From: JohntheBaptistTV.com… (Andrew Strom)
THE SONS of THUNDER & the “NEW MUSIC”
-by James Ryle.
ANDREW STROM: When I heard the following dreams, they literally affected me more than any visions or prophecies I have ever heard…
Some people don’t like us publishing these things, but the Bible clearly says that “In the last days, says God, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh… Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17). Dreams and visions from God can be important. They are all the way through the book of Acts. We dismiss them at our peril.
To continue – My wife and I are both musicians (-we now perform with our daughters who harmonize beautifully). For many years we have been strongly drawn to, and inspired by, the example of the Revival “street music” of the early Salvation Army. In 1989 we formed our first “street-band”, seeking God for the mighty ‘Repentance’ anointing that the early Salvationists had. We were real “Street Music/ Street Revival” type people. So when I first heard a tape of this ‘Sons of Thunder’ message years later in 1993, I just wept, as I had never before heard such powerful confirmation of all this. The anointing of God was so strong. May the following overview by James Ryle be as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me.
THE SONS of THUNDER – A SYNOPSIS of DREAMS -by James Ryle.
The following insight occurred to me in August 1990 as a result of three dreams. In the first dream I saw a flatbed trailer with a curtain behind it. This trailer was parked at a fairground, as if a concert was about to happen. There were two guitars on the mobile stage. The color of these guitars was the most vivid, electric blue that one could imagine. What impressed me most was that the guitars were not painted, but stained. It had obviously taken time to make them blue. The curtain was the same color as the guitars. Two men walked from behind the curtain with sheet music in their hands. They were very excited, and could hardly wait to play this music. One said to the other, “Wait till they hear this. Its going to be just like when the Beatles played their music!” In the dream I also became excited. I turned to see the crowd that was gathering at the stage and the scene changed before my eyes. The audience became a vast body of water, like a lake, and as the musicians played the new song I saw fishing lines cast out into the water. The dream ended. My waking thoughts were that God is about to release a new kind of song in the streets. It will bring a revelation of the truth and it will usher people into His presence. The anointing of the Lord will be with musicians who have spent time in God’s presence “behind the curtain” receiving a deep love for the lost. The lyrics of their songs will be as “fishing lines” cast into the hearts of men and women needing Christ.
In the second dream, I was on the stage in a large church. There was an equipment room on the right side of the stage. It had microphones, cables, amplifiers and other kinds of things that collect in closets. In one corner of the room I saw a power amplifier covered with dust. The cord was wrapped about it, and it had not been used for a long time. When I looked closer I saw written on the front, “The Beatles Power Amp.” I knew in that moment that this box was the source of their sound and their power. I knew that anyone could plug into this box and, in effect, have what the Beatles had – an incredible ability to mobilize masses of people to a single thing. As I stood there holding the Beatles power amplifier, I asked aloud this question, “What is this doing here in the Church’s equipment room?” Suddenly I was out of the equipment room and standing behind the pulpit at this church, still holding the amp. The enormous church, throughout the main floor and all about the balcony, was packed with people from every nation. A very beautiful woman, radiant with a glow of glory, stood in the middle of the church and began singing a song from the Lord. A light shone upon her and her voice filled the auditorium. All she sang was: “In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord we say unto you, be saved.” She sang it over and over. She would turn to her right and sing, then turn to her left and sing; then she would turn behind her and before her and sing the same thing. As I watched her sing, it was like a wind blowing on a wheat field. The people began to swoon in the presence of God and then collapse in their seats — converted to Christ! God’s power was moving through the music. The dream ended.
My thoughts upon waking were clear. There is going to be a new sound and distinctive anointing from the Lord upon music that will turn the heads and capture the hearts of men and women for Jesus. The reason the Beatles power Amp was in the Church’s equipment room is because God meant for it to be a part of the church’s equipment in reaching the lost for Christ. Music does not belong to the world, but to the Church. Music does not belong to the Devil, but to Christ. Satan has indeed stolen the hearts of musicians and their gift of music to use for his own evil purposes. The Church in many cases has unwittingly surrendered this to the devil without any fight at all. Music was given to worship the Lord but Satan has turned it for self-worship, which is the reason people tend to worship musicians. But true worship and true music belong to Jesus Christ. They are given to His church to serve Him with. I truly believe the anointing the Lord will release on music is going to sweep the world in a manner like the Beatles did when they first performed. But instead of drawing attention to themselves (like the Beatles did), the anointed musicians of the Lord will draw attention to Christ alone and give Him all the glory.
