The Trumpet Call
Today I am writing about a vision given to me 14 months ago. It is a warning and a call to get ready. This is the time for fasting and intercession. It has taken me all this time to understand. I finally received its meaning today, however there may be details and further revelations that come later. Here is the four part vision:
First I see a wheelbarrow only partially filled with dirt and gravel. It is dumped onto the ground next to a door's threshold. There is no door, no door posts, and no lintel. Only the threshold. As I look at the dirt and gravel next to the threshold, I am disappointed because there is very little dirt for what is needed.
Next I see a pitcher of water that is being poured-out directly on the ground.
After this, I see two women standing, looking up into the sky. One woman is of average height, wearing beige clothing, a skirt and multiple layers on top. Her sandy colored hair is medium length. The second woman is very tall also with sandy colored hair, but it has been cut as a short bob. She holds a trumpet to her lips as if she is ready to blow it.
Lastly, I see my shoulder bag turned upside-down with only a few pens and pencils falling out.
It says in the Bible that we only know in part, so if the Lord is showing you anything about this vision, as I am describing it and interpreting it, please feel free to comment. However, this is what I believe God is showing me through this vision.
First I want to show you what I believe is the significance of the the threshold. I believe that the threshold separates two spaces. It separates what is inside from what is outside. It can be viewed as a portal, separating this natural world from the eternal, heavenly world. The place where kings would sit in judgment was at the gate. (a portal, door or threshold are similar in function/meaning). This is the place where the king would sit and judge the complaints and grievances of the people. Judgments and decisions that were absolute were issued from this place. There are several references to the threshold in the Bible. Two stories that immediately come to mind are these:
The Ark at Ashdod
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. 1 Samuel 5:1-5
The threshold in this story represents judgment. It represents God's ultimate authority. The Philistines made the mistake of believing that a moulded or carved statue, a lifeless idol was equal to the God of the Israelites, the all powerful, all consuming, everliving, everlasting, eternal God.
A Levite and His Concubine
A Levite was traveling home with his concubine, it was getting late, and they decided to continue on to a town in Benjamin because, "We won't go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah." .....They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them in for the night. An old man from Ephraim who lived with the Benjamites in Gibeah took them into his home. "While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, 'Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.' The two men offered the concubine and the virgin daughter of the old man, 'use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing.'
But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight. When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way; there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.
She should have been protected, inside the home. She was cast outside, where she experienced hell on earth. She made it back to the house, but having so little strength, she died with her hands on the threshold.
The head and hands of Dagon were removed and cast onto the threshold, an act of judgment. The hands of the concubine reaching out and dying on the threshold, were looking for mercy and refuge.
God is both a God of judgment and a God of mercy. I had another vision, years ago about judgment. I posted this vision on January 30th of this year. It is called, "Judgment... Mercy... Judgment... Mercy..." God brings judgment in order to show his mercy.
What does the dirt and gravel represent? Why was there so little? When you find dirt in a wheelbarrow, there is a definite purpose for that dirt. If the dirt were pre-sifted and without gravel, you would probably use it for gardening. But since the dirt was simply dumped out, rocks and all, next to the threshold, it had to serve a purpose. I believe the dirt is used to cover something. In the Bible, there were certain things that were not allowed to go uncovered. These items need to be covered for different reasons.
The blood of a dead animal was to be poured out upon the ground and covered with dirt because the life of the animal was in the blood. They were not to drink the blood, but were to respect the blood by pouring it out upon the ground and covering it with dirt. In that way it would not be exposed.
People that died were to be properly buried. They were to be covered over with the dirt, to protect them from wild animals that would otherwise carry them off, or birds of the air, that would eat their flesh. It would be a shameful thing to not properly bury the dead.
The other thing that was to be covered by dirt, was excrement, or dung. The Bible refers to dung as filth. It is a necessary thing to cover the dung, for health reasons, and to allow the dung to return to the soil as in composting. And of course covering the dung with dirt took care of the foul smell. To allow the dung to remain exposed was a sin.
