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Liebe deutsche Freunde, wenn nötig, bitte verwenden Sie Google Übersetzer.
The painting, "Ani Ma'amin"
Dear Friends,
I want to share a few words about a painting we were given recently. Perhaps more than any other, it brings together so many words that the Lord has given us over the years. It’s remarkable really because the person who painted it didn’t know about us or about the Prayer House at the time. And yet it describes, so beautifully, God’s heart and redemptive purposes for Israel.
Deborah heard about us through a mutual friend about a year after her trip to Auschwitz, where she received the inspiration for her painting. She wrote to us about the painting, and we exchanged emails. But sadly, we never met. Deborah went to be with the LORD in 2021. She felt that the painting belonged to the Prayer House, and it was earlier this year that a friend representing her family approached us and asked if we would be willing to receive it.
We don’t know how she came to chose the content of her painting or what the Holy Spirit was showing her. But as she was walking through Auschwitz-Birkenau, her friend told her about a song that many Jewish people had sung as they entered the gas chambers. As she listened to the words, she was deeply moved.
“I believe, with a complete faith, in the coming of the Messiah.
And although He tarries, nevertheless, I wait for Him, every day, until He comes.”
Deborah felt that many who had died in the gas chambers had put their trust in their Messiah. After their tour through the camp, she sat down on the grass and began to sketch. She finished the painting later when she got back to the Netherlands.
Here is the painting.
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God uses art to speak to people in many different ways and there are many different levels. What speaks to one person will be different to the next person. That’s why I think it’s best to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart.
Here are the main features
At the front you can see the gate of Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is the view from INSIDE the camp, which means the Jews are walking along the railway line OUT of the camp.
As they approach the gate they walk into a shaft of light. This represents the Presence of God. It’s an open heaven. And there we see the words from the song “Ani Ma’amin” written in Hebrew, “I believe, with a complete faith, in the coming of the Messiah”. There’s a sense of anticipation and excitement. We see two children running through the gate waving their arms. There’s also someone waving an Israeli flag.
On the other side of the gate there’s a wall of stones and palm trees representing the city of Jerusalem. This implies that the gate of Auschwitz-Birkenau is a gateway into Jerusalem.
Then he said to me, “Prophesy and say to them: ‘Thus says the LORD God: Behold O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Israel.’” (Ezekiel 37:12)
It was out of the ashes of the Holocaust that Israel was born.
In the centre of the painting there’s a building with 12 rounded gates representing the heavenly city of Jerusalem. This implies that the gate of Auschwitz-Birkenau is also a gateway into the heavenly Jerusalem.
Finally, we see second shaft of light over Jerusalem. It’s another open heaven. And in the foreground, there’s a menorah.
Like I said before, what speaks to one person will be different to the next person. There’s no right or wrong way to interpret the symbolism. What I find so lovely about the painting, is that it contains so many things that God has spoken to us over the years. And here are a few of them.
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The railway lines
Right at the start of our journey, back in 2008, while we were still living in Germany, God called us to go “east”. We didn’t know where He wanted us to go, but we knew it was somewhere in the EU east of where we were living, which was just outside of Berlin.
The following is the first prophetic word that was given to us after we had decided to go “east”. It was given by 2 people after an evening service. It was very simple. The first person said, “I see a gate and the gate is opening”. And the second person said, “Yes, I also see a gate, and there’s a railway line going through the gate.” Both of them described their gate as part of a building, a large archway that you go through.
We immediately thought of Auschwitz. But the second person said, “No, this isn’t an old railway line. It’s a new railway line that is being laid piece by piece, and it’s coming OUT of the gate. It’s a railway line of life!”
We didn’t realise it at the time, but that picture really was about Auschwitz! It perfectly describes what Father is doing here, transforming Auschwitz-Birkenau from a death camp into a fountain of life. He is turning the railway line around!
In Auschwitz Museum there’s a big map of Europe on a wall. There are railway lines coming in from all over Europe to a small dot in the centre of the map. That dot is Auschwitz-Birkenau. And the railway lines are railway lines of death. After we moved to Poland, we met two people who had been given the same vision as they stood in front of that map. They didn’t know about us at the time, and they didn’t know about each other, but they both saw the railway lines “turn around”. The dot had become a source of life, and life was now flowing back along the railway lines into Europe.
