CASPER
THE FRIENDLY GHOST
As I prayed for understanding, the sword of the Spirit fled from me, upward toward Heaven.
As I waited, praying, I saw before me the city of New Orleans nestled in a bend of the Mississippi River. It was night, but from my vantage point there was ample light to see the river shimmering before me, with the heart of the city immediately beyond. To my left in the distance I saw the cantilever bridge; to my right lay the old French Quarter. The city was bathed in its own light, and was a beautiful sight to see.
As I watched, I noticed what I had not seen before: the entire city was enshrouded by a thick cloud of dark and ominously heavy air, much in the same manner as if a fog had rolled in from the river, but this cloud was not fog. I saw as I watched this cloud that there were beings flying about in it, darting to and fro. I saw witches on broomsticks; I saw ghouls; I saw all manner of bats and cats and things associated with the occult.
I watched this scene and tried to fathom its meaning when a bolt of intense light burst forth from Heaven. This was the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. It struck the enshrouding cloud in the very heart of it with an intensity which defies description. Immediately confusion and terror prevailed throughout the city, and I heard the cries of the people in agony.
Then I heard the word of the Lord:
``Woe unto you, you conjurers of evil. Woe unto you, you who call yourselves `Banker` and `Doctor` and `Merchant.` You are liars even unto yourselves, for you are in truth junkies, pushers and pimps who too long have dabbled in the forbidden pursuit of power by chasing after the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world. You long ago exchanged Truth for the lie, and so you became an abomination before your God. It is because you have recently commenced to dabble in the traffic of buying and selling the souls of men that I have now judged you: All your incantations and conjuring shall be turned upon your own heads and you shall writhe in agony of body and soul as the supplications you make of the powers of darkness are visited upon the heads of your own. The Lord has spoken.``
As I watched, the vision faded; I was again in the darkness of my own room.
Second Vision
As I waited, my mind filled with wonder at what I had just seen, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, again stood before me, the blade pointing toward Heaven; the hilt of the sword downward. Again the sword sped from me toward Heaven, and I wondered at the meaning of this.
I then found myself high in the air over the ocean, gazing down and out from me, at a magnificent ocean liner which was cruising from my lower left toward my upper right. Again, it was night, but there was sufficient light to see clearly. The sea was calm and shimmering. The ship was long and trim, and painted white. The ship was studded end to end with a myriad of lights and appeared to offer every conceivable comfort and pleasure. The ship had no smokestacks. I assumed it to be propelled by nuclear power.
As I watched I found myself looking at a large room inside the ship, about mid-ship, and on one of the lower decks, deep within the ship. This room had no windows, and was starkly furnished with four tables, approximately two feet by four each, arranged in the center of the room, their long sides together, forming one large table, about four feet by eight. Four men sat at either long side of this table, and two were seated at each narrow end. I found myself inside this room, watching these people, but unseen by them. One man, the thirteenth in the room other than myself, was pacing the floor opposite the table from me, walking from me and to my right, around the table. He wore a long black cloak..
I heard no command given, when together the twelve men who were seated rose, and together they began to shuffle the chairs and tables from their central position to the outer walls of the room. The removal of the tables revealed a large object covered in sheeting, which had been concealed by the grouping of the four tables placed over it. Again I heard no command given; these men moved in unison to this object and began to unsheathe it in a manner that indicated their movements were dictated by some macabre ceremony. The thirteenth man stood in his cloak in icy silence while these proceedings progressed. To my shock and amazement, when the sheeting was removed, the object on the floor was seen by me to be a life-size Crucifix, of magnificent detail.
Then commenced what is without doubt the most heinous ceremony I have ever seen, or even imagined. These twelve men, following the lead set by their cloaked peer, began a sensuous and serpentine dance around the Crucifix, thrusting increasingly insidious insults upon the model of the crucified body of the Lord Jesus Christ. This defamation exercise increased in its intensity as the participants therein obviously tried to convince themselves and their associates of their individual and collective affections and alienations. As I watched in terror and fear the machinations of these men became less human and increasingly fiendish as some of the worshippers began to climax their orgy through open defecation and urination upon the Crucifix.
