How could I be going to hell? What I was experiencing messed
with my theology to a radically uncomfortable degree. The Holy Spirit
was making sure I would never be the same again. Mission accomplished.
I
count the early 1990s as the most significant season of my life to
date. God had invaded my life. Do you feel the weight of that reality?
The burning, raging Creator thrust Himself into this mere mortal!
The
Holy Spirit took me beyond a mere understanding of my need for a savior
and a simple acceptance of Jesus as that savior to a place of
breathtaking experience in His extreme, fearsome and surprisingly vivid
invisible realm.
The sudden all-consuming desire of my heart was to be
intimately joined with the Lover of my soul every moment of my life. I
was craving and experiencing a legitimate, reportable and constant
weighty manifestation of the presence of God in my life. I was burning!
The desire and the cry of my heart was...
"More!"
In those early
years, as I was diving into the increasingly deeper realms of life in
God, many things happened that I'll never forget—but one event shook me
like no other before or since.
I Had a Dream
The night I
had this uninvited invasion of both God and hell into my sleep, I was
living in an old, vacant church building as the caretaker. The dramatic
scene was what you would imagine—the church was a relatively ancient
stone structure. I would regularly encounter God as I walked through the
now empty corridors, hidden rooms, sanctuary and other mysterious
places throughout that relic. The countless hours praying in this vacant
building resulted in forming me as a young burning man in some very
memorable ways.
One destined evening I prepared for bed as I did
every other night. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I prayed myself
to sleep in the weighty and wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit as I
had done so many times before.
What was about to happen as I
slipped into sleep that fateful night would result in a tremble that is
with me to this day—25 years later. I was invited into an otherworldly
encounter that I had no freedom to turn down.
Because of the
unimaginable panic and terror I experienced that night long ago, I would
often pray as I went to sleep...
"God, please don't give me any dreams
tonight."
I prayed that way for 13 years.
Thirteen years! God
eventually spoke clearly to me, after 13 years of receiving many
visions, but no dreams of God, "John, I need you to stop praying that
prayer. I have things to reveal to you. I need to talk to you. I have
dreams for you to dream." I relented and have since craved dreams,
angelic visitations and other forms of communication from the heavenly
realm.
During this night of terror over 25 years ago, I fell asleep in the old, empty church building and found myself dreaming.
In
my dream, I was laying on my stomach in a one-room building. It was
very comfortable inside, though there was nothing in the room. It was
empty. I rested on the carpet and looked out of the two windows, one in
front of me and one to my right. The overwhelming feeling that I had was
one of comfort and relaxation. I had no concerns and no thoughts beyond
enjoying the atmosphere I was in. This feeling is what drove my entire
experience. Obviously nothing could be wrong if I was feeling so good,
right?
Through the windows I could see a peaceful, lazy and bright
sunny day unfolding. It was beautiful! The trees were blowing in a
gentle breeze. The birds were chirping and flying from tree to tree.
What a brilliant Creator we have! Everything was so refreshing and
alive! I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon.
Then, suddenly, I experienced a changing of the scene. Like
time-lapse photography, as I was in the same position on the floor
looking out the window, I watched the atmosphere suddenly change.
There
was an immediate and progressive shift. The clouds were ever so slightly
darkening and increasing in coverage in the sky. The gentle breeze
picked up velocity and the brilliant brightness started to go in and out
as periodic shadows covered the area while the sun hid beyond the
advancing clouds. It seemed as if some rain might be moving in. I rested
there, stretched out on my belly with my head in my hands as I watched
it unfold. I remained immersed in my own comfort. I was taking deep
breaths and enjoying every moment of my day.
Time lapsed again and
I saw the sky completely covered in clouds—clouds much darker than just
a few moments ago. I could now smell the fresh and unmistakable scent
of the coming rain.
"Concerning that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. As were the
days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the
days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and did not know
until the flood came and took them all away, so will be the coming of
the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:36-39).
The birds were
taking cover as the wind picked up significantly. In the distance I saw
several lightning strikes. It sure seemed as if this could be quite a
storm. How was it that I was feeling no concern, no urgency to prepare
as I enjoyed my personal, careless experience in that small, one-room
shack? I stretched out and relaxed even more. The greater the threat,
the greater the "peace." What a wonderful day I was having.
