Deliverance from Long-Term Alcoholism -- A True Singapore Story

One Sunday afternoon after church, I received an urgent phone call from a 60-year-old lady from my church.

"Please come over my home," she pleaded. "My husband, Thomas (not real name), has been lying motionless on the floor since I left for church this morning, and I don't know what to do."

Thomas had been a long-term alcoholic, but because of the length of time he had been lying on the floor, she did not know whether he was drunk, or whether he had had a stroke.

I rushed over to her home, and indeed saw Thomas lying by his side across the living room floor.
Prior to this, I had never met Thomas, as he was not attending church.

He did not seem conscious when I stood in front of him, but to my surprise, he suddenly sat up, and asked, "Who are you?"

At this point, I became slightly concerned about my personal safety. Although Thomas was in his 60s, his body was well-toned and not flabby, suggesting to me that he would not be easy to deal with, if aggravated. Besides, his breath reeked of alcohol.

Nonetheless, I calmly explained that I was from the same church as his wife, and on his wife's request, had come to check whether he needed medical attention.

He seemed pleased to learn that I was from church, and got up, and set on the sofa, and gestured that I should sit next to him.

Thomas was open about his life, about his chequered past (he had been a former gangster), about his present job, and about his beliefs in God. On the latter, he shared that he once attended a church in the east of Singapore a number of years ago, but had dropped out.

I had another appointment to attend latter that day, so, I told Thomas that I needed to cut short our chat, but promised to return another day.

Before leaving, I told Thomas that I would like to pray for him, and he consented. To my surprise, however, he stretched out both hands to reach mine. I am not accustomed to holding other peoples hand while praying, nonetheless, I did not want to offend Thomas, so I continued to lead a prayer, while we held hands. I prayed that Thomas would be set free from his addiction to alcohol -- a bondage that had started since his teenage years.

And with that, I left his house.

However, as I was walking home, I noticed myself thinking rather unusual thoughts. Specifically, I felt tempted to drink alcohol, which was strange to me, because I have never been given to drink (for the record, I do accept wine or beer occasionally when offered during office or family celebrations, but it has never been a temptation for me).

Had demonic spirits been transferred from Thomas to me unwittingly while we held hands when I prayed for him? I was not sure, but did not want to take any chances, so, as I was walking, I prayed aloud silently and pleaded the blood of Jesus, as well as commanded all spirits of alcohol addiction to leave me.

When I told Thomas that I would visit him again, I meant that I would return a few months later. I reasoned that I needed to pray for Thomas daily for a couple of months before seeing him again, in order to help him overcome his alcohol addiction. After all, Thomas had been a long-term alcoholic, and I did not think that his bondage to alcohol could be overcome easily, but would require a lengthy time of prayer and intercession.

So, I prayed for Thomas daily, even while I was on an overseas holiday, about two-weeks after I first met Thomas.

While on holiday, I had the impression that I should buy a packet of local delicacies, so that I could present it to Thomas and his wife when I next visited them.

The following Sunday after returning to Singapore from holiday, I had a strong "prompting" that I was to pay Thomas and his wife a visit at their home.

For a few hours that Sunday, I resisted the idea, since in my human reasoning, Thomas needed to be prayed for a lot longer before he could be set free from alcoholism, However, I could not get the "prompting" out of my heart. Sensing it was the will of God, I finally obeyed and called Thomas' wife to tell her that I would like to drop by to bless the couple with some local delicacies that I had purchased while on holiday.

When I entered her home, I was stunned to see Thomas neatly groomed, and nothing like the dishevelled man I had met three weeks ago.

Thomas surprised me further by telling me that he had attended the services at my church, and had enjoyed my senior pastor's preaching.

And in an "by-the-way" manner, Thomas told me that he had been set free from his alcohol addiction, and no longer desired alcohol.

I worship at a mega-church, and unless I specially arrange to meet up with a church friend, I don't usually run into them.

Anyway, I ran into Thomas recently, and when I saw him, he told me that he was very happy to see me, as he had hoped that God would make our paths cross.

I was also very happy to see Thomas, and above all, the change that I could see in his life.

An Indian Construction Worker's "Road to Damascus" Experience in Singapore -- As Told to Me by the Man Himself

I live in Sembawang, and one evening, a few years ago, as I was walking along a quiet stretch of road nearby a construction site, I saw a young Indian man sitting along the pedestrian path, reading a book under the street light.

