Rapture 10

Carried to the Sea

January 17, 2007

Joel Akin

We have one hope and that is the knowledge of when does the rapture take place. The answer is we are lifted up to a place called Heaven. Now when isn't the answer we really want for if we knew the when of it we might be afraid. And if not afraid we might not want to go. For if we went up now then we would leave behind everything we had done.

So what if the when of it is being done as we speak. What if we were the ones who took scripture and missed it so much that we turned it completely on its head. What if we are influenced by the word catching away. After all we've been told we would be caught and to be caught speaks of flying. It doesn't sound like a missed call but a flying up. And if we are flying, just like Jesus did, then why is it there were no words to describe what happened? After all lets say Jesus was caught up to Heaven and he was standing there at the gate to Heaven and we saw him as he walked through the pearly gate? Then that would explain it while allowing us to think 'Wow." And if he was carried up through his own power that isn't saying much because he also walked on water. And he did. That is how he came to tie the tail on to the Leviathan. The creature of the deep. Now tie the tail doesn't fully make sense but lets say that Leviathan didn't want anything tied so the only thing Jesus had to tie was his faith. And that faith had to be tied to something so he said to Peter, "You are the rock" and that was referring to a joke when Peter sank like a rock when he saw the storm. For it would have been a measure of love and a measure of hope to Peter. For if the church were tied to Peter and Peter was the rock and the rock sank into the water then Peter knew something bad was going to happen. And it did; they took Peter and they tied him to a cross but tied him upside down. And they turned him around so that he faced Heaven but his head was the stone which they broke instead of his foot.

So they crushed him and broke him and they put him in a box. And they carried him to the sea and they threw him in because they were terrified he would come back. For he kept getting loose from prison because of prayer and prayer was the power of God to redeem those who were captive.

So Peter ended up at the bottom of the sea. And they took his clothing and they burned it and they tossed it to the sea. And they took his family and they killed them so that not one would remain alive. And they took his dream and they crushed it so that it would be lost. For the dream was a boat and it was meant to sail across the Sea. Not of Galilee but of the Mediterranean. He had a dream of going there and sailing across the sea. It sounds like a foolish dream but it was his dream.

Yet who was there to remember his life? No one. All those who knew him were killed. All those who loved his life were murdered. Not one man was raised up who knew Peter. His life was called the life that wasn't. He was a man who had been created by God so that one person would remember but with Peter it didn't happen. They stole him and they killed him and they murdered thousands upon thousands upon thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people. Not one or two or three like some might think. But in the end there were people who lived and died with one desire; to kill and murder anyone who knew him. Why? Because he was a friend to Christ and he was a friend to men and he was a friend to people.

He became a rock. Not the rock that sinks but the rock that stands steadfast. The rock that stands strong. He became the one person that was meant to be. The one person who wanted to be. He dreamed and he had hope and he had desire and he had a life of prayer. And yet it died with him all because of men who had one desire; to destroy him and his dream.

Now you would say it can't happen again but it did. More then once God would raise up a man and he would fight and there would be a war and it would total that person and his life. And it wouldn't be a little war it would be a big war. Sometimes it was personal and sometimes it went into the city or the nation. And sometimes it threatened the entire world.

All because of one little problem; people who wanted it to be their way. They opened up Pan and Pan was not Peter but was a spirit called Sin. Sin went and took Peter and cracked his head and scooped out his gray and made him a pariah. And God said "Someday I will find a man who will heal what they did."

So God wrote a story and called it Peter and it was part of the story of his life. And it is the story he wants to show. It is part of the history that was written with him in mind. It is part of the story of our time. For we revere Peter more then any other man. And he revered Jesus more then any one else.

It was the desire of Peter to have a friend named Christ but they wanted a third friend. And maybe I'll be part of that dream. For there isn't anyone on earth that likes to pray like those two. Well, there are but the way God likes. To hear from three best friends.

So those are things that God desires. He wants them to be true and to be wise. He wants men to dream and to think about life. He wants me to cry and to weep. Not because of things that were or things that even are; but because of a dream. For Peter wanted to travel with his wife across the Mediterranean. But he knew that she would be sick within a minute. So he asked God to let him carry this dream to heaven. And he said "Let it be for all time and for all people. If there is one to go with me then let it be."

He didn't think of Christ but of himself. He thought there is no one that could handle it. For they would have to be up night and day and they would have to pray and they would have to seek God for help. For it would be a rough voyage. He intended to travel during the storm. For he wanted to walk from his boat and see if he would be able to walk on water.

It wasn't that he lacked faith. It wasn't that he lacked trust. It was that he lacked. He wanted someone to hold him and say "Its all right, you don't have to prove anything to anyone." But there were no people there to support him and no one to understand what being with Christ had done. It was as if he were the only man left in all the world. For all the disciples except John had died and he was imprisoned. And there were no one else who had been there that day when the Spirit fell with power. And Peter had to take the reigns of power. It wasn't easy and again it was like walking with Christ only it was different. He sensed something of Christ but he could not say what it was.

