March 27th, 1975, a prophet named Ruth Green prophesied that I would, multiple times, that Denzel Washington repeatedly revealed this prophecy that changed his life forever. Here he is sharing the exact same story on Oprah several decades earlier:
“I was sitting in my mother’s beauty shop, and I see this woman through the mirror. She’s behind me under the dryer. Every time I looked up, she was just like this, looking. She said, ‘Somebody give me a piece of paper,’ and she wrote.”
This prophecy was followed by a supernatural experience he had years later that he shares in this clip with his Pastor, Dr. AR Bernard:
“When it came time to come down to the altar, I said, ‘You know, this time I’m just going to go down there and give it up and let go and experience something I’ve never experienced in my life,’ a supernatural, if not once-in-a-lifetime experience that I couldn’t completely understand.”
Now in this video, we’re going to look at how this actually all played out, the specific details of what that prophecy was, and how Denzel is attempting to live that out today.
But before we get into that, guys, my name is Rousan, and this channel exists to encourage, empower, and inspire you to live a life that blesses God.
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Now check out how Dr. AR Bernard responds to Denzel’s supernatural encounter with God and what Denzel admits happens next:
“That moment, the power of that moment, you and I, when we were at lunch, you were telling me like it happened to you the day before we went to lunch. It was still so real and so powerful, and that kept you somewhat grounded as you were exposed to other things, correct?”
“In spite of myself, it kept me grounded in spite of myself. I mean, I accepted it, I definitely experienced it, but I wasn’t ready to live it. Ah, I wasn’t ready to live it. That was ’90.
I don’t know how old I was then, but I wasn’t ready to live it then, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who obviously is not the only one who’s going through that kind of experience. So I had to go through all of that, to be honest.”
We’re entering some really interesting territory. Denzel had a prophecy given to him a couple of years before that we’re going to unpack here in just a moment on what specifically was said.
Denzel then had a supernatural encounter with God, came forward, went to the prayer room, and experienced something he could not deny. Yet, he says that he was not ready to live it.
Now, we’re going to come back to this in just a moment, but first, let’s get into the details of what the prophecy was and how Denzel is attempting to live this out today:
“A woman prophesized years and years ago that I would travel the world and preach to millions of people. And I remember, you know, and I have traveled the world, and I don’t know if I’m a preacher, but through my work, I’ve spoken.
And now I try to speak more in public. But I asked my pastor, I said, ‘Well, does that mean I’m supposed to be a preacher?’ He said, ‘No, you already have a pulpit.'”
Here he is sharing more of that on Oprah:
“But she wrote prophecy, and she said, ‘Boy, you’re going to speak to millions of people. She said, ‘You’re going to travel the world, and you’re going to speak to millions of people.’ And I asked my mother, I said, ‘Well, who is this woman with the gift of prophecy?’ She said, ‘Well, she’s one of the oldest church members in the town, and she’s known to have the gift of prophecy.’ And she wrote down 1975, she wrote prophecy. So I thought, ‘So am I supposed to become a preacher?’ I asked my pastor, ‘Should I become a preacher?’ He’s like, ‘No, no, you’re doing good right where you are.'”
Saying all this to say, I have always looked at what I do as not preaching, but maybe as my pulpit, you know, to the roles that I played. I looked at the spiritual evolution of those characters, not just the characters.”
Denzel talks about this prophecy. The prophecy was that he was going to preach before millions and millions of people. At the same time, he acknowledges that though he gave his life to Jesus in a public profession of faith, he wasn’t ready to live it.
He then says that he feels like his work, which contains quite a bit of explicit content, even movies containing nudity and all kinds of violence, his work, he saw as an extension and a way to leverage his audience in his pulpit.
He gets more specific about this in one of his darkest roles that he actually changed because of a Bible verse:
“I always looked for that, for lack of a better word, angle. What’s the story? The only thing I wrote on the cover of Training Day was ‘the wages of sin’s death.’ I had the end of that film changed in order for me to justify living in the worst way. He had to die in the worst way. He died in a very small way in the script, but I purposely wanted him to be knocked down on the ground and crawl like a snake. I purposely wanted everyone in the community to turn on him, and I wanted him to die in the most violent way.”
