The Year of Entering and Occupying
Some of you are standing right on the edge of something massive. You can feel it. You know God is calling you into something greater, but you've been waiting for the right moment to step forward.
And I believe what I'm about to share with you is going to bring confirmation to some of the things the Holy Spirit has already been stirring in your hearts. Because, friends, there comes a season when we can no longer remain where we are—a season when God begins calling us out of what's familiar, out of what has been comfortable, and into the fullness of what He has created and commissioned us to carry. I believe we are standing in that season right now.
We have stepped into the Hebrew year 5787, and I believe this is THE YEAR OF ENTERING AND OCCUPYING, a year to advance the Kingdom of God in the spheres of influence He has entrusted to us, a year to cross over, take possession of His promises, and occupy the ground we've been called to steward.
But here's what I need you to understand: Before God begins expanding what is happening around us, He wants to do something deep within us. And that is where this prophetic word begins. Let me tell you what the Lord has been showing me.
The Sword and the Stone
During Rosh Hashanah I kept hearing this phrase in my spirit as I was seeking the Lord for direction in this new Hebrew year: "the sword and the stone."
As I was asking for more revelation, the Spirit of God began speaking to me about a season of holy heart surgery on areas where we have allowed hardness to creep in (a stony heart). Immediately, I was reminded that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45). A hard heart speaks harsh words while a soft heart speaks words of life.
Friends, I believe one of the most significant things God wants to do in this season is bring His people into a deeper place of consecration concerning the condition of our hearts towards others. The authority of our words and the purity of our hearts are deeply connected, and I believe that connection is going to become incredibly important in this new season.
5787: The Opening of Blind Eyes
Now, here's where this gets interesting. When I began praying into the Hebrew year 5787, I felt prompted to look up the number in Strong's Concordance. It is the reference number for the Hebrew word meaning "blind," or "blindness." Immediately, the Lord began highlighting Scriptures about the opening of blind eyes.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the Gospel" (BSB).
Then He took me to the following Scriptures:
Acts 26:18: "...to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins" (NIV).
Psalm 146:7–8: "Prisoners find their freedom with You. You open the eyes of the blind, and You fully restore those bent over with shame" (TPT).
Then He led me to Psalm 87:6, where God counts the citizens of Zion and writes by their names: "This one was born again here!" (TPT).
Come on, somebody! Do you see the picture beginning to form? Blind eyes are opening, prisoners are finding freedom, shame is being removed, and people who once belonged to the kingdom of darkness are being counted among the citizens of Zion! (Photo via Unsplash)
Friends, I believe we are entering a season of extraordinary salvation and deliverance. Some of you have loved ones who are so far from Jesus right now that, if you're being honest, you've almost lost hope that they will ever come home.
I want you to hold on to these Scriptures, because I'm going to come back to this. But first, I need to show you something about what God wants to do in OUR hearts.
Gilgal: Before the Promise Comes the Consecration
As I continued praying, I felt the Lord highlight Gilgal. And I believe the first part of this Hebrew year carries a very specific invitation. Think about where Israel was when they came to Gilgal. They had crossed the Jordan River. The wilderness was behind them. The Promised Land was right in front of them. After all those years of wandering, all those years of waiting, they were finally standing on the very ground God had promised to give them.
You would think the next instruction would be to gather the army and get ready for battle. But that's not what happened. Before they conquered a single city, before they took a single stronghold, God called them to stop and consecrate themselves. Every male was circumcised. And at Gilgal, the Lord declared that He had rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them.
"Then the Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.' Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day." (Joshua 5:9 NKJV)
Gilgal, meaning "circle of stones," carries this beautiful picture of shame being rolled away. It is also connected to a root associated with rejoicing, even spinning around in celebration. And I felt the Holy Spirit saying there is an invitation for us here, because some of us are ready to run into the next assignment, but God is inviting us to first surrender our hearts to the work of His Word.
The sword comes before the territory, not because God is trying to punish us, not because He's withholding something good from us, but because He loves us too much to allow us to carry the wounds of yesterday into the promises of tomorrow.
And, guys, I know that kind of surrender can be uncomfortable. It's vulnerable to invite the Lord into the places we've worked so hard to protect: the disappointments, the offenses, the shame, the old wounds that have become so familiar we've learned to live around them—even those hard edges we've developed, because life and ministry have taught us to protect ourselves.
I believe the Lord is inviting us to lay all of that before Him and allow the sword of His Word to do its work, to cut away what has become calloused so that our hearts can become tender again. Because here's something I've learned through years of walking with Jesus: You can be strong without becoming hard. You can carry tremendous authority and still be deeply compassionate. You can confront darkness without losing your tenderness toward the people trapped in it. I believe this is what God is after, not just a people who know how to war, but a people whose hearts look like His, because real Kingdom authority is not disconnected from love.
