‘…but mercy (full of glad confidence) exults victoriously over judgement’ – James 2:13 (The Amplified Bible)

Quite some time was needed to gain a full understanding of that awesome visitation 33 years ago and being confronted by the absolute holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder I was intensely convicted and suddenly knew personal judgement definitely IS TRUE!   As mentioned, I fully expected to take my last breath there and then and be dropped down into Hell.

It was a few years until I heard that “mercy triumphs over judgement” – yes indeed it does and thank you for being so gracious to me, my Lord. May it be similarly so for the multitudes who don’t yet know You.

That life-changing encounter used two personally intimate aspects of my life, unknown to any living soul, to grab my attention and thereby validate the experience as being real, not imaginary.  Even more amazingly, both validations are directly related to the 1st and 2nd Advents!  Thus, they could not but enhance my interest in End-Times that had begun only a few years earlier when reading The Invisible Hand (as described herein). Yet it took me 30 years for it to dawn upon me that when that happened I’d been given the first two pieces of an ‘invisible jigsaw’!!!

The First Advent was when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea about two thousand years ago. Hence, the four weeks leading into Christmas are designated within the church calendar as Advent, and which start the church year. The Second Advent is coming soon and is expected to begin in the city of Jerusalem.

FIRST VALIDATION

I inwardly ‘knew’ that heavenly visitor was indeed Jesus Christ himself, and that His impressive swift descent was a foretaste of His promised return in all His glory.

The event reminded me of my favourite picture in mother’s Missal, or service book of the Roman Mass.  This gave the scriptures for Sunday services throughout the year together with a picture symbolising the theme for each service.  As a boy very keen on astronomy I’d been fascinated by the picture for the First Sunday in Advent. It depicted Jesus standing on the clouds over a burning earth in the midst of sun, moon and falling stars, telling of events before his Second Advent!

The validation referred to above came almost as unusually. On a healing retreat six years later, a minister told me God would show me something after lunch. Indeed He did for a lady whom I’d never met and was seated at my table confided after lunch that the Lord told her to show me something she greatly treasured.

It was a photo taken from an aircraft over a thunderstorm. When developed, the photo bore an image of Jesus Christ as though standing within the clouds. But the facial features were hazy; exactly like Jesus in my dream because I’d not seen His face!!  (I seem to recall hazy clouds at the foot of the image. This one shown is published by Bible Probe.)

My legs gave way upon seeing this photo as I couldn’t remain standing but had to drop down into a nearby chair! My companion, Yvonne, said I went so white she thought I was going to faint or fall.

Yet just how did Yvonne, a stranger to me ’til then, know to show me this photo?  I’d not said anything about such a personal dream – she simply said, “It’s the Lord’s doing.”

SECOND VALIDATION 

I was puzzled over the closing element of the dream-event. Upon my reaching towards Jesus’ feet to grasp the hem of His robe, it turned into the branch of a Christmas tree!

So when I tugged, a medium-sized fir tree toppled over and its fairy fell from its top!

Weird?  Not really, because I later realised that place by the window in my dream was where the family’s Christmas tree used to be erected, as shown in this photo. So this window-corner of the room was always associated with Christmas.

As a devout Catholic, my mother had taken me to church from my infancy and told me about Jesus. When I painted pictures I’d put a blue stripe at the top of outdoor scenes to represent heaven, as young children did in those days. However, I’d also draw a Christmas tree on the blue line to show Jesus is up in heaven.  Why-ever so?

Not only had I associated all the wonder of Christmas with His birthday, but I also heard an actor on TV mention His name whilst looking at a small fir-tree. So, my childish mind took the actor at his word and I began to draw Jesus in the sky as a Christmas tree.

Hence, nearly 40 years later in my dream-visitation He ‘shape-shifted’ (Mark 16;12) to match my boyhood image – and for an especially revelatory reason!

At its close, therefore, the dream-event signified the time had come for me to topple not only childish misconceptions but also all those false teachings I’d imbibed as an adult, and to replace them with absolute truth – the one who is the Truth in person.

Truly, the most fantastic Christmas present ever – one that’s a daily encouragement and help in every time of need, no matter how dire. Thank you Lord.

These events started in 1989 and culminated in 1995 with its prime confirmation. Yet more was to come!  Sixteen years later upon revisiting this story for the purposes of this blog, I was surprised by a couple more insights that dropped unbidden into mind. One was tantalising: could the street number of my childhood home (212), revisited in that dream, possibly be significant in pointing toward the coming year? That is, to 2012!

Could that notion be true?  Such musing would be confirmed in a fascinating numerical manner at 2012’s first Christian prophecy conference we were to attend. Upon arriving there I was curious about the distance driven from home. The car’s odometer was ‘212‘ miles!

THIRD VALIDATION

Once again, timing proves crucial in presenting another objective confirmation!  Again, had I not been writing about the visitation I would have missed the crucial linkage!

Whilst writing instalments of My Journey Into Freedom (Sept-Oct 2013) I inserted a report on something pertinent that happened at that time in the USA, as recounted in its previous post. This came as a ‘new revelatory word’ from to Revd John Kilpatrick and began at 2:22am. This too, is very interesting on two counts. Numerically, because my birthday falls on a 22nd. Orally, because that word is directly relevant to my dream visitation in referring to the angelic host as well as in closing with Luke 21:28, namely:

“But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.”

My mother’s Missal for the First Sunday of Advent is shown below and notice how the scripture on page 69 links into my personal visitation and what pastor John brought.

I’m amused that the number of hits on this blog passed the 212,000 mark within days of the 4th anniversary of its launch on 21st November 2015.

So a huge thank you goes to every subscriber and regular reader, as well as all visitors.

Shortly, I’ll tell the next important lesson of how the Bible’s author answered my two vital questions about it – and pointed me to what happens to others who’d been in the same ‘boat’ – and that was before He set me free by shattering satan’s shackles!

[Note: originally published 12 December 2011 as ‘3 Validations Point to 2012-13: Part 3 of ‘Death or Destiny?’.]