Spiritual Lockdown
It's Thursday, 3/26/2020, I live in South Africa and our country is going into a national lock down at midnight tonight, for 3 weeks, 21 days, which ends on the 16th April, which just so happens to be the day after the 7 days of unleavened bread. The 21st Nisan/Aviv is when the Red Sea split and the children of Israel crossed over in the wilderness and Pharaoh's army were wiped out by the waves. It took the 7 days of unleavened bread to journey from Ramses to the edge of the wilderness.
It is amazing how God is using this time to speak to Christians; the timing of the lockdowns worldwide is so significant (20% of the whole world is under lockdown at this time). The urgency increasing in people's hearts to get into line with God's purposes and the opening of the spiritual eyes on a wide scale, plus the awakening to realize that we really all in the end times all speaks of the pivotal moment we are walking through spiritually.
I had the great privilege of being given a couple of days at the beach at the beginning of this week and the Lord downloaded many things to me while I stood on the edge of the waves, one of which was a vision of what the church is supposed to be doing during lockdown. I saw a warrior filling his quiver with arrows. In readying for battle, I saw man cleaning his rifle barrel. And I saw bullets being put into the barrel of a gun. Troops were preparing for the battle that they were about to be sent forth into, but they were not in the battle yet, they just knew they had been deployed and were attending to the last minute preparations for being thrust full tilt into the battle lines. The ones that I saw in a room were dressed in clothing much like the World War one war uniforms; old fashioned dull khaki brown. And they were preparing their weapons; they were storing up fire power. They were focused, they were quiet, remember I spoke in my last message about increased focus; a refining of focus. They were very focused, they were very thoughtful, aware of their own mortality, knowing they were headed into dangerous territory; they were very prayerful, but they were also loading their weapons -in other words, they were storing up the word of God in their hearts, they were searching the scriptures, they were in prayer day and night, they were fasting. That is the time we are supposed to be in now.
Then the Lord gave me an incredible revelation on the word 'lockdown'. It is a word that inspires people with fear they go into panic buying, they go into overdrive mode. But what the Lord showed me was the spiritual version of 'lockdown' - what this time really is. He showed me a stone being taken out of a shepherd's pouch and being placed into the catapult. Then the arm was raised above the head and the strong right arm began to swing the catapult. When the stone was placed into the catapult - that is 'lockdown', separated from the other choice stones in the pouch, placed into position that it cannot get out of. It is locked in. Then comes the swinging round and round and round, ;seemingly going nowhere. However, what that swinging of the catapult does is infuse a stone which has no power in itself to move itself, with energy. It imbues that stone with potential energy and momentum. And then, after the revolutions of the catapult have been completed, it is launched like a bullet to sink right into the target.
He also showed me that lockdown is the bullet being taken out of the ammunition box and put into the barrel into its chamber. It is locked in there, can't get out, it cannot go back or go forward, but it is in position, placed facing in the direction it is going to be going, into battle. Its purpose is to wreak havoc in the enemy camp. That bullet has no power to move itself either. It has to be struck and launched by the trigger mechanism. Into the barrel of the gun it goes and is fir into the surrounding atmosphere at a velocity that is incredible.
The other thing the Lord showed me is that lockdown is an astronaut who has been prepared, put through training paces, has jumped through all the required hoops and completed the very intense training for going into outer space. Meanwhile, the rocket is being built; it has been prepared, checked and rechecked. Then they get into that rocket. They strap themselves into the seat; they are locked down into the seat and the door of the rocket is closed from the outside. Then the engines begin to fire (do yourself a favor and look at this launching of a space rocket on youtube and watch the countdown the rocket before blastoff). Engines begin to fire one after the other, building fire power and launching momentum under the rocket. The countdown is going on the whole time, 54321... launch, but those astronauts are separated from the rest of society. They are locked down into the seats, ready for takeoff. They don't go into the rocket and just wander around and look at all the dials and the equipment they've been provided with; they lock themselves down into the seats in preparation for launch. But it is not the astronauts that launch themselves into space to complete their assignment, it is the firing of the rocket's engines underneath that launches them forth - and it is a step by step process of increasing potential energy. Proverbs tells us that the horse is prepared for the day of battle but victory comes from the Lord.
