…is this invisible deceiving spirit has bridged the gap between the Church and this evil world with many things which have the appearance of goodness:Innocent amusements!
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High-paying careers and ambitious endeavors!
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Interesting hobbies and amusements!
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Intriguing sciences and lore!
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And it gives his Satanic Majesty no greater pleasure than to see Christians walking across this bridge, back into the world!
And so, “the god of this world” has constructed this bridge back into the world: a bridge which has been built with a lot of seemingly good, even innocent things!
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There are places to see…
…resorts to relax at…
…clubs to join…
…sports games to play (or watch)…
…expensive insurance plans to buy…
…dramas to intrigue…
…worldly investments to jump into…
…confederations to pledge-allegiance to…
…operas, concerts and plays and musicals to dress up for…
…newspapers to relax and read…
…or TV news to watch…
…holidays to plan for and celebrate…
…school events to attend, teams to cheer…
…and on and on this list goes!
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And the world loves these things!
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But that’s their prerogative!
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After all, the world is not on the Narrow Upward Pathway, as Believers are supposed to be climbing.
“Dear Lord, give me wisdom to know where to draw the line between using the things of this world, but not abusing the things of this world (see 1st Corinthians 7:31)
Let my life become a life of purity and holiness, not with pretentious things, but with the quiet warmth of Christ’s Spirit, dwelling within me…
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN
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THE ARK IN THE HEAVENS
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If a person goes out at night, beginning in April (earlier in southern-most latitudes, and later in northern-most), in the pre-dawn hour…
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…then they just might locate the constellation commonly referred to as the Sagittarius Constellation.
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It is located in the southern sky.
(Each night it appears a little earlier, slowly inching westward, through the summer, until it finally disappears below the western horizon in November.)
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At first, it simply appears as two twin birds flying westward.
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But if you look once again, it just might appear as a long box-like figure, with one star on the right, as you face it, and two stars on the left.
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The box, of course would be the Ark, and the stars on either side would represent angels, which are sometimes referred to as stars in the Bible (for instance, “the seven stars are the angels…” Revelation 1:20).
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To the right is a star-chart from Wikipedia, in which the editor of this site has sketched in this Sagittarius Constellation, to show how God created it to appear.
EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this Open Forum #28 is a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50 year long series of 90 minute nightly talk shows…
In the battle against the Third Angel’s Message, the church community may respond by saying “All you need is the love of Jesus”. In other words, Satan knows it is a powerful argument to just proclaim “Jesus” in response to the message to “Come out of her, My people”. This ploy will be one of his major attempts to keep his captives in Babylon.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on All You Need Is Love!
“And they shall be tormented with fire and brimstone…and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image…”
Revelation 14:11
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This above verse is mistakenly applied to the Catholic version of Hell in which all lost souls will be mercilessly tortured throughout eternity.
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But, rather, this verse is actually speaking of the torment and unrest which the entire world suffers because of their rebellion against Heaven!
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In other words, the unsaved humanity cannot enjoy “the peace which surpasses all understanding”, which only comes from the indwelling of the Spirit of peace, the Holy Spirit.
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And the “smoke of their torment”, which “ascends up forever and ever” merely symbolizes how this sorrowful planet will eventually be a God-vindicating lesson-book throughout eternity future…
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…reminding all Heaven of the unhappiness and strife which results from living selfishly.
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Brooklyn Museum – The Rich Man In Hell – James Tissot – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
Human worry & stress & depression – by Becky Wetherington for Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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A REST UNTO OUR SOULS
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To become a Follower of Jesus, not only makes us a Disciple, but…
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…But we also become the sheep of the Good Shepherd’s pasture. No longer must we strive.
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No longer need we manage our own little world.
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Now we can just be content to nibble on God’s Word, throughout our day, just as sheep continually nibble the grass, throughout their day.
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“So we Thy people and sheep of Thy pasture will give Thee thanks for ever:
we will show forth Thy praise to all generations.”
The more a Christian comes into harmony with God’s Word, the more he or she sees that God and His angels are now orchestrating their lives.
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And instead of trying to manipulate circumstances, they merely go through their day, performing each duty before them, letting the Lord lead them along the upward pathway.
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The Christian is more and more content to simply graze in the peaceful green pastures of God’s Word, under the watchful eye of the Good Shepherd.
“Dear Lord, Let me enter into your everlasting rest. Let me become one of the sheep of your pasture. Help me to cease from trying to run my own life, and simply let you lead…
Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN
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ORION, THE GOOD SHEPHERD
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This star-chart from Wikipedia, has Orion sketched in by the editor of this website.
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And with the addition of a single star, Theta Geminorum (the left hand of the Castor twin of Gemini)…
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…the sickle inOrion, the Reaper’shand, now extends the blade, thus transforming that sickle into the hook of a shepherd’s rod and staff.
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And so now this little Gemini star becomes the tip of Orion’s Shepherd’s rod & staff.
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Thus with this additional star, Orion the Reaper Constellation now becomes the 5th personality of Orion: The Good Shepherd (sketch below right).
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Theta Geminorum is a class A3, 4th magnitude star, which means it is much fainter than either of the stars, Castor or Pollux.
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But faint as this little star may be, it nevertheless presents a giant concept, turning Orion’s sickle into a shepherd’s rod.
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And this is a very wonderful and beautiful Bible truth: namely, that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, as is written…
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“As a shepherd seeketh out his flock
in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered;
so will I seek out My sheep,
and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered
in the cloudy and dark day.”
Ezekiel 34:12
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And so God has placed this Starry Shepherd in the winter-night heavens to remind us of His great love for a planet which has wandered away: just like sheep that wandered to where the grass looked greener.
ABOVE WIKIPEDIA STAR-CHART – winter – Orion the Good Shepherd (Orion Constellation and rod made of Gemini stars – with the Shepherd drawn over by this website) – www.signsofheaven.org
Virtuous Woman with Bible – Braet von Überfeldt – 1866 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this Open Forum #19, a small 30-minute sampling of Mr. Camping’s nearly 50-year long series of 90-minute nightly talk shows…
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ABOVE PICTURE:Harold Camping
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Today’s Devotional, Year 2 – November 23 (“NO REST UNTO THE WICKED”)
God originally created this world to be a beautiful home for Mankind.
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Yet when we fell from grace, this world began to change in many respects.
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Nature, to a great extent, began to take on some changes. Many creatures and plants, etc., gradually took on different aspects, eventually becoming dangerous to other animals, and some even dangerous to people.
One of the most amazing creatures ever created is the Cuttlefish!
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The reason why this creature is so incredible, is that it can just glance at its environment and instantly change its body to imitate that environment!
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As a matter of fact, whatever the Cuttlefish passes over, it instantly begins to change into the same color and shape, of that undersea object!
Well, God has created this little predator to give us further insight into the inner working of the kingdom of Satan.
(As this little 26 second video below shows, the Cuttlefish has the ability to paralyze his potential victims, by using his hypnotizing strobe-light effect! Amazing!)
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Certainly Satan and his unseen armies love to make themselves invisible! That way, they can work their misery and woe upon this unsuspecting world, without its inhabitants becoming alarmed causing us to rebel against Satan’s kingdom, as we flee to God!
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And isn’t true that the pleasures and riches of this world, like the cuttlefish’s strobe-hypnotizer, have a mesmerizing effect upon us?
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“THE KISSES OF AN ENEMY ARE DECEITFUL!”
Proverbs 27:6
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Truly it can be said, we live in a “Cuttlefish World”.
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Yes, like that incredible impostor, this world has been changed into a seemingly benign and beneficent society to a great degree. Oh yes, there are many underlying dangers and evils lurking out there!
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But just look around at all the humanitarianism going on today! Why, it just seems as if this is such a caring and compassionate world!
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And it’s just about impossible to watch television without a social justice advertisement coming on, promoting some aspect of human kindness!
But in recent decades, this False Prophet has begun speaking openly like a dragon (Satan), as he is now using the mass media to provoke various people-groups to hate one-another, persecute one-another, as he transforms this entire world into his hateful totalitarian dystopia.
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Yes, this False Prophet is nothing less than the Spirit of Antichrist, spreading its deceptive & hateful tentacles into the four corners of the globe!
“and all the world…worshipped the dragon…that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan”
Revelation 13:3, 4 & 20:2
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We must understand that the False Prophet of Revelation 13 now “speaks as a dragon”, that is, like Satan, as this above passage reveals.
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And just how does this False Prophet speak like Satan? Well, just listen to the television, radio, and Internet!
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What do we hear each day? Lust? Violence? Revenge? Hate? Perversion? Lies? Hypocrisy? Greed? Pride? Murder? False witnessing against others? Atheism? False religions? Yes, yes, yes!!! We are inundated with all these characteristics of Satan on a moment-by-moment, 24/7/365 basis! Satan controls the media to a great extent, and uses unsaved and unwitting men, and women, and sometimes even children to be his mouthpiece through these various media.
“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar”
Romans 3:4
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One very clear evidence that Satan’s hand is in all this, is seen by all the lies, hypocrisy, and cheating going on in the media and by the leaders of the land. Much of the mass media has become so jealous for power, that they will purposely mis-report news stories to dishonestly advantage their cause. And the greater portion of the unsaved masses willingly accept the lies, cheating, and corruption. Because all unsaved humans are indwelt by “the spirit of error…antichrist”. (1st John 4:3, 6)
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And yet, Satan realizes he must cover all his hatred with a thin veneer of pretentious goodness. And so, the media is populated with countless fresh-faced, squeaky-clean spokespeople, light-hearted programs, intriguing dramas, and colorful scenery, presenting his dark kingdom of this selfish world in the best light possible!
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ABOVE PICTURE: TV indoctrination – www.signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses
The United States of America came into being, rising up “out of the earth” in the wilderness of what is now called North America. And God gave it a constitution based on biblical principles, as a gift of His grace, following the long hard centuries of religious persecution of the peoples of Europe by the cruel tyranny of the corrupt Antichrist Beast-like church-state system.
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But in response against Europe’s centuries of tyranny, this fledgling nation was, instead, founded upon the belief that all men were created equal, and were given the right to freely speak, in regard to religion and politics.
But along with the incoming ships of pilgrims, fleeing Europe, Satan and his evil host likewise came across the waters to establish his wicked kingdom in America. And working through many secularists and even some false religious persons, Satan began persecuting various people groups, even engaging them in slavery, just like most all the other nations of the world were doing in that time-period.
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And this “Prince of the Power of the Air”, working in and through these “children of disobedience”, began to slowly establish himself as the False Prophet, with two lamblike horns. And over the span of centuries, these two horns became the two power-centers of the west, very similar to The Lamb of God: “mercy & truth…righteousness & peace”, howbeit, bad counterfeits, to say the least. These are largely made up of the two major political powers.
But in spite of these terrible atrocities which marred our nation, the United States strove to overcome her failings. And thanks to the efforts of caring Christians, this nation became a leader and example to the entire world in overcoming racial inequality.
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After all, our constitution demanded that we must overcome. And caring men and women (a great percentage, Christians) fought to end slavery and even eventually, to bring about justice and equity for all color-groups. Maybe not perfectly, but tremendously better.
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Nowadays, those oppressed peoples are greatly prospering, even becoming the leaders in various fields of this society, now even world leaders!
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Yes, there was much good about The United States, in spite of Satan’s cruel oppression. The American Constitution eventually triumphed over evil!
Yet, in spite of this nation’s achievements over its injustices, Satan is now on the march, spreading his hatred, lies and deceptions, largely through the corporate major media, to stir up and divide the unsaved masses against one-another! It appears that this once great nation is finally destined to fall, as he morphs it (as well as the entire world), into his fiery furnace of totalitarianism and religious persecution!
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Yes, just like the deceptive cuttlefish, which disguises itself until the right moment, just before it strikes its victim, Satan has transformed this False Prophet from a lamb-like façade, into the maniacal beast which now speaks openly as a dragon!
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And even though this 2nd Beast of Revelation 13 is just beginning to show his sharp teeth, it just may be that he will eventually bully all humanity to choose: “Either bow down and capitulate to the tokens of my antichrist world-system…or be killed.”
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And so, the Time of Trouble has only just begun. And it appears that Satan has removed his cuttlefish mask of pretentious beneficence. And this Arch-Deceiver is now marshaling his forces (invisible evil angels working in and through “the children of disobedience”) to carry out his last attack on God’s people.
Well, with all this negativity, it’s hard to imagine that there could be any Good News found here!
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But the fact is, there’s much Good News! Yes, God is only allowing all these horrible events and dystopian paradigm shifts for a number of wonderful and eternal purposes!
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First, God is very painfully aware that He must finally take away our comfortable blissful lethargy, so that His people will at last let go of our tight grip on this Kingdom of Selfishness, which is controlled by “the god of this world”, Lucifer, now called “Satan” and “The Devil”.
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Yes, many Christians in the western societies have been enjoying the abundant life, more or less. And as a result, the greater portion of church-goers are not properly armored-up, nor prepared for the final conflict!
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But God will have a people to, “withstand in the Evil Day” (Ephesians 6:13). And all that is coming upon the world will require us to put on our spiritual armor, and be fitted up for battle!
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And each and every circumstance coming our way will require the soldier of Christ to walk by all the, “exceeding great and precious promises”, which we have stored up in our hearts: each promise will become a stepping-stone on our upward, Heavenward pathway through the fiery trials ahead!
“And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.” Acts 28:11
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Most theologians interpret this verse to be speaking of two pagan gods known as Castor and Pollux. Beyond that, they are puzzled as to what significance do these twin gods have. Some believe these gods to be the patrons of safe ocean travel. Certainly God would never want His people to board such a pagan ship!
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But there is much significance to Castor and Pollux. No, not to those twin-gods. But there are two stars named Castor and Pollux. They are twin-stars, and not twin-gods. They are the two bright stars of the constellation commonly known as Gemini. But as “Signs Of Heaven” points out, these two stars also happen to be the two brightest stars on Orion’s sickle.
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And these two stars are also known as The Narrow Gate Stars. And if you will explore this concept, you will see that Castor and Pollux possess great significance…
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“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13-14. Castor and Pollux represent this Biblical concept of the Narrow Way.
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LOCATING THIS GROUP…
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These two sketches below are the same picture, one with stars only, the other with embellishments. These stars appear more or less like this when they are in the western sky, just before they sink below the western horizon (please excuse the less-than 100% accurate sketch). At the top of the sketches in the center is the Big Dipper. But with other surrounding stars, the Big Dipper is known as Ursa Major or the Great Bear. But as this website points out, Ursa Major is actually the Revelation 12 Woman. (Ursa Major appears much larger in the sky than this sketch shows. But in order to fit her into this drawing, the artist had to depict her much smaller)
Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on the provided image credit link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing names, details, and tags, and all other necessary info on any particular photo.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 4 – January 11 (Cuttlefish & The False Prophet, Part 10: “And He Spake As A Dragon!” CONTINUED)
By admin On April 13th, 2021
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Click credit links below each pic, for licensing names/details/tags/etc.. Most pics cropped/reduced in size
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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 13
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It’s A Rosie The Riveter World, Part 7: “1st Head of the Beast: Pride!” CONTINUED
Okay, so that’s a bold statement. But just look around at this world!
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From cradle-to-grave, we are taught that we must depend upon our own strength to get things done! And we are told we must rely upon our own intellect to solve our problems!
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Yes, this is truly a Rosie-The-Riveter world in which the people attempt to live by their own strength and intellect, instead of trusting in God’s strength and relying on His infinite wisdom, as found in the Bible!
7 HEADS OF THE BEAST = THE 7 STARS OF REVELATION 12 DRAGON’S WAVE OF WATER
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In yesterday’s devotional (click here to read), the parallel between the 7 heads of the Revelation 13 Antichrist Beast and the 7 stars which comprise the wave of water coming forth from the mouth of the Revelation 12 Dragon Constellation was made.
And each of the 7 heads of the beast and each of the 7 bright stars (there are 3 more dim stars) which comprise this wave of water represent the 7 kingdoms which have ruled over the world throughout history:
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1. Babylon (Man’s human pride),
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2. Medo-Persia (Man’s greedy and forceful takeover of God’s territory),
4. Rome (Man ruling by hard-hearted totalitarianism),
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5. The Church of Rome (Man’s religious totalitarianism ruling over God’s Church-family) ,
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6. Atheism (Man, the supreme being ruling the world),
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7. The present-day evangelical church-world (Man’s world-loving, spiritually adulterous, miracle-working counterfeit gospel ruling over God’s people).
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Here in extremely concise language, is generally what the 7 heads of Satan’s Antichrist Beast are all about. And the 7 kingdoms are likewise represented by the 7 stars of the wave of water constellation which proceeds forth from the Dragon Constellation’s mouth.
Now, as the saying goes, we’ve already gotten ourselves into some “very tall weeds” in this devotional. Yes, these are very complex concepts, to say the least! An entire book could be written on this subject.
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Nevertheless, for the sake of brevity, we will simply skip over to the topic of foolish human pride, and how it relates to the 1st head of the beast, and likewise to the 1st of the 7 stars in the dragon constellation’s wave of water (mostly comprised of the Auriga Constellation).
When Daniel interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about a great statue, the symbol of the world’s ruling kingdoms throughout history, the first king depicted was Nebuchadnezzar himself, corresponding to the head of gold.
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Of course, the head of a person rules over his entire body. And so, the proud King Nebuchadnezzar was ultimately what this great statue image was all about: Human pride!
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And Nebuchadnezzar was all about pride, foolish human pride! After all, King Nebuchadnezzar had built his glorious kingdom of Babylon, with all its grandeur: gardens and architectural wonders and wine, women, and song! And Nebuchadnezzar was proud of his accomplishments.
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He took full credit for all his accomplishments, not realizing that it was actually God who had empowered Nebuchadnezzar to attain to all those achievements.
And isn’t it true that we humans follow closely in Nebuchadnezzar’s footsteps?
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Yes, we often pat ourselves on the back for our own personal accomplishments too, don’t we?
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Pride is a very great motivator!
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It is the fuel which drives much of this world’s business engine!
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It inspires nations and kings to rise up in power!
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It causes individuals to strive for excellence (and riches and power) in many endeavors!
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It encourages much of the sports world, as well as most any type of competition!
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And pride drives much of the entertainment world, as well!
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And it causes people to beautify their homes and gardens and lands, in effort to impress the neighbors and all who drive by or visit!
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And pride can even motivate unsaved individuals to become humanitarians, giving their time, energy, and means to various philanthropic causes (often holding back enough wealth to still live in luxury)!
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Yes, human pride is perhaps the world’s greatest motivator!
Well, there is Good News amidst all this negativity. Yes, any man, woman, or child who desires to throw off this proud Luciferion spirit and become ruled over by Christ’s meek and lowly Spirit can cry out to Him for deliverance. God is just waiting for any soul who is willing to renounce this proud and selfish world.
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And Jesus calls out to each of us…“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
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Yes, Jesus offers us the Spirit of meekness and lowliness, just as He is meek and lowly.
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Revelation 12:3
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In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7). And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10). So we have this 7 and 10 numbering. And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent. Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 14 (A World of Lies, Part 16: “It’s a Cuttlefish World! Yellow Journalism Today!” CONTINUED)
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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.
But if only evolution proponents would turn away for a moment from their fixation on fossilized bones…
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…refocus upon all the living things which God has created…
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…they might just be awakened to how utterly amazing are the various creations, which fruit is part of!
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Yes, the vast varieties of fresh fruits which are available are a real testament to God’s loving care for His human family!
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And those who choose to live on a diet of fresh produce quite often enjoy a higher degree of health than those who live on the standard diet of today’s society!
