A number of things heard during our visit last Sunday to a church not far away started to bring not only a few apparently disparate matters together but also, in confirming a 27 years-old vision, draw them all together like pieces of the Lord’s invisible jigsaw.

First, therefore, let’s take a look at Habakkuk (chapter 2):

Then the Lord answered me and said:

Let me hand you the pieces and in your imagination see how they fit together and wait on the Lord to reveal the pattern:

1st Piece: EMERGING LEADERS’ CONFERENCE

Today is the last day of this event convened jointly by Fleet Baptist Church and London School of Theology to host the International Leader’s School of Ministry conference led by John and Carol Arnott.  It is aimed exclusively at emerging leaders and Bible college students (from across UK and Europe), as well as those who are ready to start full-time ministry, or have recently started in ministry.

The ILSOM is renowned as a life-changing school and this 4-day event will train, equip and minister to those who have a desire to go deeper in the Lord. The teaching is also designed to help remove obstacles hindering our relationship with God.

Students are learning to hear God’s voice, know their heart is secured in His love, freed of hurts and oppression, and how to minister effectively with the Holy Spirit in the power and anointing of Jesus Christ. Therefore, it’s a time for restoration, renewal and refreshing where Father strengthens and brings revival in passion and vision for Himself and the call He has on one’s life.

2nd Piece: PASTOR’S ‘ATOMIC BOMB’!

In referring to that conference at the start of Sunday’s service at FBC, Revd Christopher Bird described it as being like an “atomic bomb” in introducing theology students to the Holy Spirit’s practical, power ministry.  Now, he had my complete attention because I’d blogged about having seen one of those explode in a vision 27 years ago today, as told when inviting readers to February’s One Voice prophecy conference (Bringing the Glorious Word of the Lord to the Nation).

Maybe Chris was referring to my vision of golden rainfall and exploding atomic bomb, because I’d mentioned it in my email inviting him to the One Voice event?

Afterwards therefore, I asked Chris why he’d used those words and he said he’d seen a picture in his morning prayers that developed into an atomic explosion of God’s glory across our nation!  However, he apologised for NOT having read my email yet – and then thanked me because I was confirming what he’d seen that morning! Therefore, it must surely be a God thing!!

3rd Piece: CONFIRMATION AND ANNIVERSARY

In other words, Chris directly confirmed the vision I’d had as he hadn’t read my account from my first years as a new believer at Tilehurst Free Church (Baptist), which reads:

‘At a very early Pangbourne prayer morning on 27 June 1992 I saw “a waterfall of golden rain which became like a nuclear bomb but in reverse”. When I later told associate pastor David about this he expressed keen interest in view of the vision of liquid fire he’d previously seen over Tilehurst.

‘What particularly impresses me about this picture was that the golden rain (flames?) suddenly condensed into a focal point and there followed a brilliant flash of light. In films of nuclear bombs I’ve seen, the immense flash was followed by fire.

‘Regret I’ve not got any relevant scripture for this but believe it may relate to TFC. Like that widespread ‘rain’, we’ve reverted into a more compact unit, or operation. Perhaps the next phase is for the Lord to ignite us into a powerful instrument, such that His light will go off like a mighty bomb.’

Subsequent considerations connected that vision to meetings held in late 1990s along the Thames Valley and prayers for God’s glory to flow through them into London.  Now, however, as emphasised by this Hampshire Baptist minister, that glory explosion won’t be localised but will affect the whole nation!

Today, 27th June is the 27th anniversary of my having that vision and, it seems to me, the scriptural significance of that number may be inferred from Paul’s doxology in Philippians 2 : ‘Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Mathematically, 27 = 3 x 3 x 3, or three cubed (three to the power of three), suggests to me The Holy Trinity’s multiple power in all three realms of Creation.

4th Piece: JOHN ARNOTT on END-TIME REVIVAL

John prefaced his message based upon the fulfillment of Revelation 14:14 harvesting by referring to Smith-Wigglesworth’s prophecy of The Word and The Spirit: the time when there will be equal emphasis on teaching from scripture and experiencing Holy Spirit’s power and presence, so believers may thus be empowered to evangelise with signs and wonders following and bring the masses into salvation before the End-time’s judgement.

More ‘pieces’, or gems, were to emerge within John’s teaching, but these will suffice for today and you can listen to the entire message here.

So, I wonder if the ‘invisible’ picture being revealed by these few pieces is what Norman James, Wigglesworth’s prayer partner, saw in 1997 of the same vision for Britain that had left him speechless and his face radiant?

Therefore, all these pieces suggest that original vision is soon to manifest…and as in the above illustration a few more ‘pieces’ were yet to drop our of the ‘heavelies’, as told here, here and here.

Image Credit: Flying Puzzles by Nokhoog Buchachon, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net