David Berg
18/2/93DO 2856
1. THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT YOU COULD GIVE ME IS YOUR PRAYERS. Maybe just two of you could represent the rest & you don't all have to gang up here together. Can you two just lay hands on me & pray? After being so sick this last week, I feel a little bit like "from deathbed to pulpit overnight."
2. (Peter: Lord, we thank You for the real miracle You've done for Dad, how You've raised him up & strengthened him enough to be here with us after being so seriously ill. Continue to strengthen him as he sacrifices to pour out Thy Word. Your Word says that You are the strength of our life & that You would give strength unto Your people. "The Lord is the saving strength of His anointed."—Psa.27:1; 29:11; 28:8. We claim these verses & pray that You will encourage him during this time. Pour through him with Thy Words‚ in Jesus' name. Amen.) Amen! Praise the Lord! Thank You Jesus! The Lord is able. I'm not, but the Lord is able.
3. Wanna watch a miracle? (Dad prays over his bottle of water: ) Thank You Jesus! Bless it, Lord‚ in Jesus' name. Sanctify it & purify it. This is Thy water‚ Thy creation, the water of life, the purifier‚ Lord, that You even use as a type of life itself. Now bless it as it goes down & make it healing & a help to my body, because I'm thirsty. Thank You Jesus! Only three days ago I couldn't even drink water at all!
4. The last few days I haven't felt like doing anything. In fact, yesterday I think I slept the longest I've ever slept in my whole life!—Except for when I was in the Army hospital at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. I slept for three days & three nights straight there‚ probably partly because of the medicine they gave me to treat my double pneumonia.
5. When my Mother was first healed she called the nurse to prop her up with pillows. The nurse was scared to death & thought it was the death walk, & ran & phoned the doctor. She did prop her up in the bed with pillows, but as soon as the nurse was out of the room, Mother keeled over & spouted a hemorrhage of blood all over the covers! She hadn't sat up in years. And she realised immediately it was an attack of the Devil to try to scare her into going back to bed. But she was a fighter & she really fought for her health! She refused to accept it. The nurse came back in & Mother told her to prop her back up again, not knowing the nurse had called the doctor & the doctor had said, "Hold her down, it's the death walk!" Some people have a sudden burst of strength just before they die. (—I hope this is not mine!) They have a sudden burst of strength & they get up & talk & walk, like I'm doing right now!
6. Well, I knew that my birthday is supposed to be a special day for the Family, & particularly after the three-day Fast, it's supposed to be a day of rejoicing & thanksgiving, even feasting! I'm sure the cooks have got a good feast ready, or almost ready. (Fam: Well, there is a cake in the making, but it's not all put together yet.) I'm in no hurry. I'm not all put together yet either! I'm in no rush if you guys are not. I hope you're not, because I have a little Bible Study for you today—Bible & history.
7. Did you see that water go down? Not a cough, not a choke, not a hiccup, not a pain! Now that's a miracle! Especially since it was warm. I forgot to tell you, but the colder everything is, the better it goes down. For some reason or other I like my drinks ice cold now. You'd think I'd want them warm, but I can't seem to stand warm drinks. Swallowing water used to cause terrific pain, & sometimes it wouldn't go down at all.
8. The miracle all began the day before yesterday when I drank four (300 ml.) bottles of my fortified milk drink‚ & then yesterday I drank another four bottles without a pain. The day before yesterday when I told you that story about walking on the milk was when it got started. It was the funniest kind of analogy! I saw the Apostle Peter walking on the water to the Lord, & it was just like I could hear the Lord's voice saying, "Walk on the milk!" Up till that time, I couldn't even drink a swallow, much less a mouthful. And a mouthful is usually about three swallows for me.
9. So I grabbed that bottle of milk by the neck & I said, "I'm going to walk on you, & that's that!", & I just gulped it down. It was like a fight, like a battle, like, "I'm determined to get the victory over you, you rascal! You're not going to choke me any more!"
10. (Dad takes another swallow of water.) Ah, it's wonderful! You don't know how wonderful it is just to be able to drink water. You should be so thankful! I don't think I've ever been so thirsty in my whole life as when I wasn't able to drink. When I could still drink bottles of milk I wouldn't get so thirsty, but when I could no longer do that, & then I couldn't even drink water‚ I thought, "My Lord, am I going to die of thirst?"
