Given originally by Apostle Les D. Crause on January 11th 2002
I saw that there was a storm. I was observing the whole thing as though I was hovering over the sea and watching each boat and ship as the waters began to swell and the wind and waves caused each one to be tossed about. I saw as boats of varying sizes were subjected to the elements, and each faced huge waves, that rose up out of the sea like towers.
I saw as smaller boats would come to the huge wave and would rise up high as they were borne to the top of the wave. But then I saw a huge ship, somewhat like the older sailing ships, and as these came to the huge wave they were pushed upwards and backward until the force of the water caused them to turn all the way backward and crash onto the water upside down. I saw some of these being driven onto the rocks and being smashed into pieces.
The carnage seemed to go on and on and never end, until I could see the waters were full of huge ships that had succumbed to the storm. I could see some of the masts and portions of the bow sticking out through the waters as they were tossed to and fro and pushed out to sea.
As I cried out in despair, “when will this all end,” I saw the waters finally subside and now the waves began to drive towards the shore what remained of the many ships that had been in the storm. I could see pieces of wreckage and the remains of many of the big ships. Some of them were sunken below the waters, and their masts still jutted out and were visible.
But then I noticed something interesting. There were boats that were coming ashore that appeared totally unharmed. These were not huge vessels but were mostly smaller boats such as rowing boats, motorboats, and small cruise vessels. Some of them seemed almost as though they were airtight and unsinkable. They showed no signs of damage at all but looked as good as new.
I saw as someone restarted the engine on one of these small boats, and it kicked into action immediately and went off with power. It seemed as though my ‘backyard’, as it were, in the water, was filled with many of these smaller boats, which seemed to come from nowhere. They all looked unharmed and ready to take to the water.
Then I saw as the news crews and investigators came in to find out what had happened. And I saw as two men were singled out as being heroes of the day, for they had obviously been involved in successful rescue operations, and had succeeded in saving many of these boats and bringing them together.
There appeared to be two prominent men who were singled out, since they had worked together as a team during the storm. One of them was a white man, and the other black. And these men were subjected to interrogation to find out who had given them authority to be involved in the operation, and they were asked to produce papers to prove who they were and from where they had received license and authority.
I knew in the Spirit that these men were highly qualified and authorized to do the job. But they carried no official papers and were not in a position to prove their authority or identify themselves. It became clear to me why they could not do this and therefore refused to do so.
They had been given a job to do as part of a covert operation and were working undercover as part of a secret operation that could not be revealed to the world openly, least of all to the news cameras. Rather than attempting to defend or explain themselves, or earn the right to be hailed as heroes and splashed all over the headlines of the news, they chose instead to disappear amongst the crowds, looking for others who like them had been set apart to carry out covert operations.
I knew in my vision that these men carried the highest authority, and were like officers in an army at war, who had removed all insignia of authority so that the enemy could not identify them and thus expose them for an attack. But those whom they worked with knew them and knew who they were, and they exercised their authority in that way. It was not for the world to recognize them. They needed no such acclaim or recognition.
The vision was clearly an external prophetic vision, and therefore a revelation from God concerning others. As I meditated on it and waited on the Lord, it became clear to me that the Lord had given me a prophetic word for the Body of Christ, and that I needed to make this word known to those who had an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches at this time.
As I waited on the Lord He gave me the following word for the Body of Christ: Behold there is coming a storm says the Lord, that will shake the earth, and indeed it will be directed against the Body of Christ. For the enemy knows that his time is limited and he seeks to destroy everything that will hinder him and destroy his kingdom.
Therefore as Herod sought to destroy the Christ child by slaying many young children, the enemy will seek to destroy those ministries that I have set in place, by causing a storm of unprecedented proportions to come upon the visible church. And as this storm shall come upon the earth, there will come a time of testing for each ministry that has taken to sea. And the seaworthiness of each boat will be tested thoroughly as each one faces the storm.
There will be those ministries who like the ships of old are large and bulky, carrying too much weight and unnecessary cargo, which when faced with the power of the sea will find themselves unable to withstand the pressure. They will be overturned and driven upon the rocks because they were not made to withstand the storm. They may have looked huge and magnificent when the waters were calm, but the storm will expose their weakness and they will be destroyed and disappear beneath the waters.
But there will be those vessels that are made to withstand every storm that the enemy would bring against them. They are newer vessels, equipped with better power and lightweight and resilient. They will not be large and bulky but small and full of power and maneuverability and they will face the storm boldly without experiencing any damage. For they cannot be sunk by the strongest of winds and torrents.