“Dear Lord, Help me to see, not only the beauty and poetry of nature, and the wisdom and law of nature, but also the many pictures of Love: God’s love in nature…and the joy of nature…
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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HEAVENLY OBJECT LESSON
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“Then the moon shall be confounded,
and the sun ashamed,
when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion,
and in Jerusalem,
and before his ancients gloriously.”
Isaiah 24:23
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When God created the Moon and the stars, He ordained them to “rule the night” (Genesis 1:16).
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The Moon, especially when it is full, can light your pathway through the night, as it reflects the light of the Sun.
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So too, the Christian is to be a light to the world: to this sin-darkened world.
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But as the Moon must reflect the light of the Sun, in order to be a light to the world…
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…so also, must the Christian reflect the light of Jesus, to be a spiritual light to this planet in rebellion.
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Listen…“Ye are the light of the world…
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16
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However, during an eclipse, the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, preventing that sunlight from shining on the Moon’s face.
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This is an incredible object-lesson about when the child of God allows the world to come between him and his Lord.
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Like the eclipse, that person no longer reflects the light of Jesus, because his or her love of this dark world of sin has eclipsed the light from the“Sun of Righteousness” (see Malachi 4:2).
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And so, this is just one of the many poetic truths seen in the Moon. (For more on this subject of an eclipse, you may link to the article… “Lunar Eclipse & Spiritual Eclipse”)
A Family of Deer in a Landscape with a Waterfall – cropped picture – Wikipedia – Public domain
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS STUDY #154 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 1 – June 5 (O Taste and See That The Lord Is Good! Part 5 “Taste & See God’s Delicious Fruit!”)
The Book of Revelation speaks of a beast which is identified in Chapters 13, 16, 19, and 20 as “The False Prophet”.
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Now, contrary to popular opinion, this false Prophet is not merely one single individual, but represents Satan’s modus-operandi in these last centuries.
So this present-day antichrist world-system is the 2nd Beast of Revelation 13, which the Bible names, “The False Prophet”.
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But just what or who is that 1st Beast of Revelation 13?
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Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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THE 1ST BEAST
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Well, Satan originally came as the 1st Beast of Revelation 13 during the Dark Ages, persecuting, torturing, and killing all those (and sometimes even their family members), who clung to their Bibles in opposition to the demands of the great apostate Church of that era, which used the civil governments as their enforcers.
But after this brutal 1st beast received his deadly wound by a sword (the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God: Ephesians 6:13, 14), which was the printing press and all the Bibles it produced, Satan altered his modus-operandi, establishing a new and improved Beast.
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The new beast, the False Prophet, was actually Satan’s antichrist spirit working in and through the unsaved members of the church as well as the entire unsaved world to deceive the earth’s inhabitants, causing them to worship the 1st beast.
But before we get into some very tall weeds, let’s back out and focus on just one of this beast’s two horns. Yes, the Bible reveals that this second beast has two horns like a lamb. And of course, the Lamb of God, Jesus has two horns of power, Mercy and Justice.
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And our focus today is on the Justice horn of this False Prophet.
Now it doesn’t take too much effort to see the two great horns of power out there in the world: the Conservatives and the Progressives, or the Capitalistsand Socialists.
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The Conservatives/Capitalists stand upon the pillars of law and order while the Progressives/Socialists stand on the pillars of mercy and compassion.
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These seemingly opposing ideologies are a clever counterfeit of the Lamb of God’s two horns…“All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep His Covenant and His Testimonies.” Psalm 25:10
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THESE IDEOLOGIES ALSO IN CHRISTENDOM
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Now, these two opposing ideologies (‘Conservatives/justice’ and the ‘Progressives/compassion’) are very visible in the forefront of society. They are in the various media each and every day, fighting for dominance over one-another.
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But if one examines today’s church-world, these two groups can also be seen, hard at work, shaping and hewing the minds of parishioners within the various organizations of Christendom.
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And so, this two-horned antichrist spirit can be seen both in the world, but also in the church-world.
They, “shall…seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.”
Mark 13:22
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And let’s face it, the apostasy of the conservative portion of the churches is much more deceptive than the liberal portion, so much so, that they, “shall…seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.” Mark 13:22
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Yes, the many popular radio Bible teachers we hear each day seem to teach right from the Bible. And yet, the King James Bible (and perhaps even a few other versions) makes a revealing statement about true and false Bible teachers.
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Listen…“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.” Isaiah 28:10
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Here is the true means whereby a Believer can and must arrive at truth: by carefully comparing the various Bible passages on any particular subject, allowing them all to line up in such a way as to bring them all in harmony.
But the Lord complains through His prophet, Isaiah, that His disobedient children refused to enter into His truths which bring spiritual “rest unto your souls”.
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No, but rather, Isaiah 28:13 goes on to say…“But the Word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
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Here we see that the current-day apostasy was foretold even far back in Isaiah’s day!
“This people…honour Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.”
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And just as Isaiah says, today’s church-world will string together their own set of Bible verses (“…line upon line, precept upon precept…”), all in hopes of allowing the apostate parishioners to continue to pursue the pleasures and ambitious pursuits of the world, while paying mere lip-service to Jesus, even as it is written…“This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.” Matthew 15:8
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Thus, the prosperity-driven gospels thrive, not only in those liberal churches and denominations, but likewise in the so-called conservative churches as well.
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And even though there are a myriad of false teachers in the church-world today, the Bible refers to them collectively as “the False Prophet” as spoken of in Revelation, Chapters 13, 16, 19, and 20
The Good News (but also sad news) is, that God is calling His people to separate themselves from the overpowering influence of these false teachers, even as it is written…“And I heard another voice from Heaven, saying, Come out of her (spiritual Babylon), My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
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James Tissot – The Flight of the Prisoners – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
Yes, God is now calling His faithful ones to engage in an end-time exodus, lest we suffer the various plagues soon to be poured out upon this False Prophet which the evangelical churches have finally become…“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2nd Timothy 4:3, 4
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The day has finally arrived when this above prophecy is now fulfilled!
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The question that remains to be answered is this: “Will you also come out of her, this spiritual Babylon?”
“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Rev. 12:3
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In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not. But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars. The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7). And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10). So we have this 7 and 10 numbering. And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent. Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this recording #215, a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry, and includes caller’s questions regarding his teachings on “the end of the church age”…
Well, about the only thing that Orwell had miscalculated in this predictive novel was the date for this super-society to come into reality. He was about 40 years off!
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But that day has finally arrived in which society can (and will) be brought under the control of dictatorial rulers! Orwell’s book should have been titled “2024”!
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Yes, by means of the modern media, “Big Brother” (aka Satan) can now completely control the masses.
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And now, these high-tech devices are beginning to blacklist all those who do not hold to the maxims which our society now approves and condones.
It is more than just a little ironically strange and weird that in the very place which became the centerpiece for the modern-day protection of “freedom of speech”, has now become the centerpiece to stamp out “freedom of speech”!
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And perhaps even stranger, it is the very same political party who have long prided themselves as being the arbiters and protectors of that freedom, who are now the very same political party applauding any media outlet or violent mob which squelches the free speech of their political foes!
It’s truly frightening to see all this totalitarianism being ratcheted up so swiftly.
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But the Bible foretold that this day would finally arrive…“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:17
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Now, this verse by itself may not give us enough understanding into the current-day phenomenon of censoring.
But this next verse complements the previous verse found in Revelation 13:17.
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This complementary verse is found in Proverbs 23:23…“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”
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Now from this and other similar verses, it is revealed that “buying and selling” actually has to do with preaching the Gospel of Jesus.
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And so, the Bible prophesied that the day would come when the true and unvarnished Word of God would be cut off…“And that no man might buy or sell (the truth)”.
This “Golden Altar” Constellation is only seen in winter through spring, in mid-sky. It is to the south of the “Fleeing Woman Constellation” (AKA Ursa Major or The Big Dipper).
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The “Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12” Constellation is in the northeastern sky in this sketch. You would be facing east and looking very high up almost to mid-sky to see this constellation group this way. The altar is farther south but still in the eastern sky. This altar itself is commonly known as “Leo Major“, with the smoke rising being “Leo Minor“.
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A little farther down this page is the sketch of this same constellation in the latter part of winter, when you look at them facing westward. You will notice that what looked like Gospel seed being cast from her left hand and left foot (see “Woman of Revelation 12-The Fleeing Woman” article for explanation of casting “Gospel Seed”) now appears like smoke or incense rising from the altar. It is not clear why the altar is sideways in back of the Woman. It would make more sense if it were directly under the Woman. However, the Lord must have some spiritual truth to convey concerning this odd positioning of the Altar. The 7 Stars (Big Dipper) is easy to see with its very bright 7 stars. But the Revelation 12 Woman (Ursa Major) must be seen on a dark starry night, away from city lights.
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THE ZODIAC CONSTELLATION NAMES
It is not the purpose of www.theheavensdeclare.net to give any validity to the Zodiac or any pagan deities. But the common names of many constellations (such as Scorpio or Sagittarius, etc.), must be given, solely for the purpose of locating them on star-charts.
ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS STUDY #56 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
There are some Bible doctrines which God, for His own purposes, has made cloudy, by writing seemingly opposing verses in the Bible.
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And so, if a person only looks at the verses which seem to confirm this doctrine of “Eternal Torment”, then it would seem to be a clear-cut case for this long-held traditional church-doctrine.
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But just like any court case, both sides of the argument must be properly presented, so that the true balance can be weighed.
The Bible warns against adding or diminishing from God’s Word!
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And those who refuse to examine any doctrine in the light of ALL that Scripture has to offer concerning that doctrine just might be guilty of diminishing from God’s Word.
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But Scripture warns against doing such a fearful deed…
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For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book…”
Revelation 22:18
ABOVE PICTURE: Adding to or taking from God’s Word, the Bible
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BIBLE, A HOTLY DEBATED BOOK!
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And this brings us to a very necessary component to “rightly dividing the Word of Truth!”
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And just what is this ingredient in achieving true understanding of the cloudier issues of the Bible?
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Meekness! Yes, it requires meekness to properly understand much of the Bible!
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Oh yes, there are truths which are made as clear as the noonday sun! Such doctrines as Christ’s divinity and crucifixion, just to name two!
And so, as the last ingredient to proper Bible study, meekness is a very important one!
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And of course, we know and understand that meekness, just like any other virtue, is a gift of God, via His Holy Spirit indwelling our heart!
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Oh yes, it’s quite okay to say, “I believe ‘this or that’ particular church doctrine to be true”.
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But when it comes to such seemingly ambiguous portions of Scripture, such as “predestination” or “The True Nature of Hell”, it might be best to not get so dogmatic!
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And maybe we might just be forthright and say… “You know, there are differing positions on that heavily debated issue, and each Bible student must carefully and prayerfully study for his or her own self, and come to their own conclusion on that particular subject!”
And let’s face it! There have been many souls through history, who have turned away in disgust from following Jesus, because of the church doctrine of “Eternal Torment”.
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So, that fact alone makes it much more critical to “make full proof” of whatever we teach, so that we do not suffer the “greater damnation” on the Day of Judgment!
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MEEKNESS REQUIRED IN THE LAST TEST
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The Book of Zephaniah reveals that meekness will be required for one to be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.
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Listen…“Seek ye the LORD,
all ye meek of the earth,
which have wrought his judgment;
seek righteousness, seek meekness:
it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.”
Zephaniah 2:3
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There is much too much hard-headedness in today’s church-world. Too much forceful, dogmatic preaching by radio/television ministries!
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And as a result, God’s people must seek to become as little children in their searching after the present-day Bible truths now being revealed.
ABOVE PICTURE: Castor and Pollux – The Narrow Gate Which leads To Life Everlasting
ABOVE PICTURE: The two doors- Narrow Gate Stars (Castor and Pollux of the Gemini Constellation) – www.signsofheaven.org
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #251 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
Now this 2nd Beast of Revelation 13 has two horns.
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(The 1st Beast mostly being Satan’s tyrannical Church which ruled over Europe and persecuted Christians throughout the hundreds of years of the Dark Ages)
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Yes, this 2nd Beast has “two horns like a Lamb”. Revelation 13:11
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And, as already set forth in previous articles, these two Christlike horns represent Jesus, the Lamb of God, with His own two horns of power: mercy and justice…
…”Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
Psalm 85:10
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These are the horns of Christ’s divine power and authority.
Now today’s devotional is only concerned with the 6th Head of this 1st antichrist beast (right), which is likewise the Left Horn of the False Prophet 2nd Beast (picture left).
This 6th head corresponds to the left horn which is the “compassionate” horn, counterfeiting Jesus, who, as we know, Jesus was and is the true essence of unpretentious compassion.
Now, having said all this, it must be emphasized that God often works behind the scenes, through all this so-called “compassion”, often making sure that earth’s inhabitants receive the much-needed help and care.
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And there may indeed be some individuals in whom God is working through, within the humanitarian communities of the world.
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Therefore, we must not dare to judge the motives of the heart of any one individual!
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As a whole group? Yes! But never judge any one individual’s heart!
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But though we might dare to judge the various institutions of society, yet we should always do so “in fear, and in much trembling.” 1st Corinthians 2:3
And yet, in spite of God’s merciful orchestration over these humanitarian entities, overall, the world’s institutions are nonetheless mostly a product of…
…”the prince of the power of the air:
that spirit which now works in the children of disobedience”.
Ephesians 2:2
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Yes, Satan’s antichrist spirit is now working in the unsaved people of the world.
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And this “form of godliness” has NOT the true Spirit of love and compassion, but merely a counterfeit version of Heaven’s love and compassion!
“HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
2nd Timothy 3:2, 3
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Well, time does not permit to enumerate the seemingly countless examples of hypocrisy and selective compassion exercised by this left horn of the False Prophet/Antichrist Beast of Revelation 13.
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But the point is, that Satan’s counterfeit compassion must be seen for what it truly is: merely “a form of godliness”, ignorantly void of the true Power of Love only found in God’s Holy Spirit!
“CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS, OF WHO I AM CHIEF!”
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Now having said all this, it must also be said that it is a very dangerous undertaking to criticize these institutions.
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All this must be done with much fear and trembling!
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After all, the Bible reveals just who is the chief of sinners: “ME!”
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None of us can hold our head up high!
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We are all just a band of rotten sinners in desperate need of God’s mercy and grace!
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“GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY!”
Proverbs 25:25
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The Good News is, that it is still the day of Salvation.
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And those of us who have been deceived can finally turn away from this antichrist world-system, and begin the upward sojourn to the Celestial City of God, where true love and compassion for all, rules supreme!
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And there will be no more hypocrisy, nor selective compassion (often mingled with selective cruelty).
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These sorrowful qualities will no longer exist in that wonderful Promised Land of “The New Heaven and New Earth”! (Hebrews 12:22, 23 & Revelation 21:1)
In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.
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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
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Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.
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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7).
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And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10).
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So, we have this 7 and 10 numbering.
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And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent.
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Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).
ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.
EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this recording #126, a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry..
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Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 27 (Can We See Angels?)
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
the earth also shall disclose her blood,
and shall no more cover her slain”
Isaiah 26:20, 21
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“O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths”
Isaiah 3:12
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For those who have finally arrived at the stark realization that God isn’t going to Rapture the Church out of the world, just prior to all Hell breaking loose in the final conflict, the following question must be answered: “How can I be hidden from the wrath to come?”
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Yes, there are many sincere Christians who are now coming to the realization that they had been deceived by their teachers into believing that God’s people would be literally removed from the earth, just prior to the Book of Revelation being fulfilled.
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And now that “all Hell is breaking loose”, right before our very eyes, it is becoming increasingly difficult to cling to this phantom church-doctrine, based upon the non-existent, non-biblical title, “The Pre-Tribulation Rapture”!
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“These (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”
Acts 17:11
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Now this website has numerous articles which reveal the true interpretation of Revelation, and the two beasts which arrive on the world stage. And those “Noble Bereans” who wish to search these things out are invited to begin such a quest for truth.
“When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.”
Proverbs 28:12
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But this particular article is dedicated to those who are striving to be hidden in the day of God’s anger. And by carefully reading this article, one can learn just how and just where to build the perfect shelter from the approaching storm.
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The people of the world, who call themselves “Preppers”, know how to build bunkers. They know how to supply their food water, air, money, ammunition, self-defense, etc., so as to be safe during the soon-coming storm.
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And it might be wise to observe what these “Preppers” do and apply it spiritually for the benefit of all of God’s people who happen to be, “Spiritual Preppers”.
Now, the first step in becoming safe and well-hidden during the approaching crisis is to choose the perfect location for one’s spiritual bunker. Location is of utmost importance! It cannot be stressed enough, just how critically important is the choosing of one’s bunker location for his or her safety and survival! And, many preppers opt for some mountainous hideaway.
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Listen to Scripture’s advice…“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?…He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the Land that is very far off. ” Isaiah 33:14, 16, 17
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As you can see from this passage, just how important it is to choose a mountainous location, even one which has a view of “the Land that is very far off”! And the “munitions of rocks” (Bible verses) are also a must as a place of defense!
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And listen to this next verse…“But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.” Ezekiel 7:16
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This above passage from Ezekiel describes the very time we’re now entered into. It is a time of repentance and mourning for the past years of our foolish mingling with the world. And it speaks of fleeing to the mountains, just like the first three Gospels likewise speak of fleeing…“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.” Luke 21:20, 21
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These two passages both say the same thing, howbeit, in spiritual allegorical language. God’s people realize that they and their children have been led astray by the secular world and by worldly Christians. But God now calls His true sheep to, “Come out of her, My people, that ye partake not of her sins, and receive not of her plagues” Revelation 18:4
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And so, these verses (plus many more similar verses in Scripture) all tell us to, “escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” Genesis 19:17
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And so, the absolute best possible location for God’s people is in mountainous strongholds!
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PICTURE – Constellation- Woman of Revelation 12 flees to the mountains Mark 13:14 This is not a star-chart, but merely a concept picture, but made up of real constellations (Ursa Major & Auriga, Hyades, etc…, howbeit not in their actual positions in the night-sky)
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WALKING THROUGH DANGEROUS MINE-FIELDS, ETC….
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Every “Prepper” knows the importance of making a safe pathway to his or her mountainous stronghold. And also, a good map and trusty compass are essential items to carry on this uphill climb to safety.
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And the spiritual prepper likewise knows that traveling during this time of trouble can be very dangerous. And so, a very critically important part of making it through to safety is to have a safe route, guide-map and compass for this uphill trek.
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Listen…“Concerning the works of men, by the Word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Psalm 17:4
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Here is the map and compass which the spiritual prepper needs to safely journey through the many obstacles which undoubtedly will be encountered!
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Listen again…“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2nd Peter 1:4
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Again, it is through the many “exceeding great and precious promises” found in God’s Word, that the spiritual prepper can safely navigate through the pitfalls, evil beasts, and other such lurking dangers along this upward path.
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BUILDING THE BUNKER
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Now, once we establish our mountainous location, comes the rather laborious process of building our shelter, our bunker. And most preppers will spend much time and energy building their bunker.
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Of course, the King James Bible does not use the name, “bunker”. Instead, we read of “chambers”. Listen…“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” Isaiah 26:20
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Here is a warning from God to enter into our chambers till the “indignation” is passed over. Sounds like a storm shelter, doesn’t it?
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Well, in a very real sense, it is a shelter from the storm…“Behold, a King shall reign in righteousness…And a Man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isaiah 32:1, 2
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Here is established the necessity for a bunker, that is, a shelter from the approaching time of trouble.
Now, when building our bunker, our shelter, three things are necessary: food, water, and air. Every wise prepper understands the necessity of these existential elements.
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So let’s explore just what must be done to supply an abundance of fresh air…“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8.
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So here is where our supply of fresh air comes from, just as it is written…“And when He [Jesus] had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22).
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Here is the very best and purest air supply one can obtain for this coming tribulation!