11. (Dad coughs.) You're going to have to rebuke the Devil with me‚ because he'd love to have a victory here & defeat me. Thank You Jesus! Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord! It went down. The Devil tried to make it come back up, but it didn't, thank the Lord. It's been a battle! I've never had such a hard fight with the Devil‚ he's really been trying to kill me! Every step has been a battle of faith. I've had to claim the victory every step of the way.
12. Well, I guess it's meet that I should give you the testimony first, although you had part of it on the intercom already. Praise the Lord! Thank You Jesus! The 16th is when my swallowing really began to improve, right in the middle of the Fast. It shows it was because of your prayers, the prayers of the whole Family. That's when we began to get the victory.
Fiery Dart of the Devil!
13. I hope you all won't forget to pray for my left arm‚ it's almost like it's lame. I can't even reach it out to touch things or do things, I have to roll over & reach with my right hand. I don't know what in the world ever happened to it‚ but the Lord knows, I'm sure. It's probably the Devil trying to defeat us. If he can't do it one way, he'll try the other.
14. (Mama: Besides your being able to swallow again‚ another victory is that your back is all healed!) Yes! You talk about a stab in the back‚ just when I was at my worst, right at the beginning of the Fast, this left arm was so crippled I couldn't do anything with it, so I was reaching over to get something with my right arm. I wanted to lie back down, but I couldn't, just like there was a knife buried right in my back! Not in my arm this time, but in my back. We still don't know what it was‚ but it was just one little spot in my back. It wasn't like one of the backaches you guys have, but a sharp pain!
15. The words that came to me were "Fiery darts of the evil one!" Here I was bent over halfway & I couldn't even lie back down again. It had nothing to do with bones, it was a muscle or a nerve. Well, it was a fiery dart of the Devil! There was no explanation whatsoever, I'd not done a thing to cause it. I hadn't strained a muscle, nothing, it was just like he'd stabbed me right in the back! Talk about the Devil trying to kill me! We got the laugh on him though, thank You Jesus! Praise You Lord! Amen, it's just You, Lord. So that continued for a whole day & then Mama just noticed that I was lying back down on my back without any groaning or moaning or anything. Thank the Lord!
16. It's a fight sometimes! You've got to really name the adversaries & plead with the Lord to help you & curse the Devil, & really speak against him, rebuke him, resist him! Thank You Lord! I don't think I've ever had such a fight before for any healing!
Army Hospital Story
17. The only time I've ever been this sick was when I was dying of pneumonia in the Army hospital, & that's been about 50 years ago. I was out like a light for three days & nights, I didn't even remember what was happening. They said I'd been spitting blood & had a temperature of 106 degrees F! It was only the Lord that I survived. Everything's possible with the Lord.
18. I remember I woke up the fourth day feeling lots better. I was hungry & I wanted to go to the toilet, & the nurse wouldn't let me out of bed. I said, "Now you just put that bed pan away, I'm not going to let you do that!" That was very embarrassing to me as a young fellow. We hadn't been taught to be quite so free about sex & things like that, & I didn't like to have that nurse reaching under the covers & grabbing ahold of me & sticking me in that pot! That didn't make me happy at all. So I said, "You get out of my way, I'm going to get up & go to the toilet." So since I was very stubborn & bigger than she was, I started to get up. Thank the Lord it was the little nurse that time. There was also a big tall one that could keep me under control. She was about six foot six!
19. So the nurse, a little tiny blonde, ran for help, & by the time she got back I was back in bed. And she brought the doctor in, & he said, "Now don't you do that any more! You're a sick man, you were nearly dead!" I said, "Well, I'm better now‚ & I'm hungry!" He said, "We've been feeding you all these intravenous things‚ see that bottle?" I said, "I'm sick of that, I want something to eat!" And finally I convinced him & he said, "OK, let him try a little soft food." They have different diets in the hospital. There are the liquid food patients & the soft food patients, etc. I guess I'm one of the liquid food ones right now.
20. Anyway, the Army doctor didn't have me go straight to liquids as you'd have thought they would have. I was demanding something to eat! I said, "I'm hungry, I want something to eat!" And they brought me a little plate of soft mashed potatoes & creamed carrots. Everything was soft, no meat. But I gobbled it down! So pretty soon he was pretty well convinced that I was going to live after all. They had really thought I was dying.
21. I had been sick & unconscious most of the time, but toward the end, just before the Lord raised me up‚ I could hear the doctors talking. Even though I was asleep‚ somehow or another I could hear them, & they were talking about all the things they had tried on me, penicillin etc. They said, "It doesn't look like anything's going to help him‚ it looks like we may lose him." Then the next day I was yelling for food & wanting to get up! So my doctor called the head of the hospital to come & visit me. He was an old grey-haired guy who looked like a hawk! He was accompanied by another visiting doctor‚ some other big shot there, & they brought him into my room.
22. They said, "Now this boy, he was the sickest boy we had. In fact, we thought we were going to lose him. We don't know what it was that cured him, the penicillin or this or that," & he named the different medicines they'd tried. "I don't know what it was that did it!" I just laughed & I pointed up & I said, "God did it!" And they wouldn't even listen, they just chatted on. They of course didn't believe that. But I gained strength so rapidly I was out of that bed the next day, & about the second or third day they moved me into the ward. They called it the ambulatory ward. I'll never forget how happy I was when they told me I could walk to the cafeteria & eat my meals‚ they didn't have to bring them any more. That was great!
My Diverticular!
23. It was, of course, just like the Devil to make me as sick as he possibly could during these three days of fasting & prayer, to try to kill me & defeat everybody's prayers & make them think they weren't answered. I was getting better, of course, the last two days, able to take nourishment again. (Dad takes another swallow & starts to cough.) Thank You Jesus! We rebuke you, Satan, in Jesus' name! I guess I didn't pray enough over that one. I'll tell you, you've got to live by faith when you depend on the Lord's healing. You've gotta pray for everything. Are you praying? (Family prays for Grandpa.)
24. Well, I'd better tell you why I'm here while I still can. I'm sure the Devil doesn't want me to, but let's keep fighting! The doctor who recently examined me told me I have a large diverticular in my esophagus. And that's the same thing the specialist in Switzerland told me 15 years ago when he took X-rays of my throat‚ he said I had a diverticular. But it was a little one then. Now it's very big.—And it's a big word, too. I really had a hard time remembering that word. I knew it meant something that "diverts." It's where the esophagus has stretched in one place to form a sac that the food gets caught in, instead of going straight down the esophagus & into the stomach.
25. Anyhow, yesterday my healing process had already begun & I've been drinking about four bottles a day again like I used to, which had practically come to a stop for a few days. I had gotten so weak yesterday I couldn't do anything but sleep, but I had been thinking the day before, on the "Milk Revelation" day, "It's going to be my birthday, & the Lord is healing me, so I should put in my appearance." We always have a talk on my birthday!
Shocking Dream about Elijah!
26. I'd been thinking & praying about it for a couple of days when I saw I might be well enough to come in here & talk to you. I thought, "Well, what are we going to talk about? I don't know what to talk about. I mean, what's important? While I'm able to get in there & celebrate my healing, I should have some kind of message, something to encourage them, something direct, whatever the Lord has to say lately."
27. Well, He was healing me, but I hadn't heard anything in particular He wanted me to tell you. I thought of all kinds of subjects I could talk about & that we could study together, about the future or whatever, but I didn't have anything straight from the Lord, not a thing! And that leaves me a little bit speechless if I haven't got something to tell you from the Lord, especially on an important day such as this. These birthdays seem to be turning points in our history. This one is a new turning point in mine‚ that's for sure!
28. I've got to take another drink of water‚ my mouth's getting so dry I can hardly talk. Please pray! We rebuke the Devil in Jesus' name! Thank You, Lord, for this good water You made, bless it & make it a blessing. (Family prays while Dad takes a drink.) Thank You Lord! The reason I wait so long after I swallow it is because it takes that long for it to go down till it hits bottom, & then I'm sure it's safely through. Not a pain that time, thank the Lord! I think we prayed a little more. I know I did.
29. Sometimes I sort of take it for granted. I figure the last one went down fine, so why shouldn't this one, & I don't really hold on by faith & pray & ask the Lord to rebuke the Devil. I've got to fight to get down every swallow. When you really trust the Lord by faith, it's sometimes a battle. Thank the Lord, that one was easy!
30. So I couldn't think of anything new I had to say to you, really. I could talk about old subjects, current subjects‚ persecution, possibilities of the future etc.‚ I could think of a lot of things. You know me, I can always think of something to talk about! But I wanted something straight from the Lord. I said, "Lord, this is a special day, I need something from You!" And I woke up at exactly three o'clock yesterday afternoon, & I'd had a very vivid dream.—A very short, but very vivid dream.
31. It was about Elijah! But it was a very shocking dream! I think it's probably the most shocking dream I ever had‚ & it may be one of the hardest you ever had to take, because it can cause a whole new transformation in our direction & associations etc. But I can certainly see where it fits the times. It was absolutely shocking! It was like a vision, but it was a dream because I had it just before I woke up, & I have never had anything either in dreams or in visions or in wording that was ever so shocking!—Nor anything so mysterious! I still don't really understand it in the flesh‚ so to speak, I only seem to sense the meaning in the Spirit. Hallelujah! (Tongues) "Listen ye to the Words of your father!" Thank You Lord!
What Do We Know about Elijah?
32. What do you know about Elijah? (Fam: He was after the reign of David & Solomon.) What was he? (Fam: A great prophet.) One of the greatest of all the prophets. (Fam: And one of the main things he did was to destroy Baal worship.) He slew 850 prophets of Baal! He took them down to the river, I guess where he wouldn't have to clean up the mess, & slaughtered them right there. (1Kg.18:40.) Well, they deserved it. They were probably a bunch of perverts & Sodomites & whatnot who practiced some of the worst kind of heathen‚ Satanic practices that they had roped King Ahab into through Jezebel, because she was a Sidonian from the Godless city of Sidon. (1Kg.16:31.) Well, not exactly Godless, they had all kinds of gods! But it was a horrible, fiendish kind of worship that we don't have time to go into now. You can study up on it if you want to.
33. Elijah came along & in one fell swoop he just pretty well wiped'm out & cleaned things up, got Ahab away from Jezebel to work on him for awhile, & turned the Northern Kingdom of Israel back to the Lord again. It symbolised that that's the way the Lord wanted them—together—& they didn't get together. But the Lord wanted them to get together, symbolising the way He wants His people—the children of God‚ the Church & churches—to unite!—Which has a lot of significance for us today, by the way.
34. Lord, give me wisdom if You want me to tell them the dream today. (Tongues) "Will the father withhold food from the children?" I guess you're hungry for it. And if the Lord considers it food for you, I guess you're going to be able to swallow it.
35. Well, let's just think of a few more points about Elijah. (Fam: He ran up in the mountains & got discouraged after that.) Yes, he was fed by ravens & performed many miracles. But what made Elijah different from any of the other prophets? (Family: He never died.) Yes! He was one of the only two men translated in the Bible, without seeming to pass through the usual process of death. That wasn't even done for Jesus; He died for us on the cross.
36. Enoch, who "walked with God," was also translated.—Gen.5:22; Heb.11:5. When I was a little boy, my Mother told me the story about Enoch. She asked me something about it & said, "What happened to Enoch?" I said, "Well, he walked so far with God, he was closer to God's house than he was to his own, so God invited him Home!" So that's logical, what a little kid would think. And how was Elijah translated? (Fam: In a chariot of fire!) Yes, a chariot came down & picked him up & took him away special delivery! (2Kg.2:11.)
37. And what else do you know about Elijah besides the fact that he performed several outstanding miracles? That wasn't the most outstanding thing about him, because Elisha performed twice as many miracles. He asked for a double portion of Elijah's power.—2Kg.2:9.
38. The biggest miracle was probably at the time of the altar when he confronted the prophets of Baal. (Fam: He got it all wet first, & then he called down fire from Heaven.) He tried to show that he was going to make it even harder for his God, & soaked the offering & the altar with water. And the fire not only burned up the offering, it also burned up the water, & even burned up the rocks! It melted all the rocks together. (See 1Kg.18:17-40.) Elijah had made the altar out of 12 stones, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, & some think that when they all melted together, it was a sign that God was trying to symbolise that He wanted the 12 tribes to stick together; but anyway, they didn't. (Fam: Even to kill all those prophets of Baal with a sword was a miracle.) He must have had some help. It would have taken quite awhile. And then he got so scared, he ran clear up into the mountains to hide from a woman! And who was that? (Fam: Jezebel.) (1Kg.19:1-4.)
