Acts 2:17-21
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Dreams
by Michael Furman
Since 1980, Mr. Furman has received several prophetic dreams from the Lord, which were given in order to prepare God’s people for the future, at a time of many challenges and impending catastrophe. The underlying messages have to do with; God’s empowerment, divine protection, provision, guidance, warnings, discernment, and admonition.
1980
A Bump in the Night
”You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”. 1 John 4:4
” For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds”. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4
“ For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”. Ephesians 6:12
“ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you”. Luke 10:19
It was our first year of marriage and one of the hottest summers on record in the state of Arkansas. Because the only air conditioning we had was a small window unit in our living room, we were forced to sleep on a foam mattress on the floor as close to that unit as possible.
That night I had a dream that seemed so real, I actually thought it was reality. In my dream I was laying on the very floor in the living room that I actually was. I was awakened by a loud noise seeming to come from the bathroom. It sounded like someone banging on the pipes under the sink. I felt an evil presence immediately and was confused as to what to do. I decided to pick up a baseball bat and proceeded to make my way to where the noise was coming from. With each step the noise seemed to be more forceful and menacing. I felt a very cold and demonic presence emitting from the room I was fast approaching; until suddenly, I heard a voice say, “This is not flesh and blood you are fighting against. Use the power I have given you”. I knew without a doubt that this was indeed the Lord speaking to me. At this time I was only two steps from the doorway of the bathroom. I was determined to obey the Lord, however, I knew I had to be in complete faith, not doubting at all, and with boldness that could only come from God. I took my stand, dropped the bat, and rush in the room that was exceedingly getting more tense, loud, and incredibly demonic–I shouted as I entered, “in the name of Jesus, stop”. The very millisecond I did this it completely vanished–no noise and no cold evil presence.
I was shaken to the core and hence woke up immediately; only at that point did I realize this was just a dream. The Lord gave me the above passages from 1 John, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Luke.
1981
End Times Distinction and God’s Provision
“On the day when I act,” says the LORD Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not”. Malachi 3:17-18
One night in the winter of 1981, I had a vivid dream that was more like a vision–a sort of “out of body experience”. I was in the spirit, moving from place to place, unobserved (most of the time). The setting was a time of catastrophe here in the U.S., a total “grid down” situation. No one had electricity, natural gas, or any other means of heating or illuminating their homes–and it was a very cold winter. I went from house to house only to observe. I sensed immediately that I was visualizing an event in the future in this country.
The first home I visited was dark and cold; there was a bone chilling feeling there of complete and utter despair. I saw the family of the house huddled in a corner of the dining room with seemingly every piece of clothing, including coats, on themselves and still they were shivering. The most revealing of their plight was the expressions on their faces–one of utter hopelessness. There wasn’t any food in the house, and it looked like they hadn’t eaten in days, i.e. facial features were sunken-in and almost colorless. They did not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The second home I visited was the exact same situation, and so was the third, and fourth, and so on down the block–total and complete despair–house after house, even entire neighborhoods. Then suddenly I came to a house that was dimly lit, as with a single candle. As I entered, I felt an overwhelming peace; a real presence of the Lord there, saturating every cubic foot of space in the entire house. I knew this place to be home of a Christian family. There was an air of intense joy and peace. Everyone in the home was bubbling with exuberance, even though there was no food to offer the children or themselves, and no heat in the house, the parents gave thanks to God anyway. It was very difficult to see anything, however, the mother preceded to place a fine table cloth on the table and set it with plates, bowls, silverware, and glasses. The rest of the family gathered at the table, seating themselves as always–even though there was no food. The father of the home gave thanks for the meal as everybody bowed their heads in reverence. Then suddenly, light appeared in the room–one could not tell where the light was coming from. The entire family opened their eyes, and to their delight (but not to their surprise), piping hot food of quite an assortment was there on their plates and in their bowls. They all gave thanks to God all the more. As they did the room became radiant with heat; and for that matter the entire house. The light illuminating the room was also becoming brighter and brighter–the more they praised God the warmer and brighter it became.
