A recent prophetic word by Nate Johnston has encouraged me during these last stages of the COVID lockdown. For a while now, my husband and I have sensed that things may be different for the church and the people of God when we are finally released from this lockdown or maybe  ‘set free’ is a better term to use.

Nate Johnston is a prophetic minster from Australia who I have been following for years. Nate’s recent prophetic word “This is not a tomb season, This is a cocoon season” has helped me understand the place many of us are finding ourselves in — spiritually confused, frightened, disorientated and maybe a bit angry. 

For many of us, it feels like we have been locked up in a dark place for too long and the glimmer of hope that it may soon be over has many wondering what’s next? 

Things may not be the same. We are not the same and how do we prepare for this new stage that has been set before us? 

Nate prophesies that in the same way a cocoon is a vehicle to turn a caterpillar into a butterfly, this cocooning during the pandemic will change us from one state into another.  It’s a protective state setting us up for the next stage.

In his prophetic word, Nate said:

• This is the end of old mindsets, the old wine skin. Things are changing. We are removing an old mantle and putting on a new mantle.
• This includes pruning that involves being cut back so that new things can spring forward.
• The enemy wants us to think we’re trapped with no job. Finances are a concern for many. The question is what is God speaking to you in this time of tension and feeling trapped by the silky case spun by LARVAE in your cocoon.
• The larvae stage is a set up for the PUPA state where it goes from an immature to mature state. The Pupa stage is about stepping out of immaturity to maturity where everything has been stripped from you.
• IMAGO, the final stage, refers to the final image, the fulfillment. God is fast tracking you into your calling. Bringing you into an understanding of who you are in this season.
• God is redefining His Kingdom, and we are being drawn back to the feet of Jesus where we find ourselves standing on holy ground.
• Like a butterfly that can no longer eat leaves, what fed us before won’t cut it anymore. Hebrews 6 speaks of going from milk to meat.
• We need to ask ourselves, are we doing what we are meant to be doing? This includes removing things we should not be doing. Ask what is needed and what is not needed in your life? Matthew 3:10 speaks of taking an axe to the root of the tree. Make sure we are saying and doing only what God wants me to do.
• WE MUST LEARN HOW TO STEP INTO THE NEW FLOW.
• The COCOON is getting us ready to go into the harvest.
• We have felt uncomfortable, anxious and everything feels like a mess internally.  God is shifting your infrastructure and making room for what He is installing in your life. God is cleaning us out and restructuring our insides for the new mantle to be placed on your shoulders.
• What do I do with this new thing that is happening in my life? This is a time to step out in courage. Everything is shifting, and we must bravely step into the place where we can actually be effective.
• This involves getting our homes ready, not just the church.