Cornelius—an officer in the Roman army—had been bridging the gap between the Jew and Gentile for some time through his generosity to the Jewish community in a time of great political persecution. There were riots between Jews and Romans, speckled throughout the Roman Empire but the Romans certainly had the upper hand. The soldiers were on the side of the Greeks and every community had a Centurion in the Roman Army stationed there with significant military presence who served under them. Their job was to control the population within that community. Uprisings often resulted in punishment of the soldiers themselves, so they were highly motivated to prevent conflicts.

The Roman military was highly trained, and as history has shown, they were prone to violence, fear tactics, torture, and abuse of power. Philo, a first century historian records that when riots ensued between the Jews and the Greeks, the Roman military would kill, often mercilessly, entire families right in their homes—even burning them alive. They were highly skilled in their profession as Roman soldiers without the balance of decent morals or human resource officers. As such, they were often violent and cruel in their service to the Roman Emperor.

Here we are seven or so years after Pentecost, Christianity, or as the Bible refers to as “The Way” is expanding throughout the Roman empire despite the religious and political persecution. While persecution of Christians by the Jews subsided significantly after Saul’s conversion, as I mentioned, the Roman empire consistently persecuted Jewish citizens, messianic or otherwise.

Why? The emperors of the day were suspicious of the Jewish people because they saw them as opposed to their rule, their monotheistic religion, and they often felt great concern over the risk of an overthrow by the Jewish people.

We see this type of rule in Communist as well as Islamic nations today. Fear was, and still is, a powerful tactic to keep dissidents in check.

Back to our story, Cornelius was not like the other Roman officers. He was a God-fearing man who loved the Lord, faithfully pursuing Him every day. In addition, he gave a significant portion of his income to the Jewish community.

I can see why the Lord chose to use Cornelius as the first Gentile to break down the middle wall, that partition, those barriers on the path to the oneness that Paul speaks about in Ephesians 2.

In Acts 10 we learn that Cornelius was praying at 9 o’clock, a traditional prayer time for devout Jews, and an angel appeared to him to provide instructions that will open a whole new realm in God for Cornelius and his family! This comes with a warning. Yes, the angel warned Cornelius to listen and heed whatever it was that Peter told him.

Acts 10:22 provides us with additional information for us so we will combine them to see what those warnings were as Cornelius is told with precision, the next steps he is to take.

Cornelius is told the following:

The detail of this experience really is remarkable. Each step requires faith. But that faith increases with each step as we see God move, lifting our faith even more to take the next step in His instructions. When all is said and done, Cornelius is ready to receive the message that will come forth from Peter once he arrives. Cornelius, even though well-spoken of by the Jewish community because of his financial support of them in their time of need, must have some hesitation that perhaps Peter will not come. There is certainly a barrier of separation between Jew and Gentile that concerns both parties.

Again, for Cornelius to proceed in his walk with God, he must receive what Peter will deliver. And the gift of the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the gift of Holy Spirit, is going to be a life-changing event.

I believe Cornelius acted promptly to this visit because of his relationship with God, and God, in His mercy, planned to reward him with the first revelation of Christ and impartation of Holy Spirit because He knew how Cornelius would respond! The warning however, was the risk of not following God’s instructions. Instructions that would bring Cornelius into the deeper places in God in a time when he was going to need instruction and guidance to go deeper in his pursuit.

I liken it to the messages Mom is bringing us on Union. The truth is, they come with not only an invitation, but a warning. We can either take those rich revelations and go deeper in God, which will strengthen and stabilize us far beyond what we can imagine enabling us to also be a rock for our families in times of great shaking. OR we can enjoy the service and walk out unchanged. Even worse, we can judge the messenger because we don’t want to pay the price to go deeper. These last two decisions can mean the difference between us stepping onto the path of union or rejecting it altogether. I don’t know of any person in union who makes themselves vulnerable and opens themselves up to the masses for questioning like I’ve seen Mom do. Even historically speaking, it’s so precious, so holy, the gift and call to Union, they put the contents of their journey in a book rather than make themselves publicly vulnerable.

There are times when God brings forth a message to us, it’s so profound with line upon line, building up the next level within us, until you realize what you’ve received becomes the very fabric of that which you live your life by. Nothing can persuade you otherwise. You will pursue God faithfully. In return, He will deliver the next level for you, until you are an unshakable, unbreakable force against the enemy’s camp. Regardless of the barriers the enemy sets before you, you are going to proceed with God’s plan. Why? Because faith is like the resin that holds the fabric of your destiny in God together.

