New Page 2

Shining of the Ancient of Days

Jon Hamill

John Hamill “Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in” (Psalm 24:7 NASB).

In a recent vision, the Holy Spirit showed me a representation of the countenance of the Lord. I had been meditating on God, begging to know Him as Daniel knew Him. In Daniel 7, the prophet was ‘on a night watch’ when the Lord revealed Himself in a way not recorded anywhere else—as the Ancient of Days.

The vision lasted for only a brief moment—so quickly I almost dismissed it. Only in writing out the details did the significance of the vision become at all clear to me. I realized it was like capturing an image with a camera—the Lord gave only a moment, but I believe a ‘decisive moment,’ as photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson would say.

When the vision began, I was seeing the surroundings of Heaven’s throne. Everything was bright and glorious, and I could make out a massive sea—the sea of glass described as being before the Throne. Then this incredible light came into view from the right, and everything around the Throne appeared suddenly dark in relation to this light. The sudden contrast was similar to the effect when a nuclear explosion is caught on film. Before the bomb is ignited, the landscape is bright and sunny; and then suddenly the only light you see is the consuming fire itself.

The Ancient of Days
Within this overwhelming light was the shape of a massive face, like a human, but glowing with light that was intensely white. God hides Himself in unapproachable light, and again I believe what I saw was a representation of the countenance of the Ancient of Days.

There was a sense of tremendous intensity, but also tremendous humility, as this Shining One began to bend low towards the sea of glass. Then I saw God literally immerse His face into this sea of glass. I immediately felt the joy of times past when I had plunged into a nearby lake, or into Nantucket Sound from a favorite Cape Cod beach. It was as if this action somehow brought great delight and refreshing to Him.

Immediately the sea of glass lit up with an explosion of brilliance, the light from His countenance going far and wide, never losing intensity. I knew that the light shining forth through the sea of glass represented a fresh release of the knowledge of God—the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. It was as if on earth we had seen in part and known Him in part, but that this light released would dramatically awaken us to dimensions of His beauty, power and majesty we had barely perceived. It was as if a million dawns were being released all at once, and our best ocean sunrise would seem like midnight in comparison.

And just as the explosion of the first nuclear bomb demarcated for the world a new dispensation of history, which also saw the restoration of Israel, I knew that the Ancient of Days was releasing some new dispensation of His story, with such drama and clarity of perception that the earth would know undeniably His Son. And this release of His light, His power would somehow greatly accelerate His dream regarding Israel.

Whirlwinds of Heaven
Then I saw the Lord breathe into the sea of glass, like one would blow into water and cause a swirl. Suddenly I was seeing great and small whirlwinds form from His breath into the sea, and they shot out all over the earth. I saw the whirlwinds from above the sea of glass, and then from below, forming like holy tornadoes and moving slowly downwards to connect heaven and earth.

I felt that these whirlwinds somehow consisted of elements of the very sea of glass, of this phenomenal light from His countenance, and the breath emanating from God’s mouth. “For He will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives on” (Isaiah 59:19 NASB).

I could not see what happened when these whirlwinds touched earth, but in prayer the Lord spoke the following. He said “When you find yourself in the whirlwind, run to the center of the whirlwind and look up. There you will find the Throne.”

These ‘holy tornadoes’ may well represent the portals many prophets have been speaking about recently. Within these portals we will find a tremendous release of the knowledge of God—literally the light of His countenance, the fire of His love, connecting heaven and earth. Light will dramatically separate light from darkness.

We will also find the breath of heaven, the winds of judgment and restoration. Resurrection power will sweep over not only individuals, but also Lazarus nations and generations, and I believe we will see the army of God arising in a new way. And we will find healing pools, a release of the ‘sea of glass’ that brings healing to body, mind and spirit.

