December 10th, 2001

I experienced the following vision:

I saw a pen filled with animals that at first appeared to consist only of sheep. I also saw people in this pen who had the appearance of a shepherd. The Lord was also in this pen. He had what appeared to be a stick or branch in His hand.

I watched as the group of people who appeared to be shepherds wandered in and out amongst the animals. I was puzzled to see that at times, there was a distance between the shepherds and the sheep. Many of the shepherds seemed to be trying to get closer to the animals, but the animals would shy away from them. This appeared to upset and trouble the shepherds.

The Lord placed Himself in the middle of the pen. The group of shepherds joined the Lord and stood with Him. The Lord began to speak softly and gently to the animals in the pen. The Lord held the stick horizontally in front of Himself at waist level. One by one, the animals began to approach the Lord as He spoke to them. He caused each of the animals to pass under the stick. As each animal passed underneath the stick in the Lord's hands, it would go behind the Lord to the Lord's right. All the animals which passed under the stick in the Lord's hands was a sheep.

I noticed, though, that some of the animals balked at going under the stick in the Lord's hands. Up to this point, all the animals had appeared to be sheep and all the animals had sounded similar.

I now began to see that the animals which balked at passing under the stick in the Lord's hands was a goat. I also began to hear the difference in the sound the sheep and the goats made. It was a similar sound, but quite different once I became aware of the difference. The goats went to the Lord's left side.

While this process was going on, all the animals appeared nervous, confused, and restless.

When the separation process of the goats and the sheep was finished, I saw angels appear and lead the goats from the pen.

The Lord went to the group of sheep. The shepherds followed Him. The sheep appeared quite distressed. I watched as the Lord led the group of sheep to a fountain of water in the pen. The Lord set the stick down at His feet and began with His hands to wash the sheep with the water. The sheep didn't care for this at all, and began to cry out. Yet they remained still beneath the Lord's hands.

After the Lord had washed each of the sheep, He once again called softly and gently to each of them. The Lord stood with His legs slightly apart. As each sheep came up to Him, He would gently place His hands upon its head and minister to it. I was puzzled as I then saw each sheep pass underneath the Lord's legs.

After this process was finished, I watched as the Lord called the shepherds over to Him. He began to minister to each of the shepherds. As He placed His hands upon the head of each of the shepherds, He would then take the shepherd gently by the hand and lead the shepherd over to the group of sheep.

The Lord took the hands of each of the shepherds in both of His hands. He then guided the hands of the shepherds to each of the sheep and placed their hands upon the sheep. It was as if the Lord was instructing the shepherds on how to minister to the sheep.

I watched and saw as the shepherds and the sheep began to come together in a group. There appeared to be trust and love between the shepherds and the sheep.

I saw as the Lord seemed to become larger and taller than the size of a normal man. It was as if He were now somewhat above and over the group of sheep and shepherds. The Lord lifted up His hands and raised His hands out over the sheep and the shepherds as if blessing them. The sheep and shepherds were covered under the shadow of the Lord's hands.

Then the vision ended.

As I prayed about this vision and its possible meaning, I felt that the Lord said to me, "Day of Atonement."

There is much that can be written about the Day of Atonement, but what speaks to my heart is that this was a time when sin was covered over (or atoned for). It was a time of mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Since this vision centered around shepherds and sheep, and goats being separated from the midst of the sheep, I am sensing in my spirit that this is a time in which the Lord is desiring to remove the profane from our midst, and to turn the hearts of the shepherds and the sheep back towards each other. Before this occurs, however, I am sensing that there will first be a purging within our hearts which will prepare our hearts to be turned back towards one another in love and unity. It will be a painful experience for many of us.

I am not going to make the attempt to try and explain in great and fine detail this vision. I will leave that to the Holy Spirit. May God's Spirit speak to all our hearts His heart in and through this vision.

I will, however, share a few verses of Scripture that I looked up after experiencing this vision. These portions of Scripture spoke strongly to my heart. May the Lord's Spirit also impress them upon your hearts:

Matthew 25:32-33 ~~ "{32} And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: {33} And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."

Isaiah 11:1 ~~ "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots."

Jeremiah 33:13-15 ~~ "{13} In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the Lord. {14} Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. {15} In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land."

Ezekiel 20:37-38 ~~ "{37} And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: {38} And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

Malachi 4:5-6 ~~ "{5} Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: {6} And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

Luke 1:17 ~~ "And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

In Him,

Hollie L. Moody http://www.manifestedlove.com/~holliemoody/