MessageFrom The Heartland Of America
Steven Crowder
Enid, OK
September, 1998
On August 19, 1998, a powerful anointing came upon me, and the Lord spoke a message to me concerning His true vessels—how they were the ones who endure the fires of His choosing. As I prayed about this, the Lord showed me that there would be more to this message, and that He would give it to me as I sought Him. For a period of the next seventeen days, a strong anointing would come upon me, and the Lord spoke to me often. The following is the message He gave me to record; it is both alarming and encouraging. After living here “in the heartland” for three and a half sometimes very difficult years, I understood why it was that the Lord had sent me here.
In the autumn of 1994, the Lord spoke audibly to me, and He told me to go into the heartland of America, into a city that means the end, and He spoke to me a name and county. So I came to the heartland, into the city that means the end, and I dwelt there. And the Lord said to me, “I will make you invisible among the people. What do you see?”
A door opened, and I entered in. And I saw the poor from all different races of people, both men and women. And I saw them laboring under the harsh rule of their taskmasters. And they were driven as fast as they could go, under harsh conditions, and for little pay. And as I pondered this, another door opened. Inside this place were the leaders, saying, “Welcome—let us teach you about our kingdom.” And they boasted in their accomplishments, even giving large figures concerning their income. And one of them said, “This year our projected sales will top eighty million dollars! We are on the rise, with much more prosperity to come.” And I looked back and saw the poor, and my heart was puzzled. On one side I saw great wealth and boasting, and on the other side I saw hard labor and low pay, and the two did not match up. I asked the Lord about this, and He said, “Slave labor, except this time it’s legal under their law. The nature of man changes only by the hand of the Lord. The rich still lord it over the poor.” And then the door closed behind me.
Another door was opened for me, and I entered in. And I saw the helpless, and those stricken with all forms of diseases of body and of mind—hopelessly stricken and helpless. And I saw them oppressed and tormented by those who for pay took care of them. Although they were there to help these pitiful ones, many of them were concerned about other matters, and they spoke to these poor ones worse than they would speak to dogs. And I said to myself, “Where is mercy?” There were dark spirits all around, and various ones were afflicted and made ill by them. I beheld a young girl, and a demon stared through her eyes. When it saw someone watching it, immediately it went more deeply into the girl so as not to be detected. Gossip, slander and drunkenness were thick, and many who hated the Lord were given authority there. The Lord’s name was mentioned often, but only by those who held to a form of godliness, although they had denied its power. When one of the Lord’s watchmen came, they cried, “Foul! Crazy! A violent man! Better to hear diviners—who call themselves prophets.”
And I told the people that the spirit of Elijah was at work, calling men to repentance and to a proper relationship with God. And that after Elijah would come Elisha—with a double portion and fullness of the Spirit of God. And the Lord said to me, “Behold the number I will show you.” And I looked and I saw the number 144,144. And I spoke to the people and told them to hearken and to prepare their hearts, for in the days of Elisha the two bears would again be called down as a curse—these being the bear of Wall Street and the great Russian bear. And behold, the bull will run while the bulls are champions. And when the Jordan is finally removed, the bear will devour that which the bull has taken, for the Jordan is a necessity if one is to succeed—the Jordan and the cross are the necessary provisions for one to enter into the Promised Land.
And I looked and beheld a vision. I saw the Red Sea parted, and God’s people passing through on dry land. And I saw an army of angry men on horseback coming behind them with murder in their eyes. And I said to myself, “Surely they will die, those who attempt to destroy God’s people.” And the Lord said, “Behold, just as I did to Pharaoh have I done to the leaders—their hearts are hardened and your labors shall be increased. Behold, the sealing of God’s true servants has begun.”
And I heard the thundering voice of the Lord, and with trembling hands I wrote down that which He spoke to me. And He said, “Woe be to you all you enemies of the cross! To all ye who say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us,’ woe be to you! Woe be to you who merely take My name to cover your sins, yet who refuse My cross, My bread, My robes of righteousness—yes, even Me, says the Lord! Woe be to you who embrace covetousness and refuse correction—who turn My house into a social order and not a house of worship.”
“Woe to you who have drawn My watchmen near to merely tickle your ears! When the strong messages come, instead of contrition, you embrace murder to protect your idolatrous hearts. And how you murder My servants—though they come to you in love and in a spirit of hope. Instead of repentance, you have opted for murder you sons of Cain! My wrath is even now being kindled against you—you who take My name and bring reproach upon yourselves in sight of all and for all to see.”
