FOUR

DOORS

TO GLORY

BY

JO HOMAN CALLOWAY

"SO LIKEWISE WHEN YE, WHEN YE WILL SEE ALL THESE THINGS, KNOW THAT IT IS NEAR, EVEN AT THE DOOR." Matthew 24:33

Chapter I

"Behold, I show you a mystery..."

Election night, 1992. . .

I lay on my sofa weeping my heart out. Tears poured from my eyes, wetting my cheeks, my hair. The awful sadness rising up from the depth of my soul overwhelmed me. I was experiencing a sadness I could not explain as the name of the new president of the United States had just been announced.

Suddenly the Lord's presence entered my room. I immediately sensed him and I began to try to choke back my sobs. He asked me: "Why are you weeping?"

I answered, "I'm so sad for America, Lord. " And it was true. I felt very sad for America. For a fact, I had experienced such overpowering sadness only a few times in my life.

Then, in a most firm voice, the Lord said to me: "Why should it matter to you who Caesar is . . ." There followed a pause, then he added: "It should only matter to you who your God is. "

His presence lifted. My emotions had been immediately soothed. He was right. He's always right. How silly I felt as I whispered, "You're right Lord. "

His peace enwrapped me and within seconds my tears were gone and I was fast asleep. The election of 1992 was behind me forever, yet I have not forgotten the Lord's words to me that night. Rarely have I looked at President Clinton without thinking, "And the Lord called you Caesar. "

For a long time I took the Lord's words spoken election night 1992 at face value without pondering them for depth or meaning. Now that it's been years I've considered the Lord's use of the particular name "Caesar." How easy it would have been for him to say: "Why should it matter to you who the president is?"

But he didn't. He plainly said "Caesar. " I've wondered was the Lord referring to the man, or to the office, or both. He did not elaborate on his meaning.

One thing I do know. When the Lord Jesus came as a baby, Caesar was in power. I'm inclined to believe that somehow that's the connection. . . A Caesar Then; a Caesar now. Perhaps it has something to do with the Lord's return.

And that's the reason I'm writing this book. By God's grace, and to the best of my ability to follow the Holy Spirit, I'll record the visions, dreams, and visitations of the Lord which have taken place over the past 15 years of my life. (Fifteen is an approximate number of years; it could be 14 or 16. I've never recorded the exact dates with the exception of one; rather, I've relied on years and seasons.)

If the events and occurrences related on the coming pages appear to be incredible or unbelievable - don't fret or worry about it. Seek the lord. He is the truth alone. To the best of my recollection, it all began for me in the late summer or early fall of 1980.

XXXXXX

To the best of my recollection, it all began for me in the late summer or early fall of1980.

I have been a naptaker all my life, finding a few winks in the afternoon and I am refreshed for the evening and night. That particular afternoon, I came home from work, kicked off my shoes, and stretched out on my bed. The moment my head touched the pillow, a startling sensation gripped me. I knew I WAS NOT alone, that someone was in my bedroom. I became paralyzed with fright. Unable to move, I could not so much as roll my eyes to see who was there. It was then that I saw Him, there at the foot of my bed, a little toward my left. He stood in mid-air, His feet not touching the floor, nor His head touching the ceiling. He just hovered there staring down at me... Jesus Christ in person.

I thought I would die. I lay completely helpless, horrified, and paralyzed. One single thought erupted in my mind. "Jesus Christ, what are you doing in my bedroom?!" That's the only thought I had and as soon as it ended, I discovered I could move my head. I did so immediately. I jerked my head to the right, away from His stare which had pierced me through and through. My chin touched my right shoulder and I stared helplessly at my window drapes.

To my amazement the drapes vanished and I then received my first vision from the Lord. I had no idea what was happening to me, or why. It was all beyond my control and my understanding.

Where my drapes had been there appeared a very beautiful scene. It was much like looking through a zoom lens as it comes into focus. First, I saw an olive grove on a hillside, very peaceful and colorful. I cannot explain how I knew it was an olive grove, having never seen one, but I knew that it was. As my eyes traveled through the grove, I saw the Lord Jesus. He was sitting under one of the trees. Dressed in a dazzling white tunic, his back rested against the trunk of the tree. Across his lap was a beautifully carved lapboard. On the lapboard was a piece of parchment and his hand held a feather quill. I watched as he wrote on the parchment with the quill.

