The Caged Lion and The Staircase - Prophetic Word for 2021

The Caged Lion

I saw a caged lion and knew he represented the church i.e. the body of Christ in the United Kingdom. The cage door was open but he was lying inside, wounded and weak, with a tired glare in his eyes. This past season had severely wearied, hurt and bruised him, yet the main reason for this was not that he had been faced with adverse, difficult circumstances or an enemy attack, but the fact that he had been caged and opted to remain so despite the reality that the cage door was standing wide open. Due to his long confinement, the lion had not been mentally and physically prepared and fit to see the enemy attack come and deal with it well because he had forgotten how to respond like a true lion in the wild. Chosen confinement, false comfort and increasing apathy had compromised and dulled his natural responses. His true lion instincts of alertness, anticipation, wisdom, well discerned attack and retreat seemed long forgotten. His skills had been weakened and seemingly lost.

This transition into the new year and season is vitally important for the church to rest in the Lord and allow Him to heal those wounds with His oil and wine, and to receive refreshment and new life energy from the Holy Spirit. If the church chooses to come before the Lord now and as the next season unfolds, He will strengthen, restore and encourage her to be led out of the prison of religion and secularism. Those who choose to yield to Him and follow Him, those who choose freedom in Him, the Lord will retrain to think, act and respond like a wild lion again!

A wild lion is wise to know when to hunt, what to hunt (nothing that is above his strength and capacity) and how to successfully feed himself and his family. A wild lion is wise to choose to rest when the heat of the day is strongest. A wild lion’s senses are alert to detect dangers from afar, anticipating an enemy attack long before it happens. A wild lion displays the glory of God's creation!

A wild lion knows its territory and makes full use of it! He also seeks to expand it! He rules and dominates with great wisdom and authority. He releases an unmistakable sound and scent to keep his enemies at bay! And he successfully raises young cups to walk in his glorious footsteps one day. 

The enemy has sought to deal a huge, defeating blow to the caged lion to fully break his spirit and rob him of all remaining strength and desire for a different, vibrant life. The Lord seeks to heal the wounds and bruises obtained and heal the cracked spirit of the church of the UK. He seeks to lead her out of the cage, away from a sad existence of repetitive, senseless motions from one end of the cage to the other without getting anywhere, gaining territory or really achieving anything.

“Lion of the UK, body of Christ, the spirit of antichrist has seen your weakness and broken in on you like a caged, dull, defenceless victim, a shadow of what I made you to be in this hour! Let me minister to you in this season of transition, and then walk you out of the cage you have lived in - swiftly and decisively! Do not look back, there is nothing to lose! Allow me to restore you to your God-given, glorious ‘wildness’: To wisdom, alertness, discernment, strength, authority, successful hunting, fruitfulness and devotion to nourish your family, as you display my glory to the realm assigned to you, a realm which will continuously expand! If you refuse to come to me now, your wounds cannot heal. If you refuse to leave your cage, the enemy will continue to control, torment and defeat you. Come out, follow me! NOW is the time!”

“Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” Jeremiah 33:6

“If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored...” Job 22:23a

The Staircase

I saw a narrow, simple staircase leading down into a dark, empty room, and I saw the United Kingdom as a person slowly descending on it - not really wanting to, but knowing it had to. I sensed that the Lord was saying that He was going to bring the UK into a season of great humbling, a descent into the lowest place. There was a sense of great heaviness and gloom.

However, I saw another person which represented the church i.e. the body of Christ.  They had the highly important role to come alongside the nation (person) of the UK and descend together with her whilst speaking tenderly to her, and compassionately lending their arms for support and comfort. The Lord’s heart was for the church to accompany the nation during this descent to impart hope and strength, and to keep the nation from despairing and giving up. It was a very slow descent down the stairs as church and nation walked together, and it was a very moving scene.

When both the church and the nation reached the bottom together, I suddenly saw the beginning of a staircase opposite, ascending from this lowest dark place! The person representing the church was pointing the nation to it and cheered them up: “See, look! There is a way up! Come, let’s walk together!” Due to the fact that the church had been supporting, comforting and loving the nation all the way down to the very bottom of the first staircase, the person representing the nation had enough strength, will and energy left to choose to start to climb up. The ascending staircase was slightly luminescent and it looked like it was made of a different material than the staircase leading down.

As church and nation ascended together, light was increasingly illuminating the stairs from above, and as church and nation looked all the way up, they beheld a radiant figure in a simple white, sparkling and shining robe standing at the very top of the stairs, waiting with a beaming smile. It was Jesus, the Messiah! It now became clear that the light that had illuminated the ascending staircase, even down to the very bottom, was radiating from Jesus’ robe, from Himself.

“Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees! Say to those with anxious hearts: Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.” Isaiah 35:3

“But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert/wilderness* and speak tenderly to her there.” Hosea 2:14

31 December 2020

 

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