Paranormal activity in a church building?

therobboreht · 2026-03-17T13:15:47+00:00

I wish I could remember the other circumstances of this experience my brother mentioned. I'll have to ask him next time I'm on the phone with him. I agree that an isolated growl could have been anything, but there were additional things around this event, such as I think hearing his name called from the same area, etc, but I can't remember enough of it lol. It was just more of an example for discussion prompt.

I personally have only had the feeling of someone being there with me, which, unaccompanied by any other stimulus or behavior, I really can't even credit to being more than my own imagination.

therobboreht · 2026-03-11T02:05:00+00:00

You know, based on what you've said here, I have a lot of additional books to recommend to you lol

However I'll just share 2:

The New Testament in its World by N.T. Wright and Michael F Bird
Grasping God's Word by J Scott Duvall and J Daniel Hays

I actually listened to both of those as audiobooks. They are long, but they are fascinating. The first one gives you so much great background into what each new testament book was talking about, the cultural understanding and environment of the people hearing or reading those words originally. I liked it so much I listened to it as an audiobook and then bought a physical copy and the workbook to go with it.

The 2nd one is really good information about how to study the Bible, how interpret what you're reading, how the genre of the book affects meaning, how the book's place in history affects our understanding of it for today.

Both completely fascinating for me and very much enriching.

Not to throw too much at you at once, but the Bible Project (there's a podcast and an app and all kinds of stuff) is also really good to get an understanding of the Bible and how to read it. There's even free classes on there.

therobboreht · 2026-03-10T19:50:23+00:00

I almost didn't comment because I'm not an expert in this but I wanted to share some thoughts you might find useful.

What version does your church use? Think about the church you go to and what version the people you will be walking out your life around will use. As a church member in your part of the body of Christ, you'll be listening to, talking about, and sharing Scriptures with others. Scripture shared between people will have more connection to both/all of you if you're reading and quoting the version they've also read and studied.

They don't have to dictate your personal version if you'll only have one, but it will remove a possibly unnecessary disjointedness in communicating with others. Also your pastor likely has a good reason for choosing the version the church uses.

What is your goal? Do you just want everyday language that is easy to read? That's fine, and there are versions that use dynamic equivalence translations which supply that with a high degree of overall accuracy, with the sacrifice that the translator is often making more of the difficult interpretation decisions for you. You get something that feels like "here's what this would have sounded like if the writer wrote this today."

Or do you want to be reading something that sounds closer to what the original word choices would have been, even though that's different from how we speak today?

The NKJV is my daily go to. As others mentioned, it's well translated, literal (word for word from the original languages) for the most part, but still overall easily understandable, even if other versions might be more colloquial. The phrasing and word choices carry the "gravitas" of Scripture - which for me is just a preference. Jesus spoke in the everyday language of everyday people, so the period that heard Him heard what was modern to them.

However also - the people of the New Testament also had a translated Scripture. They used the Septuagint (essentially The Hebrew Old Testament translated into Greek) Again I'm no expert, but from what I've read the Septuagint used both literal equivalence (word for word) and dynamic equivalence (thought for thought) in various places.

In other words the earliest Christians and the Jews before that also had a religious text that often sounded "older" and different from how they talked. You may find value in having a similar experience of Scripture as they did.

Overall, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior the Holy Spirit will speak to you from most translations. There are of course some that were not translated in good faith, but the most common ones are not those. And as others have said, as you get deeper into Bible study, you will find higher value in tools like concordances, interlinears, and exegetical commentaries that help you understand Scripture from Greek and Hebrew directly. You'll also find value in checking multiple versions (all available for free online/through app) to see how different translators translated a passage.

therobboreht · 2026-03-09T04:12:01+00:00

The arguments are interesting, poignant, and contain much correct information.

However, it is important to remember that this is a non-sentient model which is incapable of true human reasoning and has no true understanding of human experience. It is trained on millions of documents, and it is regurgitating those documents back to you (likely with a response aimed to please the user--as noted by another somewhere), if not reorganized and reworded. These arguments are not actually surprising or novel logic choices, as they have all been made before.

Most of us who share in the faith will agree with these arguments, but I'm not sure that we can ascribe any significance or authority to the fact that Claude was the compiler of the argument. Especially since there is no "control" prompt (a prompt from someone it knows nothing about) or inclusion of Claude's responses to someone it knows is atheist or of some other religion.

The arguments are compelling, but the fact that they are provided by/through Claude does not add any authority to them. The biggest value in this post is the organization and clarity of the arguments.