I watched until the vision faded away and my drapes reappeared. During the vision I had been spellbound, but when it left the terrible fear returned. I'm not sure whether the Lord was still in my room when I discovered to I could move. I did not pause to look. I rolled from my bed, hit the floor and half ran, half crawled from my home. Once outside I straightened then ran as fast as I could over to my neighbor's house.

I hurried inside the back door to see my neighbor's children sitting on the couch watching television. For the next few minutes, perhaps even an hour, I sat with them as they watched cartoons. Totally shocked and confused I could in no way explain what had just happened to me.

I had for some time been at a crossroad in my life when I wasn't sure if a God even existed and if he did - which God? With the exception of the Bible and its God, I had been searching and studying the world's religions.

From childhood I had been raised in the Baptist Church and even joined and was baptized at an early age (11 or 12 years I think). Looking back to that time I realized that I went from baptism to rebellion, in an almost straight path. It wasn't long until I bought the lie that there are many ways to God, other than through Jesus Christ. I doubted he existed or ever had.

Needless to say, his visit had shaken me to my core. I could no longer question his existence. I knew he was alive. He had stood mid-air in my bedroom and stared at me with eyes that burned me and petrified me. I knew beyond all doubt that he was Jesus Christ. I can't explain how I knew any more than I can explain how I knew I was seeing an olive grove in the vision on my drapes. I just knew Jesus was alive, he had been in my room; I'd seen him under the olive tree writing on a piece of parchment with a feather quill.

Yet, I could not make any sense out of either event . . . his visit or the vision. I wondered if I was going nuts. My thoughts were all over the place as I tried within my own mind to cope with and explain the events. How or why, would I or could I, imagine such a thing? A visit and a vision from Jesus Christ. I must be nuts.

However, I could not rationalize the realness of it away. Christ Jesus did not come into my room as a wisp of smoke, or a light, or a mist. He was a real person, with real form and features and flesh. If I had not been paralyzed, it would've been possible to reach out and physically touch him. But, at that time I was not trying to get to him, rather I was trying to get away from him, away from that stare.

I tried my best to figure out why he came to me and why he showed me that vision. The first explanation I developed went something like this:

Obviously Jesus Christ had written something and had buried it beneath the olive tree I saw in the vision. Perhaps my task would be to find that grove and that particular tree, then dig to find the buried piece of parchment. It would undoubtedly be the "Find" of all ages.

I was thinking about going to Israel when my neighbor came home from work and found me still on the sofa sitting with her children. I must have appeared out of sorts to her for she immediately asked me, "What's wrong?"

I got up, walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Over a cup of coffee, I finally replied, "Jesus Christ came to see me this afternoon. "

She cut her eyes sharply at me, then ask matter-of-factly, "What did he want?"

"I don't know. " I then told her what had occurred. I even related to her my theory about the "buried" writing. But in the end I had to admit the truth that I had no idea why the Lord had dropped in that day.

I didn't talk much about it after that afternoon. To be honest, I didn't know how to talk about it. After a while the "buried treasure" theory faded. Slowly, over time, I came to understand that the visit had something to do with writing. I had seen Jesus writing.

Now, I knew something about writing. I was a writer, a contemporary romance writer for the secular markets. I was also a registered nurse and at the time of the Lord's visit, I was doing both. At the time of his visit I had three published works, two romance novels and one civil war novel.

In January 1981, with a spur of the moment decision I gave up my nursing career and devoted full-time to my writing. For the next four years I wrote to build a track record with the dream and hope of making the transition from romance to mainstream novels. I had another 18 books published.

Not understanding the reason behind Christ Jesus's visit, I put the entire episode on a back burner of my mind. Not that I forgot it - not all. That was beyond my ability to do. I purchased an expensive study Bible, leather bound with gold trimmed pages, a beautiful book indeed. I tried to read it. I found for the most part, it was closed to my understanding. I tried to understand it, but I couldn't.

During those years there were times when in the middle of my writing, I would push back from my desk and sit and weep. I didn't know why. It seemed the more success I obtained, the more miserable I became. I had believed that being a full-time, self supporting writer would make me happy. Was I surprised when I discovered that it didn't.

