A CALL TO REPENTANCE
Sackcloth is a visible sign of humility before God. For Phillip Blair of Torch of Christ Ministries, wearing it has been a call to turn from sin, seek God's mercy and return to Jesus Christ.
The story began before the pandemic. It grew into Ten Cities in Ten Days in 2020 and continued through American streets, national capitals and places of global influence. These original films preserve the proclamations and the testimony behind them.
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC / THE CALL TO SACKCLOTH
THE BEGINNING
THE CALL BEFORE TEN CITIES
Before the pandemic, Phillip had already received a call to Washington, D.C. With his father’s encouragement, he made his first sackcloth garment himself.
AN EARLIER HOUSTON PROCLAMATION
Autumn 2016
In autumn 2016, roughly one or two months before Donald Trump’s first election, Phillip proclaimed judgment in sackcloth at Planned Parenthood in Houston. In his April 2020 account, he included that proclamation among messages delivered in his first sackcloth garment, before Hurricane Harvey.
He later left that first suit behind during the flooding from Hurricane Harvey, believing that season had ended.
TEN CITIES IN TEN DAYS
During lockdown, a night of prayer brought the call to ten cities in ten days. He wanted to stay with his family, but became certain he had to go. Through empty streets and one film each day, the journey carried a call to humility, repentance and the mercy of Jesus Christ.
Phillip describes Ten Cities in Ten Days as the most viral sackcloth campaign and a turning point in the ministry’s growth. Phillip uploaded the films directly to his personal Facebook profile and the ministry’s YouTube channel, and the original New York City film alone has passed two million views on YouTube. He identifies New York City, New Orleans and Las Vegas as the proclamations that travelled furthest.
In the original documentary, he explains the personal cost, the meaning of the sackcloth and why obedience mattered even when no crowd was there. Published April 6, 2020.
DAY NINE: NEW YORK CITY · PUBLISHED MARCH 28, 2020
Beyond these original uploads, the films spread through reposts and private sharing on WhatsApp and Telegram. Messages arrived from Pakistan, Kenya and India reporting that the videos were spreading widely. He estimates tens of millions of views worldwide, while acknowledging that an accurate combined total cannot be established.
HOUSTON / DAY FOUR
He returned to Planned Parenthood in Houston during Ten Cities in Ten Days in March 2020. The original film, Day 4: Repent Houston, records his call to repentance and warning of God’s judgment. Alongside that warning, Phillip spoke of mercy, forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ, including for women who had undergone abortions.
Original film published March 23, 2020.
WATCH THE HOUSTON PROCLAMATION
SEVEN MORE CITIES. THE SAME CALL.
Seven Cities in Seven Days followed as a separate campaign through Seattle, Portland, Denver, Dallas, Minneapolis, Detroit and Baltimore. It did not gain the viral traction of Ten Cities. It was a further act of obedience, carrying the call to repentance through seven more cities before the later international proclamations.
The seven original films were published July 20–26, 2020.
THE CALL CONTINUES
After Ten Cities in Ten Days, Phillip says God began showing him new places to go, giving him a vision and a proclamation for a particular location at a particular time. The calling continued through Brazil, London, Egypt, Indonesia, Geneva and the other places recorded here. His response was simple: stay obedient and go where God was leading.
THE TEN-DAY JOURNEY
The original films were published daily from March 20 through March 29, 2020. Follow the ten numbered proclamations in the ministry’s own sequence.
Day 1: Repent San Francisco · March 20, 2020
Day 2: Repent Los Angeles · March 21, 2020
Day 3: Repent Las Vegas · March 22, 2020
Day 4: Repent Houston · March 23, 2020
Day 5: Repent New Orleans · March 24, 2020
Day 6: Repent Atlanta · March 25, 2020
Day 7: Repent Miami · March 26, 2020
Day 8: Repent America — Washington, D.C. · March 27, 2020
Day 9: Repent New York City · March 28, 2020
Day 10: Repent Chicago · March 29, 2020
Dates identify the original publications. The Washington, D.C., proclamation was published under the title Repent America.
