The Lily

Bob Neumann, 1997?

Dear Friends, The past two weeks I have had time to spend with the LORD because my expensive computer refused to run. After much time and aggravation it is working for a short time. While I was delivered from these distractions I was given a great gift which I pass on to you.

The Lily - Vision

In the middle of the night I had a vision. I saw a 'man' standing in “emptiness”. There was no background. No directional lighting was distinguished. And when I approached to an arms length HE stretched out His Hand and I “heard” this word.... “BEHOLD...” In His Hand was a Lily. I saw it, but His Hand was not touching the flower. It was hanging suspended in the air. The “Man” was cloaked and hooded and I had the impression of being 'Attired for travel'. And of His Hand, I could just see the fingers extended beyond the cloak. Yet my spirit rejoiced for I “knew” that Hand that 'caressed' the flower.

So my eyes slowly moved from My Master's Hand to this flower. A Beautiful Lily suspended before me in time and space. And it had a luminescent glow as it reflected My Master's Glory.

At first glance it was truly a beautiful flower. A single open bloom on a straight, simple stem. Every leaf and every petal was perfect. Simple symmetry obedient to the Divine Pattern placed in a “Seed.” Each leaf gave testimony to the Creator's Wisdom as veins lay in pattern in submission to His Will. The Trumpet stood open white and pure. Yet it was not a “True” white each petal was ribbed. At the edge of each petal the white only could be seen, but as you followed each rib back to the root of each petal, there was vivid living color. Some ribs were definitely violet while others were lavender and lilac.

Some petals were in shades of red from scarlet to crimson. And some were blue, from cyan to cobalt. At the very center of the Trumpet all these colors merged and from that intersection the Lily's internal structures arose, golden and living in His light.

And I reached out to the flower and barely stroked the petals with the tips of my fingers. And a sense of “fragility” flooded me. The tenderness and vulnerability overwhelmed me. Yet His peace and His presence was also there. And I found myself pulling away from the flower. Such a precious and beautiful thing could be only soiled and bruised by “human” hands.

And again in my spirit I heard, “Behold!”

I watched the Lily and nothing seemed to happen, and as I watched and waited a faint delicate scent filled my spirit. Slowly I began to take long deep breaths, pulling the “perfume” deep into my spirit. And the awareness that I had “smelled” this before.

“Behold, My Bride” He whispered in a flood of pure 'Agape' impossible to describe. Immediately everything in and of me was wrenched and riveted upon My Master. Once again I looked upon the Glorious One. My King, My Captain, My Beloved. In His right hand was a rod of glistening black metal, that sent a freezing chill through me. Never before had I seen the “Rod of Iron”. And the chill only increased as I heard a slow laugh escape his smiling lips.

Now I realized the fragrance of the Lily completely saturated my spirit. With a slight gesture of His open left hand my eyes were drawn once again to where the Lily had been, suspended in time and space. But now knelt a young woman incased in the same material the My Master's Robe was made.

It was the purest white, but like the flower the Holy colors of the Tabernacle flowed “inward”. And like the flower the sense of delicacy and purity knelt before me. She was clothed in many sheer layers that covered her entire body. Her face was covered by a number of veils.

While the fragrance was pervasive, I suddenly become aware of the silence all around me. And slowly I lifted my eyes to His face and marveled. The broad and radiant smile was replaced by a solid grin that was mirrored in the laughter in His eyes. And with regal gesture He brought His left hand to His Heart and swept it down toward His Bride.

There was no great revelation here. I have known her a very long time it seems. “Daughter of Zion”, I spoke and she lifted her face to me. Through the veils all I could see were her eyes. And yes, they were His eyes. One and the same. And with the grace of a ballerina she lifted her arms to me and I helped her to her feet. And once she stood she placed her head on my chest and just held me.

To go any farther is difficult. She was so tiny and so vulnerable. Yet the familiarity was there. And I looked again to the King of Glory as He stood quietly.

“Little Sister”, I spoke clearly. And as she stepped back and looked up into my face her hands once again in mine. “Behold your Bridegroom.” As she turned toward Him He opened His arms and they embraced.