Suddenly a huge beam of intense light ripped through the room from above, completely encasing the Crucifix. Great gashes were torn in the floor beneath the Crucifix, but the Crucifix itself was unscathed by this onslaught: instead, it was miraculously cleansed and purified and began to glow from within itself. Then I saw strange vapors rising from the gashes that had been ripped through the floor of the room. As I watched I saw the flesh of the men in the room turn black and splotchy; one man's face sloughed off before my eyes.
My vantage point receded from the room on the ship to the place from which I had first seen the ship. It looked much as it had when I first had seen it, cruising undauntedly along its way, when suddenly the entire ship was engulfed in a huge ball of fire which so completely and utterly consumed it that when the fire subsided there was not even any thing remaining of the ship to sink to the bottom of the sea.
As I watched, the sea became calm; and now, quite empty, it faded from my view and I was again in the darkness of my room, filled with awe and wonder.
Third Vision
I did not wait long before the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God again stood before me; as before, its hilt was down and its blade pointed toward Heaven. Again, as I prayed, this sword sped from me, Heavenward. In darkness again I prayed more fervently than before, that I might understand that which I knew I was about to see.
Soon I again stood in light, and saw before me the Capitol Building of these United States, in all its splendor and majesty. As I watched I saw the sword of the Spirit descend gently from Heaven, touching and penetrating the Capitol Building at its uppermost point: the peak of the cupola atop the Capitol dome. As I watched the sword continued to descend, until it had passed through the dome of the Capitol to the inside of the building. I found myself standing inside, on the floor of the Rotunda, gazing upward toward the Dome. There, high above the floor of the Rotunda, suspended beneath the Dome, I saw the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God occupying about half the space between floor and ceiling. I marveled at its appearance, for its presence was not overwhelming, but barely visible. It first caused me to wonder if indeed I had seen a Cross in light, suspended there beneath the Dome, or if it was only light and shadow playing tricks together. Then I heard the word of the Lord, confirming to me that which I had seen:
``I have placed my mark upon this building of your government in response to the many prayers of supplication from among my people in your nation. It shall be readily visible to those of my children who have trained themselves to discern spiritual matters. Its presence shall be felt, although not seen, even by those unable to discern. Its presence shall exert influence throughout this building, on all the business conducted herein. Furthermore, I declare unto you, the floor of the Rotunda shall be the site of many occasions of healing and deliverance which shall cause the peoples of all the nations to come and marvel at the Presence of the word of God. I the Lord have spoken. So shall it be.``
Again I was alone in my room, waiting to see that which the Lord would have me see.
4th, 5th, 6th Vision
Three Visions in One: Three Cities
The Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God sped from me toward Heaven while I stood praying; the same as I had seen and described before. As I waited before the Lord, my eyes were opened to see three of the great cities of the Western world: three centers of commerce and finance: New York City, London, and Zurich. As I looked from one to the other of these cities, I noticed they each shared a common peculiarity: each had a consumptive growth thriving in the very heart of each of the cities. These growths appeared to me to be huge warts, and they grew as I watched, feeding on whatever was adjacent to them, until they each were the dominant feature of the central sections of their respective cities. As I watched, I saw Heaven open and three great shafts of intense light poured forth, each shaft penetrating to the very core of the growths of one of the cities, so that each was simultaneously dealt a killing blow. As these shafts of laser-like light struck its mark, huge billows of black filth gushed from these wart-like growths, as their outer shell was penetrated.
As I watched, I heard the announcements of the world's news media: ``Panic struck today in the major centers of world finance. Trading in one currency after another became chaotic as bids to buy at any price became non-existent. The efforts of Central Banks to support their various currencies collapsed as traders refused to accept one currency after another as possessing any specific value, and demanded hard cash as the only acceptable settlement. Many world leaders have expressed grave fears of the imminent collapse of commerce between nations.``
Then I heard the word of Almighty God, declaring His judgment:
``Woe unto you, you Idolaters who lust after the property of your neighbors. Woe unto you, you who were placed in positions of trust and charged to safeguard the wealth of the nations. You have coveted the wealth of your countrymen for yourselves, and connived to divert the treasuries of the nations into your own coffers.
