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The Vision
SYMPHONY OF PRAISE
By: Alan Smith
The Four Winds
Ezekiel 37:1-10: The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army. (NIV)
I believe the dry bones are being called forth from all over the face of the earth for the final spiritual battle of the ages. Set your face to the heavens for the Four Winds of God are beginning to blow upon the earth. Let me share with you a prophetic experience I had.
I first sensed a faint sound in the spirit; one of wind blowing gently in the trees. The sensing was faint, but the wind that accompanied it was refreshing as it blew upon my face. It felt as though “life” was being blown into my mouth. It was gentle, but it was so refreshing. Like a drink of cold water on a hot and dry day; not as a liquid, but as wind from heaven. As I looked around, I could see the earth from a heavenly view. It was beautiful with all its colors brightly shining in the vastness of the heavens. It was so blue with spots of white clouds decorating its face; moving across it as if to say, “I am living, just watch and listen.” There was dead silence, but I could sense the sound of wind. I could not hear it, but I could sense it coming. I had a knowing deep down within me. The anticipation of its coming was overwhelming to me.
I looked at the earth and then projected my face toward the open heavens. I looked at the earth, and then back to the heavens. I could feel something down inside of me begin to stir. I felt like crying and laughing all at once. Every emotion was stirring inside of me at the same time. I looked at the earth and began to cry and pray and could once again sense the wind coming. I turned and looked at the heavens, and with the presence of the wind, I could feel heat on my face. All of a sudden the light began to appear. This light was not from the sun, but from the heavens. It became brighter and brighter as I gazed toward the heavens. I then turned to the earth. As I did, I noticed I had no tears, but instead, a knowing: a knowing that God was going to blow life back into the dry bones of His vast army. No more tears of sadness, but instead, joy began to fill my face. My praying then changed from a petition to a calling: a calling out to the dry bones.
Before I spoke to the earth, I took in a deep breath of air. This breath of air was the deepest breath I had ever taken. I inhaled for the longest time. It seemed like I would never stop inhaling. As I inhaled, I felt the wind begin to blow upon my face. The more I inhaled, the stronger the winds blew. As my lungs filled with this wind from heaven, they began to burn as though a fire had entered within. The wind blew so strongly that I felt I must open my mouth to let more of it into my being. As I did, I felt myself begin to float. I was floating around the earth. I could see the continents with their mountains and rivers, and they were so beautiful. I heard sounds coming from the continents as though they were calling out for life. There were groanings and callings. I then sang to the continents as I passed by them. Notes of music came out of my mouth. I saw them before I heard them. I saw the notes flying from my mouth. They had wings of fire upon them as they traveled on the journey to the earth.
I kept singing, and the more I sang, the more notes came from my mouth. The notes were very small at first, but then grew as they headed toward the earth. As they entered the atmosphere, the wings of flames of fire grew hotter and hotter. The notes then began to take each other by the hand as they soared through the air. I would see some in groups of twos and others in threes. They hit the earth and I saw an explosion upon the face of the earth. I noticed that every continent took a hit at exactly the same time. Not one was more special than another. The notes divided themselves equally around the earth and began to hit the earth in a rhythm. As they hit the earth and exploded, a sound was created that began to shake all that could be shaken. I saw people upon the earth running to find the notes. I heard a voice behind me say, “Open your mouths and let the notes go deep within.” Some of the notes hit the ground and exploded and others went within the mouths of people. Some people were standing around looking up to the heavens with their mouths open, like new born birds within their nest just waiting for the next meal. The notes that hit the ground went only inches beneath the soil and sprouted into beautiful flowers. These flowers brought beauty to the earth and a fragrance that was heavenly. There were red ones, yellow ones, and even black and white ones; some with two colors and some with three mixed within them. I saw every color that could be imagined. I knew the flowers were the people upon each continent and that God had planted all of them.
The notes that entered the mouths of the people went deep within them and sprouted. As they sprouted, they rushed to find an opening in which to exit and be heard. These notes were not seen as the flowers, but were heard only by those that had ears to hear. As the people opened their mouths, the notes emerged with the sounds of heaven. As they emerged, the wings of fire were upon them once again. Some of the notes with wings of fire flew and looked for another mouth that was open. They entered them, went deep within, and sprouted once again. Other notes with wings of fire flew back into the heavens as if they were going home. I then heard a voice behind me say: “These that have their mouths open are being nourished and are my vast army. They are to prophesy to the earth and say; 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'” They will prophesy to the earth and I will blow with my four winds. From the north, south, east and west will the wind of heaven blow upon the face of the earth and my people will be revived. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet — a vast army.
Musical Notes from Heaven
As I looked around, I saw more notes coming from the heavens. I could see them, though very small, coming in droves. Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions; it began to look like multiple trillions of notes emerging from the heavens. Their colors were almost blinding as their lights shown against the black background of the heavens. The blues were so blue and the reds were intensifying as the notes approached the earth. All of the multiple colors of the notes were unbelievably brilliant as they raced to their final destinations. All of a sudden, as I gazed into the heavens, I saw a great hoard of “angels”, dressed as if ready for battle. They projected a vibration of life from their countenance that resonated in my spirit. I felt such peace and love as I gazed upon this vast army in the heavens. What a feeling; what a sight to behold!
