Communion – Part One

 Guest post by Shorttribber: 

Ok…where to start……back in around 1986 I think, the Lord put it in my heart to begin having the communion supper at home, in private, just me and Him.

So I did, and it was wonderful. He then led me to begin studying aspects and details regarding the communion supper and how we could incorporate His Table with prayer and intercession for the lost, the body of Christ in general, and for my own personal struggles.

About six months or so later I think, I found myself moved from the suburbs of Detroit into a very rundown area of the city of Detroit itself, not downtown, just a grimy area where I got involved with an inner-city small outreach church.  So, I began having my communion supper with the Lord almost daily, and on one of those times, the vision that the painting represents occurred.

The account of the vision is as follows.

The coffee table being used as an alter was candle lit and sort of halfway through the supper I think….I still had a fairly large amount of bread and juice out on it as I remember.

Anyway, I was kneeling down in a kind of crunched up ball sort of posture with my hands closed clasped together in the middle of my forehead, hands on the ground and facing away from the table.  (I’m giving detail of my bodily position because it is relevant to the rest of the vision)

As I was praying and interceding there I began to see in front of me, the red, orange and yellowish coals on the top of the alter of incense, also the scent of it was present. At first it seems my head was nearly over the top of it and very close….I don’t remember feeling any heat from it though.

My eyes were still shut, so it was not an open vision so to speak, purely something being seen in my mind only I guess you could say.  Anyway, after being in that position for just a few moments I found that it no longer felt as though i was kneeling on the floor, I still was, it’s just that the feeling of the floor was no longer there.  Also, my hands that were clasped in the centre of my forehead now felt as though they were on each side of my head, about the area of my temples and each hand fist-like and sort of acting like blinders due to their position.

I began to be drawn back and upward away from the alter of incense slowly and at the same time began to be tilted up slightly so that the alter remained in my view while moving up and away to just about maybe I was ten or twelve feet from it.

Then, after reaching that distance I stopped and remained in that position for just a few seconds. The only light for my vision was emanating from the coals on the altar so I couldn’t see anything else until I began to be tilled up enough to where I was looking straight ahead.  I was still in that same crunched up, sort of fetal position. The very top of the alter of incense was still in view at the very bottom like you see in the painting, but again, the only light was from the coals so it was much darker in the vision.

After being tilted up as I said before i just watched the smoke rising from it there for a while, then, back in the distance, maybe about the same distance away on the other side of the alter, I could see a goldish outline of what I knew was the Ark of the Covenant back in what seemed to be, due to the darkness, sort of a cave like area.  The ragged edges of the rent veil were very dark, just black shadows but I knew what they were.

After looking at all these things, keeping my hands in that fist-like position still, for some reason I felt as though i should not move a muscle, even the slightest bit. While watching the smoke rise up there I could see the smoke begin to move about a little like a little wind was moving it around and then it started to form the shape of Christ on the cross.  The horizontal crossbar was just even in line with the outstretched wings of the cherubim’s there on the Ark so that He was positioned directly above the Mercy Seat.

After watching that for about seven or eight seconds, I started to float slowly and in a straight line toward and then eventually over the top of the Alter of Incense heading toward the rent veil, I could still smell the incense as I headed that direction, I had the very strong feeling that I should not look to the left or right as I passed through the rent veil, I remember wanting to but I had a much stronger sense to keep looking straight ahead.  Being now past the alter and just about going through the rent veil my own shadow blocked any light from the coals so now everything was completely dark and i could see virtually nothing.

I kept moving forward slowly until I felt the cold metal of the wings of the cherubim press against my forehead. My thought was odd at that point because I remember thinking “I know the wings are supposed to be touching each other so it must be that I am one feather or suchlike thing back from where the tips of them actually touch”.

Now this is when i began to hear the very strained and difficult breathing of Christ on the cross….it sounded as though there was a lot of water and blood in his lungs and….He was choking on it…it’s hard to type right now……………..I can’t tell this or type it without remembering it, and my tears are taking over.  I held my breath so I could hear only His.  Then, I could hear another One breathing, quickly and sort of grief stricken in manner….I knew that was Our Father……His Father.  And then a great sound of a rushing wind drawing slowly and loudly in and out…..of course, it was The Holy Spirit.   As I was listening and weeping there, trying not to breath, though I could not help it because of my tears……..the sound of all the breathing slowly faded away along with the vision and I felt myself back on the floor and in the position I began in.

I asked of God why he did show me that vision…..He said “You’ll understand later”.

I finished there at His table that night but it was several years later that He did show me the “why” of the vision.  I’ll share that next okay?

There is a good reason to share this now I think….sorry it’s so long you guys.

I’ll post the reason tomorrow okay?