Preparing for Revival

This article contains a dream I received. There are two distinct parts, and I will be covering each separately. The dream is about a place that is about to ignite. By “ignite,” I mean, it is ready to explode with God’s supernatural, tangible, discernible, presence. And when God shows up, who knows what can happen?

I and some others were in a building that was reaching the “flash point,” as it were. Although the fire was not visible, I knew that eventually this whole place was going to burst into flames. We were in one particular room on the upper level. It was on the second floor. This room was along the back wall of a building. It was not facing the front.

The Secret Place

What was this place? Since it was rear-facing, this was not where you went in order to be seen by others, but by the One who sees you in secret.

“But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)

“For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” (See 1 Samuel 16:7)

The feeling of expectancy was awesome. There was a sense of real power in the air. The air was “pregnant” with the power of God.

The Door

Along the back wall of this room, there was a single door that you could pass through. It was neither to the left, nor to the right; it was in the center. I was not told what this door represented, but I believe, based on the imagery, that it represented Jesus, because Jesus said,

“I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.” (John 10:9)

The door was in the center, and neither to the left, nor to the right, and I think that is further evidence that this door represents “God’s way,” as opposed to “man’s way,” because, in the Bible, we are commanded “not to turn to the left or the right” (see Deuteronomy 5:32). In other words, we are to choose only God’s path. Jesus said,

“Enter in by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter in by it. How the gate is narrow and the way is restricted that leads to life! There are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Jesus also said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (See John 14:6)

Therefore, there is only one way. There are not two ways, or more. In the dream, there was only one door, and that makes sense, because there is only one door by which we must pass through if we are to find eternal life, and that door is Jesus Christ.

The Upper Room

What about the fact that it was an upper room that I was in? In the Bible, we read about the first disciples of Jesus coming together in an upper room to pray, for it says,

When they had come in, they went up into the upper room where they were staying ... All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and supplication. (See Acts 1:13-14)

Later on, we read that this is where the power of the Holy Spirit was suddenly unleashed (see Acts 2:1-4). Thus, through prayer, God’s power was made manifest. God’s intention is for the Holy Spirit’s power to be made manifest in you and me. We are to pray, just like the early believers did. We are not only to pray, but we are to obey him in all areas of our lives. If he says to “go” we are to go. And if he says to “stay” we are to stay! Obedience brings blessings. And prayer is one of those areas that we need to obey him in. As we do, we shall be “revived”.

Revivals, or spiritual awakenings, bring repentance, restoration, and renewal. Signs and wonders can also take place. But did you know that Jesus prophesied a false “signs and wonders” movement, before his return? It’s true! He said,

“For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.” (Matthew 24:24)

Therefore, let us be on our guard against fleshly, self-centered, preaching, whose focus is on man and not God, which is the hallmark, or classic indicator, of the false signs and wonders movement. This movement has been kept in hiding for a long time, but God wants to expose it, otherwise, the “next revival” will become like that, driven by self instead of God. Some past revivals, or spiritual awakenings, include the Great Awakening1, The Welsh Revival2, The Welsh Methodist Revival3, and others4. The Great Moravian revival of 1727 lasted 100 years!5

What is a Revival?

In Psalm 85:6, we read,

Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? (Psalm 85:6)

On this note, a revival is when God awakens his people. It is when God puts his passion or his fire into the hearts of his people. Jeremiah the prophet had this passion burning in him at all times, and wrote, concerning God’s word and his passion to make God known,

“there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones” (See Jeremiah 20:9)

Jeremiah’s heart was right with God, which is why God was able to use him so powerfully. But the same was not true for others. He had a hard job and had to tell others to repent, and turn to God.

Revival occurs when sin is repented of. There is open confession of wrongdoing, and people genuinely forsake it. Hearts become open, and God’s Spirit then has freedom to move on the inside of people like never before.

Sadly, in some cases, it may never occur, even though God raises up people like Jeremiah. Jeremiah warned the people that they would be taken away into Babylon if they did not repent. They did not repent, and were taken into Babylon. On the other hand, Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be destroyed, and the king of Nineveh proclaimed a fast and the people repented. God relented and did not destroy that place. That might be referred to as a revival, although strictly speaking a revival is when people come back to God. And I’m not quite sure if the people of Nineveh ever really knew God to begin with. But either way, they trusted in the Lord.

Historically, and more recently (since the time of Christ), genuine revivals have always been traced back to dedicated, devoted, Christian prayer meetings — including and especially people crying out to the living God for mercy. Prayer comes from conviction. Conviction, in the case of Jonah and Nineveh, came from preaching! The Bible says,

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?” (Romans 10:14)

We need good preachers!

Revival is very serious business. Some people might say that the “tangible presence of God can be felt” during a revival. Yet there is no such recording of this in Nineveh. So whether you feel it or not, the most important thing is that you actually turn from sin. Repentance from sin, and righteous living, is the heart of any genuine move of God.

The spark of revival may throw “holy embers” to other lands, as well. How many people heard about the preaching of Jonah? Many! God intends that the knowledge of his goodness be spread abroad through revival, so that the whole earth might know him!