The next step in construction of our bunker, is to have an abundant supply of pure water…
“He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38
Here is the best possible means of having fresh, clean, and pure water.
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Here is a fantastic way to get all the water you could ever wish for…“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14
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And of course, we can’t forget that wonderful promise from Isaiah 33:16…“He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.“
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And so, these passages assure us that water should not be a problem at all!
There are numerous companies advertising emergency-food-supply-kits for those “Preppers” who see the importance of being prepared for whatever crisis comes their way. And the “Spiritual Prepper” must likewise imitate those preppers of the world, who prepare themselves for emergencies.
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And so, every wise prepper must have an abundant supply of food to make it through the approaching crisis: such foods as “the bread of life”, “the fruit of the Spirit”, and “the milk of the Word”, as well as “the meat of the Word”. (John 6:48, Galatians 5:22, 1st Peter 2:2, Hebrews 5:13, 14)
Every wise Prepper knows the importance of being well-armed. A large cache of weapons such as rifles, knives, hand-guns should be properly stored to defend against whatever enemy comes against them. But the Spiritual Prepper fully understands that, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2nd Corinthians 10:4
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Yes, the Spiritual Prepper should have “two swords” (i.e., The Old & New Testaments…Luke 22:38).
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Ephesians 6 likewise refers to them as “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”. But the Prepper also needs, “the shield of faith in which to extinguish the fiery darts of the wicked one”. Along with the “breastplate of righteousness, and the helmet of Salvation”, that Spiritual Prepper should be prepared for any attack from the enemy! (see Ephesians 6 for these verses)
No wise Prepper would neglect to have a supply of silver and gold on hand, and the Spiritual Prepper should likewise have his or her own supply of spendable riches…
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Listen…“Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the law from His mouth, and lay up His words in thine heart….Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.” Job 22:21-25
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Here is all the gold and silver you will need through the coming crisis! The Word of God!
Today’s Preppers know the importance of self-defense. And as the crisis worsens they realize that hand-to-hand combat may become their only means of survival. Taekwondo, Karate, fisticuffs, kick-boxing, are just a few of the ways in which Preppers prepare for the coming crisis.
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And those who are Spiritual Preppers understand that the art of wrestling will definitely be required in the coming days and months…“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12
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Yes, our skill and perseverance in the art of wrestling will become a necessity in the near future. Even one of our spiritual fathers, Jacob, “wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” Genesis 32:24And God used Jacob as a picture of our soon-coming engagement! (read the article, Today’s Devotional – July 13th (Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Part 1: “Alone With God!”))
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Yes, the Spiritual Prepper must learn to perseveringly wrestle in the prayer, faith, and patience, which will all be required to make it through the long night ahead!
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The Enemy will attempt to discourage the Spiritual Prepper to the point of giving up. And so, it will be necessary to wrestle with the Angel of the Lord for blessing and strength to persevere until the Dawning of the Day!
“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”
1st John 5:4
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Now this little exercise in spiritualizing the things of the world, converting them into Heavenly truths, gives us a wise plan for the coming conflict. And yet, we have a precious promise for our assured victory…“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6
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Yes, our victory is sure, because that victory was won on our behalf on the hill called Calvary!
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her (Babylon), My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
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God has a people in Babylon. Yes, Mystery Babylon is the Mother of Harlots. The sketch to the left shows her riding this beast with 7 heads and 10 horns.
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But in that spiritual city, there are those who still love God to a certain degree. And before the final plagues are poured out upon her, God has been and will continue to call His people out of her… “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
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And so in addition to The Pleiades appearing as the Harlot Mother, we also see this second depiction of The Pleiades as an angel, which symbolizes God’s people, walking the downward pathway to destruction. They must be called out of Babylon before it’s too late!
In the last devotional on how to breeze through the coming trials (Click here to read), it was put forth that we must joyfully give thanks for all things, because all things are meant for our eternal good.
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And we must be instant in prayer.
ABOVE DRAWING: Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart – wwwtheheavensdeclare.net – not for commercial purposes
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BREEZING THROUGH THE TIME OF TROUBLE
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But today’s devotional will highlight one of those three admonitions which will guide us, and breeze us through that soon-coming tempest.
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Listen…“…Pray without ceasing…” 1st Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Here is a very important ingredient to living victoriously through the coming storm, just ahead!
“…that without ceasing I (Paul) have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day”
2nd Timothy 1:3
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This above verse from 2nd Timothy gives great insight into Paul’s prayer-life. His spiritual son, Timothy was continually remembered by Paul, in his daily prayers, both day and night.
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This means that Paul was constantly in prayer throughout his each and every day…and night!
Paul the Apostle – cropped & brightened photo – Artist – Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier – circa 1500s – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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REJOICE, PRAY, AND GIVE THANKS!
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“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Revelation 15:2
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Oh yes, it will be a massive and terrible storm! But if the Believer wishes to stand on that sea of glass, and have that harp of David’s Psalms, then these “How To Breeze Through The Time of Trouble” articles are extremely critical to read and to put into action!
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And these three admonitions, to “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”, are every bit as important as all the other ingredients, in enabling Christians to breeze through this time of trouble coming soon upon the earth!
“I MADE HASTE, AND DELAYED NOT TO KEEP THY COMMANDMENTS”
Psalm 119:60
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And so, O–sorely-tried-child-of-faith, it is critically important to begin putting these three admonitions into action right now! Don’t wait until the soon-coming storm begins to rage!
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In other words, when each daily trial and tribulation arises, we must begin right now to, “rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks”.
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And by so-doing, our great distress and consternation over our supposed troubles will evaporate like the morning dew on a sunny day!
And let’s not forget what the Apostle, Paul said concerning his own trials and troubles…“And He (God) said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2nd Corinthians 12:9, 10
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Yes, the very same faith which Paul had, can also be ours if we want it!
Here in this sketch is when these constellations are in the eastern sky in early winter. Satan spews out his false worldly ideologies, which many of these ideologies have a form of godliness. On the other hand, the Strait Gate (Narrow Gate) is composed of the two brightest stars of the Orion The Reaper’s sickle. God’s Word, the Bible is that sickle. The true Strait Gate is God’s Word, the Bible. As a sickle harvests the wheat, so God’s Word will gather precious souls to Him.
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NARROW GATE AND WIDE GATE CONSTELLATIONS WITH REVELATION 12 WOMAN: This is how these three constellations appear when just above the eastern horizon. The woman, however appears more in her upright “Fleeing” position than this sketch shows. It is somewhat of an optical illusion because of the “canopy effect” of the night sky. So it is impossible to sketch this on a flat surface. Nevertheless, this sketch shows this woman appearing to be drawn toward these two warriors; the Reaper, of course is Orion . The Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation is not a commonly recognized constellation. His mouth is made of The Hyades Cluster of Taurus, and the tip of his tail is The Pleiades Cluster. The two bright stars on Orion The Reaper’s sickle is the Narrow Gate. And the two bright stars of the Dragon’s wave of water is the Wide Gate. When in the eastern sky it is not so clear as to which Gate she will enter. Woman is commonly known as Ursa Major (or the Great Bear or The Big Dipper)
Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
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THE DESIRE OF AGES, BY ELLEN G. WHITE
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This is a chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.
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Chapter 30 – He Ordained Twelve
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Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website
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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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This recording #124, is a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry..
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 4 – March 15 (How To Breeze Through The Coming Crisis! Part 8: “Pray Without Ceasing!” )
In the last devotional on how to breeze through the coming trials (Click here to read), it was put forth that we must hide all God’s Great and Precious Promises in our hearts and learn to walk by them.
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BREEZING THROUGH THE TIME OF TROUBLE
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And today’s devotional will highlight one of those great and precious promises which will guide us, and breeze us through that soon-coming tempest.
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Listen…“Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1st Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Here is a very important ingredient to living victoriously through the approaching storm, coming right now upon the earth!
“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire:
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast,
and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name,
stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
Revelation 15:2
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Oh yes, it will be a massive and terrible storm!
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But if the Believer wishes to stand on that sea of glass, and have that harp of David’s Psalms, then these “How To Breeze Through The Time of Trouble” articles are extremely critical to read and to put into action!
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And these three admonitions, to “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.
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In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”, are every bit as important as all the other ingredients, in enabling Christians to breeze through this time of trouble coming soon upon the earth!
“I MADE HASTE, AND DELAYED NOT TO KEEP THY COMMANDMENTS”
Psalm 119:60
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And so, O–sorely-tried-child-of-faith, it is critically important to begin putting these three admonitions into action right now!
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Don’t wait until the soon-coming storm begins to rage!
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In other words, when each daily trial and tribulation arises, we must begin right now to, “rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks”.
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And by so-doing, our great distress and consternation over our supposed troubles will evaporate like the morning dew on a sunny day!
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Daily Devotional, Year 4 – March 15 (How To Breeze Through The Coming Crisis! Part 7: “Rejoice Evermore. Pray Without Ceasing. In Every Thing, Give Thanks!”)
Back in the 1970’s, a certain saying was popularized…“The Devil made me do it! The Devil made me do it!”
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And this was merely mocking Christians, who were seemingly obsessed with pointing the finger at the Devil.
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Then the world could all joke and mock “the silly and absurd notion” that Satan is a very active and powerful force controlling the peoples of this world, by laughingly saying…“The Devil made me do it! The Devil made me do it!“
But the horrifying fact is, the Devil does indeed cause the vast percentage of the world’s inhabitants to do a great amount of things!
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After all, Ephesians, Chapter 2 reveals a truth that practically nobody realizes or accepts! It is perhaps the most egregious truth in all of the Bible!
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And this verse is, “…the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”
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And let’s face it! The idea that the entire world’s inhabitants are filled with this evil spirit is more than anybody is willing to accept, much less even admit!
One afternoon at high-school, a very foolish and clueless student mocks the odd way a crippled girl walks, thinking to get a laugh from those watching.
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Across the school, a group of athletes mercilessly mock a fellow student for his odd way of dressing and mannerisms.
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Well, here are just two examples of bullying which have been commonly occurring for decades, even centuries
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But there has been a big push in the last decades to stop bullying in the public schools against those who would tease and torment others who cannot defend themselves.
And the Bible also reveals that God also hates bullying! From those who bully some “odd” kid in school, to those who bully others who are smaller or physically weaker than the bully!
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Yes, the Bible gives us many examples of bullies, and how severely He dealt with them.
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Take for example, that giant of a bully, Goliath, who bullied the citizens of Israel! Everyone, even the very tall King Saul was afraid to go up against that mighty warrior-bully giant, Goliath!
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But God sent His own representative, the small shepherd boy, David, who fearlessly slew this 11-foot tall (approx.) giant with only a sling and five smooth stones!
Just look at the bullying that went on for centuries against certain races and skin colors! In America alone, it took many decades to vanquish the bullying and oppression against those of darker skin-tones.
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And even today, ironically, a type of bullying is now rising up against those of lighter skin-tone.
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Yes, it’s now becoming clearly evident that racism is now (and has always been) an equal-opportunity hater.
And just look at all the bullying occurring on social-media platforms!
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Oh yes, countless Internet users bully others, hiding behind the cloak of their high-tech anonymity, as they mock, taunt, defame, slander and cancel-out others whom they dislike.
And believe it or not, there are even modern-day Goliaths in the land!
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That’s right! These current-day Goliaths come in the form of the major tech-giants.
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Yes, once the government allowed them to become, pretty-much, a powerful monopoly, these high-tech giants decided to use their unbridled, and unrivaled power to begin bullying all those who presented ideas contrary to their own “politically-correct” biases! And as a result, countless Christian and other morality-based websites are bullied to either cease from presenting their views or face the wrath of these tyrannical cancel-culture bullies!
And what about the political and religious intolerance which occurs around the world. Yes, Socialism/Communism has always behaved like a bully against the common people! More and more, those who speak out in opposition to these totalitarian ideologies are being targeted by the media giants as well as by the so-called, “social-justice” politicians whom these high-tech giants support. Demonization of their supposed enemies has now become a daily occurrence.
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And let’s face it, Demonizing people, businesses, and institutions because they have a different ideology is also a very powerful form of bullying!
PANDEMIC BULLYING: “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?”
Psalm 94:20
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The entire world has been shocked to behold how the various nations are aligning together as the begin to force the populace into submission to the oppressive laws concerning the latest pandemic. It’s nothing short of amazing to see how well-orchestrated those various governmental agencies are, along with private organizations as they join forces to bully the public into strict laws and ordinances concerning supposed “Safety measures”.
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This may well be the beginning prelude or preview of what the Bible prophesied concerning these last hours of earth’s history…“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:17
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Yes, it’s shocking to the multitudes as they witness the various nations so rapidly establishing a lock-tight system which permits or forbids people from “buying and selling”!
And just look at the various religions which have bullied their detractors throughout history, even from the days when the Patriarch, Isaac, was forced to abandon his water-wells which he had just dug with his own hands! Even some pseudo-Christian denominations have bullied true Christians, especially during the European Dark Ages.
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And even today, some very popular radio and TV ministries like to bully listeners to conform to their pet church-doctrines, by making the listeners afraid to hold any contrary views. These Bible-bullies often mock and belittle any who hold to some doctrinal difference as a means of destroying any opposition to their own cherished/pet church-doctrines.
And what about the scientific community. Those who do not agree with the government’s environmental dogma, such as climatologists, but also creationists, quite often automatically lose their government jobs and/or government funding for speaking up in opposition to various lies which they encounter.
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This too, is a form of bullying!
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RACIST BULLIES
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The secularists have gained tremendous power in western cultures, along with their partnership with the various corporate media and Internet giants. And they have discovered that by demonizing their political opponents, accusing them of being “systemically racist”, they can easily bully them into submission, as well as prejudice the general public against them. Yes, these two giants (political/social secularists & corporate media), have become modern-day Goliaths, preying upon and stigmatizing their political opponents in the eyes of the general populace!
TELEVISION BULLIES: “And he (the False Prophet) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed”
Revelation 13:15
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Television and other high-tech devices have become increasingly oppressive, as they now use peer-pressure to bully the onlooking multitudes into submission.
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Even in the area of comedy, many television comedians, who ruthlessly mock, via their satirical jests and taunting mockeries, are very effective verbal bullies, often destroying those who lose favor with the public.
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This too is a form of bullying!
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But all this was prophesied long ago, when the Bible foretold of a beast which would force the entire world into submission to the dogmas and maxims of this antichrist world!
A new form of bullying has emerged, in which secularists are bullying businesses and corporations into joining the growing throngs which now call for the cancelling out of any person, ideology, organization, political party, or religious group which the mainstream media and political leaders see as a threat.
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This too is another form of bullying. Corporations being bullied into becoming bullies themselves!
Well, let’s not imagine that all this bullying is merely the product of humans!
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No, bullying has been a pandemic ever since the days in which Lucifer began his bullying of this fallen world. Yes, Lucifer, now called Satan, and The Devil, is the true “Bully-in-Chief” of this sorrowful planet.
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Oh yes, he works under-cover in the shadows. But he and his myriad of unseen evil angels are truly in charge of all the bullying going on daily!
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As a matter of fact, oppression and deception are the very two pillars of Satan’s kingdom, which this sin-laden world is!
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And just look at this current state-of-affairs in today’s political realm. What do we see going on today? Lots of bullying and lots of deception and lies, via politicians, propagated and empowered by the major mass-media sources! They actually are unknowingly relying on the very pillars and foundation of Satan’s Antichrist Kingdom to govern and maintain power: Force & Falsehood!
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The Puppetmaster of Politics – Property of www.theheavensdeclare.net – exclusive copyrighted
And truth-be-told, all this bullying and cancelling-out going on today is merely the prelude to, and foretaste of Bible prophecy concerning Earth’s “grand finale”!
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Yes, the Bible foretells of the day in which…“And he (The False Prophet Beast) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16, 17
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Here we see that the day is coming (and even now already is beginning) when the powers that be will exercise complete economic control against anyone who doesn’t bow down to the maxims and dogmas of this antichrist world-system.
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This will be the ultimate form of bullying in a world full of bullies!
But this little article only presents a mere smattering of all the bullying going on in this world! If we would just analyze the various forms of bullying going on in the world, we would truly be amazed! In every corner of society, people are being coerced (bullied) in one form or another, from the way we dress, to how we conform!
The very Good News is that we are still living in the day when any man, woman, or child can cry out for mercy and deliverance from the death sentence hanging over this Luciferion antichrist world-system!
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And God is eagerly calling us to make our end-time exodus out of this violent world to live forever in the beautiful Promised Land where this world will be created anew! In that happy place, the redeemed ones will live in a beautiful world where love and peace and gentleness will reign supreme. It is a land where time never ends, and we will be young, forevermore!
This page is concerned with the Glorious Crown (a.k.a.Corona Borealis Constellation), as is written…“And there appeared a great wonder (sign) in heaven; a woman…and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” Revelation 12:1.
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This rather dim constellation follows behind that bright and beautiful star, Arcturus , as Arcturus leads a heavenly ambassage through the heavens each night in summer.
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many crowns happen to be studded with precious jewels. Well this heavenly crown is no exception! And though these “jewels” are stars, they represent the precious jewels spoken of throughout Scripture, when speaking about God’s people.
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But this constellation is not nearly as high-profile as, say, the 7 Stars Constellation(a.k.a.,The Big Dipper). It is relatively dim, compared to those two bright constellations.
This constellation begins to appear in late December (just before dawn), but is best seen, mid-sky when this group of constellations can be seen when facing west. In March-April, very late in the pre-dawn hours, this Summer Constellation group begins to be seen when facing west, and continues to be seen in the west until fall.
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The Crown follows almost directly behind that great star, Arcturus, as you can see in the sketch.
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Repeat: it is somewhat easier to study the 12 stars of this constellation when it is in western half of night-sky (when you have to see it as you face westward). So when these Summer Constellations are in the western half of the sky, simply follow the handle of the Big Dipper till you locate Arcturus. Then the Crown is following Arcturus. You will only see the wreath-like 7 stars plus 1 star (in middle) until you get away from all city lights. Then you can make out the other 5 stars, which makes it appear like a full crown.
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COMBINATION OF BOTH CORONA BOREALIS & BOOTES
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This constellation is a combination of both Corona Borealis plus several stars from the Bootes Constellation.
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The stars, Alkalyroos-Bootis and the Delta-Bootis Star are both combined with the other stars from the Corona Borealis community, to make this 12-star (plus 13th star in middle).
A new devotional is presented for each day of the year.
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Directly below each day’s devotional, is a short “location guide” to one particular sign in the Sun, Moon, or stars.
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JANUARY, YEAR 4
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January 1 (Noble Bereans, Part 32: “Killing The Messenger”)
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January 2 (Noble Bereans, Part 33: “Killing The Messenger” CONTINUED)
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January 3 (Noble Bereans? Part 34: “Killing The Messenger” CONTINUED FURTHER)
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January 4 (Noble Bereans, Part 35: “Killing The Messenger” CONTINUED FURTHER)
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January 5 (Noble Bereans, Part 36: “Harold Camping vs. Ellen White”)
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January 6 (Noble Bereans, Part 37: “The New Waldenses”)
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January 7 (Noble Bereans, Part 38: “John Wycliffe & Harold Camping”)
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January 8 (Noble Bereans, Part 39: “Huss & Jerome”)
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January 9 (Noble Bereans, Part 40: “Martin Luther & Harold Camping”)
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January 10 (The False Prophet, Part 24: “Woe unto You, When All Men Shall Speak Well of You!”)
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January 11 (The Natural Man & Bible Prophecy, Part 2: “Ellen White & Harold Camping”)
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January 12 (A World of Lies, Part 13: “When The World Turns Ugly”)
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January 13 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 7: “Snowflakes”)
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January 14 (Keeping 1 Day Holy, Part 7: “The Dumbing Down of Society”)
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January 15 (The Revelation 12 Crown Constellation, Part 1: “Hold Fast To What Thou Hast!”)
