THE SONS of THUNDER - Read This!
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
-by James Ryle.
ANDREW STROM: When I heard the following dreams, they literally
affected me more than any visions or prophecies I have ever heard.
Some people don't like us publishing these things, but the Bible
clearly says that "In the last days, says God, I will pour out my
Spirit on all flesh... Your young men shall see visions. Your old
men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2:17). Dreams and visions from
God can be important. They are all the way through the book
of Acts. We dismiss them at our peril.
To continue - My wife and I are both musicians (-we now perform
with our daughters who harmonize beautifully). For many years
we have been strongly drawn to, and inspired by, the example of
the Revival "street music" of the early Salvation Army. In 1989
we formed our first "street-band", seeking God for the mighty
'Repentance' anointing that the early Salvationists had. We were
real "Street Music/ Street Revival" type people. So when I first
heard a tape of this 'Sons of Thunder' message years later in 1993,
I just wept, as I had never before heard such powerful confirmation
of all this. The anointing of God was so strong. May the following
overview by James Ryle be as much of a blessing to you as it has
been to me.
THE SONS of THUNDER - A SYNOPSIS of DREAMS
-by James Ryle.
The following insight occurred to me in August 1990 as a result of
three dreams. In the first dream I saw a flatbed trailer with a curtain
behind it. This trailer was parked at a fairground, as if a concert was
about to happen. There were two guitars on the mobile stage. The
color of these guitars was the most vivid, electric blue that one
could imagine. What impressed me most was that the guitars were
not painted, but stained. It had obviously taken time to make them
blue. The curtain was the same color as the guitars. Two men
walked from behind the curtain with sheet music in their hands.
They were very excited, and could hardly wait to play this music.
One said to the other, "Wait till they hear this. Its going to be just
like when the Beatles played their music!" In the dream I also
became excited. I turned to see the crowd that was gathering at
the stage and the scene changed before my eyes. The audience
became a vast body of water, like a lake, and as the musicians
played the new song I saw fishing lines cast out into the water.
The dream ended. My waking thoughts were that God is about to
release a new kind of song in the streets. It will bring a revelation of
the truth and it will usher people into His presence. The anointing
of the Lord will be with musicians who have spent time in God's
presence "behind the curtain" receiving a deep love for the lost. The
lyrics of their songs will be as "fishing lines" cast into the hearts of
men and women needing Christ.
In the second dream, I was on the stage in a large church. There
was an equipment room on the right side of the stage. It had
microphones, cables, amplifiers and other kinds of things that
collect in closets. In one corner of the room I saw a power amplifier
covered with dust. The cord was wrapped about it, and it had not
been used for a long time. When I looked closer I saw written on
the front, "The Beatles Power Amp." I knew in that moment that
this box was the source of their sound and their power. I knew that
anyone could plug into this box and, in effect, have what the
Beatles had - an incredible ability to mobilize masses of people to
a single thing. As I stood there holding the Beatles power amplifier,
I asked aloud this question, "What is this doing here in the
Church's equipment room?" Suddenly I was out of the equipment
room and standing behind the pulpit at this church, still holding
the amp. The enormous church, throughout the main floor and all
about the balcony, was packed with people from every nation. A
very beautiful woman, radiant with a glow of glory, stood in the
middle of the church and began singing a song from the Lord. A
light shone upon her and her voice filled the auditorium. All she
sang was: "In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord we say unto you,
be saved." She sang it over and over. She would turn to her right
and sing, then turn to her left and sing; then she would turn behind
her and before her and sing the same thing. As I watched her sing,
it was like a wind blowing on a wheat field. The people began to
swoon in the presence of God and then collapse in their seats --
converted to Christ! God's power was moving through the music.
The dream ended.
My thoughts upon waking were clear. There is going to be a new
sound and distinctive anointing from the Lord upon music that will
turn the heads and capture the hearts of men and women for Jesus.
The reason the Beatles power Amp was in the Church's equipment
room is because God meant for it to be a part of the church's
equipment in reaching the lost for Christ. Music does not belong to
the world, but to the Church. Music does not belong to the Devil,
but to Christ. Satan has indeed stolen the hearts of musicians and
their gift of music to use for his own evil purposes. The Church in
many cases has unwittingly surrendered this to the devil without
any fight at all. Music was given to worship the Lord but Satan has
turned it for self-worship, which is the reason people tend to
worship musicians. But true worship and true music belong to
Jesus Christ. They are given to His church to serve Him with. I
truly believe the anointing the Lord will release on music is going
to sweep the world in a manner like the Beatles did when they first
performed. But instead of drawing attention to themselves (like the
Beatles did), the anointed musicians of the Lord will draw attention
to Christ alone and give Him all the glory.
