Chapter 24 - Year 1973 part 1/3

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I resigned from Oy Strömberg Ab

  I ended my employment at Strömberg on January 12, 1973. I had some savings so I was able to live about 2 months on them. I had got in my heart one special plan, and was allowed also  to implement it living 2 months in a villa owned by the Free Church in Helsinki, on the banks of a lake, in the middle of the wilderness. 

  It happened in very cold winter. I got the villa key from my roommates. I resigned from the Jesus community so that I no longer had to pay rent. I was counting on the Holy Spirit to guide me from that point forward.

  I had also agreed in advance with a dealer in Takkula gas station to buy there 2 big barrel of heating oils and 10 liters of lamp oil. I traveled there by a buss in mid-January. Before that, there had been some severe frost at night for about a week, but no permanent snow had yet snowed. The sun had already set when I arrived in Takkula.

  I also bought four bags of dry stuff, toilet paper and, of course, matches. I wore enough winter clothes, had the Bible, a ruler and a set of 12 color pencils. With those wood colors I was going to make appropriate notes on different topics directly onto the Bible. My goal was to read the Bible aloud within 2 months.

  Immediately I was in a mental battle so that the truck driver that was supposed to take my stuff that night to Lake Suolikas came quite late and said he couldn't load and carry my stuff that night. I realized it was the devil's story trying to delay me and prayed wisdom for my situation.

  Then I suggested to the man, "If I help you unload that load you bring, and also help you load and unload my goods, will you then agree to take them tonight?" He thought for a moment. I prayed quietly to him for a change of mind. Finally he said, "All right. Let's do that."
  

Heavy duty wilderness on the lake ice all night

  I won that spiritual battle, but more battles were coming. Fortunately, they came at different times, one by one. We drove a narrow road with the man to the north end of Lake Suolikas, all the way to the beach and emptied my belongings on the ice. I thanked the man for having paid him the agreed reward earlier. The ice was about 20 cm thick. Fortunately, it was a full moon, because I had not taken the flashlight with me.

  In the light of the moon and stars, I began to spin oil barrels along the ice for about 800 m to the villa. I made several trips, moving my stuff down the ice about 50 m at a time. Fortunately, the ice on the lake was about 20 cm (8 in) thick "steel ice" and even though it was freezing cold, I got a good sweat because the work was hard and I was not used to doing heavy manual work for long periods of time.

  I finally got to my destination. I mounted the faucet in the oil barrel, placed the barrel horizontally on the rack, and placed another barrel next to it. Other goods I brought inside the villa. There were so many windows in the villa that my accustomed eyes could see enough because the villa had no electric light. Therefore, I had bought 10 liters of lamp oil.

  I put the oil in the oil heater and set fire on it. That night it don't had time enough to to heat the wall next to it. The bed platform was near the ceiling next to the wall and just above the heater, so when I slept there with all my clothes on, I was able to sleep the night without the cold.

  I was already accustomed to a lot of self-discipline at the engineering school and it was still very useful. The alarm bell rings at 8:30 in the morning. I prayed and made tea. With it, I ate a couple of breadcrumbs and some raisins and prayed for a moment. I began to read the Bible aloud from the beginning at exactly 9am and made notes of different colors. I read until 12 noon. Then I spent a moment of prayer. I continued reading aloud till 3 pm.

  I prayed again. I made a light lunch and ate only vegetables and sandwiches. I continued reading the Bible until 6 pm and again drank a cup of tea and ate a couple of breadcrumbs. After that, I did read the Bible aloud again until 8 pm. When needed I used an oil lamp as a light. Fortunately, the villa had a large window and I sat by it. Through it I got natural light.

  Late, the first night and in the morning, just after I had got all my belongings for the villa, came a winter storm and snowfall of about 20 cm (8 in) or more! Then I realized how important it was to come that night, not a day later, even though it was first suggested by the truck driver. HalleluYah!


  As the days went by, the Bible reading progressed and I was healthy. Living in solitude was reassuring and the comforting message of the Bible brought blessing and deep peace to my heart. I also saw several educational dreams that I did not write down because I had enough work to underline the various topics in the Bible. 

One night vision and the Devil's attack

  When I got to the middle of the book of Job, I went to rest in the evening and had a beautiful dream of paradise and the cherry trees blooming there. I saw myself sleeping on the big opened Bible. It was about 6 m high and 8 m wide when opened.

  Unexpectedly, I saw a large white hand with a red pencil underline a verse in Job several times. Unfortunately, the Bible text was in Hebrew, so I didn't know what the verse was about. I assumed it was verse Job 22:3.

>>Is it any Pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect?<< 

  The quotation is from the speech of the Elifas of Teman. Although Elifas thought it would be of no use to the Almighty, he was mistaken. That mistake comes from the message of Job. Job was righteous and the Almighty allowed Satan to try Job in a very cruel way.

  In the midst of all misery, Job retained faith, trust, and respect for the Almighty, who through it gained an authoritative victory over Satan. The victory was sweet, and Satan was ashamed to leave. We Christians are also being tested, each according to an individual measure.

  But just that night Satan attacked against me in that villa. It happened as follows. I lay down on the bed near the ceiling and was in deep sleep. In vision was as if I saw the heavens opened and some man-like being descend. It got closer and closer and lay on top of me and started strangling me.

  I woke up to it and there was indeed a man-like creature on top of me who was strangling my throat. I lay on my back and I grabbed him by the arms and the armpits. They were smooth and soft, without hair. His body and skin didn't were like human has. He wasn't warm. I got by twisting his hand off my throat.

  I pushed him to the edge of the bed platform and shouted, "Satan, get out in the name of Jesus Christ!"

  At the same time, I kicked him so that he fell and collapsed over the edge of the bed platform to the floor. That's about 2 m (6.7 ft) drop. Because it was dark there near the ceiling, I couldn't see his face. I quickly stepped down the stairs to see him.

  As I was going down, I heard him running down the floor and going through the log wall with a crackling sound! I ran there where he went through the wall and opened the door there. In such a bright moonlight, I only saw new snow in the yard without footprints, as earlier in the evening it was snowed again.

  Both exterior doors were in the rear lock, so no one could enter even with the key. That man was an evil spirit, which could took human shape. As I looked up to the sky, I saw a magnificent silver hoop rising from the end of the villa to the sky, curving up into the sky and finally disappearing into the horizon. 

  Then the Holy Spirit brought to my mind the verse from the end of Job, as I had read the entire Bible twice before. The verse read: Job 41:23 (This verse is missing from the English translations)

>>Behind him, the path shines, the depth has like silver hair.<<

  Then I remembered of whom that description was. It was Leviathan, which is the alias for Satan. So the main devil himself, was trying to strangle me! I learned that I have the power to oppose him and expel him from me: James. 4:7

>>Be subject therefore to Elohim. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.<<

  Also read 1st Peter. 5:8-9 

>>8 Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

9 Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.<< 

   For the following days and weeks, I continued to read the Bible aloud without fear of anything and read it completely, making notes. During that time, I got a friend from the Free Church for guests over the weekend. We prayed together and I told him of my experiences.

  A black bearded man from the Free Church also visited there one Sunday. I didn't know him and had never seen him. He said he always ate food cold because he said it was warming in the stomach.

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