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LIFE
AFTER DEATH
A
Prophetic Moment in Time - History Watches at the
Crossroads
7/9/01
Hi Loved
Ones,
We
recently suffered along side a family whose son died
unexpectedly. When we lose loved ones, we are never
prepared for it. When I went to prayer meeting a couple
of weeks later, I was suddenly downloaded with the
realization that generations of people died not
receiving the promise. In fact, the revelation that not
even one received the promise was a crushing blow. Let
me explain.
I saw
their faith, their expectant hearts, their trust in the
Lord. I saw their hardships, their overcoming, their
victories and failures. I saw their blood in the land, I
saw their sacrifices, I saw it all and all I could say
is, "Oh God, oh God, oh God." Most of them did not lay
hands on the sick and see them recover. Most of them did
not cast out demons and see the captive set free. Most
of them did not see the dead raised. And of those that
DID, they did not do greater works than Jesus. They did
not see His glory. They did not see Him and know Him
face to face. They had glimmers and only glimmers of
many of the promises in the Word of God not yet
fulfilled. (John 14:12, I Cor 2:9) Finally I groaned,
"Oh Lord don’t let US die without walking in these
promises! We are SO close, I can taste it. Oh Lord,
don’t pass us by!"
As I was
in the pit of the worst sense of abandonment and
despair, it was the Lord Himself Who poured back into
me. I saw all these mantles from heaven were pouring
down upon people who were earnestly waiting. These
mantles were like the fullest, most pregnant of seeds,
ready to burst. They were the HARVEST that ALL
generations of believers had not received on earth. They
were the fruit of their prayers, their promises, their
faith, their hope, their love, their sacrifices, their
overcoming, their hardships and their victories;
completely stuffed full and ready for harvest. The Lord
took their own lives and poured them back into the
ground of our lives that WE could receive the promises!
(2 Kings 2:13) What a sobering and awesome thought to
realize that all of heaven watches as we stand in
readiness to receive the fruits of their rewards. (Heb
11:39,40)
After
prayer meeting that day, my Dad passed through town on
his way to another town. He brought me a wooden crate of
old photographs. These pictures had been handed down in
the family for generations, as far back as the mid
1800’s. As I poured over these, and saw the faces of
names I had heard and those I had not, I kept thinking,
"These were real people." They knew a different life
than I did, but they were real people, with real hopes
and real sorrows…. And all of them died. Oh God. I was
right back where I had been that morning at prayer
meeting. ALL of them died.
As my
Dad passed by my computer, he noted the screen saver I
had on, which was Thomas Kincaid’s. I told him how much
I enjoyed them, and wanted to know if he would like to
see another, since I had about 40 or so pictures to
choose from. I randomly chose one not knowing what it
was, or what the scripture said. It was called "Rose
Gate" and was a picture of an opened gateway with no
gate or door. The verse said, "The grass withers and the
flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever."
As I went to bed that night, that verse was stirring in
my heart and I looked it up. As I read it, it was so
ripe. I felt like it was a visitation from the Lord as I
read with the full impact of the day’s revealed history
behind mere ink on paper.
Isa
40:1-8 NLT
"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. "Speak
tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are
gone and that her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has
punished her in full for all her sins." Listen! I hear
the voice of someone shouting, "Make a highway for the
LORD through the wilderness. Make a straight, smooth
road through the desert for our God. Fill the valleys
and level the hills. Straighten out the curves and
smooth off the rough spots. Then the glory of the LORD
will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
The LORD has spoken!" A voice said, "Shout!" I asked,
"What should I shout?" "Shout that people are like the
grass that dies away. Their beauty fades as quickly as
the beauty of flowers in a field. The grass withers, and
the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so
it is with people. The grass withers, and the flowers
fade, but the Word of our God stands forever."
Throughout the years I have had many visions of builders
removing the stumbling blocks to build this holy highway
through the wilderness. (Isa 35:8, 40:3, 62:10) These
builders are intercessors and believers, who bore great
heat and sacrifice. Some of them worked their whole life
to remove just one rock, one hindrance in their pathway.
And then suddenly I knew, this work had been going on
for a very, very, long time. I had experienced my part,
but this work had been taking place long before I was
born. The Lord has been removing the stumbling blocks so
that all people together will see the glory of the Lord.
And today there is a long flat desert plain before us,
built by generations of sufferers.
The
following vision is an excerpt from my book, 101+ Ways
God Speaks (And How to Hear Him). In context to this
vision, I now see that this dry flat desert plain used
to be full of rocks and hardship, sin and offense,
mountains and valleys. It was not always this flat
plain. And planted deep within its soils are many, many
seeds.
"When I
went to sleep on November 14, 1985, I had a strong
yearning for Jesus. As I slept, He came to me and opened
my eyes. I saw a huge, gigantic banner unfolding across
the sky. This was so huge that it took the entire sky to
unfold the banner and display what was written: It said,
"THE LORD JESUS CHRIST." Suddenly I found myself in
heaven looking down upon a vast desert. It was dry,
brown, flat, and immense.
