Outpouring in Japan
Painted in Osaka, 2014
Acts 2:17 "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams."
When I was asked to do a prophetic piece of art for Japan, I felt the Holy Spirit ask me to paint from this verse. This was painted during the first time Caryn Beth and I ministered in Japan, and I felt very drawn to call out and awaken the inheritance that this verse promises to all of us—and very definitely to the people of Japan-- in these days.
There is a lot of symbolism in this painting. First of all, as I looked closely at the verse, it is clear that what is prophesied is about the “last days.” So I made the setting one of almost night-time--to symbolize the lateness of the day.
Next, the verse speaks of an outpouring, specifically an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is symbolized by water throughout scripture, so I painted a downpour of rain, and placed a dove, to represent the Holy Spirit, as the highest thing in the design. If you look closely, the sky is full of rain-drops, the ground is wet and the people are splashing in the water of the outpoured Holy Spirit.
Through this painting, I speak prophetically, with scripture as a solid foundation, and say, Japan will be flooded with the Holy Spirit! And those who want this outpouring can enter into a life of great joy!
In the center of the painting is the figure of Yeshua. He is looking up with great exuberance, welcoming the outpouring. He is identified by the scars of the nails in His wrists. His joy comes from remembering when He was baptized and the Holy Spirit came down on Him like a dove and He heard the voice of His Father, saying: "This is my dearly loved Son. With Him I am very pleased." This is the great joy that comes to those on whom the Holy Spirit pours out--through the Holy Spirit they are able to call God, "Abba!", and they too get to hear the Father's voice, declaring His love for them and His pleasure over who they are!
I positioned Yeshua in the middle of the crowd of people because His name, Emmanuel, reveals that God is very near to us and is a part of our every day.
Three things in the painting are done in the color red: the center of the flag of Japan, the red nail prints on Yeshua, and the words of the text of Joel 2, written in the beautiful characters of the Japanese language. This was deliberately to connect in the spirit the work of Yeshua to purchase, with His blood, a bride from the people of Japan.
Proverbs 29:18 says, "The people without a vision perish." Acts 2:17 quotes the prophet Joel stating that both the old people and the young people will be given prophetic vision from the Holy Spirit. If you perish without vision, the opposite of perishing would be to be very alive: so these people on whom the Holy Spirit is pouring out--I have painted them very alive, dancing with the joy of abundant life that Yeshua purchased for them. For He says: "I have come so that you may have life to the fullest possible extent! I have come so that you may be very, very alive!" (John 10:10)
The dancing illustrated in the painting is symbolic of the scripture that says, "The Lord is Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). It is a symbol of breaking off the weight of oppression, depression, and the controlling influence of a religious spirit.
The great joy and happiness in the painting also comes from the freedom of realizing that our happiness does not depend any longer on how smart we are, how tall we are, how wealthy we are, etc. Our happiness comes from connection to the heart of God through the effect of the Holy Spirit's outpouring on us. There is a great freedom in this--we do not have to strive any longer to try and be better than everyone else; we do not have to work harder to gain acceptance; what we need is to be very deliberately entering into life with the Holy Spirit. The pressure to find acceptance is replaced with the knowledge of perfect love, carried to us by the Holy Spirit.
Another important symbolic element of the painting is the white eagle sitting on Yeshua's left hand. This is symbolic of the spirit of prophecy. Acts 2:17 and 18 points out the connection between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the action of prophesying. This promise is for us to know that God wants us to have access to the spirit of prophecy during these days.
The eagle is white, representing purity, which is so important to the prophetic flow. And the white eagle's mouth is open, because it is testifying about Yeshua. Revelation 19:10 says that "the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy." In this painting, I am repeating the promise of scripture, that the Holy Spirit is awakening the spirit of prophecy in Japan, for the strengthening, comfort, and encouragement of His Bride in their nation (1 Cor. 14:3).
I placed the flag of Japan in the painting, for this is a prophetic word for this nation. May Japan be soaked in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. A final element I want to point out is the ballet dancer, carrying the flag of Japan in the outpouring. She is not in the front of the picture, and is almost hidden. This is because the work of carrying the outpouring will often take place in hidden places where no one will be given credit, and the praise of men will not be your motivation.
Also, ballet dancers are a clear picture of grace, beauty, and flexibility. Those who bring Japan into the outpouring of the Holy Spirit must do so with grace and flexibility. A ballet dancer seems to be an expression of the purely feminine nature; so it is that those who carry Japan into the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these days will be an expression of the pure virgins, whose lamps are full of oil in these last days (Mathew 25:1-13).