``Have you no understanding? Are you so blind that you cannot see? Do you not know that coveting to consume for yourselves property belonging to your neighbors is self-consumptive? Think on the ulcers in your own bellies; ponder the strictures in your bowels. You need not be judged by your Maker; you have wrought your own condemnation. Consider your blasphemies: do you not see that this alone is the source of the acid which is eating you alive? Why do you nurture your hatred? Do you not know that this breeds rejection? and this, rebellion? and these, then, lead to your rage, and this in its turn produces the rashes which thrive on your bodies, both inside and out. Because of your unchecked desires, you have chosen for yourselves other gods than Myself. Can you not see that this alone is the source of all madness? Witchcraft and lunacy are sisters under the skin.
``You have connived and rendered the currencies of the nations valueless; you have stolen the wealth of the nations, thereby reducing their currencies to promissory notes which promise to pay nothing at all. You are common thieves, and deserve death.
You have manipulated the nations of the Earth to wage war against one another, in order that they might become indebted to you, and thereby become enslaved to you. Hereby you stand condemned of countless murders, numbering into the thousands of millions. The very air you breathe---the ground upon which you walk---is thereby cursed.
``Woe unto you! It is not long now until the very ones whom you exploit will rise up and destroy your lives upon this Earth, and you then shall enter upon a condemnation of punishments which shall last from everlasting unto everlasting. The Lord has spoken.``
The Seventh Vision: The Last
As I waited in the darkness of my room, the Lord again placed before me the sword of His Spirit which is the word of God. I began to pray fervently at the sight of it, and as I did so, it sped from me, Heavenward, just as I had previously seen it do.
Then I looked, from a vantage point over water, and saw before me the nation of Israel. Great dark and ominous black clouds pushed inward from all its borders, but the air over Israel itself was clear, and the nation was bathed in sunlight.
My point of vantage drew much nearer to the land, and I saw clearly and in great detail the City of Jerusalem. One edifice alone attracted and held my attention: a blue and silver structure whose beauty lay in its own lavish grossness. Men bedecked in too much finery were coming and going, ministering to themselves. I was reminded by this sight of the mating season of peacocks.
As I was observing these things, Heaven opened above me and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God came crashing resoundingly down, permanently establishing itself on the very ground on which the silver and blue edifice stood, crushing this building much as an eggshell is crushed when stepped on. I looked up, and saw this Cross of Light towering high above the City.
Then I heard the word of the Lord, saying, ``Upon this Rock I shall build MY Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!``
As I waited, praying, I saw before me the city of New Orleans nestled in a bend of the Mississippi River. It was night, but from my vantage point there was ample light to see the river shimmering before me, with the heart of the city immediately beyond. To my left in the distance I saw the cantilever bridge; to my right lay the old French Quarter. The city was bathed in its own light, and was a beautiful sight to see.
As I watched, I noticed what I had not seen before: the entire city was enshrouded by a thick cloud of dark and ominously heavy air, much in the same manner as if a fog had rolled in from the river, but this cloud was not fog. I saw as I watched this cloud that there were beings flying about in it, darting to and fro. I saw witches on broomsticks; I saw ghouls; I saw all manner of bats and cats and things associated with the occult.
I watched this scene and tried to fathom its meaning when a bolt of intense light burst forth from Heaven. This was the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. It struck the enshrouding cloud in the very heart of it with an intensity which defies description. Immediately confusion and terror prevailed throughout the city, and I heard the cries of the people in agony.
Then I heard the word of the Lord:
``Woe unto you, you conjurers of evil. Woe unto you, you who call yourselves `Banker` and `Doctor` and `Merchant.` You are liars even unto yourselves, for you are in truth junkies, pushers and pimps who too long have dabbled in the forbidden pursuit of power by chasing after the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world. You long ago exchanged Truth for the lie, and so you became an abomination before your God. It is because you have recently commenced to dabble in the traffic of buying and selling the souls of men that I have now judged you: All your incantations and conjuring shall be turned upon your own heads and you shall writhe in agony of body and soul as the supplications you make of the powers of darkness are visited upon the heads of your own. The Lord has spoken.``
As I watched, the vision faded; I was again in the darkness of my own room.
Second Vision
As I waited, my mind filled with wonder at what I had just seen, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, again stood before me, the blade pointing toward Heaven; the hilt of the sword downward. Again the sword sped from me toward Heaven, and I wondered at the meaning of this.
