By Hazel Holland
"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5
It was five o’clock in the morning when I finished writing Chapter 5 of "Transformed by Truth". In this chapter I shared how Christian tithing crept into the church after being absent for nearly five centuries. As the church became institutionalized it became necessary to adopt the payment of tithes from the old covenant in order to insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy.
I was eager to get to sleep, but as soon as my head touched the pillow the Spirit came upon me and I began to see the following scene. This is a painting I did this afternoon that captures what I saw in the vision.
It was night. In the darkness I saw what looked like the cohort of a Roman army in total disarray. Instead of standing on their feet ready to protect and guard the city around them, the “soldiers,” dressed in full Roman armor, including the helmet, were down on all fours. Their hands and feet were spread out on the ground as if they were going to do push-ups. But instead of doing push-ups hundreds of “soldiers,” maintaining this position, were walking on all fours in every direction up and down the narrow streets of the city as if they were grasshoppers!
The fact that these “soldiers” had no Roman armor covering their backs was in keeping with the way Roman soldier’s armor was designed. Roman armor covered the front of their bodies, but not their backs. Consequently, because their backs were left unprotected, the position these “soldiers” had taken left them very vulnerable and open to attack, not only from a possible enemy outside the city walls, but more importantly from an enemy from within.
From time to time, some “soldiers” in this “army” (that looked more like “grasshoppers” than people), would climb on top of the backs of other “soldiers” as if they were trying to find a short-cut through the crowded streets. They appeared not to care about the welfare of the “soldier” whose back they were using to get to where they wanted to go. They could have waited and gone around their fellow “soldiers”, but instead they heartlessly mowed them down, using their backs as a “bridge” to get to their desired “destination”—the other side of the narrow city street.
It appeared that the “soldiers” who thoughtlessly used the backs of other “soldiers’ in this way were the ones who were calling the shots. The fearful glances that I saw on many other “soldiers'” faces was most likely because they weren't sure of what to do next, or where to go next in order to get away from being walked on and abused by their “superiors”. They would cast furtive glances behind them at times as if to make sure they were not being followed. Although moving at a snail’s pace because of the weight of the “armor”, the “soldier's” movements appeared frenzied, fearful and disorganized, making it appear as if they had no “leader”, and no purpose or goal that they were trying to achieve other than self preservation.
Furthermore, the crowded “streets” made movement very difficult and painfully slow. There was no place to go that wasn’t already occupied by some other “soldier”. So it appeared that everyone in this “army” was constantly moving. No one ever stopped to rest, not even for a moment. Like robots that had been programmed to perform certain duties, these “soldiers” seemed to roam aimlessly up and down the streets without direction and purpose.
Not once did I see any of these “soldiers” try to stand up on their own two feet in order to avoid being walked on anymore. Not once did I see any of these “soldiers” lift up their shields in order to protect themselves from further abuse. Instead, they each continued to drag their shield along the ground with them using it like a club foot. Not once was any effort made to try and protect themselves from the constant danger of the “enemy” within their walls.
Next: Chapter 8: An Army in Disarray (Interpretation)
It was five o’clock in the morning when I finished writing Chapter 5 of "Transformed by Truth". In this chapter I shared how Christian tithing crept into the church after being absent for nearly five centuries. As the church became institutionalized it became necessary to adopt the payment of tithes from the old covenant in order to insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy.
I was eager to get to sleep, but as soon as my head touched the pillow the Spirit came upon me and I began to see the following scene. This is a painting I did this afternoon that captures what I saw in the vision.
It was night. In the darkness I saw what looked like the cohort of a Roman army in total disarray. Instead of standing on their feet ready to protect and guard the city around them, the “soldiers,” dressed in full Roman armor, including the helmet, were down on all fours. Their hands and feet were spread out on the ground as if they were going to do push-ups. But instead of doing push-ups hundreds of “soldiers,” maintaining this position, were walking on all fours in every direction up and down the narrow streets of the city as if they were grasshoppers!
The fact that these “soldiers” had no Roman armor covering their backs was in keeping with the way Roman soldier’s armor was designed. Roman armor covered the front of their bodies, but not their backs. Consequently, because their backs were left unprotected, the position these “soldiers” had taken left them very vulnerable and open to attack, not only from a possible enemy outside the city walls, but more importantly from an enemy from within.
From time to time, some “soldiers” in this “army” (that looked more like “grasshoppers” than people), would climb on top of the backs of other “soldiers” as if they were trying to find a short-cut through the crowded streets. They appeared not to care about the welfare of the “soldier” whose back they were using to get to where they wanted to go. They could have waited and gone around their fellow “soldiers”, but instead they heartlessly mowed them down, using their backs as a “bridge” to get to their desired “destination”—the other side of the narrow city street.
It appeared that the “soldiers” who thoughtlessly used the backs of other “soldiers’ in this way were the ones who were calling the shots. The fearful glances that I saw on many other “soldiers'” faces was most likely because they weren't sure of what to do next, or where to go next in order to get away from being walked on and abused by their “superiors”. They would cast furtive glances behind them at times as if to make sure they were not being followed. Although moving at a snail’s pace because of the weight of the “armor”, the “soldier's” movements appeared frenzied, fearful and disorganized, making it appear as if they had no “leader”, and no purpose or goal that they were trying to achieve other than self preservation.
Furthermore, the crowded “streets” made movement very difficult and painfully slow. There was no place to go that wasn’t already occupied by some other “soldier”. So it appeared that everyone in this “army” was constantly moving. No one ever stopped to rest, not even for a moment. Like robots that had been programmed to perform certain duties, these “soldiers” seemed to roam aimlessly up and down the streets without direction and purpose.
Not once did I see any of these “soldiers” try to stand up on their own two feet in order to avoid being walked on anymore. Not once did I see any of these “soldiers” lift up their shields in order to protect themselves from further abuse. Instead, they each continued to drag their shield along the ground with them using it like a club foot. Not once was any effort made to try and protect themselves from the constant danger of the “enemy” within their walls.
Next: Chapter 8: An Army in Disarray (Interpretation)
4 comments:
at does NOT look like a pudgy child... it looks like an older man -- maybe in his 50's. WELL DONE! And yes, now that I see the visual, he looks ridiculous (who crawls on on fours like that?!? especially a member of the army)! Interesting vision..
I agree, Hazel, he doesn't look like a child. His position is like a child, though... and perhaps that's part of the message? Being directed to be like (or held down as) infants? Not being allowed to get up, stand, walk and fight?
Another thing that comes to mind is... Monty Python & the Holy Grail! The "ridiculousness" of it. Come to think of it, Monty Python also had one comedy sketch called The Ministry of Silly Walks, where John Cleese was head of the government ministry doing silly walks (like silly duck walks). Most Christians can easily see and agree that Monty Python was really ridiculous and irreverent with organized religion and faith. Perhaps the tithing & control in God's eyes is just as irreverent as Monty Python is in our eyes? Perhaps it's just as absurd in His sight as a "ministry of silly walks"?
Wow, this actually also reminds me suddenly of that famous verse from Jeremiah 12:5 --
"If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets
by the Jordan?"
Ramone, you said, "Perhaps the tithing & control in God's eyes is just as irreverent as Monty Python is in our eyes? Perhaps it's just as absurd in His sight as a "ministry of silly walks?"
I agree, and here's the link to a short video of how ridiculous "ministry of silly walks?" really is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w.
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