And yet it wasn't there. That friendship he had with Christ. The Holy Spirit was different. As different as the land is from the sea. And that was the difference he fought with and argued with because the Holy Spirit spoke with him about the law. And he hated it. He liked the law and wanted it as part of his life. Yet God kept pushing him towards grace. And that meant he had to bind it or it would bind him. Until finally he gave up the law and let grace settle in.

And then it was the end of life and all those dreams seemed to have fallen away. And no one knew that he was one who had written of the destruction yet to come. And they were crying out "When" and he was saying "I don't know" and they came and they crucified him. And he died. And there were no people left who knew him. Some did but they had fled far away to places like Macedonia and even a few to South America. Strange as that sounds to some.

And there were a few who rode the waves to the island of Poly which became Hawaii. It wasn't meant to be a joke but they were of the belief that they were all of god. And as people of god they were not open to anyone not even friends of God. So they murdered everyone who came to them with the gospel of Jesus. It was meant to spread around the world and it did. Within 50 years nearly every country had people arrive and spread the gospel. Even in North America from Canada to the coast and from Boston to Los Angeles. Only then they were people called native Americans. And they crucified the people with crosses for sin was the spirit that did it. None of the people who began the quest survived. They died and it was left to history to decide who had won.

Yet if we who are American can say we had an early foundation of faith then we did. It began almost 2000 years ago. It began when people spread the message across the culture of Natives and they spread it to others and it changed some but the Great Spirit was meant to be God. The reverence for the creature was meant to be of the creatures who had fallen and been enveloped by spirits of time. People who had their body stolen. Jesus meant it when he said to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And the disciples wrote those things within thirty years of his death. And yet despite this they were spreading the message in other ways. By dividing up and going out as team after team after team.

Not in ones but in two's. And they were male and they were female though the women usually traveled as aid to the men. And they went into all the country. Not of one country but into all of it for they didn't stop with sea. The sea wasn't just the Sea of Galilee. And the trip Paul took was a wise one. He became one of the first to travel to those regions. Not the only one.

Yet the Sea of the Mediterranean was only one thing Peter wanted to cross because he wanted to reach a small island in the middle. It wasn't any place we knew and since may have sunk. It was an island he had heard about where there were seagulls and birds and things that could be bought and sold in his market. He had a desire to do something unusual that no one else had thought of. And selling seagulls was his idea. And it was an unusual idea because most of us think of them as dirty. Yet back then they were prized as being one of the most delicious meals you could have. The equivalent of steak or lobster. And they were hard to find. And he had a dream from God that there was a place in the Mediterranean where there was a bare strip of land that was filled with seagulls. And it was all Peter needed to enervate and invigorate him in his age. He began picking up tools and putting on slogs, which were a type of warp and woof for the lumber and perhaps the limber as well.

Yet while he was building it his wife was killed in a way that history will record someday. She was taken and he followed after her. And she never saw the fulfillment of his dream. And he never saw it either.

So what is the purpose of telling this story. Its not in the Bible but it comes to us from time. And time is part of the history of men but only as God gives it.

The answer might be a dream I had about Peter. Only one. I never understood it but in the dream I had been carried up or caught up to the Pearly Gates. There was Peter standing before the gates and there were Hanimel and Hannibal or something like that. Two huge angels. Each ten feet tall.

In the dream Peter saw me and he cried out "Steed, Steed." At the same moment there were two men who had arrived with me on my coattails. The two angels saw them and cried out "Thief, Thief." I turned to run with them but somehow the sound of Peters cry stopped me in my tracks and I turned around. He stood there and in a quiet voice said "Remember Los Angeles, remember Atlanta and remember Boston. But especially remember Robbie for he was blessed by your life."

I saw that as the most mysterious of dreams I've had. And I have a lot of them. For I didn't know what was so special about those places. I had been to two of them but never to Boston. And yet the only Robbie I knew was an East Indian friend I had grown up with in a small town called Brooks. We had spent much time together and I thought of him as a very good friend. But time changed us and he got married and I grew sick. And my health prevented me from keeping up with people as I used to.

So what does the dream mean? The answer isn't meant to be seen for a time. It is of God but God isn't ready to reveal it all. But of Peter it can be said that he sees things and he knows things and it is said that he still dreams. And his dream still is to sail the Mediterranean and to find a partner who wants to catch seagulls. He thinks it will be possible with a big net. So if there are laws God will deal with them for one man. Peter. For of all the people of his time no one had that dream. He had read about it in a book he had found.