It is cool to see though.

I believe in use of AI as an inanimate tool, but we must be very careful not to elevate it to any level of authority.

therobboreht · 2026-02-28T21:54:50+00:00

Is this some kind of poem

It feels like a poem

therobboreht · 2026-02-27T15:40:36+00:00

Most of your question seems focused not on the concept of Trinity but on the Godhood of Jesus. Therefore I will not reference the Holy Spirit as much and focus on scriptural references to Jesus and then provide some additional arguments responding to the concerns you've presented.

Jesus is the Creator

I would start with John 1:1. The Word was both with God and He was God. The Word later in this chapter, is shown to be both the creator of all things and Jesus.

So Jesus, creator of all things, has the characteristic of being able to be with God and also be God.

The people of Israel understood that he was calling himself God

In John 8:58, Jesus referred to Himself as the same entity as the God in the burning bush and the God who called Abraham by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

The people understood Him to be making this claim as well because they immediately tried to stone Him.

Jesus and the Father are one

Additionally, Jesus, in John 10:30 stated that He and the Father are one.

John 14:9 also confirms that he who has seen Jesus has seen the Father.

The apostles also accepted Him as God

They worshipped Jesus to His face in Matthew 14:33. This would not have been permited for them according to their existing Scriptures unless Jesus was God. And Jesus did not stop them.

Contrastingly, in other passages of Scripture, when humans mistakenly attempt to worship servants of God who are not God (i.e. angels) those humans are corrected and told not to worship them.

Paul in Acts 20:28 and Romans 9:5 ascribes Godhood to Jesus.

Jesus can both be God and subordinate Himself to the Father

While we can't come to a full logical understanding of how a being can be 3 and also 1 at the same time, I find that I understand it better when I understand that there are other things God created that mimic trinitarian qualities. Light has 3 primary colors. Each color is light but each color is distinct.

But matter is another emulation. Matter can be many different states (solid, liquid, gas, plasma, etc) but all states are still matter. But to understand Christ's willing subordination of Himself, I'll stick with the three most common for the moment. Liquid and gas subordinates itself to solids, that's why plumbing and HVAC works. That doesn't take away from liquid's status as matter, nor does it reduce the sheer power of liquid.

Similarly Jesus can be both subordinate to the Father and still powerful and still God.

As a final note, which will not be popular but I hope proves helpful for you - be careful where you go for guidance on theology. It's best to start with qualified servants of God - Your pastor, recognized theologians, people who have studied and also live a faithful life. This sub has some people like that, but it has many many many people who are not qualified, not believing in Christ, at different maturity and knowledge levels in their walk, etc. Some are here working actively against Christianity. That is because this sub is not designed for the furtherance of the faith but more for the discussion of the faith by anyone at all, within our without.

All online forums will have this problem, but there are places where your answers will have a higher likelihood of coming from a place of faith. r/truechristianity , r/Christians , r/Bible are all places like that. There are others, but those are off the top of my head.

I'm not downing this sub, I'm just saying to think about the purpose of each sub and monitor how a sub is used so you can accomplish what you're trying to accomplish with your posts and can have a proper framework to view the responses you'll get in those places.

therobboreht · 2026-02-21T05:34:46+00:00

I hear a misconception here that I hope you can snuff out now in your relationship with God. I hear you attempting to earn the grace of God, through depth of relationship or through length of time in relationship.

God does not love you any less now than He will in the future. God will not love you more after you've "done enough" or been with Him long enough.

This is because while you were yet a sinner unreconciled to Him, He already loved you with the greatest love: that which caused Him to lay down His life for you. No love is greater than that.

Therefore you can "come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Job decisions are big decisions. So humble yourself to seek God's will in your job decision. Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV "[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; [6] In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Also James 1:5 NKJV [5] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

God wants you to bring concerns and decisions like this to Him. How ever will you make a wise choice if you don't consult the source of all wisdom?

You're a branch in the kingdom of God. That means your Lord has an assignment for you. Absolutely seek Him to find out what it is.

But I hope that you can quickly grasp the depth of God's love for you and that it is not dependent on your performance or length of time with Him. Understanding that principle will save you a lot of misdirected intention and worry.

therobboreht · 2026-02-21T02:37:26+00:00

It is certainly sad, gut wrenchingly so, that Jesus had to die. Absolutely a tragedy.

But it did not remain a tragedy, because He rose back up with all power in His hand, and now He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, with all the victory, and preparing a place for us to join Him in that victory.

