Len Santos is a Minister/Prophet from Susanville and attends the Tuesday night Prophetic Prayer meetings held by Desert River. I have translated the prophecy he was given by the Lord here as it is related to our work, prior to us meeting each together. This is a fine example of the power of prayer to unite a body of believers as one, and demonstrates the Lord working through different ministries, common prophecy!  Permission is given by Len Santos to post here.

The Prophecy of the Sheepfold

   Some years back, I was told of a year round spring in Lassen County. The spring flows out of a rock wall, falling approx. 5 ft into a small crystal clear pool. This pool (approx. 4 ft deep) flows in two directions. Outward, to nourish the small valley meadows (approx 30 acres), and inward, in a tunnel carved deep underground. The lush meadow is sunk in the edge of what is known as the Black Rock Desert.

Two small canyons feed into it. The one canyon flowing east to west guards another spring, emptying into the meadow, which stays alive and green all year round. Upon close inspection the meadow tells of an old homestead. A fallen down wooden corral, almost decayed, beckons back where it came from. Lying within the meadow there is a sheepfold in very good condition, about 50 feet across the middle, an old chicken coop and small barn still stand in glorious defiance against time and the elements. The outline of a burnt out cabin square (approx. 20 x 30), sits within. Scattered around this foundation on the ground lies burnt twisted metal bed parts, various debris, hinge nails, and remnants of a family that has come and now gone. The property still well maintained & freshly fenced, shiny barbed wire announcing “Private Property” lies within.

Before the wire was placed, my mule horse and I visited this place. It became like an old friend sharing stories of days gone by and it shared with me the watercress from its spring.

Petroglyphs, the only clue of a native people of long ago, lie among the rock walls. I took notice of them starting at the spring falls. I followed them along the wall, moving from west, to east, and then continuing along the canyon flowing from the northeast. In the meadow, in the silence, as I pondered at the signs & symbols yearning for the stories they might tell, I was wrapped in the mystery knowing they saw this day & were smiling at the secrets only a family tells. This scene now set; I now tell the story of the sheepfold, as told to me by my Daddy in heaven, as I rode on horseback one summer day…

I visited the meadow, like the warm smile of an old and dear friend, she met me. As I rode through the desert into her open arms I was drawn to the sheep fold as never before. My gaze was drawn to the sheep folds uncanny preservation. Oh yes, a rock or two has fallen, Sage & Bitterbrush has grown around like an adoring necklace, centering a beautiful smile. As I dismounted and walked into the sheep fold, my Daddy’s voice came up from the heart deep within me. That familiar voice reminded me of what my Lord said long ago, “My sheep know my voice”. The inner voice with depth, meaning and His awesome love, started the story which would unravel in that long horseback ride…

”My son (as Daddy often calls me), do you see the condition of this sheepfold?” Yes, I replied through the familiar place where Daddy & I often meet. Daddy continued, “The shepherd’s that built this sheepfold built it for themselves and all the shepherds that would come after them. You see my son; the good shepherd’s eye is trained to see close at hand while scanning the horizon distance & all in between. The good shepherd thinks not only of himself and those to come, but knows how to walk in someone else’s shoes. They know God’s law of sowing and reaping. These good shepherds knew God & obeyed, their legacy continues today in God’s continued blessings on their land. The water flows as a sign of God’s blessing and the provision is expressed in the ground yielding to seed producing meadow grass. It is soothing to the eye (soul) and good for food”.

I lingered that day absorbing what Daddy said and praying. Later, my prayers and I traveled to the east, two, maybe three miles. I came to another place where canyons meet. I then saw another sheepfold, much different then the first one. A gloom still hangs over that area. Perhaps, it was because of what might have been. This sheepfold was not made of rock like the first one that had lovingly been chosen and placed. This one was made of posts of wood barely placed in the ground. On the post were strung barb and chicken wire, placed in jail form square, square and large approximately 50 feet by 50 feet.

The Lord then continued the story, the message rising up from deep within. As I saw the disrepair, the fallen down decayed state of the land around, it seemed to cry out in a deep shame, “I was once a queen, rich with adornments the good Lord gave me to share. I once had deep and lush and tall grass that waved to greet. The tribes and peoples coming and going, talking and giving, was the cycle of my day. I though I would never run out of my abundance as my subjects, both two and four legged, were served well from my provisions as the days went by.”

“Then, a people came that called me, the Land of the Never-Sweats. The people appreciated the labor before them. As time passed, the sons & daughters forgot to give back, greed and lust for bigger and more, moved in. I was reduced from a reigning queen to a common thing. Large herds, both two and four legged, came and went. My land could give blessings no more. Sage and Bitterbrush moved into my meadows and valleys as they were raped with no concern for those to follow. Now I am as you see me, sand and brush and occasional weeds where my meadow grass once grew. I am overgrazed and under tended. These shepherds forgot the laws and no longer obeyed the parents. Their God, a new God of their own image, moved in power and pleasure and greed, the triplets that reduced me to a common thing!”

Daddy then spoke up saying, “What lies before you, the desolate, untended, fallen down sheepfolds scattered across the landscape, were built by the sons. Unilateral thinking ate up obedience and desolation now rules. A sad thing you see dry, useless land in place of my dream is how I see my bride, a church that could be a queen. Will she wake from her slumber and reclaim my dream? I am sending the river for one more flow to revive the hearts & give life to the desolate valleys. This dryness before you is how I see many of my people’s hearts. Pray my son that the harvest and bride will be ready, and once again love and obey and step back into the place of royalty.”

Len Santos – 3/8/04