THE DREAM: I was with someone at Toccoa Falls College, in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. I told the person the name of the school, which used to be called Toccoa Falls Bible College, and then I told the person that my daughter, sister, brother-in-law, and daughter-in-law’s sister had each attended there at one time. [Three of them graduated from there.]
Then I told this person about the Toccoa Falls, and how there used to be a dam at the top of the falls, over which the water had freely flowed, but that one day the dam broke, and the water from the top deluged down upon the campus and flooded it, and that many students, in particular the married students, were killed that day. The married students were particularly vulnerable because many of them lived in mobile homes.
As well, I told the person that this happened in 1977 (November 6th, exactly). I may have also told him or her that my husband and I were considering TFC for my husband to attend the school term of 1977/78, but we ended up on another campus, instead, because my husband was not able to find employment in Toccoa. So, we could have been there with our two children during the flood, but by God’s providence, we were not. END
Stories about the flood: http://daretohopejournal.com/Toccoa_Falls_Flood.html
http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110302/dss_10857858.shtml
These are not some of the best stories I have read about the flood, but from what I remember of what I have read, the students that lost family members and friends in the flood were not bitter against God, but they praised God through the storm of their lives, trusted the Lord with their circumstances, and grew stronger in their relationships with Jesus Christ, and even led many others to faith in Jesus Christ because of what had happened, and because of how the students responded to this time of tragedy in their lives.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Revelation 12:
The Woman and the Dragon
A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
My Understanding: The dragon is Satan, yet he has kings and kingdoms under his control, which do his bidding. The dragon (Satan, the devil, Lucifer) was once a powerful angel in heaven, but he wanted to be God and he raised himself up against God, along with his angels, and so God hurled him and his angels down to earth, where he now leads the world astray. The dragon stands in direct opposition to Jesus Christ and to his followers. He is the great accuser of Christ’s disciples, i.e. true believers in Jesus. The dragon, Satan, is filled with fury against God and against God’s children, the saints of Almighty God, and true followers of Jesus Christ, yet he knows his time is short, which is why he is filled with fury.
The woman is Israel. She gave birth to Jesus Christ and to the church, the woman’s offspring. Jesus Christ came to the earth, was born as a baby, took on human flesh, became a man, suffered as we suffer and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was crucified on a cross as a common criminal, even though he had committed no wrong. They hung him on that cross because they hated him for his life and his testimony. When Jesus died on the cross, he took upon himself all our sins, so that our sins died with him and were buried with him. Then, he arose from the grave, triumphing over death, hell, Satan and sin. He returned to the Father in heaven, and he sent His Holy Spirit to indwell and to empower the lives of his true followers. And, one day Jesus will return to the earth to gather his bride and to rule the world with an iron scepter. His saints will then reign with him on the earth.
The dragon is in constant pursuit of the woman and her offspring, i.e. spiritual Israel. Physical Israel is no longer God’s people because, as a nation, and as a people as whole, they refused to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah, though there are many individual believing Jews today. Those who continue in disbelief are numbered among the Gentiles, i.e. unbelievers. So, the woman, and the offspring, that Satan is now pursuing is spiritual Israel, the church, the only true Israel, according to scripture. Only true believers in Jesus Christ, i.e. those who obey God’s commandments and hold to (embrace; incorporate; accept; adopt; and welcome) the testimony of Jesus, stand as a threat to Satan and his kingdom. They are the ones the dragon is after to try to destroy and whom he is making war against.
Yet, even though we have a great and powerful enemy – Satan – God is over all things and Satan and his kings and kingdoms are only given authority to do what they do because God allows it for a time. So, we have no need to fear Satan or his attempts to destroy us, because greater is He who is within us (true believers in Jesus) than he who is in the world. There is no temptation or trial that we go through but what God’s grace can handle it and He can bring us through safely into His Kingdom. We are able to overcome Satan, the dragon, by the blood of the Lamb, because of what Jesus did for us in conquering Satan and sin, and through our faith in and testimony for Jesus Christ. This kind of faith refuses to love our own lives more than we love Jesus, and is the kind of faith that brings our old sinful natures to the cross of Christ and that leaves our old lives behind and walks humbly before God in obedience to his commands. This faith will die for Jesus Christ rather than deny Him.
Today’s Dream – The first thing I noted in this passage of scripture in relation to this dream, and to the events of November 6, 1977 on the campus of TFBC, was how the students on this campus at the time of the flood, and their family members, exemplified what this voice in heaven said (beginning with verse 10), when it spoke of how the faithful followers of Jesus Christ overcame Satan, their accuser, by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, which these students gave during and following the flood. When it said, “They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death,” it brought to mind one of the stories of a wife and mother with two small children telling her children they were about to meet Jesus, and then they were swept away by the flood.
In verses 15-17 it says that the serpent spewed water like a river, from his mouth, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with a torrent. “But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Toccoa Falls Bible College was a training ground for future pastors, Christian workers and missionaries, who went throughout the world preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It appears to me that the Lord is giving me a picture here of this physical flood as Satan’s attempt to destroy the woman – the church – in an attempt to halt the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it backfired on him, because they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. He probably thought he could get them to curse God for allowing this flood to take place, but it appears to me from what I have read that just the opposite took place, and what Satan meant for evil, God meant for good.
Yet, I also saw this flood in more of a figurative sense, as the rage and fury of the water was described as that of a Tsunami coming down upon this Bible college campus, and Satan’s accusations, tricks and attempts to destroy God’s church come also with the fury of the force of these waters dumping down upon God’s holy church. He is filled with fury, because he knows his time is short, yet we can overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and by our testimony. And, his fury will backfire on him, because the church will be revived and people will come to faith in Christ through the testimony of the survivors. So, this is an encouragement to all of us to not let Satan’s fury discourage us or to get us to retreat, but instead we should remain faithful to Jesus Christ, and through our testimony for him defeat Satan’s attempts to try to destroy the work of God through his holy church.
A time of great tribulation is coming on the earth. I believe we are not far from that time. God is calling out to his children to turn from their sins and to return to following him with their whole hearts and minds. God’s grace is so amazing when we come to him in repentance and obedience and he forgives our sin. May we all be walking in the way the Lord Jesus Christ would lead us to go from this day forward so we can also defeat Satan.
Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011
Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg
1 comment:
Note: The TFBC flood took place November 6, 1977. The Lord, here, is comparing that to the fury of Satan in Revelation 12 against the church. I could not help but notice that November 6th of this year is voting day - 35 years after the flood. Perhaps the Lord is preparing us for another fury of Satan to come on the anniversary of this flood.
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