While she seemed so tiny to me, she seemed taller in His arms. Don't ask me to explain. I could stop here, but this was how the vision would have ended if it had been up to me. But it wasn't and it isn't.

The next thing I noticed was that I was in a vast field. I guess it was a wheat field. The wheat was obviously ready to harvest because the heads were heavy and bending over. But I also noticed the weeds among the wheat. The sense of time has run out; came through my mind. In the area just before my eyes there was the Lily among the wheat and the tares. The flower's trumpet was almost half-open and the color was clearly evident.

And the realization became clear that the King must be coming within the hour. And then I heard His Voice.

“What you do on My behalf you will do in the face of your enemy. But what you do for yourself will be for My Father's eyes only. Let your giving, your prayers, your fasting be hidden from the eyes of man lest your reward be here and now and not eternal.”

Once again I looked at the single lily.

“Behold My Bride, and I have clothed Her in My righteousness. As the grass and the grain have but a short season, so has My Bride awaited Her Season.”

“But watch now and bear witness to what men do.”

And suddenly I saw many hands reach for the Lily just as the Trumpet opened fully. And with seething anger I watched them pull off the leaves and paint the stem. I watched the petals receive brush stroke after brush stroke and suddenly there it was.

A Gilded Lily.

The paint looked like gold, but there was no scent. The fragile beauty was covered by hard, cold, lifeless paint. What was a unique treasure that bore testimony to the Loving Hand of a Creator God was now replaced by a faux substitute. And I wondered, “why?” The handiwork of God improved upon by “man”?

And my spirit spoke “Times and Seasons.” There is a time and season to every purpose under heaven. And the realization hit me that man can not accept the Divine Order of things. So by “Gilding the Lily” they substituted to insure longevity because they do not understand eternity. Nor do they understand God. For they failed to see His Hand and His perfection. So they can not seek His Kingdom. And they refuse His righteousness and create an alternative.

“Consider the lilies of the field.” spoke the Most Holy Spirit, “how they grow...” The Lily/Bride is a sovereign work of a living and Holy God. It grows free and independent of the wheat and the tares. “They toil not, nor do they spin...” because ABBA has chosen they shall be. By His Word, by His Will, by His Grace and His Glory.

“Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” No, not even old Solomon understood God. The wisest, wealthiest, most powerful man who ever lived missed God and said that all was vanity. Yet it was in his writings all this seems to hinge on and around. And once again I stood in the field and looked at the Lily surrounded by the wheat and tares. Darkness had fallen and the flower was completely open. And in my spirit I heard. “I AM THE LILY OF THE VALLEYS, I AM THE ROSE OF SHARON.”

“As the lily among the thorns, so is My Love among the daughters.” As I turned toward the voice of my Master I began to laugh. In armor and prepared for battle. As I began to drop to my knees before Him, He grabbed my shoulders and lifted me off my feet. Holding me at arms length He laughed. And slowly pulled me into His embrace. The unmistakable sound of metal grating against metal was heard under His laughter.

As we separated we turned again toward the Lily. And I watched as the Mighty Lion of the Tribe of Judah reached down and plucked the Lily. And once again there was the Bride and the field was now the Throne Room and before me was ABBA sitting upon the Throne of Heaven. As I bowed before Him he made a quick gesture and I stepped to His side. At His right hand stood the Bridegroom and His Beloved for whom He paid a great price. But now she stood shoulder to shoulder with My King dressed in shimmering gold.

I sat down at His feet and with His left hand ABBA touched my head. As I looked into the eyes of the Ancient of Days, all that I had witnessed churned in my spirit. “Son, in one act of love and obedience two precious things occurred. Mankind was redeemed and a Bride was purchased.”

Once again I saw the Two Edged Sword in my mind.

“Yes son, Images and patterns within sequences for any who has eyes to see, and ears to hear. All you need do is to ask.”

As ABBA turned toward His Son and the Bride I snapped out of the eternal and back to the now.

Even as I write this I ponder what I saw and how it will play out in the days ahead. So I leave it in the hands and hearts of all who may read this. I will hold my interpretations for those who will ask. But I offer two important points of advice.

Don't mix metaphors. Do not combine images to force a pattern.

And distinguish between dialogue and narration.

May you be blessed

bob in Miami