In the third dream I was again in the large church where I had seen
the amplifier. This time the church was empty except for one man.
He was up on stage playing a keyboard and singing to the Lord. It
was a beautiful song, and he was crying because of the tender
exchange taking place between he and Jesus. He was writing the
song right there, spontaneously making it up as he went. I was
greatly moved by this song and the man's pure worship. I had a
camera with me and decided to take a picture of this to remember
it. I took two Polaroid pictures that came out immediately. When I
looked at these pictures I was stunned because both of them were
glowing with a golden light. I looked up and then I could see it on
the man. The entire platform around him was also glowing like gold.
I knew that this was the anointing of God. I showed the man, but it
startled him...He looked at the pictures for a second, putting his
hands in his pockets he shrugged his shoulders and kicked the
ground shyly. "Gosh, I didn't know you were here, I'm so
embarrassed" was all he could say. "You don't have to apologize
for the anointing" I replied. The dream changed. I still had the two
photographs of the anointed worshipper in one hand, and in the
other I held a parchment. I looked at the scroll and saw it was a
letter written by an unknown soldier in the Salvation Army. It said,
"The Lord will release into the streets an army of worshipping
warriors known as the Sons of Thunder. They will bring forth a
witness of worship and praise for the Lord Jesus Christ that will
bring many people to God."
The dream changed once more. I was floating over a wide and long
highway that headed in one direction. All lanes were completely
grid-locked, jam packed with motorcycle gang members, revving
their engines and stirring up dust. It was a graphic picture of lost
humanity. Then I saw a group of bikers moving in single file along
the service road. They were headed for a field in the distance where
there was a monolithic stone. This stone, I knew in the dream,
represented the power of Christ and would empower those who
touched it to go back to the highway and turn masses of lost
people back to God. I looked closer at these motorcyclists as the
sped toward the Stone, and saw on their jackets the words "Sons
of Thunder."
As the Sons of Thunder approached the Stone to touch it, a
barricade of law officers stood arm to arm in riot gear, opposing
the motorcyclists - assuming they were intent on defacing the Stone.
At that moment, I took the parchment in my hand and folded it like
a paper airplane. I then placed the photographs inside it and
tossed it sail over the heads of the officers. I knew that if the
pictures and the promise were to touch the Stone, then the power
would be released upon the Sons of Thunder. When the paper was
one foot away from the monument, just before actually touching
the Stone, my dream ended. I believe this portrays the role of
intercessory prayer in helping the Church get past the barricades
of legalism, and open the gifts of God for reaching the lost with the
message of Christ. The Sons of Thunder, represented by
motorcyclists on the service road, illustrate the servantheart of
ministry. They also show the agility and decisiveness necessary in
reaching the lost. The fact that they were in single file shows, in
my opinion, the unity we must maintain as Christians in order for
our message about Christ to have credibility...
Now, I extend to you a prayer that God will capture your heart and
bring you into full devotion to Christ Jesus. That your passion for
music will be equaled by your love for the lost. I pray that you will
receive an anointing from God to minister with artistic creativity
that is so compelling in its quality, and in its message - that
thousands of unbelievers who are lost in darkness will see the light
and turn to Jesus to be cleansed and born again!
ANDREW's COMMENT: In pondering these dreams, it struck me
that the name "Sons of Thunder" was used by Jesus for a reason.
To me, when he called 2 of his disciples the 'Sons of Thunder' it
seemed to be because they had this piercing "John the Baptist"-
type attitude. "Repentance prophets". Notice in the dream that the
"law officers" were not allowing the Sons of Thunder to get to the
'Stone'. James Ryle once told me that this Stone actually looked
like a long tall "monolith". It struck me that this was probably the
"church" as it has been built up today. The law officers were not
allowing the Sons of Thunder to get anywhere near the church.
Their message was "not welcome". And yet somehow it seemed
that this new "anointed music" and this "early Salvation Army"
approach would somehow gain them access.
Again, I realize that there are some who dislike us publishing these
types of dreams and visions, but after years of prayer and
"wilderness", our family is about to release an album of what - to
us - is "New Music" unlike what we have ever done before. (More
"harmonies" and hopefully 'catchier' songs). We have no idea what
the reaction will be. Is it more "anointed" in some way? We hope
so - but truthfully we do not know. However, I'll tell you something
that I do feel strongly:- Music can open doors and gain us an
audience with people that might otherwise never listen. And that -
at the very least - is something to look forward to. We have been
on this trail for years - well before we even heard of these dreams.
But hopefully they will serve as "confirmation" to many who are
called into this area.
-Please comment on these visions of "New Music" at this website-
http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/
God bless you all.
Andrew Strom.