As I prepared to share this word with you today the Lord reminded me of the occasion (2 Kings 13:14-19) when Elisha was ill from the sickness with which he died and so he had one last commission to fulfil to place his hands on the king’s hands and to shoot the Lord’s arrow of victory and deliverance over the land as a prophetic sign of victory against the enemies of Israel. Likewise, I believe the Lord is giving to us arrows of victory that we must shoot over this nation in prophetic declaration of what the Lord will accomplish. When the prophetic arrow is released into the atmosphere it charges the air with the Word of God and releases a creative power to bring that which is unseen into the visible realm and birth that which is spoken. And so I want to release this word now as an arrow fired over this nation believing that it shall not return void but accomplish the purpose for which it is sent.
During a recent watch, I was moved by the Spirit to seek the Lord once more on behalf of the nation. And I saw a picture of Him who stands in the midst of the seven lampstands with a double-edged sword in His mouth; One like a Son of Man who holds the seven stars in His right hand. And I cried out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the One who was and who is and who is to come!” And I understood from Him who instructed the seven letters to the seven churches that further despatches must be sent out to the church among the nations. And I was deeply afraid and said, “How can this be? For nothing shall be added or taken away from that which is already written!” And He said to me, “Truly that which is written is written, nevertheless I have summoned my Bride to my chamber that I might commune with her, and she will eat the words from my mouth and be satisfied. Then she will go as my royal emissary with the Word of the Lord in her heart and upon her lips.” And I was astonished by what I heard and was afraid once more and said, “O Lord, I am undone, how can I speak for One so Holy when I am so unworthy? And if I do not speak what will become of me then?” And the Lord replied, “Let fear be a comfort to you when it honours me, but do not be afraid for my grace is sufficient for you.” And I resolved to write down that which I heard and saw.
Hark! What sound is this coming across the battlefield? Like a war-cry but not clear, like a trumpet with a strange tone and muted. Look! A battlefield like that of No Man’s Land in the Great War and from the trenches the sound of much armour being prepared. And the war-like cry grew louder as many soldiers in the trenches put on their armour, but the Lord’s voice was not in the war-cry, and I did not understand the meaning of the armour. Then I heard the Lord say, “What do you see?” And I replied, “I see soldiers getting dressed for battle.” “Look upon the battlefield what do you see?” So, I looked and saw the bodies of many slain dressed in fine armour and upon their chest were the emblems of empire. Then the Lord said, “This armour was fashioned by men and not by my hand. When my people go out to fight with their own armour they hurt and wound each other, for the armour of men is hewn by human hand but not so the garments of My Warrior Bride!” And I wept for the pain and wounds we had inflicted upon each other and the armour of an identity we were not supposed to wear.
Then the One who stands amid the seven lamp stands reached out and touched me saying, “Write down this despatch for my church. I will heal the fallen image of who you think you are to Me, and I will render your hearts with an inoperable ferocity for passion and a love for all that is pure. My Bride will be untethered from the rhythm of this world and be yoked to Me as the Lion roaring by her side.” Then I heard a different sound than the war-cry I had heard before, this warrior sounded like the roar of thunder. “If you trust me, if you really trust me, I want you to take off your armour. For you cannot come into my bridal chamber with your armour on, but it is here that I will anoint you for the day of battle. Do not go out in your armour,” says the Lord, “but go out in the strength that you have with a vulnerability towards me and each other, for my strength is made perfect in your weakness. Do not fortify your positions neither embellish yourselves with armour, because your bastions will be a snare to you and your armour a weakness. Behold the day is coming and now is when your confidence in me shall be resolute and with the sound of the trumpet blast you shall invoke my jealousy toward you, and I will respond like a mighty warrior to fight on your behalf and assign angels to your stations. I will delight in your vulnerability,” says the Lord, “for you are irresistible to me. Wherever you go My Bride, I will enshroud you with My glory which will dazzle and confound your adversaries. I will place a canopy over you and keep you concealed; I will hide you away until the great day of unveiling comes. When they seek you they will not find you, but when they seek you they will stumble upon me standing guard over you by day and night and their audacity will melt like wax in the heat of my passion. Behold, I will bewilder their strategy so they will come at you in one way but flee from you in seven. See I am faithful in my love towards you, and I have no other. No one else who has ravished my heart; I am captivated with just one look of your eyes.”