I then began to notice all around the angels, silhouettes of other spiritual beings. The “silhouettes” were also creating sounds; but they had no notes coming from them, only a vibration and the smell of something bitter. These smells could not travel very fast at all, but instead, caught the spiritual draft that was created by the “wings of fire” as they traveled toward the earth. All of the sounds from the “silhouettes” were dissonant and out of harmony. Their vibrations were chaotic and out of rhythm. They ran into each other and bounced around, seeming to have no direction at all. They could barely organize themselves; only enough to create this awful smell of dissonant disunity. I noticed the “silhouettes” had an intoxicating effect on my spiritual eyes as I continued to focus on them. For some unidentified reason, I was drawn to them even though the smell was almost unbearable. Their independence touched something deep within. They sent me a vibration that caused me to feel puffed up, but also very empty. The more I focused on them, the more of them I could see and smell. The image of the angels was beginning to fade as the “silhouettes” captured my attention. I knew I was being sucked into a darkness where there were no notes being created. I began to cry out to the heavens with a loud voice, “Fill me; fill me once again with the notes from heaven. Please fill me oh God, with Your sound, so I may see Your heavenly host and feel Your presence.”
I heard “the voice” from behind me once again as He said, “Open your mouth and let the wings of fire come. Open wide my friend; open wide and breathe deeply once again. Hurry, hurry for there isn’t much time.” I opened my mouth and began to take a deep breath. I inhaled until I thought I was going to burst. Once I started the breathing process, the wind then took over the project of my “being filled”. “More wind, more wind,” I could hear the voice say. “Fill him; fill him once again.” I could not see them, but could sense the notes entering my mouth by the droves.
All of a sudden, I began to float again. “There they are,” I said with much joy. First I saw the notes and then I saw the angels. I saw them materializing again right before my eyes. The angels and notes were there all the time, I only needed eyes to see and ears to hear. As I focused on the vast army, it began to capture my attention. The sounds drew me closer and closer to the angels, for I knew that was the place from where these sounds were coming. As I drew closer, the notes were coming from everywhere: from the north, south, east, and west; notes and more notes were headed toward the earth. I could not believe what I was seeing, so many notes and so many colors. There was a reflection of light that began to shine from the angels. The angels had armor of gold and silver with designs of passed victories stamped within them. In their right hand they had a sword and in the left hand a shield. The shield was the most unusual thing I had ever seen. Stamped within these shields were musical instruments such as the harp, cymbals, bow instruments, and the flute. I then saw the vast army of angels raising their swords. I also saw musical instruments etched on the blade and handle of this mighty weapon of warfare.
As their swords were raised, I saw treble clef notes emerge from their tips in bursts of light. These notes were red and blue in color: just red and blue. They alternated: first the red and then two blue. Over and over they emerged. The red ones grew the “wings of fire”. As these wings grew, they went faster and faster. I then noticed that the red ones caught the blue ones by the hand. A red one was in the middle of two blue ones as they made their way toward earth. The sounds they made pierced my ears. They pierced through the heavens, dividing the spiritual winds. They divided the winds of darkness from the winds of light, and the colors of the notes of the treble clef intensified as the winds of light penetrated each one of them.
I then heard a voice from behind me say, “This is the second wind and it is greater than the first.” Suddenly, the angels lowered their swords and looked at their shields. They took their swords and began to hit their shields like striking a cymbal. As their shields were struck, bass clef notes emerged from the realm around the shield. Their sounds were lower than the notes of the sword, but they were released by the sword just the same. These notes created a cadence in the heavens, which was a vibration, and this cadence completed the banner of the “symphony of praise”. These banners were placed on top of some of the notes as they passed by the angels; and they waved in the winds as the notes practiced their flying lessons. At first I saw a single note with a banner attached, and then there were two and even three notes attaching themselves to one banner. “Practice, practice”, I heard the angels say to the notes. “You have only a few minutes until you begin your journey to the earth.” As the notes practiced, they became brighter and brighter, reflecting this glorious multicolored light of life. Then I heard a tinkling cymbal in the background begin to ring out over all the other sounds. It was a simple sound, but one with much authority. The voice from behind then said, “The announcement is about to be made.” “What announcement?” I wondered. “The trumpets are here! The trumpets are here,” I heard the angels say. “Hurry, hurry everyone, for the notes of the “symphony of praise” are being commissioned.”
