An Extraordinary Confirmation

I pondered these new insights about the Bible, spiritual warfare, September 11th, and COVID-19, I questioned whether they were true or perhaps a master plan of deceit by the enemy. These thoughts lingered into January 2021.

At the time, I was the Army’s* lead instructor for an intensive two-week course focused on teaching military students the tactics required for large-scale conflict (the opposite of the previous twenty years fighting small-scale warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan). As the two other cadre members and I prepared for the course to begin, our commanding general unexpectedly delayed the start by a week, wanting an additional week of quarantine after Christmas break. This caused half our students to cancel. Thankfully, seven students from Ft. Drum, NY, enrolled at the last minute and kept the course alive.

As expected, I led the course as an apolitical and areligious Army instructor. I mentioned nothing spiritual to the students, even as the questions from the previous seven months swirled within my mind. The final day of the course arrived: test day. I remember that Friday, January 29th, 2021, as if it were yesterday. Students started the morning with a one-hour written exam, followed by an individual practical exam with an instructor. While the 15 students were in the classroom taking the written exam, my boss wrote the names of the three cadre members on the dry erase board and randomly assigned each of us five students to evaluate.

After the students completed the written exam, we cadre members went to work. On average, each individual exam takes nearly an hour—five hours of evaluations before any necessary retests could be identified. After my first two evaluations, I called for my third student, and we proceeded to one of the side offices. This student, a last-minute addition from Ft. Drum, was the intelligence officer for her unit. As she talked through her plan, I noticed she was wearing a ring with Hebrew writing on it. Adhering to an areligious posture, I didn’t mention anything and merely took note.

After her evaluation was complete, I tallied her score and congratulated her on passing the course (typically, only 80% of students pass). Having not slept the night before, my words barely seemed to register with her.

While walking her back to the classroom, I asked, “By the way ma’am, what language is that on your ring?”

“Oh, it’s Hebrew.”

“I thought so! I knew I recognized it.”

“It’s my favorite verse from Psalms 91.”

My mind, already thinking ahead to my next evaluation, failed to recognize the now familiar passage. Casually, I replied “That’s pretty cool; we need more of that in our military today.”

At that time, we returned to the classroom, and I continued with my next student.

Finally, after a nonstop day of evaluations, graduation occurred late in the afternoon. After graduation, the students and cadre met one last time in the classroom for a final closeout. I was standing at the back of the map table near the end of the classroom when the same student approached me and delicately asked if she could talk. Thinking she had feedback about the course, I replied, “Yes, ma’am, of course!”

“I have a message for you,” she stated plainly.

In that moment, I perceived this message was not typical. In a state of pause, I pulled down my mask and said, “Excuse me,” acting as though I didn’t understand her.

She lowered her mask and repeated, “I have a message for you.”

“Oh-kayyy,” I replied with curious acceptance.

She then said, “All this doctrine, tactics, and knowledge of warfare—you’ve mastered it and are teaching it very well for the Army, but you’re meant to apply it in a different realm.”

Somehow, I understood what she was saying. I replied, “You’re talking about the spiritual realm.”

“Yes.”

As I spoke the word “spiritual,” I felt an instantaneous heat flash over the outside of my body, like passing through a flame that was hot but did not burn. It wasn’t shock, nerves, or any typical reaction I had dealt with before; this was a unique, tangible experience I remember to this day. Perplexed, I said, “Let’s step over here,” and led her to the second classroom.

Once there, she continued: “You have the gift of discernment, and the other thing I’m supposed to tell you is that what you’ve been researching, questioning, and seeking answers for—that is all true.”

Amazed, my inner voice exclaimed, “Who are you, and how do you know this?!” While I had been on this journey for approximately seven months, I had not posted anything on social media about it, nor had I had any in-depth conversations with others. Even my wife didn’t know the specifics of my inner thoughts. There was no natural way for a complete stranger to know this.

After that short conversation, we each prayed for one another, and then her team departed. When I returned home an hour later, my mind replayed the event, marveling at the mystery of it all. I quickly concluded that her understanding was beyond natural, leading me to consider that the source of her knowledge had to be either the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. I resolved that the answer would come from the fruits of our conversation.

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