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January 16 (The First Shall Be Last! Part 2: “The Tragic Tale of Europe’s Apostasy”)
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January 17 (The First Shall Be Last! Part 3: “The Tragic Tale of Europe’s Apostasy” CONTINUED)
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January 18 (The False Prophet, Part 25: “The Two Horns of the False Prophet Beast”)
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January 19 (Noble Bereans, Part 41: “God’s Prophetic Timeline”)
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January 20 (Noble Bereans, Part 42: “Harold Camping and William Miller”)
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January 21 (Mark Now Given, Part 4: “Internet Censorship”)
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January 22 (Mark Now Given, Part 5: “Freedom of Speech, An Endangered Right!”)
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January 23 (Television and The Image That Speaks, Part 5: “What’s Your Delusion?”)
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January 24 (Noble Bereans, Part 43: “Re-Thinking Ellen White Concerning the Adventist Apostasy”)
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January 25 (Upward, Into the Promised Land! Part 4: “Cleansing the Sanctuary” CONTINUED)
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January 26 (Upward, Into the Promised Land! Part 5: “Cleansing the Sanctuary” FURTHER CONTINUED)
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January 27 (Noble Bereans, Part 44: “God’s Law & The United States”)
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January 28 (Noble Bereans, Part 45: “God’s Law & The United States” CONTINUED)
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January 29 (Noble Bereans, Part 46: “God’s Law & The United States” FURTHER CONTINUED )
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January 30 (The False Prophet, Part 26: “Many Shall Say…Lord, Lord!”)
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January 31 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 20: “O Lucifer, Son of the Morning!”)
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FEBRUARY, YEAR 4
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February 1 (Noble Bereans, Part 47: “Do Ellen White and Harold Camping Agree?”)
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February 2 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 9: “How To Stop the Growing Lawlessness in the Land”)
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February 3 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 10: “How To Stop the Growing Lawlessness in the Land” CONTINUED)
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February 4 (Noble Bereans? Part 48: “Eternal Torment?”)
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February 5 (Noble Bereans? Part 49: “Dead People Speaking!)
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February 6 (Noble Bereans, Part 50: “Liberty of Conscience Now Threatened!”)
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February 7 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 11: “How To Stop the Growing Lawlessness in the Land” CONTINUED FURTHER)
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February 8 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 12: “It’s Only A Movie”)
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February 9 (Noble Bereans, Part 51: “Come Out of Her My People!”)
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February 10 (The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Part 11: “Ellen White on “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”)
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February 11 (Apocalypse NOW! Part 24: “Ellen White On God’s People Being Delivered”)
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February 12 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 58: “The Final Destruction of Babylon”)
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February 13 (The Devil Made Me Do It, Part 21: “The Dumbing Down of Society About History”)
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February 14 (By Beholding Jesus…Changed! Part 2: “Ellen White’s Book on Jesus’ Life”}
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February 15 (Apocalypse NOW! Part 25: “Is the Holy Spirit Being Removed From the World?”)
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February 16 (The Orion Phenomena, Part 2: “Ellen White On Orion”)
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February 17 (The Orion Phenomena, Part 2: “Ellen White On Orion” CONTINUED)
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February 18 (A Form of Godliness, Part 5: “3-dollar-bill Love!” CONTINUED)
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February 19 (Arcturus, The Star That Wise Men Follow, Part 2: “We Have Seen His Star!”)
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February 20 (We Wrestle Not Against Flesh & Blood! Part 6, “Satan’s Psycological War Against Our Children!” CONTINUED)
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February 21 (Mark Now Given, Part 6: “Killing The Messenger”)
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February 22 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 4: “Planet Earth, An Experiment In Selfishness”)
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February 23 (Flee To The Mountains, Part 23: “How To Be Like John the Baptist: His Gravitas!”)
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February 24 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 5: “Planet Earth, An Experiment In Selfishness” CONTINUED)
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February 25 (Noble Bereans, Part 52: “Dead People Speaking!?” CONTINUED)
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February 26 (By Beholding Jesus…Changed! Part 3: “Ellen White’s Book on Jesus’ Life” CONTINUED)
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February 27 (“Ellen White’s Book, The Desire of Ages: A story For the Whole Family”)
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February 28 (O Taste and See That The Lord Is Good! Part 1: “The Wedding At Cana”)
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February 29 (Flee To The Mountain! Part 24: “Pillar of Salt Churches”)
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MARCH, YEAR 4
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March 1 (He That Hath An Ear To Hear, Part 6: “Strong Delusion!”)
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March 2 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 22: “It’s A Gad, Gad, Gad, Gad World!”)
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March 3 (Sodom Rising, Part 16: “Gender Confusion & the Devil’s Destruction of Society”
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March 4 (Planet Earth, Devil’s Island, Part 17 – “A World of Terror”)
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March 5 (Noble Bereans?, Part 53: “Ellen White’s Views On the Final Conflict”)
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March 6 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 8: “Judgment Day: What Did We Expect?”)
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March 7 (A Suffering Church is a Strong Church! Part 3: “John the Baptist”)
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March 8 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 8: “Cancer, a Faith-building Experience?”)
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March 9 (A World of Lies, Part 14: “It’s a Cuttlefish World! Yellow Journalism Today!” FURTHER CONTINUED)
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March 10 (Arcturus, The Star That Wise Men Follow, Part 4: “The Call By The Sea”)
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March 11 (The False Prophet, Part 27: “Many False Prophets”)
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March 12 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 13: “Sinking Into The Bottomless Pit” CONTINUED)
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March 13 (How To Breeze Through The Coming Crisis! Part 6: “Great And Precious Promises!”)
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March 14 (How To Keep The Sabbath, Part 3: “Ellen White’s & Harold Camping’s Views of the Sabbath”)
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March 15 (How To Breeze Through The Coming Crisis! Part 7: “Rejoice Evermore…Pray Without Ceasing…In Every Thing, Give Thanks!”)
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March 16 (He That Hath An Ear To Hear, Part 6: “Harold Camping’s Ears To Hear!”)
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March 17 (The False Prophet, Part 28: “The 6th Head: Cruel Compassion”)
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March 18 (The Commandments of God, Part 4: “Christians & The Old Testament Law”)
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March 19 (As The Flower of the Field, Part 15: “Black Holes In Inner-Space: Romantic Idolatry!”)
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March 20 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 14: “This World is Not My Home!”)
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March 21 (Daniel 2:41: “A Kingdom…Divided…Cannot Stand!” CONTINUED)
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March 22 (Apocalypse NOW! Part 26: “The Invisible War”)
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March 23 (My Yoke Is Easy! Part 6: “Come Apart & Rest A While!”)
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March 24 (The True Message of Revelation! Part 2: “Do Ye Not Hear The Law?” CONTINUED)
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March 25 (Dawn of the Dead! Part 5: “Cannibalizing Our Children!?”)
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March 26 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 23: “Romance: The Real Thing or Just A Devilish Delusion?”)
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March 27 (Dawn of the Dead! Part 6: “The Time of Trouble”)
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March 28 (How To Keep The Sabbath, Part 4: “How To Quit Working On The Sabbath”)
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March 29 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 9: “Will The Real Nazi/Fascist/Racist Please Shout the Loudest!”)
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March 30 (Noble Bereans? Part 54: “Ellen White’s Views On The False Prophet”)
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March 31 (Noble Bereans? Part 55: “Ellen White’s Views On The Two Beasts of Revelation 13”)
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APRIL, YEAR 4
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April 1 (Noble Bereans? Part 56: “Ellen White’s Views On The Two Beasts of Revelation 13” CONTINUED)
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April 2 (Noble Bereans? Part 57: “Ellen White’s Views On The Two Beasts of Revelation 13” FURTHER CONTINUED)
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April 3 (The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner, Part 7: “God Is No Respecter of Persons!”)
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April 4 (A World of Lies, Part 15: “Rascals Then, and Rascals Now!”)
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April 5 (“The Light of the World!” Part 2)
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April 6 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 15: “Why All The Lawlessness?”)
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April 7 (The Revelation 12 Crown Constellation, Part 2: “Hold Fast To What Thou Hast!” CONTINUED)
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April 8 (“And Just Who is My Neighbor?” Part 2: Good Samaritan)
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April 9 (Satan’s Number 8, Part 3: “Caught in Satan’s Web”)
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April 10 (“Blessing The Children”)
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April 11 (Two Turtledoves Constellation! Part 2: “Forsaking All to Follow Jesus!”)
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April 12 (It’s A Rosie The Riveter World, Part 6: “1st Head of the Beast: Pride!”)
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April 13 (It’s A Rosie The Riveter World, Part 6: “1st Head of the Beast: Pride!) CONTINUED!”
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April 14 (A World of Lies, Part 16: “It’s a Cuttlefish World! Yellow Journalism Today!” CONTINUED)
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April 15 (Television and The Image That Speaks, Part 7: “Do Not Rich Men Oppress You?”)
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April 16 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 6: “The False Prophet’s Counterfeit Compassion”
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April 17 (The False Prophet, Part 29: “The 6th Head: Cruel Compassion Regarding Abortion”)
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April 18 (We Wrestle Not Against Flesh & Blood! Part 7, “How To Catch A Serial Killer”)
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April 19 (Upward, Into the Promised Land! Part 6: “The Temple Cleansed Again”)
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April 20 (The False Prophet, Part 30: “Misguided Mercy”)
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April 21 (How Shall the Moon Be Turned Into Blood? Part 5: “Mark of the Beast in the Moon? 2nd Face: The Pharisee-Scorner”) CONTINUED
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April 22 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 24: “Satan, the Great Puppet-Master!”)
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April 23 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 25: “Satan, the Great Puppet-Master!” CONTINUED)
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April 24 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 8: “Every Man…His Labor…(Is) The Gift of God” CONTINUED)
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April 25 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 9: “Every Man…His Labor…(Is) The Gift of God” FURTHER CONTINUED)
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April 26 (Finding Perfect Peace, Part 11, “Why Did God Take Away My Spouse?”)
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April 27 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 10: “Every Man…His Labor…(Is) The Gift of God” STILL FURTHER CONTINUED)
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April 28 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 26: “Who Really Blew Up The Twin Towers?”)
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April 29 (The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Part 10: “Peter’s Conversion”)
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April 30 (Hands That Shed Innocent Blood: “God’s Providence in the Womb”)
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MAY, YEAR 4
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May 1 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 24: “Romance: The Real Thing or Just Another Devilish Delusion?”) CONTINUED
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May 2 (Add Thou Not! Part 6: “Babylonian Sun Worship”)
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May 3 (Add Thou Not! Part 7: “Babylonian Sun Worship” CONTINUED)
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May 4 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 7: “Mob Anger & Justice!”)
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May 5 (Nature’s Witnesses, Part 14: “Butterflies: God’s Little Witnesses In Nature”)
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May 6 (Global Warming Alert! Part 2: Why Is There Global Warming?)
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May 7 (Arcturus, The Star That Wise Men Follow, Part 5: “The Walk To Emmaus in Today’s World”)
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May 8 (Prayer In A Fragile World! Part 6: “Praying Yourself To Sleep”)
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May 9 (The Straw-Man! Part 8: “Aleister Crowley: Satan’s Wing-man or Just His Straw-man?”)
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May 10 (The Weapons of Our Warfare! Part 2: “Fighting Our Own Battles)
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May 11 (Revelation 12 Woman, Part 2: “Why Are Things Getting so Crazy Terrible?”)“
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May 12: The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 28: “The Robin Hood Conspiracy!”
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May 13 (“He That Hath An Ear To Hear”, Part 8: “Ellen White On Parables”) Also read…(He That Hath An Ear To Hear, Part 5: “Truth Falling On Deaf Ears!”)
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May 14 (Noble Bereans? Part 58: “Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth”)
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May 15 (The 4 Winds of Revelation 7:1 Now Blowing! Part 2: “Separating The Wheat From The Chaff”)
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May 16 (“The Dawning of the Day!”)
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May 17 (Look Up, Lift Up Your Heads, Part 6: “Don’t Look Down!”) or also read…”Over The Rainbow, or Stay Down Here?”
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May 18 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 29: “When The Devil Whispers ‘Murder!’”)
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May 19 (The 7 Stars, Part 2: “7 Stars & The 7 Bowls of Wrath”)
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May 20 (Mark Now Given, Part 8: “Masters of the Universe or Just Useful Pawns of Satan?”)
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May 21 (As The Flower of the Field, Part 15: “A World of Wilting Flowers?”)
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May 22 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 8: “The Dragon’s 6th Head & The 6th Commandment”)
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May 23 (As The Flower of the Field, Part 16: “It’s a ‘Lose-Lose’ World!”)
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May 24 (The False Prophet, Part 31: “The False Prophet’s Two Horns Concerning Capitalism VS. Socialism!”)
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May 25 (A 3-Fingered Judgment-Day, Part 13: “How To NOT Take The Long Road Home!”) or you can also read …3-Fingered Judgment Day, Part 14: (A “Careful What You Wish For” Story)
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May 26 (In Every Thing Give Thanks!?! Part 9: “…Until I Met a Man Who Had No Feet!”)
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May 27 (As The Flower of the Field, Part 18: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow?”) Also Read, (“A New Heart For The Tin Man”)
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May 28 (The Revelation 12 Crown Constellation, Part 3: “Hold Fast To What Thou Hast!” CONTINUED)
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May 29 (The Revelation 12 Crown Constellation, Part 4: “Hold Fast To What Thou Hast!” FURTHER CONTINUED)
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May 30 – (Noble Bereans, Part 59: “Go Into The Highways & Hedges!”)
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May 31 (Seared As With A Hot Iron, Part 2: “It’s A Totalitarian World!”)
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JUNE, YEAR 4
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June 1 (Damsels & Dragons, Part 2: “The Revelation 12 Dragon’s Floodwaters!”)
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June 2 (Who is the Rich Young Ruler? Part 2: “Going Through a Needle’s Eye”)
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June 3 (Who Is The Rich Young Ruler? Part 3 – “Going Through a Needle’s Eye” CONTINUED)
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June 4 (Who Is The Rich Young Ruler? Part 4 – “Going Through a Needle’s Eye” CONTINUED)
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June 5 (O Taste and See That The Lord Is Good! Part 2 “Taste & See God’s Delicious Fruit!”)
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June 6 (Habakkuk Says “Run!”, Part 19: “Like Hind’s Feet To Walk Upon Mine High Places”)
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June 7 (Loopholes in God’s Law, Part 2: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?”)
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June 8….(We Wrestle Not Against Flesh & Blood! Part 8, “Political Correctness: Christo-phobia?”)
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June 9 (Sodom Rising, Part 17 “Which Rainbow Will You Cling To?”)
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June 10 (As The Flower of the Field, Part 18: “The Biggest Carrot In The Universe!”)
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June 11 (Noble Bereans? Part 60: “Ellen White On The Ministry of Healing”)
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June 12 (Nature’s Witnesses, Part 15: “Ellen White On ‘Nature & Health’”)
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June 13 (Television and The Image That Speaks, Part 8: “The Many Faces of Satan”)
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June 14 (Noble Bereans? Part 61: “Ellen White On The Ministry of Healing” CONTINUED)
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June 15 (What’s An Aristaphagist!? Part 3: “What Did Jesus Eat?”)
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June 16 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 30: “Fanatics in the Church!”)
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June 17 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 9: “You Say You Want A Revolution”)
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June 18 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 10: “Satan’s Monster-Making Machinery!”)
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June 19 (Flee To The Mountains, Part 24: “Am I a Lot, or an Abraham?”)
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June 20 (The Return of Elijah, Part 4: “Mothers & Children”)
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June 21 (O Taste and See That The Lord Is Good!, Part 3”)
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June 22 (Apocalypse Now! Part 27: “Satan Now On the March”)
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June 23 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 11: “Ring Around The Rosies…We All Fall Down!”) ALSO READ (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 12: “Woke Christians & Heaven’s Cancel-Culture!”)
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June 24 (O Taste and See That The Lord Is Good! Part 4)
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June 25 (What’s An Aristaphagist? Part 4 “How To Cure Fibromyalgia”)
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June 26 (The False Prophet, Part 32: “Evangelicalism: The False Prophet?”)
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June 27 (Planet Earth: Devil’s Island! Part 18: “Every Knee Shall Bow!”)
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June 28 (Taking Back This Nation For God! Part 16: “Why Are Our Enemies Taking Over?”)
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June 29 (Flee To The Mountain! Part 25: “Jeremiah’s Cup of Fury! The Removal of the Holy Spirit” CONTINUED)
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June 30 (The Sign Of The Son Of Man In Heaven, Part 2: “Jesus: The True Meaning of Coming Out of Babylon”)
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TO RETURN TO YEAR-ONE DAILY DEVOTIONALS, CLICK HERE
“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet”
Psalm 22:16
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This animalistic face in the Moon appears to be that of a combination of a man as well as a fox.
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Or maybe a wolf. Doesn’t he have a long narrow nose like a wolf or fox?
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Maybe even a dog.
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Nevertheless, the expression on his face, as he appears to look down upon the Earth, is that of scorn.
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As if he is disgusted at the sinful planet below.
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He is very moral, you see!
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Gray Wolf. Courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service by scott Flaherty
2nd Face in Moon-wolf-www.signsofheaven.org
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THIS BEAST WITHIN
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Well, the Bible has much to say about Pharisees.
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And the Bible has much to say about wolves, and foxes, and dogs.
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And this wolf-face inscribed in the Moon has much to tell us about ourselves!
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And so, if you (or I) find that this wolf-man has some things in common, please don’t despair!
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For God is giving us these signs, while there still is time. While there still is hope!
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THE PHARISEES…
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Now listen to this verse concerning proud scorners…“Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” Proverbs 21:24
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Yes, this wolf-like beast-face in the Moon, is what the Bible calls a proud Pharisee.
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They were the morality crowd!
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They were the finger pointers!
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They were the scorners!
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They had an evil eye against others!
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They didn’t realize that their own pride was even more reprehensible to God than the drunkenness, immorality, or sexual perversions of the unsaved world!
James Tissot – The Pharisee and Publican – Brooklyn Museum & Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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WHICH WAY THE FINGER IS POINTING
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It is true religion that says,“I am chief of sinners.” 1st Timothy 1:15.
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These are the words of Paul.
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Paul saw himself for what he really was: a dirty rotten sinner in need of a Savior!
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It is false religion that says, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.” Luke 18:11.
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These are the words of this proud Pharisee in the parable of the Publican & the Pharisee (see Luke 18:9-14).
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It is true religion that points the accusing finger at ‘myself’.
Red Rose Against Black Background – by Amardipghosh – at Wikipedia – C.C. Share-alike License
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #305 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
And it was about 120 or so days after being “tossed out on my ear” from that sad and hopeless, “Iron-Citadel”, commonly referred to as “Atheism”.
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Such a dreadfully depressing ideology!
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And it eventually drowns its captives in hopeless despair,“who, through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:15
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Oh yes, the proponents and hucksters of atheism promise freedom for all who join their ideology.
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But truth-be-told, if you happen to be a thoughtful and sensitive individual, you eventually realize that atheism only gets more distressing, increasingly hopeless, and really depressing, the older you become!
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And those who live under atheism’s cruel tyranny, like I did, often resort to drinking ourselves into a temporary state of blurry-eyed blissfulness (or perhaps drugging themselves, which was not my chosen means of escape)…
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…all in attempt to forget about that eventual, “date-with-fate” and our inescapable, “appointment with The Grim Reaper”!
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My means of escape was mostly with a little bourbon/cigarettes/television.
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And also, of course, managing an all-you-can-eat buffet often allows incredible middle-of-the-night “refrigerator raids”!