God miraculously blessed the people of this Christian home that exercised great faith in God’s ability, so they would not be cold and hungry. I saw other homes like this one but they were few in number. One thing that was so blatantly obvious was the vast distinction between the God fearing Christian people and the unbelievers. There were no gray areas; no lukewarmness. The Bible believing Christians greatly exemplified their faith by their daily lives, and the ungodly were living in total hopelessness and despair.
The last house I entered was home of indescribable despicable evil. A cold sinking and sickening feeling enveloped me as I entered. This place was the coldest and darkest of them all, and for good reason. This was a dwelling of demons.
There was a single individual that was sitting in a darkened room, seemingly to be a middle aged woman. I immediately felt a very wicked presence emanating from the room before I turned to look inside–I was in an adjacent room. This person was different from all the others in many respects. First, this individual was looking right at me the whole time, and was totally aware of my presence as soon as I entered the house. Secondly, the expression on her face was one of utter hate, anger, and resentment. She wanted nothing but my death. In fact, she made many attempts at causing me great harm; each time failing miserably and becoming more frustrated. She never got up from her chair, instead she used demonic powers to manipulate objects in various rooms–blunt objects and mechanical devises. Recognizing the power I had in me (the Holy Spirit) was far greater, she eventually gave up. At that point I left the house.
At the very end I found myself in an undisclosed and unrecognizable location. The location was inconsequential and totally irrelevant. What were important were the characteristics of this place. I saw round smooth stones lying neatly on the ground evenly spaced. What appeared to be very sharp, jagged stones were suspended in midair above the smooth stones. All of a sudden, what seemed to be concrete poured from above, filling in all the gaps of the smooth stones until they were all cemented together. None of the jagged stones were even touched by the concrete or bothered in any way. The cemented smooth stones formed a solid floor–completely immovable.
At this point I woke up, finding myself sweating and winded, as though I actually experienced this whole ordeal. As I sat up in bed, I contemplated the meaning of the smooth and jagged stones. Also, “what exactly did the cement symbolize”, I thought to myself. It could not have been two seconds before I had the interpretation. The smooth stones represented the unbelieving world that has rejected Christ; the jagged stones represented the true believers and followers of Jesus. The cement represented God’s divine judgment that will be poured out on the whole earth in the future. Just as the cement that filled in the gaps making a solid floor, the ungodly will not be able to escape God’s judgment. They can no longer be saved. They reach the point of no return. They are condemned for eternity. However, the righteous, godly people will not be harmed in any way by God’s wrath.
“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him”. 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10
The main thrust of what God was showing me through this dream was God’s love, mercy, and provision for the believer, and the utter hopelessness of those who have rejected Christ and have delighted in wickedness. Another point He was making in this “last days” scenario was the vast “distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not”. Malachi 3:18
1998
Warning Signs
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”. Galatians 5:19-21
“In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion”. Jude 1:7-11
“ ……who rebelled against Moses and Aaron and were among Korah’s followers when they rebelled against the LORD. 10 The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them along with Korah, whose followers died when the fire devoured the 250 men. And they served as a warning sign”. Numbers 26:9b-10
In the fall of 1998 I had a very troubling dream to say the least. One I hope is never duplicated. The setting of this dream is in some sort of nature preserve; if it actually exists somewhere on earth, I’m not aware of it. Once again, I’m just an observer, although this time my family is with me. They are also observers. We are walking down a nature trail for maybe a quarter of a mile when we come to a fork. The main trail is wide and well traveled, the secondary trail is somewhat obscured, but very inviting–anyone with any kind of curiosity would just have to venture down. We hiked down this trail for only twenty yards or so and came across a sign that read “WARNING! DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT.” Well, it was just because of this sign itself that made it more of a temptation, so we continued. Trudging down about another twenty or thirty yards was another