Are You Ready to Take Your Place?
A couple of weeks after I was introduced to the Appeal to Heaven flag, Holy Spirit gave a profound dream to my friend, Rick Curry. The dream seemed to encapsulate the synergy of the ages; putting ourselves into the storyline; the fact that God was involved in the birth of America; and the significance of the Appeal to Heaven flag.
In the dream, Rick found himself in an old wooden tabernacle. An elderly man approached, whom Rick and I believe represented the Ancient of Days.
This man turned on all the lights and opened all the windows, which were large pieces of hinged plywood, held open by poles. As the tabernacle filled with light, Rick could see that it was huge, seating twenty-five to thirty thousand people. The gentleman then escorted him to the platform and instructed him to sit on a stool.
“Look out those windows,” he said, pointing to the east. As Rick looked, he saw ships approaching in the distance. Those look like pilgrim ships, he thought. Sure enough, they were. Three or four thousand people from that generation of Americans disembarked, made a processional into the tabernacle, took their seats, and began worshipping God.
“Now, look out those windows,” the man instructed, pointing in a different direction. As Rick looked, he saw pioneers coming in the distance - women in long skirts and bonnets, covered wagons pulled by oxen, and other items depicting the era.
Just as the pilgrims, several thousand pioneers made a procession into the tabernacle while the previous generation stood and cheered: “Well done! Thank you for your hard work. Thanks for keeping the dream alive…” When all the pioneers were inside, both generations began worshipping.
After a few moments, the host approached again, “Look out these windows.” Sure enough, another generation of Americans was approaching. “Those are the planters,” he said. “They built roads, railroads, towns, and cities.” Just as the other generations had done, they filed into the tabernacle to loud cheers from the previous groups. When they were inside, all three generations stood, and fervent worship ascended.
This scene repeated itself with three more generations of Americans approaching and entering the tabernacle. Representatives from six generations were now present, twenty thousand or more, all worshipping. “The praise was so loud,” Rick said, “the building was shaking.”
At this point, the host approached yet again, pointing to a seventh set of windows. As Rick watched, people from our era drove toward the building in cars and trucks. Like the others, they made their entrance into the gathering - to great cheers, followed by passionate worship.
The Delegates
Seven generations of Americans now stood, passionately worshipping, literally causing the building to vibrate from the sound of their praise. After a few moments, the older man approached Rick yet again. “Watch these double doors,” he instructed. A representative from the pilgrims entered, walked up to the center of a bridge arching over the platform, and began prophesying God’s plans and purposes for America. The people listened quietly for several minutes as he declared her corporate destiny, after which the worship ensued again.
Five more times, this was repeated - delegates from six generations decreeing and prophesying over America, each one followed by more worship. Finally, when the time came for our generation to decree, the pattern changed. Approaching Rick with a very serious demeanor, the old man asked him a penetrating question, “Are you ready to take your place in the synergy of the ages?”
As you can imagine, hearing this phrase, first spoken to me in 2001, astonished me. Interrupting his account, I inquired, “Before the dream, Rick, had you ever heard this phrase? Have you heard me or anyone else ever mention the phrase ‘synergy of the ages?’
“Never,” he assured me, as I stared in stunned silence.
This phrase, along with the fact that each generation of Americans was present, clearly pointed to the synergy created through multi-generational agreement. Seven eras, one nation.
The fact that the phrase came in the context of a question was also significant: “Are you ready to take your place…?” To me, it seemed God was asking our generation of American believers the question.
In the dream, Rick answered the man’s question, “Yes, I’m ready to take my place.”
“Go through that door and join other leaders from your generation,” he was told.
Unlike the previous generations, ours had numerous representatives, many of whom he recognized. Together, they marched into the room and took seats. All of them, that is, except the last one in line. He headed toward the bridge.
“You were the last one, Dutch,” he told me. “You were the delegate from this generation. As you walked up the bridge, I noticed that, unlike the previous delegates, you were carrying something. When you reached the center, you began unfolding it - a white flag.”
I was almost afraid to believe what might be coming. My mind was racing. Is he about to describe the flag just given to me - the Appeal to Heaven flag? Before he could continue, I blurted, “Did it by any chance have the words ‘Appeal to Heaven’ on it?”
