The first time this became a reality for me was one night 5 years ago…This may be hard for some of you reading this to comprehend, but this is true and these things do happen to people around the world.
One night while I lay sleeping in bed, I started to dream. Soon in my dream my spirit was taken up into the presence of God. As I looked around I was surrounded by stars. My spirit had been taken into the heavenly realm. I was then sitting in front of an angel who was dressed in a beautiful purple colour that sparkled like nothing I had ever seen before. Never before or since have I seen such a radiant colour. At this very moment I knew I was in heaven!
I could feel the difference in the atmosphere. I felt more ‘Alive’ then, than I do right now as I tell you about this experience. That’s what feeling alive means, being in the manifest presence of God. The angel then said to me “Hello Ellissa.” I simply responded in kind. From that place the angel took me to a place on earth, a lobby of a building that looked like a waiting room of some sort. He then showed me a cow made out of felt. Many times in the bible God used cows or other symbolic things to convey a message to His people. Then the angel was holding a zipper beneath the cow. As he was ready to unzip the cow he turned to me and said. “Are you sure you’re ready? This isn’t just a story!” He repeated the question at least three times. Each time I said “Yes, Yes I am!” He didn’t unzip the cow in front of me because that ‘cleaning out’ was yet to come. It was symbolic of God wanting to cleanse me from within. That is why the angel asked me if I was ready.
We were then standing in front of a door that said ‘Genesis’, which is the first book in the bible. It represented a new beginning. From there we went into a room that looked like an auditorium. There were about twenty people sitting in the first two rows of seats. There was also a very tall man with blondish hair speaking to this group of people. I remember thinking that he was being a little harsh on these people. The angel was showing me of ‘hardships’ yet to come in our lives, but was necessary in our preparation for ministry.
I was then led out of the room into complete darkness and I was left with the most frightening feeling of my life. I felt what it was like to die without knowing Jesus and spend an eternity in hell. Let me be blunt with you for a moment because I do not want to be held responsible for not giving you every opportunity to give your life to Jesus. You have to know that if you die without giving your life to Him and accept His free gift of salvation through His death and resurrection, you WILL spend eternity separated from the presence of God. That my friend is what the bible calls “Hell”. For a moment I felt this agony. Even though words cannot do it justice, here is my attempt. It felt like being the only one in the entire world left alone in complete darkness, with the most fearful things around you and no one to rescue you. Complete helplessness, as I fell endlessly into a pit of darkness. There was no one to turn to. The bible describes it as a place where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth!” There is also the lake of fire.
Some of you will ask, “Why does God let people go there if He loves them so much?” He doesn’t let or send anyone there. The bible says that God desires that no one perish and that all men come to Him. They choose to go there in a way when they reject Jesus, the Son of God, who is the only way to God. When you reject Him, you’re choosing an eternity without Him, which is hell.
When the experience was over, I woke up and instantly I had a deep passion for people to come to know God personally and intimately. I knew I had been given a mandate to tell all of you who don’t know God in this way to consider everything I have told you and give Jesus your heart and life. What I felt was real, and it’s what Jesus feels ever time he watches someone die without knowing Him. It breaks His heart. So I plead with you today, if you don’t know Jesus, take a leap of faith and ask Him to reveal himself to you.
What the angel was trying to reveal to me was that is wasn’t “Just A Story”, IT WAS REAL!!! I was seeing the cow as felt; just like I had bible stories shown to me with little felt people and animals as a child in Sunday school. As much as I knew the message of the gospel and accepted the Lord as a young child, I was still seeing it as felt pictures. I was taken by this angel to show me the reality of the message of the gospel and to prepare me to demonstrate it.
Through the healing and training I have been through, God knew I would need it for the cleansing of my heart because of the rough waters I was heading into. It’s hard when we are faced with the reality of the condition of our heart, but Jesus has so much love for us that He took the time to send one of His messengers to prepare me for the year ahead.
God is more real than you think. He longs for the day when you will seek Him. However, He is a gentleman and He will never force himself on you. You have to decide to accept His gift or reject it. It’s your choice!!! I promise you this…If you take the first step and accept His free gift of love; HE WILL run towards you with arms wide open. The bible says that He came to seek and save the lost. If you do not know Him, YOU ARE LOST. Won’t you answer Him today?
Our ministry is non-religious. We want to help equip and love people into their destiny, and teach those who desire to know God. If you have ANY questions write to us and let us prayerfully consider each question you may have. No question is a stupid question and no question will go unanswered.
I hope that sharing this personal experience with you has opened up the eyes of your heart to hear the voice of God.
Love in Christ
Ellissa McLarty