The Sounding Trumpets, The Big Horns, and The Word
Trumpets: trumpets everywhere began to come forth from the heavens and rest upon the lips of some of the angels. What an incredible sight to behold! I could not understand why every angel did not have a trumpet in which to blow; but I just kept watching as the mystery unfolded. There were trumpets of silver and of gold, each having a distinct shape which produced its own individual sound. They also reflected, like that of the swords and shields, a light that intensified as the sounds they projected grew louder and louder. Sounds: what unbelievable sounds came from the trumpets! They were sounds of authority and direction. I could not help but notice the notes as they came to attention when certain sounds came from them. I could feel the presence of these sounding winds upon my face as I gazed in their direction.
“You must hurry; blow winds blow,” I heard the voice from behind me say. Suddenly, the winds upon my face grew stronger and stronger. I thought I would fall under their intense presence. Sounds of light penetrated every part of my entire being. My whole body grew transparent as the sounds of light entered in. I knew at this point, that everyone in this heavenly host could see through me. “Breathe in the sounds of the winds,” I heard the voice say. “For when you do, you will become transparent before us and you will fly.” When the sounds of the winds left the ends of the trumpets, they were round in their spiritual glory, but then became humble and began to flatten themselves as if to be a covering or a carpet. The winds that the trumpets created were like little spiritual flying carpets, upon which the treble clef notes were riding toward their destination of planet earth. I had not seen the spiritual carpets all of this time. It was only now that I had eyes to see this part of the revelation of the Four Winds.
“Is this thunder?” I asked myself. “My whole body is vibrating. I am shaking from within.” This vibration stimulated my spirit and soul and created a cadence deep within me. As this new vibration took over my being, it produced a flutter deep within my soul. I felt the depth of the flutter within me, and I also felt a sensation of many waters enter my being. I then saw brass instruments, much larger than the trumpets, coming from the west. The brass instruments moved more slowly and there were not as many of them as there were the trumpets; but they were huge. I then noticed a few of the angels lowering themselves before these big horns, as if to bow. What a sight to behold! As they bowed before the big horns, the horns slipped over the heads of the angels almost becoming part of them. The angels then blew into the mouth piece of the big horns and sounds began to come forth. I wondered what sounds these could be. What was their purpose? They were so deep and wide as their sounds sent peace and safety throughout the heavens. The vibrations of the big horns were flat in appearance and much bigger than those of the trumpets. Their thunderous vibrations were much lower than the trumpet sounds and were not as piercing as they shook the heavens and all that were in it.
As sounds proceeded from these tremendous instruments, another angel moved beside the big horns and raised its sword and was swinging it back and forth as the voice from behind it gave instructions. “Swing now,” the voice said. When the voice gave the command, the angel moved the sword right in front of the big horn and the sounds proceeding were then cut into measures of vibrations. These vibrations then produced other flying carpets with much depth and width. These vibrations were not as fast as the others, but were needed when the “Symphony of Praise” would be gathered on earth. Somehow, I knew that these sounds would be the foundation upon which all others notes would build.
I looked with amazement as the bass clef notes boarded the magnificent flying carpets of the big horns. “All aboard, all aboard,” I heard the musical voices of the carpets say. “We must hurry for the treble clef notes are waiting.” Then the voice from behind me, with a thunderous applause from the notes, called the “Word” forward to commission the notes on their earthly journey. Oh my, I could not believe what I was seeing. I could feel the presence and power of the Word before His arrival. All of the notes, along with me, began to vibrate with this anticipation of the Word. “He is coming, He is coming,” I could hear the notes say. Then they shouted, “Can you hear Him? Can you hear Him?” As I turned, I began to see an object appear in the far distant part of the heavens. I heard the faint sound of horse hoofs, as though they were beating a drum. The cadence was that of royalty entering this enormous congregation of sound. I could just barely see the imprint of a horse and rider as He was approaching. I felt He was already among us, even though I could see Him far away. I could not understand my experience, for He was with me and He was coming for me all at the same time. When I tried to understand it with my mind, the experience would turn to black and white with no life or color and it would leave me confused. I started to lose hope when I used my mind to see. But when I viewed it through my spirit, the experience turned into a full color production of the heavens and all hope returned.
His tangible presence came closer and closer. The brightness of His coming was blinding to the soul but illuminating to the spirit. The reflections of the trumpets, big horns, and shields gave strength and power to the notes as the “lights” of His presence entered them. The more light they received, the greater the vibrations. I had not noticed before, but as the notes were being empowered by the light, you could see their color intensify. I somehow knew that the intensity of their color determined how much light and life they had stored within them. “More Lord; more Lord,” I heard the angels say to the Lord at His appearing. “Give them more, for they will need it for the great Symphony of Praise.” The Word: I see Him, and I could also feel Him in the deepest part of my being. The lights that projected from His presence were just incredible, for they were like swords of fire. They were every color that could be imagined as they shone in the heavens. They illuminated and penetrated the treble clef notes, the bass clef notes, and the flying carpets.
I never heard the Word speak audibly. He just seemed to speak with His eyes. He would look and somehow you knew what He was saying. He then turned and looked toward the heavens. Once again, I began vibrating and started looking transparent. As I did, I felt a floating sensation and began to fly.