"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18) Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." .. Acts 2:17-18 ... There is absolutely no question that the world is descending into deeper and deeper darkness by the hour. .. Every day we are seeing more & more Biblical prophetic events taking place all across the globe. ... Even 'watchmen' like myself are taken aback by the sheer volume of it all. .. But then, we who follow Christ and study His teachings should not be a bit surprised by it all. .. After all, the Bible's prophets, along with Jesus Christ Himself told of all these things that would take place just prior to His soon triumphant return. .. Having said all this, let me now refer back to the opening scripture of this commentary. .. What prompted me to look at this passage of scripture was a Facebook post by a sister in Christ. .. I won't say who she is, but her initials are 'Susan.' ... It goes on to say that some 25+ years ago, these thoughts from a vision came from Dr. Mark Barclay, a Minister of the Gospel. .. The following are some excerpts from his vision .. "I saw this horrible black cloud, dark cloud that was rising up over the horizon. .. I knew it would eventually fill the entire earth. ... It represented every evil thing one could imagine .. every disease,sickness, and bacterial attacks that haven't yet even been discovered. .. It will cause humans to do things that aren't even human. .. It is filled with insanity, and many people will lose their minds and faculties -- It is murder, terror, rape, abuse, terrorism, torture and much worse. .. It is filled with deceptions, heresies, perversions and filth." ... It went on to say that many people were running headlong into the cloud .. even those who 'wore crosses' .. those who professed faith, but ........ Simply, they did not have the spiritual strength to withstand the onslaught of evil! ... Now I want to share with you a dream I had in 2002 .. some 13 years ago. ... It took place during a time in my life where I was totally immersed in the study of the 'Red Letter' teachings of Jesus Christ .. a point in my life where I believe I finally crossed the 'obedience line' and totally bought in to the total and irrefutable truth of God's Holy Word. ... Before I share the dream, I must say that I NEVER remember dreams in full. .. They are usually ridiculous fragments of mostly nonsense .. but this one? .. I remember every detail to this day! ... It was completely vivid and real, which convinced me that it was from the Holy Spirit .. a message for this 'old man' to share in any way the opportunity presented itself. .... Here's the dream ... "I'm lying on my back in an open field looking up at the sky when I'm prompted to sit up. .. I look off to my left and see a very large storm on the horizon. .. It was very dark in color and had what appeared to be a funnel cloud in the center. .. I immediately got up , turned to my right and went into an old building .. a barn of sorts. .. I looked for a place to take shelter but there was nothing in this place that could provide that. .. I went back out of the building, again looked off to my left, and the storm was much closer than before. .. It was also much larger, darker, and angrier - but what was really different was that it was full of raging fire! .. Again, I moved off to my right and went down a road away from the storm. .. Soon I came upon what appeared to be a small town, or the edge of a larger one. .. There were houses and neighborhoods .. school buses - what seemed to be 'normal' life going forward, unsuspecting of what was about to descend upon them." .... It is quite striking the similarities between Dr. Barclay's vision and my dream. .. The two things that seem to share the same message are these ... Yes, there is a storm coming to this world, and it will grow stronger & stronger as we draw nearer ... and secondly, Dr. Barclay's dream mentions 'those with crosses were running headlong into the cloud.' ...... In my dream, this 'blindness' was depicted by the 'old building' that was not structurally strong enough to protect one from what was coming. ... The synopsis? ... The Doctor's vision shows how today's 'people of faith' are not spiritually strong enough to withstand the coming onslaught of evil.. that they will succumb to the pressures of this world. ... In my dream, this same concept is   the 'old building,' which represents the church. .. It took me some time and praying to know what it meant, but simply, it stood for the condition of the vast majority of churches today who are NOT equipping the faithful for the coming days that lie just ahead. ... Simply, today's pews are filled with 'lost souls!' ... How tragic! Ok ... We know for sure that a raging storm is coming upon the entire earth, and most are not ready, or are in total denial of this fact. ... Just look to Matthew 24:37-39 where Jesus tells us that these final days would be like 'the Days of Noah .. where people would be going on with life as they know it, totally oblivious to what is about to befall them! ..... So what can those of us who 'know' do about it? .. First of all we need to strengthen ourselves with God's Word so as to be fully ready for the present and coming battle. .. We need to 'put on the full armor of God' so as to withstand all that is coming. .. Then, we must tell everyone the truth of what is coming so that they, too can be ready. ... Yes, you will be rejected, and even persecuted, but it will only be temporary and the rewards soon to come will last for eternity! ... Hallelujah! I want to close with some scriptures that relate to what we are facing. ... I'll start with Isaiah 60:1-2 ... "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2) See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over its peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you." "You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light." .. Psalm 18:28 ... "Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man." ...... Psalm 112:4 ... "Even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day. for darkness is as light to you." .. Psalm 139:12 ... And one more ... This one is from Jesus Himself ... "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." .. John 16:33 ... There are many more, but you get the idea of our Savior's promise ... He WILL deliver us from the darkness that is here now and is intensifying by the day. .... And here's just one more scripture I want to share before I sign off for this moment. .. It is Christ Himself telling of His promise in the Gospel of Luke that when things appear to be spinning out of control, it is only proof that His time is near. ...... "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." .. Luke 21:28 ... ........Our Lord is coming soon! ... Hallelujah!!! ...... Until next time, Red