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

Angels who have seen God’s glory, do not cease to praise him (see Revelation 5:11-12). And when God’s glory is manifest in various ways on the earth and lives are changed, human beings do the same. But the challenge God has given to humans is that before we see these things, we are to pray and seek him by faith. We are not to merely wait for revival, but eagerly be about the Master’s business in anticipation of it. Faith without works is dead (see James 2:20). But faith with action will be rewarded (see Hebrews 11:6).

Busily Engaged and Devoted

In the dream, I was in an upper room for a reason. This was the place of prayer. That is where the revival starts: in the secret place.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

The prophet Elijah, who performed many miracles, knew the secret place. Paul, who also performed many miracles, also knew the secret place. And Jesus, who also performed many incredible miracles, surely knew the secret place, as well!

“But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)

In Acts 2, we read of the early disciples,

“They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.” (Acts 2:42-43)

Thus, we see a great emphasis on prayer, and fellowship. The sense we have from both Acts 2:42-43 and Acts 1:13-14 quoted earlier is that there was a real persistence. However, it came from the right spirit. There are people who meet today for prayer who do not even know the Lord and who are teaching things that are contrary to the Bible. God cannot be honored when truth is not taught. Jesus said,

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)

The Second Scene

In a second scene, I met a man who in real life is a pastor of a church. This man is a “type” of Jesus in the dream. In other words, he’s a representation of Jesus. In numerous dreams, I’ve seen God use men to represent himself. He will often use leaders in the church. This man I met, in real life, is a leader in the church. At the time I had this dream, I was living in Toronto. But this man is a leader of the church in Ottawa. Why did God use this man to represent himself? That’s a good question.

I had a dream in which God used my own father to represent himself. I wrote about this in an article called, Are You Ready for the Rapture? God can use anyone in a dream to represent himself, because of what that person actually represents. In the case of the rapture article, which is all about the resurrection and the rapture, and which left me crying for about a week, God used my father to represent the heavenly Father. In fact, many times, the Lord has used my father’s house, to represent the assemblies of God. God does not mind using people to represent himself. And he does it all the time. Believers are called ambassadors for Christ. And that means we are called to represent him on this earth.

But in this dream, I met the pastor of a church located in Ottawa. But it was not really the pastor of the church I was meeting. It was a representation of Jesus. We know it’s a representation of Jesus based on the imagery presented. I met him in his office, which, in the dream, was elevated off the ground. There were rooms on the right hand side ― and God’s right hand side in the Bible, usually means the place of authority (for example, see Psalm 89:13).

In the room were a lot of books on shelves. When I turned to look at another wall, there were yet more books. These books extended the complete width of the wall. There were so many books! What could this mean?

Books represent knowledge, and the Bible says,

“For Yahweh will give wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)

The Bible also says,

“The heart of the discerning gets knowledge. The ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (Proverbs 18:15)

We are warned in the Bible not to pursue the wrong type of knowledge.

“you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17).

But there is a type we are to pursue.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (See Hosea 4:6)

This is the knowledge that is associated with the fear of God (meaning reverence for God).

The Bible says,

“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

And Jesus prayed, saying,

“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3)

He also said,

“[The] one who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.” (John 14:21)

Did you notice that all this has to do with knowledge? Not only does God want us to know him, he wants us to know him intimately. We are to pursue him, rather than pursing knowledge simply for the sake of knowledge.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (See 1 Corinthians 8:1)

In a previous passage (Habakkuk 2:14), we already saw that,

“the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh, like the waters covering the sea.”

As the knowledge of God increases, so should our love for God increase, including faith, hope, and love. We will then be in a “right place” to handle and manage all of the knowledge that God gives us.

The Bookshelves

In the dream, the bookshelves were made of beautiful dark wood, and it was indeed beautiful, even as Jesus is beautiful.

“One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

Furthermore, the book shelves were beautifully illumined with lights, and who is the light of the world, except Jesus? Jesus said,

“I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (See John 8:12)

The man invited me upstairs (that would be the upper room) for the purpose of having a conversation with him. But I was slightly hesitant! I wondered what he wanted to say to me. Would he be upset at me? Was I in for trouble? This is representative of the thoughts that many people have, who are still not sure how good God is.

Perhaps this is you, and perhaps, even as you are reading these words, you are wondering, “Is God good? Will he bless me if I open up to him? Will he even forgive me for the things I have done?” The answer is, “Yes, he will,” if you are sincere and if you are humble. Furthermore, he wants to develop a close, intimate, relationship, with you. And he wants to use you, to help bring others to himself. This is what the Great Commission is all about.

God has prepared for us works, that we might walk in them (see Ephesians 2:10). Are you walking in the works God has given to you? Do you know what your spiritual gifts and calling is? Have you sought God out on how he wants to use you? Are you part of a growing community that recognizes the importance of prayer, teaching, and fellowship, around the word of God? Are you willing to get involved, and be part of what God is doing in these last days? If you can hear his voice, it is time to stand up and be counted!

“Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (See Ephesians 5:14)

“... it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)

Therefore, let us not slumber, but awaken! For his return is indeed very soon!

“Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work.” (Revelation 22:12)