Opening the East Gate
The Holy Spirit then brought my attention to my intercessory focus for the past few months. He had recently spoken that now was the time to ‘open up the east gate of this nation.’ As an expression of this reality, I had been praying over a prayer journey that would go from ‘gatepost to gatepost’ and call for these gates to open. I felt this was to be one of many forerunning prayer journeys for the Call New York City on June 29. The Lord spoke to me out of Ezekiel 43:

“Then He led me to the gate, the gate that faces east, and the glory of the God of Israel was coming in by way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.” (Ezekiel 43:1-2)

While studying Ezekiel 43, three things impacted my heart. First, God’s glory is seen as coming ‘by way of the east!’ Many senior prophetic voices, including Paul Cain and Dutch Sheets, have shared throughout the past few years that God was sending revival to New York and New England, and that it would move across this nation. I strongly believe that the Call NYC, and prayer mobilization from the rest of this nation related to the Call, will help open these ‘ancient doors’ of the ‘east gate’, the east coast of America, for the King of glory to overshadow our entire land.

Secondly, I was really gripped by the passage that ‘His voice is as the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.’ Imagine the explosive and perpetual roar that could accompany these whirlwinds, where God’s breath propels this river of His word from heaven to earth. Imagine how the earth would light up as the very countenance of God shines upon her desolate shores! I believe the eventual result of this breaking in is the establishment of a ‘bridal canopy of fire’ that overshadows our nation.

Times of Restoration, Times of Judgment
Thirdly, Ezekiel 43:3 says that, when God’s glory was seen by the prophet, ‘it was like the appearance of (the glory) when He came to destroy the city’ as chronicled in Ezekiel 1. I had honestly not connected this, but Ezekiel 1 actually describes the appearing of God’s glory as a very dramatic whirlwind!

In Ezekiel’s first vision, the prophet had been alerted that God’s glory was departing the temple due to idolatry and sin. In Ezekiel 43, the prophet was alerted that this same glory was being restored to again overshadow the land. In areas where idolatry and sin has provoked the withdrawal of God’s glory, He is going to re-introduce His glory. Many churches and many houses of prayer in America and abroad will be renewed as “The glory of the Lord comes into the house by way of the gate facing towards the east” (Ezekiel 43:4).

I understand that the literal reference of the ‘east gate’ refers to Jerusalem, not the east coast of America. But I feel that the Lord is speaking to America through Ezekiel 43 in part because the He desires America’s Third Great Awakening to ultimately resource Israel in blessing.

This emerging Great Awakening will unlock great blessing, but also a measure of judgment. As God erases the grey and separates light from darkness, the choices made to embrace light or darkness will carry greater consequences, because these decisions will be based on a clarity of understanding not yet granted to any generation on earth. “So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; For He will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives on” (Isaiah 59:19 NASB).

Prayer Request
We as a nation must now stand to resource the ‘east gate of our nation’ in prayer and financial blessing. Pray for God to ‘light up the eastern seaboard,’ fulfilling a vision He gave Dutch Sheets in January 1999. I urge many of you to start prayer groups specifically to pray for the opening of this ‘east gate’ of New York City through the Call and related events. Set aside finances so you can join there on June 29, and raise funds to send your children. Donations are also needed to fund the work of the Call. For more information see www.thecallnyc.org.

Please pray for God to release His holy whirlwinds across the earth. It is very important to intercede against demonic counterfeits of this whirlwind, the anger of Jezebel, which is meant to seduce, divide covenant partners and dismantle the move of God. I believe we will also see an increase in whirlwinds in the natural, occurring in unexpected places, on land and sea with increased frequency. Please pray for watchmen to be alerted and for losses to be minimal.

Please pray for night watches to arise throughout the east coast, and for God to reveal Himself as the Ancient of Days. I believe the Lord is securing our borders in an unprecedented way, with a holy desire to link north and south in this Third Great Awakening. There is a measure to which the security of our nation depends upon this. Night watches are critical to overthrowing plans of darkness related to terrorism.

Jon & Jolene will be part of the ministry team at the Greatest Awakening Conference at Mount Snow, VT August 14-17, 2006. Lamplighter Ministries lamplighterjon@earthlink.net Check out the Hamill's Itinerary at http://www.mountainofworship.com/hamillitinerary.htm