While praying in August 1995, I saw a field in a vision. The end of the field was covered in fog. Not far into the fog there was a very steep cliff. In the middle of the cliff there was a narrow, twisting, steep path that appeared like a descending bridge. It had the same green grass on it that the field did, and this grass went all the way to the bottom.
Most of those who walked into the fog missed the little path and fell over the cliff. Some of these died, but there were nets below the cliff that caught many of them. However, these nets were not there to save the people but to trap them. Others entered the fog carefully, dropping to their knees and searching for the path, which they seemed intuitively to know was there. Most of these people were able to find the path, and they carefully started down on their knees. A very few people had parachutes, and they jumped off the cliff into the fog.
At the bottom of the cliff was a sea with four kinds of ships in the harbor— slave ships, warships, luxury liners, and hospital ships. Most of the ships were slavers. The next greatest number were warships. Only five were hospital ships, all of which were on clean, well-kept docks right in the middle of the harbor. The two luxury liners were docked at each end of the harbor. There was an abundance of supplies on the luxury liners' docks, but both the docks and ships looked filthy and poorly maintained. No warships were docked; they all kept moving about in the harbor.
The people who fell into the nets were put on the slave ships. Most of those who made it down the steep paths headed for the hospital ships, but many headed for the luxury liners. Of those who headed for the luxury liners, some were captured and made to board a slave ship. The luxury liners were closely guarded and were obviously under the control of the warships. The warships occasionally took people from the slave ships and luxury liners, and they took whomever they wanted; they could not be resisted.
Those from the hospital ships also took people from the other ships, but they took only those who were the weakest or who were so sick or wounded that they were not expected to live. The crewmen of the hospital ships were shown respect because they wore brilliant armor that seemed to confound everyone else. Those who were jumping off the cliff with the parachutes were all landing on the hospital ships or their docks.
When a slave ship would fill up, it would depart, making frequent turns as if it really did not know where it was going. The warships were also making so many turns, that it seemed impossible to tell which way they would go next. Any ship that happened to be in the way of a warship when it turned was blasted and sunk. If the warships turned toward each other, they started shooting at each other until one was sunk. Because of the fog many ships collided with other ships and sank. The water was filled with sharks that quickly devoured those who fell into it. The confusion, despair, and fear over the harbor were as thick as the fog. When the fog became even thicker, these fears intensified. Then as the fog subsided, hope began to rise in the people. Once the fog lifted enough that the open sea could be seen, the ships began heading for it.
The hospital ships were the only ones that sailed as if they knew where they were going. They could sail right through the chaos in the harbor and into the open sea at will. One or two of them were constantly going out to sea, disappearing for a time and then returning. Then another would go and do the same.
As I followed one of these ships to the open sea, suddenly it was as if I were standing on the bridge of the ship. The farther out we went, the more the sky cleared. Soon it became bluer than I had ever seen it, except when flying in a high altitude jet. I was so intrigued by the sky that I had not been watching the sea. When I looked back at it, I saw that we actually were flying at a very high altitude.
I thought that we were going out into space, but soon we descended toward what appeared to be a whole new world. It was composed of islands, each with a different culture of people on it. The wounded on our hospital ship were placed on several of the different islands, so that each wounded person was with those from his or her own culture. These islands were at perfect peace, and beautiful white bridges connected them to one another, with a constant flow of people across the bridges.
On each island vast foundations were being laid for great cities. Even though each island was very different, and all of them were different from any place I had ever seen, I felt immediately at home on each one. They were each like paradise, and though they seemed to be on a different world, I knew that they were somehow very close to the one I had just left.
THE INTERPRETATION
In this vision, I realized that the end of the field indicated that the end of our economic prosperity is now in sight. What I saw at the end was much more catastrophic than I had ever thought. Some very dark times are ahead, but at the same time, a whole new world is being built right in our midst that is more wonderful than we can even imagine. The time we have been given until that happens is for the purpose of preparation. Let us build our hope and trust on the kingdom, which alone cannot be shaken.