I made a couple of trips to New York and met with editors. Career wise I was moving up. I had a hard-working agent and my books were selling. I began to make the best seller lists of the genre. As soon as I fulfilled one contract with my publisher, another one more lucrative would be waiting for my signature. There were conventions and autograph parties. Yet, beneath it all, I felt very miserable, lonely and unhappy. Some thing was wrong some where, and I could neither identify it, nor correct it.

Seeing the Lord had not ended my rebellion at all. As a matter of fact I was more rebellious toward God than ever before. With each passing day my determination to have my own way in this life increased. And it continued that way until January of 1984 when I had my second encounter with the Lord.

I was cleaning house and doing my washing that morning. The television was on a Christian station and I was ridiculing the preacher under my breath. With a load of clothes under my arm I walked into the hallway toward my washing machine. It was then a voice spoke to me in a tone firm, deliberate and very pointedly. It said plainly:

"Why are you ridiculing my servant Jim? What have you ever done for me?"

I stopped dead still, both startled and frightened. . I started to say, "Who are you?" but I didn't. I knew who it was. I just stood there for a while not moving. I don't know what I did with the clothes, but after awhile I turned and went into the living room where I sat down on the floor in front of the television. As I listened to the message from the same preacher I had minutes before been ridiculing something happened within my heart. It opened to the truth of the gospel. Jesus Christ saved me that day and he became Lord of my messed up life, a position he has not relinquished over the years that have followed.

From the moment of my salvation, the change in my life was profound. Nothing mattered so much to me as getting to know the Lord. And he did a miracle in my mind. I used a lot of profanity in my every day speaking and the more successful my writing became the more profanity I used. I was really foul-mouthed. But that day it was as if the Lord took soap and water and washed my brain, heart and mouth. I did not have to struggle to stop. I stopped the moment of salvation.

Much later I learned that 'Out of the heart, the mouth speaks' and that January day in 1984 the Lord cleansed my heart. I no longer thought the words, they were gone from my mind, and without a battle. That was my first taste of deliverance from the Lord. And it was sweet.

Nineteen hundred eighty four proved to be the most eventful and trying year of my life. It is a good thing that the Lord's timing is so perfect. In May, my Daddy died, and five weeks later my 16-year-old nephew was killed in a freak car accident, the night of July 6, 1984. Then, to top the year off, in the Fall Christ Jesus showed me his return in a vision and told me to write it. Needless to say, my emotions and my brain went . . . Tilt. All of it seemed more than I could handle.

Also, the Holy Spirit had begun to convict me about my secular writing. The romances had to go. I fought to delay that decision because I had just signed a four book contract and had already spent most of the advance money.

Christ Jesus was very patient with me. He had touched my spirit in a way that I was soothed over the losses of Daddy and Jeff, and fully assured I would see them again. I sensed the Lord's presence in so many ways. I knew he loved me and I loved him in return.

Nineteen hundred eighty five became my Jekyll and Hyde year. My time was divided in the attempts to complete my four book contract with my publisher and also to write the vision the Lord had shown me of his return. I wasn't doing an effective job with either task.

And yet, I had a very close relationship with the Lord. He answered most of my prayers; he answered my questions. It was a wonderful experience, the most wonderful of all my life. I began to read my Bible and listen to Bible tapes, mainly staying in the four Gospels for my focus was on Jesus. The day he stood in my bedroom I realized he was alive and real. But now, he was alive and real to me. That difference is as great as the difference between heaven and hell.

It is difficult to describe those days without sounding full of pride, but I will attempt to do so. I was so alive. I felt it in every cell of my being. The Lord's presence caused me to actually glow. Not that I had to look in a mirror; I only had to listen to the comments of people I encountered. They would remark about the light in my eyes, the shine on my face, or similar comments. I knew what they saw was real because I felt it radiating from the depths of my being.

And I thought it would always be that way. That joy, that happiness, that light, that closeness. I didn't attend any church regularly at that time because I was selfish. I didn't want to share the Lord. I wanted to keep it as it what this - just Jesus and me. I will give an example of what I mean.

