Triple validation of my life-changing Visitation

Posted on Monday, 1 December, 2025 by Richard Barker

A little time was needed to gain a fuller understanding of 1989’s awesome Visitation – the absolute holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ in contrast to my personal sinful nature. No wonder I expected to die and was convicted of my sin!

That encounter used two very personal aspects of my life to grab my attention, thereby validating the experience as real, not an imaginary one. Even more amazingly, both validations are directly related to the 1st and 2nd Advents! Thus, they couldn’t fail to enhance my interest in End-Times and which had been launched a few years earlier by The Invisible Hand (described herein).

The First Advent was the time 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 focus upon Jerusalem, Israel.

FIRST VALIDATION

I inwardly ‘knew’ the heavenly visitor was indeed Jesus, and that the impressive action was a foretaste of his promised return, when He will come in all His power and glory.

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

The confirmation referred to above came almost as unusually. On a healing retreat soon after Ellel Ministries opened at Pierrepont near Farnham in 1995, a prayer-minister told me God would show me something after lunch. Indeed, a lady who’d been seated at my table later confided between sessions that the Lord told her to show me something she greatly treasured.

It was a photo taken, it was claimed, from an aircraft over a thunderstorm. When developed, the photo bore an image of Jesus Christ, as though standing within clouds. However, the facial features were hazy, not defined. It was exactly like Jesus in my dream because I’d not seen His face. (I recall dark, hazy clouds at the foot of the image. This one is published by Bible Probe – A MUST READ!)

Upon seeing this photo my legs gave way – I couldn’t stand but fell into a nearby chair! My companion said I went so white she thought I was going to faint or fall.

Yet, just how did a stranger know to show me this photo? I’d not divulged 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, namely: upon my reaching towards Jesus’ feet to grasp His robe, it turned into the branch of a Christmas tree! So, when I tugged, a Christmas tree toppled over and its fairy fell off and onto the floor.

Weird? Not really, because that spot by the window was where the family Christmas tree used to be erected. It was a corner closely associated with Christmas.

As a devout Catholic, my mother had told me about Jesus from an early age. When I painted pictures I would put a blue stripe at the top of outdoor scenes to represent heaven, as children did. But I’d also draw a Christmas tree in heaven as being Jesus.

Why? 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 in my childish way I took the actor at his word and would draw Jesus as a Christmas tree. Hence, four decades later the Visitation dream went on to connect real Jesus to that imaginary picture.

At its close, therefore, the dream-event signified the time had come to put away not only childish misconceptions but also all false teachings and replace them with absolute truth – the one who is the Truth in person.

Truly, the most fantastic Christmas present ever – one that’s daily an ever-present 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 in another ‘coincidence’ – truly a ‘God-incidence’ – at a Pierrepont meeting that December I was sitting close to the large Christmas tree at the front of the hall and the speaker from Ellel Grange asked us to imagine how shocked and astonished Jesus’ disciples must have been when He walked through walls into their locked room after His Resurrection (John 20:19-20). It spoke straight into my own personal Visitation!

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 – or “two twelve” as we’d say) possibly be significant in pointing toward the coming year? That is, to 2012! (or, ‘two : no-number : twelve’).

Could that notion be true? Such musing would be confirmed in a fascinating numerical manner at 2012’s first Christian conference we were to attend…Upon our arrival at the venue in Torquay I was curious about 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 the previous post. This came as a ‘new revelatory word’ from the Lord 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.

[Click to enlarge]

It’s amusing 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.

Find out what happened after the encounter upon my testing claims of checking out the Bible direct with its Author – His answers stunned me!! (next).

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

[RETURN to overview: “Am FREE!”]

Personal foretaste of the global shock of Jesus’ Return!

Posted on Sunday, 30 November, 2025 by Richard Barker

The First Sunday of Advent in liturgical calendar celebrates Jesus’ Return

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” (Revelation 6:15-17)

A HEAVENLY VISITOR

In the early morn’ of 14th September 1989, only hours after the evening’s visitor had left and I’d orally and actually shut the door to his returning to tell me more about Jesus, that night’s second visitor was far more challenging – this time it is life or death – MINE!!