sign which was very similar but more forceful which read “WARNING! WARNING! WARNING DO NOT CONTINUE BEYOND THIS POINT.” Not knowing what was ahead made it even more irresistible–we continued, however, with increased caution. After about another twenty or thirty yards another sign appeared; this one was even more bold stating “DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! ABSOLUTLY NO PASSAGE BEYOND THIS POINT.” Since our curiosity was sufficiently satisfied, and since we could not see down the trail adequately due to the heavy brush and tall grass, we decided to obey the signs, turn around, and hike back to the main trail. Reaching the junction, we turned to continue down the main trail; after a short distance we saw a group of twelve young people (college age) walking toward us, then turning to go down the forbidden trail. As we continued hiking, we heard them talking–typical non-Christian talk and behavior (girls flirting, biding for the attention of the young men, and the guys taunting one another and cracking dirty jokes). We continued. Then we heard them coarsely joking about the signs, then complaining about the inability to see down the trail passed the third sign. Suddenly we heard one of them holler a profanity as though something undesirable happened–like slipping and falling. The profanity became worse; the holler became more like a scream, followed by a blood curdling scream, then faded and was no more. We were all quite disturbed about the whole incident, however, we continued down the trail, talking amongst ourselves, wondering what could have happened. The trail started to ascend a very high vantage point. We climbed to the top, which overlooked the entire landscape.
“Wow!” we said to ourselves. We had no idea of the ruggedness and grandeur of this area. The most breathtaking aspect of the typography was an immense gorge–perhaps 200 yards wide and approximately two miles long and at least 1000 feet deep. The canyon walls and rocks below were jet black; it was very difficult to make out what exactly was at the bottom. As we were taking in this incredible scene, we heard another scream, then I remembered the young people on the trail, but could not see them. Realizing I had in my possession a pair of binoculars, I proceeded to look through them, and to my utter horror I saw the most graphic carnage; I almost got sick. My first glimpse through the binoculars was the bottom of the canyon. I saw what seemed like hundreds of dead dismembered human remains of various stages of decomposition; blood was everywhere–all covering the black rocks below. I noticed I was able to see the trail after the third sign; a perfect vantage point to see all that was going on. Each member of the group, one by one would approach the third sign; stop to contemplate, and then continue walking. At this point their view ahead of them became obscured, due to the brush and tall grass. The trail begins to decline, narrow, and become very slick due to smooth wet clay. As they proceeded, the severity of the decline and the slipperiness of the surface became more pronounced, until they succumb to these two factors, falling and sliding uncontrollably. Each one would think and do the same thing: the signs would peak their curiosity, curiosity became fascination, which in turn developed into an impulsive obsession. Once they started to fall and slide they had passed the point of no return. Their curiosity, fascination, and obsession that drove them to continue turned into absolute horror as they realized this unstoppable slide downward brings them over the edge of the precipice. Just before plunging 1000 feet to their death, the brush and tall grass vanish. They are then able to see all that is ahead of them. That is when they screamed uncontrollably the last few helpless seconds before speeding past the edge, then dashing themselves violently on the cold blood covered rocks below. One by one they all did the same thing, until all twelve were gone.
“The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5 Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’” Ezekiel 33:1-6
All of us at some point in our lives, before we made the decision to serve Christ have taken a detour and trudged the forbidden path. We saw the warning signs, yet ignored many of them before turning around. Some of us have even gone just beyond the last sign, but not to the point of no return before making a 180–just barely avoiding the fires of hell. Most, however will not escape; they are going full bore right off the cliff to their destruction.
2009
Ichabod
“She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The Glory has departed from Israel”—because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband”. 1 Samuel 4:21
In early spring of 2009 I had a very unique dream. The setting was in a large city somewhere in the US–the exact city is inconsequential. What were important were the characteristics and the whole atmosphere of it. The dream was indicative of our current church situation in this country.