For many, many years and decades, I did that through my work and through my philanthropy and through being a good guy and all of those things. That’s not the case anymore.
So before we get into what he believed the fulfillment of this prophecy is now in this season of his life, it’s important for us to acknowledge what is actually being said here. Now, some of you guys may not know a lot of Denzel’s work, but Training Day is a movie where he plays a villain, a corrupt cop who is completely out of control, doing all kinds of shady stuff. Denzel says that when he got the script, he put “the wages of sin is death” and changed the ending of the movie because he wanted to drive home that biblical principle. That is how he was attempting to leverage his platform to point people to biblical principles, even though he acknowledges that he wasn’t quite ready to live it yet.
Later in this conversation, he gets into specifics of what he believes the reflection of that prophecy is today in his life, now that he has more clarity and is seemingly surrendered and living out his faith more. But that brings us to an interesting question: What do we do with the idea that someone can give their life to God as a child, potentially get a prophecy as a teenager, come forward in a public profession of faith as an adult, yet still not be in the spot to live it? Maybe because of the allures of Hollywood, maybe because of the types of roles he felt he had to take. Whatever it is, there’s a Bible verse we’re going to look at in a second that I believe actually communicates God’s heart for those of us that may be struggling with our faith.
But first, listen to how Dr. AR Bernard summarizes the experience that Denzel had and how it was a deposit of success:
“It’s amazing how God will give you an indelible mark in terms of an experience that no matter how much you may stray away from or deviate from, you never forget that moment, the power of that moment. You and I, when we were at lunch, you were telling me like it happened to you the day before we went to lunch. It was still so real and so powerful, and that kept you somewhat grounded as you were exposed to other things, correct?”
“In spite of myself, it kept me grounded in spite of myself. I mean, I accepted it, I definitely experienced it, but I wasn’t ready to live it.”
This supernatural encounter that Denzel had with God kept him grounded in spite of himself. He wasn’t fully ready to live it yet, but it kept him anchored. It reminded me of this passage from Romans 11:29:
“For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God, have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience. So they too now have become disobedient in order that they may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you.”
So God’s gifts, God’s call, God’s purpose for those of us that have placed our faith in Jesus are irrevocable. When we place our faith in Jesus, he will preserve us despite ourselves, just like in the case of Denzel. He wasn’t ready to “live it,” but God’s deposit remained in him.
Now, I’m not saying not living God’s ways is something we should do. Saying you’re not ready is not a wise move if you are a child of God. I’m sure Denzel would agree that him not fully living it was not in his best interest and definitely was not something that didn’t come without consequences. But it does remind me how the incredible grace of God abounds even when we fall short.
So now, almost 70 years old, this is how Denzel processes the prophecy that he was given all the way back in the ’70s. Listen to what he says:
“Not just to do good the right way, but to honor my mother and my father by the way I live my life the rest of my days on this earth. I’m here to serve, to help, to provide. In every prayer, you know, the ego is interesting, you just don’t know, but in every prayer, all I hear is ‘feed my sheep.’ That’s what God wants
me to do.”
“Yeah. Am I a preacher? I don’t know. I have considered it. I haven’t had the formal training of that. But for the most part, I do speak from what God tells me to speak, and if not, then you can cast me aside, because that ain’t no good.”
Denzel’s trying to be clear about his intention to live out God’s call in his life now. He’s acknowledging that he’s here to serve, to help, to provide, and what he hears from God is “feed my sheep,” which is a reference to Jesus instructing Peter to take care of his followers. This, to him, may not look like a formal preacher role but rather leveraging his influence, experiences, and platform to speak what he believes God is telling him to speak.
Denzel’s journey is a powerful reminder of how God’s call and gifts are irrevocable. His supernatural experience served as an anchor, and despite not being ready to fully live it, he now seeks to honor his calling in a more profound and authentic way. This reflects the journey of many who might struggle but find their way back to their purpose.
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