2035 Revelation

by Freddy Campbell

  They cleared tea and went out into the afternoon sunshine. They walked across the blue bridge, along the village street to the school. They met many of the children. Mark greeted the boy with the blonde curls. Imogen wanted to show them the Art room.

  “Come and see their work,” she said with a broad grin.

  She asked some of the children to come with them.

  She showed them numerous drawings and paintings.

  “They were working on two themes,” she explained, “one was ‘What is God like’, the other was ‘Blessing: what it means to me’.”

  “Who is their teacher?” asked Johnson.

  “I am,” she answered with a contented smile.

  Later that afternoon, Jasper and Imogen showed them the camp gardens. They met some of the garden team. Two of the team, dressed in grubby overalls, showed them some of the greenhouses and growing tunnels. Mark noticed their boots caked in mud and dirt under their fingernails. Their hands were lined. They showed them how they nursed seedlings to young plants and invited them to join them moving the seedlings to larger pots.

  Mark had never felt soil in his fingers before. The feel of it touched him deeply in his soul in a way he could not express.

  He was delighted at the sight of so many young vegetables growing: it was a wonder. When they showed them the seed stores and he felt how light those little generators of life were, it seemed almost incredible.

  “How can something so small produce a new plant?” he asked with wide eyes.

  “It is amazing isn’t it,” said one of the gardeners, “from one seed comes the whole plant and, when it is ready, many more seeds. I love to ponder the work of the Creator God in here. He provides the means of multiplication.”

  They entered a large greenhouse divided into sections with large, circular containers as high as their shoulders, and full of tall plants and flowers. When they looked at the water in the containers, it seemed like it was frothing.

  A woman with bright eyes explained that this was where they treated the wastewater from the camp. She took a clear tube and showed them the small creatures that were busy consuming the bacteria in the water. At the end of the lines of containers, there was a pond with fish swimming in it. She showed them how the water was ready to be used in the gardens or on the farm.

  “How clever it is that God has given us ways to take something dirty and make it clean with little creatures he has provided,” remarked the woman. “We are learning to appreciate every creature he has given to the world.”

  They headed back to the camp as the late afternoon light was beginning to fade. The evening game of football was well underway. They joined in with enthusiasm. Mark loved the feeling of running and he understood more of the different positions people were holding: the game could not flow if players crowded around the ball.

  After the game, they went and showered and changed before supper. Pete and Stevie walked with them to the canteen. They discussed what they had seen that day.

  “Did yous see any ghosts?” asked Rachel.

  “Ghosts?” asked Johnson.

  “She is messing with you,” said Imogen. “Over the years, people said they saw ghosts there but not me.”

  The meeting was ready to start.

  Most of the camp had gathered, including the older children.

  Helena and Jonathan welcomed everyone and then led a quiet time for prayer. They asked a small group to join them.

  “The Intercessors have been deep in prayer today so we asked them to come and share,” said Helena.

  A noble, older lady stepped forward and spoke. Mark thought she must have been well educated because there was an easy eloquence in her words.

  “Dear people, three days ago, the Lord started laying on us a burden to pray for the lost. We waited for him to direct us. We found ourselves praying for those people who were wounded during the war and those who have been treated harshly by the New Order. We repented on behalf of the leaders who were brutal, careless and cruel. They sinned against heaven and against people on earth. The Lord led us to pray for many parts of the world. We believe that he is going to focus our prayer on one particular country over the next few days. We believe that he may call us out to go to that country and bring hope to the hopeless, to speak healing to the wounded, and to proclaim freedom to the prisoners. I believe that he will put a burden to pray on many of us, because we are one body and we share his burden; a burden that is light because Jesus is interceding in heaven.”

  “Let’s go into worship and see where he leads us,” said Jonathan.

  Jasper and Imogen led worship for several songs. Mark thought that there was a lovely understanding between them and with the other musicians and singers. There was a song with words of deep crying out to deep and then a song about power, waiting as one, and the burning in souls. Passion was rising in the whole gathering.

  Mark spotted the little boy with the blonde curls and two other children go right up and whisper in Jonathan’s ear. While the music gently continued in the background, Jonathan indicated for them to share.

  Mark was touched to hear their young voices.

  “While we were worshipping, we saw angels coming up and standing with us. They are big and strong.” They pointed to places in the area. “There are many more in a ring around us, standing guard. They shine brighter when we sing from our hearts.”

  Jasper started a steady beat on the drums. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,” sang Imogen.

  There was a swell of response from the gathering. People called out, some began speaking in tongues; some made a sound like a loud wail. There seemed to Mark to be a gust of wind that went through the space. Some people went down on the floor, some knelt. Many of the children were dancing by the singers. Mark raised his hands as high as they would go and sang with all his might.

  The next song was about going where God called. Everyone including the children seemed to join with one voice, like there was agreement in every heart. Mark found himself offering himself to the Lord wholeheartedly, without any reservation.