One day I recalled someone saying something from the scriptures about locusts and caterpillars. For some reason I couldn't get it out of my mind. I remember sitting on the side of my bed, searching through my Bible trying to find that scripture. I looked from cover to cover, yet I couldn't find it. Nothing was listed in the index or the concordance to help me. I began to grow frustrated as I searched on and on with no results. I don't know how much time passed before, in almost despair, I whispered, "Where is it, Lord? Please help me find it."

The Lord said to me:

"Close your bible."

I did as he said and closed it.

Then he said to me:

"Now, Open it."

I opened my Bible and immediately my eyes fell on Joel 2:25 which said:

"And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. " (KJV)

That was it! Laughing, I shook my head and said, "Lord, I should have just asked you in the first place."

I did not have the slightest hint that I had just read a verse which would describe the coming years of my life. All I knew that moment was that the Lord was indeed wonderful.

In 1985 I wrote the Vision of the Lord's return for the first time. It was my attempt to be obedient to the Lord even though I did not understand the vision. I wrote it exactly as it had been given to me and when I finished the few pages, I addressed the envelope to a well-known evangelist. I had prayed about it and I believed this was the person to whom the Lord directed me to send it. A friend of mine named Jane dropped it at the Post Office for me. I recall she told me how wonderful she felt as she mailed it.

I felt pretty wonderful too. I had done what I believed to be the Lord's command and now the vision would be shared with the world through the evangelist. I envisioned the message going around the earth via television, radio, pulpits. (Perhaps I should make clear that the vision does not tell the time, nor even the season of the Lord's returned. What it does tell is how the event will occur. )

It didn't take long for the reply to come from a staff member of the evangelist to whom I had sent the vision. The reply was filled with anger, hostility and outright accusations. The letter stated that I was trying to cause a "division" in the body of Christ.

I was devastated ... absolutely devastated. The reply both angered me and broke my heart. The cruel words in the letter called me a troublemaker and a liar. Try as I might, I could not understand the response and of course I complained loudly to Christ Jesus.

" Lord Jesus, why did you have me send it there?" I was truly baffled. "Lord, you knew what the response would be... look at this letter... I've been called a troublemaker!" Was I ever beside myself. I took the rebuke and the rejection of the vision personally. My first meaningful encounter with the body of Christ was one I would not soon forget, or forgive. But, after a while my tears dried and my heart toward the evangelist turned very cold. Months later when his ministry collapsed under scandal and a terrible division occurred in the American Church, I thought to myself..." Serves you right - who's the troublemaker. "

That attitude caused me much misery; how much I can't measure. Being saved by the Lord did not immediately deliver me from my wretchedness, but after a while I became aware of it, thanks to the Holy Spirit.

It is now time to write the Vision of the Lord's return so the reader may judge for yourself if it is from the Lord, or not.

"The VISION"

It was either late summer or early fall in 1984. About mid-afternoon I stopped what I was doing, went into my spare bedroom and lay down on a twin-sized bed to rest, perhaps to nap. I put on headphones so I could listen to Bible tapes as I tried to relax. It had been the most trying year of my life.

I don't know whether or not I went to sleep. I've never known for sure. What I do know is that the next thing I became aware of, I was watching myself dress in my bedroom. It seemed I was both, above watching and also, below dressing. I wondered how that could be? How could I be watching me? But I was doing just that. I saw myself standing in front of the dresser, finishing dressing in a plaid skirt and a white blouse, neither item I happen to own at the time. I looked at myself very closely - at my size, I seemed thinner; at my hair which was curly; at my face, it was peaceful. Perhaps I was older but not terribly so. My appearance was different and I remember wondering to myself "How can this be?"

I watched as I gave myself a last look in the mirror then turned and left the bedroom. It was then I realized that I was no longer divided, no longer above and below at the same time. I was inside my own body seeing through my own natural eyes. I entered the living room, moved diagonally across to the front door and walked out onto the porch. I went down the steps and onto the grass. I remember it was then I paused to look up at the sky and thought to myself, 'What a beautiful day.' And it was indeed beautiful. The sky was clear and blue without even the wisp of a cloud present. The sun was shining brightly, but I don't recall where it was in the sky. Already in a good mood, the beauty of the day put extra bounce in my steps.

