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Sunday 28 December 2008

Charlotte Baker's prophetic parables

I once sat in the balcony of the Bethesda Missionary Temple in Detroit as a guest speaker from
Charlotte Baker
Seattle, Washington told us that the word she had to share would put a spring in our step.

Well, let's see, I thought.

Forty-five minutes later, the guest speaker - Charlotte Baker - was proven right. I was eager to stand to my feet and worship the Lord in response to her message based on II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"

Charlotte, the pastor of King's Temple in Seattle, had done that night what thousands had experienced from her over the years - she had, by reason of her spiritual gifting, inspired God's people to a greater vision of the Lord, his salvific work, and his plans for his people.

She got her start in ministry back in the early days of the Latter Rain revival at Glad Tidings Church in Vancouver, British Columbia. Hugh Layzell, whose father Reg pastored Glad Tidings back then, says,

"Also in those early years of revival, a number of the young people from the Church, under the leadership of Violet Kiteley and Charlotte Baker, held Saturday night meetings in the inner city area. This is where many people learned to preach a gospel message and lead people to Christ" (Hugh and Audrey Layzell in Sons of His Purpose: the Interweaving of the Ministry of Reg Layzell, and His Son, Hugh, During a Season of Revival).

It was not long, the Layzells write, before Reg noticed Charlotte's "definite calling and anointing for ministry.... Consequently, Charlotte Baker assumed the leadership of the little house church [in Bellingham, Washington]. Her husband, John, was not a preacher, but he fully supported his wife in ministry."

Part of the ministry entrusted to Charlotte was prophecy. She called her lengthy story-like prophecies, "prophetic parables." One such prophecy, which came to be entitled, The Eye of the Needle, can be heard at this link. That 11-minute prophecy was delivered in 1981 at the International Worship Symposium hosted by Shady Grove Church in Grand Prairie, Texas. The night that Charlotte delivered the prophecy the Symposium was meeting in a banquet room at Texas Stadium, which was the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

The prophecy became part of a book, The Eye of the Needle and Other Prophetic Parables.

In his endorsement of the book, Judson Cornwall said, "I have never met a person with a more dynamic and inspirational prophetic gift than Dr. Charlotte Baker. Her prophetic visions so reach the heart and paint pictures in the mind that they are almost impossible to ignore. I've seen entire congregations fall to their knees or faces, myself included, while she shared what she was seeing. I am thrilled that some of these revelations are now being released in book form."

David Schoch, himself a prophet, added his endorsement, "The truths that are brought forth through the exposition of these parables comes out of a burning heart and the mind of one of the greatest revivalists of our time. Reading this book will cause you to want to draw close to Jesus and to become more and more like him."

In addition to an 18-year pastorate at King's Temple that began in 1963, Baker also helped established a bible college in Ghana.

She retired in Canada and died September 16, 2014 at 92 years old. Her obituary can be read at this link.

The audio recording below was made during a worship service at King's Temple on March 19, 1978. Pastor Baker delivered a prophecy during the worship time. (The first nine seconds of the recording are poor, but the remainder is very clear.)

Charlotte Baker, Violet Kiteley (1966)Charlotte Baker, Violet Kiteley (1966) Sat, Apr 30, 1966 – 13 · Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Newspapers.com Charlotte Baker, pastor in Bellingham (1958)Charlotte Baker, pastor in Bellingham (1958) Sat, Aug 23, 1958 – 17 · The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com CB in Atlanta (1983)CB in Atlanta (1983) Sat, Oct 1, 1983 – 27 · The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) · Newspapers.com CB at Shekinah (1984)CB at Shekinah (1984) Fri, Jun 15, 1984 – 10 · Kingsport Times-News (Kingsport, Tennessee) · Newspapers.com CB in Australia (1978)CB in Australia (1978) Sat, Oct 7, 1978 – Page 33 · The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) · Newspapers.com

19 comments:

  1. I just found your website and must say - what a great resource! Thank you, Brother Thackaray for doing this. I attended the King's Temple from 1974 to 1982 and it was the best eight years of my life. I created a blogspot website on the LRM but my research is meager in comparison. latterrainresearch.blogspot.com

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    1. Ken, I have been to your website a couple of times and enjoyed it. Glad you found the material here. Do you happen to have any recordings or written material by Charlotte Baker?

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    2. Can these precious materials be digitized and possibly made available online. These are gems that should be in the ground. An old English lady gave me a copy of the Eye of the Needle and has been much blessing to me and all I gave it to

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    3. The Eye of the Needle has been digitized and is available at this link: https://youtu.be/TOopV-Gsehw

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  2. Yes, indeed! Lots of audio cassettes. Besides "Eye of the Needle" I have "On Eagle's Wings" and six pamphlets of prophetic parables.

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    1. If you could part with one of the cassette tapes, I would like to purchase one from you - especially if it was Charlotte preaching on New Creation (the way she preached that in Detroit was so edifying and encouraging; looking back, I don't know why I didn't purchase a copy that night). If, however, parting with any of your collection is asking too much, I certainly understand. The further we get from those times the more precious those items become. Please let me know your decision at archibaldthackeray@gmail.com

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    2. I don't have many sermon only tapes. A friend and I were specially privileged to record the praise/worship portions during the height of the renewal. Sister Baker was in the forefront of restoration of praise/worship and it was glorious! I will look through my tapes and see what I have.

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    3. Hi Ken -- though Archibald may be less interested in the praise/worship portions, I am VERY interested in them. I'd love to digitize them for you and use them in my research here at Duke University. Please email me!!

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    4. I have found some vintage worship songs from 1977 - 1991 at
      vintageworshiptapes.com. free to download and are currently in mp3 format. Quality varies. Copyright issues have been addressed.

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  3. I have several tapes of Sister Baker's teachings: "Dimensions In Prayer" "The Making of a King" "Winds of Change" "Sounds of Eternity" "An Ear for Eternity" "Eternity"

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    1. Even the titles sound anointed, Vivien! I can only imagine what blessing the content is.

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    2. Jon - she was one of the very best. She came to NZ and changed my life...I am so grateful for her life and ministry. So many times we all fell to the floor during and after her speaking. Such a glorious teacher.

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    3. Amen, Vivien! Today, my 37-year-old son was listening to the worship service and he was blessed beyond measure.

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  4. Hi John - please can you advise how to get hold of someone from Charlotte Baker's ministry or affliates as I would like to use her Eye of the Needle prophecy in a small book i'm trying to write. This prophecy impacted my life significantly when i first heard it 20 years ago and has shaped my walk as a christian. I need permission to quote it if possible - any ideas? Blessings Katja Schmidt (South Africa)

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    1. Katja, here's what I came up with: you could try the publisher of the book, McDougal Publishing (www.mcdougal.org). I couldn't find any other possible connection that could give you the permission you are seeking.

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  5. Katja, I will have to do some research because Sister Baker has gone to be with the Lord and I don't think King's Temple is still in existence. Please check back here in a few days and I will leave another comment - one way or the other.

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  6. Awesome blog - I will need to check it all out. Am sitting here with my heart pinching reading about several whose teaching I sat under who have now preceded us into glory. Am trying to find where I can get notifications by email susanam.hernandez@gmail.com

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  7. Sister Baker's prophetic utterances have truly been life changing to me. However if anyone would love to share some of her teachings that would be a tremendous blessing. Please contact me at aservantheart2@gmail.com

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