  The music became more down tempo and the songs more personal. There was a period of quiet when some people called out words of prophecy and prayers. The focus shifted to prayers asking the Lord to call more people into his kingdom. Most people were kneeling and some were even crying as they prayed.

  Mark opened his eyes to see Johnson and Sanjay were ready to head back. The meeting continued while many drifted away, as it was getting late. The three joined Pete and they walked back to the sleeping quarters.

  “How long will the meeting go on for?” asked Mark.

  “Well,” replied Pete, “it might go on very late. There have been times when a meeting will go on until dawn. Sometimes the Intercessors pray non-stop, taking it in turns, so that there is constant prayer.”

  The three were grateful to get into their beds, after a long day.

  That night Mark dreamt he was standing in front of a large crowd. They were all looking towards him with expectation. He knew that the Lord was close, helping him, so that he was not afraid. He felt tremendous excitement.

  21st April 2035

  DAY 10

  At breakfast the next morning, Jasper joined them.

  “We have a few things we need to do today,” he told them. “We should take you over to the farm. We need you to spend some hours working on the farm so that we can capture some footage on the cameras that we can feed into the system for observation if we need to. There are only a few cameras on the farm. You might find you enjoy it.”

  He took them over to a large board.

  “We put our names here to volunteer to help in different parts of the camp. If we spend the morning on the farm, what would you like to do this afternoon?” he asked.

  Johnson put his name down for Construction and Sanjay added his name to the Kitchen team. Mark thought for a moment. He remembered the feel of the soil yesterday and opted for the Garden team. He turned back to Jasper.
r />   “I would love to have a go at getting involved in music somehow,” he said.

  “I was hoping you would say that,” answered Jasper with a wide smile. “How about we go for our first jam after the afternoon session?”

  “Jam? What is a jam?” Mark asked, puzzled.

  “Oh, a jam is when we play around and practice,” laughed Jasper. “Now guys, let’s go to the garages, I want to show you something.”

  They made their way back to the yard, close to where the lorry had parked on their arrival. People smiled and greeted them as they passed. Jasper led them into a shed with lines of strange contractions. He pulled one forward.

  “This is a bicycle. We have adapted it to make it easy for first-timers like you.”

  He showed them how to sit, how to pedal, how to steer and how to brake. He pointed to the stabilizer wheels at the rear.

  “Watch how these help me to get going. They lift up and fold away when I am moving faster, because the bike is more stable when it is moving. Keep your feet on the pedals and your hands here, on the handlebars.”

  He demonstrated for them in the yard. Back in the shed, he showed them a machine like a mounted gym bike, and gave them each a try so that they could get the feel of pedaling and braking.

  He handed them protective gear.

  “Just in case you lose control,” he paused and grinned, “we don’t want you to crash and burn.”

  Then he pulled out a bike each and encouraged them to follow him out of the yard. They started slowly and unsteadily because the action seemed very strange to them, but soon they were delighted to be moving along a track past fields and a wood. The feeling was like nothing Mark had felt before. The sun was strengthening so that the landscape looked fresh, bursting with life. They hooted and called to each other as they pedaled. Jasper surprised them when he suddenly stopped, kicking up his rear wheel, and then went forward and pulled a wheelie. They called out their approval.

  They approached the farm buildings. They came to a stop in the farmyard and stowed the bikes. Jasper led them into the farm office and explained where the cameras were, before they put on overalls and wellie boots. He showed them the cowshed. They helped him move the cows to another section so that they could clean out the floor of the shed and put down fresh straw.

  Stevie drove up in an enormous tractor and leapt out. They went inside for a tea break.

  Jasper and Stevie answered their questions about the farm and the local area. They were joined by some more of the team.

  The three visitors wanted to see what crops they grew so Jasper and Stevie led them over to a vehicle. Mark read its name at the front: Land Rover. They climbed aboard and they toured the farm with Jasper at the wheel. The farm stretched for several miles along the river and up onto a series of ridges to the South. They bumped down some muddy tracks and stopped several times to show them the young crops and how the soil changed on different parts of the farm.

  It was time for lunch so they stopped and sat on the car bonnet and ate the sandwiches they had brought.

  They headed back to the farm and then took the bikes back to the camp. They parted to join their teams. Johnson went to help the Construction team extend the men’s sleeping quarters. Sanjay headed for the kitchens to help make dinner and Mark walked down to the gardens.

  He was greeted by the two gardeners he had met the day before. They were called Paul and Becky. They gave him some overalls and they prepared trays with soil and compost. Paul brought out seeds for them to plant. Becky explained how they would encourage germination and what temperature and humidity the plants would flourish in.

  Later, they went along the rows of young plants in one greenhouse checking the delicate sprinkler heads that would deliver the correct moisture at regular intervals.

  They were having a break when Pete arrived.

  “Jonathan has asked if you would like to come and be prayed for.”

  “You should go,” said Paul. “We call Jonathan “Heaven’s Doorman,” because people often meet God in a special way when he prays for them.”