39. I'd better not keep you much longer, I don't want to run over my time. I don't know whether I have time for everything, but the Lord apparently wants me to tell you the dream.
Studying the Verses About Elijah
40. There were some very significant things that were said about Elijah. After all his tremendous life and miracles and his amazing departure, read me the last two verses of the Old Testament. Those certainly must be significant verses for the Lord to end the entire Old Testament with those two verses! (Fam: Malachi 4:5 & 6: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great & dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children‚ & the heart of the children to their fathers‚ lest I come & smite the Earth with a curse.")
41. Now let's turn to the New Testament & see what it says there that Elijah was supposed to do. He's mentioned several times in the New Testament. As you find them‚ read them. (Techi: In Matthew 11:13 & 14 it says, "For all the prophets & the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias [Elijah], which was for to come.") Jesus Himself said that‚ right? Who's He talking about? (Techi: John the Baptist. Starting with verse 12, it reads, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, & the violent take it by force. For all the prophets & the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it‚ this is Elias [Elijah], which was for to come.")
42. (Fam: Luke 1:17, also speaking of John the Baptist, says, "And he shall go before Him in the spirit & power of Elias [Elijah], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children‚ & the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.") He shall go before Whom? (Fam: Before Jesus.) What else did the Lord say?
43. (Peter: In Matthew 17 it says‚ "And His disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered & said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, & restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, & they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of John the Baptist."—Mat.17:10-13.)
44. John the Baptist preceded the first Coming of the Lord, & he did preach & he turned the hearts of the fathers & sons toward each other, & he turned the hearts of the people toward Jesus, he prepared the way of the Lord. The Lord even said that he came in the spirit & the power of Elijah. "And this," He says, "if you will receive it, is Elijah which was for to come."
45. So what do you begin to fathom from this business about Jesus saying that John the Baptist came in the spirit & the power of Elijah? (Fam: Maybe Elijah was an actual spirit helper of John, but it doesn't mean that he was necessarily Elijah.) John himself denied being Elijah‚ personally. (John 1:19-21.) But Jesus is trying to show people the operations of the Spirit, & that is, John was operating under the influence, obviously, in the spirit & the power of Elijah, in doing what he did in preparing their hearts in those days before Jesus' first Coming. Was that day of John the Baptist the last manifestation of the ministry of Elijah?
46. (Dad breaks out in tongues:) "O Lord, help these to perceive Thy Words that their little father has received from Thee!" I'm going to tell you my shocking dream, & it's probably going to be the most shocking thing you have ever heard from me. It's going to be maybe the hardest to believe, but I can see it & I can feel it, & even Mama caught the spirit of it, how it can happen!
47. Elijah had a ministry in the spirit, obviously, through John the Baptist, right? He was not actually John the Baptist. If Elijah could come at one time in his spirit & his power, to help John the Baptist, he's a spirit of God, right? So could Elijah do it again? (Fam: Sure!) Could he supernaturally & miraculously possess some other prophet who was almost as miraculous as John the Baptist & in some ways affected the World even more so?
48. So now I think maybe you're ready for the dream! Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus! Help them to receive it, Lord! You've hinted at this time & again in other prophecies, even in recent days, Lord, that our ministry is going to be joined with others. (To Family:) I almost hesitate to tell you. If the Lord hadn't told me to go ahead & tell you, I don't think I'd have the courage. Jesus, Lord Jesus! I've had a lot of people go away over some of our doctrines. Will ye also go away? Will you find this too much to swallow? (Techi: "To whom shall we go? Thou alone hast the Words of Eternal Life.") Praise the Lord!
Dad Relates the Dream
49. The dream is very short. I stood upon the great & holy mountain. Whatever that means, I don't even know. What mountain? Well, don't worry about that, there's more to come. And I looked down & saw these three Muslims. I don't know how I knew they were Muslims, I just knew they were. That's just the way things go in those dreams. And they were asking me questions, doubtful questions, interrogation sort of questions. "How could this be? How could that be?" I just said‚ "Look up & behold Moses, Jesus, & Elijah Mohammed!—And revere & believe!" Now here is the version as I originally told it to Mama right after I had waked up:
50. I had the most mysterious dream! It was so strange! I don't know what it means. Behold, I stood upon the holy mountain with three servants (children) of Islam who questioned me. They said, "Well, let us see‚" & behold, three others appeared before us—Moses & Jesus & Elijah Mohammed! And the three children of Islam fell upon their knees & said‚ "Let us build here three mosques." I said, "Nay‚ let us rather reverence (revere) these & believe." (Dad speaks in tongues.) "Behold‚ these strange things Thou hast revealed unto Thy father David‚ may they be remembered in his heart."