In a most unusual dream that night I go back in time. A dream so lucid it remains vividly etched within me. So it must be exceptionally significant. Come back 36 years with me as, in standard dream-recall practice, I put it into present tense (dream content in blue typeface, my comments in black).:

“I am in my childhood home and standing in front of the large casement window in one corner of the lounge and I look up into the inky, dark night sky outside.
A small flotilla of large, wingless aircraft drifts slowly across from left to right at high altitude and I groan, “Oh…not that flying saucer nonsense. I must be dreaming!”
I’m sceptical about the existence of UFO’s, but now another ‘fleet’ of some sort appears from the right and heads towards the first.
(The dream now changes gear by going up a level from the usual mix of mental material to that of absolutely convincing lucidity…)
The ‘light goes on’! In my ‘knower’, I realise the first fleet is demonic and the second is masses of angels under the command of Jesus Christ! (I did not believe in them, and regarded Jesus as one of many world teachers. Here, I see no individuals but inwardly know the situation)
I think I’m about to watch an amazing heavenly battle…but…OH NO! Somehow, I now know Jesus has espied me far down below and is coming down directly towards me!
All I see is a distant bright light very rapidly getting brighter and larger as it drops down to my location, just like an airliner approaching a runway to land at night.
Instantly, I realise my life has been one of sin that contrasts starkly against Jesus’ own holiness. Right away I realise what’s claimed about the Judgement is true – but mine is about to happen right now!
Beyond any doubt whatsoever I suddenly realise my involvement in the occult was most definitely wrong. Consequently, I deserve the undesirable abode!
Groaning “My number’s up!” I inwardly tremble in fearful knowledge I’m about to die at any moment. An invisible trapdoor I’m standing on will drop me straight into hell.
Utmost mortal terror strikes! I dive under the drop-leaf table by the wall to the left of the window so I can hide from Jesus. But he knows I’m hiding there and swoops down straight through the wall on the other side of the corner window. He’s standing in the room and right beside the table!
Cowering below the table with my back turned towards him, I glance over my shoulder and see him from the knees down, his body and face out of sight above the table.
Most unexpectedly, somehow I have the courage to reach my hand out backwards to grab at the hem of Jesus’ robe…
As I tug, the event goes into yet another level of revelation regarding my childhood…”Then I awake! Thoroughly alert, further sleep eludes me!

The dream reminds me of an evocative small picture in mother’s Missal that impressed me as a child – the return of Jesus Christ:

Later I understand that my terror had been ‘the fear of God’ brought through the Holy Spirit in convicting me of my personal sinfulness (ie. wrongdoing) and, thus, preparing me to receive God’s grace (ie. undeserved favour).

Also, what happened after reaching for Jesus proves He’s closely acquainted with the private details of my thoughts as a little boy. The dream’s conclusion shows He’s going to topple my childish concepts of Him and replace them with a sure knowledge of His true identity.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 111). Mercifully, He plucked me from the domain of darkness to bring me into His own and receive its blessings. I deserved none of that. Truly, Amazing Grace – how awesome and wonderful..!

As a result of the most remarkable dream I’d ever had, I carefully reconsidered all my New Age and occultic notions. Meditational and mystical exercises had resulted in my having some unusual, ‘psychic’ dreams, but none whatsoever like this one.

The only remotely similar dream was that of an ‘altered’ state of consciousness known as ‘nirvana’, or bliss, where I’d been taken behind its alluring golden light. Ecstasy turned to abject terror as the light I was in got swept aside like a curtain to reveal a hideous, devouring beast of utter blackness approaching me – The Devourer – far worse than any nightmare! (as in Searching for Truth leads me into captivity).

I wasn’t into drugs and was ignorant of the scripture ‘satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light‘ (2 Cor 11:14). Upon reading that verse a few years later I realised its truth had been dramatically demonstrated in reverse to me as a non-Christian!