I was more than just an observer this time; I was able to interact with others somewhat. In the dream, I arrived at the front entry of a very large and ornate church; more like a cathedral, with a tall steep pitch roof and stained glass windows. There were twenty foot high, double entry doors made of fine walnut or mahogany; decorated with detailed hand carvings. I passed through the entry and found myself in an elaborate foyer of immense size; approximately eighty by two hundred fifty feet. There were many people, too numerous to count, all talking in small clique like arrangements with a few loosely mingling about. Most of the conversations were gossip and small talk. The floors were of fine decorative plush carpet; the walls adorned with huge exquisite paintings with elaborate frames; from the ceiling was suspended the most beautiful crystal chandeliers I have ever seen. There were multiple doors leading to the auditorium. I ventured through one of them and discovered a gigantic auditorium with dim lighting and incredible interior architecture. The floor slanted down toward the front stage which contained musical instruments of many kinds and a state of the art sound system. The podium appeared to be made of real gold. The floor and furnishing were beyond plush. The carpet was so soft and cushiony; I was not totally sure what it was I was standing on. The chairs were actually not ordinary chairs at all, but fine recliners–and there were seemingly hundreds, perhaps thousands of them. I proceeded to sit down on one of them near the back row, and immediately I was greeted by an usher that handed me a pillow for my head. He then asked me if he could get me anything else.
As I was sitting there, quite comfortable I might add, the music started with soft soothing melodies at first, slowly building to a very loud crescendo that was more reminiscent of a rock concert. After about half an hour had passed, the entertainment had ended, and what seemed to be the pastor, ascended the platform and approached the podium. He was a middle aged man, dressed in much worn blue jeans and a pull-over shirt. He began to speak: first reciting a poem, then a famous quote, followed by a “psychobabble” teaching. He ended his “sermon” with, “and remember, Jesus loves you”. All this took about twenty minutes. I cannot recall a time when actual scripture was quoted, or read for that matter.
Everyone was then dismissed; the foyer was filled with people again, slowly filtering out the main doors to the outside walkways and parking lot. I noticed everyone’s conversations and attitudes had changed. They were all talking about how good they felt about themselves and everyone else. They marveled at how the “pastor” brought out such a profound message, and how he projected so much love, and his words transformed the entire atmosphere, saturating it with peace and tranquility. They all felt so good that day. But of course, it was a Sunday.
As I left the building, walking a fair distance from the entry, I turned and noticed a sign above the double doors which read “ICHABOD.” I was incredulous of this whole event. “How could this even be called a church?” I thought to myself.
I then found myself driving down the street, and much to my dismay; I noticed another “church,” also having a sign above the entry doors with the word “ICHABOD”, almost identical to the previous one; right next door–and another, and another, and another. There was a whole block of them; as a matter of fact many blocks of them. As I drove down the boulevard there seemed to be an endless amount of these “false churches.” After what appeared to be miles of this, there at the very end, was a tiny white building–plain and unassuming. It resembled a small house. But this was not a house, it was a church; and what a church indeed!
I got out of the car walked up the narrow concrete walkway and entered the building. Inside there was just a single room–aside from the small restroom and closet in the back. The floor was plain gray colored tile over concrete with metal chairs arranged in neat rows. There was enough seating for about forty people, but there were only thirty present. I sat down in the back in order to observe all that went on. The well dressed pastor walked to the front where a small wooden podium stood. He immediately bowed his head in prayer–everybody else followed his lead. He prayed for all his parishioners, then various family members of the church body, and finally the people of the unsaved world outside. This followed by him leading everyone in singing. All the songs were praise and adoration to the Lord only, and with no instruments–not that they were against such music in the church, there simply wasn’t anyone there that was musically inclined. Most of the people were standing with hands raised to the Lord with such great enthusiasm; I was hard pressed to remember a time like it. After this part of the service was over, the pastor delivered the most powerful sermon I have ever witnessed. His preaching was one of conviction. He talked of the need for repentance and holy living; to clean up one’s life and really desire to do God’s will out of love for him. He recited many scriptures from memory and others he read directly from his well worn Bible which contained many tabs, markers, and highlighted text. He concluded his message with a call for salvation. There were three young people that immediately came forward. They were in tears and almost ran to the front. The pastor and his wife prayed for them, they then prayed for salvation with utmost sincerity; pouring out themselves to the Lord.