So what God is saying? We are going into lockdown as the remnant. As the forerunner company, as the bride of Christ, we going into lockdown, set apart as holy to our individual assignments and deployments, to be transitioned and empowered for the end time battle we are going to be launched into. And there is refinement of focus, the stillness of mind and intensity of focus; no looking back once you are locked in. There is no looking back, you are separated from those around you; lockdown! You are separated from the past; you forget what lies behind you. Now is the time to focus forward to what lies ahead.
Today is the first of Nisan/Aviv in the Hebrew Calender, and this is the day that God said to Moses in Exodus 12, "I'm changing the calendar. This is the first day of the first month for you". Just like that, without warning, everything changed. From the old calendar to the new calendar... The seventh month of the old calendar became the first month of the new calendar! And then He began to give him detailed instructions for the next 2 weeks of preparation before the Israelites would be thrust out of Egypt. Before that, He had instructed him one plague at a time. Now a shift came. First came orders to His troops, and then came the release of the final plague. He gave instructions about taking the lamb into the house on the 10th day, they had to bring the lamb into the house to be inspected and then put the blood on the door posts.
Exo 12:1 THE LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, Exo 12:2 This month shall be to you the beginning of months, the first month of the year to you. Exo 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel, On the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb or kid, according to [the size of] the family of which he is the father, a lamb or kid for each house.
On this day, God downloaded to Moses the blueprint of last-minute, refined focus preparation for launch out of Egypt, out of the world system and out of slavery. When the people of God went into their houses at 6pm on the 14th Aviv, they were locked down into their launching positions. The blood of the lambs was on the doorposts of their houses and inside they were feasting with their sandals on, ready for travel at a moment's notice.
Exo 12:11 And you shall eat it thus: [as fully prepared for a journey] your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. Exo 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment [proving their helplessness]. I am the Lord.
For two watches of the night they feasted on the lamb round the table. Once the plague of the first born struck at midnight, it signaled the next step of the launch plan - the people of God quickly went round the streets of Egypt, with the wails of mourning for the firstborn dead filling the air and they asked the Egyptians for jewels and for gold and silver.
Exo 12:29 At midnight the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. Exo 12:30 Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Exo 12:33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people to depart, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We are all dead men. Exo 12:34 The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. Exo 12:35 The Israelites did according to the word of Moses; and they [urgently] asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver and of gold, and clothing. Exo 12:36 The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they gave them what they asked. And they stripped the Egyptians [of those things].
All the precious things were used to build the tabernacle in the wilderness. It was not to make them wealthy. It wasn't about them at all. They had intensity of focus. They were dressed and ready to travel, with stomachs full of the lamb they had eaten in obedience to God's command. It was a very quick gathering of finance and jewels to carry out of Egypt, because God knew exactly what it was to be used for. And then they left Egypt forever.
Beloved, we going into a time where God is going to give the people of God such faith and favor for equipping. He is going to open the door for equipping financially, spiritually, and in every way for the journey out of the world system but it is for His kingdom blueprint and not for self-advancement. The place we going into is the wilderness of Revelation 12, where the dragon rampages and wants to war against the children of God. Are you in lockdown, minutely positioned for launching forth? We are in the days of final preparation for endtime assignments. The Blood is upon our doorposts and we now feast upon the Lamb, with our sandals on.
Some already have their destination locked in, like a heat-seeking missile is locked on target before launch. In this place, the peace of God passes all understanding, knowing this is what they were born for; this is what they have come to the kingdom for - and the unsurpassable power of God will carry them right to their destination. Others are in the place of knocking and trusting for the right door to open, the right connection to be made. Things will fall into place speedily, do not be anxious.
During lockdown preparation, in the days immediately preceding it, many pictures of long lines of army trucks and tanks have been circulating in my nation. The troops are getting into position. In the same way, God is positioning His troops for their endtime assignments. They are receiving deployment orders and moving into position. The Kingdom is on the move even as waves of darkness are rolling in worldwide. The kingdom of Light is continuing to take ground with the unfolding of God's ancient blueprint plans.
May the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of wisdom and revelation add to what I have shared, in the mighty name of Jesus, amen.
This message can be listened to as a podcast at the following link: