The church has been in a period of renewal. Multitudes have been healed and
restored. Vision and faith have been rising steadily over the last few years.
This has been a wonderful time, but it is merely a preparation for what is
coming. We are now about to cross the bridge from renewal to revival.
I am defining renewal as that which works to heal and awaken the church, and
revival as that which results in the salvation of the lost and the empowering of
believers to challenge the spiritual darkness of the times.
Recently in a vision I saw this transition period between renewal and
revival as a bridge between two fields. The first field progressed from what
looked like fallow ground, overgrown with weeds and littered with debris, to
land that was plowed and sown. I knew that this field represented the work of
renewal.
At the end of this field there was a bridge being constructed. It was built
with different size stones, from very large ones to those that were very small.
There were names written on each stone that represented a movement, ministry, or
in some cases individual people. This bridge was built without sides, which
seemed to make it a little precarious to cross, but this also enabled it to be
easily widened to accommodate more traffic, which was constantly being done.
The stones on this bridge were all different, but they fit together like
interlocking pieces to a puzzle. This made the entire bridge stronger. There
were undergirding pillars for this bridge that were made out of what appeared to
be pure light. However, it was light that was also material, or had substance.
Each pilllar had a biblical truth, a fruit, or a gift of the Holy Spirit written
on it. I knew that these pillars were strong enough to hold any weight. In fact,
in a strange way it seemed as if this bridge was holding up the earth, not the
other way around.
The workmen were a diverse group of people, from children to the elderly,
men and women, and seemingly all races. There were businessmen and women working
right next to those who looked like they were homeless. I recognized artists,
musicians, athletes, news correspondents, soldiers and policemen, all of which
had been tranformed into apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers,
administrators, those gifts of helps and other ministries. They seemed to fit
perfectly with the diversity of the stones they were working with.
As they were constructing the bridge, they were under constant attack from
flies, stones that were being thrown at them from every direction, and dark
clouds that I recognized as spirits of depression. Regardless of the attacks,
these workmen never stopped their work. In fact, they hardly paid any attention
to the attacks. When one of the workers was severely wounded, he or she would be
carried over the bridge into the field. Then one of the workers from the field
would take their place on the bridge.
The field on the other side of the bridge was composed of plants that were
just beginning to sprout as well as those with an abundance of fruit that was
ripe for harvest, all mixed together. Some of this field was very well tended,
with the plants in straight rows and with almost no weeds. Other parts were so
overgrown with weeds and other plants that it almost looked impenetrable. Yet
the abundance and quality of the fruit were extraordinary. One thing that stood
out to me as I looked at this field was that I recognized only a few of the many
different types of fruit that were growing.
Those who had been wounded while working on the bridge were quickly healed
as they ate some of the ripened fruit from this field. However, they did not
return to the bridge but would begin tending the field. Where the faces of those
working on the bridge were filled with determination and a certain urgency, the
faces of those working in the field seemed more relaxed, even though the fruit
was ripening faster than they could gather it. This was not the kind of relaxed
attitude that comes from the peace of the Lord, but rather seemed to stem from
an unholy casualness about what they were doing.
There was also very poor coordination between those who were picking the
fruit and those who were carrying it to the place where it was cleaned and
packaged. Then I noticed that there did not even seem to be good coordination
among the pickers, with all of them seemingly just wandering about working where
they wanted to. Then I noticed the faces of those who were cleaning and
packaging the fruit. They seemed overly harried, and were therefore dropping and
losing more of the fruit than they were getting into the packages.
I could see bottlenecks everywhere that were devastating to the efficiency
of the entire operation. Everyone just seemed to be doing their own thing with
no supervisors anywhere. It was in this a chaotic condition, and I knew that the
harvesting was just beginning. More laborers were badly needed for the abundance
of the harvest, but I knew that the situation would only get worse if there were
no supervisors. One of the workers on the bridge then said to me, "You must
start praying for the apostles to come. We must have apostles." It then
seemed as if every worker on the bridge turned to acknowledge the importance of
this. (At this time I felt that I was given this as one of my primary burdens
for prayer.)
Then the same kinds of attacks that came upon the workers on the bridge came
upon the workers in the field. Here the flies did not just harass the workers,
but they also started to devour the fruit. Then stones would come in waves,
knocking some of the fruit from the plants, and wounding some of the workers. I
knew that the flies were lies, and the stones were false witnesses and
accusations. Some of the workers kept working during these attacks, but most
would stop, and some would even leave the field. Finally, those who had crossed
the bridge by stepping on the arrowheads formed teams to protect parts of the
field. Workers then returned to those parts of the field. Some would try to
gather the fruit that had been knocked from the plants by the stones, but it
would rot very fast and most of it was lost.
Those who crossed the bridge immediately started harvesting the fruit. The
ripe fruit was put into a great assorment of different types and sizes of
baskets. Some began to harvest fruit that was not yet ripe simply because they
did not recognize the fruit, and therefore did not know if it was ripe or not.
This became a problem for a time, and created arguments between the harvesters.
Finally a supervisor did appear and his first directive was for the laborers to
only harvest the fruit that they recognized. This brought peace, and the resolve
and confidence of the harvesters seemed to grow dramatically just because there
was now someone who could supervise.
Even though multitudes began crossing the bridge, it did not seem that there
were nearly enough workers to keep up with the fruit that was becoming ripe. The
work of widening the bridge so that more people could cross over seemed to be
the most urgent task that was being emphasized to me.
At the end my whole attention was on the bridge. I was given time to study
many of the stones on it. As I looked at a stone, I would start to know things
about it, or the movement or ministry that it represented. This knowledge always
related to the strengths and weaknesses of the movement or ministry. I then
realized that the harvesters were all from these different movements and
ministries represented by the stones in this bridge. The following is what I saw
for a few of them.
Prayer Movements
Interlocking prayer movements spanned the bridge from side to side and all
the way across. These were the stones that touched the earth on both sides.
Whenever a worker could not find a piece to fit, he or she would look among the
prayer movements and always find one. Without question, not only were these the
most numerous, and prominent, but they also tied the entire bridge together.
Their strength was their flexibility, being able to fit almost anywhere. Their
weakness was same as their strength. They were so flexible and easily shaped
that the footprints of those crossing the bridge could be impressed in them,
causing them to bend out of shape. This enabled them to be easily reshaped, but
this was having to be done continually by the workers, which cost a lot of time.
I was told that the soul of these movements was Seoul. From Seoul a mushroom
cloud arose and spread spiritual radiation over the entire earth. This radiation
was an energy that pierced the flesh of man, and there was no where to hide from
it. This somehow softened and prepared all flesh for the gospel.
London Bridge
So many of the workers on this bridge were from London that it became known
as "London Bridge." London once ruled an empire that spanned every
continent to the point where it was said that "the sun never sets on the
British Empire." In a way, this bridge between renewal and revival will
ultimately span the earth, becoming a bridge between people, cultures and
nations. What the British did in the natural was a foreshadowing of the building
of this bridge which the messengers of the Lord will cross to carry the gospel
of the kingdom. This is also why one of the main recipients of the renewal
movements was the British, including the British Commonwealth nations. They are
called to be the primary builders for this bridge to revival. This was also one
reason for the great Welsh Revival, and the blueprints for this bridge can be
found in Wales.
The fact the the British were so involved in the construction of this bridge
caused many to trust in it. However, for others this was the reason not to trust
it. This became such a problem that it began to cause a bottleneck until German
and Jewish builders joined them in this work. Then everyone seemed to trust the
bridge and the bottleneck was opened.
Pensecola
The Brownsville Revival in Pensecola was a stone that many seemed to want to
step on as they began to cross from the renewal side toward revival. It was a
brown and red stone, which was not very attractive, but I felt that these colors
represented a devotion to service, and to the cross. Its great strength was the
willingness to serve and make sacrifices for the purposes of the Lord. Its main
weakness came from this same willingness to make sacrifices, which enabled its
people to be lured into making sacrifices that God had not called them to make.
Because the enemy cannot stop them, he will try to push them too far. This stone
was being stretched to the point where it could be easily broken. Even so, those
who chose to step on it while crossing became some of the most confident,
effective harvesters when they reached the revival field. Many laborers for the
coming harvest will be getting their marching orders at Brownsville.
Also as people came out of the first field their shoes were very muddy. They
became cleaner as they progressed across the bridge because the mud rubbed off
on the stones of the bridge. The shoes represented the message of the gospel
that they carry. Because Pensecola was one of the first stones of the bridge, it
was caked with mud from the shoes of those who were just starting to cross.
Because of this, that stone needed constant cleaning in order to not become a
stumbing block to those starting to cross the bridge. "Watch over your
heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs
4:23).
