A Time of Transition

Joseph Herrin (09-28-2010)

I want to share some things I am discerning at this time. The Spirit speaks through many means, and He has often used parables to disclose truth to the people of Yahweh. I am discerning certain things through parables in my life, as well as through observing what the Father is doing in the lives of others.

Since returning to Georgia following my speaking trip across the nation, I have been seeking the Father to know what He would have me to be doing. I mentioned in a previous blog that Randy and I began seeing D.O.T. message signs over the interstate after entering Georgia that were flashing the message “September is Preparedness Month. Have a Plan. Get Ready.” We saw a total of three of these signs before arriving back in Macon.

I spoke with Randy about this, and mentioned that in order to “Have a Plan and Get Ready” a person must know what they are planning for. The Father has been declaring for some time that America’s fall is certain, and it will not delay. This message was given in a profound way when Miss USA fell two years in a row on the world stage at the Miss Universe Pageant.

Rachel Smith 2007/Crystal Stewart 2008
(God made the message “Crystal Clear” when Ms. Stewart fell in 2008.)

America began a precipitous fall at the very time of these occurrences as the housing bubble burst. Wall Street began to implode due to the repercussions of having gambled so excessively on mortgage obligations. Millions of jobs have been lost due to the decline of America’s economy, which has been in free fall ever since. It was recently reported that the government is taking in $2.2 trillion dollars in tax revenues from all sources this year, but will borrow an additional $2.8 trillion to meet her budget. Such a condition is untenable. It cannot continue, and will shortly be met with the world’s greatest default ever. At some point, the dollar will be rendered worthless overnight, banks will close, and the nation will be swept into chaos for which the government has been preparing.

One of the first acts of the 111th Congress, the one presently in session, was to establish regional detention camps across the nation. The government has also been quietly ramping up the number of soldiers placed on American soil trained in riot suppression, population control, and the implementation of martial law. These soldiers are being trained right here in Georgia at Fort Benning near Columbus.

For a summary of many of the acts of Congress and the Presidents in recent years to prepare for America’s collapse, and control of the citizenry, I recommend the earlier article titled State of the Union - The Quiet Coup.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/state-of-union-quiet-coup.html

I am not sharing this information in any sense to motivate people to join Tea Parties, to arm themselves, or to seek to combat that which is occurring through the political forum. It is prudent to be aware of what is happening, the plans the government is setting in place, that we might be aware of that which is coming. If we are walking as sons of light, we will not be found in the dark when these things occur.

I am reminded of the testimony of Boris Sorokovksy as he related the story of the Ukranian Christians after the Communist takeover. For a period of some years, things remained fairly normal as the Communists consolidated their power and prepared their plans for a sudden radical change. Those with eyes to see could observe some of what was happening in government. Yet, the greatest sense of things to come was received through visions, dreams and prophecies that the Spirit of Christ brought to many in the region. The Spirit told the Ukrainian’s that they needed to be prepared to flee when He told them to do so, for a day was coming when the Communists would round up the Christians and many others. A great many would be starved to death. Estimates state that as many as 10 million may have been starved to death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor

Others were carried away to Siberian work camps (shades of FEMA work camps). People had their children taken from them, and great suffering abounded to a people who had been at ease, comfortable, and well fed. You can read Boris Sorokovsky’s account of this here:

http://www.heart4god.ws/id474.htm

The chief thing I have gained from Boris Sorokovsky’s account is that the Spirit of Christ will speak to His people to alert them to what is coming. He has led many in times past to flee from approaching evil. We see such examples even in Scripture.

Mark 13:14-19
“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. And let him who is on the housetop not go down, or enter in, to get anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! But pray that it may not happen in the winter.”

History reports that prior to the campaign against Jerusalem under the Roman General Titus in A.D. 70, Christians in the city were given visions and dreams to flee. Many did, resulting in their lives being spared. Undoubtedly the earlier Jewish persecution of Christians in the city also served to cause many believers to exit the city, resulting in their lives being spared the massacre of the Romans who crucified tens of thousands of Jews when the city fell.

The Father continues to speak to His children to prepare them for that which is to come. Barack Obama campaigned on a message of “Change” and this is one campaign promise I believe will be fulfilled to a currently unimaginable degree.

There is a tendency among mankind to not believe that great evil could be perpetrated upon their own population. The Jews of Europe manifested disbelief as they were watching the National Socialist Party of Germany come to power. Despite many ominous signs, a great many Jews who had opportunity to flee did not do so, believing that the terrible reports they were hearing could not possibly be true. Similarly, many Ukrainian Christians did not heed the warnings of the Spirit. A great many paid with their lives, while others were sent to Siberia and had their children taken from them.