Intrigued, I stood by him to see what he was reading. It was a very worn and well-thumbed bible, albeit the pages seemed intact.

Seeing the young man's diligence in reading the bible under poor lighting conditions (and he was reading it aloud, albeit quietly), I perceived that there was something special about this young man, and sat next to him.

"Are you a Christian?" I asked, and he shook his head in the affirmative.

We then told me that prior to his conversion, he was a "bad" person, who drank, gambled and got into fights easily.

He said that in India, he had borrowed a lot of money in order to travel to Singapore to work as a constructor worker.

He told me that he had a wife and a child in India, but prior to his conversion, he did not really care about them. Instead, he spent most of his income on gambling and drinks, and seldom sent money back home to his family.

His life took a turn when he was cheated of all his savings by a local Chinese man. The savings were meant to pay off his large debts in India when he eventually returned home, and when he realised he had lost it all, he decided to end his life.

So, with the money that he had on him, he purchased a large amount of illegal 'toddy' (palm wine), and went to a dark, forested area in Woodlands, intending to kill himself through an excessive drinking spree alone. (He did not tell me the specific place he had been, but there had previously been a report of a dark, secluded and forested area in Woodlands, which had been raided due to illegal vice activities between foreign construction workers and foreign women).

In the dark, as he was drinking himself to death, he suddenly saw a bright light in the sky.

He thought that he was hallucinating, but as the light grew brighter and illuminated everything that was around him, he realised that it wasn't the moon that was causing this, and that he was not hallucinating either.

He quivered as he asked, "Who are you?"

A voice from above replied, "I am the Lord Jesus Christ."

He said the light then disappeared, and as he was trying to make sense of this mysterious event, he suddenly realised that his body felt completely well, not the slightest bit affected by the excessive alcohol he had consumed.

Although he did not understand it, he felt at peace, and slept alone at that place, before returning the next day to his workplace.

He told me that prior to this event, his fellow Indian colleagues who had converted to Christianity while working in Singapore had tried sharing the gospel to him. However, he was resistant to them.

The weekend after this incident, on his own initiative, he went to a church in Little India to get baptised.

After his conversion, he stopped drinking, and slowly, not only did he save enough money to pay off all his debts, he was also able to buy a new house for his family.

Seeing the change in him, his wife also became a Christian, and although he and his wife face much opposition, he said he was determined to share the gospel and his testimony to his relatives and friends.

While in the past, he spent his spare time doing 'bad' things, following his conversion, he spent his spare time in church, or encouraging other believers, or praying and reading the bible.

When I probed about his discipline of prayer and reading the bible, he said that if he didn't have to work, he would spend a few hours in the evening doing this, and would rise early in the morning, and pray for about an hour before starting work.

When I asked him how he prayed, he gamely demonstrated by kneeling on the ground and opening his palms to heaven.

That was the first and last time that I met that young man (largely my fault, I very seldom walk that stretch of road). Seeing how disciplined he was in prayer and reading the bible, I have confidence that he is still walking with Jesus.

Will Christians Be Raptured Before World War 3?

A 90 year old woman from a Lutheran Church in Valdres, Norway received a vision from God in the 1960’s. Emanuel Minos, a Norwegian Pentecostal evangelist, held revival meetings where this womanlived in 1968. She came to one of his meetings and told him what she had seen and Minos wrote it down. The woman from Valdres was known for beingalert, reliable and a credible Christian with a good reputation.

After the revival meetings closed down, Minos returned to his home and shared the vision he had written down with his wife. Both felt that the vision was so far-fetched and difficult to believe that they did not want to publish it.

In 1993, twenty five years later, Minos was going through old files, when he found some papers that had become yellow with age. To his astonishment, he found the forgotten notes he had written in 1968 when the 90 year old woman shared the vision with him. After reading through the notes, he became terrified since he realized that many of the details had indeed been fulfilled. He remembered that the woman had asked him to warn people because the end times was approaching. Minos also remembered that he had argued with the woman about certain points in the vision and she forcefully had told him the vision was true and that Minos would live to see it fulfilled in his lifetime. After having reviewed his notes and thinking about what the woman had said, he made the decision to publish the vision, including his initial hesitation to publish it in 1968.