Again,
for the third time, I watched the scene in front of me change suddenly.
Now, it was fully obvious the storm would most definitely hit—and soon.
The wind was intense and large, ominous drops of rain started to hit
the windows. Violent and arrogant lightning that seemed to have a
personality all its own struck less than 300 yards away.
The
thumps of hail hitting the roof started and quickly increased in force.
It was time for concern. The threat of danger was increasing by the
second, but I didn't feel any urgency or need to respond. I remained
prostrate on the ground, refreshed and at ease, just as I did when it
was a beautiful sunny day. I was enjoying the perceived safety of my
environment. I was feeling so good.
Once again, time lapsed and I
found myself in the center of a churning, dreadful force that seemed
powerful enough to split the Earth in two. The storm of the century was
upon me. The massive trees were nearly snapping in two as they bent over
parallel to the ground. The hail was massive in size and was slamming
every surface around me. The windows were buckling in and out as the
incredible pressure of the storm weighed on them. The lightning that
burned hotter than the surface of the sun was literally striking mere
feet from the shack. The walls were shaking. You can imagine what I was
experiencing in that terrible and fearful moment. You guessed it:
beautiful peace, safety and comfort. It truly was a wonderful day, until
...
Part 2
In a fraction of a moment my overwhelming sense of peace and safety
and relaxation turned to the most gripping terror I had ever known. It
was as if every source of life and good had been eliminated from the
atmosphere. Evil dominated the place that just moments ago was so
enjoyable.
My mind raced in an attempt to figure out what had just
happened. The fear I was experiencing was beyond description. It made
no sense. What was going on? Everything was so perfect! Today was
supposed to be about enjoying life!
Suddenly, as I was confused,
horrified and trembling on the floor, two hands grabbed my ankles. My
terror instantly escalated to levels I cannot describe. I quickly looked
back and saw nothing—but I knew a demonic entity had grabbed on to me.
The
grip on my ankles was like a vice. The thought of escaping was a
ridiculous one. It was impossible. My life, which seemingly just moments
ago had been under my own control, was now overpowered by an invisible
yet horrifying force, a force that I knew had intents—and the ability—to
destroy me.
Again, the terror immediately increased nearly to the
point of literally losing control of my mind as that demon started to
pull me backward—and then down. My feet and legs were disappearing below
the floor of that shack. I knew I was going to hell.
How can this
be? It's impossible! I'm going to hell? But I'm saved. I accepted Jesus
as my Lord and Savior. This is contrary to everything I have ever
learned in church. Yet the moment was real, and I was losing every ounce
of hope. I was about to enter an eternity of continual torture.
Never-ending panic, madness and torment was upon me.
The demon
kept slowly pulling me downward, as if he was relishing every single
moment. My feet were well below the floor and my waist was at ground
level. Then, suddenly my hope increased. I thought to myself, "If I say
the name of Jesus, the demon must flee!"
So in my new state of hope I was able to squeeze out...
"In the name of J—–. In the name of J—–. Ahhhhh!"
I
couldn't say it! The demon was controlling my very breath. I was
suffocating every time that name was about to be said. I could have said
any word in the dictionary but that one. My hope instantly was lost and
I started to cry out as I convulsed under the unbreakable control of
that demon.
He continued to pull me down, one grueling inch at a
time. Finally, my neck and then my mouth were entering hell as my body
was taken below. At the height of my madness and terror, and as my eyes
were about to descend beneath the floor, I woke up.
I sat straight
up, trembling in my bed in that old church building. I was sweating in
such volume that my entire bed was saturated. The light switch by my
bedroom door was no more than seven feet from my bed. Just two quick
steps to the wall would have been all it took to lighten the room. But I
was frozen. I sat there for at least three hours in the darkness in
absolute terror.
What Just Happened?
I finally fell
back to sleep and awoke the next morning. I didn't realize how radically
my life had taken a turn the previous night. As I tried to gather my
thoughts while the events of the previous night overwhelmed my spirit
and my mind, I looked outside the two windows that were there in my
bedroom in that old church building. It was a beautiful sunny day—but I
did not feel comfortable or relaxed. I was shaken.
