More Miracles from Norway
Many of you may have already read the story of The Miracle of the Norwegian Bus If not, be sure to check it out. In it, I set the background of exactly why and when and for how long I was in that lovely country.
The Man No One Knew
In Oslo, I lived at Thorvald Meyersgate 33, on the fourth floor. What a great place to live! Only a mile or so from the center of Oslo, on a main tram line (the kind that runs on tracks, , with a large metal “handle” which glided along the wires overhead which conducted electricity to the tram). There were storefronts on the street level, including, on my block, a bakery…yum! And there was a wonderful park across the street, which took up a whole city block.
Thorvald Meyersgate 33 is first bldg on right
I lived in the 2 bedroom apartment with a couple other young believers. On this particular day, in mid afternoon, it was springtime, and a lovely day indeed. There were maybe 4 or 5 of us up in my apartment, and the plan was to meet 4 or 5 others down at street level, then walk 3 or 4 blocks toward the city center, and have a bible fellowship in another apartment. We came down the stairs, and there they were, the friends we had been expecting, along with another young man I’d never met before.
This young man had dark hair, weighed about 190 lbs. and stood maybe 6′ plus. All in all, a fairly well built, strong looking young man. As my manner was, as soon as I’d greeted everyone else I knew, I walked up to the unknown one, stuck out my hand and introduced myself, ending with “Hva heter du?” (What’s your name?).
Group of believers on Thorvald Meyersgate
After greeting him, I said I was glad that he had come along, and we all set off down the street, chatting happily. Now it was not strange at all to have a new face in the crowd. There were, at that time, 3 different home-based fellowships going on in Oslo, and each was active and unique.
We were always getting together and we were always sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we’d grab a couple tables down at the “Spikesupe” (Nail
Bistro next to Spikesupe
Soup) pool right in front of the National Theater, next to which was a wonderful outdoor bistro, where they served great beer. Other times we’d go onto the Palace grounds, where the heroine addicts hung out, and share Christ’s love there. We’d go for a Sunday picnic to one of the islands in the Oslo fjord, we’d take a tram up past the Holmenkollen ski jump to the top of the mountain overlooking Oslo & its fjord. We’d hang out on Karl Johannesgate, where the street musicians played. We were always out and about, because Jesus Christ was happening!
Arne, Steve, Terje on Carl Johannesgate, Palace in background
So today was just another day of hanging out with people who shared a hunger to know more of God’s Word and Christ’s love. I remember we 9 or 10 people got to our destination and all gathered in the living room of this other apartment, making 10-12 of us in all. The door from out in the apartment building foyer led directly into the living room, which was perhaps 14′ X 14′, and we filled the room, sitting on chairs in a circle.
I was the leader of the group, and we sang a few songs, and I had a couple of announcements to go over…..future get-togethers, etc. This whole time, our new acquaintance, who was seated directly to my left, had a bible on his lap that he’d picked off a table, and he was leafing through it. After I’d gone over the news, we all picked up our Bibles and I began to teach.
As soon as I began to teach the Word of God, this young man put the Bible down, and he began to look around him, first on one side and then on the other. He would pick something up off a side table, look at it from several angles, and then put it down. Then he’d lean forward and pick something off the coffee table and do the same. He just seemed fidgety, if you know what I mean.
I’d gone to 2 or 3 different places in the Bible in my teaching by this time, and for some reason this fidgeting was bugging me. What I did next was quite out of character for me, and to this day I don’t know why I did it, neither have I ever done the same thing since. I put my Bible down, looked directly at this man, and I said, “I don’t know why you’re here, but if you’re not interested in the Word of God, why don’t you just leave.”
And immediately and with great fervor this young man went completely crazy. In a flash, in an instant of time, he jumped up directly in front of me, leaning down so that his face was literally inches from mine, and began to scream and curse at me in the most foul language imaginable…..all in Norwegian of course!
Well, first let me tell you that the moment he jumped up, even AS he was jumping up, and before he ever got in front of me (which took all of 1 second) …this most wonderful thing happened inside of me. This peace just flooded my whole insides….it was a tangible thing. And even as this strong looking young man was screaming at me in a purple rage, I stared into his eyes and knew nothing but absolute, total peace.
Probably only 5 seconds had gone by. It could have been half an hour, but I’m sure it was only a few seconds. And while he screamed at me, and with me looking directly at him, I stuck my right arm straight out just past his left shoulder, my index finger pointing straight at the door behind him, and with a firm, but conversational voice I commanded him to leave. I did not yell, I don’t think my voice was raised but the tiniest bit. But in that command was the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
“In the name of Jesus Christ, get out.” That was all I said. And I sat there, staring into his eyes, a mere 12 inches in front of me, with my arm almost grazing his shoulder, pointing at the door. The moment after I spoke, he began to back up, only glancing behind him as he did, so as not to crash into anyone or anything, the whole time keeping his attention and vehemence squarely on me. He never stopped his cursing, his vile stream of epithets did not lessen or diminish in any way. All the way to and out the door, even shutting the door behind him!
When he was gone, the deafening silence grew as his cursing quickly faded from our hearing. Maybe 5 seconds after he’d gone, I loosened my stare from the now closed door, and looked around the room. Every eye and every mouth was wide open, and every person was staring straight at me. “W-H-A-T W-A-S T-H-A-T !!! ????” “That,” I said, “was a devil spirit!. …….Who did that guy come with anyway?”
And the answer was…….No one knew him!
Otto, Aud, Steve
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Other true stories:
The Resurrection of Jesse James
The Miracle of the Norwegian Bus
The Miracle of Corkscrew Mountain
A Few Miracles
Some More Miracles
And these miracles.