(Word-play on lyrics from the 1963 Buck Owens song “Act Naturally”, changing “ever” to “never”)
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But now I was being given, not only songs from the spirit, but also being told a very glorious narrative on just how greatly God was going to bless me in the music world, which industry, by the way, was largely controlled by God Himself! WOW!!!
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Oh, to think that a short time ago I was being mercilessly tormented in a mental ward by demons, swan-diving onto a hard floor, falling onto sharp objects, and going in and out of hellish illusions and devilish delusions!
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And now…BUT NOW…instead, I was being told just the opposite! I was informed that I was soon to find fame and fortune in the L.A. music scene!
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And if that’s not enough, I was JESUS…in a former life!
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This might possibly make that classic, “rags-to-riches” story about the “Count of Monte Cristo”, look like a mere, “50-cent-burger-joint-pay-raise”!
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Ah yes, this was the “turn-about of all turn-abouts!” This was the lottery ticket of all lottery tickets!
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This was…uh…it was….sufficed to say, “My prospects for the future were looking much better, thank-you.”
But little did I know, nor suspect, that I was once again to be the “butt-end of a cruel joke” by the spirits.
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Little did I realize or was aware, that I was unwittingly being set up like a “bowling pin” by “Team-Lucifer”, only to knock me down flat, for a strike at the “Unlucky-Lanes Bowling Alley”!
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And these super-intelligentsia (who, by the way, were extremely cunning beings), were gonna take me up to the very top of the tallest temple in Belize…
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…that infamous Jaguar Temple, only to kick me down, down, down… about a couple hundred very steep steps…down onto my head!
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And then thrust me back down into the open-arms of Hell’s awaiting flaming-furnace-inferno, once again!
Let’s leave TIKAL for now, and back up a month or two; back to that day in February, 1980, in Klamath Falls, when a very special person walked into my life…
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CHAPTER 21:
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“VACATION FROM (or rather, ‘IN’) HELL”
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“ANOTHER SATURDAY NIGHT AND I AIN’T GOT NOBODY! (except for the spirits, that is!)”
(First line from the 1964 Sam Cooke hit song, “Another Saturday Night” with parenthetical comment by this website)
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Well, there I was! In a nice little home, all tucked away in a beautiful little woodsy neighborhood in the hills around Klamath Falls.
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No longer was I being terrified with the prospects of being cut up into little pieces!
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No more was I scorched with the eternal sentence of being, “tormented with fire and brimstone”, for all time and eternity by an angry and vengeful God!
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And so, it’s not hard to imagine that I was beginning to get lonely, especially after getting dumped by my ex-girlfriend, several months earlier, just prior to when “all Hell broke loose” on my life (actually, I believe she was providentially taken away, to spare her from having to deal with what I was soon to be suffering back in that Unit 3600).
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Oh yes, I had the spirit. And he (or they), was constantly communicating with me!
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Nevertheless, I felt I needed companionship…human companionship! Female companionship!
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And so, I began to pray that God might bring someone into my life. “Oh God, please bring me someone!”
Well, one day, not too long after I began praying about this, the phone rang…
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“Hello?”
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There was a female voice on the other end of the phone line.
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But because of her heavy accent (and her obvious shyness and nervousness), I had trouble understanding what she was saying.
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Something about singing for someone’s wedding.
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Finally, after asking her to repeat herself a number of times, I figured out that she wanted to hire me to sing at a family member’s wedding.
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Of course, I said, “Okay”.
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PROBLEMS SOLVED
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I’m not quite sure what happened, but before I knew it, this very pretty lady was bringing pots and pans over to my house, and cooking absolutely great Spanish-style food.
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And so ended my loneliness issues.
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One less thing!
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And now I also had someone to sing my songs to.
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And she was convinced I was going places with my music!
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And so ended my lack of an appreciative audience.
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Two less things!
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THE LAND OF ETERNAL SPRING?
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And before I knew it, we were planning a trip to her beautiful little country of Guatemala, which borders southern Mexico and Belize.
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The trip was to last 30 days. This was in February. And the trip was planned for…I can’t really recall…I’m gonna say…in May.
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Yeah, I think we left in May till June, 30 days.
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So now I could take a well-deserved “R & R” away from the horrible, horrible, torment I went through up there in Unit 3600!
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Three less things?!
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“IT AIN’T HEAVY…IT’S MY PENNANCE!”…
(Word-play on the 1969 Holies hit-song, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother“)
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When the big day came for us to leave, Becky had managed to fill a large old Army-issue duffel bag with used clothes to take to the people in her father’s church in Guatemala. Her father was a pastor of a Church of God, a somewhat Pentecostal church in Guatemala City.
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I didn’t know that this heavy bag would have to be dragged for miles…by me!
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The old Army-green bag seemed 4 or 5 feet tall, and as much as maybe 30 inches wide. Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
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Anyway, it was extremely heavy and just as awkward! I couldn’t believe how many clothes she got into that bag! We couldn’t even cinch up the top of the bag for all the tightly packed clothes.
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But bringing clothes to people in need was a good deed! Right? Right!
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And considering all the condemnation I had gone through for the last 7 months, I figured any checkmarks in my plus-column couldn’t do me any harm! So, I cheerfully pulled this bag along. Not a problem!
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And anyway, it beats playing organ in Hell! Correct? (see Chapter 15, almost the bottom of that page for explanation)
During this time of getting to know Becky, the spirit was still communing with me.
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And so, at various times my head would nod “yes” or“no”,or rolling my eyes, or even rolling my whole head (Well, I guess that I’ve already mentioned this phenomenon in one of the previous chapters.)
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But anyway, I tried as hard as I could to suppress this phenomenon.
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But I couldn’t stop it! I’m not sure whether Becky noticed it or not, but she made no comment about it (But even though it was probably not even a tiny bit noticeable to others, I could really feel him make my head nod, making me apprehensive when in their company.)
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And to add to this really annoying phenomenon, the spirit would sometimes use my head to make his own commentary on what Becky was saying.
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So, he would involuntarily roll my head back and forth in a circular motion (ever-so-slightly, remember), as if to say he was challenging the veracity of what she was saying.
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You know, kind-of like when rolling one’s eyes in doubt, at something someone is saying. Only he was doing it… not me!
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And sometimes I could just barely keep from laughing, because the spirit would make me laugh with his incredible sense of humor.
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“THANK YOU…THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!”
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The spirit gave me a song one day when Becky was visiting me.
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The song came all of a sudden. Just spontaneously.
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Oh yes, it was a simple song. I suppose it’s not too much to expect that a musician could easily do this.
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But anyway, here it is…
When I look into your eyes, I find myself in love—-
And when I look into your eyes, I find myself in love—
Hold me close…hold me tight…always stay with me.
Hold me close…hold me tight…say you’ll stay by me.
When I… etc, etc…
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It was a nice little song, but bothered me because it vaguely reminded me of that old Presley song, “Love Me Tender”, (same tempo, but somewhat different chords and melody).
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THE VACATION FROM HELL
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(or should I rather say, “in Hell”?)…
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DOUBLE PENNANCE POINTS…
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And soon came the day to depart for Guatemala…
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…from Reno Nevada to Miami Florida…
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…then from Miami Florida to Guatemala City.
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And oh yes, me dragging that large, clumsy, and very heavy duffel bag through the concourse of both airports.
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But my “heavenly brownie points” were adding up fast (or so I surmised), with every huff and every puff I made.
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There went me… facing backwards…pulling this Army-issue monstrosity through the airports, and Becky leading the way!
The spirit soon began something very new with me. This fresh new insinuation began like this… “Oh Chuckie-Me-Schmucky, have you ever considered that maybe…just maybe you weren’t Jesus Christ in a former life?”
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The spirit now had my full and undivided attention at this point… “I thought that might get your attention, Me-Chucko.”
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I was now getting really afraid. The needle on my terror-meter was now hitting a solid 10-out-of-10!
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The spirit was being very threatening with these kinds of taunts… “Did you ever consider that you might not be Jesus after all? Did you ever consider that you might have been somebody else in a former life? Somebody such as…say…like…uh…Adolph…uh… Hitler?”
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Okay, I was now in full-throttled fear at this new allegation via my spirit “friend”.
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Anyway, this suggestive torment (or maybe I should say, ‘torment-via-accusations’) lasted through most of the plane trip with me sinking lower and lower into my seat (or I might better say, “sinking into my hot-seat“).
I remember that we were standing up on the packed bus…I don’t know…maybe we were sitting down…no, standing as I recall…holding on tight to the vertical handrails, as the bus kept stopping to let passengers on and off.
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While at one stop, as new passengers got on, all of a sudden, Becky cries out, “Mamasita! Mamasita!”
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I was startled. I looked to see who this person was.
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It was a somewhat middle-aged lady.
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The woman began politely (but excitedly) hurrying her way through the crowded bus to get to Becky.
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Obviously, it was Becky’s Mother.
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The lady began crying and hugging Becky. (Wow! I’m a little teary-eyed right now, just recalling that joyful reunion!)
TRIPLE OR EVEN QUADRUPLE HEAVENLY PENANCE POINTS !!!!…
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We got off the bus. I managed to get the duffel bag off the bus, still hoping for some more heavenly penance points for my efforts.
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Still being taunted by the spirit as to just, “Who I was in a former life”.
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After getting off, we began walking through this older neighborhood toward Becky’s parent’s home.
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I can’t remember how I managed to get that duffel bag down the rough sidewalks. I don’t know.
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Maybe someone helped me (at least the airports had smooth floors! And actually, I probably used a cart through those places, now that I think of it).
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But at this point, the duffel bag was “light duty”, compared to the heavy burden this spirit was now laying on my shoulders, about me “maybe” being Hitler in a former life.
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Photo of Guatemala City – courtesy wikipedia – share alike license. Click here for link.
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“DORCAS NO HABLARA CON EL GRINGO’”…
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We soon arrived at the home. It was an older town house in a humble, but fairly nice Guatemalan neighborhood in which each house was about 25 or 30 feet wide, and somewhat long, eventually leading out to small backyards.
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And each house adjoined one-other. Kind of “shotgun style” floor plans, if you’re familiar with those types. Long and narrow houses with a hallway down the middle.
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But this townhouse had an open-air foyer inside the front door (of course, the temperature never much fluctuated here, so an open air foyer works in Guatemala. They sure wouldn’t work back in K. Falls!).
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This foyer had plants (photo on left). And there was a big parrot, named “Dorcas”.
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And this large flower-laden foyer with a big parrot perched in the middle, made for a dramatic entry.
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They first introduced me to Dorcas, and tried to get him to talk.
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But Dorcas was being shy. No talking from Dorcas! This shy parrot was not in a cage. He was just sitting on a perch in the garden-like foyer. Pretty cool!
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But Dorcas was determined to give me no greeting, try as we did to encourage him to do just that (however, little did I know that this now speechless parrot would give me a very loud, vocal farewell on the day of my departure!)
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(Parrot photo courtesy Brian Snelson for Wikipedia. For Brian’s link, just click here.)
Photo on left of foyer. Photo is greatly damaged.
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PAPA FELIX
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Now as far as being shy and not talking, Becky’s father was a different story.
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I met Becky’s family, and Becky had to translate for me and for them.
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Her brothers spoke fluent English, however. Her family was very gracious.
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Her father (“Papa”) however, was a Pentecostal pastor, and very serious-looking. Not that he was ill-tempered. But he was much too stern-looking for me. He made me somewhat really uncomfortable.
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Kind-of like, say, for example, my old high school vice-principal, an ex-marine with a crew-cut…Mr. Edigar (who btw, one day, picked me up by my shirt and held me up against my locker, and asked me, “Don’t you think your hair is getting a little too long?”, to which I no doubt answered, “Uh, yeah, I guess so”).
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There are just some people who make ya wanna do a wide swath in order to avoid them.
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Oh, it’s not that Papa was impolite. But what did I expect?
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After all, I was a perspective son-in-law, who, by the way, was going on a vacation with his daughter! Totally unbiblical!
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But I was oblivious to all these things. “ethically challenged”, someone might euphemistically put it.
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Perhaps “morally clueless” might be an even more accurate assessment.
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Actually, “A full-blown idiot” to be precise!
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“AIN’T GOT NO CIGARETTES!”…
(Lyric from the 1965 Roger Miller song “King of the Road”)
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Now I was a heavy smoker, and I apologized for my habit.
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I told them I would like to quit.
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I told them that I was hoping the Lord would help me quit.
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Becky’s dad instantly latched onto that comment!
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He told me that the Lord could help me RIGHT NOW! “Uh…uh…Yeah…uh..I guess so”, I said.
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“Drats!” I knew I had been caught in my words!
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And before I could get another word out, he began to pray for me right then and there (not more than few minutes into our arrival!).
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I couldn’t understand what he was saying in his prayer for my smoking.
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But even though he spoke in Spanish, I nevertheless could tell he was a “professional pray-er”!
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And so, after the short prayer, I was asked to forfeit my cigarettes.
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I suppose I reluctantly forfeited my pack of Marlboros (I had extra packs in my suitcase).
(1926 song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin)
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But soon I wanted a cigarette. So I went into my newly-assigned bedroom and smoked (Remember this was back in 1980. Attitudes have changed since then about smoking indoors).
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Now, this bedroom only had one window.
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And this window was close to the ceiling.
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Outside the window was a stairway which led to the roof (which roof also served as a patio).
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And before long, Becky’s Dad climbed the stairway and peeked through the window to see if I was smoking.
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So, I just held my cigarette by my side whenever he peeked in at me.
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This went on each time I smoked a cigarette.
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And he would peek at me three or four times each cigarette. I got used to it. It was actually kind-of funny and cute.
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I would see this head slowly rise up and look at me. I would simply hold my cigarette down until his head disappeared.
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Then about 30 seconds later his head would slowly re-emerge in the window.
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This went on for, oh, I don’t know how long. But Papa was no fool! He knew!
As with many smokers, I liked to drink cola when I smoked. So after a few days, upon running out of American smokes, I found a little neighborhood quick-mart.
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Actually it was just a little wooden shed that faced the sidewalk. It was like a hot-dog stand you might see at a carnival, only more primitive.
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Anyway, they sold my brand of cigarettes and Coca Cola in small bottles.
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The cola was warm, however, and I, being a spoiled Americano, had to suffer this inconvenience.
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But the cigarettes? No! They were NOT tolerable!
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Even though they had my brand, they were specially made differently for Guatemalans.
“TEN DOLLARS FOR A CARTON OF CIGARETTES!?! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!?!”…
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So it wasn’t too long till I asked Becky if there might be somewhere we could get American cigarettes.
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So, we took buses into the city. And this trip for cigarettes turned into a great sight-seeing tour through Guatemala City.
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We came to the city center, and found an import-shop in the nicer section of the metro area.
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They had my brand! “Far out!” So, I went to pay for a carton.
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But I couldn’t believe what they wanted for a carton of Marlboro’s… “Ten dollars?!”
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I said, “What a rip-off!”
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This was about two or three times what I paid for a carton of Marlboro’s back in the U.S. (remember, this was 1980). But I knew I was stuck.
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So I reluctantly paid the ten dollars for each carton. (I won’t let this little story end without telling you about my bout with Emphysema. Emphysema is appropriately nick-named the “Living Hell”. This was how God finally cured me of smoking.)
We managed to rent or borrow a little car, a little old “Hillman” station-wagon (a station-wagon was the old-school forerunner of the SUV).
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And so began a tour through Guatemala City. We went to a giant street-market.
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We went to restaurants.
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We bought tostadas from street-vendors.
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This all would’ve been great, except for the spirit’s insinuations regarding my “past life” as Adolph. Or not Adolph.
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The spirit would constantly taunt me. Sometimes he would present me with evidence that would lead to the conclusion that I was Jesus in a former life.
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I remember going to a restaurant one evening (while under a heavy barrage of devilish taunts, assaults and condemnations), where a marimba ensemble was playing in this rather overdone, flower-laden but dark establishment.
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The whole scenario began to take on a really devilish aura to it! And the very adept marimba player began sounding really evil, playing satanic music like something skeletons might like to dance to!
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You know, kind-of like the theme music-intro to Alfred Hitchcock’s old TV show, if you’re old enough to remember that.
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As I recall, that entire dinner experience seemed as if I was in the pit of Hell!
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At other times he would present evidence that suggested that I was indeed Adolph…
…“Yes Adol…I’m mean, Chuck, you were born in 1950, Just a few years after Adolph died.
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Did you ever think that maybe God is bringing you back to pay for the 3 million Jews that you killed.
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If you were Adolph Hitler. But I’m not saying you were. I’m just supposin’.”
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So you can just imagine how these kinds of ominous and foreboding taunts made miserable, what should have been a wonderful vacation!
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This kept up pretty much day and night! Life was Hell on Earth! Literally! It was like finding out that you had a terminal illness, and only had a few weeks to live!
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“…and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.” Revelation 14:11
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As this above verse reveals, “no rest, day nor night” was the fate which I was now suffering!
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Sometimes however, the spirit would show his sense of humor. Really funny stuff!
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But these were greatly outnumbered by the constant barrage of attacks he was making concerning my being Adolph Hitler in my last life…
…“Now suppose, just suppose what kind of punishment which you, or should I rather say, Adolph would deserve, for those 3 million Jews you/he killed.
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I suppose, Chuck, that God would have to bring you back three million times only to suffer three million horrible deaths.
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Just like Adolph made three million Jews to suffer.”
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With every new charge the spirit made, I sank lower and deeper into despair.
“HEY, WHY DON’T YA PLAY, ANOTHER SOMEBODY DONE SOMEBODY WRONG SONG?”
(line from the 1975 B.J. Thomas song of the same name)
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Do you remember that famous South American drug-lord…Manuel Noriega?
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Remember how, like the CIA had him trapped in some stronghold?
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And in order to get him to surrender, they began playing loud and blaring non-stop heavy-metal, or perhaps some other kind of music as well? And eventually he did surrender.
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He probably couldn’t take hearing any more of that Heavy-Metal “music”!
Photo of Manuel Noreiga – Wikipedia – Public domain.
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“EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’ AT ME…ONLY THE ECHOES OF MY MIND”…
(line from the 1968, Nillson song, “Everybody’s Talkin'”)
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Well, I soon found out that the spirit had a similar little serenade planned for me! This was truly an unforgettable day!
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The entire day, the spirit (or spirits?) were making all sorts of noises in my head.
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It sounded like bombs exploding, screams, sirens, bells, whistles, chipmunks singing in 3-part harmony, etc…!
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You name it! I heard it!
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This went on for the entire tour through Antigua.
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All the while, Becky led me to various sightseeing destinations there in Antigua.
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We went to an ancient church that was some sort of museum.
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It maybe even had a dead person, a cardinal or someone like a cardinal. He was enclosed in glass.
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Embalmed, I think!
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Why? I know not!
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Anyway, it was impossible for me to enjoy this tour.
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My head had become a veritable “torture chamber”!
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The spirit(s) could quickly drive any person to suicide with these torturous plagues of noises, especially if the person didn’t know the source of such noises!
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But I knew.
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And yet, when we returned home that evening, the sounds went away. And I’ve never had that phenomenon occur since, to this day. Thank God!
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Other phenomena? Oh yeah! Just not that particular one!
As a matter of fact, there were constant torments and spirit-induced phenomena which I went through during this month-long “vacation”.
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I’m just relating the more memorable and dramatic ones.
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Anyway, one such phenomenon occurred in the form of the spirit having me perform deeds of “faith”.
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For example, at a very crowded neighborhood restaurant/bar (somewhat similar to this photo), when I paid for something that cost a few dollars, I gave a cashier a $20.00 bill and the $18.00 or so as a tip.
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Believe me, the Devil made me do it! (maybe $60.00-$80.00 in today’s money, and probably $200.00 in Guatemalan value back then!).