Those people who kept walking into the fog, just as they had been walking in the open field, not discerning or acknowledging the change, either perished or fell into slavery. Those who immediately fell to their knees were able to find a safe way down, but the path still went down. They had to stay on their knees all the way; no one could have stood up on that slope because it was too steep and narrow. Falling to our knees speaks of prayer. As soon as we see the fog or confusion, we must pray for every step we take thereafter.
That no one ascended, but all went down to the bottom of the cliff, spoke to me that the economy of the whole world was going down. Many will survive what is coming, but not at their current level. Much of our present standard of living has been built upon credit, borrowing from the future, and the future is now here. We are fast approaching the time when the bills will have to be paid, and that will cause a drastic reduction of our present lifestyles.
I felt that the slave ships were banks. During the Great Depression, banks were so overextended that most of them failed. Somehow, they have now positioned themselves not only to survive another economic collapse, but also actually to be in a place to enslave those who are in debt to them.
The warships were all different sizes, and I felt they represented different powers. Their efforts were not coordinated, but they all seemed to be in as much confusion as everyone else, and all seemed to be at war with one another. They lived by plundering the other ships and each other. I believe that in the times ahead, small wars will be flashing up almost everywhere and without reason. Anyone who gets in the way of those with some power will be in trouble. The luxury ships were so filthy that being on them was only slightly better than being on a slave or warship. It was obvious that the luxury of the future will not be as we know it today. Also, the warships were constantly plundering the luxury ships, making them almost an intolerable place to be. Even a hint of luxury in the future may serve only to make us targets.
I knew that the hospital ships were the church. They were glistening white with red crosses on them. They were so bright and clean, they stood out dramatically in my vision. White speaks of purity, and the red crosses told me they were bearing the cross. Red is also the color of sacrifice. These ships were so beautiful that anyone would have wanted to be on them. The church will become the most desirable place in the world to be, and the church will become the pure vessel she is called to be when she takes up the cross, ommitting herself to the life of sacrifice. In the times ahead, the life of sacrifice and service to others will be the most desirable life in the world.
The people on the hospital ships each wore brilliant silver armor. They, too, stood out dramatically whenever they appeared, and this caused everyone to show them great respect, even the warships. This told me that when believers learn to wear their armor, they are going to command the whole world's respect, and they will have authority because of it.
The docks of the hospital ships were also spotless and were over- flowing with supplies. There was far more wealth on them than on the luxury ships, but the wealth was being used for service, not luxury. Because the individuals with the armor and the hospital ships commanded such respect, no one was trying to plunder their great stocks of supplies, even though they were obvious to everyone. When a hospital ship pulled between two warships that were fighting, they would stop fighting and give them their wounded. It seemed that this was one of the primary purposes of these ships—simply to stop the fighting whenever they could. In the midst of the chaos of this place, the dignity, resolve, and purpose with which the Christians and their ships moved was stunning.
The greatest feeling of freedom came over me when I stood on the bridge of the ship leaving for the open sea. As soon as we entered the open sea and were out of the fog, we ascended into the heavenly places. When we came back down, it was to a seemingly new earth even though I knew somehow that it was right in the middle of what I had left. That I entered this extraordinary freedom on a hospital ship speaks of finding our true peace when we take up our crosses to serve others And if we do that, we will begin to dwell in the heavenly places. There we will see the earth very differently; we will see what God is doing. I really felt that those paradise islands were already right in our midst but we just could not see them yet.
In prophetic language, the sea often represents mass humanity. That the sea at the bottom of the cliff was in the most terrible chaos represents what the kingdoms of this world are headed for. The islands represent the Lord's laying a foundation for His kingdom, right in our midst, at this same time. That I knew these islands were close to the sea of confusion spoke to me that what the Lord is about to build on the earth is also very close at hand. At the very time when the world descends into a terrible chaos which will probably begin with economic chaos, God is building bridges between peoples that will be the foundation of a glorious future.
The end of this age is the beginning of the one over which Christ will reign. In Revelation 17:15, we are told, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues." The bridges are right now being built between peoples. The bridges were for interchange, and it was obvious to me that each island was building something wonderful, as if it were the very best from their culture, in order to share it with the other islands. That new foundations for cities were being laid represented a whole new beginning for the earth. What is now being built for the Lord, for the sake of His Kingdom, will remain and be a foundation for the age to come.