What I believe God is pointing out is the fact that we as God's people have sinned. And we as a nation have sinned. The uncovered blood is the death of the innocent children slaughtered within the womb. The womb should have been a safe place, a place to grow and develop in security. But just like the home of the old man, the house was not a safe place. The concubine was cast out of her refuge for the night and raped, abused and destroyed. There is not enough dirt to cover the bloodshed in abortion. There is not enough dirt to cover the blood spilled because of violence, and murder in this nation.
The men of Gibeah were like Sodom and Gomorrah. The men of Sodom and the men of Gibeah were intent on violating the innocent. The two angels, and the Levite were just passing through the town, only intending to stay one night. The offering of virgin women and the concubine, was a disgrace to the men, and showed what they valued most - themselves. The sexual sins of our nation are grave. The human trafficking is an abomination to God. These sins need to be covered too. There is not enough dirt to cover these sins.
Fortunately, we have Christ. It is his blood and his blood alone, that atones for our sin. His blood does not just cover "a multitude of sins," but his blood takes away our sins. He removes our sin as far as the east is from the west. When we have the Lord Jesus, when we acknowledge him as our Lord and Savior, he washes us with his blood, and we become his new creation. "Behold the past is gone, all things have been made new." This is for everyone who chooses the Lord for themselves. But we need to pray that our nation's laws and sense of morality changes. We are living in a culture that has no fear of God.
So what is the next part of the vision? It is the water being poured out. There is a beautiful passage in scripture that we love to quote: "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants." Isaiah 44:3 And this is a promise of God for the last days, and for the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit on all flesh mentioned in Joel. But in this vision, the ground is not "dry and thirsty," The ground I saw was rocky with dark soil and moss. It was not an arid environment. So what does the water being poured out represent? I believe that the water that is poured out represents the acknowledgment of sin, and an offering of a promise to return to God in faith and obedience.
"After the ark was returned to Israel, it remained in a town "Kiriath Jearim," for twenty years. When the Israelites wanted to return to the Lord, Samuel said, "If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.....Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the Lord for you."
When they assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the Lord." 1 Samuel 7:3-6
This is what the poured out water represents: humility, and a genuinely repentant heart. The water was precious to Israel. Since rainfall was not plentiful year round, people had to rely on underground water to sustain themselves and their flocks. Pouring water out upon the ground, was admitting to God, that they had sinned, and that they were willing to give their precious commodity to God, believing that he would see that they valued his blessing, more than their fear of not having enough water. By this action, they were committing themselves to God and believing that they could trust him to satisfying their physical needs.
God is asking us to repent, to fast on behalf of ourselves and our nation. This is not an optional request. It is imperative that we turn to him now. Our nation has been placed in a balance. We do not want to come up wanting! The Lord promises that:
"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
I believe that the third part of the vision, the two women both looking up, one with a trumpet to her lips, is warning us that we need to be watching and waiting for the Lord's return. "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
I believe that the Lord is returning soon. Obviously, I can be wrong, but I believe he is coming soon, because there are other visions he has given me about the rapture (what I've described above). If it is already mentioned in the Bible, why would I need to receive the same information - unless the message is urgent, so that is why I believe it will happen in my lifetime. I know that God has made it clear, that no one knows the day or the hour. But it would behoove us to be watching and waiting, to be looking up. "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." Matthew 24:40-42
The last part of the vision I believe is for me. It is why I began this blog back in January of this year. God wants me to write. When I saw the pens and pencils falling from the shoulder bag that I carry almost everywhere, I knew that he wanted me to write. For years, 21 of them, I would ask God, "What do you want me to do with these visions?" Somehow, I felt that I was simply to share with those that would pray, people that I knew were intercessors. A few would understand and pray, but I must say that most would not take these visions seriously.
God impressed me through several visions that now was the time to get his messages out: Pray, repent, and pray again. Intercede and share the gospel. Feed the poor, clothe the needy, find shelter for the homeless, look for God, and seek his presence. Abide in him, worship him, love him and obey him. And keep looking up because he will come back. Who knows? Maybe soon!
