A new era has come!
By Madeline James
As I was praying about 2018 this is what I heard the Lord say:
Before you go into 2018 you must shut the door to 2017. Stop looking back, stop looking over your shoulders it is finished. This season, this era is over says the Lord. I’m starting a new chapter and era in your life and in the body of Christ.
For the Lord says I am truly doing a new thing in your life and in your heart. You’ve heard it said many times the new thing is coming, but I say to you it is here. It’s time to step over the threshold through the door. For this past season was about your heart says the Lord. I had to deal with and expose the issues of your heart, so that you can fully embrace what I’m about to do in 2018. 2017 was a year of great contending but 2018 will be a year of great reward says the Lord. I’m enlarging you far and wide. You shall recover all!
I truly beleive the warfare many of you faced 2017, was the enemy trying to stop you from entering into this new era in your life. This new era will mark and set the course of your life for the next 10-15 years. An era can be defined as, a long and distinct period of time with a particular feauture or characteristic (dictionary.com). What marked you in this past season, will not mark you in this new season. I had a dream a couple weeks ago, and a prophet in the dream was stitching me a new cloak/mantle with this huge angel feather stitched down the front. I heard the Lord say for those who passed the test, would be mantled anew in this new season. There were some causalties in this past season but don't look back, keep moving forward. I believe the symbol the Lord puts on your new mantle is what will mark you in this new era.
This new cloak reminded me of the story of Joshua in Zechariah 3:3-7:
Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.”
For some of you, your garments were mudied with hurt, offense, sin, the warfare you endured, etc. In this new season your garments have been changed to match where the Lord is taking you. Your new mantle carries a greater authority than past seasons. Everything you need to carry out what God has called you to in this season, has been woven and placed in your mantle.
2017 was a year of great shifting in relationships and alignments. We must remember not eveyone is called to go with us the whole way. Most of the time people are placed in our lives for a season. During this time the Lord also exposed many Judas', Aboslom's, and those who did not have your best interest at heart. This exposure will continue into 2018. It's important to know who labors among you, because there are demonic assignments being sent, and partnering with those who have offense. These assignments are being sent to sabotoge you, shut you down, or take you out. Don't fear. Keep your heart clean (Ps 51), bless those who persecute you, and God will be your vindication. He's promoting the humble, and demoting the prideful.
2018 will be your season of enlargement and expansion. As much as your faith is willing to see and stretch for, the Lord will do it. What is in your heart Beloved? That is what the Lord is asking you. 2018 is the year of walking in your prophetic promises and dreams. Many may feel its impossible because 2017 was a year of great loss and barreness. But I say to you today, “Sing O Barren woman for you will no longer be barren” (Isaiah 54). 2017 Was a year of great contending, but 2018 will be a year of great reward. You shall recover all!
I'm reminded of the battle of Ziklag in 1 Samuel 30. The Hebrew meaning of the word Ziklag has two components. One meaning of the word is measure pressed down, the other is to pour out (abarim-publications.com). How many of you felt pressed down and poured out in 2017? But its pressing that has produced the oil/the anointing for your next season.
One of King David's lowest points occured when the city of Ziklag was overtaken and burnt to the ground. All that he owned and all that was precious to him, had been lost or captured. 1 Samuel 30:6 says, “And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord. Many of you in this past season have had to learn how to strengthen yourself in the Lord in a greater measure than ever before. Then in 1 Samuel 30:8 David inquired of the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
In 2018 I hear the Lord saying, “It's time to go up and recover, for you shall recover all that was taken and more. Enlarge your tents. For the days of staying small are over. This is your season of enlargment and expansion. As John Eckhardt has prophesied this year, you can't stay small in the glory. “The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.”
Madeline James is a young emerging prophetic voice who resides in Lexington, KY. She is the author of Rooted In Love, and co-author of Emerge. Madeline is the blogger of the prophetic blog Nabi's Pen. She desires to be a prophetic voice that propels and pushes the Body of Christ forward. Her website is nabispen.com
