A Navy Uniform
Hi Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know many people had their celebrations curtailed because of the “lock-downs.” But we should all be thankful that the Supreme Court ruled that the Governor of NY had overstepped his authority. He has been using lock-downs to infringe upon the rights of the people to assemble and to practice their faith. Thank you Jesus that you have given us victory over the heavy-handed authoritarian leaders, who have abused their power, and by their actions, and have opposed the Constitution that they had formerly sworn to uphold.
We thank you Jesus, that this case sets a precedence for other lawsuits to follow! We also thank you Jesus, for the legislators in Ohio who are making an attempt to remove (impeach) their governor for his lock-downs which have closed schools, shut down businesses and infringed upon the rights of our citizens to practice their faith. These lock-downs have caused more harm than good. We pray that these legislators will be successful in their efforts, as they represent the people of Ohio.
Thank you Lord for you are faithful!
Today, I would like to share a few visions that concern the end time events and our preparation for the Lord’s coming. The first vision concerns the rapture.
The Navy Uniform
I saw a sailor suit in blue and white, walking towards me. There was no one wearing the uniform, but it appeared as if a man’s body supported the suit.
I began to pray about the vision and then asked the Lord if the vision represented the rapture. When I think about the church being “caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air,” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), I imagine that the clothes that we would have worn up to that instant, would be left behind. Let me share this passage with you:
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” 1 Corinthians 15:51-54
Years ago, the Lord showed me several other visions about the rapture. In one of those visions, on the third floor of the apartment building in which I live, I saw in an open area near the elevator, I saw perhaps 20 little piles of clothing. It seemed that the clothes the people had been wearing were left behind as the rapture had occurred.
In the current vision, I asked the Lord to confirm whether my first thought was correct, that it was about the rapture. I asked the Lord to show me something in the Bible that would answer my question and give me insight into its meaning. So I opened my Bible and found myself on page 1559. The passage on this page was Luke 17:20-37, entitled, “The Coming of the Kingdom of God.” This passage spoke about the rapture of the Church. We can see that God is faithful--by this, He confirmed his message to me.
The Meaning
A military uniform represents order, respect, obedience, authority and submission to authority. It represents our nation, our national pride, honor and security. It represents readiness and courage. It represents a willingness to defend our nation against our enemies, foreign and domestic, and loyalty to our nation’s commanders and leaders.
The uniform represents many fine attributes that we should desire to have in ourselves as citizens of our great nation. But more importantly, we should desire to display these attributes as citizens in the Lord’s kingdom. We should be ready to serve God, and one another. We should give the Lord the honor and respect due his name, and devote ourselves to him, and to his word, which is truth. We should be loyal to our Lord and Savior, choosing to be obedient to his commands, and having the willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit.
I believe that the Lord is showing us the qualities of those who will be called heavenward, at the time of the rapture. In the past, the Lord has used different visual pictures to represent his church. Most often, I see a young woman with dark hair, in a white gown. She represents the “Bride of Christ,” who the Lord prepares for himself, as a bride without spot or wrinkle.
“....Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
In this vision, I believe that God is pointing out a different aspect of his relationship with us. He is our Lord, our savior, our God, and our friend. But I believe that he wants us to remember that he is also our “Commander in Chief,” our King and our Master. That means he is the boss.
He wants us to be faithful in our duties and to be obedient to his commands. We must ask ourselves, “Can the Lord count on me to get the job done? Am I doing the will of God or am I procrastinating or getting distracted? Am I willing to do what he asks, or am I one to make excuses?”
The person who wore the uniform, represents someone, upon whom the Lord can depend. He is someone who is faithful, trustworthy and devoted. As disciples we are to be like Jesus, learning his ways, and preparing ourselves for the great moment when he returns, to take us with him. I personally believe it will be soon.
Paul likened us, the Lord’s faithful, to soldiers. We are soldiers of Christ. “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” 2 Timothy 2:3-4
The Lord would have us behave in responsible and respectful ways. We are not to get “entangled in civilian affairs.” This means that we do not engage in activities that would bring shame or dishonor to his name. We are the Lord’s ambassadors, representing him and his kingdom. We do not want to disappoint him, nor do we want him to be ashamed of us.
“As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’” Romans 2:24 (Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:22)
Of course, no one is without sin, no one is perfect, as the word clearly declares. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8
And we know that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
And yet we make it our goal to be holy, for the Lord has said: “Be holy for I am holy.” Leviticus 11:44,45
In the vision I questioned why the uniform was upright and walking towards me, as if someone were there wearing the suit. I believe that the reason the Lord showed that the suit was coming towards me was to indicate that the rapture was not in the distant future, but it was coming closer by the minute. We need to take note and be prepared for the Lord’s return, perhaps even today! Are you ready for his return?
“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Luke 12:37-40
The Lord also placed within the vision an elevator, simply showing the idea of going up, and rising as the Lord had risen from the grave, he is allowing us to experience the resurrection of the dead and at the same time to rise to meet him in the air.
“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.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
So be ready!
