I Will Rise / Chris Tomlin
There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"
There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
I also woke from A DREAM: There was an older (unmarried) couple who decided to get married and then they split up – think it was out of fear that they split. So, we were trying to get them back together.
We were at a swimming place (like an oversized swimming pool) and had been out in the sun for a while. I looked over my shoulder at my back and saw that my back was sunburned. I, evidently, did not (or failed to) put on sunscreen. At the right of the pool was this woman. South of the pool on a peninsula that went part way into the pool was me. The other people came from the northwest and southwest of the pool.
I started to go back into the water. I saw that other people were getting or had gotten into the water and some had gotten quite far in when I began to slowly step into the water. I was standing at the edge of the water on some stairs or on a gradual declining slope that would take me into the water one step at a time. Just then we were informed that it wasn’t time to get into the water, so we had to wait. We were premature in trying to get back into the pool before it was time.
Then, the woman who had separated from her fiancé said that she was ready to go, so we went with her to meet her fiancé in hopes we could get them back together. We were then at a restaurant, I believe. The woman had a purse with some medicine in it, including some vitamins. She asked me for her vitamin, so I got it for her. There was something here about combining her things with other stuff related to this relationship with her fiancé, in preparation for their being reunited. It looked like newspaper that I added to her newspaper. I think I added something to her purse, too.
I got the impression that the woman was blind. She got up to go somewhere and she counted all her steps and turns so that when she returned she could find her way back to her seat or to the table. Also, she didn’t see what I did with her purse and/or with the newspaper.
We had visited previously Providence church. This church had a drawer in their church nursery under the crib, I believe, and the drawer was filled with money. People could take whatever they needed, but there was a sense that there were strings attached. In other words, it wasn’t the “free” money that they thought it was.
Anyway, this woman became aware of this “free money” and so she thought she would use some of it for her wedding, but I cautioned her about it. I did say there were good things about the people of that church, but there was also a sense that they would hold it against someone, particularly an outsider, if one took some of the “free money” but did not pay it back. END
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Isaiah 17 and 18:
An oracle concerning Damascus:
"See, Damascus will no longer be a city
but will become a heap of ruins.
2 The cities of Aroer will be deserted
and left to flocks, which will lie down,
with no one to make them afraid.
3 The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
and royal power from Damascus;
the remnant of Aram will be
like the glory of the Israelites,"
declares the LORD Almighty.
4 "In that day the glory of Jacob will fade;
the fat of his body will waste away.
5 It will be as when a reaper gathers the standing grain
and harvests the grain with his arm—
as when a man gleans heads of grain
in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Yet some gleanings will remain,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches,
four or five on the fruitful boughs,"
declares the LORD, the God of Israel.
7 In that day men will look to their Maker
and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 They will not look to the altars,
the work of their hands,
and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles
and the incense altars their fingers have made.
9 In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation.
10 You have forgotten God your Savior;
you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.
Therefore, though you set out the finest plants
and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow,
and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud,
yet the harvest will be as nothing
in the day of disease and incurable pain.
12 Oh, the raging of many nations—
they rage like the raging sea!
Oh, the uproar of the peoples—
they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters,
when he rebukes them they flee far away,
driven before the wind like chaff on the hills,
like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror!
Before the morning, they are gone!
This is the portion of those who loot us,
the lot of those who plunder us.
Isaiah 18: A Prophecy Against Cush
1 Woe to the land of whirring wings
along the rivers of Cush, 2 which sends envoys by sea
in papyrus boats over the water.
Go, swift messengers,
to a people tall and smooth-skinned,
to a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers.
3 All you people of the world,
you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet sounds,
you will hear it.
4 This is what the LORD says to me:
"I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."
5 For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
and cut down and take away the spreading branches.
6 They will all be left to the mountain birds of prey
and to the wild animals;
the birds will feed on them all summer,
the wild animals all winter.
7 At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty
from a people tall and smooth-skinned,
from a people feared far and wide,
an aggressive nation of strange speech,
whose land is divided by rivers—
the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty.
My Understanding: As I was praying for understanding of this dream in relation to these passages of scripture, all of a sudden the Lord brought to mind the picture of this pool in the dream – the shape of it, where I was standing, where the woman was located, and where the other people were coming from. I had the feeling that the woman was Israel, so I looked at my globe and it looked like where I was standing was in Libya, so I Googled news on Libya, and the first article was written from Cairo. A light bulb turned on inside my head. I had remembered reading that Barack Obama had recently given a speech in Cairo, so I looked at Cairo on the map on Google maps and then I saw that the peninsula that I was standing on at the pool of water was Cairo, Egypt, based upon the location of Israel on the map, and the pool was the Mediterranean Sea. Also Cush, in chapter 18, was located in Egypt.
President Obama’s Cairo Speech Transcript http://joeduck.com/2009/06/04/president-obamas-cairo-speech-transcript/
The purpose of the president’s trip to Cairo was to “seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world…” He stated, “Islam is part of America,” and “I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations… to love our families, our communities, and our God. These are the things we share.”
