Scripture says that God's Word contains the power necessary to accomplish His purposes. In the fifteen years that I have been involved in pageantry as a part of worship, my desire has always been to tap into the eternal, transcendent, Spirit-power of the Word of God. Things that are based in sentiment or cultural images have only emotional, and therefore only temporal, power. In my quest to uncover the biblical roots of pageantry, I have discovered that God loves a parade! He orchestrates them from Genesis to Revelation with animals and people and objects, and on occasion, even processes Himself.

Pageantry and proclamation

What is pageantry? Webster defines it as "grand spectacle" or "gorgeous display". It comes from the word for medieval mystery plays. A pageant is often a dramatic presentation portraying historical events. In the case of Biblical pageantry, we can portray historical events and interpret their importance and prophetic significance to our present day. We also portray "historical events" that have not yet occurred in time, echoing the character of our God Who "calls those things which do not exist as though they did" (Romans 4:17).

Biblical pageantry is prophetic in the sense that we are "telling forth" the truths of what has been, what is, and what is to come. This is proclamation, a tool that is sadly under-used in the modern church. Islam, however, understands the power of proclamation. In the Middle East, the blaring loudspeakers of the Islamic mosques blast the "wisdom" of the Koran into the air at regular intervals. This has great significance in spiritual realms, for constant exposure to this pervasive chanting can reshape the thinking of the listeners.

The Church has the opportunity and the responsibility to use the powerful tool of proclamation through her pageantry. As we lift up declarations of God's sovereignty into the air around us, we invade enemy territory (remember that Satan is called the prince of the power of the air). Our proclamations fulfill the directive given to us in Ephesians 3:10. "[God's] intent [was] that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and

powers in the heavenly places." As we make God's wisdom known to the spiritual realms through pageantry, we engage in spiritual warfare. By lifting praise and proclamation into the physical realm that surrounds us, we can displace these powers and principalities, knowing that darkness must flee from the light.

Processional Models in Scripture

Processionals are a part of the pageantry of the Bible. To process means "to go forward". The simple act of walking forward is powerful in the spiritual realms because it represents the advancing armies of God. Let's go to the scripture accounts of some of the great processionals of all eternity.

The first processionals are found in Genesis 2:19 and 7:14-16. Here the animals "parade" before Adam to be named, and then there is another animal procession as they enter Noah's ark in pairs. Both are orderly--you could say it was choreographed. It is right to plan and order our processions (and recruit the appropriate participants!).

This orderliness appears again in Numbers 2:34. Israel camped by their standards (banners), and moved out (processed) in family groups, each with their father's household. This practice is a military function that we can model in our pageantry. Processionals can utilize this pattern by incorporating vignettes, or troops in which all the elements of the group contribute to a common proclamation or message.

In Joshua 3:17, we again see Israel processing, this time before the priests holding the Ark. As the priests stood there, Israel crossed the supernaturally dried-up Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. This was a procession that included a holy object--the Ark of the Covenant. In liturgical processions today, it is biblically appropriate to use holy objects to represent the messages and truths to be expressed, as we do in the opening processional of the Eucharistic service. The cross, the torches and the book are physical elements that "speak" the truths of our faith.

Joshua 6:12-20 contains the account of the famous

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