Chapter 1: THE TORCH

As I sat in my hotel room in London, I felt restless and thought about walking to Buckingham Palace, which was just a few blocks away. Even though I knew I was in the right place at the right time, it was one of my most difficult ministry trips ever.

I began thinking about the prophecy which had foretold this trip, so I laid my head back in the chair to rest for a moment. Suddenly, I was in another world.

I was standing on a beach, and water was gently lapping at my feet. I thought I must be dreaming, but I knew I was not asleep. I looked at the sky which was brilliant with color. It was like no sunset or sunrise that I had ever seen. I pondered why I could not tell if it was a sunrise or a sunset.

Then I noticed the air. It was more than just clear and fresh. With each breath I felt I was being rejuvenated, my mind was being quickened, and my thoughts were becoming increasingly more sharp and clear.

I looked at the mountains in the distance and began to study them. They seemed to be at least fifty miles away but maybe much farther. The air was so clear that it was hard to tell. I love mountains and have seen some of the world's most majestic, but these were more wonderful than any I had ever seen. They were like great fortress walls which exuded strength and purpose, yet they were also hospitable and inviting.

Next, I looked down at the water between the mountains and me, wondering if there was a way around it so that I could go to the mountains. As far away as they were, I was drawn to them like a magnet and wanted to go to them immediately.

I felt compelled to look more closely at the water. It too was crystal clear with just a hint of blue-a stunning contrast to the sky. I wondered if there could possibly be a more perfect place. In a strange way it seemed like home, like the place I belonged. I was coming alive in a way that was more than wonderful. It was like waking up from a dream into reality, but a much more wonderful one.

Suddenly, I noticed a figure walking toward me on the beach. I could see from the distance that He was carrying a torch. It gave off light which was the same color as the sky. I knew immediately that it was the Lord-I could tell by the way He walked, with purpose but not in a hurry. He is never in a hurry because time submits to Him. As He walked closer, I could see that He wore a white robe with a golden sash tied in the front. The hem at the base of His garment had a pattern of gold, as did the end of His sleeves.

"It is sunset and sunrise," He said. "A sunrise in one place is a sunset in another. You live in the sunset of one age and the dawning of another. That is why you are here, to learn about the end of the age in which you are, and the beginning of the one which is dawning."

As He drew close, He extended the torch to me indicating that I should take it.

"This is yours," He said. "I started this fire, but you must keep it going."

As I took the torch, I was surprised it was so light, which made me think it must also be fragile.

"It is neither light nor fragile," the Lord said, answering my thoughts. "It has more substance and more weight than the earth itself. This is the light of My presence. If I was not close to you, you could not hold it. If you drift from My presence, it will become heavy. If you drift very far from Me, you will have to lay it down. Then someone else will pick it up and carry it. It is yours to carry for as long as you stay close to Me."

As I continued to study the torch, the Lord continued, "This torch breathes the air of Heaven, not earth. No power on earth can put it out if the torchbearer walks with Me in this realm. Its brightness and power depend on the life of the torchbearer and on how close he stays to Me."

I was still looking at the torch when the Lord began walking down the beach. He had only taken a couple of steps when I noticed the torch was getting heavy. I quickly caught up to Him. Then another voice behind us started speaking.

"Even the torch itself can distract you from following Him."

I turned to see a middle-aged man dressed in a simple monk's garb. He had a serious but cheerful face. He continued talking as we all walked.

"In your times there will be as many who carry this torch as in all of the times before you. You will know these torchbearers when you meet them. You must encourage and help one another. Because none of you can stand alone, you must join with other torchbearers. When you do, you will be able to overcome the power of the evil that will confront you. You can set people, cities, and even nations free with the light of this torch."

I then noticed the torch was breathing-it was alive! I grabbed it with both hands, and a surge of power flowed through me as if I had completed some kind of electric circuit. My vision increased, my mind became even sharper, and I felt my strength growing. I could not comprehend how anyone could lay aside such a treasure.

"You have not yet felt the pain of it," the Lord interjected. "I uphold the universe with My Word. It is My Word that enables you to hold this torch. This torch is the light of My presence, and it is also what you call 'a movement.' I Am the Living Truth, and truth which is living is always moving. In the beginning the Holy Spirit moved, and He has not stopped moving. Life moves."

The monk who was walking with us added, "In Him we live and move. The Holy Spirit is always moving. When He moved upon the formless void, the chaos, He brought forth life. That is His purpose-to turn the chaos that evil has made in the world into the life of a new creation. When you move with the Spirit-life, creativity will be the air your spirit breathes."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am the one you call 'Thomas à Kempis.'"

"I am honored," I said. "I know your writings well. They sustained me through some dark times. In fact, overall I think your writings are some of the most powerful I have ever found written outside of Scripture."

Thomas continued as if he had not even heard my remarks. "The times of great darkness will soon come upon the earth. There was darkness on the earth in my time, but not such as you are about to see. Remember, you will never be in the dark if you stay close to the Lord. The torch you carry has been the source of every true movement of the Spirit. The leaders of these movements were all torchbearers. The movements that stopped moving, and therefore stopped living, did so because the torch was laid aside. If you are going to endure to the end, you must stay close to the Source of this light and fire. He is moving, and you must not stop moving."

The Lord motioned for Thomas to come beside Him. As He put His hand on Thomas' shoulder, His affection for him was obvious.