Studying the Koran!
51. If Mohammed had the power & anointing of Elijah, that would certainly help to explain how he had such power to start truly the World's greatest religion outside of Christianity. I've always said he started off right, but they twisted his words after he died. We even started studying the Koran when we visited [an Arab country]. Mohammed never said a word against the Jews, nor the Christians, nor against Jesus. He even said words in favour of Jesus & of Mary. I was shocked at the Koran that [our friend] gave me. It was supposed to be the best English translation of the Koran. It was about that thick (4 inches or 10cm.), about that big (1 foot or 30 cm.), & about that wide (10 inches or 25 cm.). Just like one of those big Webster's dictionaries. It was beautiful! It looked like one of those big picture Bibles. You've seen those huge family Bibles that used to have such ornate covers.
52. It had a lengthy history in the beginning to introduce all about Mohammed & his life & history, & then it began with the various chapters or "suras." And every verse, nearly everything, had references.—Not only to other passages of the Koran‚ but references in the Bible. And that just amazed me! I had thought the Arabs & the Muslims were so anti-Christ, anti-Christian, & throughout history certainly a lot of his followers proved to be very cruel & very violent & very destructive of Christians & Jews. But I didn't find anything like that in the Koran itself!—And we searched it for many days.
53. I never found an antagonistic word against Christ or Christianity or even the Jews in the Koran. He was even charitable toward them & called them "the people of the Book." (Fam: Apparently there's even mention about Jesus' Second Coming in the Koran.) Oh yes!
54. In the dream I said, "Look up & behold Moses, Jesus & Elijah Mohammed!" What does the Lord mean by that? I was astounded! I was like the prophet‚ & I was telling them, "Behold & revere & believe!" Sometimes that's just the way the Lord leaves you hanging. He doesn't explain anything, He expects you to understand in the Spirit. I never found anything bad about Mohammed in the Koran in those early days concerning his truthfulness & his revelations.
Did Elijah Inspire Mohammed?
55. Well, it may sound a little crazy, but it depends on how far the Lord expects you to take that. I didn't take it at all that it meant that Mohammed was Elijah, but that the Lord was associating the two names, trying to show us how Elijah could have inspired Mohammed in the beginning. You know, Mohammed got all of his revelations from an Angel in a cave out on Mount Hira. Muslims believe it was the Angel Gabriel, but who knows, maybe it was the spirit of Elijah. (Fam: With all the idols the Arabs had when Mohammed came along, it was a lot the same situation as when Elijah was destroying the Baal worship.) Oh yes! Mohammed later went into the Kaaba there in Mecca, & he had his soldiers & men throw out every bit of their heathen, pagan idols & break'm up & burn'm, trying to get them to worship the one true God again. And he did! He was extremely successful at it.
56. Could it have been Elijah who originally inspired him in that task to try to get rid of all that heathenism & idolatry & get'm back to the one true God?—Through a man who had enough knowledge of Christianity to talk about Christianity, & about Jesus, & Mary, & the Christians, & the Jews, a man with the knowledge of Christ. (Fam: Elijah knew how to use the sword, too!) Yes. It seemed like it was pretty necessary in Mohammed's day. The ones who wouldn't repent & fought against him, he really slaughtered them, & that was mostly his own people from his own home town of Mecca! They were the first ones to rebel against him & they tried to kill him, but his men rose up & slaughtered them instead.
57. Well, if you want to read an awful history, you can read the history of the Muslims, especially if it's written by Westerners. It would be interesting to find a Muslim book in English with the history of the World from their side. Wouldn't that be interesting? When you come to think about it, we've never read any history about Mohammed or Islam except what was written by so-called Christians, & always against the Muslims & trying to make them out as horrible as possible! (Editor: Mohammed's life & the birth of Islam are well–portrayed in the epic film "Mohammad, Messenger of God," or "The Message.")
The Birth of Our Muslim Ministry!
