The time is now exactly 03:30 Saturday morning as I begin to type this.
I have just woken up from an incredibly vivid dream.
I drive on a long bridge over a powerful river outside the town where I live.
On my right I see a 10 foot wall which seems to stretch for about 1 kilometer.
From the point it begins is a beautiful, 10 foot high mural of the entire bible. It starts with pictures of Adam and Eve and ends with the final judgment. Along the wall are also incredible 10 foot high sculptures of bible heroes. Inscribed on the wall behind them is every hardship each hero overcame to achieve their destiny and the amount of time spent in preparation and training. Every failure is listed with every victory and the each name of each statue has the word ‘Overcomer’ next to it. On the wall behind a statue of David standing over Goliath it lists his failures, accomplishments and time taken to become King. At the bottom it says ‘David – Overcomer’.
I arrive at the end of the wall and turn right onto a wide tar road and then turn right 100 meters later at a huge sign that boldly reads ‘Welcome to the Overcomers Tabernacle. You are not a victim; you are not just a survivor. You are an Overcomer.’
I pass through the gate which is flanked by a sculpture of a twenty foot high Angel on each side. They both have their hands resting firmly on huge swords with the words ‘It is written’ carved into the blades.
I now see a grass parking area filled with hundreds of trees.
There are thousands of motorcycles and a few hundred cars and busses parked everywhere. A lot of people sit all over the parking lot watching a massive daylight screen on the side of a huge building. A lot of them are wearing earphones plugged into their cell phones which receive the audio for the images on the screen. On the screen, a man is praying fervently for his home country which seems to be somewhere in Eastern Europe.
As I get closer to the screen, I notice a lot of people praying in agreement. They are from every imaginable nation. I keep walking towards the screen and now join a line of people who are praying while they wait to enter the building upon which the screen is fastened. It takes about 40 minutes and I realize that I too have been agreeing with the praying man on the screen. A different man from a different national takes his place and begins to pray and a lot of people leave through various exits around the building allowing my line to move forward.
As I get closer to the entrance, I see the eastern European man exit the building and turn to watch the screen as the new guy starts to pray. The man agrees in prayer and prays fervently for the nation now represented.
I now enter the building.
The size is breathtaking. It is massive. 2000 tables with 7 chairs around each table fill the auditorium.
People are gathered around the tables studying the word or praying for each other or agreeing in prayer with someone who is now quoting scripture on stage. He declared scripture over his nation along with a faith statement. “We declare that there is reformation in Afghanistan for it is written…..”
People around the tables then do the same thing, praying that scripture over the man’s country.
The tables have plugs and USB ports for laptops and phones.
People are reading the scriptures on their devices simultaneously as it gets sent to them on a dedicated software platform.
I move closer to the stage. The room is stepped in levels downwards towards the stage. A huge screen spans the entire width of the building behind the stage. It contains an image of the person praying and all the accompanying scriptures and faith statements.
There are cameras everywhere, filming everything, streaming it to satellite and Internet. I find out that this goes on 24 hours a day. Every day. Nonstop.
The man on stage finishes and now a choir starts to worship. While the choir sings, a very charismatic man quotes Peter from Acts chapter 2 and hundreds of people come forward. I then notice that the foot of the entire length of the stage has a waist deep pool. Everyone coming forward is going to be baptized.
The next hour, people around the tables pray for each other, study the word together and share “it is written” statements to social media platforms. Someone is onstage speaking into a camera explaining the process to people watching and training them to do the same at work and at home.
Someone else takes the stage and starts to pray for a different nation. The flag of the nation and his scriptures now appear on the huge screen behind him.
I now notice activity around the inside walls of the building and move closer, away from the stage. Hundreds of artists, painters, poets, sculptures and dancers are expression their interpretation of the prayer message. They work on small, raised platforms all around the inside wall of the auditorium. Small cameras record and stream everything to the internet.
I notice a lot of halls on the outside edges of the building and wander from hall to hall. Every hall has someone sharing, teaching, singing or testifying. Some halls have no audience, just a teacher talking to a camera. Some have a lot of studio equipment with musicians playing free worship.
I look at my phone and note that everything I have seen is live on the Internet with millions of views.
I now go outside and see a lot of houses and hostels. There is a smaller auditorium on the banks of the river. A woman’s camp conference is happening. There are about 1000 women in the hall.
I notice a big warehouse towards the top of the property. It is big enough for eighteen wheeler trucks to drive in one side and out the other.
The warehouse is filled from top to bottom with school clothes, blankets, food and everything that kids might need to grow up without lack.
There are hundreds of ‘Overcomers’ branded Toyota Quantum 16 seater busses and hundreds of small bakkies (pickup trucks).
Missionaries are packing what they need. It is all very well organized.
I walk down to the river and meet a 40 year old pastor who has been here for 6 months recovering from burnout. He shows me his new assignment, a small church in a new country and talks excitedly about the team going with him to equip and disciple the saints. He says that it is good to be alive. I believe him. The healed bullet hole in his cheek shows me that this place is doing what it is meant to do.
I now stand in front of the inside of the 10 foot wall. It contains a detailed map of the entire world, regions broken up into sections and wards with exact demographics and the latest statistics of each person. Missionaries are sent to the places of worst poverty and report daily on progress.
As I leave the property, I read a sign that says “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the son, father and Holy Spirit, teaching them to do all I have commanded and lo I am with you to the end of the age”
I saw the place in a lot more detail which I will share later but I have been typing this on my phone since 03:30 and it is 05:00 now. My fingers have pins and needles lol.