It seemed like God said "I have a mighty army that is going to win back Christchurch for me".

I was looking down on the city from the air like it was a map.

I looked, but I could not see an army.
I looked at the strategic places, but I could see no soldiers.
I looked at the army hall, but it had been turned into a car park.
I looked outside the city; expecting a large army might be marching towards the city,
but there was none.

Then as I looked at the city more closely, I saw that in twenty or thirty places small groups of soldiers were preparing. I was going to say that they were commandos, but as I looked more closely I realised that they were more like underground urban guerilla cells. They were like underground terrorist cells, but they were not opposed to God (they will actually strike terror in the forces of the enemy).

The cells were invisible unless you knew where to look. During the day the soldiers looked just like ordinary people. They had families and went to work like everyone else. I saw one of them riding a bike to work in a raincoat. He looked incredibly ordinary and inconspicuous.

However, at night they came together as a highly trained and well equipped fighting force ready to do battle. Each member of an underground cell was highly skilled in a particular weapon. They had learned to use their weapons to support each other in battle. They trusted each other totally and knew that they could depend on each other if things get hot. The entire team was totally committed to each other and would be willing to die for each other. If one team member is killed or wounded in battle, another would be willing to step into his place and take over his weapon and role. Each one was totally committed to their cause and was willing to die for it.

I noticed that there was no hierarchy of colonels and generals. Each cell had a book of written instructions telling t hem what to do. Each person knew what he or she had to do to complete that task. They were just waiting for the command to attack. The signal would be a song played on a specific radio station at a specific time. When that signal is given, they will come out of hiding and go onto attack.

When that signal was given, I was surprised that they did not go for the strategic points in the city. Instead each underground cell moved into a street quite close to where they lived.

Their battle cry was,
Surrender to the Lord
Surrender to the Lord.

Because they were so well organised and equipped, they quickly destroyed the enemy’s strongholds in the streets. They restored everything that had been broken down. As the people surrendered, they would call out,

Come with us and win back this city
Come with us and win back this city

The people in the street were so impressed with their operation, that most chose to join the cause.

Two or three members of the cell would stay on in the conquered street and establish a new cell. They would equip the new soldiers and train them till they were ready for battle. Each underground cell quickly became two. As this process was repeated again and again the number of cells multiplied rapidly.

Soon there were underground cells all over the city. They were linked together by relationships between the members of different cells. I saw these links as lines on a map. Taken together, they looked like an enormous net covering the city, with each cell represented by a knot in the net. 

I realised that God does have an enormous army, but it is mostly invisible. God is raising up a mighty invisible army.

Jesus is saying

Wake up, Christchurch!
Wake up!
Darkness is coming
and you are asleep.

Get ready for battle

Jesus is raising up an invisible army
that will win back his bride,
Christchurch.

September 2002