Do you believe God is a God who reveals mysteries? On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, I had a dream. In the dream, I met a man named Sebastian in an intimate place. I knew this place was intimate, because it was pictured as being a room full of beds. This place was pictured as being so intimate, I was actually lying down on top of one of those beds, with my arm around this man named Sebastian.

We were fully clothed, on top of the bed, and not under any covers, and only the extended portion of my arm (meaning my hand and wrist) was around him. No other part of my body made contact with him, and there were no sexual connotations. Furthermore, this man named Sebastian had been crying non-stop.

Was that a crazy dream or what?! Could such a dream possibly come from God? If so, what would this dream be all about? For the Bible says that in the last days, God will give dreams and visions (see Joel 2:28-29 and Acts 2:17-18).

This dream was certainly about intimacy. It was about something emotional (because Sebastian had been crying non-stop). However, it was not about sexual intimacy. Instead, the intimacy that was being described pointed to something else, namely, a deep knowing or understanding that normally you could not find anywhere else. As a type of “epilogue” or “ending” to the dream, I said to the man named Sebastian, “I saw you in a dream this morning, and I wrote it down, and here it is on my phone!”

When I woke up, I wrote the dream down in an email, and sent it to myself, so that it actually was on my phone. For all my emails came to my phone. This was my customary way of keeping record of the dreams that I felt had some meaning to them. Thus, I did. I simply wrote the dream down. Then, I emailed it to myself.

That evening, I attended a prayer meeting. Now prayer is by nature intimate. For it is prayer to the living God. And God is an intimate God. For Jesus says to those who know him,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

This is a real statement of intimacy. This means God wants to get close to us. He wants to get very close. The above verse is really an invitation to know God, and to know him very closely.

The Prayer Meeting

I had never been to this particular prayer meeting before, because I was visiting from another city. Therefore, I did not know what to expect, or who I might meet. There were many people present (around 50). At one point, we were asked to split into small groups of about two or three, so we could pray for the persecuted church. A man and a woman whom I had never met before approached me, and we prayed together in our little group of three. After that, the woman disappeared into the crowd.

I asked the man who remained, “What is your name?”

He said, “Sebastian.”

I said, “Really?”

I was slightly shocked! I immediately remembered the dream! I said, “I saw you in a dream this morning, and I wrote it down, and here it is on my phone!” Quickly, I pulled out my phone, and showed him the dream. The subject line of the email was the single word, “Sebastian.”

Sebastian immediately exclaimed, “I want to know what is in that dream!”

Intimacy in Relationship

After that, we spent time talking at a coffee shop (Tim Horton’s), and shared. In Christian lingo, this is called “fellowship.” It was intimate fellowship, because we talked about personal matters. Thus, from a dream about intimacy, to an intimate prayer meeting, we were now discussing intimate matters — matters that were deeply personal to Sebastian.

To be sure, I believe that the symbolism of the many beds that I saw in my dream actually referred to the many people that were in attendance at that prayer meeting. However, the one bed with Sebastian and I in it I believe referred to the intimacy which we ourselves were enjoying, as we discussed matters of the heart — things that really mattered to him.

A Special Encounter

Now Sebastian himself was not from Canada (which is where we met). Instead, he had travelled from overseas to get involved in a special ministry training program at the church we had met at. In fact, he had been there for about five months.

Sebastian said to me, “I have been involved with this church now for more than five months. But I am closer to you in one day than with anyone I met here.” Then he added, “I have always wanted to have a special encounter with God, and have been asking him for it, and waiting for it, but I never had it for myself. I knew that other people had it, but I never had it. Now, God has given it to me.”

Thus it was that we talked.

I said to Sebastian, “Yes, and I saw you crying, you could not stop.”

He said, “That part does not really make sense.”

I said, “Maybe it is about your heart — some pain that is in your heart. Maybe it is not about physical crying, but about the cry of your heart, meaning some sadness you have in your heart, deep down.”