But in this new dream terrifying fear had been overcome by Jesus Christ Himself and His wonderful mercy and love.

INCREDIBLE TIMING OF FRESH CONFIRMATION

[Written October 2013] Later we will consider how that dream-vision was validated as being real. But for now I want to draw your attention to a remarkable revelatory word given two days before I’m due to give a brief account of my journey into freedom at a breakfast.

Before having that dream I don’t think I’d heard of Jesus being in charge of angels for I was completely unfamiliar with the Bible. In later years I’d learn that the pre-incarnate Christ appeared to Joshua outside Jericho as ‘Commander of the LORD’s army’, (‘Chief of the host of Yahweh’ in original Hebrew at Joshua 5:14-15).

And, in countless sessions of solid Biblical instruction received since then I don’t recall hearing anything in-depth on Jesus’ role as the captain of the angelic hosts. That is, until last Sunday!

The timing of this fresh confirmation was the second of three clear references on three successive days to the content of a brief outline of my testimony, which had already been prepared for delivery on the 4th day!

Revd John Kilpatrick changed his sermon to bring a word the Lord had given him in the early hours of Saturday at 2hrs 22. We were listening live as part of the regular online congregation and the timing impacted my spirit because 22 is not only the date of my birthday but also and particularly because there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. (I’ve previously had occasion to note the personal relevance of two in 2.12.2012.)

Far more importantly in this word, the Lord of Hosts draws attention to the angelic hosts and their present and imminent activity. It reminded me of the above visitation – AND it is notable that John focused upon the same scripture that’s precisely relevant to my dream, as will be explained in forthcoming instalments of my journey.

For now, however, this mighty revelatory word deserves due, reverent consideration and reflection before proceeding further. If you wish to read it then click here.

A brief summation of that is given in the next part of my story: Triple validation of the reality of my life-changing Visitation.

[Bible quotations are by courtesy of BibleGateway.com.]

[Return to Main Menu: “Jesus Freed Me!”]

Searching for Truth leads me into captivity

Posted on Saturday, 29 November, 2025 by Richard Barker

At Mum’s sister Jenny’s house, Leicester (1962).

The intellectual freedom of higher education in the ‘swinging 60’s’ enabled me to break loose from the values of my parents and their generation. Even so, I recognised their values had enabled them to come through the destruction and deprivation of the Great Depression, World War and post-war Britain austerity with great fortitude.

As outlined in “You Shouldn’t Be At Our School!”, a formative influence upon a child of the post-war ‘baby boom’ was the disharmony and hypocrisy between churches. In my mind it tarred all Christians with the same brush and badly reflected upon the God they believed in.

Nevertheless, when a child I’d once thought it must have been awesome to have been around Jesus and seen everything He said and did. Continue reading →

Triple validation of my foretaste of Jesus’ return

Posted on Monday, 15 September, 2025 by Richard Barker

The life-changing night of 36 years ago eventually brought surprising confirmations of the event by using my birthday and first address numbers: 22 and 212. Moreover, their occasional ‘God-incidental’ appearance in timings of items coming to my attention has rapidly increased over the past couple of years, as noted in my postings. Now to return to my testimony:

Quite some time was needed to gain a full understanding of that awesome Visitation and my 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.

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

A few years later I heard the scripture, “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 undivided attention and thereby validate the experience as being real, not at all 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 mentioned above came almost as unusually.

At a healing retreat six years later (1995), one of the ministry prayer-team said God would show me something after lunch. Indeed He did, for a lady who’d been sitting at my table later confided whilst we were walking, that the Lord had told her to show me something she greatly treasured, as below:

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.) Continue reading →

…Jesus sees me from the clouds and swoops down!!

Posted on Sunday, 14 September, 2025 by Richard Barker

Upon awaking 36 years ago this morning, 14th September 1989, I was overjoyed to find I’m still alive after having had such a very close call with death in the night!

The previous evening I’d firmly shut the door to hearing any more of Billy Graham on Jesus and I decided to remain within a gnostic-type of belief system.

However, I never suspected putting paid to my earthly visitor would result in a heavenly one!

Although I lived in Berkshire, that night was then spent at my childhood home of 212 E___ Rd, Stockport, Cheshire, undergoing an astonishing life-changing event.

In a most unusual dream I went back in time and space. A dream so lucid that even four decades later it remains vividly etched within me. Here’s what happened, as written in the original testimony with explanatory comments in italics; please bear with the close-type as there’s too much formatting code to revise.:

A HEAVENLY VISITOR
‘I am in my childhood home and standing in front of the very tall casement window in one corner of the lounge. I look up into the inky, dark night sky outside.
A small flotilla of large, wingless aircraft drifts slowly across from left to right at high altitude and I groan, “Oh…not that flying saucer nonsense. I must be dreaming!”
I’m sceptical about the existence of UFO’s, but now another ‘fleet’ of some sort appears from the right and heads towards the first.
(The dream now changes gear by going up a level from the usual mix of mental material to that of absolute lucidity…)
The ‘light goes on’! In my ‘knower’, I realise the first fleet is demonic and the second is masses of angels under the command of Jesus Christ. (I did not believe in them, and regarded Jesus as one of many world teachers. Here, I see no individuals but inwardly know the situation.)
I think I’m about to watch an amazing heavenly battle…but…OH NO! Somehow, I now know Jesus has espied me far down below and is coming down directly towards me!
All I see is a distant bright light very rapidly getting brighter and larger as it drops down to my location, just like an airliner approaching a runway to land at night.
Instantly, I realise my life has been one of sin that contrasts starkly against Jesus’ own holiness. Right away I realise what’s claimed about the Judgement is true – but mine is about to happen right now!
Beyond any doubt whatsoever I suddenly realise my involvement in the occult was most definitely wrong. Consequently, I deserve the undesirable abode!
Groaning “My number’s up!” I inwardly tremble in fearful knowledge I’m about to die at any moment. An invisible trapdoor I’m standing on will drop me straight into Hell.
Utmost mortal terror strikes! I dive under the drop-leaf table by the wall to the left of the window so I can hide from Jesus. But he knows I’m hiding there and swoops down straight through the wall on the other side of the corner window. He’s standing in the room and right beside the table!
Cowering below the table with my back turned towards him, I glance over my shoulder and see him from the knees down, his body and face out of sight above the table.
Most unexpectedly, somehow I have the courage to reach my hand out backwards to grab at the hem of Jesus’ robe…
As I tug, the event goes into yet another level of revelation regarding my childhood…Then I awake! Thoroughly alert, further sleep eludes me!’

The dream reminds me of an evocative small picture that strongly impressed me when a child – the return of Jesus Christ:

Later, I understand my terror had been ‘the fear of God’ brought by the Holy Spirit convicting me of my personal wrongdoing and, thus, preparing me to receive God’s grace – a totally undeserved favour!

Also, what happened after reaching for Jesus proves He’s so closely acquainted with my intimate thoughts when a boy. The dream’s conclusion shows He’s going to topple those childish concepts and replace them with an absolutely sure knowledge of His true identity.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 111).

Mercifully, He plucked me right out of the domain of darkness to bring me into His own Kingdom and receive its blessings. I deserved none of that. Truly, Amazing Grace – how awesome and wonderful..!

As a result of the most remarkable dream I’d ever had, I was left with no choice but to seriously reconsider all my New Age and occult notions. Meditational and mystical exercises had resulted in my having some unusual, ‘psychic’ dreams, but none like this one.

The only dream remotely similar was many years earlier of being in an ‘altered’ state of consciousness known as ‘nirvana’, There I was immersed in a field of light and felt so blissful BUT I was then taken behind its alluring golden light. Sheer ecstasy turned to abject terror as the light I was in got swept aside like a curtain to reveal an enormous, hideous, devouring beast of utter blackness approaching me – far, far worse than any nightmare!

I wasn’t into drugs but was ignorant of the scripture ‘satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light‘ (2 Cor 11:14). Upon reading that verse years later, I realised its truth had been dramatically demonstrated to me when a non-Christian!