I shared this dream before, but when I was in Jr. High, I went to a church camp with youth group. A few of my close friends went too. We were sitting in the mess hall at lunch, and my friends and I were sitting two on either side of the picnic style tables. On of my friends sitting across from me went to move and the dream that I had months prior came flooding back to my memory. In the dream, we were seated just like we were now, and he went to get up, and pull himself up to sit on the window seal. When he did, he fell through the window landing headfirst onto the exposed roots of the giant tree just outside the window. Since we were so high up, and he hit exposed roots, he cracked his head open and died.

As I shared the dream with such precise details he grew pale and told me he was just about to pull himself up and sit on the window seal. When we looked out the window, the very gap in the earth that exposed the giant root was right beneath us. The details of that dream kept him from shrugging me off and instead, he listened intently, heeding the warning the Lord was giving him. It saved his life.

I wonder if, line upon line, as Cornelius’ servants relayed these events to Peter, and it connected with the vision the Lord gave him while he was in the trance, it ignited his own faith to go and visit Cornelius.

Acts 10: 9 begins Peter’s perspective and experience…

Acts 10:9-16

God was breaking down the barriers and building bridges because He was opening the door of salvation to the Gentiles!

Gentiles were generally considered unclean because of their religions (they were monotheistic), and the customs and practices of both daily life, food preparation, religious rituals, they all diverged from the Jewish faith. Not to mention the fact that Gentiles were not circumcised. These are significant barriers for devout Jews. Peter was going to have to allow God to break down this barrier.

Even today, when a devout Jewish person purchases a home, the kitchen is remodeled to ensure its Kosher. They have two refrigerators, two stoves, two ovens, two preparation spaces, two dishwashers even because milk containers can never touch containers used in the preparation of meat. This is all to prepare the food in accordance with the Levitical law.

God is working in Peter to bring these barriers down.

Acts 10:17-20

Revelation is opening Peter’s eyes, and his faith is building, Line upon line, the barriers are coming down!

Acts 10:21-22

The Holy Spirit fell approximately seven years earlier. Since that time, the Gospel message had been preached far and wide to the Jewish people in Jerusalem and throughout a significant portion of the known world after the martyrdom of Stephen.

Here we are, about to witness the plan of God to graft in the Gentiles!

Just hearing about where Peter was staying, with Simon the tanner, we learn that God was already dealing with Peter in terms of the restrictions of the Law. Barriers were coming down. Leviticus 5:2-3 declares that any person who touched a dead animal carcass would be declared unclean. Simon, a tanner by trade, was touching the carcasses of animals on a regular basis. To resolve this issue, they had to wash their clothing and bathe and wait until the new day, 6 P.M. before they would be considered clean. They didn’t have showers or washing machines back then, so this was an ordeal. Unless Simon refrained from his profession prior to and throughout Peter’s stay, it seems to me that barriers of separation in Peter’s heart were already coming down.

Acts 10:23

Again, barriers are coming down. Cornelius would have sent his uncircumcised Gentile servants, and here they are spending the night in the home of a Hebrew Tanner, with Peter! God is the One who brings the walls of separation down. Those, at times, are nearly impenetrable barriers to reaching into a person’s heart, mind and soul with the message of His Truth. Every step is key to complete freedom!

Acts 10:24-30

This in and of itself shows the heart of Cornelius and his family. This is a 30–35-mile journey, one way. On foot. This was expedited under Cornelius’ instructions. Usual travel speeds at this time were 10-12 miles per day. What does this tell us? Cornelius was eager to obey the Lord. He was eager for more of God. He was so eager in fact, what should have been a week’s worth of travel, was reduced to four days and Cornelius spent the time gathering and preparing his friends and family to receive what God was going to bring to them. Preparing for revival!

Acts 10:30-48

The essence of this passage is repeated in Acts 11. Why? In a time when there is no “select all/copy/paste” feature and no printing-press did the Lord lead Luke to repeat a significant portion of this account? Luke, a Greek, wrote these pivotal events upon a papyrus scroll, at best, 35 feet in length. He likely used a reed pen or thin reed brush dipping it in ink made from carbon soot mixed with water and tree sap, this was painstaking work. Why repeat this event?

The significance of this barrier, or what Paul refers to as the “wall of separation” in Ephesians 2:14-16, is key for this next phase of revival is occurring in the Scriptures. God was breaking down the barriers and building bridges because He was grafting the Gentiles in! Luke was among those who years after this event, would hear the Gospel and be among those non-Jews grafted into the Vine.

A unification of the Body of Christ, the One New Man, of which, we are waiting for the fulfillment of still today, began here, with Cornelius.

The Scriptures promise that the Jews will be grafted back into the Vine in the days ahead and then we will truly be One New Man. Mom writes of this phenomenon in an article with the same title listed on our website.

