“Who are these who fly like a cloud, and like doves to their roosts?” (Isaiah 60:8)
I believe that 2015 is going to be a significant year in the body of Christ. I’m sure most prophetically motivated people consider every year is a significant year for the Church, and that’s, of course, true. But the Lord showed me some thirty years ago that in 2015 we are approaching a specific ramping up of the supernatural activities that are outlined in this Dove Company that many servant-leaders—myself included—have been talking about in this season of preparation.
I’m not the only one who’s used this term “Dove Company”—for example, the late Bob Jones gave a word specifically using this title, among other prophets—but an initial revelation of this concept was given to my spiritual mother and mentor, Frances Metcalfe, fifty-some years ago. Before she passed away, she shared with me a vision that she had received from the Lord Himself—I mean that in a literal, face-to-face encounter with the King—wherein He specifically called this remnant of people who would arise in the “end-times” (whatever that happens to mean…) the “Dove Company.” Frances talked about these concepts in her teachings (see the Ladies of Gold series, if you’re so inclined) and after she shared this vision with me, I was convinced it was a true revelation.
So what is the Dove Company? In the simplest terms, a group of people in the body of Christ who are pressing in to be used by the Lord as a vehicle for expression and demonstration. That’s pretty basic— we all know there are hundreds of thousands of Christians the world over who are desirous of being used by the Lord in this present age as an empty, earthen vessel for Him to pour through His manifested glory and anointing in the name of signs, wonders and miracles. This is one of the tenants of a charismatic, Spirit-filled believer.
However, I think we are quickly approaching a time (and it starts in 2015 in earnest) wherein the Lord is going to manifest Himself more fully through a specific group of men and women believers in a greater fashion than perhaps has been seen since the early Church, excepting a handful of revival expressions throughout the centuries.
This goes beyond yielding our members to Christ in order to administer healings, breakthroughs, and personal prophetic ministry—which is not to demean anything we’ve seen in the past—far from it! Praise the Lord for what He has done in the past in the name of ministry through His saints! I am speaking of a time of exponential increase, an explosive manifestation of God’s grace. A point of time in which groups of people come into a deeper revelation of what it means to be a son and daughter of God.
This isn’t the traditional “manifest sons of God” (Romans 8:19) teaching that was prevalent back in the Fifties—though I think those sincere men and women of God were perceiving aspects of this Dove Company back then. Nevertheless, note that I am not speaking of becoming demigods or anything ridiculous like that. The singular greatest aspect to this Dove Company release is rooted in a “dying to self” notion, being crucified in Christ. (Galatians 2:20) It’s not us; it’s Christ living in us, and us decreasing (John 3:30) to a point where we are so hid in Christ
(Colossians 3:30) that we step aside, so to speak, so that Christ can manifest Himself through us. That is the manifestation of the sons of God.
And yet, I am also convinced that the Lord wants to work through us in an even greater level than perhaps we’ve seen in times past. The Dove Company is being raised up not only to operate as Christ operated while on the earth, in the name of signs, wonders and miracles—it goes beyond imitating God, as vital and important as that is! (Ephesians 5:1) But rather, we are being positioned, while undergoing the fires of testings and the crushing of the Spirit in our soulish lives, to be so humbled and yielded to our Lord that we might even manifest Christ Himself. The distinction is working with Christ to duplicate His actions in heaven on this earth and allowing Christ Himself to work through us. It is subtle revelation yet nonetheless profound.
Now, keep all of the above statements in the context of “dying to self.” Space fails me to elaborate on this here as well as I would like, but I encourage you to check out some of my writings on these notions, so that you can maintain a balanced perspective in what I am proclaiming is swiftly approaching, starting this coming new year.
The Lord is fashioning a generation that is prepared to know what it means to manifest the presence of God in a way that has not often been seen in times past. To have glory encounters, to be “caught up in the Spirit,” rapturous (even translation) encounters—these experiences change the person. It comes from a heightened level of intimacy with the Lord. They will know what it means to be “in the Spirit”—a visionary people, a seeing people, a people that hears the voice of God. Signs, wonders and miracles are a byproduct of these intimate encounters with the Lord, orchestrated and initiated only by His Spirit.
Ministers have offered many terms for this expression: the Third Pull of the Spirit, the Army of the Lord, etc., but I like the Dove Company. It was for this reason that my wife and I felt led by the Spirit to change the name of our ministry earlier this year—to be a voice for this Dove Company hopefully, to play a role in the demonstration and provide an example, only by the grace of God, to assist in the development of this company, of which we are now seeing many forerunners being birthed. Of course, this does not exclude the notion that there has always been a remnant, a church within the church, a group of men and women on whom the Lord has put an excellent spirit (Daniel 5:12)—those who push a little harder, press in a little deeper, consumed with the zeal and fire of the Lord, those who seek the kingdom of God in a violent, radical manner. (Matthew 11:12)
These Christians are not better people, of course, but throughout the course of church history there has always been a select remainder of people who are willing to pay any price in order to see the manifestation of God. I believe we are seeing an exponential increase in this type of behavior throughout the world. We will start recognizing this shift starting next year. It’s truly an exciting time to be living for the Lord!
One of the key expressions we will see being ramped up is in the realm of “special miracles.” (Acts 19:11) That might seem like a superfluous adjective; aren’t all miracles “special”? Yes, after a fashion. But what God did through the hands of Paul in Acts 19 was unusual even in the realm of the miraculous. The Greek word there is interesting, a double negative meaning “no way, certainly not happening by chance.” I’ve heard it translated as a superlative “extraordinary extraordinaries.”
The thing that biblical scholars bring out about “special miracles” is the geographical location that was involved. The miracles were for a specific place: Ephesus, which means “permitted” (as in “everything goes, it’s permitted”—the height of hedonism and humanism.) Due to the worship of the goddess Diana, Ephesus was grossly inundated with a spirit of seduction. It took the special miracles wrought through the hands of Paul to tear down that tyranny and shock the people into awareness that the true power of God famished any demonic or fleshly encounters the people of Ephesus experienced as a result of ritual fornication in the name of idol worship. They could actually feel something occurring under the apostle’s hands that awakened them out of their carnal enchantment
Something extraordinary was extended in the local proximity of Ephesus that was beyond measure. I define special miracles as miracles that obtain or secure a region and object to and end a particular spiritual regime. No longer would that type of demon worship be “permitted” without being challenged by Paul. Acts 19 goes on to show that the Ephesians brought their amulets, charms, various articles and books and burned them at his feet. Something was unveiled, and they understood. There was something established there, a covering of God.
Can you imagine if a group of on-fire Dove Company members were operating like that in your city? Imagine the change! Imagine the spiritual shift in the very atmosphere! I am convinced we are at the threshold of seeing this type of manifestation.
This is an excellent word. Let’s get excited and cry out to God to change us and change nations!!