But in this new dream my terrifying fear had been overcome by Jesus Christ Himself and His wonderful mercy and love. He ‘arrested’ me in my sin only to rescue me from falling into the pit of Hell.

In this stunning night the Truth I’d been searching for since a teenager turned up in Person – thank You Lord. And lots more Truth was to come as I began to open the door to His Good News!

Moreover, this amazing encounter in 1989 was yet to be validated on three occasions!!!

So, if you don’t yet know Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with Him, you may wish to know more and consider this vital matter at Do You Know Jesus?

Continue reading in the next post >>

2004 Vision of Britain so rotten it easily tears

Posted on Wednesday, 20 August, 2025 by Richard Barker

This is reprise of Comments Upon The Collapse of Society 14 years ago this month about a personal open vision of 7 years earlier…

Extract from pre-blog email circulated on Thursday 18 August 2011
Subject: Comments upon Word received through Dr Sharon Stone

Dear Friends, Further to circulating a word received through Lance Lambert on the eve of the London Riots (see email 9 August) and Dr Sharon’s insights 12 August (original email and link n/a but amended Oct 2016), I was reminded Billy Graham’s grandson is coming to stir the youth of Britain in late September.

(HA! Only after having inserted that line to precede my comments written below, have I just noticed its title, Will Graham Set to Rock the UK, alludes exactly to the climax of the event I’m writing about….)
Personally, I’m encouraged that this word (through Revd Dr Stone) confirms the gist of an open vision that came at the opening of worship at the start of a conference in St Albans in October 2004.
Before me I ‘saw’ a map of Britain surrounded by the sea, as though painted on rotten sacking – like old, wet coal-sacks I saw in my youth. It seemed the Lord was saying the fabric of our nation’s so rotten He could tear it apart so easily.
This ‘map’ then began to rip apart in the middle, from about the line of Hadian’s Wall down along the line of the Pennine chain to the Midlands, and I sensed the Lord say, “I’m going to put the backbone back in Britain”. (I recalled that the Pennines are known as the spine of England.)
But out of the tear arose a very long rock, which I understood as meaning the Lord would restore our strong, spiritual backbone when we stand upon Him, The Rock.
[Previously I’d noted, ‘Could the Lord be allowing increased persecutions here for the purpose of putting the spine back into Christians and making us stand up strongly?’… And Parliament has since been, and continues to be, thoroughly shaken and ripped open – do it to the media and elsewhere, Lord…Did you know that mounted, body-armoured police in Manchester interrogated a street preacher just because he was inviting people to an Easter service? Next, a hate-crimes unit visited him at home!!!]
It wasn’t so much the unexpected and unbidden nature of the event that startled me. It was because I thought I heard the Lord say that He would rip the nation apart as easily as an old sack because of its rotten nature!! That troubled me for I considered such to be contrary to his loving nature.
But NT scriptures do speak of judgement and He gives many repeated warnings of such impending action (eg. as given this month through Lance Lambert). Yet, we must plead His remembrance of mercy and of Jesus’ sacrifice, through which comes the fullness of true blessing. All rather a profound mystery. Also, let’s not forget that the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11.2) were aspects of the Holy Spirit prophesied for the descendant of King David’s father Jesse: Jesus Christ.
NB > the vision was subsequently offered to several church leaders for weighing yet without any response! However, upon our attending a prophecy school the next year at Bath, I submitted it to Dr Stone who immediately agreed its validity.
2016 Confirmation: see Britain: Reformation Is Coming With Far Greater Glory

“WAKE UP! You’re sleepwalking past Me!”

Posted on Thursday, 12 June, 2025 by Richard Barker

A HUGE THANK YOU LORD!

After many “Wake Up!” calls on this blog over several years, together with increasing global calls recently from prophetical voices, this prophetic word from the Lord is now received by leading intercessors, as shown by this Emmaus Road church video and replayed at 3Counties Vineyard church on Pentecost Sunday.

Pete Greig is the ‘bewildered founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement, an award-winning author of nine books, and a co-host of the much-loved daily devotional Lectio365 used by 330,000 people’ [Bio here].

