Chuck Pierce

Charles D. (Chuck) 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 prophecy that Donald Trump would be elected to the US presidency and a failed prophecy 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]

Glory of Zion International Ministries

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 feet (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.^[7] In 2022, their total contributions were US $21 million.^[1]

New Apostolic Reformation

In 1999 Pierce was a founder and is one of the current leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation. The New Apostolic Reformation is a charismatic movement that seeks to set up a theocracy in the United States. 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 New Apostolic Reformation see themselves as being at war with demonic forces and expect that the God will enter this war soon and deliver them to victory.^[8]

Notable prophecies

In 2008, Pierce prophesied that Donald Trump would one day be president of the United States. He also prophesied that Barack Obama would be president.^[4]

Pierce, along with several other charismatic leaders, incorrectly prophesied 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 prophecies are wrong. Pierce has not signed the document as of 2021.^[6]

In September 2019 and again in January 2020, Pierce prophesied 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."^[9].

Criticism

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."^[10].

References

1. "Glory of Zion International Ministries". Ministry Watch.
2. Jack Jenkins (December 13, 2018). "At Trump's hotel, spiritual warriors pray for the president in his 'darkest hour'". National Catholic Reporter.
3. "Chuck Pierce Prophesied Last Year About the Coming Plague - He Says This Passover Will Be a True Passover". CBN News. April 7, 2020.
4. Dave Roberts (May 4, 2021). "When prophets fail". Premier Christianity.
5. 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.
6. Julia Duin (April 29, 2021). "Charismatics issue 'prophetic standards' to address false Trump prophecies". Religion Unplugged.
7. Brad Christerson & Richard Flory (2017). The Rise of Network Christianity. Oxford University Press.
8. ""Unfriending" America: The Christian right is coming for the enemies of God — like you and me". Salon. June 17, 2023.
9. "This is not the end of the world, according to Christians who study the end of the world". Washington Post. March 17, 2020.
10. From Peter Wagner to Bill Johnson: The History and Epistemology of the "New Apostolic Reformation" (PDF). University of Otago. 2021. p. 266.