I then found myself high in the air over the ocean, gazing down and out from me, at a magnificent ocean liner which was cruising from my lower left toward my upper right. Again, it was night, but there was sufficient light to see clearly. The sea was calm and shimmering. The ship was long and trim, and painted white. The ship was studded end to end with a myriad of lights and appeared to offer every conceivable comfort and pleasure. The ship had no smokestacks. I assumed it to be propelled by nuclear power.
As I watched I found myself looking at a large room inside the ship, about mid-ship, and on one of the lower decks, deep within the ship. This room had no windows, and was starkly furnished with four tables, approximately two feet by four each, arranged in the center of the room, their long sides together, forming one large table, about four feet by eight. Four men sat at either long side of this table, and two were seated at each narrow end. I found myself inside this room, watching these people, but unseen by them. One man, the thirteenth in the room other than myself, was pacing the floor opposite the table from me, walking from me and to my right, around the table. He wore a long black cloak..
I heard no command given, when together the twelve men who were seated rose, and together they began to shuffle the chairs and tables from their central position to the outer walls of the room. The removal of the tables revealed a large object covered in sheeting, which had been concealed by the grouping of the four tables placed over it. Again I heard no command given; these men moved in unison to this object and began to unsheathe it in a manner that indicated their movements were dictated by some macabre ceremony. The thirteenth man stood in his cloak in icy silence while these proceedings progressed. To my shock and amazement, when the sheeting was removed, the object on the floor was seen by me to be a life-size Crucifix, of magnificent detail.
Then commenced what is without doubt the most heinous ceremony I have ever seen, or even imagined. These twelve men, following the lead set by their cloaked peer, began a sensuous and serpentine dance around the Crucifix, thrusting increasingly insidious insults upon the model of the crucified body of the Lord Jesus Christ. This defamation exercise increased in its intensity as the participants therein obviously tried to convince themselves and their associates of their individual and collective affections and alienations. As I watched in terror and fear the machinations of these men became less human and increasingly fiendish as some of the worshippers began to climax their orgy through open defecation and urination upon the Crucifix.
Suddenly a huge beam of intense light ripped through the room from above, completely encasing the Crucifix. Great gashes were torn in the floor beneath the Crucifix, but the Crucifix itself was unscathed by this onslaught: instead, it was miraculously cleansed and purified and began to glow from within itself. Then I saw strange vapors rising from the gashes that had been ripped through the floor of the room. As I watched I saw the flesh of the men in the room turn black and splotchy; one man's face sloughed off before my eyes.
My vantage point receded from the room on the ship to the place from which I had first seen the ship. It looked much as it had when I first had seen it, cruising undauntedly along its way, when suddenly the entire ship was engulfed in a huge ball of fire which so completely and utterly consumed it that when the fire subsided there was not even any thing remaining of the ship to sink to the bottom of the sea.
As I watched, the sea became calm; and now, quite empty, it faded from my view and I was again in the darkness of my room, filled with awe and wonder.
Third Vision
I did not wait long before the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God again stood before me; as before, its hilt was down and its blade pointed toward Heaven. Again, as I prayed, this sword sped from me, Heavenward. In darkness again I prayed more fervently than before, that I might understand that which I knew I was about to see.
Soon I again stood in light, and saw before me the Capitol Building of these United States, in all its splendor and majesty. As I watched I saw the sword of the Spirit descend gently from Heaven, touching and penetrating the Capitol Building at its uppermost point: the peak of the cupola atop the Capitol dome. As I watched the sword continued to descend, until it had passed through the dome of the Capitol to the inside of the building. I found myself standing inside, on the floor of the Rotunda, gazing upward toward the Dome. There, high above the floor of the Rotunda, suspended beneath the Dome, I saw the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God occupying about half the space between floor and ceiling. I marveled at its appearance, for its presence was not overwhelming, but barely visible. It first caused me to wonder if indeed I had seen a Cross in light, suspended there beneath the Dome, or if it was only light and shadow playing tricks together. Then I heard the word of the Lord, confirming to me that which I had seen:
``I have placed my mark upon this building of your government in response to the many prayers of supplication from among my people in your nation. It shall be readily visible to those of my children who have trained themselves to discern spiritual matters. Its presence shall be felt, although not seen, even by those unable to discern. Its presence shall exert influence throughout this building, on all the business conducted herein. Furthermore, I declare unto you, the floor of the Rotunda shall be the site of many occasions of healing and deliverance which shall cause the peoples of all the nations to come and marvel at the Presence of the word of God. I the Lord have spoken. So shall it be.``
Again I was alone in my room, waiting to see that which the Lord would have me see.