A little further into his speech, he referenced the events of 9/11 and stated something to the effect that fear and anger led us “to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals.” The implication was that this fear caused us to stereotype all Muslims and that is what separated us, but now we were going to work at getting back together. He did state that our enemy is the extremists and that there is a partnering; a coalition of 46 countries to come against these religious extremists.
Then, he went on to the subject of Israel. He acknowledged Israel’s history and the oppression they have faced and their right to exist as an independent nation. But, then he went on to tell how the Palestinians have been without a home for over 60 years (a reference, I believe, to when Israel became a nation in 1948). He stated that America would not turn our backs on the “legitimate Palestinian aspiration” for a state of their own. He stated that the two groups have been in a “stalemate” for decades. And, he said that if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be “blind to the truth.” The only solution is a two-state one.
He went on to state this about Israel: “Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine’s. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.”
He continued: “Too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra — (applause) — as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer.”
Continuing on with his speech he stated: “Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance…” “This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive.” “In fact, faith should bring us together. And that’s why we’re forging service projects in America to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That’s why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue and Turkey’s leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action — whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.”
Towards the end of his speech, he made these statements: “I know there are many — Muslim and non-Muslim — who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn’t worth the effort — that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There’s so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country — you, more than anyone, have the ability to reimagine the world, to remake this world. All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort — a sustained effort — to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.
“It’s easier to start wars than to end them. It’s easier to blame others than to look inward. It’s easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There’s one rule that lies at the heart of every religion — that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. (Applause.) This truth transcends nations and peoples — a belief that isn’t new; that isn’t black or white or brown; that isn’t Christian or Muslim or Jew. It’s a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It’s a faith in other people, and it’s what brought me here today.
“We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.
“The Holy Koran tells us: “O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.”
“The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.”
The Holy Bible tells us: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Applause.)
“The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God’s vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth…”
Relationship to Dream and Scripture
Ok, so how does this relate to Isaiah 17-18 and to this dream? I believe the dream was about this speech. And, I am representing the USA who is being represented here by Barack Obama.
As I read this speech and then compared it to the dream and to the scriptures, the Lord gave me this understanding: The couple that had split and that “we” were trying to get back together is Islam and Zionism, i.e. Islam in combination with Judaism and Christianity and/or the Palestinians and Israel in a two-state solution side-by-side, and/or Muslim nations and America. And, the “we” is America, represented by our president, Barack Obama.
The pool represents the nations like the many waters represented many peoples in Revelation and like what is spoken of here in 17:12-14. The pool or the many nations are nations that are rising up against God and against God’s people. I believe this is this “new beginning” that President Obama is talking about, which involves a new world order and a new world religion, which brings all religions under one god and that punishes those who are narrow-minded and who do not tolerate all faiths.
Do you see where this is going? Soon Christians and Jews alike will be persecuted for their faith because they believe in the One true God. We will be tagged as “intolerant.” We will be classified among the “religious extremists” who think their faith is the only one. Barack Obama claims to be a Christian, but everything in this speech shows that he is truly not one, because to be a believer in Jesus Christ is to believe that Jesus is the Only Way to Heaven and to the One and Only True God the Father.
Getting into the water, I believe, symbolizes this joining of these nations together in a coalition that will form this one world order and one world religion. Yet, the Lord is saying that the timing is not right just yet for this, so he is going to rebuke the nations, including the U.S.A. From that judgment on the nations will come revival, I believe (see vv. 17:7-8). The reason for the judgment on the nations is that they have forgotten God, their Savior. They have not remembered the Rock, their fortress – Jesus is our Savior and our Rock and our Fortress and our mighty deliver!
The sunburn on my back (on the back of America) represents this judgment that is coming upon us like judgments in our past (9/11). Perhaps it is hot because it will take place in the summer and perhaps it is hot because the judgment will come in the form of fire. Even though I looked over my shoulder to see this sunburn, I proceeded into the water anyway. I believe this is ignoring the past and the many messages of impending judgment and going ahead with our plans anyway.
The looting spoken of in v. 14 of chp 17, I believe, is a reference to both taking away our freedom to believe in Jesus Christ as the Only Way, and it is also a reference to our taking away Israel’s land from them. And, God will judge us for that.
I had the impression in the dream that the woman was blind. Obama stated that if we see this Israeli-Palestinian conflict from only one side, then we are blind to the truth. Obama appears to be pulling the wool over Israel’s eyes.
Lastly, we had visited Providence Church. I believe this means the providence of God, that the crib is symbolic of Jesus and spiritual birth and that the money is the free gift of salvation. Obama, in promoting this “all for one” view of religion is thus downplaying the true meaning of what it means to be a Christian. God help us!
Additional thoughts
I wanted to do a few more comparisons between this dream and Obama’s speech that I feel are significant. As I said before, this “pool” of water symbolizes this “raging of nations” who are coming against God and against God’s people. The United States is represented here in the dream by me (an American) and in real life by Barack Obama. I believe that the Lord used me in this dream so that I would understand that this includes the whole of the American people. When Obama steps into that pool of nations, we, as a nation step into that pool.
