Issachar People : Prophetic Punch-Up

Prophetic Punch-Up

Tom Lennie 29 Nov 2024 Prophecy

Examining the roots of the controversy over Emma Stark’s ‘punch Trump’ prediction

As shared in last week’s News and Views, Glasgow-based ‘prophetess’ Emma Stark, of the Global Prophetic Alliance, recently became embroiled in an unholy row over a prophetic word she gave prior to Trump’s re-election, in which she correctly predicted his reinstatement as President, but then prophesied his later downfall.

Among other things, she claimed that “He has become the champion of himself, rather than the champion of My kingdom … He has a preference for a different sort of Jesus to the one found in the Bible.” The most controversial part of the prophecy was Stark’s vision of God “punching Trump in the face” and there being a lot of blood.¹

An American prophetic group, the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, promptly issued a lengthy statement condemning the prophecy. They said the ‘word’ was “flagrantly false and carries the potential to incite violence and cause division in the name of God.” Emma Stark and team in turn issued a robust response to the shock ACPE statement, claiming that the ACPE had “misunderstood us, as well as the word, and have turned its meaning upside down”, including misquoting and taking words out of context.

Glasgow to Global

From is inception, 'the prophetic movement', as it is commonly recognised by a significant portion of the world charismatic Church, has essentially been an American phenomenon. The great majority of ‘accepted’ prophets are US-based.

Many have now amended their earlier prophecies, saying the predictions were right, it was only the dates that were wrong

Perhaps somewhat irritated by such geographical bias, emerging UK prophet Emma Stark sought to highlight the shocking failure of numerous prominent US-based ‘prophets’ to correctly predict the outcome of the 2020 US election. If you recall, many were certain Trump was going to win and boldly stated so in the name of the Lord. Only a tiny number repented when their ‘word’ proved dramatically wrong. (Although, perhaps predictably, with Trump’s sensational re-election last month, many have now amended their earlier prophecies, saying the predictions were right, it was only the dates that were wrong.)²

At that time, Stark declared that God was shifting the focus of the prophetic movement from the US to – surprise, surprise – the United Kingdom. With a bold change of ministry name from the Glasgow Prophetic Centre to the Global Prophetic Alliance, Ms Stark and co have certainly been attracting enormous attention from around the world in recent years.

Stark Style

Certainly also, Emma Stark has a bold and arresting public persona. With her ever-changing, quirky, colourful dress sense, her unique hairdo and eye-drawing accessories, this ‘prophetic warrior’ is utterly distinctive. She never fails to come over as loud, flamboyant and charismatic – occasionally even outrageous. Even her accent is unusual; hints of her Northern Irish upbringing at times rising from an intonation that is decidedly her own.

Many have been quick to judge her on appearance and style. To some she comes over as being over opinionated and even egotistical. She is prone to using strong, dramatic language. As such, many are quick to write her off as a false prophet. I confess, I struggled for months with these very same issues. Surely a genuine prophet would never look and sound like this?! And yet I found myself being repeatedly drawn back to her almost daily video output. She never failed to pique my interest.

Most revealing of all, in this staunchly Calvinist island, where preachers invariably wore black – was the fact that Campbell was sometimes spotted wearing brown shoes!

I’m reminded of the Scottish revivalist Duncan Campbell, who helped bring revival to the isle of Lewis in the late 1940s. Many local believers were highly sceptical of this incoming preacher, with his seemingly 'Arminian' views. Most revealing of all, in this staunchly Calvinist island, where preachers invariably wore black – was the fact that Campbell was sometimes spotted wearing brown shoes! An utter giveaway as to his lack of godliness! I wonder if we sometimes have cultural expectations of ‘prophets’ that are no more biblical than black-clothed preachers?

Stark’s ‘vision’ of God punching Trump in the face certainly sounds outlandish and harsh. But could it simply be another element of her brash style – employing stark (no pun intended!), symbolic imagery that evokes emotion – but which does not necessarily imply physical violence. It could, for example, refer to the blunting of Trump’s pride by an embarrassing humiliation (which might in turn lead him to repent, as did King Nebuchadnezzar).

The Bible has its fair share of wild, evocative and outright bizarre imagery. Daniel’s dream, in which God said he would, “Cut down the tree and destroy it”, was a reference to the aforementioned king (Dan 4). The prophet Jeremiah describes Judah as a prostitute: “on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down...” (Jer 2:20). The New Testament book of Revelation contains scenes of cosmic battles, plagues and bloodshed, including birds eating human flesh at God's banquet.

Whatever our own personal views on the President-elect of the United States – and many of us openly admit we would have voted for him over Kamala Harris – is there none among us who does not recognise some truth in Stark’s words that Trump “has not learned how to redeem money, fame, sex or power”, and that “He has become the champion of himself, rather than the champion of My kingdom”? Become? Has he not always been his own champion?

The group calls Stark’s prophecy “flagrantly false”, but they fail to prove this as so...

Council of Prophets

The Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE) is a group of sixty self-styled prophets – the crème de la crème of the US prophetic movement – who have been meeting together for 25 years. They consider it to their credit that they have never once, in all of that quarter of a century, “publicly called out a prophetic word as false.” But that in itself raises a question: why haven’t they? There have been many blatantly false prophecies issued in that time period – from within the States alone (not least the false Trump 2020 re-election prophecies, several of which stemmed from within their own ranks). Why were these never exposed as being false?

