I am flanked by Gatherer and Breakthrough.
We stand together watching a vast multitude of children being attacked and ripped to pieces by shadows that look like wild dogs.
Between us and the multitude of children is a line of immaculately equipped warriors. The line stretches from my left to my right and disappears over the horizon in each direction.
They just stand there, perfectly equipped, doing nothing but talk, worship, preach to one another, and prophesy.
I look at the line of warriors with contempt and look to see what weapons I have.
Nothing.
My hands are empty. My chest is bare. I wear nothing on my feet. There is literally no protection other than a loin cloth for modesty.
I turn to Gatherer.
Me:
“You have brought me to watch wholesale slaughter unarmed?”
Gatherer:
“The seven must step forward and launch the attack, the rest will follow. You are Courier, nothing more.”
Me:
“Even the seven are afraid to trust their brothers enough to attack that horde. All are tentative and filled with fear. I cannot wait for their compassion to override their fears.”
The wild dogs howl with blood lust and millions of children are torn limb from limb before us. A murmur of compassion goes through the ranks but still the standing army does nothing.
Me:
“The hell with this! I’m not standing here with a hundred thousand cowards!”
I sprint forward, shouldering well armored and incredibly equipped warriors out of my way, thorns and stones ripping at my bare feet, and grab the first wild dog by the throat. In an instant I am flooded by a river of ripping fangs and scratching claws. A massive pack has turned its focus on me, ripping at achilles heels, the back of my neck, forearms, anything that fangs can pierce. But I fight on tirelessly, my rage numbing the pain as snap the necks of dog after dog.
Still the standing army does nothing but stand there, tens of thousands of self-preservation instincts overriding any call to compassionate action.
A few begin to pray for me, stretching their armored arms towards me in focused prayer.
I spit in their direction and hurl the carcasses of dog after dog at them.
Me:
“COWARDS!”
I’m not even fighting the dogs anymore, just letting them rip at me as I stand in the sea of victimized children facing the line of motionless warriors. Blood streams from a thousand wounds and I stretch my arms wide, naked and defenseless as the hounds rip at me.
Me:
“COWARDS!”
I turn my back to them and wade into the sea of children, tears of frustration running down my cheeks.
I cannot kill enough of these dogs. They breed so fast to match the feast before them that I make absolutely zero impact. They cannot kill me, they can only cut me, and I cannot dent their numbers.
I turn again and look incredulously at the standing army.
Me:
“COWARDS! COWARDS! COWARDS!”
My rage turns to despair and I sit down hard. Naked, defenseless, unarmed and discouraged.
Beyond the line of warriors, Gatherer and Breakthrough stand watching motionlessly.
I get up, shake my head in unbelief and walk out of the battlefield, roughly shouldering two warriors out of my way. One of them gives me a threatening look and I turn on him.
Me:
“What? You’re scared of a few cuts and bruises from powerless demons and you want to fight me?
Nice armor, coward.”
I shove past him and stand before Gatherer and Breakthrough.
Me:
“I expected more from you two.”
Gatherer:
“You won’t win that battle with force of will son of sorrow. The days of single heroes advertising false victories have passed. Without unity we are all as naked and vulnerable as you are. The seven are not warriors who will run at the enemy as you have in the past. They are uniters who will heal the fear and ignorance in the hearts of the largest standing army in the history of man.
Your days of running straight at the enemy are over, the time for a systematic, large scale strategic advance has come.”
Breakthrough:
“Indeed son of obedience. Might and power are only good for photo opportunities. Stick to our instructions and trust that God has a plan.”
Builder appears before us.
Builder:
“Behold the strategy son of sorrow.”
Gatherer steps forward to the seven and hands them each a scroll. They eat it.
The seven step forward two steps and are each followed by seven.
Suddenly there are 49.
The seven take another step forward and the 49 follow them with seven others following the 49.
Now there are 343.
They step forward.
Now there are 2401.
They step forward.
Now there are over 16807.
They step forward.
Now there are 117 649.
They step forward.
Now there are 823 543
They step forward.
Now there are 5 764 801
They step forward.
Now there is a standing army of 40 353 607
A horn blows and the entire army marches forward in a perfectly choreographed motion.
They don’t even have to unsheathe their swords as the wild dogs flee before their sheer presence.
Builder:
“Ten steps forward as one and you are no longer an army, you are a flood. The seven are healers, uniters and equippers. The issue is not a lack of believers, it is a lack of workers. Most are exhausted from fighting battles by themselves. The purpose of this vision is unity son of sorrow. Focus on unity, heal the believers, and do exactly as we instruct.”
Me:
“How long before the army is ready to move forward?”
Breakthrough:
“The seven years of raining stones ends on the 25th September 2017. The seven years of raining soil begins on the same day. It will take seven years to heal and organize the army into a unified force. The seven have been prepared for this specific task because of their brokenness and humility. They do not realize that all forty million who will follow them are just as broken as they are.
There is no room for single charismatic leaders in a vision of this size and scope son of obedience. Ambitious pressure will cause the army to be ruthless. This army will move forward with compassion, grace and generosity.”
Me:
“An army of forty million workers? Holy heck!”
Gatherer:
“Even more will follow. Two billion souls must be harvested over seventeen years son of sorrow. Simply be obedient to our instruction. Your loyalty is to the seven. From the 27th March 2017 you will spend an hour of prayer for each of the seven teams every day. You will dedicate your life to them. All who serve you will serve them. They are the strategy, you are the Courier.”
Breakthrough:
“Take heart Courier. Take heart seven. This shall be the happiest time of your lives. For legions of angels move even now to protect you and wisdom shall become your constant companion. A table is now prepared for you in the presence of your enemies. You are loved and chosen, set aside for this mighty task because of your pure and humble hearts. You were chosen for this task before you were even in your mother’s womb. Step forward in confidence and many shall follow!”
Gatherer:
“Healing is coming to all around you son of sorrow and the floodgates are open. Simply stay obedient and instruct those around you to do the same. I have opened a special gate for this vision and will do the same for those who follow the instructions to the letter.”
Breakthrough:
“Heed the words of Gatherer son of obedience. He has the authority to reward far beyond the legal requirements by which I am bound. For I reward those who show honor with sacrifice but Gatherer opens and closes doors according to what is needed to advance the kingdom. He removes chaff so that the wheat may flourish.”
Builder:
“Son of sorrow. Step back from the fight. Unite the uniters. The kingdom is all!”
Gatherer:
“The kingdom is all!”
Breakthrough:
“Have fun Courier, have fun armor bearers, have fun helpers, have fun seven, three and twelve! His yoke is easy, His burden is light! The kingdom is all!”
I wake up.
