The Prophetic Crow's Nest

In a moment of worship, I saw a crow’s nest atop the mast of an ancient sailing vessel. The ship was moving across open sea. Immediately, I knew the image was prophetic and carried an assignment for some in the Church.

A crow’s nest sits atop the highest point on a ship – at the top of the mast. This is where a sailor will climb at the captain’s command to take a position as a lookout. Those on the deck of the ship can only see the horizon line available to them at sea level. The person in the crow’s nest can see farther because what they are seeing is a horizon line that has not yet arrived within the field of vision of the sailors on deck.  A horizon line is never stationary. It is continually advancing across the surface of the Earth as a ship sails forward. It reveals a developing future. That future is what the lookout is trying to interpret.

In sailing history a crow’s nest was torturous duty. A slight roll of the ship’s deck was magnified many times over as that motion was transmitted to the top of the ship’s mast. Even seasoned sailors would get severely seasick pulling this duty. While it was a tough assignment for a sailor, it was one of the most critical duties performed aboard ship because the sailor in the crow’s nest would be the first person to see hidden reefs or the top of a mast attached to a marauding pirate vessel.  The images these ancient mariners saw were the first steps toward what would become the highly advanced early warning systems sailors rely on today.

Some of you are being asked by God to climb the mast of revelation to gain a higher perspective of the reality into which we are currently sailing. There are unseen events approaching our culture and the Church that remain unseen by those who work below at sea level.

What you see and announce will not always be understood because the approaching evidence of what you see is still out of sight and hidden. Do not let the disbelief of other people deter you from calling out what you see. Those below who are in charge of the helm need the information you provide in order make the appropriate course adjustments to avert disaster. Your job is to announce, not to steer.