Born Again, Again

You’ve read Chapter 2, and you’re hungry for more? Don’t worry, we got you!

Dreams from God! Here’s another one that Amy had …

There was one other dream that God gave to Amy in those days which proved significant for that journey. It shows how painfully ignorant we were at the time.

Amy was in an unfamiliar church building. There was chanting, and she couldn’t understand the language. She looked up, and the leaders were dressed in long black robes, with long beards. Then she heard the words, “Kyrie Eleison.” In the dream, Amy thought, “I think that’s Greek … are there Greek Christians?”

After she awoke, the dream stayed with her. In the coming months she began studying the history of the Church. When she read about the Eastern Orthodox church she immediately realized, “That’s who I saw in my dream … those were Orthodox Christians!” Since that day, Amy has had a heart to pray for and learn more about the Eastern Orthodox church.

The Prophetic Image

Lloyd Hoover’s testimonial refers to
“the prophetic image of the empty seat at the table to make the circle of four.“

The footnote explains that this refers to a large original triptych painting by John Michael Wall that was on stage during the final 2017 gathering in Wittenberg. The painting is a modern interpretation of Rublev’s well-known icon of Abraham’s Three Visitors. Franziskus Eisenbach explained in a talk at the Trento gathering (2014) that Rublev’s symbolism is of the Trinity, and that there is a “seat at the table” for mankind—an invitation to enter into the unity of the Trinity. In this way, Rublev’s icon and thus John Michael’s painting both visually depict Jesus’s prayer for us, found in John 17:21-26.

Here are images of both Rublev’s Icon and John Michael’s Triptych.

Rublev’s Icon

Rublev's Trinity icon, left on the screen after Franziskus' talk in Trento. (The bread and wine were placed front and center as symbols of our division - that we could NOT yet share the eucharist together) - Trento, 2014

Learn more about Rublev's Icon

John Michael Wall's large, modern interpretation of the Rublev icon. He created this triptych especially for the final gathering in 2017. It was *not* easy getting it from Texas to Wittenberg!

Thank you John Michael!

Interpreting the Prophetic

Chapter 2 has some pretty amazing prophetic moments! But an important part of the prophetic is … learning to interpret.
Here are some thoughts from that season of our life.

One lesson we learned was that many, perhaps most prophetic messages are not meant to be directive. In other words, the best response to a prophetic word is usually not to say, “What should I do?” and then proceed to try to fulfill the word. That approach can produce an Ishmael, rather than an Isaac.

Instead, we learned that the best approach was to wait. And pray. And obey the ordinary commands of scripture to love, forgive, be faithful, and the like. We became more adept at holding a word lightly – almost purposely forgetting it as a guide to our actions, but pondering it in our hearts. Then in time – maybe a few weeks, maybe a few months – we would suddenly recall the word and see that God had fulfilled it in a completely unexpected way. The message was thus almost a “pre-confirmation,” given more as an after-the-fact encouragement than as a set of commands. It was as if God were saying, “See, while you were obeying in small, simple ways, I was fulfilling my word all along.”

Other times the power of word or vision would dissipate without any clear fulfillment. Perhaps this was because the word was not from God – in which case, we would sigh with relief that we hadn’t tried to make it happen. Other times, looking back, it was simply a matter of years or decades, not weeks or months, before the meaning of a word became clear. In heaven, we will all see clearly, and be astonished at the multiple levels on which the words of God’s prophets have been fulfilled.

It can seem maddening for God to say things like:

“And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12)

The sign God gave to Moses to prove that He was with him could only be seen after Moses believed and followed him. “What kind of sign is that?” you can hear Moses thinking. But when he actually stood on the same mountain after bringing the people out of Egypt, and remembered what God told him – how his heart must have thrilled! Nothing is more exhilarating for a human being than to encounter the Living God who is faithful to His word.