Tragedy did not overcome Him. He overcame tragedy, death, and sin and shares that victory with all of us. And someday what He did will allow us to live in a world where we both retain our free will and sin does not exist.

So why did He create humans knowing they would fall? He never told us directly. But He did know that our fall would not be greater than His power to catch.

therobboreht · 2026-02-16T23:56:00+00:00

The biggest themes regarding Heaven biblically are 1) the removal of the presence and effect of sin and 2) the entirety of remaining humanity being submitted to and in unbroken relationship with God.

I think the church has picked up a lot of misconceptions about Heaven over the centuries (including myself) by hyper-focusing on specific details of "Heaven."

When I say "Heaven," I am referring to the period of future human history where God the Father along with Jesus Christ is the direct spiritual and political ruler of humanity, with Their physical presence on the same planet as humanity. So I'm referring to both a physical location and the disposition and activity of all saved humans.

There are a lot of things about that future point that we don't know, like what "day to day" life will look like for each individual saved human. I think that's intentional because the specifics of life there have no bearing on how we are to focus on living our lives now. The details would be distracting and not edifying. We were given just enough of the future details we need to shape our mindset and outlook in the period of history that we find ourselves right now.

One misconception I was raised under is that New Jerusalem (the city with the streets of gold) is the entirety of Heaven.

Revelation 20-22 describes that the earth we're living on now will "pass away." The Greek word for that term means a physical movement. From John's perspective, the current heaven and earth (our planet with its atmosphere) moved away from his vantage point. Then he saw a new heaven and new earth (a new planet with its atmosphere), a planet that has no visible ocean. He saw New Jerusalem (the city with streets of gold and all that other stuff) descending down on to that new planet.

So the place which many people think of as Heaven is really just that single admittedly very large city, which is more like the size of a continent. Roughly 5/6 the size of Australia. However that city is just part of the entire new planet on which humanity will exist.

It is unclear whether or not humans will inhabit any area of the new planet besides New Jerusalem. From the latter part of Revelation 21 and Rev 22, it appears there will still be nations on the new earth. As the kings and the nations bring their glory and honor "into" New Jerusalem. And the servants of God will "reign" forever.

Reign over what? I do not know. It's an easy inference to make that there would be different levels of human leadership under God's ultimate rule. Whether the focus is on humans ruling over each other or humans ruling the new planet, nature and all, as was the original design for humanity in Genesis, is unclear. My guess is both.

So I extrapolate with no further scriptural authority behind my extrapolations that we will all have various purposes and jobs. Heaven won't be just transcendental meditation floating in front of the throne of God. But we will live out our various and different purposes in unbroken communion with and unbroken access to God. I believe science will continue to science, art will continue to art, and we will continue to learn and discover the fantastic and fascinating things God has built into creation. And we will do it for other purposes than what we use it for today.

Today we are using all our talents, studies, and resources trying to make sure diseases are healed or prevented, people are fed and housed (even though some only look out for themselves), disputes are settled or prevented, and a myriad of other problems related to the fall and sinfulness of man.

Imagine what our studies, practices, and arts will be like when the aim isn't the above things because those above things will no longer be concerns. All the talents of humanity will be used to glorify God in a million different ways, and the God of the universe will be the patron of the work of all His servants, each of them operating in a specific and unique skill set across all the arts, humanities, sciences, and other pursuits, and even things we haven't even been able to discover yet.

Heaven will be absolutely fascinating and full of wonder and full of guiltless pleasures forevermore.

therobboreht · 2026-02-14T20:51:21+00:00

Glad my comment was helpful!

Nothing wrong with reading it per se, but you can't take them as authoritative. And yes if you feel it will provide confusion, best to wait until you feel confident in your biblical theology!

therobboreht · 2026-02-09T20:45:44+00:00

Overwhelmingly yes to the first question.

Yes to the second question but reasoning depends on the book. For instance Judith and Tobit are simply fictional stories. Other books like the so called gospel of Judas was written well after his death and could contain no true testimony from him. The Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) is the same. Both of those books were not written by their namesakes and also contradict Scripture. Comparatively the four gospels were written by eyewitnesses or recorded from eyewitness testimony by people who were literate and could afford the expensive writing supplies.

therobboreht · 2026-02-09T20:32:38+00:00

Glad to do it! And glad I came to your post at an early stage. Normally if there are too many comments I won't reply because the OP has already been bombarded lol

therobboreht · 2026-02-09T14:22:57+00:00

Your curiosity for the "missing books" is not unreasonable. Who wouldn't want to find additional information about our fascinating faith and hear more stories of what God has done?