In his speech, Obama looked over his shoulder – he looked back in time - to see the sunburn on his back (history), i.e. he referenced the events of 9/11, which I believe was a judgment of God on America in order to cleanse us, but we would not be cleansed. Obama stated that if we “choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward.” So, in the dream when he looked over his shoulder and saw the sunburn on his back, this was signifying seeing the judgments of God on our nation in the past yet disregarding them and deciding that even though he was sunburned, he was going to move forward anyway. So, he began to gradually step into this pool in which many other nations were already deep into the water already.
But, then we were rebuked and told the timing was not right and that we could not go into the water yet, i.e. it is not time for this one world order yet. In vv. 12-14 where it talks about this “raging of many nations,” it also states that these many nations will face the Lord’s rebuke and that when they do, they will flee, just like we did in the dream. This is a judgment of God coming against the U.S.A. and perhaps against all of these nations who are turning their backs on Almighty God. And, I believe revival (vv7-8 of chp 17) will be a result of this judgment and that many people will turn back to God.
Ok, then we followed the woman to a restaurant where we were trying to get her to get back with the person she was supposed to “marry.” This is a picture of the Obama administration trying to convince Israel to give up some of their land to the Palestinians, only Obama used fairly strong language in stating that further developments (Jewish) must cease.
Again, I got the impression in the dream that the woman (Israel) was blind. Obama stated that if we see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth, so in essence, he is saying that those Israelis who are not willing to give up their land are blind to some truth, not sure whose truth, but it is not the truth of Almighty God.
Ok, in the dream we had previously visited “Providence” church where all this money was in a drawer (like a safe deposit box) under a crib in the nursery. I believe this is speaking of our salvation that Jesus provided for us as a free gift to all who would receive Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior. Another word for “providence” is “fate” or “destiny.” It is the providence of God that draws each and every person to the Savior, Jesus Christ. We can not come to Jesus unless the Father draws us.
Obama, completely ignoring the teachings of the Bible, went on to talk about the Holy Land being of Islam, Christianity and Judaism – the “three great faiths.” And, he stated that this was how God intended it to be, all of us living in harmony with one another. The one and only true God does not want the religion of Islam coexisting alongside of Judaism and Christianity. God Almighty has called out a people unto himself and all through Biblical history he has taught us not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. He does not want this blending of religions. We don’t all serve the same God, as Obama would seem to indicate.
Then, Obama was blasphemous when he quoted from the story of “Isra,” the Islamic Jesus, saying that Moses, Jesus and Mohammed joined together in prayer. And, he calls himself a believer in Jesus Christ; a Christian. Any true Christian knows that Mohammed is a false prophet and that Islam is a false religion and that God’s people are not to intermarry; to be unequally yoked together with people of different religions. Biblical history teaches us that over and over again, and we saw the judgments of God over and over again when God’s people joined with false religions and began to worship their gods.
But, Obama wants “tolerance,” not just being kind and respectful of other people who think or who believe differently from us, but he takes tolerance to the degree to where we are to be accepting of all faiths as though we are all working together towards the same ultimate end and that we all worship the same God. Obama kept talking about “interfaith” dialogue. This is this one world religion – this ecumenical movement in America that has the modern church working side-by-side with the US government in promoting harmony among religions. On the religious side of this, Rick Warren is the leader, I believe.
Ok, still on the idea of the “providence” of God, Obama stated that “some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn’t worth the effort – that we are fated to disagree, and…” Here, Obama is discounting the providence of Almighty God. Those who believe in the One true God and who believe in the promises and inheritance that is ours (the drawer of money under the crib in the church nursery that is free) in Christ Jesus, our Lord – he is making us out to be bigots and narrow-minded and those who would fan the flames of division because we believe in only one God and one faith.
So, in the dream I, meaning Obama and America, i.e. we, as a nation, are moving toward this ecumenical faith to where we are becoming tolerant of all faiths to where we no longer take a stand for Jesus Christ and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, as America, and as Obama, I am discouraging belief in the Messiah, Jesus Christ and the inheritance he has promised not only to true believers in Jesus Christ but to his people, the Jews, who will return to him as a nation (a remnant will return). That, in essence, is what Obama is doing in his speech. How could anyone possibly believe this man is a follower of Christ? Obama is trying to discourage people from believing in the One true God and from believing in the inheritance that has been promised to us as a people of God. He wants us to forsake our belief in Jesus as the only way and he wants us to embrace this “all for one and one for all” ecumenical movement.
He wants us to “reimagine” and to “remake” this world. He wants to lead us into a one world order and to a one world religion. And, he is trying to say that this is Almighty God’s vision. It is NOT! Don’t be led astray. It is time to take a stand for Jesus Christ like no other time in the history of the world. We are about to enter this time of the rule and reign of Satan on the earth and the mark of the beast. So, stand firm in your faith!
Notice how the mark of the beast is either on the hand or the forehead. Our forehead symbolizes our thoughts and our hands represent our deeds. To take a mark is much more than just a physical mark – it is the evidence of the influence or involvement of somebody or something, i.e. “he left his mark…” (Encarta). If our thoughts and our actions are being influenced by Satan instead of by God, then we bear that mark of Satan on our lives. Don’t let Satan rule your life! Give your life to Jesus today!!
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