4th, 5th, 6th Vision
Three Visions in One: Three Cities
The Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God sped from me toward Heaven while I stood praying; the same as I had seen and described before. As I waited before the Lord, my eyes were opened to see three of the great cities of the Western world: three centers of commerce and finance: New York City, London, and Zurich. As I looked from one to the other of these cities, I noticed they each shared a common peculiarity: each had a consumptive growth thriving in the very heart of each of the cities. These growths appeared to me to be huge warts, and they grew as I watched, feeding on whatever was adjacent to them, until they each were the dominant feature of the central sections of their respective cities. As I watched, I saw Heaven open and three great shafts of intense light poured forth, each shaft penetrating to the very core of the growths of one of the cities, so that each was simultaneously dealt a killing blow. As these shafts of laser-like light struck its mark, huge billows of black filth gushed from these wart-like growths, as their outer shell was penetrated.
As I watched, I heard the announcements of the world's news media: ``Panic struck today in the major centers of world finance. Trading in one currency after another became chaotic as bids to buy at any price became non-existent. The efforts of Central Banks to support their various currencies collapsed as traders refused to accept one currency after another as possessing any specific value, and demanded hard cash as the only acceptable settlement. Many world leaders have expressed grave fears of the imminent collapse of commerce between nations.``
Then I heard the word of Almighty God, declaring His judgment:
``Woe unto you, you Idolaters who lust after the property of your neighbors. Woe unto you, you who were placed in positions of trust and charged to safeguard the wealth of the nations. You have coveted the wealth of your countrymen for yourselves, and connived to divert the treasuries of the nations into your own coffers.
``Have you no understanding? Are you so blind that you cannot see? Do you not know that coveting to consume for yourselves property belonging to your neighbors is self-consumptive? Think on the ulcers in your own bellies; ponder the strictures in your bowels. You need not be judged by your Maker; you have wrought your own condemnation. Consider your blasphemies: do you not see that this alone is the source of the acid which is eating you alive? Why do you nurture your hatred? Do you not know that this breeds rejection? and this, rebellion? and these, then, lead to your rage, and this in its turn produces the rashes which thrive on your bodies, both inside and out. Because of your unchecked desires, you have chosen for yourselves other gods than Myself. Can you not see that this alone is the source of all madness? Witchcraft and lunacy are sisters under the skin.
``You have connived and rendered the currencies of the nations valueless; you have stolen the wealth of the nations, thereby reducing their currencies to promissory notes which promise to pay nothing at all. You are common thieves, and deserve death.
You have manipulated the nations of the Earth to wage war against one another, in order that they might become indebted to you, and thereby become enslaved to you. Hereby you stand condemned of countless murders, numbering into the thousands of millions. The very air you breathe---the ground upon which you walk---is thereby cursed.
``Woe unto you! It is not long now until the very ones whom you exploit will rise up and destroy your lives upon this Earth, and you then shall enter upon a condemnation of punishments which shall last from everlasting unto everlasting. The Lord has spoken.``
The Seventh Vision: The Last
As I waited in the darkness of my room, the Lord again placed before me the sword of His Spirit which is the word of God. I began to pray fervently at the sight of it, and as I did so, it sped from me, Heavenward, just as I had previously seen it do.
Then I looked, from a vantage point over water, and saw before me the nation of Israel. Great dark and ominous black clouds pushed inward from all its borders, but the air over Israel itself was clear, and the nation was bathed in sunlight.
My point of vantage drew much nearer to the land, and I saw clearly and in great detail the City of Jerusalem. One edifice alone attracted and held my attention: a blue and silver structure whose beauty lay in its own lavish grossness. Men bedecked in too much finery were coming and going, ministering to themselves. I was reminded by this sight of the mating season of peacocks.
As I was observing these things, Heaven opened above me and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God came crashing resoundingly down, permanently establishing itself on the very ground on which the silver and blue edifice stood, crushing this building much as an eggshell is crushed when stepped on. I looked up, and saw this Cross of Light towering high above the City.
Then I heard the word of the Lord, saying, ``Upon this Rock I shall build MY Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!``