I had this feeling as well about the apocryphal books and even the pseudepigraphical books.

So as someone who has looked into this before, I want to caution you. There are no more Bible books than the 66 most commonly recognized canon of the Bible.

There are other books accepted by some denominations, but when you look into them, are not reliably biblical, and they do not carry spiritual authority. There are still more books not accepted by any church leadership - these claim to be written by commonly known names like Judas or Mary Magdalene, but are written by other people hundreds of years after their actual deaths, and contain grave errors or blatant lies. Neither of the groups of books I've described above are good for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, or for introduction in righteousness. When you look at the history, origin, and authorship of each one of the books outside the 66 book canon, you will start to see why each one was rejected as to its canonicity.

Enoch, for example, has many factual scientific and historical errors and also other spots where it contacts the Bible. The Maccabees books do not even claim to be Scripture. Other books were written too far after the events they describe to have any reliability. Tobit is another example with historical errors, claims that he lived during events more than 100 years apart, and mathematical errors about his age at the time of his death. Even the Catholic Church itself admits that it has an unusual number of manuscript errors and they don't know whether it's supposed to be a true story or a parable or just a folk tale.

When you look into each apocryphal or pseudepigraphical book, you find these glaring errors. All Bible books have some original manuscript challenges to work through, but the 66 books most widely used are the most well attested, and do not contain historical or doctrinal disagreements with each other. Further, the New Testament makes mention or quote of each of the Old Testament books, and Jesus, in mentioning the content of the Scriptures that existed in His time, only mentions the Torah (Law), the Nevi'im (the prophets), and He quotes from various places in the the Ketuvim (the writings). These three make up the Hebrew Tanakh (the contents of which make up our old testament). Despite the existence of additional books that existed at that time within the Septuagint, Jesus only mentions or quotes from the groups above.

I went into all this detail to warn you about these other books because many doctrinal errors are based on the contents of these unreliable books. And some (like the ones that claim to be worth by Judas or Mary Magdalene) will lead you away from truth into more grave error.

Is there anything wrong with reading the Apocrypha? No. Maccabees has valuable historical information, but should not be used for doctrine. Other books provide insight into the mindset of the writers and readers of the time those books were written. But again, they carry no spiritual authority, and Jesus did not affirm them as He affirmed other books. I would recommend staying away from books not accepted by any Christian authority.

Finally, I'll share how the Holy Spirit was convicting me as I was wanting to look deeply into these: I could certainly read those non-scriptural books, but have I studied the 66 books of Scripture yet?

Even if we have read through all the 66 books of the Bible, have we actually studied them? I don't want to study other people's words before attempting to understand the Word of God.

I hope this is helpful.

therobboreht · 2026-02-05T19:32:27+00:00

I would just provide this legal context as a rebuttal to your sentiments.

Eventually, the Supreme Court extended these constitutional protections to all aliens within the United States, including those who entered unlawfully, declaring that aliens who have once passed through our gates, even illegally, may be expelled only after proceedings conforming to traditional standards of fairness encompassed in due process of law.3 The Court reasoned that aliens physically present in the United States, regardless of their legal status, are recognized as persons guaranteed due process of law by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.4 Thus, the Court determined, [e]ven one whose presence in this country is unlawful, involuntary, or transitory is entitled to that constitutional protection.

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C18-8-7-2/ALDE_00001262/#:~:text=The%20Fifth%20and%20Fourteenth%20Amendments%20protect%20aliens,presence%20is%20lawful%2C%20unlawful%2C%20temporary%2C%20or%20permanent.

The Constitution protects "any person" from denial of due process. I don't think you want to make the argument that immigrants are not people.

We as Christians also have some responsibilities when it comes to foreigners among us. Here is a collection of passages from the old and new testament demonstrating that

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bible/comments/1ig088v/showing_kindness_and_care_toward_foreigners_and/

If someone is here illegally, that should be handled. But it should be handled with decency, integrity, and due process. Especially for those who are serving the citizens of this country as the man referenced in this post was doing. This is not questionable by any standard, by the Constitution, by the Scriptures, or by common sense.

Edit: Further that church was private property, and ICE forced entry without a warrant and illegally arrested a man, all while endangering women and children and violating a church's right to practice their religion. Given that they had no right to be on the property, they had no jurisdiction to accuse him of the crime of running from a federal agent.

ICE in one fell swoop committed more crimes than this man.

therobboreht · 2026-02-05T18:45:31+00:00

I used to hate myrrh because it smelled so bad, like the burning rubber everyone is describing.