“And behold, here is your judgment, even now—because you have chosen to make My house a social order and not a house of worship and prayer, and because you have chosen to shout and not bow down before Me—behold, your prophets shall hear a mixed word, for none draws close enough to hear with clarity My still, small voice amid the din and uproar of your congregation. It is true that the gifts are without repentance, but a leavened, mixed word does not bring the life you think it does; it only leads to lukewarmness—and that I shall not tolerate. A contrite heart and a broken spirit I shall not despise, but shouting, lukewarmness and pride I shall reject, says the Lord !”
“Behold, the day is coming when you shall look, and behold, the righteous man shall not be found among you, and only partial words mixed with vain imaginings from your lukewarm prophets shall be heard; words that do not bring life.”
“Woe to you who are at ease in Zion! Woe be to those who say, ‘Rapture! Rapture!’ and refuse to pay the price of bearing their cross—you who refuse to lift a finger, yet lay heavy loads for others to bear. The spirit of the Pharisee is upon you, and you likewise will perish if you do not repent! Woe to you who have assumed charge of My household, yet who beat My messengers who come to you for your correction. Do you not know that I will come upon you in an hour you know not of, and will cut you to pieces and assign you a place with the unbelievers as your reward? ’ Peace and safety,’ you shout, and in so doing deceive yourselves from any preparation.”
“Woe to you who seek the deeper things, and embrace Jezebel and not Me, says the Lord! My paths will lead you to the cross. The true treasures of the Living Word lie through and beyond Jordan, that place of death to self. Jezebel will lead you to circumvent the cross and not go through it. Have I not said that I am the door to the sheepfold, and all who enter in must enter in through Me? And anyone who does not enter in through Me is a thief and a robber? There is no other way whereby you can partake of the true heavenly treasures but through Me and through the cross of death; wherein you will indeed find life. Pray that you will understand this! But woe to you who have twisted the cross and made it a dainty thing, for it is not a dainty thing, but an instrument of death! In the very spirit of Rome, you have carelessly romanticized the cross and taken away its use. Woe be to you!”
“O’ My people, it is not My desire that any man should perish, and therefore I have made provisions for you, but you must accept the path that I have chosen. My paths lead to life, but that life only comes through death. When you let the cross do its work in your life, you shall then know the power and the life that is hidden from the proud. Won’t you hear My voice? Draw near to Me and I shall draw near to you. Look therefore to Me, and not to any man. Draw near to Me and hear My still, small voice. Behold, the day is coming when the proud shall be swept away, therefore humble yourself before Me, and in My time I will exalt you, says the Lord.”
And another door opened, and I went in. And there I beheld the wealthy and the powerful. And the people said, “We will do many things in the name of the Lord, therefore we will be righteous, but we will not clothe ourselves with humility and shame like Jesus did,” and “ We are above bearing reproach—Jesus did all that for us on the cross, therefore we never have to suffer—no cross for us.” And I wept when I saw this, and said,” It is in their hearts to rule, but not to serve.” And regarding these people, I heard from their lips, “ We are the Lord’s people,” but I saw their hearts saying,” We love the world,” and “We must always be better than the others,” and “Pay attention to Me.” I saw hidden motives, and “tickle our ears,” but when the truth came they shouted “Radical!” and “Revenge! – We will have our way with you!” And they threw me out of that place. The Lord showed me the instigator and said, “Demonic.” And I pondered these people in my grief, and the Lord said of them, “Because you have despised the small things, and opted instead for the big, behold, you will hear the Lord’s voice in the fire before you’ll hear His voice in the breeze. Who will despise the day of small things?”
And as I continued to ponder these people, I contemplated the deception they lived in, and how they bore the fruit of being illegitimate children, and of entering into the sheepfold through another door. And the Lord spoke to me concerning this, and He said, “These are gods that the people have invented through vain imaginings and by using My Word; twisting it to fit the pattern they desire. Because they refused to pay the price in order to know the true God, they've had to invent a god that will cater to them. The evidence of this is in the fruit they bear. Those who invent such gods will eventually be given over to them. Do not be surprised how passionately they will defend these gods they’ve created through their own vain imaginings.”
Then the first door opened again and I went in. And there I encountered Jezebel, and she persecuted me for many days. And I saw those with itching ears in this place, and they said, “What is the Lord saying?” and “Behold, the newest thing!” When the Lord came to them with encouragement, they said “Yes! Yes!” But when the hard message came and the cross was shown, they said “No!” and they turned to ice. And I said to myself, “What is it with these people? They show interest, but only when the message is easy. Surely they’ll be taken captive by a seducing spirit.” And the Lord said, “Void of the cross, void of the fire and void of the Spirit. Immature, perpetual babes, grasping. I want!, I want!” and “The Lord is not truly their Shepherd.”
And I grew very weary and was overcome with fatigue. And the Lord said to me, “Say that which I put in your mouth,” so I turned to this house and said, “Thirty days.” And at the end of those thirty days, the Lord released me and said “Run!” so I ran, and that door was shut forever behind me, and I was granted respite and a time of regathering my strength.