WATCH THE CAMPAIGN EXPLANATION · MARCH 30, 2020
A 2022 REFLECTION / HOUSTON
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and returning authority over abortion regulation to the people and their elected representatives. Phillip regards the sequence as part of his testimony: the earlier proclamation, his return to Houston in sackcloth, and the later overturning of Roe. In his response after the ruling, he gave God glory for what he understood as an answer to decades of prayer.
WATCH PHILLIP’S RESPONSE · JUNE 28, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. / JANUARY 20, 2021
SACKCLOTH AT THE CAPITOL
On January 20, 2021, Phillip Blair and the Torch of Christ team went to Washington, D.C., to call the nation to repentance during Joe Biden's inauguration. The city was under extraordinary security following January 6. Earlier that morning, Phillip preached near McPherson Square as a motorcade passed. His appeal urged Americans to turn to Jesus Christ and warned of judgment ahead.
The team then prepared to livestream near the Capitol around noon, wearing sackcloth and ashes as a sign of humility before God. A tense police response followed. The recordings preserve orders to remain still and the team's explanation of the biblical symbolism while officers investigated their safety concerns.
Phillip feared that officers had mistaken his clothing for a concealed explosive vest. He was later told that two snipers had been trained on him. A woman he identifies as the bomb-squad commander checked him and helped bring the encounter to a peaceful end. He remains grateful for her patience. The experience became a profound lesson for him in fear, obedience and God's faithfulness.
The original livestream preserves the unfolding encounter and Phillip's immediate response. The documentary brings together the morning proclamation, the security incident and the team's reflections. No charges followed, and Phillip affirmed that the ministry would continue preaching.
THE FULL STORY
Documentary published January 23, 2021 · 43:03
THE ORIGINAL LIVESTREAM
Streamed live January 20, 2021 · 53:54
BRAZIL / A CALL TO REPENTANCE
RIO DE JANEIRO — SACKCLOTH PROCLAMATION
SÃO PAULO
Published February 21, 2021. The first of four original Brazil sackcloth films.
SALVADOR
Published February 22, 2021. The call to turn to Christ continues in Salvador.
RIO DE JANEIRO
Published February 23, 2021. A public sackcloth proclamation in Rio de Janeiro.
BRASÍLIA
Published February 24, 2021. The appeal for national repentance and a fast.
BRASÍLIA — A NATION CALLED TO FAST
In February 2021, Phillip Blair preached in sackcloth in Praça dos Três Poderes, Brasília, between the institutions of Brazil’s national government. The original message, published February 24, called the nation to turn to Jesus Christ and appealed to President Jair Bolsonaro to call a national fast. The appeal addressed pride, greed, corruption and the pursuit of power, calling leaders and ordinary people alike to humble themselves before God.
PHILLIP’S ACCOUNT — THE APPEAL AND THE RESPONSE
Supporters repeatedly tagged the president so that he would see the Brasília video. He understood the national fast announced soon afterward as a response to that appeal. For Phillip, the heart of the call was national repentance: a people crying out to God, turning from sin and seeking His mercy.
On March 15, 2021, Bolsonaro appeared with evangelical leaders to announce a fast for March 29. Their public appeal emphasized peace and prosperity for Brazil. Phillip’s conviction is that this was a missed opportunity for repentance. He describes the gathering as pretense, shaped by prosperity preaching, and believes the nation was not led into the humility and turning to God for which he had pleaded.
THE PUBLIC CHRONOLOGY
24 FEBRUARY 2021 — Torch of Christ publishes the Brasília sackcloth proclamation and appeal for a national fast.
15 / 29 MARCH 2021 — Bolsonaro and evangelical leaders announce the fast on March 15, for March 29.
30 OCTOBER 2022 — Bolsonaro loses the presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who returns to the presidency in January 2023.
SEPTEMBER / NOVEMBER 2025 — Bolsonaro is sentenced to 27 years and three months in the coup-plot case. On November 25, the Supreme Court orders him to begin serving that sentence in custody.
2026 ELECTION CALENDAR — In the calendar published before the election, Brazil’s electoral court listed October 4 for the first round and October 25 for any required second round.
