The Lord spoke to me earlier in December 2016 saying that 2017 is marked as a year of reprieve. A year where we will prepare for a new phase of spiritual battle in subsequent years. I encourage you to read it carefully, pray over it and test it according to scripture and then keep watch as we go through the next year.
A Word for 2017
2016 was a year of pushback in the spiritual realm, but 2017 will be a year of reprieve in the natural. Specifically there will be a reprieve in hostilities. There will be a reprieve from the secular agenda.
This reprieve will appear to many as light. It will appear as peace and will deceive many in the church. Many will claim it to be a victory in the natural world but a reprieve is a pause not the end. A postponement not a cancellation. Remember the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:3:
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
A reprieve from hostilities is not a time to rest or rejoice. It is not a time to claim victory or be complacent. It is a time to recharge energy. It is a time to make ready for war. It is a time of preparation for what is to come.
This reprieve is being given not because it is deserved but because it is needed for what is to come. 2016 has laid the foundations for 2017. These two years will be the most significant in most people’s lives who are alive today.
The true church must stand firm, hold to Biblical truth and not be hasty to declare peace in the land. Remember that I said there will be deceptions so strong that if possible it would deceive even the elect. This coming year is one of them.
2016 was a year of pushback in the spiritual realms. Far more has shifted than most people even in the Church realise and some of this will be revealed during 2017.
The lion of Judah is preparing to roar.
What is a Reprieve?
The dictionary defines the word “reprieve” to mean a cancellation or postponement of punishment. I believe that in saying 2017 is marked as a year of reprieve, God is postponing judgement on the world in order to give His people time to make ready for subsequent years where the intensity of spiritual warfare may be so concentrated that in our present condition, we might not survive.
It is because God loves us that he wants to help us and protect us. A lull in hostilities means that because we are not so busy fighting spiritual battles, we will have a chance to sharpen the war tools. A reprieve will provide us an opportunity to get right with God and prepare for battle.
Whilst this coming year may well be a year of reprieve, it does not mean that there won’t be pushback, more that there will perhaps be less than there has been in 2016.
Where Does It Fit In?
The Lord spoke to me at the beginning of December telling me to listen carefully because he was going to give me a word regarding 2017. When I received the word, things were coming to a tragic apparent climax in Aleppo, relations between Russia and the USA continued to disintegrate and speculation was rising of a significant policy shift from the US towards Israel (which we now know has sadly happened). It is perhaps therefore reasonable to be a little skeptical after writing it down and reading it back. It just seemed to be so fundamentally different to the present global situation. Since then I have prayed over it and sought the Lord for meaning of it. I have questioned how it could be that this word is for now given everything that is taking place in the world. Each time I have tried putting it aside, the Lord has brought it back to me. I have to conclude therefore that there is something in this that God needs to say to someone somewhere.
In publishing this word, I am not blind or naive to the state of the world. I am not pretending that this word provides some sort of solution, if anything it is a call to remain vigilant and increase discernment. I am simply being obedient to God in passing on a message I believe to be from Him that he wants us to hear and act upon. As we look at a world ravaged by war, struck by famine, mass cultural confusion and many societies more divided than ever before, it may be hard to see where this word fits in. I don’t claim to know exactly how it fits in, but I believe it shows we need to be spending the next year in prayer and the Word as God sharpens our tools and makes them battle-ready. It is a warning not to be deceived by premature signs of peace or the end of things. It is a call from God for us to operate in the spiritual realms, to come out from the world’s way of thinking and start seeing the world the way God sees it.
If there is to be a reprieve to provide time for us to re-stock the energy and sharpen the war tools, then we must use the time alloted properly. I believe it is significant that the word here says that a reprieve is being given “not because it is deserved, but because it is needed”. God knows our needs and because he loves us he wants to help us. A reprieve is a time to get spiritually fit and draw nearer to God as we enter the next phase of the end times battle. The choice we have to make is whether to use the reprieve for preparation or whether we get deceived by premature declarations of peace.
Awakening the Church
There are many in the church who have become so desensitised and blind to the spiritual significance of world events that they have missed much of what has taken place spiritually during 2016. Many even have gone so far to claim that it has all been a total disaster. Some (worryingly) have even suggested that events of 2016 have removed any trace of hope! However, it is clear to those who attempt to discern the signs and seasons that God has been shaking the nations this year, particularly politically and culturally. We need to remember that God is in control. He is working out his purposes and our job is not to worry about understanding everything, but to trust in God and do as he calls us to do.
Let us not be blind to what is taking place, but let us make ready for battle and embrace every situation we are placed in. It is easy to lose hope in the natural world, but we need to remember that our hope is in Jesus who is not of this world and it is that hope that we need to take to the people of the world. We need to be as the Sons of Issachar who understood the times they lived in so knew how to respond to changing circumstances. If God is providing a reprieve this coming year, we would do well to make use of it as He directs. May God bless you and equip you with every tool you need in this coming year.
Postnote:
In the last couple of days a cessation of hostilities in Syria has been brokered and Russia have refused to respond to the United State’s decision to impose diplomatic sanctions on them following allegations of interference in the recent American elections. Could this be the start of the reprieve referred to in the word above? Let’s keep our eyes open and fixed on the author & finisher of our faith.