And when the storm is over they will rise to the surface to be seen by all. They will be gathered together to function under the guidance of those whom I have raised up for this purpose. And those whom I have chosen and ordained to bring such ministries together will be examined by the world and by the church system to find out how they obtained such power and authority.
Others will want to know from whence they received their power and who gave them license. They will be interrogated like my servants long ago, who were asked, “By what name or authority do you do these things?” And they will, like the Son of Man, refuse to expose themselves or attempt to defend themselves in order to receive acclaim from man.
These will be my mighty men says the Lord, and they will be men and women of all colors, creeds, and nations. They will rise up and lead my people to victory, not justifying themselves or demanding recognition, for their authority will be clear to all, and they will be known by name to those amongst whom they work.
And as they shall continue to work in the secrecy of the task that I have given to them, I will cause them to come across the paths of others who are in like manner called to work undercover for me. And they will meet and recognize each other, and instead of competing with one another, they will work together, each in their own right, to accomplish the task that I have given to them.
And I will cause to rise up at this time many ministries that will be small and powerful says the Lord. For their emphasis will not be on size and appearance but on functionality. They will turn from the old way of doing things and refuse to be patterned after the ministries of yesteryear, which though they might look magnificent and awesome, are inefficient and incapable of completing the work that I have called them to do.
And the enemy will have great difficulty overcoming this new fleet of ships that make up my ministries in the Church, for each one will be self-contained and fully functioning, but each will remain small so that instead of a few large vessels, there will instead be a multitude of small vessels.
Therefore whereas in the past, the enemy could cripple the work by attacking a large vessel, and thus drowning many at the same time, now he will have to attack many different ministries in order to stop the work. And not only will these smaller ministries be more powerful and unsinkable, but there will be a vast number of them.
So that if the enemy should succeed in sinking such a vessel, he would only have destroyed a few and not many. He will soon find that he does not have the resources to cripple the work or cause my kingdom to be weakened.
And when he seeks to attack those who are in leadership in the Church, he will find himself being unable to easily identify them. For they will not stand out attempting to gain recognition for themselves, but they will continue to function, being known only to those amongst whom they work.
They will often not even know each other until they meet by chance along the way. So that even if the enemy should cause some of these leaders to fall and to defect to his side, he will not be able to find out from them where the others are. He will find that he faces an impossible task if he wishes to destroy the work.
Thus from the storm that the kingdom of darkness shall bring upon this world and upon the church shall arise much good says the Lord. And for those who have placed their confidence in the strength of man, and have their boast in the size and magnificence of those ministries that appear to be somewhat, there will come a wakeup call. For they will find that the vessel they thought was a safety and security was, in fact, a danger and a false hope.
To those who have looked upon their ministry as small and insignificant, the Lord would say rejoice and continue to make secure what I have given you. Do not be dismayed nor discouraged or feel that you are all alone in the world.
For I have raised up many like you says the Lord, and though you might not know who they are, there will come a time when you will be gathered together under the leadership of my servants the End Times Apostles whom I am raising up in secret at this time.
And the storm is not something which you need to fear. The storm cannot destroy you, but it will instead cause you to rise up and be seen by others. And as a result of the storm, you will come to meet others like yourself that have been prepared in the background and unseen. And together you shall make up an invincible force for me says the Lord.
Each one will continue to function with power and resilience as I have taught you, and as you shall continue to operate in the way I have shown you, so you will extend my power into the earth and cause many other ministries to arise like yourself, that will know my power and will be unsinkable by the enemy.
Seek not the old way of ministry, for such ministries will not be able to withstand the storm and will be driven to the rocks. And you will see their debris floating in the water, and they will be no more. Indeed they will become wreckages that will lie in the water as obstacles to you when you pass through the water. Therefore avoid them and have nothing to do with them, or you will become a partaker of their destruction says the Lord.
I release this word to the Body of Christ, not to condemn or expose, but to warn and encourage those whom God is raising up in these end times to take an active part in extending the Kingdom of God into the earth, and those whom He is training in secret to work together, from every tribe, kindred and tongue, to lead and direct the end times ministries that God is raising up.
The purpose is not to instill fear in anyone, for God is not the author of the storm, but the enemy. Therefore see the coming storm as something positive rather than negative, for it will expose that which is not of God, and bring to the forefront those whom He is preparing for the wonderful new move that has already begun to take place in the earth.
May the Lord bless and inspire each who read.
It has now become clear that this prophetic word was referring to the Covid 19 Pandemic that struck nearly 20 years after this prophetic word was given.
Many ministries, especially the larger ministries were impacted by this and there is a new church emerging as this pandemic comes to an end.