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The other night about 4 hours past midnight my sleep was interrupted by the effects from a bad dream. Upon awakening the material was still fresh in my mind and so I thought about what had just transpired. Even though our dreams can seem so real played out in colour before our semi-conscious state they cannot really harm us physically but some can leave us with psychological stress from anxiety and even a temporary dose of fear. After a short while it seemed like this dream was just that, a dream, however it reminded me of scripture from the Holy Bible found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 where mention is made in a warning to God's children. This is where we read about The Great Tribulation. If this is a topic unfamiliar to you then it would be prudent to read all 3 chapters to understand that God is talking about a sudden and dramatic turn of events that will come upon the world and only those prepared will escape. The vast majority will be concerned with their physical possessions so much so that they have difficulty leaving them behind. This mirrored the essence or content of the dream which unfolded and played out like a horror movie before my eyes.
What did my dream exactly contain? A building full of people where everyone mingled together in a friendly state but I sensed that not all people liked each other yet they put up quite a cleverly convincing front or mask to show otherwise. Now that I think about it, the whole dream was based on deception. It went from a working type of relationship, then after a while things subtly morphed to a more festive nature where people were celebrating. Suddenly a man stood up tall in stature with loud and proud proclamations claiming the 10 Commandments were changed. Arrogantly, he dictated that he had the power to change them and began to recite what they now were according to his will. As I stood there amongst many hearing the first one, my ears could not believe how horrific it was. My mind then raced with urgent thoughts of "get out now" because the whole undertone of the supposed party event had dramatically changed, catching all unaware from harmless fun to a place of danger as evil had been unleashed upon everyone present like nothing else ever experienced.
Then the second decree rang out -- this contained diabolically blasphemous vile and filthy language against God Almighty. It wasn't declared quietly, nor in raised voice to combat background noise of music or the like, but the speaker wielded his voice with such tremendous and thunderous power that it was impossible for anyone not to hear every single word that projected forth from his strained but smiling mouth which I could see had a hint of a snarl. He did well to hide this from the crowds as his penetrating eyes sweepingly scanned backwards and forwards on assessing the status of whether he had the people's undivided attention. All eyes were on him as everyone seemed to be transfixed and spellbound with interest and acceptance, even great adulation much like the worshipping at a rock concert so I thought and was reminded of. Yes, this is exactly what I was reminded of. It was then that I departed wishing that I had already made haste as there was not a moment to lose. Even so, I was surprisingly able to escape to my relief without anyone stopping me.
Somehow I just knew that unless one agreed with the speaker who had gained the trust and acceptance of those present, now being whipped up in a frenzy to have the world changed with new rules, then it would be torture and death in a most savage and blood curdling manner. But wait, oh no! As I was about to get into my car it was then that I remembered that I had forgotten to take some personal items from my locker inside the building. There was such a tug and battle within on whether I keep going or return. So I nervously started heading back. Somehow, there in my hand was a huge and heavy ornate key like one of those from hundreds of years ago. As I put this key into the lock carefully so as not to make any noise, it immediately broke, shattering and crumbling into many pieces tumbling onto the ground leaving me with a stubby inoperable piece. Obviously it wasn't going to work now yet it did to my complete amazement! But when I re-entered I saw things that could only be described as rampant sin fed by lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh saturating all those attending. It tried to draw me in. The atmosphere felt spell-binding, mesmerizing and magnetizing where anything could happen according to one's innermost desires. It was hard to concentrate by now as I tried to resist by fighting it and focus on just grabbing my stuff and leaving. That is when I woke up to my distress of not urgently fleeing on the first opportunity due to lingering for a few minutes out of curiosity. Why did I return? My meager possessions contained in a bag were pathetic when compared to my physical safety. I had put my life at risk not only physically with immediate but temporary effects, but much more importantly, spiritually with eternal ramifications by wanting it all.
