These are very important days for the body of Christ and for the nations of the earth. In such times, the Lord often pours out revelation in the form of dreams.

It is vital that we learn to interpret these dream encounters accurately so that we can discern what the Lord is saying to us and how He would have us respond.

An extremely common occurrence in dreams is the appearance of people—family members, friends, acquaintances, prominent leaders in church, society or government and even complete strangers.

In the majority of these cases, the people who appear in your dreams and/or visions are often symbolic in nature.

Seeing a person in an encounter does not necessarily mean that you will have an encounter with that person.

How to Interpret People in Your Dreams

There are three basic questions you can ask to help you interpret dreams in which certain people appear:

—Who is this person in relation to you?

—What does this person’s name mean?

—What character trait or calling does this person represent to you?

8 Common People in Dreams

Here is a list of the most common people (or type of people) you are likely to encounter in your dreams, along with their probable symbolism.

1. A man or woman of God in your life most probably represents a particular type of message being delivered. The important issue here is not who the person is but the message he or she bears. Focus in on the message. That is where you will most likely find the meaning behind the dream.
2. An untrustworthy person in your past may indicate a coming situation that you should not trust. Seeing someone in a dream from your past who is associated with a betrayal or a bad situation may be a warning from the Holy Spirit. These may be calls to prayer to cut off a bad situation.
3. A healing evangelist (or prophetic person) appearing in your dream usually represents a healing grace that is coming your way. The identity of that healing evangelist or prophetic person is not as important as what he or she represents—the kind of ministry associated with that person.
4. A husband in your dream often means that Christ Jesus the Lord is drawing ever so close in a covenant relationship.
5. Getting married in a dream usually relates to growing intimacy with God or a new joining that is coming your way. Keep in mind, opposites attract.
6. Dreams with dead people in them speak of the common sentiment attached to those deceased loved ones. This is not an indication that you are “crossing over” or actually visiting this person from your past in order to receive guidance! Do not equate this with the error of seeking guidance from the spirits of the dead, as King Saul did with the spirit of Samuel (see 1 Sam. 28:1-25). God is simply giving you a snapshot of something that the dead person represents.
7. Dreams of presidents and other people in authority are often calls to pray for national events. I used to have dreams of President Clinton where he and I were walking together, and I would take his hand and suddenly be able to feel the condition of his heart. And then I would pray for him, interceding not only for his heart’s condition but also for the burdens or challenges of our nation.
8. A faceless person often appears in dreams as an indication of the presence of the Holy Spirit, or possibly even angels, in your life. Sometimes people dream of a faceless man driving a bus, but they don’t know who he is. This, too, often represents the Holy Spirit driving the bus of your life and steering you into your life mission.

I encourage you to always write down your dreams as quickly as possible after you awaken.

Then pray and ask the Holy Spirit for His revelation as to what He wants to speak to you concerning your dreams.

As He did throughout biblical history and in the early church, may God continue to give us guidance and direction through our dreams!

Blessings to record, properly interpret and apply your dreams from God! {eoa}

This article has been adapted from Lesson 12: “People Who Appear in Your Encounters” in James Goll’s book, The Scribe.

Dr. James W. Goll is the founder of God Encounters Ministries. He is an international bestselling author, a certified Life Language Coach, an adviser to leaders and ministries and a recording artist. James has traveled around the world ministering in more than 50 nations sharing the love of Jesus, imparting the power of intercession, prophetic ministry and life in the Spirit. He has recorded numerous classes with corresponding curriculum kits and is the author of more than 50 books, including The Seer, The Prophet, The Discerner, The Lost Art of Intercession and Praying with God’s Heart. James is also the founder of GOLL Ideation LLC, where creativity, consulting and leadership training come together.

Many times, we receive messages from God through our dreams, but we don’t recognize or understand them. Scripture reveals that God speaks over and over again while we sleep, we just aren’t aware of it (Job 33:14-18).

For example, often if a dream feels dark, we automatically dismiss it. If we are being chased in our dream or if we are somehow under attack or feel threatened, we assume the dream is just our own fears manifesting at best, or the enemy influencing us at worst.

But what if it is neither one? And what if we discount and dishonor such dreams to our detriment?

God promises that He reveals Himself to us in visions and speaks to us in dreams (Num. 12:6). So if we take God at His Word, we understand that He is the one speaking to us while we sleep, we just aren’t listening or understanding the picture language in which He is communicating. To start, we first must consider the possibility that just because we have a nightmare doesn’t mean it’s not from heaven.

The Blessing in a ‘Bad’ Dream

How can I make such a suggestion? A biblical example of this is found in the life of Abraham, our father of faith. We may recall that the Abrahamic Covenant was established in a dream (Gen. 15:12-21). And we know what kind of dream it was too: a terrifying one.