I began to walk toward the gate which separated my yard from my mother's yard, toward this small pear tree in my yard which grew about fifteen feet from the gate. The gate opens to the east and the pear tree is south from the gate and only a few feet away from the cyclone fence between the two yards.

I've not been able (or allowed) to recall the 'Look' of the pear tree, other than to say it was not a large tree, and after all these years it still is not a large tree. If the Lord had allowed me to recall anything specific about the tree, other than its size, then I would be able to place it in a season. I cannot say whether or not there were leaves, or blooms, or fruit because I have no recollection of its appearance.

I do know that as I drew close to the tree, a flash toward the east, southeast caused me to glance southward. And from this point on, all that is related is done so in retrospect of what happened - and in slow motion.

When I looked toward the direction of the flash, suddenly I saw the sky split open. That's what I thought as I saw it. Perhaps a more accurate description is that the sky parted and an opening appeared, a large opening. And coming through that opening in the sky was thousands, perhaps millions of tornado-like clouds. Perhaps even billions. Without knowing how I knew, I realized I was not seeing tornadoes, but whirlwinds - dark majestic whirling clouds toward through that opening.

I started the thought, "What's happening to the sky?" but that single thought did not have time to form before I was gone. First there had been the flash, then the parting of the sky, then the whirlwinds; and I was caught up inside one of those whirlwinds before I could think or speak a single thought or word. It was awesome.

Now, the Part I want to most emphasize at this point is the rapidity of these events. From the flash to finding myself inside one of the whirlwinds there was no measurable time lapse. Flash ... gone. That's how it was. The apostle Paul said, "In the twinkling of an eye," and that's the most accurate account, as one would expect of God's word.

My thought process was much slower than the events which were taking place. I became aware of being inside the whirlwind when I was actually hundreds, perhaps thousands of miles up. I had been lifted off of the earth's surface by the strong hands of someone who gripped me firmly under my arms, and held me close.

As I left the earth, I remember reaching down and pressing my hand against my skirt, an act of modesty I suppose. It was all happening very fast.

In an instant, inside that whirlwind, I realized something had happened to me. I was changed. I will attempt to explain that change as best I can.

I was still me, but a remarkable change occurred. The body of death had vanished and I was clothed with eternal life. I had been changed from mortal to immortal. I don't know how it happened, I just know that it did happen. All shackles were gone, all burdens, all heaviness had been done away with.

There are no adequate words to describe the rush of joy, the freedom, the absolute and total bliss that flooded my being. I felt like a little child, so clean and pure and innocent; but at the same time filled with God-given knowledge.

For instance, I knew that I wasn't alone in this event - that there were millions, perhaps billions of others just like me, caught up inside the other whirlwinds. I remember laughing with glee when I understood that others were also experiencing what I was experiencing.

Then without warning I felt pressure on my head, as when someone places hands on a head in order to turn it in a certain direction. Although there were no actual hands that I could see, the power exerted on my head forced me to look down. At first I resisted the pressure because I didn't want to look downward, but I was quickly overpowered.

I had to look. As I did the swirls of silvery gray smoke inside the whirlwind parted and the bottom opened. I saw a sight then I could hardly take in. Directly in my line of vision I saw the earth. It appeared to be about the size of a basketball. I saw that it was on fire and melting, as if it had been made of wax. I viewed the site below me and I remember thinking these words: "Why, that's the earth and its melting. "

Then, as quickly as it had opened, the whirlwind closed at its base and my glimpse of earth's final stage ended. I was not bothered nor troubled by what I had seen. The earth's meltdown had been presented to me as a fact and that's how I received it. Simply a fact the Lord had shown me. And at that time I didn't give it any more thought.

It was about that time the one holding to me released me. I had not seen his face because from his neck area upward swirls of smoke covered him. My head had been close enough to his shoulders that I could tell he was wearing a lavender robe-like garment.

Inside the whirlwind it was light and silvery with wisps of smoke all about. There weren't any gadgets or anything like that present. I did not pay a lot of attention to the one who had been holding me as he backed away, or to the inside of the whirlwind, because I discovered that I could float. I could fly. I could float on nothing. How fantastic! Laughing with great joy I began to float around inside the whirlwind on my right side. I can't describe the delight in my soul. Laughing still, I began to yell out to the others who were caught up in the similar whirlwinds, "Hey! Look! Look what I can do!"