THE CALL REMAINS
Phillip sees the years that followed as a sober reminder of the original warning. That is his spiritual interpretation of the events. His appeal remains a call for Brazil’s leaders, churches and people to seek God with repentance and sincerity. As Brazil’s story continues, the message is still to humble ourselves before Christ and cry out for His mercy.
THE MARCH 2021 FAST ANNOUNCEMENT
Historical announcement for the March 29, 2021 fast — reposted by Igreja Das Nações. This is separate historical footage, not a Torch of Christ production.
Sources:
ORIGINAL FILMS · FEBRUARY 2021
São Paulo · February 21
Salvador · February 22
Rio de Janeiro · February 23
Brasília · February 24
Dates show when each film was published.
LONDON:
A THREE-PART CALL
THE PALACE. THE PARLIAMENT. THE PEOPLE.
In October 2021, Phillip and his wife Bia preached in sackcloth at Buckingham Palace, Westminster and Leicester Square.
The message Phillip received was clear: preach at the palace, at the parliament and at the people. He understood this as God’s direction for the outreach. The sackcloth was a prophetic sign and a public call for London to repent and turn to Jesus Christ.
Buckingham Palace · Published October 11, 2021.
A PROPHETIC SIGN
Phillip understands the London outreach as a prophetic warning whose significance became clearer to him in the year that followed. Within twelve months, the UK experienced the mpox outbreak in May 2022, Boris Johnson announced his resignation on July 7 and left office on September 6, and Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8. For Phillip, these events gave further weight to the message at the palace, the parliament and the people.
ACROSS THE NATIONS
ONE CALL, MANY SETTINGS
EGYPT
Published October 18, 2021.
During the pandemic, London, Egypt and the Vatican became three places the Lord put on Phillip’s heart within a short period. He travelled to Egypt for one central purpose: to deliver a prophetic message for the nation while wearing sackcloth.
He felt the urgency of that message and went in obedience to the Lord’s calling. The original film preserves the proclamation: Repent Egypt.
INDONESIA
MAKASSAR / CENTER POINT OF INDONESIA
Phillip and an Indonesian brother stood together in sackcloth beside the globe at Center Point of Indonesia in Makassar. Their proclamation carried a call for the heart and soul of Indonesia, a message Phillip considers one of the ministry’s underseen sackcloth proclamations.
Original film published November 23, 2022.
JAKARTA / NATIONAL MONUMENT
At Jakarta’s National Monument, Monas, the two men delivered a separate sackcloth proclamation: An economic message to the nations of the world.
Original film published November 15, 2022.
SWITZERLAND / UNITED NATIONS
Published November 5, 2024.
Outside the United Nations in Geneva, Phillip warned of the drums of war. The original film was published on November 5, 2024, before the U.S. strikes on Iran in June 2025 and the wider U.S.–Iran war that began in February 2026. Looking back, Phillip sees spiritual significance in that sequence and renewed urgency in the call to repentance.
NEW YORK / THE CALL CONTINUES
1
Published March 28, 2020. New York was Day Nine of Ten Cities in Ten Days. Phillip identifies this proclamation among the films that carried the campaign furthest. The original upload preserves the message from that first nationwide journey.
2
Published July 27, 2022. Phillip returned to New York with a warning and a call to repentance for pastors and churches in America. This original sackcloth message places repentance before believers as well as the wider nation, in Phillip’s own words.
3
Published July 25, 2026. Phillip returned again in July 2026. The Man in Sackcloth Is Back: A Warning and a Promise continues a calling that has brought him to New York more than once. For Phillip, each return is part of his commitment to follow God's leading and keep proclaiming His message.
THREE EXPRESSIONS OF ONE CALLING
1
Carrying the Gospel into difficult, dangerous and overlooked places. Haiti, Marawi City, cartel hotspots and red-light districts form part of this distinct ministry story.
2
Taking the Gospel to the nations and meeting practical needs through food, essential supplies and local partnerships. Explore the relief work and the people at its heart.
3
A CALL TO REPENTANCE
Sackcloth preaching and public Gospel proclamation. A visible call to humility, repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, carried from city to city.