‘20,131 views Jun 2, 2025 – Statistics and news articles are confirming that the Lord is moving in our midst. Pete unpacks a powerful prophetic word calling us to wake up—to rise from spiritual slumber and respond to the Spirit’s urgent invitation for personal and corporate awakening.’

Here’s my edited extract (emphases mine) of the transcript with Pete’s introduction to prophecy and to Benjamin Downing’s recounting what he’d heard the Lord telling him:

“Whatever this quiet revival means I can tell you for a fact, it’s not starting out there somewhere; it’s got to start in here in me, in you, with a revival in our own relationships with Jesus. You want to catch the wave (so) make sure the quiet revival is happening in your own heart right now…

In Emmaus Road we seek to be a Christ-centred, mission-minded and spirit-led community and that means that we try to be open to the interruptions of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes he’s in the structures and the plans but sometimes you know he’s like

the wind, he’s like fire, he surprises us and that’s why this evening we are going to do things a little bit differently.

A few months ago a much loved member of this church Benjamin Downing came to me saying I think God has spoken to me and he had received a prophetic word that you’re going to hear in a moment. When he shared it with me all I can say is it felt weighty.

So, the majority of prophetic words are as the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 they’re for the encouragement, the strengthening, the up-building of the church and you know they they bring some edification. That’s fantastic. But every now and then God speaks in a way that feels more than that; it feels substantial and directive and you know, you can tell that really by three things:

Firstly, the circumstances in which the word is received;

Secondly, the context into which it speaks and,

Thirdly, the confirmation that the word elicits, the circumstances in which uh the word is received.

You’re going to hear that it is really very supernatural how Benjamin received this.

The context: well I think as you hear, it will say “Yep that relates exactly to our current cultural moment and maybe things you’re experiencing in your own lives.”

And confirmation: I can tell you that since Benjamin shared this word uh with me a number of people have received similar, you know, prophetic senses from the Lord without consulting with each other.

And so that always makes me sit up and take notice. As elders we’ve talked and prayed and, “Yeah we really feel like God is saying this to the church.”

So this is a significant moment because we want to just kind of release this word into the church.

Benjamin’s going to share it then I’m going to wrap a little scripture around it and then we’re going to give an opportunity for those who’d like to do so to respond personally and for us to respond corporately as a church….”

[Benjamin]

“A few months ago I was woken by an audible voice which is not something that happens all the time – unless my wife’s waking me up, (who) on this occasion was 12,000 miles away…

So about 5:00 in the morning this audible voice said, “Wake up!” And so I was startled by because it was such a clear voice; so I jumped into my spiritual action and ran downstairs thinking “I’ve got to answer the door, it must be someone at the front door – no one’s there, it’s 5:00 in the morning, it’s it’s a Sunday.”… I go back to bed and think okay I’m just going to pray maybe that was not something of God.

So I just prayed and kind of rested in that and thought “I wonder what that was about?”

I came to church, which was logistics in itself, and during the service and those hours after, I realized that God was trying to say something specific about that ‘wake up’ for me. I then also walked forward after the service and Pete actually had the privilege of praying that as I wept and as I spoke out I just felt that God was challenging me.

As Pete says – he’s often really encouraging in my life – but He’s, God’s challenging me to say “You’re sleepwalking through this life, you’re sleepwalking through it and you need to wake up! You’re waking up…you’re busy with life…with distractions… with purchasing stuff – all of these things. You need to wake up because every morning I’m sitting in your room and you’re walking past Me, you’re walking past Me. I want to be part of your life, want to speak in relationship with you and over those coming days and weeks.”

It was about 60 days in the end of just saying every time the urge to purchase something or get on the BBC news channel or whatever, it was just suppressing that and saying “Lord what is it you want to speak?” And he’s like, “I’ve got words for you I’ve got plans for you and you’re not listening.”