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Of course, the cashier remained completely straight-faced, as if she didn’t know how much I was giving her!
The spirit presented me with more logic that I was Hitler (in my last life).
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For instance, one of his big arguments in favor of the “Hitler theory” was that I was being brought to the last place that Hitler lived before he died: Guatemala (I know the prevailing rumor was that he actually hid out in Argentina).
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But who was I to argue? This was a spirit talking to me, maybe God himself!
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Regardless, the intelligence of this spirit-being far surpassed that of any human…
…“Oh Chuck, doesn’t it make sense that Hitler escaped here after the war.
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And doesn’t it make sense to bring you back to this place, in order to pick up where you left off?”
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All his arguments seemed flawless.
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He not only talked to me, but also put thoughts into my mind.
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So, he seemed to have control of both the front and rear doors of my mind (as they say in the computer world).
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How could I resist the logic and power of this vastly superior being!
This happened to be one of the days in which the spirit was presenting “Jesus” logic to me. “Oh Chuck, why would I give you all those nice songs if you were Hitler?”
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Since this was a good day I decided to get my guitar out and sing some of those nice songs which he gave me, to the locals.
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Becky, at the same time had bought a beautiful hand-made tier.
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And as soon as I started singing and playing, a large crowd of people collected.
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I’m not sure if it was more for Becky that they collected, or for me.
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And with her vivacious personality, they probably were more attracted to her (as this old photo shows).
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Becky had purchased a “tier”, and the large crowd was intent on watching the lady help Becky put it on.
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It kinda felt like we were famous, the way they crowded around us.
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I sure wish I could’ve stuffed this really great and appreciative audience with me in that Army duffel-bag, to every gig I performed at, back here in the States.
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“I KNOW YA ARE, BUT WHAT AM I!?!”…
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Just one more little incident of interest.
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You see, while playing before this happy crowd, I happened to notice a young American lady maybe in khaki shirt and shorts and braided hair, and possibly a red bandanna, walking by about 30 yards away.
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As she passed by, she gave me a big scowl, as if to say “You ugly American”.
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It kinda took the edge off the moment for me.
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But I just kept playing and singing. And hey!… I’ve dealt with crowds of hecklers at gigs back home! I just kept right on singin’!
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As we drove our little rented 1960′s “Hillman” away from this quaint village, we waived goodbye to our “fans”, and in a moment, this experience became just a little vibrating blur in our rear-view mirror.
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And oh yes, I might add that the spirit was very well-behaved on this great day as well!
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Makes ya wonder, “What’s he got cookin?”.
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“Chuck Roast”, no doubt! “Yeah, and burnt to a crisp!”
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Photo of lake Atitlan courtesy wikipedia & Emilio Piovasan. To link, click here.
We were dropped off at the train depot in Guatemala City.
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We found a place on this very old train.
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The seats were just wooden benches, and most of the windows were broken out!
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But primitive as it was, this little locomotive was filled with passengers!
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Excitement filled the morning air! People were chattering! Chickens were clucking! And the spirit still talking at me…NON-STOP!!!
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Each person going to his or her own special destination. And we were no exception! And Becky, being a very gifted conversationalist, no doubt had already found someone to chat with and to laugh with, along the way.
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We were just about to embark on a trip to the Eastern Guatemalan Coast.
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Our big destination was Tikal, to see the Mayan temple ruins.
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The ancient temples!
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The jungles!
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The tropics!
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Mystery and exotic intrigue!
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And fortunately, this train-ride happened to be one of my “Jesus days”.
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And the spirit didn’t let up! He didn’t get tired!
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But on this particular day, his rhetoric was all about me…being Jesus in a former life!
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Yeah, this spirit was all about talk, talk, talk!
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He just didn’t let up with all his talking!
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I was exhausted, to say the least!
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But thankfully, he wasn’t condemning me for being Hitler at the moment!
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And so, this was definitely a step up from that!
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I mean a HUGE step up!!
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I mean…I’ll take being Jesus in a former life, rather than Hitler, AAANY ol’ day of the week, thank you!!!
(Wordplay on the 1972 Arlo Guthrie great train eulogy, “City of New Orleans”)
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This old relic of a train began to roll down the rickety tracks, taking us to an otherwise wonderful and colorful adventure within that tiny but beautiful little country… Belize(I say, “OTHERWISE wonderful and colorful adventure”, because this excursion would also be part of my “Vacation From Hell”).
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A BUMPY RIDE
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Before long, this bumpy train-ride became very uncomfortable.
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Wooden benches for seats, after all!
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But we stopped at various times, and I was no doubt glad to get off the train for a few minutes of relief!
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At one lingering stop, I remember that Becky befriended a little boy, who followed us everywhere on that 30-minute stop.
But we were soon back on the train, and the big steel wheels were rolling once again, down those rickety old tracks, chugging steadily closer to our final destination.
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But as morning turned into afternoon, the passengers began to thin out.
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We looked at all the scenery.
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I was kind-of disappointed that there weren’t more trees in Guatemala, at least in the parts that I saw.
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Oh yeah, there were lots of fields!
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But I had Guatemala figured for jungle-like terrain. Guess I was wrong!
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There were big grass huts in some of the fields.
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I was a little surprised at how primitive some of these country-folk were.
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As I looked out the train window, my eyes “bugged-out” as I saw one peasant lady outside of her grass hut, just standing there, with not one stitch of clothing, looking at us rolling by!
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As I said, these country folk were very primitive (This photo I got from the Internet shows a grass hut which was similar to what I remember seeing along the way).
(Lyric from the 1978 Kenny Rogers song, “The Gambler”)
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As the day wore on, the passenger cars became desolate.
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It was kind-of eerie, being pretty-much the only souls on this antique machine, except for perhaps a few others.
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Yeah, most all the passengers had already gotten off at their appointed destinations.
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But we still had a long way to go, till we reached our final destination.
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At some point it started raining.
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And not just your average rain!
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This was an incredible torrential down-pour!
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It was like someone upstairs decided to dump a giant bucket of water down onto the earth!
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And just now, as I’m writing this, an old childhood memory is flashing back in my mind…
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…Yeah, I can still recall asking my beloved Grandpa Frank, one day as we both walked along… “Grandpa, does God pour out a bucket of water when He wants it to rain?”
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Well, all I remember is, he gave me some nonsense about “atmospheric conditions” or something!
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But still, that answer didn’t convince my little 4-year-old mind!
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No, I confidently held fast to my “God’s rain-bucket theory”!
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But that was years ago!
And right at the moment, I’d have to say, this Guatemalan rainstorm we were now riding through, quite possibly made those rainstorms back home in Salem, merely seem like a bad drizzle!
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And this wouldn’t have been much of a problem for Becky and me, except that most of the windows were broken out on this little old relic of a train, as already stated!
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So, we were forced to search the cars for a seat with windows.
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But since mostly all the passengers had already gotten off the train, we pretty much had our choice of where to sit!
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By now it was dark. Can’t remember if the train had stopped, but it probably did, to let off the last few remaining passengers (or, at least I thought it let off the last passengers!)
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But somehow, we made it to another train-car.
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And we found a dry seat. And though there was no way to escape from those hard wooden seats, we were just happy that we had found a DRY wooden seat!
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But even though we solved the water-through-the-windows problem, a new dilemma now arose!
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A dilemma in the form of a mystery!
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This is because, when we did finally find a seat with windows in-tact, we immediately glanced up to notice this big dark silhouette looming about four or five seats in back of us.
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Other than this dark lone figure, there was probably not another living soul on the train (not counting the Engineers of course!)
(Lyric from the 1978 Kenny Rogers hit song, “The Gambler”)
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Okay, okay, so this was no gambler (like the above title suggests).
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Actually, he looked like a man who didn’t like to take chances.
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From his appearance, he looked like a guy who made sure the job got done, whatever that job happened to be!
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And even though the dim lights inside this train-car were possibly kind-of flickering, as I vaguely recall, I glanced back to get a more detailed perspective of this foreboding-looking “mystery man”.
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His out-of-place apparel appeared like he was an American.
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He had on a dark business suit and an overcoat.
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He was wearing a Dick Tracy style hat.
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He just sat there, kind-of intently looking down.
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Very morose!
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I thought to myself, “This guy has to be CIA or Mafia! One or the other!”
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He somewhat resembled Luca Brazzi (remember that “hit-man” in “The Godfather”).
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Definitely the destroyer-type! A real Apollyon! A formidable Abaddon!
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Becky and I were both nervous with this mystery man in back of us.
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BECKY GOES RIGHT TO WORK TO GET INFORMATION!
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After a while Becky said, “I’m going to talk with him”. So she went back there and sat down in the seat just in front of him, as I recall.
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As I said, Becky was a gifted conversationalist. But I couldn’t hear what she said.
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I suppose the rain was making such a loud sound on the roof above us, that it would have been impossible for me to hear (not to mention, the sounds of the steel wheels rolling down and stressing against those rickety old tracks below).
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When she returned, I whispered, “What did he say?”
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But to my disappointment, when she came back she didn’t have much to say about her conversation with this stranger. She probably did most of the talking.
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Nevertheless, this mystery-man was most likely on a mission! That seemed for sure! I didn’t need anyone to tell me that!
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And it didn’t look good for somebody! But just who was that “someone” gonna be?
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That was, “the $64.00 question!”(as my old high school math teacher, Mr. Finneran (who btw, didn’t like me too much), always used to say!)
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“SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS”…
(Lyric from the 1978 Kenny Rogers mega-hit song, “The Gambler”)
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Eventually we arrived at the end of the line, which was the eastern seacoast of Belize. It was about 10 pm or so. About 14 hours of travel. Hooray!!! No more wooden benches!!!
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The rain had finally stopped.
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And as we got off the train (my entire body, no doubt, still vibrating from those hard wooden seats), I immediately noticed that this part of town was dark and completely deserted.
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Well, maybe it was completely deserted. Hopefully so!
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From all appearances, we were probably in an old industrial section of town. Or maybe the docks and fish canneries, by the ocean.
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Yeah, it was the fish canneries, no doubt!
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We walked through the dark, wet, empty streets. And beside us, the only sounds were probably the echoing of our shoes, as we nervously (and hurriedly) made our way through this (hopefully) desolate area, on the other side of town.
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And all the while, I probably listened intently, so as to make sure there weren’t an extra pair of shoes echoing!
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But fortunately, the long row of tall buildings probably amplified every little sound.
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Thus, I would have immediately known, had there been somebody following us!
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But maybe still, a cold chill ran through my already-adrenaline-laced veins! On such occasions, it always did! And I’ve been beaten up in similar surroundings. And robbed as well!
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And really, what are ya gonna do, even if there were an extra pair of shoes echoing?
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Do you look back? Ya really can’t run! You’d feel stupid doing that! And ya just can’t hide! That would look even stupider!
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And so we simply…kept…walking. Quickly, quickly!! (maybe occasionally glancing behind us, like this above drawing attempts to portray.)
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ABOVE DRAWING: Chuck and Becky hurry through the dark streets, Chuck glancing behind them.
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“SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS, I MET UP WITH A…A PIZZA PARLOR!?!”
(Wordplay on the lyric from the 1978 Kenny Rogers song, “The Gambler”)
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We finally found a room. Fantastic!
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The night-clerk told Becky about a nearby restaurant.
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Shortly we found it; a large pizza parlor, miraculously still open!
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First of all, I was astonished that there was an Italian restaurant here, much less being open at this late hour in an seemingly deserted section of that town! So we were happy about that!
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The old building which currently housed this large Italian restaurant had big rooms and tall ceilings and totally void of patrons; and there were only several employees, at this late hour.
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“I MET UP WITH A GAMBLER”…AGAIN!!!
(Lyric from the 1978 Kenny Rogers song, “The Gambler”)
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But as we entered, we were somewhat shocked at what we saw inside!
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Yeah, over in the corner, sitting at a table, was the Destroyer (the CIA/Mafia man)!
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Alone, still looking down, this time at his table, as if he were waiting for his next contact, to give him his final instructions!
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Now Becky could liven up any room, and I’m sure she did…to a certain extent in this mostly empty restaurant, talking to the one or two employees still working.
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But still, “The Destroyer” just sat there, off in the distance…still looking down.
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The shadows in the far corner of this restaurant possibly providing him with an extra cloak of darkness.
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Even the light above some persons seems to emanate only Darkness.
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Either he was trying to find something or someone….or trying to not be found!
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But if he was trying not to be found, he probably wouldn’t look so CIA-ish! The business suit and hat made him stand out like a pit-bull at a poodle-picnic!
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So, logic would insist that he must be trying to find something…or someone!
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“THE GAMBLER HE BROKE EVEN”…
(Lyric from the 1978 Kenny Rogers song, “The Gambler”)
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Well, happily, we never spoke to, nor saw that mystery man again.
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But that’s not quite the end of the story.
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Yeah, as that wonderful old radio storyteller always used to say, “Now, for the rest of the story!”
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You see, one day, sometime later, upon mentioning that incident, Becky informed me that she had heard “There was a murder in that sea-town…at that very same time!”
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Okay, so I guess my gut instincts were right about that guy! Sometimes you can tell about someone by just looking him in his eye!
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AN INCIDENT LONG AGO: “DOS MUY MALO HOMBRES!”…
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And speaking of getting the “heebie-jeebies” about someone, I recall one time, a few years earlier, at our all-you-can-eat-buffet, when two guys walked in.
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I could tell that they were from out-of-town. But the moment they walked in, they just stood in the hallway, glaring at my N.C.R. cash register like it was a New York Steak!!Medium Rare!!
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I knew that these two cool customers wanted to cash-in on my cash register, real bad!
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But since I was standing there like a Rooster, guarding the hen-house…well… they probably just figured they’d have to fight me for it, and gave up on that idea!
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So, nothing happened that day!
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But those two bad hombres had hungry eyes! And not merely for the buffet!
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Yeah, sometimes ya just get the chills…when ya realize that a man’s got murder in his eye!
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And this guy was no exception!
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This Destroyer was sent.
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He was following orders… orders from the Boss!
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His orders were to get the job done and apparently, he did get it done!
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I guess this Apollyon has been getting the job done for a long, long time!
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So now that his job was finished in this town, where would this hit-man go to next? To the next job, no doubt!
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This Abaddon would find the next person… or group of persons who weren’t holding up their end of the bargain…with the Commander!
The next day, after that dark and mysterious night, and running into that darker and even more mysterious stranger, Becky bought two tickets for a commuter boat.
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I had absolutely no idea where we were going. I was kind-of “in my own little world”. I was preoccupied with the spirit and his incessant talking.
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The boat was filled with passengers. Maybe 30 people! Maybe 50! (It looked similar to this Wikimedia photo, but possibly about twice the size, or more, with a walking-isle down the middle, with seats on either side of the middle-isle, as I recall).
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Now, the spirit was really coming down on me hard, at this moment!
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I distinctly remember that this was definitely a Hitler Day!
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And as I said, I was in my own little world.
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This was because, on this particular day, the spirit condemned me really heavily that, “You just might have been Hitler in your last life”.
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The spirit was probably coming on stronger than on any previous day, except maybe for that day back in Antigua, when I was bombarded with noises all day.
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But once again, he was literally crushing me under the weight of his accusations and con-damnation!
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Photo of Belize commuter-boat courtesy wikipedia & Mrcveliz share-alike license. Click here for link.
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“MERCY’S JUST A LADY WHO LIVES DOWN THE STREET!”
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As the boat cruised across the water, I just couldn’t take his threats and condemnation any longer!
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It became way too much! Finally, out of sheer desperation, I pleaded for mercy… “God please have mercy!!”, I silently cried out!
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“Oh you want mercy, do you?” said the spirit, pointing me to a rather large Belizean lady passenger, squeezed into this crowded boat, “Well that’s Mercy sitting over there! You see, Chuck, Mercy’s just a lady who lives down the street!”
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But I still kept pleading for mercy (silently of course…in my thoughts).
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But each time I did, the spirit kept repeatedly pointing me to that same heavy-set middle-aged lady, saying, “Mercy’s just a lady that lives down the street!”
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Well at the time, I took this to mean that God had no mercy left for the likes of me!
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You know, just like saying, “Mercy? Sorry, I’m fresh out!”
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But itwouldn’t be till much later, that I would find out what that was all about.
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I was to eventually meet the real Mercy! And lo and behold…she actually did live just down the street!
But this time it wasn’t just rain, like on the previous night’s train-ride!
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No, this time, the rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning.
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And not just your run-of-the-mill flash of lightning, followed by a delayed peal of thunder!
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No no NOOO! This thunderous lightning-flash is super bad! And super loud!
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”KARRACK!!!” “KABOOM!!!”…
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It sounded directly over our heads! I can’t think back of ever hearing thunder as loud as it thundered that night!
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Perhaps it was amplified by the sea which surrounded this little cay.
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This went on for much of the evening as I recall.
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It’s so loud, we have to cover our ears!
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And even the walls shook, as I recall!
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And because of the intensity of this lightning and thunder, it really seemed like God was angry with me!
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”KARRACK!!! “KABOOM!!!”
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Okay, okay, I can just hear you (the Reader), thinking to yourself, “This guy is bending everything against himself…now even the thunder and lightning!”
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Alright, alright! I get it! I get it!
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But let me just say this: if you ever go through such an intense lightning storm, while at the same time, an unseen spirit entity is accusing and condemning you…then you’ll probably understand why I felt the way I did!
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And even listen to Scripture…
…”Cast forth lightning, and scatter them:
shoot out Thine arrows, and destroy them…
The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces;
out of Heaven shall He thunder…”
Psalm 144:6 & 1st Samuel 2:10.
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So, see!? I’m not so crazy, after all!
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As these above verses reveal, thunder and lightning are used in the Bible as pictures of the arrows of God’s wrath upon His enemies! (I’m sure glad I didn’t know about these two verses back there in that motel room!)
Anyway, the various little huts were interspersed within the thick jungle.
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I finally found a “Seven/Eleven” quick-Mart.
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Well not exactly a “Seven/Eleven”.
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Okay, so it was just a grass hut with one side open with a little counter.
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But I couldn’t be choosy at this moment! IT WAS THE ONLY STORE IN TOWN!!
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So, I bought whatever it was I bought.
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Actually, just a pack of gum.
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Why gum? I just wanted to buy something!
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And after making a rather quick inspection of her inventory, I opted for the gum!
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5 or 10 cent gum!
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(EDITOR’S NOTE: This “7-ONCE” drawing to the right does not depict nearly as much foliage as the actual island had. The artist (me) was just too lazy to draw in all the extra trees and bushes!)
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WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE GUM!
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Okay, so 5 or 10 cents for gum! Not a problem, right?
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Well, there was a problem!
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You see, this otherwise simple transaction became complicated, when the spirit overwhelmed my mind, insisting that I “show my faith”, by not getting my change!
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A five-dollar bill (about $15.00 or $20.00 in 2020 money, and maybe as much as $50.00 or more in theirs!)
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For 10 cent gum!
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With a straight face, the lady accepted the rather large tip.
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But I suppose I was purchasing goodwill from these quaint folk.
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Probably not!
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They, no doubt, decided they were dealing with just another idiot or something! Imagine that!!
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But whatever this lady thought of me, one thing was for sure!
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The gum that I bought from her was the most expensive gum I would ever buy!
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And she unflinchingly took my money as if she were taking my soul!
. “Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold;
he shall give all the substance of his house.
But whoso commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding:
he that does it destroys his own soul.”
Proverbs 6:30, 31
(This verse seems irrelevant and will not make sense until You read “Part 2” of this e-book, should the Lord graciously permit me to write it)
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But then having bought that gum, I proceeded forward on this treasure hunt, or whatever in the world it was!
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By now I knew better than to trust this unseen being! He was just too changeable to put any confidence in!