After some time, the pastor dismissed the people with Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
As I was leaving the small quaint looking church, I saw a sign on the interior above the door which read “entering the mission field.” All the people slowly meandered out into that mission field with great joy and renewed purpose to “win souls for Christ.”
Through this dream, God showed me not only the immense contrast between the false church and true church, but also the vast difference in numbers between the two. Jesus said: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”. Matthew 7:13-14
2015
Surprise Children
“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’—“ 1 Corinthians 2:9
The following dream was given to me as an encouragement for my wife and I. I hope and pray this brings encouragement to all the mothers and fathers reading this that have lost their own children due to miscarriage or premature death.
One night in early September I had perhaps the most emotionally stirring dream I ever had to date. In the dream I found myself in Heaven. The beauty was indescribable. There were several people around me and we were all there for the purpose of receiving gifts. An angel was handing these gifts out to the appropriate receivers–I was next. He had what looked like a large mail bag, like they used to use many years ago when they delivered mail to your door on foot. I instinctively knew the next was mine. I reached for it, taking in my arms, just then I discovered it was a child–a small boy to be exact. He had well kept brown hair and the biggest and brightest blue eyes I ever saw. He looked to be about two or three years old, but talked like an eight year old. He immediately reached out his arms to give me a hug, and at the same time said “Hi daddy”. I hugged him and did not want to let him go, and said “My son”, my son!”
We talked for a short time when he asked me “Daddy what is my name?”–He was not given a name yet, since God leaves it to the parents–I shall call you “Eli”, I told him. I then asked him if he liked surprises. He responded with a hardy “Oh, yes!” I placed little Eli in a large cloth bag with two handles. As I closed the handles together he looked up at me with the most trusting expression (big, blue, trusting eyes).
At this time I found my wife, Londa, just about two hundred yards away, talking to two other ladies. When they saw me approach, the two left Londa and me. I proceeded to tell Londa I had a surprise for her. Much to my surprise, and delight, there was not one child in the bag, but two. The other child was the same size as Eli. She had light brown hair and very big brown eyes. I intuitively knew her to be Havilah. As I opened the bag wide, they both jumped out simultaneously to hug Londa and said, “Hi mommy; I love you!” The tears were running down my wife’s face and she repeatedly said, “I love you both, too!” This was the end of the dream.
What makes this dream significant, is the fact that my wife, years ago, had several miscarriages–one pregnancy involving twins.
2015
The Great Deception
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”. 1 Peter 5:8
In the early morning hours in late October, 2015, I had a frightening dream. However, it did not begin this way. I was in a huge shopping mall in a large city–I don’t know where–evidently attending a conference. My wife was elsewhere shopping. The conference took place in a lower level in the center of the complex in a very large auditorium. The place was packed–standing room only. I was seated close to the front and was able to observe everything that went on. Everyone was elated with great anticipation. The speaker approached the podium amid thunderous applause.
He was very handsome, charismatic, and eloquent of speech. He was even drawing more people in from the outside into the already packed facility. Everybody present was enthralled, even mesmerized with every word he spoke. This went on for some time. I do not remember what exactly he was saying, but I began to sense something was wrong; no one else did. I started to slowly move towards the back of the auditorium, and as I did, I noticed the expressions on all the faces. Their attention was “locked on” to the speaker, totally immoveable. It was as though they were there against their will.
At this point I was able to leave the conference room entirely, but with the ability to still observe. The speaker began to morph into what he truly was–Satan himself. This was only possible because the audience was into a literal trance. They could not leave. The atmosphere had radically changed; from mild-mannered to sadistic. He ordered his minions to kill all present, one by one, in a most grotesque way. I was thankful I did not see the carnage myself, but I heard Satan say things like; “yes, do another”, “I want to see more blood”, “MORE BLOOD”; followed by evil laughter.