It was now Rick’s turn to be surprised. Having never seen or heard of the flag before his dream, he naturally assumed I hadn’t either. “Yes! How could you possibly know?” he asked.
Still not quite believing what I was hearing, I continued, “Did it have an evergreen tree on it?”
Again, Rick was shocked. “How did you know that? I’ve not shared the dream with anyone!” he exclaimed, pulling an Appeal to Heaven flag from a backpack. “I found the flag online and bought you one, planning to introduce you to it.”
“Too late,” I said with a smile, “I already have one.”
After giving him a quick explanation, I urged my surprised friend to finish his account of the dream. “Upon reaching the center of the bridge, Dutch, you didn’t immediately begin prophesying and decreeing America’s destiny, as the others had. Instead, you began waving the flag over the crowd in a figure eight, doing so for ten minutes or so. As you did, the people were once again passionately worshipping.”
This figure eight pattern is significant. The number eight represents new beginnings in Scripture. On its side, eight is the symbol of infinity or eternity. In ancient times, when a covenant was ratified by a blood sacrifice, the individuals entering into covenant would often walk in a figure eight among the pieces of the sacrifice. Why? They were swearing eternal allegiance to the covenant.
I believe that by waving the flag in this configuration, I was declaring two things. Firstly, appealing to Heaven can give us a “new beginning.” Also, it was emphasizing America’s covenant with God. By waving this flag, under which America was born, I was pointing us back to our roots as a nation - our birth, purpose, and calling. “The dream is still alive, the flag was stating. Find it. Revisit the stormy seas of the pilgrims, the dusty trails of the pioneers, or the bloody battlefields of Lexington and Concord. Read the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, or John Wesley until the flame of the First Great Awakening burns in you. Read of Cane Ridge, the Second Great Awakening, and Charles Finney until you burn with passion to see America become ‘the shining city on a hill’ once again. Tell the old stories! And find the dream.”
As I waved this ancient flag with its timeless message, I was declaring that we as a nation must once again “appeal to heaven.” If we are to recapture our God-given destiny, we must pray now, just as we did then.
The Harvest of the Ages
Rick then finished his account of the dream with one last, powerful statement. “After several minutes, you stopped waving the flag and began prophesying over America, just as the previous six representatives had done.” He couldn’t recall what I had said, except for the last sentence, which I’m certain was all he was intended to remember. “With great conviction and authority, you declared, ‘America is returning to the ancient path, in order to reap the harvest of the ages!’”
End of dream.
To say I was impacted by this dream would be the understatement of the year. Its message touched a deep place in my soul, confirming what I had believed for many years: the greatest harvest in history is ahead of us. And America, though we may not look like it at the moment, has an important part to play in this great harvest. The Lord still has need of us.
Rally to the flag. God has resurrected it for such a time as this. Wave it outwardly; carry it inwardly. Appeal to heaven daily for a spiritual revolution that will knock out the Goliaths of our day.
Put yourself in the storyline, because the stories ARE your stories. Let your heart revive as you think about the great God of yesterday, today, and forever. You’re on His team, part of His plan, in the dream.
By faith, call America back to the ancient path, to reap the harvest of the ages. Believe He can; believe He will.
Are you ready to take your place in the synergy of the ages?
Pray with me:
Father, we are more than Your servants; we are family. We are also Your representatives on Earth. Thank You for the privilege of partnering with You to save the world. As a nation, we also enjoy the incredible honor of taking the gospel of the Kingdom to all the world. All believers have this assignment and privilege, yet You birthed America as a nation specifically for this purpose.
We have turned Your dream for America into a materialistic dream, but a Third Great Awakening will correct this. The lies of progressives, secularists, humanists, and revisionists will be dispelled by truth. We appeal for this now. We are ready to take our place in the storyline and experience the synergy of the ages. We appeal to the Lord of the harvest for laborers to be sent into the harvest of the ages.
We bind the powers of darkness, the schemes of hell, that war against this. We declare that the authority delegated to the Ekklesia is greater than their authority. We release power into the spiritual realm over America to destroy strongholds of darkness and release the spirit of revival. We do so, especially for the youth and young adults of America. We decree revival to the campuses of America.
Our decree:
We acknowledge that appealing to heaven birthed America, and decree that appealing to heaven will rebirth America.
Today’s post was taken from my book An Appeal to Heaven.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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