And so, after this 2-minute pause, I resumed my quest to find whatever it was I was searching for.
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Still only making right turns.
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It kind-of started feeling like I was in that old movie, “The Wizard of Oz” walking along that infamous “Yellow Brick Road”.
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But unlike that brainless Scare-Crow in that old movie classic, I was going backward…away from OZ! Me more brainless!
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And instead of the road getting larger, the road only got narrower and narrower! Eventually, my right turns became sharper until my path finally came to an abrupt end.
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This not-so-yellow-brick-road ended and I could go no further!
(Lyrics from the Kenny Rogers song, “The Gambler”)
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So after deciding that there was nothing more that I could do here, I knew it was time to walk away, back to home-base.
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I guess I should never have wandered off, away from home-base!
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And so, I went back to home-base.
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I could once again turn right or left. Whichever way was more reasonable.
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That’s the way I once again turned.
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And hopefully, this strange phenomenon would never ever plague me again!
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Oh yeah, I lost precious time.
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though it all lasted only 20 minutes or more, looking back it seemed like 20 years lost!
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But I was forever cured of wanting to turn to the right (or even to the left!)
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The experience taught me a valuable lesson I’ll never forget!
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And the thing that must be remembered is this: even if I could have only madeleft turns, instead of rightturns, I would no doubt have ended up in this very same place!
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And though this may have once been a great society, now it was just a No-Wheres-Ville, no matter which way you turn!
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Truly, truly, our train ride the previous day was only just a “train bound for nowhere”!
Well, our “train bound for no-where” delivered us to the door-step of the little tropical paradise of Belize.
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And up to this point in time, my “Vacation From (In) Hell” was going, so-far, about as enjoyable as perhaps… say… for instance, A SWIM IN THELAKE OF FIRE!!!
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…All the various tormenting experiences I suffered through here in Guatemala/Belize:
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The tour of Antiqua (the insane noises),
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…or, the “Right-Turn Only” phenomenon. .
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…or the “Lost Isle of Hot Thunderbolts”.
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…or the“Fantasy Island” accusation of me murdering Mother Mary!
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Etc…etc…
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But why was all this happening?
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I had absolutely no explanation, except for the constantly changing stories which my unseen spirit “companion” was telling me!
And here’s another question: “Why did the spirit change his explanation of ‘Eternal Torment in Hell’ to ‘Re-Incarnation’?”
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I was getting assaulted by these spiritual “Fiery Arrows”!
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And besides being agonizing beyond belief, it was confusing, to say the least! It was like being taken up in a “Whirlwind”… a “Hellish Cyclone”!
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But it wasn’t a whirlwind or even a cyclone of my own imagination!
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Oh no!
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This all became so real, because of the manifestation of these spiritual powers, which were in full control of this cyclonic tempest which I was now caught up in!
We continued on our journey toward the Tikal ruins.
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But Becky had set up another side-adventure. This little excursion began when we climbed into a long narrow boat.
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Our guide was taking us to… somewhere.
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But, instead of enjoying this boat-ride, I was so preoccupied with the spirit, I really didn’t know nor even care where I was going!
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Either I was Jesus, or I was Hitler. Hitler or Jesus! Jesus or Hitler!
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These were his on-going assertions and assaults whirling about in my head like a Midwest tornado!
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And so, as our guide took us up and down the channel of some river, the spirit was taking me up and down on a spiritual roller-coaster ride, to Hell and back!
Hide Thyself in thy Chambers – Inspired by Tornado-Over-Kansas by John Curry
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THE IMPENETRABLE FORTRESS
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But though I was being plagued by the spirit, I was still aware enough to remember riding in this boat (actually a very long and wide motorized canoe) along the banks of a jungle.
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And I do remember that we came to the ruins of an old fortress which was built at a point of an entrance to the ocean.
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As I remember, we got out and walked around this fortress. Or maybe we didn’t.
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But nevertheless, this great stone-and-mortar citadel had probably stood silent for centuries.
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There was no town nor even any sign of human life anywhere.
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This strong fortress, no doubt, protected a people from their enemies. Well, it looked like it did, for maybe centuries! But now it stood as silent as the stones it was built with!
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Yes, these individuals conquered every enemy but one: “Father Time”. Oh yes, Father Time had won the final battle.
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He always does, you know!
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Fortress – Belize – Wikipedia
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THE ‘PROMISED ONE’ FINALLY ARRIVES…
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WHOOPS! JUST A MILLENNIUM TOO LATE!
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My memory at this point is a little fuzzy. I’m just going to have to assume that we took a bus toward Tikal. And I recall that Belize was like what I expected Guatemala to be: thick tropical jungle!
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And so, eventually we finally arrived at Tikal.
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Again, it was like a jungle. And very beautiful!
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We rented a sleeping bungalow at the park.
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It was really nice, with a thatched roof and open-air style, but with bug screens.
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It was really a very well-run park.
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All the grass and shrubs were nicely trimmed. All the accommodations well-cared-for.
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The next morning, after eating a big buffet breakfast with all sorts of fresh fruit and granola and pastries, we went for a tour of the ruins.
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Not a guided tour: just our own personal walking-tour (I was never the type to want to be in a structured setting).
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There were beautiful and colorful tropical birds in the trees. There were little monkeys in the trees too.
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Walking along the big wide pathway, we came upon the ruins.
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This was definitely a Jesus day.
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It was not a Hitler day.
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And the spirit was really laying it on thick...
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“Oh Chuck, these people built all these temples for you. You were the long-awaited One!”
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As I walked along, trying to see all these grand structures, the spirit was now in high gear, plaguing me with comments, questions, assertions, and things I couldn’t combat nor resist!
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He was really talking up a storm on this particular day!
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But as I said, it was mostly benign conversation at this moment, even though it was driving me crazy.
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Chuck attempts to reach out to shy monkey at Tikal
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THE MAYAN RUINS
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These temples had been mostly buried for many centuries, partly by dirt, partly by shrubs and trees, but mostly by that ultimate bury-er, “Father Time”.
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But somebody finally discovered them in the mid-nineteenth century, and they were uncovered and eventually made into this incredible park in the mid-twentieth century!
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These Mayan ruins have enough to see that really makes it an awesome sight for any tourist! I only wish I could have seen it under different circumstances!
In the main plaza, was a courtyard, surrounded with various temples.
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But the main temple seemed to be the Jaguar Temple, towering above all the rest.
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I decided to climb the steps of this temple.
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So, I did.
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As I ascended up these ancient temple steps, the spirit was telling me that these ancient Mayans built this temple, in hopes that, someday, the long-awaited Messiah would come here.
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And me, being “Jesus”, was the fulfillment of their prophetic hopes (of course, I was obviously late in arriving, by a millennium or so! “Oops! Sorry guys!”)
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I finally reached the top. And I stood there on high, gazing out across this very grand and impressive temple complex, the spirit telling me, no, SCHMOOZING me, perhaps, something like this…
…“Oh Chuck! Oh Jesus! This is such a long-awaited moment! You…Jesus Christ, have returned! I think I’m gonna cry! I’m getting all choked up! Somebody give me a hankie!”
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As he was saying these kinds of similar things, I couldn’t tell if he was mocking me or not.
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But by now, I was extremely suspicious about anything he said!
‘THE PROMISED ONE’ MAKES HIS “NOT-SO-REGAL-DESCENT”…
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Well, after the cigarette, there wasn’t much else to do up there. (That door at the top, in the above photo, was just a “dead end”, and it was really disappointing that there were no inner-doors nor some secret descending inner-stairway.)
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And so I began my descent the same way I came up.
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But just as soon as I tried to take my first step downward, I immediately realized that these steps were tall and narrow!
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And very steep!
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And it made me somewhat dizzy, trying to descend.
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So, I decided to scoot down on my rear end, one step at a time.
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I’m sure this proud civilization, had they been here to behold their “messiah”, would’ve been scratching their heads, and shrugging their shoulders at me.
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I, no doubt, would’ve been a big disappointment to them, as I cautiously scooted myself down these steps.
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“Some Messiah!”,I probably thought to myself.
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To tell you the truth, I was even embarrassed at myself for being so wimpy about my descent!
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But hey…better to be a safe messiah, rather than a dead one! Right?
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And I was frankly glad these ancient people weren’t around anymore!
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The embarrassment over my less-than-majestic-descent woulda been much-too-much!
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(Just a point of interest. I heard later, on the news, that these steps were closed to the public after someone had fallen to their death while, no-doubt, walking down these steep steps!)
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And so, looking back on all this, as I stood high atop this grand monument, all the while being told that this was all built for me, was likewise exhilarating!
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And though these Mayan ruins were truly the highlight of this…uh…“vacation”, the next days and weeks would bring me down, down, down, to the depths of Hell!
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And if ever there was some self-aggrandizing moment in which I had developed any sort of ego bubble, the spirit was standing by with a very big and extremely sharp needle, eagerly waiting to burst it!
“HOW DOTH THE CITY SIT SOLITARY, THAT WAS ONCE FULL OF PEOPLE”…
Lamentations 1:1
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The question has to be asked… “Where did all the people go? Why did they abandon this great and impressive city?
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Did they move on because of some famine or pestilence?
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Did they become a licentious society, and die off from some new virus or venereal disease?
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Maybe their enemies became too strong and scattered them.
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Perhaps they simply moved on, merely ceasing from building up their ambitious society.
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Or maybe they just crumbled from “the enemy-within“.
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These deserted temples were guarding this secret from a curious planet.
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And so, these deserted temples remain as a now-silent monument, to a once-mighty-and-ambitious society, and a people who probably eventually gave up their pagan religion, to once again return to a humble agrarian culture.
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Now, this place was totally deserted (except for us tourists). I mean, here was a bunch of nice old buildings (Oh yeah…fixer-uppers, to be sure…but with a whole lotta potential for temple-flipping!).
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You’d think that somebody would have taken over this town, wouldn’t you?
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My guess is, that the man on the train had been here too! You know, the hit man on the“train bound for nowhere” (see previous chapters).
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I guess that the Destroyer has been paying visits to disobedient cities and states…and nations, for a long, long time!
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This guy named Apollyon …he really gets around, doesn’t he!?!
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“But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD…the ‘Destroyer’…is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.”
(play on words on lyrics from 1969 Arlo Guthrie hit, “Comin’ Into Los Angeles”)
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After seeing the ruins at Tikal, and hearing about my glorious return to them (me being the reincarnation of Jesus), we began our return bus trip to Becky’s parent’s home, back in Guatemala City.
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These “Chicken Buses” as they call them, were filled to the brim with passengers.
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But there was room for two more (standing room only!)
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So, Becky and I climbed aboard.
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I guess I don’t need to tell you why they call them, “Chicken Buses”.
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But the chickens were perhaps, all sitting well-behaved in their places, in the laps of their new owners.
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They weren’t “flying everywhere around the place” as that old Arlo Guthrie song sang about.
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But if some of those chickens only knew where they were going, and what they’d be doing tonight, they probably would be “flying everywhere around the place!”
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And if I only knew where I was going, and what I’d be doing…well…like those soon-to-be-roasted chickens, there wasn’t much I could do about my situation.
We asked the manager of a motel we stayed at for a twenty-dollar loan.
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And to our amazement, this prince of a man cheerfully loaned us twenty dollars (That would be like 60 or 80 dollars in today’s money, and probably twice or three times that much in Guatemalan money!)
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We carefully wrote down his name and address, promising him that we’d repay him promptly.
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He probably realized the slim odds of ever seeing his money again!
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Never had the spirit come down on me so hard, as he did on this return trip. This was definitely a “Hitler Moment”.
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“Haven’t you considered, Chuck, that I just might not be God?”
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Well, I think I did consider this many times since the spirit first came into my life!
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But looking back, I’m not exactly sure about just what I was thinking, regarding the possibility that he was actually the Devil.
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I just can’t remember!
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“Isn’t it possible, El-Chucko, that I might be the Devil? Well haven’t you…considered this…Mr. Adolph Hitler?”
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Now I was getting really low! Now I was sinking in despair!
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I remember that this return trip back to Becky’s parents was so depressing, at one point (while we stopped for a lunch break in a little village, and I walked those quaint streets of an old business section), my knees almost buckled under the weight of all his condemnation!
“NOW THAT I CAN DANCE!” (with red ants in my pants!)
(Lyrics from the 1962 Contours hit, “Do You Love Me?” with parenthesis comment by Author)
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After the soldiers left, the passengers were given some time for a break, before returning to the bus.
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And having to go to the bathroom, I saw some bushes off the road a-ways. I went over where I could have privacy.
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But after pulling my pants back up, I noticed something biting my rear end.
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I soon realized that I somehow acquired Red Ants from those bushes.
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And now they were biting me!
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I’m not sure about the story-relevance of this moment, nevertheless it hurt!
WPtouch
ut I managed to get them all off, rather easily and quickly! And then I returned to the bus.
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But anyway, concerning my encounter with those soldiers, I eventually learned not to do foolish things, presuming that God is always going to protect me.
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There’s an old saying, “discretion is the better part of valour.”
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But I’d like to add this to that saying, “…But presumption is a worse part of stupidity.”
ABOVE PICTURE: soldiers of the cross – armor up! – Orion & The Revelation 12 Dragon constellation (comprised of Hyades & Pleiades and other constellations) – www.signsofheaven.org
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“THE ULTIMATE RUDE AWAKENING!”…
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The next morning, back at Becky’s parent’s home, I opened my eyes to hear the ultimate rude awakening by the following pronouncement…
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”YOU WERE ADOLPH HITLER…AND I’M THE DEVIL!!!”
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I sat up in bed! This announcement couldn’t have been more shocking had someone thrown a live grenade in my lap!
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I just knew this pronouncement was for real!
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I realized that there wasn’t gonna be any more guessing games about who I was!
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“You are the unluckiest SOB that ever walked the face of the Earth!
You have been brought back so we can punish you, you no good “&^%$#@!—S–O–B!!” Now you are going to pay for all those Jews!
Now God is going to make you return three million times to pay for what you did!
Three million Jews! You murdered three—million—Jews!!
And don’t think you can pray to God. God won’t hear your prayers.
God hates you, Adolph! God hates you with a passion!
And He can’t wait for you to get off of this planet!”
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I threw on my clothes and hurried out to the living room.
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And just as I entered the living room, a very loud “musical” horn honked to some tune like the first line of the old tune “Dixie”.
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This startled me, because I’d never heard a musical horn up to this point in time (remember, this was 1980).
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And to my amazement, as the horn honked, I saw outside, a military truck with soldiers, or police riding by in the open back-bed…ALL WEARING NAZI HELMETS!
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I just about fell over in stark terror at the scene of Nazi soldiers riding by on a military truck outside the window.
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“That’s right Adolph. We got every thing prepared in advance for this special homecoming.
We arranged this little surprise party just for you—Adolph Hitler.
We brought you back here to Guatemala.
Even threw in the Nazi Helmets to boot.
Get it Chuck? To boot? To boot, as in Nazi Jack-boots.
That’s supposed to be funny, Adolph…Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha…uh hum (pretending to clear his throat).
OK, I guess that wasn’t so funny!!
OK, so sue me, Adolph! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”
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The spirit bombarded me with one terrifying thought after another!
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He presented many possible punishments that I would have to endure, throughout the ions of time.
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I had to pay for three million Jews (three million was the number of Jews killed according to many back then. At least, that’s the number I heard back in those days. Nowadays, the estimates are much higher.)
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“Yeah, you’re gonna have to pay for a lo-o-o-o-ng time!
And with all the other people you killed in the war…I suppose that adds up to about double the lives…say six million lives.
And if you add let’s say, 40 years times 6 million souls…that means you’re gonna be paying for at least 240 million years.”
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At this point, I returned to my bedroom, and sat down to listen to this outrageous and terrifying scenario which this spirit began to paint.
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The spirit was now telling me that God wished for me to begin paying right now, for all the sins I committed in this, my present life.
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Yes, my first punishment would be for my own sins, not yet for Adolph’s sins…
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“Let’s see now. Since you had such a good eye for deals and steals on houses…why don’t we take out your right eye!?! And don’t worry. We’ll be glad to give you all the help you need to cut it out.”
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And I knew this spirit could deliver what he promised!
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“And since you liked to give women the “bird”…why don’t we take off that bird finger!?!”
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I was sinking lower and lower with each new punishment pronounced against me!
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And on and on he went with all the punishments that were waiting in store for me!
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I don’t know how long this went on. Maybe an hour or two.
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No, now that I think of it, this went on all day, as I began to take walks through the neighborhood.
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And as I walked, the spirit condemned. I was being crushed under the weight of this devilish condemnation to the point that my body got so weak, to the point of urinating.
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But I didn’t.
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Nevertheless, something was awaiting me a lot worse than urine!
The Devil continued…“And ya wanna know what that little black coffin you drive is all about? Here’s the real meaning.
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It doesn’t stand for Rx-7 as in prescription drugs.
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And it doesn’t stand for “Our Ex-Seven”, as in your ex-lucky number.
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No, no, no, no, no-o-o-o! It stands for… ‘OUR….EX….HEAVEN’!!”
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That’s right, Chucky, ‘El-F——y’!
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This Earth was your heaven!
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But now it’s your “EX” heaven!
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It’s now your HELL!
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And ‘to Hell with this B——-t’ !!”
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(Just a note of context, the words, “To Hell with this B——-t” were the last words which one of my two Grandfathers was purported to have said just before he took his own life with a gun, some years earlier.
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You see, my poor old Grandpa Bill’s body was riddled with cancer, and he was on powerful hallucinogenic medications (Percodan, etc….) when he took his own life.
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So I knew exactly what the spirit was referring to, with that comment!
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He was making reference that I, like my Grandpa Bill, was on my way to Hell)
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“To Hell with you, you piece of s&^%$#@t!.
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This is your EX-HEAVEN you SOB!
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Get off this planet!!
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GET OFF THIS G..D… PLANET!!!”
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The shouts of this demonic force possibly kept reverberating in my mind…or at least they should have…
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“This is OUR EX-HEAVEN!
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This is OUR EX-HEAVEN!!
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This is OUR EX-HEAVEN!!!”
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This is OUR EX-HEAVEN!!!”
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“HOPE YOU GUESSED MY NAME!”…
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The spirit began to…Okay, I guess I don’t have to call him “the spirit” anymore.
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Now I can call him by his rightful name: The Devil. You know…ol’ “L.S.D.” (Lucifer—Satan—The Devil).
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He was now “out of the closet” as the current saying goes!
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I guess I suspected it all along.
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No, he wasn’t as everyone thinks he is.
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As I had found out over the past months, besides being evil, he could also be downright funny when he wanted to.
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He could be charming if it suited his purpose.
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He could behave warm and graciously if he needed to.
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The Devil could come off any ol’ way he chose to.
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He could even be religious…
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“…for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…”
2nd Corinthians 11:14, 15
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If only I knew these Scriptures! I might have been able to shield myself from this 7 month-long deception!
The Devil frightened me with the prospect of how many lives I would have to live, in order to pay for all those Jews I murdered.
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He told me that there were planets all over the universe.
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He told me that I would be re-incarnated on many different planets, in order to repay for my countless crimes.
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I would come back in many different life-forms, under the worse conditions…
…“Yes ‘Chucky-You-^!$#y’, you will be re-incarnated out there in the universe.
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And then you will pay for your crimes in a different way, in each life you will live. Three million Jews!
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Three million excruciatingly torturous lives!
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Three million planets.
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And another three million for all the others you killed!”
(Now as I’ve already said, the current estimates are six million Jews killed. But back then, I believe, the general consensus was three million. But I could be wrong.)
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THE DEVIL’S DOG…
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The next terror began as this Devil announced to me, “You, El-Chucko are, “The Devil’s Dog!”