Minos passed away on 28 November 2014, and this prophecy was published in the Q4 2014 edition of the Swedish magazine, Midnattsropet, apparently before Minos' death.
Here is the English translation of the Swedish version (it has also been reproduced in CharismaNews):

[Beginning of the vision]

THE VISION

I saw the time just before the coming of Jesus and the outbreak of the Third World War. I saw the events with my natural eyes. I saw the world like a kind of a globe and saw Europe, nation by nation. I saw Scandinavia. I saw Norway. I saw certain things that would take place just before the return of Jesus, and just before the last calamity happens, a calamity the likes of which we have never before experienced.

She mentioned four waves:

1. First, before Jesus comes and before the Third World War breaks out, there will be a “détente” like we have never had before. There will be peace between the super powers in the east and the west, and there will be a long peace. {Note by Minos: Remember, that this was in 1968 when the cold war was at its highest.} In this period of peace, there will be disarmament in many countries, including in Norway and we will not be prepared when it (the war) comes. The Third World War will begin in such a way no one would have anticipated - and from an unexpected place.

2. A lukewarmness without parallel will take hold of Christians, causing a falling away from true, living Christianity. Christians will not be open to penetrating preaching. They will not, like in earlier times, want to hear of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and restoration. There will come a substitute instead: prosperity (happiness) Christianity.

The important thing will be to have success, to be someone; to have material things, things that God never promised us in this way. Churches and prayer houses will be emptier and emptier. Instead of the preaching we have been used to for generations (i.e. to take up your cross and follow Jesus), entertainment, art and culture will invade the churches where there instead should have been gatherings for repentance and revival. This will increase markedly just before the return of Jesus.

3. There will be a moral disintegration that old Norway has never experienced the likes of. People will live together like they were married without being married. {Note by Minos: I do not believe the concept of “co-habitation” existed in 1968} Much uncleanness before marriage, and much infidelity in marriage will become the natural or common and it will be justified from every angle. It will even enter Christian circles and be accepted – even sin against nature. Just before Jesus returns there will be TV programs like we have never experienced. {Note by Minos: TV had just arrived in Norway in 1968.}

TV will be filled with such horrible violence that it teaches people to murder and destroy each other, and it will be unsafe in our streets. People will copy what they see. There will not be only one “station” on TV, it will be filled with “stations.” {Note by Minos: She did not know the word “channel” which we use today. Therefore she called them stations.} TV will be just like the radio where we have many “stations,” and it will be filled with violence. People will use it for entertainment. We will see terrible scenes of murder and destruction one of the other and this will spread in society. Sex scenes will also be shown on the screen, the most intimate things that takes place in a marriage. {Note by Minos: I protested and said, “We have a law that forbids this kind of thing.”} Then the old woman said: “It will happen, and you will see it. All morals we have had before will be broken down and the most indecent things will pass before our eyes.

4. People from poor countries will stream to Europe. {Note by Minos: In 1968 there was no such thing as immigration.} They will also come to Scandinavia - and Norway. There will be so many of them that people will begin to dislike them and become hard with them. They will be treated like the Jews before the Second World War. Then the full measure of our sins will have been reached. {Note by Minos: I protested at the issue of immigration. I did not understand it at the time.}

The tears streamed from the old woman’s eyes and down her cheeks as she said: “I will not see it, but you will. This will happen shortly before Jesus is coming back and World War III begins.”

WORLD WAR III

She then continued to share the vision and said that it will be a very short war. All that I have seen of war before is only child’s play compared to this one, and it will be ended with nuclear atomic bombs. The air will be so polluted that one cannot draw one’s breath. It will cover several continents; America, Japan, Australia and the wealthy nations. The water will be contaminated. The soil in these places can no longer be used for growing food. The result will be that only small areas will remain that can be used to grow food. The remnant who survived in the wealthy countries will try to flee to the poor countries, but they will be as hard on us as we were on them, and will refuse to accept the people seeking refuge.

I am so glad that I will not live to see it, but when the time draws near, you (Emanuel Minos) must take courage and travel all around and tell this vision that I have seen to people.

I have received it from God and nothing of it goes against what the Bible tells.

The one who has his sin forgiven and has Jesus as Saviour and Lord, is safe.

[End of the vision]