A Dream and a New Life
Saturday, September 14, 2002 2:30 PM
The following testimony has recently been posted in the testimonies section of the TLIG discussion list – /discuss.html
In the early spring of of 1994 I was in college in the US. I was strapped finacially and bankrupt spiritually, and emotionally. One night in the living room of my one bedroom appartment I cried out to God in despair. I had ignored him since my teen years but always believed he was there and now I really needed to know that he was listening. There alone in the dark I felt a comforting feeling. No words, just a presence that gave me tremendous peace. I went to my mother’s house and got a Bible. Everynight I would sit on the kitchen floor reading the scripture. I could not afford lamps so the only light was in the kitchen. I devoured page after page, the hunger was so great. I started in the New Testament after the Gospels. It sounds crazy, but I felt like St. Paul was my Bible teacher. I had found a local Church and began going to any Mass I could get to during the week and, of course, on Sundays. New things were beginning to happen in my soul – wonderful things.
I found a local Catholic bookstore and saw some strange books with handwriting in them, not typed words. I bought volume 1 and rented a videotape of a woman named Vassula. I thought what an odd name as I knew nothing about the Greek language or culture. In my ignorance of spiritual matters I simply accepted that Jesus was talking to her. Why not? In fact, her face even kind of looked like how I thought Jesus would look like. I had not read very much into volume 1 when one night I had a dream. This was not an ordinary dream. In fact, I would say that I have never had a dream like it before or since. In the dream, I was in a buidling with large glass windows. The sky could be seen through them above the buildings. I noticed that the sun had slipped away out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked and saw a woman in the sky. She was no holy woman. I took her to be a prostitute. In large capital letters underneath her was written the words, “FALLEN, FALLEN IS BABYLON THE GREAT”. A voice read the phrase powerfully like an edict and the earth shook causing the sky to fall apart leaving nothing but darkness behind it. As I continued to look I noticed a light in the far distance, maybe the other side of the universe according to my little mind. When I realized that the light was Jesus and it was coming towrd me, it shot through my heart like an arrow. It kept flowing like a river of light and was the more it poured into me the more my flesh was changing into light – I would say exploding out of me and gowing through me to other people present in the building and the same was happening to them. For a moment I was outside of myself and saw the look on my face. I will never forget it
- it was ecstasy, pure ecstasy!
I woke up with tears flowing from my eyes thanking Jesus. I just kept saying Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Probably babbling like an idiot. Later in the day I went to my Bible and asked the Lord to teach me what this all meant. At the time I did not know the Bible very well except for a few books written by Paul. I opened randomly and read, “FALLEN, FALLEN IS BABYLON THE GREAT” (Rev. 18:2). I closed the Bible shocked and put it away. A week later I came back and said, “o.k. Lord, I don’t know what this means but please talk to me again”. I opened to the Old Testament this time thinking I really don’t know the Old Testament. I opened it and it read, “FALLEN, FALLEN IS BABYLON THE GREAT”(Is 21:9). I was shocked! I prayed and continued to read volume 1.
In a few days I felt God explain to my heart that I was Babylon the Great in a way, purely personal. I had let all the kingdoms of the world build up in my soul over the years: greed, lack of love, selfishness etc, etc. Now He had torn that tower down and and had laid a sure foundation, which was Him. Slowly, we would rebuild brick by brick but this time using the bricks of love, humility, Justice etc.
The school that he used to teach me has been the TLIG volumes. Since then I cannot stop praying, reading and growing in His Light. God said that he chose Vassula because she is a “nothing”. One day I asked Jesus, “Lord if Vassula is a “nothing” what does that make me because surely she was better than I was”. I opened one the volumes at random and read, “You are the least of your brothers”. I felt squashed but a tremendous joy at the same time. He flooded my heart with Love and I rejoiced in the fact that I am the least of my brothers. What a paradox God is: when I am the least He lifts me up.
That was 9 years ago and to say all that the TLIG messages have meant to me would take more pages than I could fill. What a wonderful God who leaves the 99 sheep to search out the 1 who had strayed. Praised be His name!