Eight Days Later

Neither of us knew what it was really about, until about 8 days later. That’s when Sebastian called me up, and said, “I think I know what that crying was all about that you saw in your dream.” He went on to explain, “At almost the same time as we spoke, my uncle died on his private boat, but nobody knew it, because he was alone. They found him just recently, and I have been crying a lot, as I was very close to him.”

Thus, because of the dream, I was able to bring comfort to Sebastian in a way that he would not otherwise have been able to experience. Thus, Sebastian was indeed comforted. Then, almost as quickly as I had met him, he returned to his home country. For his time at the ministry center was now complete.

And that is how God works sometimes. God is not distant, but very close. However, we may sometimes not perceive it. We may sometimes think he is “far off.” Actually, he wants a personal relationship with each one of us.

A Personal Relationship with God

Sebastian, as it turns out, already had a personal relationship with God. He had already trusted in Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. On the other hand, trusting in Christ is just the first step to experiencing an intimate relationship with God. There is so much more than that, because our God is not dead, but alive! How many gods do you know who rose from the dead? There is just One! He is the God of the Bible. But everyone else? They are still in their tombs. Jesus said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (See John 11:25-26)

Jesus also said,

“This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)

Now do you believe this? I hope so!

If you were to die tonight, where would you go? Would you like to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Jesus died on the cross for your sins, so that you might not have to. We have all sinned, and have separated ourselves from God. Jesus paid our sin on the cross in order to bring us back to God, and provide us “reconciliation.” He paid the debt that we owed. He did not deserve to die that death! He did it voluntarily, and freely, because he loved us! Now will you love him in return?

The Alligators

As if this experience wasn’t enough, the very next day, I had another dream. For at that very time, I was visiting that city (Toronto) so that I might find work there. Yet trouble was brewing, but I did not perceive it! In this second dream, I was elevated off the ground by several feet (my feet were in the air), and there were two alligators that were trying to bite my feet, but I elevated myself above them, so they were not able to bite me. What could this mean?

The day after that was the Thursday, and that was the day of my job interview. I was interviewed by two men from one of Canada’s “big 5” banks (the “big 5” are CIBC, BMO, Scotia, RBC, and TD). These two men were the “alligators” in my dream, but I did not perceive it. Eleven days after the interview, however, I would understand it completely.

They were pictured as “alligators” because they were trying to get me to do something that greatly displeased the Lord. God wanted me to elevate myself above their moral standards. That is why, in the dream, I had to lift myself up above them, in order not to be bitten. That job brought with it a real curse.

I did not understand exactly what division of the bank I would be working in, or the implications of working in that division. It was the division that God hated! The reason he hated it was because it was the credit card division, where they charge unreasonable interest rates that can economically cripple a person, including widows and entire families. Thus, the Lord abhorred it. It was very displeasing in his sight. As I drove to be interviewed on that Thursday, that dream about the two alligators came to my mind. I did not understand why this was now coming to my mind.

I made it to the interview, and was escorted into the workplace by the recruiter, who had set me up to be interviewed by the two bankers. As for the skill required, there were no issues. It was evident I could do this job, and within a day, I was offered it, and accepted it. Still, I did not know what the dream meant.

That job brought with it a “first” for me, because even though I was already more than 50 years old, I had never once drunk a single cup of coffee! But that would change. All of a sudden, I found myself falling asleep at the job! This continued day after day, so I began drinking coffee to try and stay awake. Could it be that the Lord was actually trying to put me to sleep? For he hated that job!

At the same time as this was going on, I was beginning to experience symptoms of mild, but very real, torment. This became so difficult to deal with that on the (following) Wednesday evening, I remember kneeling down by my bedside, and weeping tears onto my bed covers.

I also realized that on a purely emotional level, I simply could not “settle down” in my spirit. My spirit seemed to be on “hyper alert.” Why was there no physical, emotional, or spiritual rest for me? Something was wrong!

I was operating at such an elevated level of anxiety, and really, it was some type of anxiety that was starting to rule over me, to such an extent, that I began having what I will call real, live, “panic attacks.” Why? I could not put my finger on it. But it was very real. And so I was actually in very bad shape.