So in those times it was really really stark and yet he says “I just want your attention i just want you to change and so wake up!” and actually the thing that’s done for me is actually just allow me to create time every day where I’m trying to slow it down, where I’m trying to be attentive not to the words of news or sport or whatever, but actually to my life and where God’s speaking, challenging at times about purity and holiness; but also just about this idea of don’t just fall back into ways and habits and normal things of life…”

[Applause – Pete] “Benjamin, I think the Holy Spirit is saying to many of us in this room as individuals and people who are watching online and I think He’s saying actually to this church at this time; “Wake up!” When someone hears the audible voice of God we should wake up, we should sit up and say, “Hang on what’s that about?” And I want to say to you very clearly, I don’t think that you know that God’s angry – this isn’t a rebuke. I think God is urgent – there’s that sense of “wake up, don’t miss this moment!”

So let’s turn to the scriptures together…” Ephesians 5 (8mins time-stamp):

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹²It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

The next post continues with illustrated notes of the teaching points and links to over a dozen “Wake up!” postings during the past ten years…

Invisible chains fall off me – am freed from satan!

Posted on Sunday, 29 September, 2024 by Richard Barker

Months after that night of destiny in 1989 I trashed my occult and New Age books, yet I kept some items that were very significant to membership in those occult brotherhoods. But very soon, troubles brewed up within my relationships. And they got worse, and worse. So I asked for prayer help and gathered all those remaining things, such as ritualistic items and pictures. Right at the peak of my trouble I heard an almost audible voice instruct me to...“Burn what you’ve collected – NOW!”

Never, ever, would I have believed what was to happen next:

Out in the backyard I piled those membership items onto an area of gravel and, putting a match to them, I sincerely repented.

Fanning the flames, I apologised deeply to God for all my past rebellious, sinful activity and specifically renounced satan and all evil connected with those occult associations.

As I asked God to forgive me, heavy invisible shackles suddenly dropped off my wrists!

I felt, and was, free, completely free – exactly as is jubilantly sung in Charles Wesley’s great hymn And Can It Be?

WOW, from despair to jubilation within a split second! What utter freedom! Praise Him!

That hymn’s lyrics present the simple yet sublime salvation found in our Father’s good news about Jesus.

How aptly the third verse describes my personal situation and what had just happened – my wonderful liberation from invisible bondage to satan.:

1. And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God shouldst die for me?

2. He left His Father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race!

‘Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me.

3. Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night.
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray:
I woke the dungeon flamed with light!

My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

4. No condemnation now I dread:
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,

Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

If you’re unfamiliar with Charles Wesley brother of the renowned evangelical founder of Methodism, John Wesley, read here about his equally famous influence as author of many well-known hymns; eg. Love Divine, all love’s excelling, Hark the herald angels…

Listen to one of the greatest hymns as broadcast some years ago in Songs of Praise, thanks to Fabio Ramsay, as below.:

I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in the victorious God of my salvation! (Hab 3:1)

To read my testimony in full go to Jesus Freed Me! There, you’ll find an overview of my background, two life-changing divine appointments and how the Lord began to instruct me…all to HIS glory. May you be mightily blessed upon following the links therein…

I remain, your brother in Christ

Richard

Triple validation of a personal foretaste of Jesus’ return

Posted on Thursday, 26 September, 2024 by Richard Barker

[My testimony of the life-changing night 35 years 12 days ago continues and note the origin of personal numbers that have been God-incidentally repetitive this year.]

‘…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 thirty-five 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’!!!

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 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.

…Jesus sees me from the clouds and swoops down into my room!!

Posted on Tuesday, 17 September, 2024 by Richard Barker

Upon awaking on 14th September 1989, I was overjoyed to find I’m still alive after having had such a very close call with death in the night!

The previous evening I’d firmly shut the door to hearing any more about God’s Good News! But the night-time had been spent at my childhood home of 212 E___ Rd, Stockport, Cheshire, to undergo a life-changing event. [PS. Number is emphasised in view of God-incidence today! – click to read all about it.] Continue reading →

Invisible chains fall off – freed at last from satan!

Posted on Tuesday, 19 September, 2023 by Richard Barker