When we allow the Lord to deal with the condition of our hearts, something begins to change in the way we speak. Remember what the Lord said to me in the beginning? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Well, I believe that as God heals and consecrates His people, He's going to release a new weight of authority through their voices. There will be greater clarity, greater precision, and an ability to speak the Word of the Lord in ways that penetrate the darkness and bring people into freedom. The words coming out of our mouths will become like the double-edged sword of the Spirit.
First the Heart, Then the Mouth, and Then the Land
I believe this is directly connected to the grace God is releasing for His people to advance and occupy territory. There is going to be a sound of the Lord coming forth through His people that will tear down city walls and dislodge strongholds that have occupied territory in the natural. We are going to see salvation and deliverance accompany the advancement of the Kingdom. But the foundation of that authority is going to be intimacy, consecration, and surrender. Don't miss the order, friends: first the heart, then the mouth, then the land. (Photo via Unsplash)
Now, let me tell you about something else the Lord brought to my attention. The Lord reminded me of three hurricanes that pressed in on our nation in the same week: Rachel, Simon, Isaias. (Before I go any further, if you or your family were in the path of those storms, I want you to know that I am praying for you.)
As I began looking at these names prophetically, something caught my attention. Reading them from right to left across the map (the way Hebrew is read), their Hebrew roots pointed me to Isaiah, Simeon, and Rachel. Here is what their names mean:
Isaiah: "Yahweh is salvation"
Simeon: "He has heard"
Rachel: "ewe" or "female sheep"
As I began considering the meanings of these names, this is the phrase that stood out to me: "Yahweh is salvation. He has heard His sheep."
Friends, I believe we are about to witness a holy invasion of Heaven through the faithful intercession of the saints, a latter rain of salvation and deliverance. And I need you to hear this: Your prayers are part of what God is doing—even the prayers nobody else has heard, even the prayers you whispered through tears, even the prayers you've prayed so many times that you've wondered whether they were making any difference at all. God hears His sheep. And I believe the sound of intercession is about to be met with an extraordinary harvest of souls.
The Year of the Rainbow and Razor-Sharp Sword
While I was praying into this, the Lord gave me a vision. I saw a dear friend of mine, Joshua Todd. What I saw was not only for him, but I believe he is a prophetic picture for other Kingdom leaders like him—particularly prophetic apostles who have been assigned to cities.
I immediately knew that his name was significant in my interpretation. Joshua carries the same meaning as the name of Jesus, "Yahweh is salvation." And Todd means "fox." When I think about foxes in Scripture, I immediately think of Samson. Remember how he tied foxes together, tail to tail, with torches between them, and sent them out into the enemy's harvest fields (Judges 15:4–5)?
Years ago, the Lord spoke to me about an interpretation behind the symbolism of the foxes in the story of Samson when He tied it to a New Testament picture of evangelism: Jesus sent out the disciples two by two, with the fire of the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of the Kingdom, into territory occupied by the enemy to light up a harvest of souls!
The Spirit of the Lord is saying there is a Joshua remnant rising up in this hour to take the harvest fields of the enemy!
And then I heard the Spirit of the Lord say, "This is the year of the rainbow and the razor-sharp sword of salvation and deliverance." And I saw it coming to the United States. I saw these Joshuas and their people standing on their property lines, right on the edge of the Promised Land at Gilgal. And I heard the Spirit of the Lord decree over them, "There is grace to advance and take the land, cross over and into the door that leads to more than you have been asking for, in order to rule and reign over your city." Come on, somebody!
As I watched, a rainbow arch appeared over many cities like a great, effectual door. These Joshuas were leading the charge into this new season. As they stepped through, I saw a great, new sword coming from their mouths, dividing soul from spirit.
And with it came an anointing to war and contend for souls at a level they had never tapped into before. It was a double-edged sword that would bring salvation and deliverance in one single blow, and it had a sound, like a trumpet blast, that would tear down the walls of pride, rebellion, and self-protection when ministering to the lost. I then saw angels of evangelism visiting these Joshuas.
God Has Issued the Joshuas a Building Permit
I heard the Lord say, "I have issued these Joshuas a building permit."
Now, when I heard that, I felt this had a very practical application. I believe some of you are going to begin expanding your physical locations.
Others are going to be building additions onto your current ministry structures. And for others, the Lord is going to begin showing you how to establish new discipleship structures that can actually sustain the growth He intends to bring.