A back door into Jerusalem
In the summer of 2008 we moved to Krakow, and after about a year we started praying around Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Holy Spirit started showing us things. Little things. Like blobs of paint on a painting, but without seeing the whole picture. One thing He said was, “Auschwitz is a back door into Jerusalem”.
We know that Auschwitz is in Poland, over 3000 Km from Israel. But still, there is a very real connection. We often see Israeli school children walk along our road into the camp, and from time to time we see the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) in the camp. Many Jewish people believe that Auschwitz is actually a part of Israel. There are many deep emotional and physical ties.
But the Holy Spirit was saying that there is also a spiritual connection. Auschwitz is a door, a spiritual gateway into Jerusalem.
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The Bridge
This was expanded a bit further when we were staying at the “Father’s House” on the Mount of Olives. The Holy Spirit gave me an impression of a bridge connecting the Mount of Olives and Auschwitz. At both ends of the bridge was an open heaven.
This was confirmed a couple of weeks later when I was talking with a Franciscan monk. We were at a conference talking over coffee, when he said, “What you are doing is important to the LORD.” I hadn’t told him what we were doing, but I thanked him anyway. Then He said, “And what you are doing is connected to Jerusalem”. Now he had my complete attention! “And what you are doing is connected to the Mount of Olives”. I was stunned!
The Open Heaven
I don’t know what’s happening in Jerusalem or on the Mount of Olives right now, but here in the Prayer House we are already experiencing an open heaven. And it’s absolutely glorious! Some people have seen the open heaven and the angels. Most people just experience and enjoy His beautiful life-giving Presence. And we’ve done very little in terms of conventional prayer to make any of this happen. That’s grace. His Grace. And He is doing it!!
Of course, Jerusalem is the city of the Great King, and the Mount of Olives is the place where Jesus ascended through an open heaven into the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Bible says that Jerusalem will be established as the highest mountain. The symbolism here is that a mountain represents rule or Government. Jerusalem is therefore the highest place of God’s kingdom government.
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of the Lord’s House will be established as the highest of the mountains. It will be exalted above the hills and peoples will flow to it. (Micah 4:1)
A few years back the Holy Spirit gave me another “blob of paint”. He said that Auschwitz-Birkenau, is a high mountain. In other words, it’s a place of God’s kingdom government on the earth.
There are so many parallels between Jerusalem and Auschwitz, but it’s not the place to go into all that now. Although the painting doesn’t show the bridge, it does show the open heavens as two shafts of light.
God’s kingdom is about life. We know that Jesus conquered sin and death on the cross. We know that He rose victorious and is seated at the right hand of the Father. “And since that time he is waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool.” (Heb. 10:13). And Paul says, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26).
Perhaps it’s not such a surprise after all, that our Heavenly Father is pouring out His life in Auschwitz-Birkenau.
+++SELAH+++
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Building Update
We’re steadily moving forward with the building work. It’s step by step. Way back in February we signed a contract for the kitchen, and this morning the work was actually completed. Yea! That was such a big job and it’s wonderful that we now have a beautiful kitchen, including cabinets, worktops, sinks and all the necessary appliances. You can see some photos of the kitchen if you click on the link at the end of the newsletter.
We also ordered safety glass for the balustrades in the Prayer Room as well as to fill in the gap between the stairs and the ceiling on the ground floor. We did the same for the gap between the stairs and the ceiling in the basement. The workmanship is first class, and the final pieces were installed a couple of weeks ago. Actually, you can hardly see it’s there!! That’s because you’re always looking through it! The glass makes the inside areas feel more open. There are no visual barriers. Again, please click on the link to see some photos.
There is still lots to do before we can get the building approved. The terrace in particular is a really big job. The authorities rightly say that without the terrace, its steps and balustrade, the building is unsafe. That's because when you open the French doors there is a 1.4m drop to the ground! We also need to purchase the fresh air ventilation units, again something we need to get the building approved, as well a number of other things.
I think that’s all for now, except for the photos. Please press the button below.
With love and blessings
Mark & Cathy
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Fundacja Living Stones
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32-600 Brzezinka Oświęcim
Poland
+48 519 433 612
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www.livingstones.com.pl
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