When I was asked to do a prophetic piece of art for Japan, I felt the Holy Spirit ask me to paint from this verse. This was painted during the first time Caryn Beth and I ministered in Japan, and I felt very drawn to call out and awaken the inheritance that this verse promises to all of us—and very definitely to the people of Japan-- in these days.
There is a lot of symbolism in this painting. First of all, as I looked closely at the verse, it is clear that what is prophesied is about the “last days.” So I made the setting one of almost night-time--to symbolize the lateness of the day.
Next, the verse speaks of an outpouring, specifically an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is symbolized by water throughout scripture, so I painted a downpour of rain, and placed a dove, to represent the Holy Spirit, as the highest thing in the design. If you look closely, the sky is full of rain-drops, the ground is wet and the people are splashing in the water of the outpoured Holy Spirit.
Through this painting, I speak prophetically, with scripture as a solid foundation, and say, Japan will be flooded with the Holy Spirit! And those who want this outpouring can enter into a life of great joy!
In the center of the painting is the figure of Yeshua. He is looking up with great exuberance, welcoming the outpouring. He is identified by the scars of the nails in His wrists. His joy comes from remembering when He was baptized and the Holy Spirit came down on Him like a dove and He heard the voice of His Father, saying: "This is my dearly loved Son. With Him I am very pleased." This is the great joy that comes to those on whom the Holy Spirit pours out--through the Holy Spirit they are able to call God, "Abba!", and they too get to hear the Father's voice, declaring His love for them and His pleasure over who they are!
I positioned Yeshua in the middle of the crowd of people because His name, Emmanuel, reveals that God is very near to us and is a part of our every day.
Three things in the painting are done in the color red: the center of the flag of Japan, the red nail prints on Yeshua, and the words of the text of Joel 2, written in the beautiful characters of the Japanese language. This was deliberately to connect in the spirit the work of Yeshua to purchase, with His blood, a bride from the people of Japan.
Proverbs 29:18 says, "The people without a vision perish." Acts 2:17 quotes the prophet Joel stating that both the old people and the young people will be given prophetic vision from the Holy Spirit. If you perish without vision, the opposite of perishing would be to be very alive: so these people on whom the Holy Spirit is pouring out--I have painted them very alive, dancing with the joy of abundant life that Yeshua purchased for them. For He says: "I have come so that you may have life to the fullest possible extent! I have come so that you may be very, very alive!" (John 10:10)
The dancing illustrated in the painting is symbolic of the scripture that says, "The Lord is Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:17). It is a symbol of breaking off the weight of oppression, depression, and the controlling influence of a religious spirit.
The great joy and happiness in the painting also comes from the freedom of realizing that our happiness does not depend any longer on how smart we are, how tall we are, how wealthy we are, etc. Our happiness comes from connection to the heart of God through the effect of the Holy Spirit's outpouring on us. There is a great freedom in this--we do not have to strive any longer to try and be better than everyone else; we do not have to work harder to gain acceptance; what we need is to be very deliberately entering into life with the Holy Spirit. The pressure to find acceptance is replaced with the knowledge of perfect love, carried to us by the Holy Spirit.
Another important symbolic element of the painting is the white eagle sitting on Yeshua's left hand. This is symbolic of the spirit of prophecy. Acts 2:17 and 18 points out the connection between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the action of prophesying. This promise is for us to know that God wants us to have access to the spirit of prophecy during these days.
The eagle is white, representing purity, which is so important to the prophetic flow. And the white eagle's mouth is open, because it is testifying about Yeshua. Revelation 19:10 says that "the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy." In this painting, I am repeating the promise of scripture, that the Holy Spirit is awakening the spirit of prophecy in Japan, for the strengthening, comfort, and encouragement of His Bride in their nation (1 Cor. 14:3).
I placed the flag of Japan in the painting, for this is a prophetic word for this nation. May Japan be soaked in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. A final element I want to point out is the ballet dancer, carrying the flag of Japan in the outpouring. She is not in the front of the picture, and is almost hidden. This is because the work of carrying the outpouring will often take place in hidden places where no one will be given credit, and the praise of men will not be your motivation.
Also, ballet dancers are a clear picture of grace, beauty, and flexibility. Those who bring Japan into the outpouring of the Holy Spirit must do so with grace and flexibility. A ballet dancer seems to be an expression of the purely feminine nature; so it is that those who carry Japan into the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these days will be an expression of the pure virgins, whose lamps are full of oil in these last days (Mathew 25:1-13).