This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Billions of people on Planet Earth today are personally acting out important messages from God in their own beds every night and morning, without even being aware of it in most cases.
So says the author of a best-selling book unlocking hidden messages embedded in every aspect of life.
"On a daily basis, everyone goes to sleep at some point, and usually wakes up the next day. But what most people don't realize is they're actually illustrating two of the most important messages from God," says Joe Kovacs, author of "Reaching God Speed: Unlocking the Secret Broadcast Revealing the Mystery of Everything."
"Going to sleep and waking up mean much more when we open our ears to hear what's being said at the higher, Spirit level, the parable level, what I call 'God speed.'"
He says Scripture states in Matthew 13:34 that Jesus spoke to crowds only in parables, and "he did not say anything to them without using a parable."
"In other words, everything is a parable," says Kovacs, "packing a secondary, metaphorical or symbolic meaning beyond the physical meaning at which most people initially hear the words."
The author says sleeping and waking up are among the easiest examples of understanding the Spirit level of God speed.
"To put it simply, the word 'sleep' in Scripture doesn't just mean snoozing away in our physical bodies. It's often associated with death. For instance: 'I sleep the sleep of death' (Psalm 13:3).
"Perhaps the best illustration is Jesus awakening his friend Lazarus out of sleep, which wasn't your typical, natural, bedtime sleep, but actually death: 'Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. So Jesus then told them plainly, 'Lazarus has died'" (John 11:13–14 CSB).
"Hence, the term 'sleep' plainly refers to death in the spiritual story that the Bible is. It's a daily reminder to us all that we are mortal, and we are going to physically die at some point. In other words, because we're not awake all the time, we're not immortal. If we don't have God running our lives right now, we're actually already dead, spiritually speaking. Without God, we are spiritually sleepwalking. Just as a person who walks in their sleep may be moving around and even talking at times, he or she is not really awake. And in our daily lives, even though we may be walking, talking, and even conducting business, we're still spiritually dead without God, thus making us sleepwalkers."
But going to sleep is not the end of our story in the daily cycle of us mortals, says Kovacs, known for his popular "Shocked by the Bible" series.
"There's more to come, and that's the good news. It's called waking up.
"As the prophet Daniel notes: 'And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake'" (Daniel 12:2).
Kovacs says waking up from a solid sleep is one of the best feelings a physical human being can have.
"It's when we're totally refreshed, bursting with energy to live the brand-new day of tomorrow that has suddenly become today. That's because every single time we wake up, we're being told the end of the story: that we'll be awakened by God to live in the next day, tomorrow, which is the day of eternal life for the obedient servants of God. We're instantly refreshed to begin life again. So, at God speed, waking up signifies resurrection, rising from the dead!"
A few simple verses about our awakening from the sleep of death include:
"WAKE UP, sleeper, RISE from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14 NIV)
"I lie down and sleep; I WAKE AGAIN because the LORD sustains me" (Psalm 3:5 CSB)
"As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I AWAKE in Your likeness" (Psalm 17:15 NKJV)
"WAKE UP, WAKE UP; put on your strength, Zion! Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the Holy City!" (Isaiah 52:1 CSB)
"But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise—let those who dwell in the dust WAKE UP and shout for joy…the earth will give birth to her dead" (Isaiah 26:19 NIV)
"Thus," says Kovacs, "it's plain to see the daily cycle of being awake, going to sleep, and then awakening again the following day is another way God is telling us that we live, then we die, and then we are awakened to another day of life, which pictures everlasting life. At God speed, sleeping equals death, and being awake equals being alive. It's that simple."
"Reaching God Speed" is being called "eye-opening," "inspiring and insightful," "lighthearted" and "penetrating" by top believers of Holy Scripture, including Hollywood legend and Christian champion Chuck Norris.
The book nothing short of a biblical breakthrough, cracking the divine code on hundreds of Bible passages – both well-known and obscure – to reveal the higher meaning of the verses, going beyond the obvious physical meaning to shine light on what God is broadcasting on the Spirit level, what he calls the incredibly quick and alive "God speed."
Kovacs is confident even readers with little previous knowledge of Scripture will finally know the secrets of famous Bible events, including mysteries the so-called "experts" have little clue about.
"Reaching God Speed" features a myriad of stunning biblical revelations, as the book:
Besides Scripture itself, the book also probes God's hidden messages embedded in popular movies, hit songs from (Adele and the Beatles to Frank Sinatra and Led Zeppelin), the stories we tell our children, everyday phrases we all say, famous commercial campaigns, historic news events, nature itself, and typical life activities such as such as inhaling every breath you take, sleeping, waking up and many more.
"Reaching God Speed" numerous times has hit the #1 best-seller spot in the Amazon category "Musical Philosophy & Social Aspects," ahead of the popular book by Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama, "Renegades: Born in the USA."
It also ranked #1 and #2 (Kindle edition) in Spiritual Self-Help, and #5 and #11 in Christian Personal Growth.