A book which was written on papyrus and written on a scroll that was discovered by him while on a trip around the area. It wasn't the Dead Sea scrolls. That would be to hard to believe. It was just part of a book left on the beach by someone and probably repented of often. So he took it and read it. It was in Hebrew and it was about a place called the Tales or the Roman Tale. In it he read of the street where the bakery was. And he read of a restaurant that ate seagull and the fact they were delicious. They said they came from a far port in the sea of Agulla. He doesn't know if it still existed for the papyrus was old. But he thought of time and of those who had been with him. And he told many and some thought it was a great idea and others laughed. But he wondered who would go? And no one ever wanted to.

The fact is the dream of the Steed was part of this story. And meant to be of God. For the dream was part of the history of Peter. He never had a horse but he wondered what it would be. Fast and furious and able to maneuver. Yet he had to go look for horses in his time because he was used to boats. So in the dream I had I was called Steed. And a steed is a war horse but it is also a horse that is known for its strength. And it pulls things. So God wanted me to know that I was pulling together things that were of history. Someday I will travel to these cities and someday I will meet Peter. And someday he might share with me a dream and someday I will share with him a story. And he might think that he is dreaming. For the steed was the source of his dream. He needed a horse to carry his boat across the land to the sea. And only a steed had that much strength. And so he wasted years searching for such a creature for the Romans did not part with their knowledge. Until God said "It will come" and it did. A dream and in the dream God said "Someday you will understand." And Peter didn't for a long, long time. Until he awoke in Heaven and said "God, did I make a mistake?" And yet there was no answer because Peter couldn't say "Did you make a mistake."

For God had a long term plan and it meant selling seagulls and selling them from Peters business. Peter was the only man who had asked God at that time for a business selling seagulls. And God figured if men knew how to cook they could sell it by can or by jar because seagull was delicious. Like chicken but perhaps with a slight ocean taste. That in between taste that people long for. And God made seagulls to be eaten just like Penguin and bears. But we of this age may not enjoy it as much as those who are coming. Because Peter wants to make it a profitable business and he wants a prayer partner. And so I was the steed that God saw. I never knew why he called me that though I admit looking it up. I never did figure it out and based on what Peter said figured it meant that I was a war horse for someone who was riding me. Well, that was partly true and it turned out the enemy had tried to use me. But he had failed and God was going to turn it around so that for the first time a man could fight and run. Just as Jesus had to do when he went down to hell and the grave and eventually reached Paradise.

For Paradise was a planet and it was there where those souls were kept who were meant to be of God. And it was there where Sin tried to steal souls. He failed even with a better body. He failed because he had run all the way in his body and couldn't get back across the divide.

So Sin had to be reinstated into men but differently. He went into them in one body and wrote a book on how often he has been to every home in America. And it was during his journey across the plains of Alberta that he happened to hear of a man who was sicker then sick. And darker then dark because death had camped out on our doorstep waiting for someone to die.

The problem is we all refused. Death came in and talked to us every day and we listened but we fell and we fell until finally Death said "Hey, I am not going to be able to help this family. And so Sin is on the way. He wants to try."

So Sin went into the family and tried to steal us away. He came like a plague over the mountains of the earth. He was bigger then big and on his right hand was darkness and on his left hand was suffering. And they were two dragons that followed Sin everywhere. Two dumb jocks. And they both got in trouble for being in the wrong home. For we were a praying family. And we didn't pray a little but we made it the family business. It wasn't a paying business just a steed business. For my dad was the war and I was the horse. He prayed and my mom woke up the dead because every time she came close to death she'd wake us up who were dying. And we listened to her preach a sermon. And so I got involved and got right with God and I tried to pray. I did. I got right with God in a way that prepared me for the coming of Sin.

Now that doesn't make sense but I'm tired of explaining so read my other stuff. Lets just say that Sin got dented. He got buffeted. He got crunched and he got ready to meet God. And it wasn't a happy meeting because God wanted that body he had stolen so he could give it to his son. That was His son and that meant I was one son but Jesus owned the body. Its just that it never occurred to anyone to ask for it back.

So that gives me a prayer subject for tonight. And by the way I need to pray about Peters business as well. That is something that sounds intriguing. It isn't meant to be a huge business and it isn't meant to be full time. Just a family run business. Some people to can and some to jar. And some to sterilize since germs do arise. And some to carry the label to a few small stores in Israel. And perhaps a few other places.

So this story seems to be over only its just beginning. I am writing it as a friend and as a cry from a heart that wants help. I want to be there for these people of the ages. I want to help Peter run after seagulls. Together and separately so I can practice throwing techniques. Or knowing me stopping to look for shells and rocks.

Anyway that's me and I guess sand as well. But there are people who will come and take the seagull and process it as Peters and they will carry a name on the label of who caught what. I get the shells and Peter gets the glory. That's fine but I really do want it to be a success and not just a joke. For a dream is a dream. And sometimes God gives us mysteries showing us what is to come. Not of the rapture but what is to come after when God brings a man home. A man named Peter. Friend of Jesus. Aka The Rock.

May God help us because the world as we know it won't be the same. In a good way. Because a man is going to find out that God has a dream for him. A dream that will come true.