In the third dream I was again in the large church where I had seen the amplifier. This time the church was empty except for one man. He was up on stage playing a keyboard and singing to the Lord. It was a beautiful song, and he was crying because of the tender exchange taking place between he and Jesus. He was writing the song right there, spontaneously making it up as he went. I was greatly moved by this song and the man’s pure worship. I had a camera with me and decided to take a picture of this to remember it. I took two Polaroid pictures that came out immediately. When I looked at these pictures I was stunned because both of them were glowing with a golden light. I looked up and then I could see it on the man. The entire platform around him was also glowing like gold. I knew that this was the anointing of God. I showed the man, but it startled him…He looked at the pictures for a second, putting his hands in his pockets he shrugged his shoulders and kicked the ground shyly. “Gosh, I didn’t know you were here, I’m so embarrassed” was all he could say. “You don’t have to apologize for the anointing” I replied. The dream changed. I still had the two photographs of the anointed worshipper in one hand, and in the other I held a parchment. I looked at the scroll and saw it was a letter written by an unknown soldier in the Salvation Army. It said, “The Lord will release into the streets an army of worshipping warriors known as the Sons of Thunder. They will bring forth a witness of worship and praise for the Lord Jesus Christ that will bring many people to God.”
The dream changed once more. I was floating over a wide and long highway that headed in one direction. All lanes were completely grid-locked, jam packed with motorcycle gang members, revving their engines and stirring up dust. It was a graphic picture of lost humanity. Then I saw a group of bikers moving in single file along the service road. They were headed for a field in the distance where there was a monolithic stone. This stone, I knew in the dream, represented the power of Christ and would empower those who touched it to go back to the highway and turn masses of lost people back to God. I looked closer at these motorcyclists as the sped toward the Stone, and saw on their jackets the words “Sons of Thunder.”
As the Sons of Thunder approached the Stone to touch it, a barricade of law officers stood arm to arm in riot gear, opposing the motorcyclists – assuming they were intent on defacing the Stone.
At that moment, I took the parchment in my hand and folded it like a paper airplane. I then placed the photographs inside it and tossed it sail over the heads of the officers. I knew that if the pictures and the promise were to touch the Stone, then the power would be released upon the Sons of Thunder. When the paper was one foot away from the monument, just before actually touching the Stone, my dream ended. I believe this portrays the role of intercessory prayer in helping the Church get past the barricades of legalism, and open the gifts of God for reaching the lost with the message of Christ. The Sons of Thunder, represented by motorcyclists on the service road, illustrate the servantheart of ministry. They also show the agility and decisiveness necessary in reaching the lost. The fact that they were in single file shows, in my opinion, the unity we must maintain as Christians in order for our message about Christ to have credibility…
Now, I extend to you a prayer that God will capture your heart and bring you into full devotion to Christ Jesus. That your passion for music will be equaled by your love for the lost. I pray that you will receive an anointing from God to minister with artistic creativity that is so compelling in its quality, and in its message – that thousands of unbelievers who are lost in darkness will see the light and turn to Jesus to be cleansed and born again!
ANDREW’s COMMENT: In pondering these dreams, it struck me that the name “Sons of Thunder” was used by Jesus for a reason. To me, when he called 2 of his disciples the ‘Sons of Thunder’ it seemed to be because they had this piercing “John the Baptist”- type attitude. “Repentance prophets”. Notice in the dream that the “law officers” were not allowing the Sons of Thunder to get to the ‘Stone’. James Ryle once told me that this Stone actually looked like a long tall “monolith”. It struck me that this was probably the “church” as it has been built up today. The law officers were not allowing the Sons of Thunder to get anywhere near the church. Their message was “not welcome”. And yet somehow it seemed that this new “anointed music” and this “early Salvation Army” approach would somehow gain them access.
Again, I realize that there are some who dislike us publishing these types of dreams and visions, but after years of prayer and “wilderness”, our family is about to release an album of what – to us – is “New Music” unlike what we have ever done before. (More “harmonies” and hopefully ‘catchier’ songs). We have no idea what the reaction will be. Is it more “anointed” in some way? We hope so – but truthfully we do not know. However, I’ll tell you something that I do feel strongly:- Music can open doors and gain us an audience with people that might otherwise never listen. And that – at the very least – is something to look forward to. We have been on this trail for years – well before we even heard of these dreams. But hopefully they will serve as “confirmation” to many who are called into this area.
-Please comment on these visions of the “New Music” below-
God bless you all.
Andrew Strom.