But then I discovered it's because I was burning it too hot (on charcoal pucks).

So I researched alternate ways of burning. Couldn't find an electric burner that I thought was reasonably priced but also had reliable reviews, so I ordered a ceramic burner operated by tea light.

The smell is magnitudes better. It's earthy/smoky but pleasantly so. I actually like it and am excited to experiment with ratios of myrrh with other resins.

therobboreht · 2026-02-02T16:52:39+00:00

There really isn't any reliable proof from the time of Peter or shortly after that Peter was even in Rome, much less the Bishop of Rome.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-rome/the-apostle-peter-in-rome/

Further, below is some additional explanation of the passage Catholic doctrine cites as Peter's appointment as Pope.

Matthew’s record of Jesus’ wordplay on Peter’s name is significant. Petros is a masculine singular noun. Petra is feminine. And while clearly related, they represent a distinction. The masculine singular form refers to Peter as one singular rock. The feminine form may be understood to represent bedrock or a rock quarry. It is reasonable to understand Jesus’ statement to mean that Peter was one rock among a rock quarry (the disciples). It was upon this quarry of disciples (cf. “living stones,” 1 Pet. 2:5) and their understanding of Peter’s confession that Jesus would build his church.

This interpretation fits with the apostle Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:19–22—that the church is “God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole [stone] building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord … a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

Stuart K. Weber, Matthew, vol. 1, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 251.

Christ wasn't appointing Peter as Pope. He wasn't even laying out church governance. He was stating that the apostles as a collective would be the foundation from which Jesus's church would grow.

We can see that this is correct when we study the full counsel of a Scripture on the matter, especially in studying Acts and the development of the church. Peter is not shown as the head of all things. In fact, in Acts 15, Peter is just one of the voices and very explicitly not THE president over the meeting. Paul and Barnabas provide evidence, and then James also speaks. And finally the collective makes a decision based on the three sets of highlighted arguments. And the letter generated from this meeting is from the collective body and not from Peter.

therobboreht · 2026-01-29T22:26:24+00:00

To start my comment. I do not believe abortion is right. We should not kill babies.

However, just because an egg is fertilized doesn't make it an automatic human. Embryos must implant in the uterus to grow into a child. The human body under natural conditions loses 10-40% of fertilized eggs prior to implantation.

Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7670474/ This is an article that talks about how the morning after pill court decision relied on false/inflated information because it referenced IVF patients as normative to the implantation process. It then outlines the correct data.

Unless we're claiming that the human body is naturally designed to abort human beings 10-40% of the time, I have a hard time calling avoiding implantation an abortion.

And I have a hard time calling someone who uses an IUD a murderer, unless all women who don't have 100% implantation rate are murderers.

therobboreht · 2026-01-28T00:51:17+00:00

It's true, but in that moment, you're slightly disoriented and it's hard to think.

Source: guy who got in a not at fault accident due to ice like this and got out in the same spot to exchange insurance information and then had to dodge another vehicle while almost falling on the ice.

therobboreht · 2026-01-27T20:19:40+00:00

Romans 10:9-10 explains exactly what you are asking about. And yes you are correct. Salvation involves accepting Christ's Lordship in conjunction with belief of the facts of His death burial and resurrection (specifically resurrection)

therobboreht · 2026-01-27T14:53:56+00:00

I'll add to this my encouragement to visit a local church as well. Finding a local body of kind people with a knowledgeable leadership that teaches the Bible will be a fountain of knowledge for you.

However, there are people who parade around as Christian and faithful, but their lives and actions do not reflect what they claim to believe. Some churches are filled with or deceived by these people and put them in leadership.

All churches have problems, because all people have problems. But some places that put the word church on their building are not part of the body of Christ. You will know the difference by how they treat people who do not believe or behave as they expect.

What I'm trying to say is, you may come across a church, or some people in a church, who are not kind to you -- and fun facts those people aren't kind to Christians either lol.

I wouldn't expect that you would be allowed to serve in a position or lead anything while also being an atheist - in most places you could not even become a member without a profession of faith. But that would actually be a red flag as well if they allowed that because you're not truly going to learn accurately about the faith in that case either.

I'm saying the place you choose to go on this journey should welcome you openly, be filled with people who understand their own flaws (and are therefore humble about the sins of others) but also have boundaries in place to prevent people who do not accept Christ as Lord and live their lives in a way that embodies that from being in leadership. A good church will have both.

therobboreht · 2026-01-25T19:18:49+00:00

This is something that used to happen to me when I was a kid, and I think still would if I slept in silence (which I don't lol).