Then I heard the Lord say, "Soon your spiritual children will begin having spiritual children, and the seams will burst if the wineskin isn't ready. Multiplication is your inheritance, and it is My command. Did I not say, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and subdue the earth and have dominion over it?'"
Friends, listen to me. If you're a dreamer, a builder, a leader, or someone God has entrusted with a vision, I believe this is a green light. It's your license to expand. But I want you to understand what that really means. This isn't just about getting a bigger building or having more people attend your meetings. It's about preparing to steward the lives God is going to entrust to you. It's about raising sons and daughters who will become spiritual mothers and fathers themselves. It's about building something that can carry the weight of multiplication without losing the heart of the Father. (Photo via Unsplash)
Some of you have been building according to what you can currently see. But I believe God is asking you to make room for what you haven't seen yet.
Stop dreaming small. Prepare your life. Prepare your leadership. Prepare your ministry. Prepare the wineskin. Because Kingdom impact is not supposed to end with you. It's meant to multiply through you and touch generations of people you may never personally meet. I bless you right now to advance, to occupy, to increase on every side, and to take dominion in the authority of Jesus' name!
Asking for Heaven's Perspective
I also need to share a warning that will help us
navigate the days ahead and steward this season well. As God raises up voices with greater influence and authority, we have to remember that our words carry weight. The same mouth that can be used to bring healing and freedom can also become an instrument of destruction if our hearts are not surrendered to the Lord.
I believe there is an assignment of the enemy operating in the opposite spirit of what God wants to release. The Lord began showing me this through a dream.
In the dream, I was standing with a man on a balcony. It was like a platform overlooking an audience he had gathered. This man was charming and intelligent. There was something about his personality that made him seem approachable. But what the people gathered there didn't know was that he had come with an assignment to assassinate the voice of the prophets. There were two other men working with him as mass shooters, and they were preparing to fire into the crowd that had gathered beneath the balcony.
As I prayed into this dream, I felt the Lord highlighting something very specific. In the same hour when He is raising up pure voices whose words carry the power to divide soul from spirit, there is also an opposing assignment to release words of accusation and assassination against what God is doing.
Here's where I want to be very careful, because I don't want us to hear a word like this and immediately start looking around us for who we think the enemy is using. That would cause us to miss the very heart surgery God is inviting us into.
Friends, we live in a world full of noise, criticism, accusations, and division. And if we're not careful, we can become so focused on confronting what is wrong that we forget how to love the people caught in the middle of it. We can be right about an issue and still be wrong in our spirit. We can have discernment and still lack compassion. We can speak something that is technically true and still wound people, because it wasn't spoken from the heart of the Father. And I believe the Lord is calling us higher.
Stay hidden in the place of prayer. Stay grounded in compassion. Don't get pulled into shallow arguments that produce nothing but offense. When you encounter people who are opposing you, or even opposing what God is doing, ask the Holy Spirit to let you see them from Heaven's perspective.
We are called to war against the works of darkness, not lose our love for the people Jesus died to redeem. Intercessors, saints, please hear me. Your words will do one of two things: They will cut off the assignment of the enemy, or they will cut off the assignment of the Lord. And that is why the condition of our hearts matters so much.
I've been praying that the Lord would give me the perspective of the sevenfold Spirit of God over everything I do and everyone I encounter, because I don't just want to be bold. I want to be accurate in communicating God's heart. I don't just want to confront darkness. I want to reveal Jesus; I want my words to hit the mark and destroy deception. And I want to invite you to pray that with me, because as our influence increases, so does our responsibility to steward our words with wisdom, humility, and love—which brings me right back to where this prophetic word began.
The God of Salvation Has Heard Your Prayers
Remember those Scriptures the Lord began highlighting about blindness—the god of this age blinding the minds of unbelievers, and Jesus sending His people to open blind eyes, turning them from darkness to light; the Lord restoring those bent over with shame; and the citizens of Zion being counted as those who were born again there? I believe all of these things are connected.
I want to speak to those of you who have been contending for someone you love. Maybe it's your husband, your wife, your son, or your daughter. Maybe it's a parent, a sibling, or someone who once walked with Jesus but has wandered so far away that you hardly recognize them anymore. You've prayed. You've fasted. You've wept before the Lord. You've tried to speak truth to them, and sometimes it seems like the more you speak, the further away they go. And if you're being honest, you've gotten tired, not because you stopped loving them, but because it's painful to keep hoping when you haven't seen anything change. And some of you have quietly stopped praying about it, because you just don't know what else to say.
