Before I begin today, let me just say that dreams and visions from God are very real and are spoken of in Joel 2:28-29. And, in case you haven't noticed, much of the Word of God involves dreams and visions which bring revelation to their recipients. If you don't believe in dreams and visions, then you will have to discard much of the bible. Joseph was a dreamer, as was his father Jacob. What about Daniel? Ezekiel? John, who wrote The Revelation of Jesus Christ. And there are many more. It is very NORMAL for God's children to experience dreams and visions. Ok, that aside!
In my last post I shared a vision my Lord gave me. The first thing I saw was an angel with a trumpet surrounded by fire. The more I have studied on the angel with the trumpet, the more I am finding out about other things. But that's the way God works. He who seeks shall find.
I was curious about the very long trumpet the angel held, so the first thing I did was look online. The closest thing I found to it is called a herald trumpet. This particular trumpet is sounded at the start of a ceremony, inauguration, presentation, or unveiling. But what really got me excited is that it is used to announce a king's entrance or the arrival of a bride and groom.
I am all about using my concordance and Webster's dictionary. I also take advantage of online dictionaries. I have found that most words have more than one meaning and just looking up the definition of one word can magnify God's Word so much more and bring a deeper understanding of what He is saying to us. So you may notice I give a lot of definitions.
The next thing I looked up was the word herald which means: 1) a bringer of news: someone who brings or announces important news 2) sign of what will happen: somebody or something that is a forerunner of something or gives an indication of something that is going to happen 3) an official messenger and representative of a king or leader in former times (Encarta World English Dictionary) I also found it interesting that a herald, or royal messenger, represented a monarch as an ambassador in wartime.
In case you don't know, the church is at war. Spiritual warfare is happening all around us every moment of every day. I don't know about you , but I can feel it now more than ever. If we look around we can see the evidence of it in the lives of people close to us and in those all around the world. Not to mention, our own lives.
A concordance is a great study tool if you want to learn more about the sounding of the trumpet because there are just too many scriptures on this subject to list here, but I will name a few.
* A trumpet was sounded as a call to battle-Judges 6:34. This is in the story of Gideon, and if you continue to read, Gideon used trumpets to defeat the enemy. Also notice that before the battle he worshipped (7:15). In Joshua 5:14-Joshua worships, then comes the battle of Jericho in Joshua 6. The trumpet is blown, the people shout, and the battle is won. God fights for His people!
*A call to worship and celebration-2 Chronicles 6:12-14-I love this!! The priests sounded the trumpets, the singers sang as one praising the Lord...and the glory of the Lord filled the temple so that the priests couldn't continue to minister. Oh to see that today in our churches!! A couple others, 2 Sam. 6:14-15, Psalm 150:3.
*The sound of judgement-Hosea 8:1; Joel 2:1,15; Amos 2:2, 3:6 and of course, the sounding of the trumpets in Revelation 8 and 9.
*It is also used to describe the voice of God as in Rev.1:10 and 4:1, and in Exodus 19:13-20.
I ended with Exodus 19 on purpose. For it is here that we see "the Lord descended in fire" upon Mount Sinai. We also see in Exodus 13:21 that the Lord went before Israel in a pillar of fire. In Exodus 3:2, The Lord first appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. I think we so often focus on the bush that we miss that part. The Bible refers to our God as a consuming fire in Exodus 24:17, Duet.4:24, and Hebrews 12:29.
If you are wondering why I am giving you so much before I get to the point, it is that I want you to be able to draw your own conclusions. I continue to be drawn mostly to the book of Revelation. Throughout this book are many references to fire. What I want to focus on is that each church has an angel and that the churches are referred to as candlesticks (or lamp stands), both of these are for holding the light of fire.
In the message to the church at Ephesus, Jesus tells them in 2:2- "I know thy works..." they are many and He proceeds to list them. However, there is a HUGE problem. It is so important that the Lord tells them if it isn't addressed, He will remove their candlestick which means He will REMOVE THEIR FIRE. To me, this is saying His Spirit will leave the church. So, what is it? THEY HAVE LEFT THEIR FIRST LOVE. Jesus warns them to repent. That is much more than just asking forgiveness. It also means to change. Our love for Him and our devotion to Him is what He desires so much more than works. What we do for Him should stem from our love for Him.
In my last post, I made reference to Revelation 3. I wish you would read this, along with the letters to all the other churches, and seriously consider as you are reading that Jesus is speaking to His church. It should be bone chilling to us and cause us to examine ourselves according to these letters. His return is very soon.
This is how I interperet the vision; I believe the angel I saw was announcing the entrance of our King of Kings. He was not only calling us to praise and worship, but he was also sounding the alarm for warfare to take place. You see, I believe there is so much more to our worship than we can even imagine. It is so vital that we are in one accord when we come into God's presence, otherwise the enemy will have a heyday, so to speak. Every eye should be on our Lord, every heart should be focused on His beautiful face, every ear open to hear Him speak. It is when we are in unity that the FIRE OF THE SPIRIT falls.
I also believe the "herald" was warning us of what can happen to our fire if we don't heed what God is speaking to His church. There were also three torches in this vision; one was on fire, one was extinguished and only blowing smoke, the third was cold and had absolutely no sign of life. Which one are you? It's not too late to be on fire for God. Our relationship to Christ is a personal one. 2 Corinthians 13:5- Examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves...
God Bless You and Keep You,
Peggy
Wow! God's timing! HE had me begin reading Revelation the other night (can't remember, maybe a week ago). I went slowly as to absorb what He had to say. It gives me chills to have you say these things... things I myself was thinking (or was is the Holy Spirit speaking to me??).
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, the next night or two later, my 7 year old brought me my Bible before bed and asked me to read to him. I said, "Do you want me to read Joseph, or Daniel..." And I named other stories I know he likes. He said, "No. I want you to read Revelation."
Imagine the shock I had!!!
So I began reading there, as I did just a night or so before. That really got my attention, but this? This tops it off! God is REALLY wanting us to take NOTICE!!
These words ring so true to me right now! There IS a battle going on and it's raging on within the walls of our own churches! I can feel it. I know what I feel is only a portion. I can't imagine what the Spiritual realm looks like right now!
Time is so short!! Things are happening more and more quickly before the return of our King!! Praise and glory be to Him! May we continue to look and watch for our Redeemer!!