And another door was opened for me and I went in. And I saw a busy place where the pace was fast, and where the work of two was given to one to perform. And I saw the powerful in this place, and each one wore their trophies with their name. And I saw the poor, and how they were worked like slaves and given no respect. I saw the proud and the powerful lord it over them, saying, “We’ve earned the right to treat you this way,” and “Disrespect us and you will die.” And among the powerful were those who spoke of the Lord with their lips. And the Lord said, “They cry to Me for a savior, but reject Me as master. Behold, their master is their own heart.”
And I saw those who called themselves the Lord’s people busy scurrying to and fro in order to placate their heart’s desire for more, more, more. When the Spirit of God came upon me and I asked them if they were concerned about the future, and of the Lord’s judgments coming, they scoffed and laughed and said, “I fully intend to be raptured out before those things happen--only let me grab all I can now while I’m able to; even if it’s at the expense of the poor.” And I said, “kingdom builders, but not true Kingdom builders.” And I heard those who called themselves the Lord’s people lament about their problems, and my heart was moved with compassion for them. I went to them to encourage and comfort them, and they said, “A know-it-all and a big head,” and “You tend to your life and I’ll tend to mine, although I want your attention focused on my problems and how awful my life is.” And I said to myself, “Theirs is not the cross of the Lord, surely no comfort can be given.” And I saw these people stretched out in every direction like the arms of an octopus—the demands of life requiring it so. And I said to myself, “Confusion, and no peace.” And I saw them throw heavy yokes on people who were already overburdened, saying, “We require it so,” and “No mercy.”
And I went throughout the city that means the end, and I saw kingdom upon kingdom that men had built, both great and small, and all with various ways to protect them. And I said, “Kingdoms all around, but who is building the Kingdom of God?” And “Where are the vessels of God that will be His temple?” And the Lord said, “My vessels are vessels of honor. These are vessels formed by My hand and passed through the fires of My choosing. Those who endure My fires shall be made into vessels able to hold the new wine, and all others shall not be fit to hold that precious anointing that I shall pour out liberally and without measure. Behold, it shall be a new thing, says the Lord! And all who see shall be amazed, and all who call themselves by My name in that day, yet who have not been purified shall seethe inwardly, although their masks shall speak otherwise. Although they will speak words of love, inwardly they shall hate you with a jealous hatred. With eyes of the Spirit you shall see that which lurks in the darkness of their hearts, and the anointing shall alert you well beforehand when trouble and persecution is near. Do not be surprised or troubled by this, but know this—that when they attempt to destroy My temple, My wrath shall be made manifest, for vengeance is Mine, declares the Lord!”
And in this place I saw the righteous persecuted and the proud and the perverted honored. I felt the anger of the Lord, and heard them say, “Wrong! Wrong!” as they moved to protect their own. “Do not hold up the standard, for we march to a different law here,” and “It is wrong to stand for righteousness.” And I said, “Surely wickedness rules here, and perversion,” and “No peace in this place. Surely I have offended for speaking righteousness, and there is no forgiveness in their hearts.” And the Lord said, “Surely they do not believe that their time will come, for their hearts have deceived them. They say with their lips, ‘I know, I know,’ but with their hearts, ‘not me,’ and ‘I am above that.’”
And I asked the Lord, “Why do they hate me, when all I’ve done is treated them with kindness?” And he answered me and said, “I have put My Spirit within you, and within their spirits they know this and sense you to be a threat to them. Because this is within their spirit, they do not understand it consciously, but only sense a stirring within them that makes them uncomfortable. They hate you because they feel threatened. If they had nothing to hide, then they would have nothing to defend, and this is why I’ve told you in My Word that in that day women and children would become the oppressors of My true people. The hypocrisy of this is such: if you were a powerful and important man in their eyes, they would exalt you for having this anointing, but because I’ve chosen to make you small in their eyes, they see themselves as better than you and therefore can justify their hating you. Remember that in My Word I told you that they hated Me, and that they would hate you worse.”
And I saw the people in this place, and how they were entertained. For their entertainment they listened to beautiful music, with singers praising the Lord. And I was puzzled over this for a time, for I sensed that this music was just like the world’s music—only the words were different. If you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t be able to tell the two apart! And I felt the Lord’s grief and His anger about this, as I realized that these singers were merely vessels that were bound to this world. Although they looked and sounded good in the flesh, there was no witness of the Spirit about them. And I said, “Bound in chains,” and “Bound to this world,” and “The people love it so.” And I saw the deceitfulness of their lips, and how their yes did not mean yes nor did their no mean no. And I inquired of the Lord about this, and He taught me from His Word: “O Lord, who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? He who walks with integrity and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord. He swears to his own hurt, and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken."” And when I saw this I wept and said, “Lord, they have willingly disqualified themselves from ever maturing in You,” and the Lord said, “they must remain babes, and will rule for a short time, but not with Me.” And the people said, “Children are not accountable, therefore we will remain children.” And they continually bore the fruit of the childish and the immature. And they said, “Entertain us, don’t inspire us.”