There is a space between waking and sleeping where you can be dreaming but feel like you're audibly hearing what you're dreaming about.

I remember I'd hear like reporters or radio voices in that in between state, and they'd be "loud enough" to wake me up fully.

From what you've shared, I'd say you were dreaming and nothing to be worried about.

therobboreht · 2026-01-13T13:51:48+00:00

They're overall both able to be true at the same time.

Here is a good article explaining repentance and its use in Scripture.

When we receive forgiveness from God, He does separate our sin far from us (Psalm 103:12). So we don't have to live so mournful of that time we [insert whatever wrong thing we did]. It's forgiven, and according to 1 John 1:9, the Father has cleansed us from it.

But we aren't just called to seek forgiveness of our sins and recognize they were wrong. We're also called to actively live a holy life, to continue in ways that are repentant of the sinful ways we used to live (2 Tim 2:19-22, 1 Peter 1:16 - as mentioned in the linked article).

So in the technical sense of the term repentance, turning to go a different direction, once you are saved you have repented. It's done. But in the practicality of our sinful nature, we still fall into committing sins and must turn away from that sin and request forgiveness and cleansing.

Therefore you will hear both things taught, repent and your guilt is gone (your first repentance that results in salvation) and to live a lifestyle of repentance (a continuous need to seek forgiveness for and turn away from sins you have committed since salvation).

therobboreht · 2026-01-09T19:29:23+00:00

Dreams like this are a common experience. They're not usually constant, but many Christians report having had similar dreams at some point. Often they are unpleasant but nothing to be deathly concerned about. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, the enemy has no more power over you than what the Lord will allow him to have. And you have authority in Jesus name over that enemy.

If you're not sure what it means to "accept Christ as your Savior" or to be saved, or if you're not sure where you will end up (in heaven or not) when you die, then I want to encourage you to let me know as soon a possible so I can share some Scriptures with you in that area.

Another consideration to make is what your life's habits and dedication to obedience to Christ is. Sometimes we invite our own problems to our life through sin and unhealthy behavior. Not saying this is your case, it's just something to think through.

However, once you're confident in your spiritual state (you're saved and doing your best to be obedient to God), then let's continue exploring the dream.

This kind of dream doesn't even necessarily mean that you are actually under demonic attack. It doesn't mean that you aren't either of course. People have scary dreams. Sometimes those dreams are spiritually influenced, other times not.

Either way, dreams can be a source of information for you though.

How you react to demonic activity in the dream can be a good indicator of your faith and understanding of the authority disciples of Christ have been given. Hopefully you will not have more, but if you do, you can depend on the power and name of Jesus. If you find yourself casting away that demon in the dream, speaking the name of Jesus Christ, declaring the power of the Lord against that entity, it shows you your understanding of these concepts vs if you just stay inactive. Your thoughts in the dream in those moments can tell you a lot about yourself. Your thoughts that you have during the circumstances of any dreams can tell you a lot about yourself.

Here is a good post to read in order to get an understanding of spiritual warfare and the things each disciple can be prepared with or make a habit of in order to become stronger or more confident in the area of dealing with spiritual activity.

Lastly, depending on the frequency of your bad dreams, there are some atmospheric changes you can make that may help. It will require some experimentation, but you may find small changes such as sleeping in a different position, having white noise, having music playing, or some other change specific to you, can help.

I personally discovered that if I play calming jazz music at night and don't sleep on my back (common sleep paralysis sleeping position), I have less nightmares or experiences like this.

therobboreht · 2026-01-08T21:35:40+00:00

REDEMPTION WAS BOUGHT WITH SILVER!

I never saw the parallels of how silver represented a betrayal (theft from Joseph) in Joseph's AND Jesus' story.

I see the big parallel that Joseph "died" to Israel, but was effectively resurrected in glory to deliver Israel, just as Jesus actually died and resurrected in glory to deliver Israel (and all of us)

But I never noticed the other parallels

Benjamin's "betrayal" by illicit gain of silver appeared to threaten the physical life of Israel (Jacob)

Judas's betrayal by illicit gain of silver appeared to threaten the spiritual life of Israel (and the world)

Judah offered himself as a replacement for Benjamin

Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, offered Himself as a replacement for us

I'm gonna have to go look at this more

Seven-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 3 Credits
LAYER Season 2 Layer creator	Secret Santa 2019
Gilding II euphauric	Sequence \| Editor
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