58. How far has the Arab Wall moved? (See "The Arab Wall!"—ML#274.) We have gotten a lot of Letters on the Arabs & Muslims! I'm going to go back & read some of that stuff & see what the Lord's already said. There used to seem to be a feeling that we were going to work together with the Arabs or the Muslims. I think we even had some prophecies along that line. I even read something in some of the Summit '93 prophecies that seemed to indicate we were going to still work with the Muslims. (Coming soon!) (Fam: We have a common enemy, that's for sure!) Yes, exactly! I know I've heard good reports in the past about some Palestinians & Arabs & Muslims who have liked what we've said & liked what we have written, & definitely felt that we were sympathetic. I think any that have heard about us & know our writings at all certainly know that we have been very sympathetic, particularly with the Palestinian cause.
59. The Jews try to cover it up the best they can, that there are any Christian Arabs in Israel. But they can't hide those churches, those big cathedrals. They always try to say, "They belong to the Russians, they belong to the Orthodox, the Greeks & blah blah‚" but how do they explain away those great big Palestinian Christian churches? They don't want Americans to think that there's a Christian in Palestine‚ but that "there are only all those evil Muslims, those horrible Arabs!" It's a fact!
60. (Fam: You could very easily picture the Muslims as a whole as the anti-antichrists.) (See ML #1890.) Oh definitely, we've mentioned that & done Bible studies on the AACs! They are the Kings of the East who eventually turn against the Antichrist, & they cross the Euphrates on dry land to fight on the day of the Lord, the day of the Battle of Armageddon. Who else is the Antichrist fighting? These hordes from all over the East come raging against Jerusalem! We've written about that & interpreted it that way for years, there's nothing new about that. (See ML#111:36; 1892:31; 1897:26-28; 1911:21-26.)
61. But that was a pretty strong statement for the Lord to make in this recent dream, & the thing that I gathered from it was this: There is coming a day when we are to show our sympathy more for the Muslims & try to show them what God has shown us about them—that we are to at least respect their Prophet.
62. My impression from the whole thing was that we are to try to give them more respect & sympathy. And the message for them was that they should have more respect & sympathy for us. And obviously‚ somehow, God only knows, that we should try to work with them.
63. Hallelujah! I've grown stronger as I've spoken! Thank You Lord! Praise the Lord!
64. Let's face it‚ we've kind of talked about it, & we've talked to them & we've tried to win a few, but we've never really gone all out to try to reach the Arabs or the Muslims. They believe in prophets, what do you think they would think of that dream? Wouldn't that click some kind of button? (Fam: Yes! And since Mohammed was with Moses & Jesus in your revelation, it should make it possible for them to accept Jesus.) Well‚ at least maybe they'll accept us, & the Lord said, "If they accept you, they accept Me."—Mat.10:40. Don't you think that would probably be a pretty good witnessing presentation? "Our prophet received a revelation that Mohammed was there with Moses & Jesus." Well‚ he was in the presence of Elijah, in a sense, if Elijah was representing them, which obviously he was.
65. Don't you think they would think that was a very significant dream, & that they would have to consider that? It must be that the Lord's trying to show us something, at least that we're to be friends, & to respect each other. I told them that it wasn't hard for me to believe that Mohammed was a prophet. I just can't believe some of the long, drawn-out, strung-out extremes to which some of his followers have gone in proclaiming that Mohammed, not Jesus, is God's Prophet for today‚ & that God didn't have a Son, etc. Mohammed at least seemed to be very favourable & spoke nothing but good about Jesus.
66. Well, their misinterpretations are not so much different than Christians at large, churches who through their reading & misinterpretation of the Bible have twisted everything around to where it doesn't mean what it said at all! (Fam: And the Muslim mullahs have all these other teachings of Man that they teach as the Word of God.) Yes, they've got another whole book that is a commentary about the Koran just like the Talmud is about the Old Testament. And that's where you find most of the falsities & false doctrines of the Muslims, in this book compiled by Mohammed's followers. Anybody remember the name of that? (Fam: The Hadith.)
67. I believe that if this dream was nothing else, it was a sign to us that we need to push our friendship with the Muslims & the Arabs much more than we have. So what did you all think about that? (Fam: It's great!) Is today the birth of our Muslim Ministry? (Fam: Yes! Hallelujah!) Well, we need to learn more about them, especially history from their standpoint & their language, as well as things about their religion, God willing. Are you willing? (Fam: Yes!)