The group calls Stark’s prophecy “flagrantly false”, but they fail to prove this as being the case, dubiously stating only that Stark’s words “represent harmful curses” and that they “could incite violent actions against the president” – in which case, not necessarily a false word at all; rather, perhaps unwise to release it publicly?

They do not name Stark, though it quickly becomes obvious to anyone interested to whom they are referring. They say she is one “who many identify as a prophet”, clearly suggesting that they do not (though ACPE ringleader Cindy Jacobs was happy to endorse Emma as “an amazing woman of God”, and a “real and authentic” prophet just a couple of years ago).

Political Motives

Given that many American leaders have long believed Trump to be anointed by God, and that the ACPE makes it clear their belief that God has “ordained a new day for America and that [He] will use newly re-elected President Trump to help bring this to pass”, this would suggest to me that the ACPE statement is at least to some extent politically motivated, or at least influenced by personal bias. The prophetic Council seem angered by the fact that new prophet-on-the-block – not least from outside their nation – would be brazen enough to boldly proclaim – and in the very name of God – that their political ‘saviour’ was perhaps not quite the ‘chosen’ one they so adamantly believe.

ACPE ringleader Cindy Jacobs was happy to endorse Emma as “an amazing woman of God”, and a “real and authentic” prophet just a couple of years ago

They also appear to have been peeved that Emma Stark did not turn to them – the very elite of the prophetic world – to test and confirm her word – perhaps also worried that many had already switched their attention away from the US prophetic scene, and onto this inimitable upstart from the other side of the pond.

In their staunch response to the ACPE allegations, Emma and her team are keen to emphasise that “The words released for the USA were categorically not … words with a political motivation or agenda. They were words about holiness within a nation.” She is also certain that it is essential for prophets to have “zero tolerance for the corrupting yeast of the political and religious spirits and the cultural opinions and preferences of men.” They claim; “the prophetic movement has fallen into disrepute in the wider body of Christ and now needs to be refined”.

Questions and Concerns

This all sounds very good and refreshing to my ears. And yet, despite this latest brawl, it is clear that the Global Prophetic Alliance sits very much within the overall prophetic movement. Both Cindy Jacobs and James Goll – leading figures in the ACPE – wrote ringing endorsements of Stark’s book, The Prophetic Warrior just a few years ago. Emma recently referred to Sharon Stone as “my mother in the prophetic”, while another ACPE key player, Bill Hamon, she endearingly termed “a father in the modern prophetic movement.”

Is it biblically balanced for a local church to be primarily focused on prophecy?

I confess, I retain questions about the ministry and connections of Ms Stark and the Global Prophetic Alliance. To whom is Emma accountable? Is it healthy for a church to emerge from a prophetic group? Is it biblically balanced for a local church to be primarily focused on prophecy? Are GPA prophets perhaps too insular, feeding off each other’s words? (I can’t help but note that prophecies from, and even the opinions of, Emma Stark and her right-hand-man Sam Robertson, are nearly always synonymous).

But I think it’s fair to say that I have as many, if not more, concerns regarding the ACPE, which, along with the prophetic movement as a whole, has been plagued by false prophecies yet has avoided serious scrutiny for far too long, with much resulting detrimental fallout.³ Does competition exist within the prophetic movement (as also existed among the Kansas City Prophets in the early-mid 1980s)? So much more requires to be written on these issues, and we hope to examine some of them in more detail in future editions of Prophecy Today.

Weighing and Testing

Many of her followers will continue to uncritically receive almost every word Emma Stark pronounces as a ‘word from the Lord’. Others will equally quickly dismiss her as a false prophet without spending time or effort in attempt to understand where she is coming from and truly discern the spirit behind her prophetic words. Some are convinced that even one small error in a prophetic word makes the giver a ‘false prophet’ (you get the impression some would even consider them deserving of being stoned to death). Which begs the question – has there ever existed, outside biblical times, a ‘genuine’ prophet?

It's probably as easy to point out prophetic utterances of Emma Stark as it is of almost anyone that have not been fulfilled. And so we should! Yet it was clear to the first century apostles that prophecy can be tainted by our humanity – which is why scripture urges us to weigh and test prophetic utterances (1 Cor 14:29). The same God who gives gifts of prophecy also gives gifts of discernment to help the Church embrace truth and avoid error.

Some are convinced that even one small error in a prophetic word makes the giver a ‘false prophet’ (you get the impression some would even consider them deserving of being stoned to death).

Returning to the prophecy that has attracted so much controversy in recent weeks, Emma makes it clear that that “Prophets do not protect or defend their words”. Rather, if they are erroneous, they simply will not come to pass.

As we seek godly discernment regarding all prophetic words we hear about, let us also keep a watch to see what indeed transpires.

Endnotes

An additional prophecy, on the spirit of Leviathan being released across the world, from GPA prophet Sam Robertson, is of a differing nature and has not been included for assessment in this article.
It’s true that some switched their predictions to an almost unheard of second term in 2024 as soon as Trump lost four years ago, but it’s very notable how few ‘prophets’ dared to openly declare in recent months, in anything like as bold and brash a manner as they did pre-2020, that Trump was going to be re-elected in Nov ’24.
There will be true prophets within the movement, but at the very least they are not a group that holds each other accountable.

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	Tom Lennie