Perhaps this bad dream, greatly symbolic, can be a timely warning instead rather than a lament of what I should have done but did not do. Over the years there have been other dreams like these where I am left wondering why I did what I did. Much to consider -- now back to placing my hands on the good book to read and refresh my memory on The Great Tribulation which is triggered by the Abomination of Desolation. Sadly most think this part of scripture is talking about rapturing people away in the clouds up to heaven before the tribulation begins, but it is not. The Rapture is a false teaching the devil has deceived people into believing on how things will pan out. Jesus Christ does return to the earth again but He does not come back twice like the rapture would have you believe. Why is this important? If people think Christ will secretly and mysteriously snatch them away because they deserve to escape end time events, they will be greatly disappointed, even devastated and wonder what happened. The fact remains that Christ will return AFTER the Tribulation and NOT BEFORE the Tribulation. Best to search out what the Bible really says instead of what one may have been taught as a child or handed down by those who did not check up these matters for themselves to rightly divide God's word (2 Timothy 2:15). Here is a very valuable link to click on for those who really desire to learn the truth about a topic that may have been confusing leaving you with unanswered questions. This link will take you to a recorded program completely based on Biblical teachings, less than half an hour in length titled "Is the Rapture real?" https://youtu.be/Llj1Rse7OTg
When Jesus really does return AFTER the Tribulation ALL those living on the earth will know about it -- there will be no wondering, not even a slight maybe. Scripture is very clear about this. God gave us warnings to heed such as one we can read in Mark 13:21-23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand". What should we believe then? Exactly what God says from the Bible, His inspired word to us. If you have difficulty understanding the timeline of events leading up to the return of Christ then here is an excellent resource to watch in a condensed video which is extremely helpful when you click on this link to watch the program titled "7 Prophetic Signs Before Jesus Returns". https://youtu.be/wCIL8D5iuw4.
Rapturing people away sounds exciting and the perfect escape from disaster and tribulation that will be unleashed on humanity -- all those alive at the time -- but this is false information, wishful thinking that gives false hope to those who want to be saved. You can be saved but only on God's terms. Just believing in Him is not enough. Trying to live a good life is not enough. Being whisked away is not how it will happen. If so, how then? Glad you asked. The only way any one of us can escape the Tribulation is to have a personal relationship with God because we sincerely desire to with ALL our heart, not just to be saved. This happens with heartfelt prayer, the type that is original and said every day from all the content that is in your heart including the sad, bad, happy, thankful, interesting and not so interesting stuff that occurs day in and day out. Prayers are not meant to be repetitive, said by rote rapidly (like I remember saying the Rosary when a child) as if going through the motions. Think about it -- if you want to share your life with someone and get to know them really well then there is an investment of considerable time and genuine exchange in truthful open communication in order to grow in love and devotion. This is how God gets to know you as you want to share all with Him not because you want something from Him but because it is such a wonderful experience to have Him with you all the time as you pray. For me it took a little while to get to this stage as it did not come naturally due to all the damage caused by Catholicism. After the death of my precious mother in 1974 I most willingly joined the ever swelling ranks of the lapsed Catholics around the world. Prayer back then was a burden made out of necessity, not from a willing heart, instead done as by rote, empty words from an empty mind and heart -- said quickly and repeatedly much like the dreaded writing of a hundred lines on the blackboard after school when given by the teacher as punishment. No wonder it was a challenge to take up prayer again after several decades but this time it was completely different as my heart was in it. If I can do it then you can too. It will be so worth it, more than worth it actually.
As tense and suspenseful as my bad dream was, it was a learning experience to always ask God for protection in prayer before sleep each night and to continue to be ever vigilant for Christ's return by doing my part in righteous living as the 10 Commandments would have us do. Easy to become complacent especially when super tired and exhausted on those nights where one just flops into bed, shuts eyes and is instantly asleep. You need to know that life with God is the only way to go, and, whether one is protected from the events of the world in the future such as the Great Tribulation, or whether in a place of safety like the grave, or anywhere else God places us -- we should definitely pray to be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will come upon the world as Luke 21:36 explains. Do not believe the lie of the Rapture or you will be deceived.