68. Wow, what possibilities! I took that dream to mean that at least we should be more friendly to them, & if we would befriend them more, it would open their eyes to at least consider us as friends, even if not the same religion.—If we don't go in for it too heavy like we're trying to proselytise them, but that we just want to show them that we are their friends. We're not necessarily trying to convert'm‚ because that would antagonise'm.
69. That's how Billy Graham got into Russia, he promised the head of the Russian Orthodox church, the Patriarch‚ that he would not try to do any proselytising & he was just going to preach the Gospel, that he was not there to win any Orthodox out of their church. So they let him come & cooperated with him. And he parted pleasantly with the Patriarch. The Patriarch called him in‚ he was kind of objecting to some of the things that his followers were doing‚ & Billy said that he had not violated his promise, he had not tried to win one member out of the Russian Orthodox Church! Now that could have a lot of meanings, because they can become real Christians even in the church.
70. We have not really carried through with reaching the Muslim World‚ considering all the Lord has shown us about the Arabs. You could tell them, "Our Prophet has lived in Muslim countries & spent time there studying the Koran! What more could you ask than that? And he recently had a dream that Mohammed was standing on this holy mountain with Jesus & Moses." There you've got them together. I'm sure the Lord wants to get'm together. Praise the Lord? Amen?
71. (Fam: In the transfiguration, when Moses & Elijah appeared with Jesus on a high mountain apart, Peter said, "Let us build three tabernacles; one for Thee," which would be Christianity, "one for Moses," which would be the Jews, "& one for Elias." That certainly would fit with Islam being the third religion.—Mat.17:4.) Yes! In my dream, the Muslims said the same. They said, "Let us build here three mosques for these!" And I said, "Nay‚ rather revere them & believe!" So some of them are going to be inclined to believe & cooperate! We certainly have a common enemy!
72. The mountain in my dream was a barren desolate mountain in the wilderness somewhere, like where Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. (Fam: Or could it have been Mount Nebo?) Maybe Nebo. (Fam: Or Mount Hermon‚ that's where they say that the transfiguration happened.) Could have been. But it was a sacred hill, a holy mountain.
73. Well I'm convinced, & certainly Mama & I were both convinced that it means we are now to turn more to the Arabs & the Muslims & the Palestinians, & show them our sympathy more. I'm sure you're going to pray that the Lord will have His way about a renewed ministry amongst the Muslims. Not to go after them real hard like you're pushing Christianity down their throats, but the idea was to show them respect & friendship & to try to win them as friends.
74. Well, praise the Lord! Amen! Everybody happy? (Fam: Amen!) Are you cheered up? (Fam: Yes!) Do you feel like that's a good message for today? (Fam: Yes! Exciting!) Well, thank the Lord for it, He gave it! It was the Lord! Praise the Lord? Anybody interested in the Muslim Ministry? Well‚ any of you who've had experience in Muslim countries should definitely take an interest, because at least you've had a head start!—And everybody remember to pray for it! Amen? Thank You Jesus! Praise the Lord!
Closing Prayers
75. (Fam: Lord, we thank You so much for this beautiful revelation You gave Dad, & most of all, the healing that You've brought him with it. We so desperately need him as Thy mouthpiece, Lord. We just really pray that You'll strengthen Dad. We pray that You'll have Your perfect way too with the Family really reaching out to the Muslims & bringing them to a knowledge of Thee, in Jesus' name.)
76. Amen, as we thank Him together: Thank You Jesus for this day & for our home so fair. Help us, Lord, to do some good & keep us in Your care. And bless our loved ones everywhere! As we pray the prayer You taught us to pray: Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread & forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom & the Power & the glory for ever & ever, Lord, in Jesus' name!
77. And may we make this World Thine, Lord, & win as many friends to Thee as we can, & show these people love & friendship who need it & who are so terribly misused, abused & vilified by our enemies! Help us to show them our love & sympathy & to encourage them that we really mean business & that You love them, in Jesus' name. Amen! Praise the Lord! Thank the Lord! Well, I feel lots better! Thank You Jesus! Amen?
[Note: In the illustration on page 1 we are depicting the Prophet Elijah from the Bible, along with Moses & Jesus. Muslims forbid the portrayal of the Prophet Mohammed in pictures.]