This all led to torment. Every single day, I felt the presence of this mild torment. It may have been mild (compared with other torment), but it was real.

An Open Window

On the Friday morning, still experiencing these same symptoms, I had yet a third dream, and in the dream I was sitting in the rear seat of a car, and someone (I think it was the Lord) was driving the vehicle, and there was an ugly “octopus-spider” type creature on the roof of the car! It had long hairy tentacles, and the tentacles were coming in through the window right beside me to the left! The window on this car was the mechanical type (roll up & down) and I took hold of the crank, and turned it as hard as I could, so as to try and crush the hairy tentacles that were coming in through the window.

God was telling me there was a problem. A demonic being had access to me, and I needed to “close the window.” But how to do it properly, so as to be able to find rest? I was not in control of where this vehicle was headed. God was. Would I fully submit to him? The Bible says,

“Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (See James 4:7)

Either I was not fully obeying God, or I was not resisting the devil properly. Which of the two was it? Actually, it was the first, but I didn’t realize it. God would have to make that clear to me. On the Sunday, I went to the church. Yet I felt so cut off, or alienated, from God, because something was very wrong! I left that church building needing to find a solution. I knew the problem related to this same issue that had been going on for the entire week, so I just stopped my car. I began to call up people and ask them if I could pray for them.

The Bible says, “Give, and it will be given to you” (see Luke 6:38), so I figured I would give prayer away, and hopefully, someone could also pray for me.

I needed help.

Finally, after a good length of time had passed, and I had spoken with several people and prayed with them, I went back to where I was staying.

The Sinking Ship!

What an ordeal! About 2 hours praying, just so I could go back and sleep in peace. But the analogy is one of a sinking ship. It is sinking, because it has a hole in it. You can bail water out if you want, but unless you fix the hole, it will not stay afloat for a very long time. You will need to keep bailing.

And that was my situation. Despite all of the prayer, I still had a hole in my “boat.” Something was not right, and my ship was sinking.

I went back to where I was staying and slept. But all was not well, because the hole in my ship still remained. I had not yet patched it! I got up that morning and, by this time, it was now the start of my 6th working day at the bank.

Surrender

I got dressed, and sat down at the foot of my bed in order to tie my shoes. Suddenly, I felt another “panic attack.” Why?! I perceived something was going on in a supernatural way. Was I being confronted by a demon? An angel? I had gone through so much the week before, and I finally got to the point where I was unwilling to do it again. So I said, “Lord, I am not leaving this place until I get to the bottom of this!” Finally, I surrendered! And that was a good thing, for now I could hear what God was saying.

For once I was in a position to actually hear what God was saying! And what was he saying? He was saying to go tell those bankers that they were charging too much on their credit cards and that even 1/4 of what they were charging would be too much!

And thus I felt free. The oppressive burden immediately lifted, and I knew what to do.

All I had to do was write a simple letter and email it to them. This I did from within the company. At that time, I also offered the company an ultimatum. “Please switch me to another part of the company, or consider this my resignation letter.” They chose the latter.

After I sent the letter, the Lord spoke to me again, saying, “You are not to accept even one penny from that company.” And so he forbade me to receive even a penny from them for all of my work. And this is how much the Lord hates high interest rate loans, which prey on the less fortunate.

To show you how unfair these rates are, let’s do a little math. For the widow who is desperate and borrows $5000 cash on her credit card, if she cannot pay and must hold that on her credit card, at 22.9% interest per annum, she will owe in excess of $15,000 at the end of five years. These rates are, simply put, not fair, and the Lord knows it, and every banker knows it, as well.

Thus, one day, there shall indeed be a reckoning.

“The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)

And this man, who shall indeed judge, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

To all the bankers, and to all workers of lawlessness, consider carefully the words of Jesus:

“For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what will a man give in exchange for his life? For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in his Father’s glory, with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:36-38)

Have you made your peace with him yet?