Mantles and Seats

by Nathan Shaw

Intense battles are raging over the destiny of nations and the destiny of generations. As God’s people it is increasingly important that we discern mantles and seats. A mantle is a supernatural endowment from God to fulfill a specific task. Elijah had a mantle that enabled him to operate as a prophet to Israel and confront the rampant idolatry of his time. A mantle is something that is worn. It is an item of spiritual clothing. Seats are different than mantles. A seat is a position of authority in the spirit realm. Just like God gives specific mantles to specific individuals, He also prepares specific people for specific seats. The wrong person in the wrong seat leads to many problems. The right person in the right seat leads to great blessing for humanity.

David had a mantle from God. This mantle endowed David with an authority as a psalmist and a warrior. As a psalmist he was able to minister to Saul when Saul was demonically oppressed. As a warrior he was able to defeat Goliath and lead Israel in many successful military campaigns. As awesome as these things were, God had something much greater in mind. He had determined for there to be a seat of government in Jerusalem. It wasn’t until David was established on this seat that the nation of Israel came into the true authority of her destiny and calling. Mantles carry great authority, but when the right mantle and the right seat come together, the authority of the mantle is multiplied. Without the seat, David trained mighty warriors. When David was in the seat, Israel became a warrior nation. Without the seat, David wrote anointed psalms. When David was in the seat, Israel became a psalmist nation. The authority of the mantle extended over the territory of the seat of government.

Seats are mentioned many times in the bible. Paul unpacks a profound revelation in Ephesians by mentioning three phenomenal things that God has already done for us.

1. He has made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
2. He has raised us up together with Christ (Ephesians 2:6).
3. He has seated us together with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

It’s an amazing progression—made alive; raised up; and finally, seated. As God’s children we already have a seat with Him in heavenly places! It’s hard to be a victim when you realize you have been given a seat with Christ. What qualifies you for this seat—God’s great love (Ephesians 2:4). It is from this position that we wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). That’s quite a list of dark powers. The terms Paul uses to describe them paints a picture of spiritual seats of authority over specific regions and territories. When describing our fight against them he deliberately uses a noun referring to a wrestling contest. Wrestling is a close-combat sport. Principalities and powers are not cast out, they are displaced. In other words, the corporate church in a region takes these seats by displacing the present occupants. Taken as a whole, the book of Ephesians instructs us how to take seats and wrestle dark powers. It becomes clear that the subject of seats is not a minor subject in God’s economy.

Concerning mantles and seats there are important lessons we need to learn for our generation. One of the biggest object lessons before the nations at present is the man Donald Trump. Understand—I am not talking about politics. Rather—I am talking about discerning mantles and seats. Donald Trump has a mantle from God and he understands the significance of the seat of the President of the United States of America. There is huge contention to keep Donald Trump from this specific seat of government. Why? He is just a man. Why should one man cause so much contention? The answer is simple: The contention is not over a man, the contention is over a mantle. God gives specific mantles to specific people. He makes these choices, not us. Our job is to discern mantles and seats, not question them. How many would have chosen Samson to deliver Israel from Philistine oppression? God did, and God is infinitely wise. The seat of the President of the United States of America is just one example of many where understanding mantles and seats is strategically important. As we confront the issues of our times, our ability to discern mantles and seats will become increasingly important.

One of the main reasons we fail to discern mantles and seats is because we are not familiar with them. Here are three things that you can do right now.

1. Acknowledge that as God’s child you are seated with Him. This means you have proximity to Christ and you share His authority. You shouldn’t apologize for authority that Christ has given you. Carried with humility and love, this authority can and will change nations.
2. Make a choice to receive the mantles He has for you. You don’t want to be like Jonah who had a mantle powerful enough to shake a city, but he ran from it.
3. Become comfortable with wrestling for seats. We are not wrestling humans. We are wrestling dark powers. We wrestle because we are already seated (Ephesians 2:6, 6:12). We are seated because of God’s great love (Ephesians 2:4). The foundation of everything is God’s great love.

Understand that many seats are invisible. Intercessors and intercessory groups can occupy seats that hold back dark powers and release heaven’s glory over specific territories and regions. Likewise, churches and groups of churches can occupy seats that hold back dark powers and release heaven’s glory over their respective territories and regions. The same is true for individuals or groups of people within government, business, media and the creative arts. Ask God for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17). He is the one who gives mantles and establishes seats. How important is it for us to discern these provisions? It could be the difference between winning or losing a generation. The destiny of individuals, generations and nations is at stake.

© 2023 Nathan Shaw.

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A Conflict of Two Mountains (Nathan Shaw)
Mantle and Influence (Nathan Shaw)
Michael Jackson, Mantles and Creativity (Nathan Shaw)

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