Despite many witnesses to that which is coming today, Americans, Christians included, are manifesting the same attitude of incredulity. They are unwilling, or unable, to believe the things that the Spirit is testifying. Neither are they paying heed to the many indicators of a coming economic and political collapse. The end of liberty is very near at hand.

Liberty Decapitated

I want to share with you that which I am hearing and being led to do, for I believe the Spirit is moving people to make certain preparations now, both spiritual and physical, in readiness for those things to come. Perhaps my personal experiences will cause others to begin to seek the Father to know His mind, and to take seriously the things they are seeing and hearing, responding with obedience to the leading of the Spirit.

For those not already familiar, let me begin by providing a link to a writing that details many of the signs the Father has been giving regarding the days ahead.

http://parablesblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/awake-o-sleeper.html

Upon returning to Georgia I rented a campsite for a month. I am continuing to live out of my camper/van, and I also have a canopy set up next to it to provide a bit more living space. After setting up, I began to address every issue I knew needed to be repaired on my van, as living in it the past four months and covering over 11,000 miles, has exposed some deficiencies.

The floor tiles I had put in before the trip had begun to shift around some, so I removed them and then glued them back down with the appropriate adhesive. I painted the stove which had significant rust on it. I bought some pipe to replace a damaged section of the sewer plumbing system, and I did a few other minor repairs.

After this, I could think of nothing further that needed to be done to the van. It is in the best shape that it has known since I have owned it. I also began to consider the school bus I purchased a year ago after the end of my trip across the country. The sister in Christ I purchased it for lives in New York and she has nowhere to park it there. She had desired to get it to her son’s house in New Hampshire so he could begin the work of converting it to an RV, but there had not arisen any way to get the bus there.

I wondered whether the Father would have me to work on the bus for this sister. This seemed a possibility as after the previous year’s trip I had been led to buy the bus, using some money I had left after my journey. I thought perhaps the Father would have me to work on the bus using some of the money I had remaining at the end of this year’s trek.

Last week this sister contacted me. She was very diplomatic in her communication, not wanting to hurt my feelings in any way. She told me that she had some news for me. Her son, who has a salvage business, had been given a bus and he was giving it to her. This solved her problem of getting the bus to her son’s home, since the bus is already there. The bus is also 24 years newer than the one I was led to purchase (mine is a 1972 model and the one she just received is a 1996 model). The bus her son gave her also has a wheelchair lift at the back, and since this sister is the care-giver for her elderly mother in her 90's, this seems ideal.

I assured this sister that I was not in the least offended. She told me that she was going to send the title to the bus I had purchased back to me, as she had never put it in her name. I began praying about the bus more earnestly to know the Father’s desire for it, being fully persuaded that He had directed me to purchase it. I began to sense that it was the Father’s desire for me to complete the work of transforming it to an RV, preparing it to be my home (and probably other’s) in coming days.

I asked the Father to confirm His will in this matter as I did not want to devote my time to a project unless it was truly Him calling me to it. I knew I did not have sufficient funds on hand to accomplish the job, so I began to consider my options. Either the Father could supply more money, or I could salvage my camper/van and use the parts from it in the bus. I did an inventory of parts I could use, including roof A.C., power inverter, potable water system, LP gas system for the stove, refrigerator, microwave, two new batteries, toilet and holding tanks and plumbing, seats, bed, etc.. I calculated that these items would cost about $2,500 to purchase, money which I could save by cannibalizing parts from the van.

In my heart I did not relish the thought of stripping the van. It is a perfectly good vehicle and would be a very suitable home for an individual in days ahead. Indeed, I am sure that it will be considered a very nice accommodation in that day. At the same time, I felt that the Father might be testing my heart to see if I were willing to sacrifice the van I had worked very hard on. I assured Him that I was, and I planned on beginning work on the bus, and salvaging the van if that was necessary.

The next day after praying about the matter once more, I committed myself to this path, believing it to be the Father’s leading. I drove my van to Randy’s grandfather’s house where the bus is parked to tell them the news. On the way there I looked at the odometer on my van and it had just turned over to 14,000 miles. This immediately struck me in my spirit as significant. I knew from previous experiences with the Father that the number 14 denotes transition. It speaks of a change from one condition or experience to another.