"Men thought of Thomas as a humble laborer, one to cook, wash dishes, and weed the gardens, but he, too, carried this torch. From his post of washing dishes, he became more powerful than kings or emperors. He prophesied to millions over generations. Even today My message goes forth from his writings to help prepare the coming ones. You can be more powerful washing dishes and staying close to Me than you would be leading armies or nations but drifting from Me."

As we continued to walk, Thomas began to speak again.

"This torch is offered to all of His messengers. Only a few have carried it, and fewer still have carried it for very long. Not many have learned to abide in His presence. If you will stay close to Him, you will take what you see and feel here with you and impart it to many others. Many will be drawn to Him by this. If you take this torch and then lay it down, you can also be used to do much evil."

"How could anyone who has seen the Lord and carried this torch of His presence be used to do evil?" I protested.

"This torch will give its bearer great influence. Those who have carried it and then laid it down often did so because they began to esteem the influence of the torch more than His presence. As they drifted from Him, the torch became too heavy for them, they laid it aside, and began to substitute their own words for His Words. This is how the doctrines and traditions of men began to eclipse the influence of His Spirit over men. This has happened to every movement until now. Do you think you can do better than all of the other torchbearers?"

I felt the seriousness of this warning. I knew very well my tendencies to drift from seeking the Lord and staying close to Him. I also knew my pride and presumption at times to think that my thoughts were His thoughts and my words were His Words.

Even in the glory of His presence, as we walked, a chill came over me. Once I was given this torch, my failures would be compounded, with many more people affected. I thought about my previous failures in ministry and then my failure in business. Each one had been a little more devastating. Now my ministry was growing again. Could I carry the weight of this responsibility? In almost every way that counted, everything which I had started in the past had ended as a failure. "Would it be any different this time?" I thought.

The Lord looked at me in a way that conveyed both kindness and forgiveness, but at the same time, I felt the severity of the warning I was there to receive.

"My Spirit will go with you, and will convict you of your tendency to drift from Me. Even so, you must follow My Spirit. Even the torchbearers will not be forced to follow Me. All will fall who do not love Me more than sin and wickedness. All will fall who do not love the truth more than they love the praises of men. If you love Me and My truth more than the idols that the world now worships, you will not fall. This will be your daily choice-to follow Me or serve idols which can easily eclipse your affection for Me."

I gripped the torch much tighter. As I did, I felt so much energy flowing through me that it was as if every cell in my body was awakened and ready to spring forward. I thought about Romans 8:11: "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." Being close to Him was causing my mortal body to come alive like I had never felt it before.

Being awakened in this way, I began to realize everything in this place was alive-the trees and grass, but also in a strange way it seemed that the mountains themselves were alive. Even the clouds were somehow trying to speak. In a profound way it felt natural. It was right. I began to have a kind of fellowship with everything I could see. As I drank this all in, the Lord continued.

"It is now time to show the earth that Heaven exists. Lower the torch to the sea."

I lowered it to the water until it touched. Then I lowered it farther until it was completely submerged. The fire of the torch continued to burn brightly and even more beautifully under the water. Then the water caught on fire. Flames spread out from the torch and began to sweep toward the horizon. It proceeded slowly and steadily, reminding me of the way the Lord walked. I wondered if the sea was actually composed of some kind of fuel. As I looked at it more closely, I could tell that it, too, was alive!

I watched as the fire burned. There was no smoke and no fumes. There was some heat, but it was gentle, a kind of penetrating warmth which seemed to release even greater energy inside me. As I stood by, it continued to increase. Soon I felt I could leap over a house, or maybe even lift one. It was an extraordinary, wonderful feeling. As I became alive, I was joining a life force that gave me the strength of the whole. It was like experiencing a spiritual critical mass.

Thomas was watching me closely and soberly. He then added: "As you abide in Him and do His will, you will begin to flow with His life force, which is in all of the living. In this way, as we help others to come alive, the life grows in us too. Do not fall to worshiping this life force; you will only stay on the path of life if you seek the Source of life."

I knew this was another important warning-a trap which many cults and new age movements had fallen into. Even so, I wanted to remember the feeling. I knew that everyone who ever tasted of this life force would be forever addicted to it, perpetually seeking it like a junky seeks his next fix.

Thomas, also obviously reading my thoughts, continued. "There is no intoxication like life itself, but remember that it is still intoxication. Many fall under even the slightest touch of His Spirit and can become drunk in the Spirit by just a taste of this. However, the priests had to learn to stand and minister even in the presence of His glory. If you yield your body to this life, you will be drunken. If you yield your spirit, you will be quickened, strengthened, and see even more clearly. You must train the coming ones not to seek to feel good and not to become intoxicated by this power, but rather to be sobered, able to see clearly and function in their duty. You will have forever to feel good after you have accomplished your purpose."

The Lord turned and looked directly at me.

"You can set nations on fire with this torch. This is the same fire Moses saw in the bush. This is the fire I sent with him to set My people free. It is what I am about to send with My messengers to again set My people free."

I looked at the fire on the water, and I saw that the water was composed of multitudes of beings-people! They were on fire, but they were not being consumed. They were coming alive. This was a fire that would one day cover the earth. It would consume the wood, hay, and stubble, but it would purify the gold, silver, and precious stones in every life. I thought about what the Lord said in Luke 12:49:

"I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!"

I looked over at Thomas. He knew what I was thinking.

"Yes, the time has come. The fire is now kindled!"