When there was nobody left alive, he proceeded out of the auditorium and continued his killing fest in other parts of the mall. However, this time his approach was far more subtle. He lured the people with what appeared to be a card game. A similar thing happened as before: when they made eye contact and carried a conversation with him, they became his to deal with (mesmerized and held captive). There was betting involved with the game–which was really no game–they were betting with their souls–and Satan always won. Once they finally lost, he would place them under the table where no one else could see, then have them killed by his little demons. He went throughout the entire mall, setting up his huge table, which was able to seat about thirty people–and it was always full. One by one the occupants at the table would disappear, never to be seen again.
At this time there were only four left. I started to approach the table on my way out the door. About this time my wife called on the cell phone and warned me not to get any closer, saying: “are you foolish”, don’t do it”. She saw me from an upper level, made the call, and rushed toward me. I knew better than to make eye contact with the greatest deceiver of all time; I certainly would not get involved in any conversation. My wife caught up with me and we immediately left.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”. Ephesians 6:10-18
2017
Honored Guest
“22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness”. Lamentations 3:22-23
“9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”. 1 John 4:9-11
Late March 2017 I had a dream; a revelation of Jesus’ character that I was able to realize myself, visually. I thought, “How am I so privileged”?!
In the dream I found myself walking down a trail in a wooded area that led to my house, when suddenly Jesus appeared with two angels walking with me. A conversation ensued, which was casual in nature as we ventured to the house. Entering the house we found ourselves among quite a gathering–family and friends everywhere. The house was much larger than what we currently have in reality and there was a very long table set in the dining room that was loaded with a great assortment of choice food. The feeling was that everyone present was eagerly expecting Jesus to be our honored guest, hence the wonderful banquet.
We had a great time of fellowship; better than one could ever imagine. Then at that moment, I had a one on one conversation with Jesus. It was incredible! I could see the love and compassion in His eyes. And with genuine concern and interest He would ask me questions, even though He knew the answer (I believe He does this to show us He wants to be involved in our lives, just as a loving father would). I actually felt that! It was like a father son relationship to the ultimate degree. He asked me about my interests, and what I have been doing lately. I showed Him my “topical Bible” that I put together some years ago (In reality I have actually put together a collection of scriptures in a large ring binder in order to have quick access to scriptures as needed of a given topic. I did this because when looking to purchase a topical Bible I was disappointed to find that is was either too comprehensive or did not have enough of what I was looking for). In the dream I pointed out different topics and told of my interest in them. He then asked me which my favorite was. I told Him the one entitled “Deity of Jesus Christ”; because that is the one I spent the most time on. He responded with a big loving smile, giving me His approval. At that point the dream ended.
Contemplating the different aspects of this dream, I see a correlation between the various elements and our relationship with Christ; for instance: Before the fall, Adam walked and talked with God in the garden (the walk down the trail in the wooded area); as believers we invite Him in our hearts and lives(Jesus entering our house in the dream) (Revelation 3:20); the banquet given in His honor representing doing our best for Him (what we do for others as unto the Lord) (Matthew 25:34-40; Colossians 3:23); and the fellowship we all enjoyed with Jesus in our presence. However, the best part of this dream obviously, was the interaction I had with Jesus. I cannot adequately describe the enormous love and genuine interest I saw in His eyes. Another striking aspect was how I felt about myself. I have always thought, when visualizing being in the physical presence of the Lord, that I would feel as though I were filthy rags in His holy presence. In the dream I did not feel this way at all. Instead, I actually felt holy and righteous, as He was seeing me.
“I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels”. Isaiah 61:10
“25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless”. Ephesians 5:25-27
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. 2 Corinthians 5:21
“7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith”. Philippians 3:7-9
“22This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile”, Romans 3:22
“24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—“ Jude 24