Pastor Morten Gravdal, had a vision, a prophecy about the Norwegian Church, 40 years ago! Read his story and watch him tell it in the video.
We were a prayer group during my studies at MF that called ourselves “Group for Spiritual Renewal”. I had photography as a hobby, and was used to developing pictures in darkrooms. This was around 1980 – before anyone knew what digital photography was.
First picture
During a meeting we had in the prayer room one evening, a message came in tongues. No one had the interpretation right away. In the silence after the tongue message, it was just as if an image was developed in my head, like an image emerges in developing fluid in the darkroom: It was the image of a train. The train was going through a landscape at great speed. It had been a long time since a train had run on the tracks, and both trees and large rocks had fallen onto the tracks. But at the front of the locomotive was a large plow. This plow swept everything on the tracks aside. Even in places where there had been landslides (and it looked dangerous), the plow swept the tracks clean, and the train did not lose any of its speed. Then I saw that the plow was an open book. The steam locomotive did not emit smoke, so I understood that it was not the power from the engine that was driving the train forward. What was driving the train forward was that the people on the train were reading the book – and believing what was written there! People leaned out of the windows, their hair blowing and tears in their eyes because of the wind. They were cheering because it was going so fast!
Next picture
The train was standing still. It was at a station. The plow – the book – had been dismantled and was lying on top of one of the carriages. There were train drivers and conductors and people in railway caps and uniforms with stars and stripes. They read a little in the book, and they cut and glued, - they took away what they couldn't fit. They tore out whole pages of the book, and they didn't do anything to put the plow back in place. Some wondered why the train didn't run. Most were happy that it was standing, they got on and off just as it fit. This train is of course the church and the assembly of Christians. The book is the Bible. The power of the Bible lies in the fact that Christians read the Bible - and believe what it says! When Christians do that, the church will move forward. The church has the potential to move forward at breakneck speed, it will happen when Christians read the Bible, and what is in the Bible is allowed to shape the lives of Christians. This was a picture I got almost 40 years ago, - and if this was true then, it is certainly true now! The central and leading theologians and bishops cut and paste the Word of God in such a way that there is nothing left. Liberal theology means that the Bible is no longer considered a Holy Book. I think God is annoyed! Possibly even worse: He is angry! And He challenges us to put the plow back on the train! The whole Word of God must be placed before the eyes of the church people and the Christian congregation – and it must shape our lives, cleanse us and sanctify us! Then the church in Norway can begin to move again! Perhaps the picture was a prophecy for our time? It has been a long time since a train has run on the tracks in Norway. It has been a long time since we have had a revival! Many rocks and trees have fallen on the tracks, and there have been several landslides. It may seem impossible that a train can move on a track that is in such poor condition. But – the Bible tells us that we believe in a God for whom nothing is impossible – does it not?! Let's put the plow back on the train!
Source: Bønnelista's YouTube channel