As I
gazed upon the lifeless desert, someone was standing
above and behind me declaring the scroll of Isaiah 35:
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for
them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the
rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with
joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given
unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall
see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our
God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the
feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart,
Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with
vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and
save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall
the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb
sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall
become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in
the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be
grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be
there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of
holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it
shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools,
shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any
ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be
found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the
ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall
flee away."
After
Isaiah 35 had been announced, I heard the Lord say, "And
the desert shall blossom as a rose. It shall happen all
at once, and it shall happen suddenly." Immediately I
saw the desert come to life. The sight was astounding
and oh so beautiful! Everywhere blossoms emerged: this
dry, lifeless region became a spacious garden of color
and beauty. Then I came out of the gazing vision. As I
awoke, I was still in awe of what I’d seen, because it
was so beautiful. I knew the Lord was speaking a promise
of what He would be doing to our dry desert like lives.
He was going to rain His Presence upon us and we would
emerge with life and beautiful blossoms."
[end of
vision]
These
blossoms were planted by the seeds of generations of
those who had died believing, but not seeing! (Heb
11:39) These blossoms burst forth in the glory of the
Lord!!! I am humbled and awed that the Lord has chosen
us to live in the days of such an amazing display of His
glory. And it is only right that as we look toward the
fulfillment of our own callings of destiny and glory -
that we understand the great price behind the gifts we
are about to receive. The fullness of the wealth of
spiritual and natural gifts that are about to be
bestowed upon us are not from any work of our own. (I
Cor 1:26-29) We may have had a part in becoming prepared
and being willing to go through our own fires, but the
power and wealth of such gifts are far beyond history
has ever known. It is far beyond what we have ever known
or deserved. The harvest is truly coming.
And so
today as we look forward to tomorrow — we ask ourselves,
are we prepared, are we ready to walk into - and beyond
the book of Acts? Today we stand on the threshold of
time, where we are completing the final days of a
lengthy season of judgment upon the righteous. [I
believe this season was 11 years. As this chapter ends,
the same fire passes to the world of the unrighteous. It
will not be a pretty time for the world, and those of
the church do not want to play with carnal fire, else
they too become burned.] In this threshold of time, I
see a crossroads burning through the desert. And we are
now standing at the crossroads.
As a
body, we have gone through a great stripping. As the
women in Hosea 2, we have been taken into the wilderness
and stripped of our false lovers, our comforts and
idols. And we have returned to our first love in the
midst of the fiery pain. We are learning to know Him as
our Husband, the One Who loves us and Whom we would do
anything for… not just our Master Whom we obey. And
today as we stand stripped, judged and plundered, we
stand in a crossroads of time with choices. Are we going
to go back to Egypt? Are we running from our callings to
the left or to the right? Or are we moving forward into
the arms of One Who has wooed our hearts with passion
and delight, and Who is a consuming fire that accepts no
other gods in His place?
Today,
as we prepare to become divine vessels of a holy, pure
anointing… today, as we stand purified and prepared from
the fire, many of us stand empty and waiting. We are
empty of old life, old ways and old false comforts.
We’ve had tastes of a divine life and yet we are not
filled. We are left wanting and confined in the wounds
of delayed hope. (Prov 13:12) And what are we going to
do while we are waiting? Are we returning to old lovers
or moving on to total consummation with a jealous, but
purely devoted Husband?
Each one
of us will come to this place. And whether we understand
the choices set before us, we will make our choices. And
those choices will determine the course set for our
future. I am now seeing a dividing line drawn in the
sands of time. I have already watched some taste the
glory and walk away. I am already witnessing the
separation as people make their choices at the
crossroads. So MUCH is at stake, and so many watch from
heaven for they have poured their very lives into what
is about to take place in history. And what will we
choose?
Deut
30:19-20 NLT
"Today I
have given you the choice between life and death,
between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth
to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would
choose life, that you and your descendants might live!"
As I
ponder this message from the Lord, I am sobered by my
own weakness and humanity. And I once again say, "Oh
God, oh God, oh God, do not pass me by." Let THIS be the
generation receiving the promise.
Psalms
24 NKJV
The
earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness,
The
world and those who dwell therein.
For He
has founded it upon the seas,
And
established it upon the waters.
Who may
ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who
may stand in His holy place?
He who
has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has
not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor
sworn deceitfully.
He shall
receive blessing from the LORD,
And
righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is
Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek
Your face.
Selah
Lift up
your heads, O you gates!
And be
lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the
King of glory shall come in.
Who is
this King of glory?
The LORD
strong and mighty,
The LORD
mighty in battle.
Lift up
your heads, O you gates!
Lift up,
you everlasting doors!
And the
King of glory shall come in.
Who is
this King of glory?
The LORD
of hosts,
He is
the King of glory.
Lovingly,
Sandy
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