I floated, making swimming like moves, enjoying the freedom I experienced with each move. Then, I stopped floating and lay on my side where I saw the one who had been holding me start to move toward me through the swirls of smoke.

As he approached me He spoke:

"You can't do that. . . Not yet you can't. "

Never have I heard such a voice. It was filled with the majesty of a beautiful waterfall, deep and rich and all powerful. And as strange as it may sound, His words were actually alive and surrounding me. It was as if I could have reached out and taken one in my hand. That voice was the most wonderful sound I had ever heard or ever hoped to hear. I knew who it was.

I began to call out, "Oh Jesus. . . It's you. . . It's you, Jesus." I had experienced the supreme moment of the journey. I heard His voice and no joy compared to that joy.

I wanted to get to Him and it was at that point the vision ended. Suddenly, I was aware of being on my bed, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling. My spirit was still very much enraptured by the voice of Jesus and it felt as if my heart would burst open inside my chest. Earthen vessels are not equipped to handle an overload of heavenly bliss. But, within moments the joy faded and in its place came an overwhelming sense of fear. Fear gripped my entire being; a fear that propelled me from the bed and dropped me to my knees.

I remember my prayer distinctly. I cried out, "Oh God, what was that?" I didn't wait for an answer as I continued, "Was that from you. . . Oh God. . . I've got to know. . . Was that from you?"

A Peace suddenly came on me and I became still and silent. I can only explain what happened next this way:

As I continued kneeling beside my bed, inside my chest large bold black letters began to form. I cannot explain how I could see them, but I saw them form, one by one. . .

H. . . A. . . B. . . A. . . K. . . K. . . U. . . K

followed by the numbers: 2:2

"My God In Heaven!" I shrieked aloud, startled. "What is that!" I first thought He had written a foreign word inside my chest.

He spoke to me then. He said, "Go, get your Bible." Immediately I realized he had written the name of a book in the Bible, so I jumped to my feet, rushed out of the bedroom and into the living room where I grabbed up my Bible. My hands trembled to such an extent I could hardly find the index of books. Once I did find it, I scanned the listing for what seemed a long time before finally seeing the name - Habakkuk. It was a book in the Old testament.

With shaking hands, anticipation mixed with fear, I reached the page where verse 2:2 read:

"Write the vision. . . "

The entire verse read: Habakkuk 2:2 (KJV)

And the Lord answered me and said, "Write the Vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. "

What a sense of relief I felt upon reading that verse. I was both relieved and satisfied; relieved that the Lord had given a sure word, and satisfied that the word was indeed from the Lord.

I had absolutely no understanding of what I had witnessed in the vision, nor did I know how I would write it. But one thing I was sure of at that moment - I would write it.

The remainder of that afternoon I moved about in a kind of fog. I found it impossible to do anything other than relive the vision. I replayed it over and over in my mind--the cloudless day, the sky opening, the millions of black whirlwinds, the earth burning and melting, the change in my own body. I relived it without comprehending it at all. I had no understanding of what I had seen.

I'm not certain, but I believe it was that same night that the Lord gave me a second witness that the vision had indeed been from him. Not that I doubted. I had no doubts, not after I read Habakkuk 2:2. But since the Lord knows our future needs, he saw fit to confirm the vision by another source.

It was somewhere around eight o'clock in the evening and I was in my kitchen. My television was on and turned to EWTN, a Catholic network I picked up on the satellite. Standing at the counter, preparing my dinner, I heard the voice of a Father Mitch Pacna begin his teaching program by stating words to the effect, "In this lesson we'll be studying Psalm 97."

Of course that meant little to me since I did not know the Psalms, so I kept on with my dinner preparations - that is until I heard the words he began to read. Astounded by what I heard, I dropped what I was doing, rushed into my living room and got my Bible. I opened it to psalm 97. I could hardly contain myself. There on the page of God's word was the vision He had shown me ... His coming, the dark clouds, the earth melting. I was beside myself with joy and awe.

Long after the program ended, I sat staring at Psalm 97. How incredible to me that the great God of the universe would be so kind and thoughtful as to allow a stranger, a disinterested person to verify the vision a second time.

It seemed all that was left for me to do was to obey the Lord. I had to 'Write the vision.'