waters and the manifestation of hidden dry ground and vegetation. Psalm 52 speaks about the end of the wicked and comforts the righteous. Psalm 52:1-7 says, “Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. [2] Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. [3] You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah [4] You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. [5] God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah [6] The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying, [7] “Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness”.
Isaiah 52 reveals that the 52nd week is when God says ‘Enough’ both to the wicked and to His suffering ones. Isaiah 52:1-10 says “Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you. [2] Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! [3] For thus says the LORD: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.” [4] For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. [5] Now therefore, what have I here,” says the LORD, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says the LORD, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day. [6] Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.'” [7] How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” [8] Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the LORD brings back Zion. [9] Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. [10] The LORD has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God”.
Jeremiah 52 is about the fall of Judah, the humiliation of King Zedekiah, the plundering and burning of the House of God and the carrying of the last captives to Babylon. This 52nd chapter of Jeremiah also mentions the end of affliction for Jehoaichin, king of Judah. He was released from prison on the 25th day of the twelfth month. Jeremiah 52:31-34 says, “Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. [32] And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon. [33] So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments, and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life. [34] And as for his provisions, there was a regular ration given him by the king of Babylon, a portion for each day until the day of his death, all the days of his life”. Rebellious Judah was overthrown and dethroned Jehoiachin was restored. The book of Jeremiah is the only book of the Bible that ends at the 52nd chapter; and that chapter is about how it ended for rebellious Judah and her king. Jeremiah 52 shows that God’s Word is supreme. God overthrows and establishes in this season.
4. The enemy seeks to kill and destroy in the 52nd season. So, in the 52nd book of the Bible, Paul answers questions about ‘the dead in Christ’ because the brethren were worried about those dying. 1952 was a year of deaths and disasters. Tornadoes ravaged the lower Mississippi River Valley on March 21, leaving 208 dead, through March 22. On April 9, fifty people were trampled to death in the Basilica of Saint Teresa in Caracas, Venezuela, after someone shouted “Fire!”. On April 26, the United States Navy aircraft carrier Wasp collided with destroyer Hobson while on exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 175 men. On August 12 – Night of the Murdered Poets: 13 Soviet Jewish poets were executed. August 16 – Lynmouth, North Devon, England is devastated by floods; 34 people died. November 4: The 9.0 Mw Severo-Kurilsk earthquake hits the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Soviet Union with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). A tsunami took the lives of more than 2,300 people. December 20 – The crash of a U.S. Air Force C-124 Globemaster at Moses Lake, WA killed 86 servicemen. The 52nd year of Nigeria, 2012, was a year of tears in Nigeria – from flood, terrorist attacks and the Dana Air plane crash that claimed 153 lives. For those worried about death, especially in the 52nd season, the 52nd book of the Bible shows that death will be overthrown when Lord Himself descends with a shout, the voice of the arch-angel and the trumpet – and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him with those who remain alive till His coming. In the meantime, we must use prayer, faith and wisdom to hold death in check. The 52nd is a time to look back and see what the Lord has done and also to look forward with responsible hope concerning the future.
5. The 52nd week is Christmas week and is a season of beautiful garments. In my country and other parts of Africa, Christians put on their best clothes in this season. It’s called ‘Christmas clothes’. I think this is something prophetic because in Isaiah 52:1, the Lord said, “…Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you”. Jeremiah 52:33 says, “So Jehoiachin changed from his prison garments….” The new clothes of the Christmas season is a prophetic announcement that change has come.
Providence made Christmas celebration part of the 52nd week to show us that the season is about the triumph of God’s word. It’s not about when Jesus was born but about remembering He was born. Jesus was miraculously conceived, born, and preserved against all odds. Today, He is preached all over the world. If God made good His word concerning the virgin conception and birth of Jesus, we must know that He will also make good His word concerning every other thing. God’s word prevails in the 52nd season. The 52nd is a season of keeping hope alive and counting on God’s faithfulness. It is a time to look up with confidence and remind ourselves that God will fulfill His word and bring His purposes to the desired end.
PRAYER POINTS FOR THE 52ND WEEK
1. Give thanks to God for the grace of coming into the last week of the year.
2. Decree that this will be the last week of certain experiences that came with this year in the nations. Pray that evil and wicked people who will not turn back will go down.
3. Pray that affliction will end for many in this week as it ended for Jehoaichin on the 25th day of the 12th month in Jeremiah 52.
4. Pray that this will be a week of salvation from diverse struggles and troubles as the world marks the birth of the Saviour this week.
5. Pray against the spirit of death and the loss of lives in this season.
6. Pray against despair and loss of hope in the hearts of God’s people in the nations.
BIBLE READING SUGGESTIONS FOR THE WEEK
December 24: Isaiah 52
December 25: Jeremiah 52
December 26: 1 Thessalonians 1
December 27: 1 Thessalonians 2
December 28: 1 Thessalonians 3
December 29: 1 Thessalonians 4
December 30: 1 Thessalonians 5; Psalm 52
SCRIPTURES FIR THE WEEK
Isaiah 52:1: Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.
Happy 52nd and last week of the year Merry Christmas ❤️ !!!
