[Excerpt from Through The Fire Without Burning; this occurred soon after arrival in California after being exiled from Romania for smuggling Bibles.]
When I eventually fell asleep, I had a strange and remarkable dream.
I found myself back in Romania. Maria [my wife] and I were there visiting an apple orchard. For some reason we weren't allowed to go in. The owner approached us and said, "What are you doing here? Your rights are in America. Get out or I'll call the police!"
I pleaded with the owner to let us walk through the beautiful orchard just one last time, but he would not. As I stood waiting, I suddenly realized that it was getting dark outside, a strange occurrence since it was only about 1:00 p.m.. I looked all around to see where the darkness was coming from and was terrified to see a volcano erupting. Its lava spread over the nearby homes, then began to rise across the ground.
"Maria," I said in the dream, "I guess you know we're going to die." Maria smiled. "I am so happy that I am going to die on Romanian ground." Then suddenly, an American helicopter lowered to rescue us. When I got inside the copter, I looked into the familiar eyes of the pilot. He was the man dressed in white; the angel of the Lord. He said nothing, just motioned for us to sit down. When we were high over the ground, he finally spoke, "Look down." I looked and the land of Romania was covered with an army of tanks, machine guns, and aircraft, all poised for battle. [This occurred in December 1989 during the revolution in Romania.]
"See, all of this evil will eventually happen. This is why the Lord has taken you from Romania, to save you. Now you are in a position to help your people from your new home. You will provide tremendous assistance to your Christian Brothers and Sisters as well as to your loved ones. This is why I have sent you to America. So be strong and trust the Lord fully. He will not let you down."
Next, it seemed we were over California. The angel said, "There is San Francisco. There is Sacramento and Modesto. Soon we will see Los Angeles." I had no idea there were such places in California, or even in the world. But I still remember the exact names.
At last we were over Fullerton where we now live. "You can go home," the angel said, "but I want to tell you what will happen. You have seen a number of cities. The day will come when I will punish the citizens of those cities because of their sins. Their sin has reached into heaven. God will punish them just as he punished Sodom and Gomorrah."
"How will this happen? Surely they are able to defend themselves against any imaginable invasion."
"That is your opinion, not the mind of God. The Russian government will have all the information regarding the whereabouts of American missiles. They will have the exact locations of the weapons factories. Even now they are preparing an attack against America. When America believes there is peace and safety, the Russians will lead an all out attack. They already have it planned! They plan to attack from such remote bases as Cuba, Nicaragua, Central America, Mexico, and the ocean. They have had these plans for a long time, but God has not yet allowed them to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, the day will come when America will be punished for her sins by fire."
I was terrified. "Why did you bring me here to die? Why didn't you let me die where my parents died?"
"Don't be afraid." He spoke calmly and quietly. "The pure in heart will not be punished. Those who are untouched by the sins of others, and are faithful and true, will hear the trumpet of God and the voice of God's angel crying, 'Wake up!' They will be told where to go."
"Where will they go?"
The helicopter soured again. I caught my breath, for as I looked down my eyes swept across beautiful cities. Two rivers flowed through one of them and growing alongside the other was a vast, lush forest. "This is your refuge when the times of tribulation fall upon California. Your family, and all those who hear the voice of the Lord, will understand the message of God's mighty trumpet."
Deeply troubled, I awoke from my restless sleep. The next morning I told my family the dream and began fasting for 21 days.