The Golden Chain

One morning in 1988 my wife received a dream from God as she awoke. I had just finished praying when she came down the stairs. As she described the dream, a vivid picture came into my mind as if it was my own, and with that came the interpretation from the Lord. It all remains as clearly today as when it happened.

In the dream my wife saw a very old, strictly orthodox religious man, leading a woman by a thin gold chain attached to a bracelet on her wrist. The woman was also very elderly, and had obviously been subject to the old man for a long time. The chain however, was extremely thin. She could easily have broken the flimsy restraint, but was thoroughly conditioned, afraid of going beyond familiar confines.

They were walking through a school yard, and as they passed, the old woman reached out, grasping my wife in a desperate embrace around the shoulders. Then like a drowning person, she would not let go. Repeating, “Help me, help me,” she dragged my wife downwards with her.

Almost brought to the ground, my wife pushed the old woman away with all of her might. Now free and leaving them both behind, she was instantly running with great leaps and bounds down a main residential road. As she ran, my wife passed lines of people from many nationalities and religions, all sitting beside the road.

This whole scene took place in the small town where we attended church.

The old man in the dream represents tradition, and the old woman, the church. The gold chain represents the thin thread of lies that keep the church in fear. Running in leaps and bounds represents the joy, liberty, and power we will find when we break free of man-made religion and follow the heavenly man, Jesus. And the people at the side of the road are the nations, who will witness the glory of God as the remnant of God sheds the shackles of tradition and walks in truth and power before Jesus returns.

Religious tradition is one of the cloaks that Satan wears in the church. Listing his many ploys would require a whole book, but his goal is always the same – to replace Jesus as the head of the church.

It is plain from scripture that the church ought to be governed by the gifts of the Spirit, and not by the institutions of man. For when the Holy Spirit is in charge, Jesus is glorified, the church grows in faith, the world sees the miraculous power of God, and multiplied souls enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Every Christian denomination started this way, as men and women were touched by the Holy Spirit and learned to submit to his leading.

But over time, Satan subtly hides behind naturally gifted, self-willed men and women, who love to have the preeminence, who worship the work of their own hands, who use pious, reasonable sounding arguments to lead the church away from a vital, living relationship with the Holy Spirit. Then, not knowing the Spirit, well meaning underlings preach self preservation to the natural man, as the spiritual man who craves to be given for others withers and dies. Finally, gasping, the church latches on to anything she thinks will help, trying to rise above the world she knows is sinking.

So it is with great sadness that God and those who know the Spirit view much of what passes for spirituality in the church today. It seems that the hope of the world is blind and failing at a time when lost souls need someone to show them light and a new way to live.

Jesus wept at this terrible, terrible wrong in his day. He wept because the word of God declares freedom from every doubt and earthly restraint, but instead the people of God willingly maintain the chain they could so easily break.

Now. Can I tell you the secret to a life of power in Jesus Christ, where you can experience the full measure of God’s liberty and joy? It is not complicated. Jesus taught us what to do.

Instead of loving yourself and the world, love your neighbour. Lay down your life, abandon your ambitions, forsake your own comforts and pray earnestly for souls. Can you do that?

I have learned that I am unhappy when I am double minded, and fearful when my eyes are on the circumstances around me.

But when I pray and share Jesus’ love for souls, I see that he is already moving in sovereign power, that many are answering his call, and that soon he will do something the whole world will notice.

In the word of God it is written. God always has a remnant who walk as Jesus walked.

I received a word of knowledge from the Lord in July 2003. “The church is about to have a short period of tremendous success, but then persecution.”

God has been preparing again, a remnant who will fulfill his word in the final days, and there will be a great harvest in every corner of the earth. But it will not be without cost. As revival goes throughout the land, persecution will arise, and a conclusive choice will have to be made. Either forsake your life and follow Jesus Christ to certain death, or choose to preserve your life and fall away to the Antichrist. For many years I have sought a gentle way to say that, but there is none.

It also grieves me to say that the distinction will not be obvious to everyone. Only Jesus’ disciples will have their eyes open. If you take up your cross, you will be his disciple and you will understand. But if you refuse God’s way, you will not understand or be ready for all that happens as the end of time approaches.

If this message finds a place in your heart, I feel confident saying that you have probably been mourning the same things I am writing about. But rejoice now, for during this difficult wilderness God has been teaching you to trust him, to follow Jesus without qualification or fear, and soon he will release you into his new work.

