>
THE SONS of THUNDER
> -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.
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