And the very rich and resourceful perfected the art of deception, making the unreal to appear totally real. And the people flocked to see the newest and latest stories, and they entertained themselves much in this fashion. And I saw this entertainment, and its number was 6-6-44. And I saw horrific carnage, and the tide turning to blood, and men killing men in every way imaginable. And the people gave their approval and said, “It was good.” And being repulsed by this, I said, “Surely this is a shock-proofed nation!” And the Lord said, “Surely they will not hear My voice until I roar in My wrath, and even then very few will repent.” And in this place I noticed that it was just like so many other places that I had seen, where the people of God were asleep, and in their slumber they said, “Let us create God after our own image, and therefore we shall not be ashamed or accountable, for see, He is just like us!”
And I saw the poor in this place receive a little help, and they received this blessing with joy. “Scraps from the table, but a feast in my house!” And this blessing was reserved for the poor, and not for the wealthy and the powerful, but when they saw this their jealous anger flamed and their evil hearts conceived a plan. “If we can’t have this, then neither can the poor—throw their blessing into the trash! For power is given to us to bring this to pass.” And the sustenance of the poor was taken away. And I felt the terrible anger of the Lord concerning this, and when He showed me His plan I felt great sorrow, and wept and wanted to rend my clothes and sit in sackcloth. I could not eat, for the weight of this message was so great upon my heart! The Lord said to me, “Surely no man can endure the vision of My wrath. Only those who have been prepared can take the vision in small increments. But even in small doses, they melt like wax, for My wrath is very awesome and terrible.”
“Surely they have laid a snare for themselves, says the Lord, and they will indeed partake of the measure that they have measured out. In robbing the poor of their sustenance, behold, their own sustenance shall be taken away from them. It was not enough for them to destroy this blessing, but they did so for reasons that have no other basis except for that of their evil hearts. They themselves can well afford these things, while the poor cannot. In their greed and jealousy, they destroyed that which I had given as a blessing to the poor, and in this evil thing there is no excuse, except for their own evil hearts, says the Lord! Therefore, I shall strike them and take away their sustenance, and all which they have come to trust in. When their riches become as dust, then I shall bring forth a famine so as to make their food scarce, and their dainties no more. And then I shall strike at their health and cause many to fall. And in their weakened state, I shall bring forth terrors upon them such as they have never known before! Yet, My true servants shall be blessed in that day, and the jealousy in these proud one’s hearts shall cause them to lash out in hatred and murder toward them. They shall seek to destroy and plunder those whom I have blessed in that day, but My hedge shall be around My people, and they will be protected. Like the Pharaoh’s army, I will destroy them when they attempt to come upon My people, says the Lord. Behold, the trap is now set, and My will shall be done accordingly.”
And I said, “Lord, this is too awesome to comprehend! Surely it is just an isolated incident.” And the Lord said to me, “Surely I have sent you as a watchman into the heartland of America, into a city that means the end, and I have made you invisible so you could spy out the very heart of this people. Just as surely as I twice spoke to you and said, ‘I will guide you in all things,’ and gave signs to confirm this, I have led you into this land and have opened and closed the doors that you’ve been through. It is I who have opened your eyes to see and caused your ears to hear, and gave understanding to your heart concerning the events which you have recorded in this book. What is written here is symbolic for the whole nation of America, for it is a perfect picture of her corrupt heart at this—the time of the end. Just as in the days of Noah, only those servants who are sealed shall be able to endure My wrath, and all those who are sealed out shall only understand when the mighty flood of the great tribulation is upon them. And yet at that time, there will be those who are going to be saved through this coming fire. These will be like the thief on the cross, for they shall see and be honest and confess the filth of their life in that day, and they will cry out to Me in the last moments of their lives, and I the Lord will have mercy on them. This is the word of the Lord.”
“Take courage therefore, all of you who for the sake of the Kingdom have given up your lives and placed them in My hands and within My care. I shall raise up the nobodies of this world, and will fill them with a mighty anointing, and because of My visitation upon them, all shall see and be amazed. My promise is that if you indeed humble yourself before Me, then at the proper time I will exalt you, says the Lord. “But to the others who call themselves My people, if you love the praises of men more than the praises of God, then you will ultimately refuse to pay the price to become holy. And without holiness, no man shall see God. Thus saith the Lord!”
Message From The Heartland Of America