Are you ready? Embrace your cross and carry it to the end.

GOD will take care of you. He will make you stand, and not fall.

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Global Economic Collapse

I was born again in 1983 and immediately God arranged a job that allowed for many hours of Bible reading as I rode public transit to and from work each day.

Reading the old testament revealed how God sent judgment when Israel neglected prayer, but also forgave, delivering them from oppression when they humbled themselves and called on him again. I was awed by a Creator who allowed free will, and yet upheld justice and righted wrongs, all while never letting his chosen people stray too far.

Then in 1986 I heard David Wilkerson’s prophecy of economic calamity (and other judgements) coming initially to nations that have turned away from God, but ultimately affecting the whole world. I stored all of that in the back of my mind for future reference.

Of course today, theories of looming economic and other disasters abound, especially on the internet. But by 1986, well before the world wide web was introduced, my wife and I had removed television and other news media from our home. And for over 20 years we limited ourselves to the word of God.

This is something we’re very thankful for. Because God alone holds the future, and meeting regularly with him in prayer has proven to be far more powerful and reliable than seeking out anyone else who claims to know what’s in store.

… and in the fall of 2000, God gave me a dream warning of a global economic collapse that will be the first of many world changing events.

Walking from my house to my carpentry shop to begin a typical day of work, everything about that morning was normal. The way I was dressed, the sights and sounds, the thoughts going through my mind, everything as usual until opening the door of the shop and stepping inside. It was completely empty! Not one machine, no raw materials or finished goods on the floor, the walls where the tools and the jigs hung – everything was bare, everything was gone. There was nothing for anyone to do!

This was not the natural ebb and flow of economic activity. No, I saw a devastating, times altering collapse of the entire system. Overnight, production came to a halt, and all employment vanished. Exactly what will cause commerce as we know it to suddenly cease was not revealed to me, but it will be a day that affects everyone.

The dream happened as I was waking, and the interpretation was given immediately. Then I held on to this knowledge for many years saying very little about it. But 18 months ago a word of knowledge led me to the book of Numbers chapter 33. And that scriptural truth convinced me – now is the time to speak out.

Global economic collapse is inevitable, because the Bible reveals that when God judges men for their sins, he judges them… and he judges their gods. “For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.” (Num 33:4)

Now, I can only speak of the society I know, but look around and you will see it too. Store after store in mall after mall and city after city, promoted by advertisement upon advertisement, all promising more and bigger, better and cooler.

The lust to possess, our obsession with wealthy and famous people, the general abandonment of family for finances, these all point to one thing. We are a self centered society controlled by greed, that worships money… where MATERIALISM mostly shapes our sense of right and wrong – proving that IT IS OUR GOD. 

And our society is not unique, because the heart of man is the same worldwide.

Even the majority of false doctrines prevailing in our churches today are based on worldly gain. Wealth and success are held up as the true measure of God’s blessing and the evidence of great faith. And no one wants to expose covetousness or talk about a time when worldly prosperity could end.

But this false prosperity will end. Overnight it will end. Because the true and living God will judge and pull down the false gods we worship.

If you are hearing this message and have been wondering why recently the world is losing its lustre, be encouraged. Jesus is at work teaching your heart to divorce dreams and hold possessions loosely.

Learn to watch and pray. Then soon, when the time comes that many are counting their loss, you will be counting your gain as spiritual riches are multiplied to you by the Holy Spirit.

And if you are concerned about the very real suffering that will accompany the shaking of the nations, I was too until I considered the end result of unrestrained sin. God showed me that when he allows people to live exactly as they please, their sinful path becomes darker and their situation more desperate as time passes. Without the restraint of God’s judgments, lust only increases and Satan’s influence spreads conspiring to blind and enslave every soul and extinguish every last ray of hope.

Therefore, it is the mercy of God to send corrective, repemptive judgment on the world, to restrain lust, cut off the power of Satan, and set the captives free.

So don’t be confused or deceived when judgements begin.

He may rebuke and he may chasten. But Jesus is leading his people into a land flowing with milk and honey! And all of his sheep will come into the fold… not one will be lost!

Learn to fast and pray, and as the end of time approaches Jesus will increasingly empower and protect you in miraculous ways that reveal his mercy, power and light to this world.

And that means that those around you will see God in you and be saved!

“For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” (Isaiah 60:2-3)

So don’t be afraid of the future.

Live the miraculous life, and let God have his way.

Challenging days are ahead… but God has everything under control.