“As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and terror and great darkness fell on him … On that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram” (Gen. 15:12,18a).

Typically, we define a nightmare as a terrifying dream, so we would say Abram had a nightmare. And normally, we think of nightmares as all bad. However, God met with Abram in his nightmare and gave him the epic blessing of a supernatural covenant that we still benefit from even today.

The reason this is relevant to us is because it demonstrates through Scripture why all bad dreams aren’t, and that God can speak through the scary dreams and use them in our lives. For example, often when we have dreams of being chased or feeling under attack, it’s accurate to say those images are our perspective of our waking life situations. But that’s not all the dream is telling us. More than anything, the reason we have the dream is to reveal God’s perspective of that same situation.

God’s Point of View

And what is the dream showing us about how our Father sees these circumstances? Usually, even though we might be getting chased in our dream, we actually escape. Even when it appears like we’re under attack, we realize we remain unscathed and unharmed. Even if we feel we are in a dangerous or threatening circumstance, we are indeed still safe. We are protected. We are secure. That is God’s message to us. He’s showing us through the dream that even though life seems scary at times; it’s going to be OK. We’re going to be OK, because He is with us.

I want to share a recent testimony from one of our CLU students that illustrates this principle beautifully. Karla Tillman just completed our online dreams course, and I’ve excerpted highlights from her final paper below. You’ll discover some of the key insights she learned through the class, as well as see the encouraging way God ministered to her through a “scary” dream with His message of comfort during a challenging time. May it be an encouraging example to you as well!

Karla’s Story

“As I sit here typing this paper, I can’t help but think, ‘How is it that I am only just now finding out that Father God communicates with His children through dreams?’ I wasted valuable time not knowing this. I had never heard a sermon on angels, the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, let alone dreams. Honestly, I don’t think this is fair. Don’t get me wrong; I understand that we build precept upon precept. However, it seems in my Christian journey, I am learning in pieces that I couldn’t apply before.

I believe everything that is written in the Bible. Yet, I was skeptical if dreams could play a role in my life today. Knowing that everything in the Christian journey is based on faith, I decided I would give it a try. It was exciting. I had dreamed before, but never on purpose. Not that I could force myself to have a dream, but I could apply what I had learned in this course to recall my dreams.

What is super amazing is the dream decoder method known by the acronym DAESI (Dream, Action, Emotion, Setting and Interpretation). Following the DAESI Method, I first write a summary of the dream, usually one or two paragraphs long. Then I ask myself, what am I doing in the dream (action), what is my overall feeling (emotion) and what is my heart processing (setting); then I can interpret the dream and journal it.

One evening, I dreamed I was flying an airplane. I was the only person onboard. Although the sky was clear of clouds, I eventually found myself flying into a tornado. I didn’t even see the tornado. Meanwhile, I was twirling and spiraling down fast, trying not to lose control of the plane. I flew right into the center of the storm. Next thing I knew, I walked out of the tornado unharmed.

Using the DAESI Method, my action was flying the airplane, and my feeling was fear as I was losing control. In analyzing this dream, I had to first consider what was going on in my life, what I was thinking about before I went to bed and what I was praying for when I fell asleep.

I’d been feeling overwhelmed because I was in charge of organizing my father’s wake and funeral and was the executor of his estate. This manifested as the airplane. Things were becoming increasingly overwhelming, represented by the tornado.

Father God was encouraging me that I would walk away without a scratch if I gave the problem over to Him and let Him help me. I was reminded that Father God knows the way I should take and can give me the wisdom to answer my problems. Now I will pray over the dream and ask the Holy Spirit if there is anything else He wants to say to me.

So I recalled the dream and interpreted the dream. Now the third part of the process was to act on the dream. In the case of the dream above, I immediately knew once I stopped worrying and trying to be in control, I would be relieved and less stressed-out. Also, the execution of the estate was going much more smoothly. This is just one example of how Father God loves us and will use dreams to encourage us. I can rest assured He will never leave me or forsake me.

In recalling my dreams and following the DAESI Method, I have noticed how Father God will use dreams to give me warnings or reminders. More than likely, such a dream will recur if I don’t act on it, thus making it hard to ignore His messages. They can offer solutions to the problems I am currently working on. They can even be used as affirmation for other concerns I am having.

This is just the beginning, and for the rest of my life I am making a commitment to learn the skills to understand and interpret my dreams in order to understand how He speaks to me.

Our Takeaways

You can see how important it was for Karla to honor that “bad dream.” Just because something negative is happening in the dream— like flying solo into a tornado and feeling afraid—doesn’t mean God isn’t speaking. We don’t want to discount this revelation as simply a “soul dream” and not pay attention, mistakenly assuming it’s just our own subconscious mind thereby missing out on the message from heaven.

Now when Karla is tempted to feel overwhelmed in her waking life as she executes her father’s estate, she can pull out her dream picture—this snapshot of the Spirit. She can set her mind on things above and refocus on how God sees the situation (Col. 3:1-3). Even though it feels like things are spiraling out of control, it’s not really that bad. Even though it feels scary and like she’s all alone, she can be encouraged that she’s not going to crash; she will recover her position; she is going to be OK.

Partner With God’s Picture

In our dreams we see our feelings for what they are, but we also see God’s truth. His point of view is that even though things appear scary, we are safe. Even though we feel afraid in the moment, Father is showing us His vision and version of the situation so we can come into agreement with that, partner with His picture and perspective and be filled with hope and peace.

Praise God for the blessing hidden even in the bad dreams! He is showing forth His faithfulness in the midst of the storms, giving us His promises to meditate on and pray in to. Father causes all things to work together for our good, and He will reveal to us His heavenly point of view while we sleep (Rom. 8:28; Acts 2:17).

The next time you have what appears to be a bad dream about a challenging situation in your waking world, prayerfully consider it more closely. Invite Holy Spirit to highlight through the symbols how you were actually safe. Ask Jesus to show you how even though it didn’t look good, you ended up escaping free and unharmed. Ask Father God to reveal through your dream His perspective, peace and protection and observe to collapse those truths, adopting them in your heart as your own.

When tempted to feel sad or stressed in waking life about the circumstance, recall that snapshot of the Spirit and choose instead to refocus on God’s gift and blessing as revealed through the dream. Thank Him for keeping you safe and sound. Thank Him for the confidence and deep-down peace you feel seeing that even in the midst of the storm, He’s shining out a silver lining. Thank Him that you now live free and fearless, knowing He is with you, and you have never been alone. {eoa}

Charity Virkler Kayembe has a doctorate in biblical studies, is passionate about the sacred supernatural and writes about the unfolding adventure that is walking by the Spirit on her blog at . She has been featured on Sid Roth’s It’s Supernatural!, Cornerstone TV, Charisma magazine and The Elijah List. Charity is the co-author of four books, including Hearing God Through Your Dreams, Unleashing Healing Power Through Spirit-Born Emotions and Everyday Angels.

Life is hard, isn’t it?

Disappointments hammer us ferociously and relentlessly while discouragement bullies us daily. Difficult people refuse to leave us alone and rejection is often a constant companion.

There have been hard things in my life that have threatened to crush the very purpose for my existence. I know that you have experienced the hard in life as well, although yours might look different than mine.

I may not understand what you are going through today, but I do know the one who knows your pain and I am intimately acquainted with the one who hears your gut-wrenching cries. In my life, I can assure you, it has been through the deepest pain that God has harvested the most vibrant fruit.

Although we would desire for the ability to live a vibrant life, excluding painful experiences, it just isn’t so. The most beautiful gardens and the sweetest fruit in life are often found where joy and sorrow meet.

There are many challenging occurrences in life over which we are powerless. We might even believe that these unwelcome guests are mangling our ability to live a life of beauty and productivity.

My friend, absolutely nothing could be further from God’s truth! If you feel that you are in a circumstance today that you are unable to do anything about, let me assure you that God wants you to do something with it. He wants you to rename that devastatingly hard place, “Joy.”

You might not be able to change that place, but you can allow it to change you to be more like Jesus. He wants you to rediscover Him there.

Two thousand years ago, a man named Peter wrote a beautiful letter to a group of people who were suffering. These Christians, persecuted by the cruel and corrupt ruler Nero, had been driven from their homes and forced to live in alien lands. It is to this group of scattered, broken souls that Peter writes:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

Peter instantly turns these broken hearts to the lifegiving option of praise. Paul breaks out into a written song as his words travel from his heart to the suffering first-century Christians—and to you and me. His call to worship all that is eternally hopeful has not diminished in the two millennia since it was written.

Peter immediately turned the attention of the persecuted sojourners away from the hardships they were facing and defiantly toward all that is ours in Christ Jesus.

Peter reminded those early Christians to travel through and even beyond the painful days of life. The first lesson that Peter presents is to worship and remember.

When your life collides with human suffering and pain, lift your hands in the air and began to worship. Break out into a song of faith before the fleeting moment of suffering becomes your reality. Interrupt your disappointment with a melody so rich and so deep that heaven gasps in wonder.

I have learned that I am able to sing and cry at the same time—and I often do. While tears are coursing down my middle-aged cheeks, I raise my voice to the Father and worship Him. When my heart is breaking with the pain only a mother knows, I refuse to let my unique song become a dirge. I will sing in spite of pain, in the face of discouragement and defy depression.

Peter can’t sing for me and I can’t sing for you. You must choose to bless the Lord at the worst moment of your life. You must determine that nothing short of death will deny you of the audacious ability to sing in the dark.

After Peter’s reminder to bless the Lord, he wrote an unforgettable list of stunning reminders. Peter, in the face of vicious persecution, kept his eyes, his heart, and his mind set firmly on all that Christ has done for us. This is Peter’s list of reminders that calls believers to worship rather than to curl up in pain:

—We have been given a great mercy.

—We have been born again to a living hope.

—The resurrection of Jesus from the dead changed everything for us.

—We are protected by the power of God.

—We have a faith that leads to salvation.

The clarion call across the ages to troubled and broken people is to worship and remember. I can do that; can you? I can set my default to the sure settings of worship and remember. My tears do not comfort me but worship miraculously has the power to restore and renew. When I choose to rehash my pain and my problems, I weaken myself, but when I recall the goodness of the Lord, I am filled with unstoppable power.

My life, without the determination to worship and remember, will be unable to produce anything of value or worth. However, when I choose to bless the Lord and recall His promises toward me, the vibrant life that He promised washes over me like a restorative waterfall. I am captured by all that He is as I choose to open my mouth and sing. {eoa}

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical, biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written 11 books, including Significant, StormProof and Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.

Jonathan Cahn unravels the mysteries at the gate, tower and walls with host Lori Bakker on The Jim Bakker Show. Called the prophetic voice of this generation, Cahn discusses 9/11 and what it foreshadows as a symbol for America from his most anticipated book The Harbinger II.

Watch the full interview here.

Learn more at . {eoa}

What do you do when the circumstances of life bring about disappointment?

We all face disappointment. It is a reality of living. How we navigate those disappointments determines whether we are a victim or a victor. I’ve faced a great amount of disappointments in my life. From almost losing my life in a car crash and being left with lingering lifelong ramifications to the loss of dear friends to seeing the toll that a life in ministry can take on family and home life, I’ve been disappointed with myself, others and even God.

Disappointment is a very real part of our human experience. It also tends to be a reality that we haven’t talked very openly about in our communities. I remember growing up in church and attempting to express my disappointments. I was often met with detached responses reminding me to correct my perspective rather than face the reality of what I was going through. While others weren’t wrong that my perspective needed shifting, my heart needed to feel the reality of my disappointment before my perspective could come into alignment.

God cares about our disappointment. It isn’t something He hurries us through or wants us to just “get over.” He cares about the movement of our hearts and cares when we feel disappointed. He longs to sit with us in our disappointment and love us there. He loves us completely right where we are, and thankfully, He loves us way too much to leave us there.

You can’t get over disappointment by ignoring it. You must acknowledge it, invite God into it and allow yourself to feel it. It is only in acknowledging the pain and inviting Him in that we can allow His love to bring healing to that place. You shouldn’t be ashamed for feeling disappointed. You should feel human. It’s a reality of life. But the beauty of being a son or daughter of the King is that we don’t have to navigate it alone. God wants to take our disappointments and turn them into dancing!

Learn more about this subject by listening to Leif’s latest podcast, Life’s Bitter Pool: Navigating Disappointment Pt. 1 here. {eoa}

Leif Hetland is the president of Global Mission Awareness and host of Kingdom Family Talks with Leif Hetland on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with him at .

Moms for America® is making a road trip to Tennessee for the “9/11 State of Mind” event in Nashville on Sept. 11, 2020.

The event, put on by Remembering 9/11, features the 9/11 Remembered Traveling Memorial, an educational traveling memorial dedicated to honoring the lost souls, rescue workers, search dogs and post-9/11 veterans. The event is usually hosted in the 9/11 tribute in New York City each year, but this year, it is hosting its “Remembering 9/11” event in Nashville, Tennessee, instead. The event will also be livestreamed, making it available for all to participate.

Kimberly Fletcher, a mother of eight and founder and president of Moms for America® (), a national movement calling on mothers to restore values such as motherhood, marriage, womanhood and patriotism, said, “We are honored to be able to participate in this event, which honors all those whose lives were forever impacted by the horrendous events of Sept. 11, 2001.”

The event features the display of The Ground Zero Flag, now called The Ground Zero Volunteers Flag, the 60-by-30-foot, 92-pound flag displayed in the days following the terrorist attacks, that brought comfort, solace and fortitude to the workers during the difficult cleanup. It is a source of inspiration and hope as it is displayed at various patriotic events each year, especially at the 9/11 Memorial Tribute annually in New York City.

This year, 2020, however, will be different. The Ground Zero Volunteers group found out that the flag cannot be displayed in New York City. Ground Zero Volunteers Flag curator, John Casalinuovo, was told by the new owners of the building (where the flag has been displayed every 9/11 since 2002) that the new Chinese owners of the building were not going to allow the flag to be displayed because they were afraid the building would be burned down. Every year, the New York Police Department sends many police—but this year, police were not allowed to protect the building or the flag, and the flag is considered a “bullseye” for people running rampant through the neighborhood.

When Erick Robertson, founder and CEO of the 9/11 Remembered Project, heard about this along with other 9/11 events that would not be occurring this year, he felt that if New York City weren’t going to do something, he needed to act. So Erick contacted Orange County Choppers, and the “9/11 State of Mind Remembrance,” a virtual online event, came to life. The 9/11 Remembered Traveling Memorial, along with Together for the Good, will be the beneficiaries of proceeds from the event.

‘The 9/11 State of Mind’ Is an Online Virtual Event to:

1. Remind America that 9/11 didn’t end in 2001.
2. Support suicide awareness and mental health of America’s heroes.

Donations for this event will help support the building of the 9/11 Remembered Traveling Memorial and support the Together for the Good Inc. Foundation mission. Donations will also support the mental wellness of military members, police, firefighters, first responders, veterans, emergency medical service workers and their families with whatever they may need during difficult times.

Sept. 11, 2001, was a major turning point in Kimberly’s life: her husband, Derek, an officer in the United States Air Force, was stationed at the Pentagon, and through a series of miraculous events came home safe that day. The impact of that day created in Kimberly a desire to become actively involved in government and civic responsibility for her children’s sake, leading her to found Moms for America® in 2004.

Moms for America® provides critical information to moms across the nation including MomVote 2020, which focuses on high-impact suburban areas in 15 critical election states. This is an extraordinary opportunity to have powerful influence and impact in the 2020 election simply by educating, engaging and empowering moms through MomVote.

The freedom and safety of our republic depends on whether America’s millions of moms will choose to make their voices heard. Moms for America® encourages mothers to sign the Declaration of Mothers, which includes statements about human rights, the role of a mother in the home and the education of her children. Mothers can add their names to those of more than 58,000 fellow American moms who have signed the Declaration of Mothers at {eoa}

Moms for America is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education corporation dedicated to promoting a foundation of liberty through the mothers of America in their homes, within their communities and with their vote.

For more information on Moms for America, visit , its Facebook page or follow on Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

The Eritrean government has released on bail more than 20 prisoners who’d been in detention for years because of their faith, the BBC reports.

It says sources have said that the prisoners are from Christian, Evangelical and Pentecostal denominations, some held in a prison outside the capital Asmara.

In 2002 Eritrea introduced a new law that forbids all churches except for the Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran ones. Sunni Islam is also officially recognized.

According to a religious freedom campaigner from Asmara but now based in North America, Hannibal Daniel, people who’d been in prison for about 16 years have been freed on bail.

A regional spokesperson for charity Open Doors International said that, for some time, they had heard discussion that prisoners might be freed on bail due to the coronavirus pandemic (as has happened in several other countries) but could not independently confirm the reports: “If true, this could be quite significant.”

The Eritrean government has not responded to BBC requests for confirmation or denial. Previously, it has dismissed accusations of intolerance to religious freedom.

In May 2019, a monitoring group for the U.N. said “thousands” of Christians are facing detention as “religious freedom continue[s] to be denied in Eritrea” and questioned why the U.N. was not monitoring the situation more closely.

In June 2019, Thomson Reuters reported that more than 500,000 refugees worldwide have left Eritrea, up from 486,200 a year earlier.

Many flee compulsory military service, but others flee political or religious persecution.

That same month, the government seized all Catholic-run health clinics in the country, and arrested five Orthodox priests. These moves prompted the U.N. Special Rapporteur for human rights in Eritrea, Daniela Kravetz, to call on the government to uphold religious freedom for its citizens and “release those who have been imprisoned for their religious beliefs.”

In August 2019, Eritrea’s Orthodox patriarch, Abune Antonios, was expelled by pro-government bishops of his church. Accused of heresy, he remained in detention throughout 2019.

Antonios had been under house arrest since 2007, when he refused to comply with the regime’s attempts to interfere with church affairs.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says Eritrea is a ‘country of particular concern’, saying “In 2019, religious freedom conditions in Eritrea worsened, with increasing interference in and restrictions on religious groups. In spite of the significant regional political changes and the 2018 peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Eritrea continues to have one of the worst religious freedom records in the world, and has shown little interest in concretely improving the situation.” The State Department estimates there are between 1200 and 3000 prisoners held for their faith. USCIRF included some of those cases in its new Victims List.

Some prisoners, such as the leader of the Full Gospel Church, have been in prison for more than 15 years.

A year ago, 70 Christians detained included 35 women and 10 children.

At least 150 Eritrean Christians were arrested by government officials during summer 2019, with some held in an underground prison made up of tunnels.

For instance, on Aug. 18, 2019, Eritrean security officials detained 80 Christians from Godayef, an area near Asmara airport.

Four days later, on Aug. 22, 2019, the U.N. observed its first annual commemoration of victims of religiously motivated violence. “On this day, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the victims of violence based on religion and belief. And we demonstrate that support by doing all in our power to prevent such attacks and demanding that those responsible are held accountable,” said U.N. Secretary General António Guterres.

The government’s 2019 clampdown on evangelical Christians had begun in June 2019 when security officials arrested 70 members (among them 35 women and 10 children) of the Faith Mission Church of Christ, in Eritrea’s second city, Keren. These were taken to Ashufera prison, 25km from the city.

The prison is a vast underground tunnel system, and conditions in which detainees are held are very harsh, a local source said. It’s far from a main road, the source said, which “means that anyone who wants to visit has to walk a minimum of 30 minutes to reach the entrance. Inmates are forced to dig additional tunnels when officers need extra space for more prisoners.”

After the 2019 arrests, government officials also closed the church-run school, said the local source, whose identity World Watch Monitor withheld for security reasons.

The Faith Mission Church of Christ was the last church still open in the majority-Muslim city, 90km northwest of Asmara. Started over 60 years ago, the church once had schools and orphanages all over the country, according to religious freedom advocacy group CSW.

It had been waiting for registration since it submitted an application in 2002 when the government introduced the new law. This clampdown sent other Christians in Keren into hiding, the source said.

Eritrea is sixth on the Open Doors 2020 World Watch List of the 50 countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian. {eoa}

This article originally appeared at World Watch Monitor.

As you may recall, the city of Chicago launched a series of attacks against our clients, Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries. In one of the most shocking cases of anti-Christian tyranny we’ve yet seen, Chicago threatened “summary abatement” against the churches unless they stopped worshipping with more than 10 people.

“Summary Abatement,” according to Illinois law, is notification that the city intends to seize and destroy property it deems to be a “nuisance.” For continuing to preach the Word of God, the churches were declared a “public nuisance.”

Liberty Counsel continues to fight for the churches’ constitutional right to religious freedom. In fact, this month we are petitioning for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear our case.

Now, San Francisco follows Chicago.

On July 13, California banned all worship, including home Bible studies and fellowship. On Sept. 2, the City of San Francisco issued a chilling letter to Lighthouse Church—stop worshipping or face abatement.

The letter bans “live indoor services with congregants,” stating only outdoor services are allowed “with no more than 12 people in attendance, total.”

Outdoor worship in much of California is not possible with a record heat wave reaching 112 degrees and the smoke-filled air from raging forest fires.

The crime rate and the throngs of people sleeping and defecating on the streets demonstrate that San Francisco bureaucrats are the last people to trust to “protect the health and safety” of its citizens.

Instead of targeting the destructive rioters and their organizers, San Francisco has threatened prison and fines for the pastor and worshippers if Lighthouse Church continues to worship God indoors or with more than 12 attendees in the blistering heat and smoke-filled air outside. Here’s part of the city’s letter:

“Failure to comply with the Health Officer’s orders and directives is a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment or both. … The Director of Public Health may cause the abatement and removal of the nuisance and the owner shall be indebted to the City for the costs, charges, and fees incurred by the City and County of San Francisco by reason of the abatement and removal of such nuisance. … If you continue to fail to comply with the Health Order, you may be liable for other charges and costs, including, but not limited to, administrative costs, fines, attorneys’ fees and penalties.”

“Abatement” means the city and county can take any action to stop the “nuisance,” which includes permanently closing or destroying the building.

San Francisco has given up any pretense of obeying the Constitution. In 1947, the Supreme Court ruled that the state may not force anyone to stay away from church against their will. Everson v. Board of Education.

Apparently, the City of San Francisco does not care. In fact, like Chicago, San Francisco is so dead-set on stopping worship it threatened to seize and destroy—even bulldoze—church buildings in order to enforce the illegal, unconstitutional orders. And the city has the gall to insist they will charge the church for the city’s own unconstitutional destruction of church property!

Liberty Counsel now has five federal court cases defending churches against the anti-God governors of California, Illinois, Kentucky, Virginia and Maine. We will be filing suit in another state shortly, and I will announce that as soon as I am able. In the meantime, our petition for certiorari in the Illinois battle means our case will be the first church-closure case in the nation ready to be heard by the Supreme Court.

The fight for our churches will be long and intense.

Concerning our petition to the Supreme Court, it could take months before our case is decided. In the meantime, as we have seen in San Francisco, lawless governors and bureaucrats will likely continue attempts to shutter churches and silence believers. We must push back. {eoa}

For the original article, visit .

When Ronald Reagan left the Democratic party in 1962 at the age of 51, he explained his departure, saying, “I did not leave the Democrat party; the Democrat party left me.”

If that was true for Reagan in 1962, how much more is it true for millions today who see the party of Roosevelt and Kennedy lurching into extreme left-wing positions that are contrary to their own morals and values?

Although I consider my myself an Independent with no party affiliation, the following are three major reasons I cannot vote for a Democrat.

1. No respect for God: In 2019, the Democrat National Committee unanimously passed a resolution affirming atheism and insisting that neither Christianity nor any religion is necessary for morality and patriotism. In this same resolution, the DNC made a point to single out and rebuke evangelical Christians for, in their words, “loudly claiming that morals, values and patriotism must be defined by their particular religious views.”

This should not be surprising, for at the 2012 Democrat Party Convention, there were loud boos when party leaders decided to put mention of God back into the party platform after being roundly criticized for removing it. And when Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives in 2018, they chose to remove the phrase “so help me God” from the oaths witnesses would take before their committees.

The DNC’s hostile attitude toward people of faith is showing itself throughout the party. For example, in a Senate confirmation hearing for Notre Dame professor Amy Barrett to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein questioned her fitness because of her strong Christian faith. Feinstein expressed dismay that when she reads Barrett’s speeches, “The conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly in you.”

The Democrat Party has supported the removal of Ten Commandment displays, crosses and other Christian symbols from public property. When President Obama spoke at Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, he demanded that the Christian symbol behind the podium where he was to speak be removed.

The DNC flight from God is so out of character with the founders of this nation, whose writings are filled with references to faith in God and sprinkled with biblical quotations. In fact, a 10-year research project to discover where America’s founders got their ideas for the nation’s founding documents, found that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Refined America, 167-68).

George Washington, after insisting that he take the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible, warned the new nation in his first inaugural address, “The propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.”

John Adams sounded a similar tone in a 1798 address to the officers of the Massachusetts Militia. He declared,

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion … Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Refined America, 168).

Psalm 33:12a says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” I cannot vote for a party or politician so long as disrespect toward God and people of faith characterize their party.

2. No respect for life: Just a short distance from where I live, a young woman gave birth to a baby in the bathroom of an Applebee’s restaurant. She then threw it in the garbage and left. According to a published report, the newborn’s lifeless body was found by employees who were cleaning the bathroom about 30 minutes after the mother left the restaurant.

How could someone be so calloused and inhumane about a newborn life? I do not know her situation, but perhaps she had heard of the Democrats in the New York state legislature breaking into cheers after passing a bill that allowed a mother to abort her baby right up to the time of birth.

Perhaps she had also heard of Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia promoting his pro-abortion bill and saying that if a baby survives an abortion, the infant will be made comfortable while the mother and her doctor decide if the newborn baby should live or die.

That people would cheer the passage of a bill that allows the taking of innocent human life is almost unimaginable. Yet not a single Democrat party leader spoke against these “death bills” that devalue human life and inculcate in our children a callousness toward life.

My Christian conviction that life is sacred, even in the womb, will not allow me to vote for any candidate or party that holds human life in such contempt.

3. No respect for liberty: As a Christian, I would never go to a Muslim baker and demand that he bake a cake for my church conference with the caption, “Jesus is God!” Nor would I ever go to a gay baker and demand that he bake a cake for my marriage seminar that says, “Marriage: One Man and One Woman.” My Christian values give room for people to hold views other than my own in the public arena.

This was not the case under the previous Democrat administration. Small business owners, such as florists and bakers, were targeted and then sued when they politely declined to violate their consciences by participating in same-sex weddings with their artistic gifts.

Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Melissa’s Cakes in Portland Oregon, sold their products to all customers regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation. However, because they are Christians who believe marriage is between a man and a woman, they declined to create a special wedding cake for a lesbian for her same-sex wedding

Although this person could have easily found a baker to create the cake she wanted, she did not go that route. The goal was to force the Kleins to change their views, capitulate to the pressure and violate their conscience, or be punished and put out of business.

She filed a discrimination complaint with Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries. The Kleins were penalized $135,000 for refusing to create a government-approved message. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the ruling and they were forced to close their business. They lost their business and livelihood because they would not violate their conscience and sincerely held religious beliefs.

This should not be in America. This nation was founded on the values of tolerance, freedom of conscience and religious liberty. The Democrat party longer holds to those values. They are willing to use government force to run roughshod over people’s consciences and sincerely held religious beliefs in order to further their own social and political agendas.

America’s founders called such use of government force “tyranny.” I cannot vote for any candidate or party that that has no respect for individual and religious liberty. I cannot vote for any party that is willing to use government force to coerce people to create messages that violate their conscience and sincerely held religious beliefs.

The Conclusion of the Matter

During the Civil War, a minister from the North expressed to President Abraham Lincoln his hope that “the Lord is on our side.” Mr. Lincoln replied,

“I am not at all concerned about that—but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord’s side.”

I agree with Mr. Lincoln that our first concern is always to be to be on the Lord’s side. I do not hate Democrats or the Democrat Party, but because of all the above reasons (and more) it is my conviction that I cannot be on the Lord’s side and vote for a Democrat. {eoa)

This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s latest book, 5 Reasons I Changed My Mind About Donald Trump, available from Amazon and his website at .

I’m on my way to the White House for the signing of the Abrahamic Accord between the UAE and Israel. This normalization of relations between Israel and its Middle East neighbor through the American diplomacy of President Donald Trump and his team serves as a truly historic development. Yet there may be more good news ahead—a Great Awakening that will revive both America and the world.

Two historical examples offer insight into this intriguing connection between America’s support of Israel and revival. In 1948, Israel became a nation once again after 1,900 years. While many have acknowledged the miraculous nature of this event, one of the key supporters of Israel’s rebirth was the United States.

What was taking place in America spiritually at this time? Author Patrick Morley notes the sweeping spiritual awakening that spread across the country:

It was at this time that a great generation of Christian leaders emerged. Bill Bright began Campus Crusade for Christ. In 1949, Billy Graham’s distinguished career, which popularized evangelical Christianity for a new generation, exploded on the scene during his Los Angeles crusade sponsored by the Christian Businessmen’s Committee. An estimated 180,000,000 people attended his nearly 400 crusades, and millions more viewed on television.

A second significant event occurred in 1967. Between June 5-10, the Six-Day War broke out, leading to a surprising victory by Israel’s military. They defeated Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian forces, expanding Israel’s territory to include the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the West Bank.

Of great importance, the aftermath of the Six-Day War allowed Jews the opportunity to visit the Old City of Jerusalem and pray at the Western Wall. 1967 also marked the beginning of a growing Jewish diaspora, with a wave of Jews making aliyah to Israel from around the world.

Though the U.S. was deeply entangled in the Vietnam War in 1967, America remained an ally to Israel during this controversial time. And the U.S. played a key role in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 to help provide peace for Israel and the Middle East.

Around this same time, the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s arose in the United States. With a large outbreak of revival in Southern California, these “Jesus People” began sharing their faith across the nation.

By 1972, the event Explo ’72, held by Campus Crusade for Christ in Dallas, Texas, gathered 80,000 high school and college students from 75 nations for a time of evangelism training. The event’s final concert included more than 100,000 estimated attendees, becoming known as the “Christian Woodstock.”

Today another shift is taking place with Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East. With the Abrahamic Accord, Israel and the UAE have formed a peace agreement unprecedented in our generation. While commentators have focused on the political aspects of this agreement, there may be a spiritual aspect to consider as well.

In my book A Great Awakening Is Coming, I investigated America’s past awakenings and the events prior to each one. The conclusion? Our nation is ripe for a third Great Awakening. It’s coming! The Abrahamic Accord was not even in existence when my book was published, yet it fits nicely with the direction of world events and global spiritual awakening.

America’s evangelicals often refer to 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The original context for this prayer was God speaking to King Solomon and the nation of Israel.

As many in Israel, along with the 73 million members of our Jerusalem Prayer Team, join in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem and blessings upon Israel, God is answering. We may yet see more nations follow the lead of the UAE and expanding the Abrahamic Accord. Two years ago, I predicted five or six nations may make a similar agreement in the near future.

When we see nations in the Middle East making peace with Israel, America is quick to lend its support. As we do, we’ll experience more than an Abrahamic Accord. Our nation will receive something only God, and no government, can provide—a Great Awakening. {eoa}

Mike Evans is a No. 1 New York Times’ bestselling author with 107 published books. He is the founder of Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem of which the late President Shimon Peres, Israel’s ninth president, was the chair. He also serves as a founding member on the Trump Evangelical Faith Initiative and has 73 million Facebook followers on the Jerusalem Prayer Team.