While we await the time in which they will be grafted back in, I want to discuss other barriers that we are going to see coming down in the near future.

On Monday, June 2, 2025, I was studying this very passage, and the Lord brought the vision of the generations floating around aimlessly that I spoke about last week back to me, providing a part two!

For those who were not with us, on May 28, 2025, I had a vision of the various generations “Millennials”, “Gen X”, “Gen Z”, “Gen Alpha” and they were floating around aimlessly. They had roots dangling from their feet. They floated across the land, up and down, back and forth, never able to anchor themselves to anything substantial. Those roots dangling from their feet would stretch down as they approached the ground, just to try and take root in a cause, only to be pulled back up by a gust of wind that pulled them in toward another cause. They were lost, they thought they had purpose, but they were truly lost because the very thing they longed for, a sense of purpose and connection, was neither grounded nor founded in Truth. They were without a nation, and most importantly, they were without God.

I saw them try to come down and connect, however, barriers surrounded them and prevented them from connecting.

In Part Two: The barriers seemed like prisons keeping them segregated, they moved apart and caused even greater separation. I saw them separated by titles, emboldened by their causes, and divided by deception. Even in the midst of this, I saw that the enemy has created a false sense of community and distinction that unified them, not in truth, but deeper in deception. This only served to separate them further.

Then, I saw these barriers, one by one, slam down and shatter right in front of them. It was so profound, I heard this take place in my spirit and felt it in the natural! If I didn’t know better, I would have thought we were having an earthquake!

I saw barriers of resistance and rebellion fall and shatter!

I saw barriers of apostacy, and deception fall and shatter!

I saw the barriers of anxiety and depression fall and shatter!

As the barriers hit the ground, the balloons—indicative of the floating generations from part one of this vision—popped and that generation poured out of the balloon and onto the ground. They stood up, shaking themselves off and began to root, and those roots travelled across the land connecting them with other generations.

I saw bridges begin to form.

Families were healed and restored.

Titles faded and these generations folded back into traditional family rolls. Most generations today are segmented into 10-18-year groups of people based on when they were born and the social events surrounding the decade or so of their birth. I remember speaking on the Millennials years ago and Mom texted me and said, “the Bible indicates a generation is 40 years.” And I thought at the time, but today, it’s different. That my friends, is one of man’s most powerful fabricated barriers to the healing and restoration of this younger generation. God is going to break it down, and we need to be praying for bridges to be built.

In this vision, traditional generational rolls were restored. Meaning, they were no longer grouped by cultural time stamps. They were grafted back into God’s design for man. Where families had bridges, and those bridges that used to bring joy to cross over and connect with both older and younger generations, were restored! I remember learning and valuing lessons from history from my great-grandmother, my aunts and uncles, and I still value those memories today.

I remember hearing a restored recording of several descendants of former slaves who spoke of the inner fight within their race, and how creative and family-oriented they strove to be regardless of their circumstances. They were not bitter, they were overcomers, grateful to be alive in America. It was beautiful. Imagine if that was the perspective that the younger generation viewed life through instead of the barriers deceptive media and academia creates for them…

These false, man-made generational barriers we see today were shattered by the Lord and the lessons from grandma’s porch were restored!

God was breaking barriers and building bridges!

I saw the hearts of the children knit to their parents

The hearts of the parents returned to their children

Joy welled up within them and the color was finally restored to their faces! Light began to shine through, brilliant light on those who turned to Christ!

Friends, God is breaking the barriers and building bridges! And we must be willing to be vessels of the Lord’s that help to build bridges!

God broke down the barrier between Jew and Gentile. Cornelius had to be willing to build a bridge for Peter, and Peter had to be willing to cross that bridge. The revelations given to both men helped to forge a bond between Jew and Gentile and make way for a great expansion in the Church. The beginning of the One New Man.

This was a pivotal moment for the ever-expanding body of Christ. When Peter went back and told the council in Jerusalem in Chapter 11, he had to be part of bridging the divide on the other side. We see this very issue dealt with throughout the rest of Acts, where God is breaking down the barriers, the middle wall of separation, and both groups had to consistently work and come together to build bridges of unification.

God has done it before, and He will do it again!

There are pivotal moments in our lives that break down barriers of misunderstanding or misconceptions and if we don’t allow ourselves to walk over the rubble of that shattered barrier when it’s presented to us, we run the risk of missing that opportunity to go deeper in Him, restore relationships, or press in through prayer on behalf of what God is showing us. I believe this season that we are in today, is one of those pivotal seasons.

May we stay the course that the Lord is calling us to and not allow external distractions to pull us away from our purposes in God!

Blessings & love,

Ricci Johnson-Wilson