The Span
There was a long span of stones in the middle of the bridge that represented
specific cities across America. The one following Pensecola was Mobile, Alabama,
then Baton Rouge, Dallas, Phoenix and Los Angeles. I felt that works were going
to rise up in each of these cities that were crucial to this bridge, and that
they would ultimately be linked closely together. These did not go all of the
way across the bridge, but together they reached more than half way.
Then stones representing cities in the Pacific and Asia became more
prominent. Singapore, Sydney, and Hong Kong, and a number of cities in India,
all stood out to me because they were colored like British flags. I believe that
this represented British influence that in some way had prepared them for their
destiny. (I later prayed about all of the British influence I saw on this
bridge, and was reminded that the British were used to spread the English
language and culture in preparation for what is coming, just as Alexander the
Great helped spread the use of the Greek language in preparation for the spread
of the gospel in the first century.)
Solemn Assemblies
This movement among Baptists has a high purpose in preparing for the coming
harvest. The strength of this stone was that it was made of very strong
elements. Its weakness was that it was so strong that it had a hard time bonding
with the concrete and other stones on the bridge. Even though it was hard for
the workers to use, it was worth it as it added greatly to the strength and size
of the entire bridge.
The Dream Center
This is the nickname for the Los Angeles International Church, but it was
the name on this stone, and I believe that this is its name in heaven. This
stone was shaped like a triangle with its small point facing the beginning of
the bridge, and it continued getting broader as it proceeded toward the other
side. This stone reproduced other stones that were shaped like little anchors,
which I knew represented hope. These were placed next to stones that were pale
and weak, which gave them strength. Together I felt that these stones enabled
the bridge to carry more weight.
Promise Keepers
The stone that represented Promise Keepers was very broad, which I felt
represented its inclusiveness. However, this caused it to be dangerously thin in
places. Even so, it was a very prominent part of the bridge, and because of this
the enemy was hurling two large rocks at it, trying to hit the places where it
was thin in order to shatter it. The large rocks being hurled at it being
Jealousy and Division.
Other Movements
There were many other large stones that made up this bridge. Some of these
were movements that I could recognize, but most I did not. This was because they
do not exist yet, indicating to me that there are yet many new movements to come
forth to be a part of this bridge between renewal and revival. There were many
new church associations, or fellowships of churches, which started banding
together. When they did, their size grew and quickly began to widen the bridge.
Almost every spiritual advance in history has come from a movement.
Movements are created by spiritual pioneers, but most pioneers eventually settle
somewhere. These sometimes become denominations. Denominations may now have a
place in the purposes of God, occupying spiritual territory while pioneers
continue to tackle more land. Even so, on this bridge I did not see
denominations, though I did see some movements that were found in denominations.
I also saw a large pile of discarded stones of all sizes. These could not be
used in the bridge for various reasons. Some were too brittle and would break
too easily. Others were not "living stones" like those being used in
the bridge. I felt that some of these stones had died, and some had never been
alive. Some had an exterior that looked strong and alive, but just below their
thin, fragile surface they were nothing but sand. Others had edges that were too
sharp to work with. There were many denominations in this pile, along with a
surprising number of movements and ministries.
Troubled Waters
The bridge was beautiful, even while it was under construction. It emanated
life, peace, and great joy. However, the large river that it spanned was
repulsive. It was composed of raw sewage, mixed occasionally with large streams
of blood. It was such a torrent that it seemed as if the entire earth was
discarding its waste in this river. I felt that it represented the times in
which this bridge was being built. The greatest danger for the workers was to
fall into the river, or drop one of the stones into it.
Occasionally, great waves would come down the river that would seem to
engulf the bridge. It stood because of the strength of its pillars, and was
never really damaged. However, both the workers and the bridge had to be cleaned
often. Some who were crossing the bridge stayed too close to the edge and were
swept away by the surges. Each time a wave poured over the bridge it would carry
away stones from the pile that could not be used on the bridge. Eventually the
only stones that were left were those that were a part of the bridge.
Author: Rick Joyner - Used by permission -
MorningStar Fellowship Church, PO Box 19409, Charlotte, NC
28219-9404 704-522-8111 (phone)
www.morningstarministries.org
Rick's article fits well with the
Smith Wigglesworth prophecy (see the text section) and
other visionary articles on the Jarom web site: Revival - The Battleplan.
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