Someone once told me a prophecy someone gave them about a mantle. The person was the spiritual son of the woman giving him the prophecy who had previously belonged to a church pastured by a man who decided he no longer believed the Gospel of the Kingdom of God as Christ and the apostles taught it. Therefore, due to the pastor’s separation from the true Gospel, his mantle was passed down to his Bible-believing co-pastor to “hold” to be held until the aforementioned spiritual son was ready to start his own church.
A couple years later, I was sitting in my room reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s Smith of Wooten Major & Farmer Giles Ham, a wonderfully fantastic [as in fantasy] duo of children’s stories, when suddenly the prophecy hit me. So I started writing.
The product was a yet-to-be-finished fairytale [I LOVE writing fairytales] called The Elven Cloak of Tumari. It’s already amazing so I know the world will enjoy it too—just as soon as I finish writing it.
Mantle Talk
You may wonder why I’m telling you about this seemingly random prophecy and fairytale. Fair enough. It’s because a great portion, in fact, an entire “part” of my book is dedicated to the topic of mantles. The importance of mantles is undeniable huge in the Bible and Christianity overall. Just think of Moses had no one to anoint in his place to lead Israel into the Promise Land. What about if Elijah hadn’t been able to leave his mantle to Elisha? Or what would have happened to the early Church if Paul did not have Timothy? Mantles are the symbolism of spiritual legacy.
In my book, I pull out very specific mantles that not only had a place in the Bible, but have a place in this last hour of the Church. Think of all the spiritual leadership that is lacking. And the people who were called to specific callings and careers who chose rather to go in a completely different direction. All of those mantles are up for grabs.
A Vision of Mantles
Recently, I heard a minister on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural discussing a vision/dream God had given him. In it, he was brought to a dessert place where he could see demons guarding a huge pile of something. All of the sudden, angels showed up spinning around them flying away causing the demons to temporarily abandon their post in pursuit of their enemies.
The minister was able to approach the pile and realised that they were clothes. God then showed him that the clothes were mantles that had been abandoned by people down through the ages. Yet the minister was able to reach deep inside and pull out his mantle which previously belonged to a 16th century Scottish minister. He put on his mantle—a blue sweatshirt—and that was it. For the minister, the mantle suited him just right: sweatshirts were his favourite item of clothing to wear and blue represents the prophetic ministry.
Mantles Up for Grabs
Now we can’t all have blue-sweatshirt mantles, but God has a mantle just for you and your divine calling. It may be individualized such as the mantle of Elijah that eventually rested on Elisha, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Or it could be over a generation. Lately, I’ve really been hearing—from God and His ministers of two particular generation-centered mantles: the mantles of David and Joshua. If you are a young adult, youth, or child, you belong to this David Generation and Joshua Generation—lean, mean, giant-killing machines! You might have the mantle of Cyrus for finances or the mantle of Solomon for wisdom. You could even have the “for such a time as this” mantle of Esther or the intercessory mantle of Miriam and Anna. There are the governmental mantles of Joseph, Daniel, the three Hebrew boys, and Mordecai or the priestly mantles of Aaron and his non-murdered sons. For as many callings and mandates as there are, there are correlating mantles to cloak you with the power you need to succeed.
Another topic I discuss is that of strongmen and strongholds. Just like there are Elijahs and Davids, there are Jezebels and Sauls. Every law of the spirit realm works for evil just as well as it works for good. And thusly, every mantle has a mandate that dictates the purpose of the mantle.
For Every Mantle, There is a Mandate
A mandate, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is an authoritative command; especially: a formal order from a superior court or official to an inferior one. It is a declaration [spoken] or decree [written] from the God of Heaven and Earth. The clearest definition of a mandate I can think of is found in Jeremiah 1:10.
“See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant,” (Jeremiah 1:10).
That was a clear prophetically-apostolic mandate on the young man’s life. [I expound on that was well in the book.]
I guess the big question is what mantle or mantles are on your life? If you know, that’s wonderful! I pray God will continue to make His will for your life clear. If you don’t know, it’s time for you to get on your knees and pray for God to reveal it to you. I suggest fasting for increased clarity. If you diligently seek Him, He will reward you (Hebrews 11:6).
Be encouraged: God has a mantle and a mandate just for you. If you find it, you find your purpose. Godspeed!
