It turns out that the many demonstrations around the country against Indonesia’s failure to honour the East Timor independence vote were attracting crowds of between 500 and 1500 people in this country, Australia…..the media reports for this particular rally however put the crowd variously at 20,000 , 30,000 and 100,000 with no particular explanation for the increase. It was just stated as a matter of fact.The true number I believe was 30,000 +
This occurred on 11th September 1999…you can look it up on the net under East Timor Rally Sydney.
At that very time Indonesian soldiers were on a deliberate, planned rampage to destroy East Timor, after the overwhelming, sucessful Independence vote. Meanwhile the rest of the world, astonishingly, including politicians stood by allowing it to happen expecting and accepting the worst.
1200 people, certainly no more, gathered in Sydney for the protest march. Like the previous marches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and other capital cities of Australia, the numbers reflected the apathy of the community generally to this vile injustice which seemed to be crowning the twenty-five year, 300,000 martyr cost, of East Timor’s struggle for independence.
The march did an almost complete circle through the city.
On the third leg of the march, in the widest street in the city, an extraordinarily large contingent of the international and national media, given the size of the march which was similar to the others held around the country, was present, with their cameras spread out almost across the full width of the street, about one third of the way up the hill, preventing our progress temporarily -presumeably for panoramic photo shoots, including video film of the marchers as they entered then paused in front of the cameras in Bridge St.
The streets were deserted on that weekend,apart from the marchers, there were almost no bystanders but I saw a few watching from higher levels throughI presume office windows.
I reached the cameras and came to a halt like everyone else. I was near the cameras at the front of the march for some reason. I looked around – in awe of what I was seeing. From wall to wall, this extensive street was packed all the way back to the end, and still they kept coming around the corner, in waves, walking casually and with ease and casually dressed, not looking at each other, one row at a time as they came around the corner, but still managing to keep a perfectly straight line as they did so, without any effort, wave after wave of perfectly straight lines like the second hand of a clock tracing a 90 degree arc, from the 12 position to the three position.
There was a power, a spiritual power, of love which you could feel which emanated with each wave, it was powerful, yet measured, restrained which overcame you. As I turned away after some time and with Bridge St already chock full as I mentioned they were still coming. A number of thirty thousand came to mind. ( later I did an estimate using the estimated width of the road, wall to wall of the buildings either side of it, the distance back to the start of the street and allowing so much for each person and the result was still exactly 30,000!
I did not see any females, from memory. I say from memory because I did not SPECIFICALLY think about it at the time.
At the end of the march where more speeches were given in a mall the number stood at even less than the original estimated 1500, about half that number. Amazingly, no one (except myself) seemed to notice that the 30,000 had now disappeared!
Back to the beginning of the story - I checked the reaction of others near me at the first sight. first the person standing next to me, near the cameras, one of the original marchers. When he turned his jaw dropped in total awe and incomprehension, overcome at the sight. A similar story for other close by.
The 30,000 appeared only for the cameras ….whose pictures went out across the globe. The effect was like lightning – sparking a reaction which cannot be explained.
The Australian Prime Minister who had heretofore stood by with the rest of the world saying the relationship with Indonesia was important and to be preserved or something to that effect, had a complete turnaround – saying words to the effect “to hell with the relationship”. or “bugger the relationship”, in typical Aussie fashion and IMMEDIATELY began mobilizing Australian troops to head to East Timor. This led and composed most of a UN force onto the island, again, at vitually lightening speed. They met with NO resistence on the island from the rampaging, pillagers and murderers who suddenly withdrew.
Bill Clinton, the then President of the United States it was reported, threatened to collapse the Indonesian economy through a withdrawal of International loans or some such, if they did not back off…..this was unprecedented in International relations.
Back at the march. I knew immediately these 30,000 did not come from nowhere and suspected they may be angels. To test this I quickly decided to zero in on just one to study the reaction. I immediately found that he was instantly aware of my attention, even in a crowd of 30,000 and despite the fact that I chose someone at some distance.
At the front of this crowd quite near me together in a row were seven equally spiritually superior beings to the rest, and similar appearance even, amongst themselves. They were in front of the rest but not separated from them by any distance at all. I could see with my minds eye, or spiritual eye, whatever, that they were deprived temporarily of their normal glory….and wings.
Before this I decided to pick someone else out of the crowd to look at and as my eyes were heading in his direction the Spirit of God asked me to look at someone else instead, leading me to cast my eyes in another direction and alighting on another.
The response was instantaneous, electric – loving, in a kind and brotherly way, and wholehearted . He looked at me, after a short time of appraisal, caused by my hesitation, and there was a lengthy exchange of a personal but profound and moving nature, which I won’t reveal.
I was to discover later that it had been St Michael. He was not that near and he was not with one of the seven, but he was obviously superior to the whole assembly,spiritually in power, strength and energy. He looked to be in intense prayer with a few angels around him, who seemed very happy and pleased at this, when I first looked at him. This was unusual as the others were not so engaged, indeed there was a rumble of indiscernable but enthusiastic and intriguing chatter, and again it seemed subdued and/or measured.
A brief time later I also caught the attention of one of the seven who were considerably closer, without anyone between us.I believed they were archangels.
I later came to understand the one whose attention I had caught was St Raphael. He is a healing angel.
I had prayed during, near the beginning of the march for God’s intervention to save East Timor, with all my heart, and several people in the march near me who I didn’t know, overheard my prayer and joined me, repeating the very same prayer together with me several times, I can’t remember now the wording. I knew then however with certainty that God would save East Timor. I distinctly remembered Christ’s words to his Apostles ” I say to you , if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in the Heavens.” ( Mathew 18; 19.)
I know that this was also dependant on the prayer by all concerned being wholeheqrted which it was.
I would like East Timor to know whose hand reached out to them at that time, God ‘s hand, and saved them – through His instruments,the angels, remembering the cost of 300,000 martyrs, in their struggle for independence – that they may give thanks, and invite the hand of God once again to intervene in the affairs of their nation - and for it to become a great nation, as God meant it to be and as the people so deserve.
I would like a shrine in East Timor to be built to honour these angels, who even now are on film somewhere , interesting. I
I would like America to seize this moment also; knowing that whenever two or more are gathered to pray with all their heart, whatever they ask, it WILL be granted.
It is interesting to note I remember that there is mention in the Old Testament somewhere, of 30,000 angels who fought a battle for the Israelites. Definitely remember reading that during my once only cover to cover reading.