In 1999 the Father used this number very profoundly in my life when He called me to leave secular employment and to begin full-time ministry, looking to Him for all the provision for myself and my family. I had been at my employer for 14 years, and the Father directed me to look at the occurrence of the number 14 in Scripture.

The first occurrence of this number is found in Genesis 31:41. In my Bible software I typed in the word “fourteen” and it showed me the following snippet from this verse: “I have worked for you for fourteen years.” The Father used this to confirm to me that my time of work at my employer was at an end. The Father then directed me to the first occurrence of the number 14 in the New Testament. It occurs in Matthew chapter 1, being repeated three times. In each instance it denotes a marked change in the work of God among His people.

I also understood that when a number is raised to the level of the thousands that it denotes that which is heavenly. The Father was indicating that it was a time of transition, and even as He was leading me to prepare this bus for habitation, He was also directing me to a new season of ministry. Vehicles symbolize ministry. I had just done everything I knew to do to the van, a project I had been working on for more than five years, and I could think of nothing else to do to it. That season of ministry was ending, and a new one was beginning.

The van is 19 and ½ feet long. The bus is 30 feet long, symbolic of a larger ministry. The van is a 1986 model, and the bus a 1972, which is a difference of 14 years. This too signifies transition. On a very significant note, the bus is manufactured by Carpenter Buses. It has signs that state “Body by Carpenter.”

Working to transform this bus to a fit habitation appears to be symbolic of the ministry to which it points. The Lord is soon to return and He must have a Body prepared as a fit habitation for His dwelling place. This will be the fulfillment of Tabernacles. The Father has revealed this work to me the very week that Tabernacles (Sukkot) is being observed on the Hebrew calendar.

When I was driving this bus back to Macon last year after purchasing it, a tremendous rainstorm fell upon us for much of the way. The Father had spoken to both Randy and I (he was led a week earlier to purchase a 32 foot motorhome) through the image of a dove with an olive branch in its beak. He was indicating that it was time to prepare an ark, and that these vehicles would serve as an ark, a habitation in which to ride out a period of judgment upon the earth.

As I was driving to Macon, and immediately after observing the number 14,000 on my odometer, it began to rain. My odometer had not changed yet to the next mile. It has been very dry in Georgia for weeks, and things were beginning to dry up and trees were dying. The rain began that day and continued for 48 hours. My daughter told me 7 inches fell in Montezuma where she works.

I believe the Father is indicating that a time of judgment is very near at hand. It is time to prepare an ark, to be ready to go when He says to go.

You may remember in the first post on the Christchurch earthquake I spoke of the significance of Peter’s brother-in-law having moved his motorhome to the street, to be in readiness the next morning. This act of moving the motorhome, and having it in readiness, saved the vehicle as the chimney fell that morning when the quake struck and would have crushed it.

People of God, I do not know how close the judgment is, but I have a sense that I am not to delay in performing the needed work on the bus. I plan on posting my progress on this job, as I believe that there will be continued symbolism in those things that are done to it. The larger message is that there are days of great trouble coming to the nations. We must all be about doing whatever it is the Father would have us to do.

I do not want people to receive from this post that they need to begin doing the same thing I am doing. The specifics of what the Father would have each individual to do will vary. Certainly not all will be led to convert an old bus to a motorhome. The Father will call each one to prepare in their own way.

The Father could have given me the funds to purchase a brand new motorhome that needed no work. We must understand that, whereas we often look at the end result, Yahweh accomplishes much of His work in our lives through the journey. The work itself is a part of our training as sons.

I would also add, the same afternoon that I committed to the work and notified Randy and his grandfather of my intent to begin it, two sisters in Christ told me independent of one another that they were sending me a financial gift. One I have already received. The Father spoke to me through this, revealing that when we put our feet in the waters, manifesting faith and a willingness to obey, that His provision to accomplish the work will then be manifested. I also sensed in this that the Father was indicating that I will not need to strip my van, but that it also will remain a suitable habitation for someone in the coming days.

So the work begins in earnest.

A Final Note:

You may notice the lettering on the front of the bus above the windshield. It says “Nascar.” On the back of the bus above the door it reads "Church Bus." You can also see the cross and flame on the side. This vehicle served as a church bus, but was sold and used as a vehicle to attend the auto races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Thus, what began in service for God ended up as a vehicle to facilitate entertainment. Is it not appropriate that it should now be re-made into a habitation of those in whom the Spirit of God dwells?

Body by Carpenter
(He gives us a solid foundation on which to build. Click on image to view larger.)

It is truly a time of Transition!


Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com  

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063