I begged God to tell me why I had that dream. What had just happened?
Finally, later on that day, He spoke to me, "John, you represented the
church. You were comfortable in your place of supposed safety. The storm
was intensifying, yet you were lulled into a state of apathy. Many in
the church will be surprised one day, just as you were surprised in the
dream, to find themselves under the control of demons as they are taken
to hell."
"The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the
tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a
man, but its end is the way of death. Even in laughter the heart is
sorrowful, and the end of that cheer is grief. The backslider in heart
will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied with
his" (Prov. 14:11-14).
There is a way that seems right.
Intellectually, it makes sense. Other people seem to confirm that it is
right. Common sense tells us that it is right. Even our theological
dispositions confirm it is right. But it leads to death. And if it's the
type of death I experienced in my dream—it must be avoided at all
costs.
A backslider is focused on his own condition, on his own
comfort zone while a good man is in tune with the heart of God. His
pleasure comes from intimacy with Father God. His pleasure comes from
going where God is going, doing what he is doing and feeling what he is
feeling. There is no sense of ease in the storm, but there is
satisfaction and joy in the presence of God and by being in active
agreement with Him.
This message is a wake-up call for every one
of us. Many wonderful people will be terribly shocked to find themselves
separated from God forever.
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord,
Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and
done many wonderful works in Your name?' But then I will declare to
them...
'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice evil'" (Matt.
7:21-23).
This Scripture is in reference to those who would call
themselves born-again Christians, people who have understood and
actually flowed in the power of the Holy Spirit. They understood their
heavenly position and earthly authority as they overcame demons. These
were your miracle workers.
We need a wake-up call, church. We
can't presume to be in a place of safety simply because we said a
prayer, go to church, give offerings and talk about Jesus. An intense
pursuit of holiness and intimacy is required.
This is a message that must be shouted from the rooftops.
I
can't imagine multiplied millions of people who are current following
Jesus in an unsaved condition crying out in terror one day, "I'm going
to hell? That's impossible!"
"He who has the seven
Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things: I know your works,
that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain but are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfected before God. Remember
therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.
Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and
you will not know what hour I will come upon you" (Rev. 3:1-3, MEV).
A DREAM I HAD APRIL 2 / 2019
ReplyDeleteI don’t know what time it was, it must have been between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM, All I know I was a sleep.
The dream: I saw a real bright light; it was all white, like I was looking straight into a bright light bulb. Then I heard a great big explosion and everything went black. It was so real, I thought our house breaker box blew up and we lost our electric power. (It really scared me) I open my eyes and it wasn’t so black. I looked at my lamp indicator light and it was on, (working). I knew then I had been dreaming, but it was so real.
I have 3 dreams about 20 years ago, which were so real, but I was able to discerned them. This one I have not as yet been able to discern it. Although I think it has something to do with the warning God is going give to the world.
Jesus Christ will intervene on a Friday. Every person in the whole world will see their sins of their entire lifetime. It is an intervention by Jesus Christ, as is stated in Matthew 24: 22. "If those days had not been shortened, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened." This intervention is called the Warning or Illumination of Conscience also called a Correction of Conscience and will be like a judgment. This is not the second coming of Christ. It will bring all things on earth to a standstill. For two to three days, all that humanity will be able to think about, is their individual offenses before God. I found this on the website:
http://www.afterthewarningto2038.com/prophecy-update-06.php although I have read about the warning from many Saints and today visionaries, but I never read that there would be three days to think about it.
Charles Fears
P.S. 4/7/2019
Sometime during the night I had another dream and it happen twice in the same night. All I can say is all I saw was a deep black and I mean a deep dark black, and it scared me and I woke up yelling. Again it was so real; I thought we lost our electricity, but when I open my eyes I could see we had not lost our electrical power. In both of the dreams there was no light or sound as I had before, just deep blackness, and so real and each time I yelled out.
Now I think it could be about the three days of darkness, but I really don’t know. Praying for discernment. If anyone has any input please let me know.
Also I have read about the three days of darkness several years ago and it seem to me that it would not happen for many more years or even longer. But I have not thought about this so as I said I don’t understand why I had these dreams at this time.