“Listen, I will tell you a secret,” says the Lord of Hosts, “Satan is obsessed with my Bride, as one fallen from splendour he is enraged by her perfection and beauty. Though he is tormented by the thought of her, he cannot look upon her without trouble, and he cannot behold all that she has become, therefore he will raise another, see if it is not so, for there is an imposter within your borders.” And I heard the name of a goddess who acts as though she has no husband and sits aloft as though she were a queen. She made great boasts of her ascension, but the Bride was not found among her. This calls for great wisdom and discernment.
“Listen, I will tell you a secret,” says the Lord of Hosts. “My Bride has no name except that which I bestow. To me you are a fruitful vine and through you I shall make my glory known throughout the earth as the waters cover the sea.” Then I saw an insignia upon the chest of the Bride, not like the emblems of empire on the armour of the fallen, but with the Word of God written upon her heart, and in her hand she carried the royal standard, with emblems of a lion and lamb one on each side of the war flag. And I heard the word “Crusaders” in my spirit. Then I saw a spade being given to the Crusaders on the land, those who carried the royal standard of the Lion and the Lamb, and I asked the Lord about its meaning, and He said, “I am commissioning you on a new crusade, not like the days before, but a new assignment. You shall dig wells in the nation.” I replied, “yes Lord, this I have heard before.” Then He answered, “Yes, but you have not fully understood its meaning: For the ancient wells must be re-opened first before the new wells can be dug. Understand the old wells will satisfy the thirst of the old wineskins. Then you shall dig again, and you shall open the new wells which have been reserved for this time and place, and it shall be a blessing for you and also to the those who have gone before. But know this, you will not only dig down, but also across, for you shall build new roads in my Kingdom and bridges of peace across the nations.”
“Listen, I will tell you a secret,” says the Lord of Hosts. “My Bride will wash the feet of those who betray her and through her wounds the oil of myrrh shall flow as a pleasing aroma unto me. I will anoint you through suffering and empower you through pain to arbitrate justice and righteousness, and to minister healing amongst many.”
“Listen, I will tell you a secret,” says the Lord of Hosts. “Like autumn leaves gathered in piles, there is treasure upon the ground. For there are many spiritual assets left behind on the battlefield. I declare it to you, like the sword of Goliath (1 Sam 17:49-51, 21:9), the weapons once used by the enemy shall become the means by which he will be defeated once more. That which is hidden shall be revealed, that which is lost shall be found, that which is forgotten shall be remembered and that which is discarded shall be repurposed for My glory. I declare ancient anointings shall be rediscovered, the axe shall rise to the surface again and be laid to the root of the tree. Therefore, do not change the ancient boundaries or redefine that which I have already decreed, for My gifts to this nation are irrevocable and My purpose here remains. I will not build my church upon a new foundation or change my mind towards you. Search the record, retrace my footsteps, for your future is found in your past. Do not say to yourselves the Lord is doing a new thing, see I can go where I like and I can say what I please, for I tell you that I am the Lord and I change not. Who told you the times and seasons? Who instructed you in the way you should go? Have they stood in my courts or understood My ways? Is it too hard a thing for you to come before Me? Are my commands beyond your reach? Do not say who will ascend into Heaven for us (Deut 30:11), for I will establish my council among you upon the earth. See, even now my war room is open.”
“Listen, I will tell you a secret,” says the Lord of Hosts. “Those who ascend the hill of the Lord shall witness my glory pass by, but those who descend deeper shall know the depths of my heart and shall ascend with my glory upon them. There in the shadows I will be known by you, there in the clefts let us embrace. Come away with me my love let us dance through the night until morning comes, let us go through the desert pass together.”