  “And Helena might be there too,” added Becky.

  Mark went with Pete to the castle. Jonathan and Helena were waiting for them in a room in the tower, on the first floor and greeted him.

  Jonathan explained what they would like to do.

  “Imagine your bloodline is like a pipe. It flows through you from your ancestors. God wants the blood to be clean but the Enemy wants it polluted. People often need cleaning up if things have come on their spiritual bloodline, or if something difficult has happened in their life. We will ask the Spirit to lead you. We will ask the questions and wait for you to receive the revelation. The Lord will have something he wants to shine a light on today.”

  He asked Mark if he was ready and he nodded in response. Mark sat in a chair and closed his eyes. The room fell silent.

  Jonathan began by declaring the goodness of God over Mark, then asking the Lord to give Mark eyes to see, ears to hear and the ability to sense what the Spirit was saying. He went on to ask the Lord to show what he wanted to set Mark free of today.

  “What do you sense, Mark?” he asked.

  Mark said he had a picture of a man sitting at a desk. Jonathan asked the Lord to show Mark whether the man was an ancestor on his mother’s side or on his father’s side.

  “Father’s side,” said Mark. He had a picture of his father in his mind.

  Jonathan asked the Lord to show him how many generations back the man was.

  “I see a board with the number five on it,” Mark replied.

  Jonathan asked the Lord to show him clearly what situation the man in the picture was in.

  “He is in despair, like things are hopeless, as if he is abandoned.”

  Jonathan asked the Lord to show Mark what had come on the bloodline through the man’s despair. As Mark called out a list of several things, Jonathan wrote them down, then he led Mark though a process of forgiving his ancestor and cutting off the sin that had come down the bloodline as a result.

  Jonathan asked the Lord to show Mark the result of what he had prayed.

  Mark gave him a commentary on what he could see.

  “I can see the cross. I am standing in front of it, looking up at it. It’s like a hidden door that is now opening. I am stepping through the opening. I am in a dark space, but there is a shaft of light coming down from heaven. I am stepping out of the shadows into the shaft of light. Now I am standing in the light. I am rising very fast. The Father is drawing me up into his presence. I am up in the clouds. I am strong and yet I am light. I can move easily. I have so much energy, I feel like I will never get tired. Now the Lord is showing me that I am a weapon. I am like a long spear, like a missile in His hand. He aims me at part of the earth far below and I shoot down at incredible speed and hit the mark. I hit the ground but I don’t even feel a thing. The impact, when I hit the ground, has split the earth - there’s a big crack, like after an earthquake. The ground seems very dry with hardly any sign of anything green; it is desolate. God is going to achieve something from the cracking, where I hit the ground.”

  “Well done,” said Jonathan, “you see clearly. That was your spirit man you saw. You saw heaven. You have hope and faith now. You have confidence to go through the gate.”

  “How do you feel now?” asked Helena.

  “I feel like a weight has been lifted off. It’s a kind of relief, like I don’t have to worry anymore. That was a fabulous thing, being up in heaven like that,” answered Mark with a big smile.

  Jonathan and Helena then prayed prayers of blessing over Mark.

  He felt like he was wrapped in light and love when they prayed.

  Later on, when they joined the others at supper, Sanjay and Johnson gazed at Mark as if they had noticed something.

  “You look different,” ventured Sanjay. The others looked up.

  “I feel different,” replied Mark. “I feel like I was carrying a weight around and it has dropped off.�
�� He paused. “I had lots of fears - like I was constantly afraid that we were going to be caught or something bad was going to happen. I feel like many fears have gone.”

  “Your face is different,” said Imogen slowly, looking at him intently. “Before, you had a shadow in your eyes: a look like you were hunted. Your eyes have more light in them now.”

  Mark smiled at her and told them about his experience of being lifted up to heaven.

  “Did you see the Father?” asked Johnson.

  “Not really. He was there, he was near, but it was like I had a glimpse. I was near his shoulder. I was tiny compared to him. I am not sure I could have looked at him and survived.” Mark pondered this for a moment.

  “How did you step through the cross?” asked Sanjay.

  “It was like it had hinges. I was looking at it, and then it opened. It swung open like a big door. What had been background behind the cross was like a picture on part of the door. The door opened and there was a dark space behind. It’s hard to explain.”

  “The shaft of light you mentioned. How big was it?” asked Jasper.

  “It was big enough for me to step into and be surrounded by light,” responded Mark. “Was that normal?”

  Helena spoke next. Mark felt the care in her voice and in her eyes.

  “Everyone has an experience that means something special to them. Time and again, we have seen the Lord reveal things to a person that speak deeply to their soul. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Remember how we began by asking the Lord to show what he wanted to set you free from? We give him an open invitation. He does not work in formulas. He is creative. He is wise. He knows what we need. His timing is not just pretty good, it’s perfect.”

  “I want to give you a hug,” said Imogen and she went over to him and wrapped him in her arms. Mark received her embrace. His heart was touched as she held him.