The White Horse Prophecy and The Other Bickle Brother

Here is a guest post about Mike Bickle’s brother Pat, and the revised prophecies pertainging to his healing that were foundational to the KCF and IHOP. Thanks Julie for writing this!

Years ago I was involved in Kansas City Fellowship (KCF)- the church formed by Mike Bickle which eventually evolved into what is now called IHOP-KC. My family considered KCF our church home for the years 1982 through the end of 1989. We were present during these formative years and heard first hand many of the foundational prophecies behind the IHOP movement

Also during this time we had the privilege of getting to know the other, lesser known, Bickle brother, Pat. Pat’s story is important and deserves to be heard. What happened to Pat: his accident, his promised healing, and his death have undergone some serious historical revisions over the years by IHOP leadership.

I wish to set the record straight. I do not do this out of animosity towards those persons responsible for this revision. However, they need to be held accountable. Moreover, I would like to challenge the followers of this movement to question the legitimacy of the prophecies on which it is based.

The foundational prophecies of IHOP are frequently cited by those who say it is a work of God. Perhaps the most significant foundational prophecy in the 80′s was the “white Horse” prophecy, and make no mistake about it – it was about Pat Bickle. But you won’t hear about that today.

The telling of that prophecy has morphed into something else with certain details changing and others being omitted. This is just flat out dishonest. There is no other way to describe it.

Pat Bickle was injured in a football accident in the early 70′s which left him paralyzed from the neck down. I did not live in Kansas City during the years that the people of Kansas City came together to contribute financially via various fund raisers for Pat’s needs. Many, many people knew the name ‘Pat Bickle’ and grieved his tragedy.

In researching Pat’s accident, I came across this well written article. It’s worth reading and provides necessary background to what I have to say. Please take the time to read it. ( see link at end )

As I stated, many foundational prophecies that legitimized God’s calling on IHOP today were delivered in the ’80′s. It’s difficult to convey the emotional excitement back then of having THE prophets in our midst; the newness of hearing (and the difficulty in judging) so many promises given to our church and the flattery of being chosen, not for salvation, but to collaborate with God on bringing about an end-time revival that would reach the four corners of the earth.

This was ground breaking stuff, folks. Up until this point, I had personally felt that I’d only been playing church. We were getting ready to do it right. It seemed like the saints who’d come before us would have longed to be in our shoes. That was the energy present at this time.

The promises and the prophecies were coming so rapidly, it was difficult to sort through them, let alone judge them. There was a sense of needing to trust the leaders put in place by God to bring it all together. These were supernatural promises and as such they certainly needed anointed people who understood the propehtic gift to sift through it.

The one prophecy – given over and over again – became the one prophecy I clearly understood. And it was one that we all had an eager desire to see come to pass. It was the very incredible prophecy that Pat Bickle would be healed, and that his healing, and the notoriety he already had in Kansas City, would be the event that would usher in this great revival.

At the outset, I wish to acknowledge that no one person at Kansas City Fellowship had a greater desire to see this happen than Mike Bickle and his family, save Pat himself. I knew Pat and considered him a good friend during a season of time at KCF. Because of this friendship, during our times visiting with Pat, we would mentally document the different prophecies, or angelic visitations, dreams and visions that directly pertained to Pat being healed. We would ask: “Which Prophet had said what?” Every time there was a new prophet in our midst, the first question in our group was, “did they say anything about Pat?”

For many people, Pat getting healed was synonymous with the Holy Spirit falling at Pentecost, it was that significant. Were other persons following these prophecies as closely? Well, they would have had to have been asleep to miss them- it was that important to the revival.

Probably the main prophecy delivered about Pat was one repeated many times. It was called “the White Horse prophecy.” I bring this particular prophecy up because it has undergone some changes through the years. Those changes have been well documented at BeyondGrace in the following article written by Bill Fawcett. Bill painstakingly scoured texts and teachings still available to verify his findings. Shenanigans are afoot, folks. (see link at end)

In the original prophecy, there is a white horse standing in a stream of shallow water. The rider on the horse is Pat, who is lying on a board. This is significant because Pat would attend meetings lying on a bed rather than sitting in a wheel chair. At his side, guiding the horse, is Mike Bickle. Rabid dogs standing at the banks are trying to prevent this movement from succeeding. Mike’s job is to keep the horse in the center of the stream, essentially turning a deaf ear to the rabid dogs.

It is clear from the prophecy that the dogs are misguided believers speaking against this movement. At some point in the original telling of prophecy, Pat’s board is tipped in such a way that he lands in the stream and is miraculously healed.

The article from BeyondGrace goes into the details of this prophecy changing through the years. Having undergone many changes, this prophecy is now used to legitimize this movement as being God ordained, with much opposition (rabid dogs); the rider on the horse is something else entirely, and sadly Pat Bickle has been completely removed from the story. Let me say that again – Pat is no longer a part of this pivotal vision/dream/prophecy. Huh? How did this happen – is God’s revelation that pliable?

People who attend IHOP today may not realize this, but quite a bit of cherry-picking has gone on through the years in determining which prophecies were legitimate and needing to be held on to today. Those which didn’t come to pass have been dismissed and forgotten. Hundreds more prophecies delivered back in the ’80′s fall into the latter category. How did the leadership choose? Back then, in such a fluid environment, most were received without question as being a promise of God.

How did they know which category to then place them in? Well, we were all instructed that, if they didn’t come to pass, it wasn’t the Lord who gave it. As a matter of fact, on a few select occasions, prophet’s got their marching orders if a clear ‘thus saith the Lord’ didn’t come to pass. Augustine Alcola comes to mind, but I digress.

Let me say this again: many, many, many prophecies delivered by the same men who today are considered bonafide propehts of God, simply did not come to pass.

Not only did so many of these prophecies NOT come to pass, many people now see those early promises given (in their current revisons), which are now a part of IHOP’s prophetic history, as binding upon them and this movement as the very scriptures themselves.

So binding are they that they are willing to give heart and soul to this movement. Are people simply unaware of the flimsy foundation they are standing upon by following these extra-biblical prophecies and promises? I cannot answer this question. However, this White Horse Prophecy, which was ALWAYS about Pat Bickle being healed, now serves a new and useful purpose in that IHOP attendees are encouraged to dismiss me and other whistle blowers, indeed this very article I write, as a ‘mad dog.’ How convenient.

Who made these decisions? Did Mike Bickle alone change this history in order to silence those of us who have legitimate concerns? Silence us to the questioning flock so they will remain in the dark?

This is my memory and I stand by it. It’s too bad that most of the original teachings where these numerous prophecies were given (except the scarce documentation of the White Horse Prophecy) are no longer available to either prove or disprove my memory. However, there are still a few old timers hanging on at IHOP. They will be able to attest to the fact that Pat’s healing was going to usher this whole thing in.

My charge to the leadership at IHOP: either come clean regarding this prophecy, or stop using it to shut up dissenting opinion. And shame on you for removing Pat from the telling of this prophecy.

Julie

Link to story about Pat Bickle:

http://image.teamfca.net/siteuploadfiles/FCA/4E6CBE2E-D94B-4D4C-A0D2F55D187B4482/2CD8DC95-FDEC-4274-80150B140ABDEAF0.doc

Beyond Grace White Horse Prophecy: http://beyondgrace.blogspot.com/2011/08/mike-bickle-white-horse-prophecy.html?m=1

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