Friend, if that's you, I want you to hear what I felt the Lord say: "The God of salvation has heard your prayers." Oh, I feel the love of the Father in that. Nothing you've sown in the place of prayer has been forgotten—not one tear, not one whispered intercession, not one moment when you stood in the gap for somebody who couldn't even recognize how desperately they needed Jesus. And I believe the Lord is inviting you to begin contending again, not out of fear, not out of striving, and not because you need to convince God to love them more than He already does, but because He is inviting you to partner with His heart for their redemption.
I believe this is a year when we are going to begin seeing fruit from prayers we've carried for years.
Blind eyes are going to open, captives are going to encounter freedom, and sons and daughters who have been living in darkness are going to come into the light of Jesus Christ. I also believe this is going to be a year of incredible deliverance for God's people. As we abide in the secret place, the Lord is cutting off the words the enemy has used against us in our personal lives. (Photo via Unsplash)
He's healing the places where shame has distorted our identity. He's sharpening our discernment. And He's teaching us how to speak with precision so that our words hit the mark. Do you see it?
The same sword that cuts away the callouses from our hearts becomes the sword of truth we carry in our mouths that cuts away the cataracts from the eyes of the lost. The same God who rolls away our shame is sending us to proclaim freedom to those still living beneath it. And the same Lord who opens our eyes is commissioning us to carry His light into places where people have been blinded by darkness. This is why consecration matters. This is why our words matter. And this is why I believe we are standing at such an important threshold.
I Will Contend Again!
So here's what I want to encourage you to do:
First, invite the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Don't be afraid to let Him touch the places that still hurt. Let Him deal with the disappointment, the resentment, the fear, and the shame. Let Him make your heart tender again.
Second, guard your mouth. Before you respond to that criticism, before you repeat that accusation, before you speak out of frustration, take it to the Lord. Take it to prayer before you take it to people. Ask Him to give you His heart, His perspective, and His words.
Third, write down the name of that person you've almost given up praying for. You know who I'm talking about. Write their name down again. Begin praying Acts 26:18 over them every single day. Ask the Father to open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, and bring them out of the power of satan and into the freedom of His Kingdom.
Finally, if God has entrusted you with a ministry, a house, a business, or an assignment, begin making room for multiplication. Don't wait until the wineskin is bursting at the seams to start preparing. Build with the next generation in mind. Raise up sons and daughters who know how to hear God for themselves. Make room for others to grow into their calling. And don't despise the things that seem small right now. The Kingdom of God multiplies through surrendered people who are faithful with what He has placed in their hands.
Friends, I believe we're standing at Gilgal. The wilderness is behind us. The promise is before us. And the Father is inviting us to surrender our hearts so that we can step forward with clean hands, pure hearts, and a razor-sharp sword of truth in our mouths. There is grace to advance, there is wisdom to build, there is authority to occupy, and there is a harvest waiting on the other side of our obedience. So, if you've grown weary, I want to encourage you today: CONTEND AGAIN—not harder, not in your own strength, but from that secret place of intimacy with the Father, where striving gives way to surrender and hope is restored.
If this word is speaking to you, I want you to say, "I WILL CONTEND AGAIN." I'm standing in agreement with you. I believe we're going to see things that only the power of Jesus Christ can accomplish. And isn't that what this is all about? It's not about how powerful we are, how gifted we are, how much territory we can occupy, or how many people know our names, but about the name of JESUS being glorified, the lost being found, the captives being set free, the blind seeing, and an entire generation coming to know the beautiful, redeeming love of the Father.
As I've been reflecting on everything the Lord has shown me, I can't help but think about the words from this old hymn, because at the end of the day, they are the testimony of every one of us who has been rescued by Jesus, and I believe it's about to become the testimony of so many more:
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see."
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Christa Elisha
Servant/Founder
Arise Kingdom Ministries
Email:Â arisekingdomministries@gmail.com
Website:Â www.christaelisha.com
Christa Elisha is a prophetic minister, apostolic revivalist, and founder of Arise Kingdom Ministries. With militant faith and bridal intimacy, she is called to rally the saints to action as a compassionate catalyst to rescue, weaponize, and deploy a Champion Bride, mantled with glory, who fulfills the great commission, walks in demonstration, takes dominion, and creates transcending Kingdom impact through generations. She is the author of Born For Battle: Overthrow The Nephilim Agenda & Reclaim Your Inheritance As God's Chosen Global Superpower, Decrees That Deploy Heaven & Destroy Hell: Prophetic Declarations For Kingdom Warriors, and the 40 Day Devotional Unbreakable Embrace: Destroy The Separation Mindset & Discover Your Identity In The Arms of a Happy Daddy God. Christa publishes prophetic words and teachings through her YouTube channel, blog, and in-person events. Connect with her at www.christaelisha.com.
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