The Block of Chocolate
In this vision, I saw a block of solid chocolate 3” x 5” x 7”. Then I saw a mallet pulverizing the block of chocolate into crumbs. The chocolate crumbs became like cooked crumbled hamburger meat on a plate.
This vision for me is somewhat repulsive. This coming week, I will have been a vegetarian for 33 years. So I consider hamburger meat unappetizing. It will have been two years this February, that I have not had any “added sugar,” so even the chocolate is no longer tempting as it once was.
This vision I did not understand at first, but now I believe I know what it means. As I was praying about the vision, the Lord gave me another one, which I was able to understand right away. Let me explain:
The Two Chrome Handles
I saw my own two hands holding onto two large, vertically mounted, polished chrome handles. They were tubular, about 1.25” in diameter and 8-9” in height. Even though I didn’t see where these handles were mounted, I knew that the Lord was asking me to let go of something.
In my blog, I have mentioned several times of my unusual fascination for RV’s. It seems highly unlikely that I would have a fascination for RV’s because camping and exploring the world has never been on my bucket list. I am actually a terrible vacationer. But for some reason, the motorhomes, and trailers still capture my attention. I believe it has to do with the fact that I was an interior designer for 20 years.
God has told me on several occasions that I need to let this fascination go. I know that God has other plans for my life, so I try to keep it from diverting my attention. But I fail from time to time, rationalizing that it isn’t harmful. But really--does it have to be harmful for God to ask that it be removed? I can easily see that it takes time and focus from the Lord. What do the scriptures say about this?
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone who loves the world, the love for the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
We are told that anything that comes between us and the Lord is idolatry. And to desire (or focus on) something that you do not own is to covet. I know that if we were to buy an RV, I would immediately regret it, for I am a minimalist, and I would deem it unnecessary. I hate taking vacations, especially when they are longer than a few days. It clearly makes no sense to desire one. However, from the comfort of my living room, I can watch others live a life of adventure, exploring the National monuments and parks.
I have always enjoyed going to RV shows, and walking through the models. It is the special appeal of a tiny space. I enjoy window shopping, but I hate owning things. I have more fun pitching than collecting.
Yet my design days are over. I can no longer appreciate the “finer things” for I had my fill of materialism. I have come to detest opulence. “High-end” stores, hotels, homes, restaurants etc. are a turn off. When the Lord asked me to give up my design business, it was an easy decision, for I had already begun to loathe man-made beauty, and “decorative art.”
Rather, I have come to value simplicity. An empty room, or a room of sparse furnishings has much more appeal.
But with this vision of the chrome tubular handles, I see that they have me--more than I have them. I was holding on firmly--but I knew that I had to let go.
Possessions can own us, demanding our attention, taking our time and our focus off the Lord.
What is most important? The first vision is of the rapture. When the time comes, will we be tempted to go back into the house and get something? No-- we better not! Scripture tells in the last days: “On the day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.” “Remember Lot’s wife!” Luke 17:31-32
Why are we to remember Lot’s wife? She was told not to look back, but she did anyway. Her heart was for her home in Sodom. For her disobedience, she turned into a pillar of salt.
We have to be careful that when the trumpet sounds, and we see the Lord coming in the clouds, we can’t look back to see if our loved ones are coming. We cannot grab anything to take with us. If our hearts are for things on the earth, we will be left behind!
The Lord has to be the treasure we seek. He has to be our all in all. Anything else is idolatry.
This is a very sobering statement the Lord makes in the Gospel of Matthew:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37
So no matter whether it is an RV or your child, your job or your business, your education or your pastime, we cannot give them priority over the Lord. He comes first!
And we know that the rapture will happen at a time that we do not expect: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” Mark 13:32-33
“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
Because the Lord could return for us at any time, we cannot afford to be engrossed in something that the Lord has put his finger on saying “Let Go!”
Back to the Chocolate:
Now about the vision of the chocolate and the hamburger, it makes sense to me now. The chocolate is something that I would have enjoyed sometime ago, and something that I would still say has value. But someone took a mallet to the chocolate, pulverizing it into nothing but crumbs. The chocolate having some value is now smashed and turned into something I find repulsive--cooked hamburger meat. This is an answer to prayer!
In February of 2019, when the Lord said to me, “No Added Sugar,” I was willing to immediately give up all sweets. I have had no problems, no cravings and no regrets. The chocolate became like hamburger meat to me! Hallelujah! I know that they taste nothing alike--but at least I do not crave it, or think about it. There is no dessert that can entice me now.
So what I see is that the Lord is showing me that if I give up my fascination for the RV, he will use his mallet to crush my desire for it! The RV and all that it represents will become distasteful to me like hamburger meat! Another Hallelujah!
If I could give up design once, and my desire for “fine” things changed into a desire for No Things, then I can give up the RV, and be free of it forever! Hallelujah! And Hallelujah again!
God is good. I know that the Lord wants me to be free of any material things, even if they are only in our imaginations. God is faithful! So now Lord, I give you the RV and all that it entails. Please go ahead and pound away! Amen!
Please share this post with those who will appreciate the message and will pray for our nation, our families and others who need to be aware of the Lord’s imminent return. God bless you!