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And as the Devil’s Dog, he would use me as his “beast of burden”, so to speak.
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I would be kicked, and whipped, and treated as his favorite “object of abuse”.
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And so far, considering what I’d been through for seven months, I had no doubts I was indeed, The Devil’s Dog!
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DEVIL’S DOG ORIGIN…
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Now, prior to all this, I had no idea that there was such a thing as the Devil having a dog!
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Of course, prior to all this, I was instructed by society, that the “Devil” was just a myth!
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There really was no Devil! He simply is the product of religious folklore!
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But now I knew that he does indeed exist! And let me tell you, if the Devil tells you he has a dog, who am I to argue!?!
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Of course, I could’ve argued about ME being the Devil’s Dog!
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But I had never even heard of the Devil really talking with a human.
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That was just something only seen in horror movies.
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The Twilight Zone! So I just figured that if the Devil was talking with me, it must be something “really big!”
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So, with all this horror rolling around in my head, I just had to conclude that, yes, I probably was the Devil’s Dog.
And while we’re on the subject, I assumed he was the Devil.
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At this time I didn’t realize that there were many devils.
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So, if I say Devil, it may be just a generic devil.
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Or it might be The Devil, Lucifer.
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I don’t know. So, you decide for yourself if it was “The Devil”, or just “a devil”.
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Because, I really don’t know!
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32 INCH BIG SCREEN VISION…
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As the condemnation continued, I was now sitting on my bed in Becky’s parent’s home.
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The bedroom door closed, of course!
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And I was being assaulted with every kind of damnation and threatening accusation you could possibly imagine!
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Eventually, the obvious question to ask him was … “What will the very next planet of punishment be like as I live out my next jail-sentence?”
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In the flash of a moment, there appeared on the white plaster wall of my bedroom, an image.
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It was about 2 or 3 feet long, and not quite as high.
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It was a very faint image. It looked like a Spanish town from back, probably in the 1800′s.
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It looked like the city center of a quaint little Spanish marketplace, with old-looking two-story buildings, even with balconies, as I vaguely recall.
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There were donkeys pulling carts, and Spanish people walking to-and-fro. It was, perhaps, the main intersection of some little Spanish city.
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But the strange part of this was that each of their faces was blurred out.
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So, you couldn’t see their faces. Puzzling. Very puzzling!
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There were antiquated buildings in the background.
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It looked like a very happy scene. It was not a still picture.
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The people and animals were moving; just like a TV.
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But it wasn’t a television. Nor was it merely some picture on the wall.
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It was a 100% vision! But this vision only lasted for a few moments and then completely vanished away!
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Needless to say, I was confused by this vision.
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It seemed to be a hopeful picture! It actually looked like a pretty good place to live!
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It didn’t go along at all with the Devil’s current barrage of condemnation. Really puzzling!
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ONE LAST PRAYER…
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I can’t honestly say how long this wake-up call from Hell lasted.
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But finally, a little “sunbeam of hope” appeared in my otherwise dark world…
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“Maybe just maybe, God might hear one last prayer. Maybe one…last…prayer.”
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“But you have to do something first, Chuck. You’re gonna have to plop down on your head just like ya did back at Unit 3600.”
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I was terrified right now at this horrible thought.
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Nevertheless, I still had a little hope here.
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After all, if God might hear just one last prayer…that’s alotta hope!
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A whole lotta hope! With all this condemnation going on, to have one last prayer….well…that was a very big deal!
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So to simply fall on my head as he demanded, was the only obstacle between “hope”…or “NO hope”, should I NOT fall.
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Now, I had no mind to jump as high as I did back in the hospital. I wanted to live! I didn’t want to die at this moment in time!
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Yeah, back in Unit 3600 I really-really-really wanted to die! But now my attitude was vastly different, for some unknown reason.
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But I knew I had to do what the Devil was telling me to do, if I wanted to have a prayer-of-a-chance!
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So, I glanced up to make sure no one was looking down at me from outside that little window in which Papa looked at me, during the first few days of my visit.
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Next, I got on my bed, and leaned over as close to the floor as I could, holding my hands by my side.
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I got so close to the hard floor, that my head was only a foot or less from the ground.
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I tried one time, but my hands just reached the floor and broke my fall. “That’s not good enough, Chuck. No fair using your hands!” , said the Devil, mockingly.
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And so, I got back into position. I took a lot of time preparing. I didn’t want to die.
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So finally, I leaned over and fell again.
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But again, I used my hands to cushion the blow.
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“Nope Chuck. That’s still not good enough!. Yer gonna have to do it, over and over and over until you get it right!!”, mocked the Devil, maybe like an old-fashion, “Schoolmarm” might say!
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After several failed attempts, I finally succeeded in falling on my head with my hands by my side.
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I fell onto that hard floor on my head, without using my hands!
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Yeah, I fell on my head, and I wasn’t hurt.
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And falling over onto my back made a lot of noise, however.
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I was hoping that nobody in the house had heard me.
Well, at least, this is what I was being told by the unseen ones, who were making my life an absolute hellish nightmare!
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Yes, I was informed that I had been brought back to earth to begin paying for Adolph’s crimes. This is what the powerful spirit-being was now telling me!
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Now, all this ultra-condemnation was being rained down upon me just a day or two before our departure back to the USA (read previous Chapter 26, “The True Meaning of ‘Our Ex-Heaven’“).
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And this invisible spirit-entity kept up his condemnation and threats about all the horrible things I must endure in the near future.
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I spent the next day or two, walking aimlessly through the neighborhoods of this quaint little Guatemala City residential subdivision, listening to his, “hell-fire torments”, and his, “damning condemnations”!
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Needless to say, I was about as low as a human can go, and not die! Or so it seemed to me.
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Fortunately this month-long “vacation” was just about to come to an end.
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And this had truly been the proverbial, “Vacation From Hell”!
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But this was no proverb! (Or so it seemed to me.)
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No, this truly was a nightmarish, “Vacation IN Hell”, brought upon me courtesy of these invisible super-beings, whom the Bible refers to as, “evil angels”! (Psalm 78:49)
But finally it came time to go home. And it was only hours until the plane-flight departure.
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I decided to go for another walk, to use up the remaining hours here in “The Land of Eternal Spring”(in my case, “The Land of Eternal Torment”).
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And so, I began walking on a busy street in an older commercial area. I was totally crushed by Satan’s overwhelming accusations.
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Nevertheless, I wanted to get back to America…in the worst way!
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As beautiful as Guatemala’s scenery may have been… I just wanted to be back home!
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And now our 30-day “vacation” was almost over…thank God!
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This truly was the ultimate Vacation From Hell!
(Not to cast any negative aspersions on that beautiful little country. As a matter of fact, I would recommend anyone to take a vacation there in Guatemala. JUST DON’T TAKE THE DEVIL WITH YA, WHEN YA GO!!)
As I kept walking, he also began scaring me about another thought.
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There must have been some reason why he began warning me about the “big8/23 Skidoo”.
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He kept repeating about the 8/23 Skidoo, as if that meant I was gonna be annihilated on that date, or something. Maybe he was talking about August 23rd.
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Because August being the 8th month of the year would be 8/23. And it was now June. So August was only months away! I just couldn’t tell for sure, and he just wasn’t revealing what he meant.
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But I did know that “23 Skidoo” was an old saying that someone was going to be swept away, or cleared out as though they were dirt.
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And so, I began to think that this was some sort of reference to my being swept off the face of the Earth. “So what’s the Big 8/23 Skidoo all about?”
As I kept walking down this busy street, I passed by various shops.
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I just happened to stop by one shop and looked through a barred window at a woman inside, sweeping her shop floor…a dirt floor!
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She carefully swept the dirt in the same direction, so that the lines from the broom bristles created a very straight pattern, all in the same direction.
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Of course, if someone walked on this dirt floor, it obviously would make footprints over the pattern.
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But that didn’t seem to discourage her!
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As I looked into the window of her shop, I really, really, envied this person!
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She’s probably very happy.
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She has everything!
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She has her health!
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She has the sunlight!
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She has the rain!
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She has hope for tomorrow!
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Yes, and she probably has her family.
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Maybe she even has the Lord and His wonderful gift of Everlasting Life!
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THE LOWEST OF THE LOW!
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I, on the other hand, was like that comedy skit (see Chapter 1) in which the comedian ended up in a dumpster, having lost every worldly possession!
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Now I was virtually in the same position as the comedian in the skit.
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Oh no, I wasn’t literally in a dumpster.
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But believe me, I would’ve traded places with any dumpster-diving hobo out there in the world, at this moment!
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Yeah, even a lowly tramp’s life would be infinitely better than what I was now facing…
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…eternal hellfire, as I went through the ages, being punished for my past crimes!
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“But not without a star…Free!”
(lyrics from the 1980 Neil Diamond song, “They’re Coming To America”)
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Yeah, this “dirt-poor” Guatemalan lady was infinitely wealthier than me!
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I had nothing!
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I had no future!
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I had no hope!
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No God!
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I only had an “eternal pay-back” ahead of me!
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I must pay for countless ions of time, for the crimes I committed!
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It’s one thing to be sick, or homeless, or whatever.
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But it’s quite another thing to be without hope!
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That’s the one thing you don’t ever want to lose! Hope!
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My star had fallen. Her star was shining brightly.
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She was free! I was in prison!
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Yeah, the bars on her window almost seem as if they were the bars of my own prison cell…in the Devil’s prison for the damned!
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Yeah, and even in her so-called “poverty”, she was infinitely richer than me…and…FREE!
When I got back to Becky’s parent’s home, everyone was busy getting ready.
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Dorcas, the parrot, who was so shy for the entire 30 days, was not so shy anymore!
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No! He was now pacing back and forth on his perch like an expectant father, crying “Rue! Rue! Rue!!”.
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I thought to myself, “That’s the same word that the crazy guy (I call him, “Mr. Applewhite”) had me look at in the dictionary, back in unit 3600!”“Rue! Rue! Rue!”
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Dorcas cried out again. I didn’t remember what the word, “rue” meant.
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But whatever it meant, it freaked me out that this bird was saying that word.
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Was this some kind of devilish taunt? Well, why shouldn’t it be?
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Everything else was a devilish taunt. “Rue! Rue! Rue!”
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But anyway, we got all our luggage together, and out the door we went. “Rue! Rue! Rue!”, cried Dorcas the parrot.
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Okay, so I just now looked it up in the dictionary. Here it is…
rue 1 v.
v.tr. To feel regret, remorse, or sorrow…
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So, I guess this little parrot was prophesying to me of the ‘woe and sorrow’ that was coming on me.
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It was as if he, in essence, was crying… “Woe! Woe! Woe!”.
.
And now that I think of it, there is a Bible passage which has three woes.
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Listen… “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice…
…’Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth
by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound!'”
Revelation 8:13.
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Maybe these symbolic trumpets were now sounding for me!
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Well, it wouldn’t be long until I found out!
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Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking!
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And it’s true…that word, Rue, probably means something entirely different in Spanish.
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But I was going through a very supernatural experience with The Unseen Spirit-Realm.
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So, these powerful and highly intelligent, unseen spiritual beings were manipulating circumstances.
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And I have no doubts, that they had set up this little scenario with Dorcas, like they did everything else.
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Especially since “Mr. Applewhite” had shown me that very same word in the dictionary, months earlier.
And so, the continual taunting squawks of Dorcas the parrot had the profound effect upon me which it was intended to have!
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And no doubt, the unseen spiritual being who orchestrated this little terror, has also planted his landmines in my story.
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What I mean is this: I’m convinced that this cunning warrior named Satan…or Lucifer…or the Devil…or whatever name you wish to call him by, is an extremely artful foe!
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He is so far beyond our intelligence and abilities!
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And his army of unseen evil angels are likewise capable beyond mortal men.
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These beings are thousands or perhaps, hundreds of thousands of years old.
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Maybe millions of years old!! Who knows!?
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But whatever their age happens to be, none-the-less, their intellect is far, far greater than ours!
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Okay, so I got sidetracked from the point I wanted to make.
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I’m simply saying that it is humanly IMPOSSIBLE to out-wit Satan!
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He covers his tracks well! And he seems to weave his attacks on people through natural occurrences, so as to cover those tracks!
Photo courtesy wikipedia & United Airlines. Share-alike license. Click for link.
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“SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY”…
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Soon we touched down in Miami. And as we came into the terminal, we passed by a McDonald’s in the terminal.
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McDonald’s! What a beautiful sight!
(I remember my father saying that when arriving back in America from an unpleasant vacation in another country, he actually got down and kissed the ground. At this moment, I now understood why!)
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“My country ’tis of thee
Today!
Sweet land of liberty
Today!
Of thee I sing
Today!
Of thee I sing
Today!”
(Lyrics from the 1980 Neil Diamond song, “They’re Coming To America”)
When we got back to Klamath Falls, Becky went her way, and I went home. After several days, I pretty much figured that I’d never see her again!
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As soon as I returned, I was determined to get to a safe place, so I would check back into Unit 3600.
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Not only did I feel totally hopeless, but the Devil was threatening to make me do crazy things…IN PUBLIC!
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Before he outright killed me!
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So, I felt that I better get myself somewhere safe, so that I could be tormented by the spirits, and ultimately killed in a somewhat controlled environment.
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Nevertheless, I was very sad that Becky had gone. I sure didn’t blame her though! I must have been terrible company on that trip!
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Now I was all alone! No God! No hope! No Becky!
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But the spirits? Oh yeah, they were still very present! And they weren’t gonna leave me alone!
Oh so wonderful…to be back in the good ol’ U.S. of A.!!!
.
My “Vacation From (in) Hell” was now just a memory!
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Now just a bad dream!
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OKAY…A FULL-BLOWN NIGHTMARE!!!
.
But now it was June, and already fully summertime…but the livin’ was not so easy!
.
Because even though I was ecstatic to be back, there still hung that heavy mountain over my head!
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“What mountain?” you ask?
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Well, that mountain was the Law & Judgment; God’s Law had already judged me guilty!
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So all that awaited me was for my sentence to be carried out. And the mountain was about to drop on my head! And the executioner was ready, willing and very eager to get to it!
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“Why Don’t We (NOT) Do It in The Road!?”
(Title of 1968 Beatles song with the word, “NOT” added by this website)
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As I said, I wanted to get to a place where I would be away from the public, i.e., the mental ward.
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The Devil was threatening that he was going to have me do those crazy and embarrassing things in public, prior to my soon-coming demise.
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If you remember from two chapters back (The True Meaning of “RX-7″),the Devil was going to snip off my middle-finger, and various other body parts, take out my right eye, and sundry other equally horrible things!
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And so, I wanted to be somewhere so I would be out of public view, so I could die without creating a big scene and an embarrassment! (And, well, maybe, subconsciously, I thought being in such a high-security setting might somehow provide me protection from these hateful, hellish beings, who were Hell-bent on cutting me into various pieces! But probably not.)
After telling her I was going to commit myself back in Unit 3600, she immediately went to work to find another hospital.
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Soon she had one lined up. It was a brand-new Christian hospital up in Portland.
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I instantly liked the idea of going to a Christian hospital. I figured they would be understanding of the existence of Satan. And more than this, maybe they could offer spiritual help because of their belief in God.
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Yes, maybe they could somehow help me in my seemingly hopeless death-sentence.
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“BIRDS SING OUT OF TUNE…”
(lyrics from the 1964 tune from Lennon/McCartney, written for Peter & Gordon, “A World Without Love”)
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In just a couple days, we were on our way up to Portland.
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I was crushed and hopeless because of the condemnation I was going through!
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I distinctly remember some birds were singing on this sunny June morning. But to me, their songs sounded discordant! The Devil was still stealing what little hope was left for my life, for my future!
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And now, even the joyful little songs of the morning robins sounded sour in my ears!
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Their otherwise melodious singing was now like somebody scratching their fingers across a chalkboard!
.
This brought back an old memory of a song our music combo sang years earlier, when we were teens. It was a currently popular song by Peter & Gordon (actually, written by the Beatles, Lennon/McCartney), called “In a World Without Love”.
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And one of the lines of that nice little broken-heart song went, “Birds sing out of tune, and rain clouds hide the Moon, etc….”.
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But on this particular sunny June morning, I finally understood those words.
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They definitely were coming back around in a very hard-hitting manner.
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They bopped me over the head like the proverbial baseball bat!
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Their out-of-tune song can only be heard by those who have lost all hope!
Finally, we arrived at the proposed place of my departure from this world. This brand-new hospital was very impressive. The staff was extremely friendly, courteous, warm, and nice!
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They first gave me a room with a TV. But I just turned it on and stayed there in my room watching it. And I must say, it really took my mind off my troubles!
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But before long they moved me into a room without a TV.
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At least I now had a nice room all to myself.
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When I first was left alone in my new room, I decided to get down before my bed to pray.
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And I prayed. And I prayed. And then I kept on praying.
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I kept this up for about twenty hours, well into the next day. Obviously, I was praying for mercy. God’s mercy!
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Finally, the next day, a young guy came in and sat down. I was still kneeling before my bed in a prayer position. He was in his twenties. He had an Abe-Lincoln-style beard. He just sat there, watching me pray.
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After a short time, he began asking me questions. He then, in a somewhat round-about manner, convinced me I had prayed enough for now. And I figured he was right. So I got up and sat in a chair, and listened to him.
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He introduced himself as a mental-health counselor. And so we talked about spiritual matters.
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He actually was quite good, as far as relating to me according to the Bible. And in spite of his young age, he was maturely well-versed in his knowledge of the Bible.
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And of course, I desperately wanted to know what the Bible had to say, concerning my circumstances.
On the second day, I went out into the living area. It was nice, but much smaller than the mental ward in Klamath Falls.
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One of the nurses gave me a guided tour of the unit. She pointed out that the mental ward was divided into two sections.
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There was a high security section for difficult patients. And then there was the section I was in.
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She told me I could go outside if I wanted.
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“I can go outside?!” I exclaimed.
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“Oh yes, she answered, the patients on this side can go outside as long as they get permission.”
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Of course this made me very nervous, since the main reason I came here was to get myself into a high security atmosphere where I could wait for the Devil to “finish me off”.
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Photo: hospital, courtesy M. O. Stevens, Wikipedia share-alike license, click here.
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“LOADED QUESTIONS”…
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One of the first things I did, was to take a very long questionnaire. It had about a hundred questions or more.
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I was doing okay until it asked such questions as, “Do you think anyone is following you?”
.
Of course I had to answer “Yes”.
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And another question, “Do you think someone is out to get you?”.
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So again, the only clear answer had to be “Yes” again.
After this, I asked if I could talk to the chaplain. And it wasn’t very long till I found him.
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Actually, I saw him walking down one of the hospital corridors.
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Needless to say, I was eager to ask him about devil possession…“Sir, I want to ask you about devil possession. I think I’m possessed.”
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He answered by saying, “Those things don’t happen anymore…except for idle rumors you might hear from time to time, coming from some of the third-world countries.” I was really disappointed in his answer.
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But then he continued, “Now you might be HARASSED by Satan.”
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I thought about this…“Hmm, now that’s a possibility! Harassed!”
There was one patient, a sweet looking little old lady.
.
I was introduced to her. Her name was Lucy. She had a nice little sweater I think, and her grey hair up in a little bun.
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Lucy just sat in a wooden rocker, rocking back and forth. Her thick glasses magnified her eyes, making them look, maybe twice as big.
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The only thing missing was a ball of yarn and some knitting needles.
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Very sweet-looking!
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“GLAD SHE DIDN’T HAVE THOSE KNITTING NEEDLES AFTER ALL!!!”
.
A nurse came into the main sitting room and said in a very nice tone, something like,“Lucy, it’s time to take your meds.”
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And for some reason, Lucy began cussing and shouting obscenities, calling the nurse every name in the book!
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I couldn’t believe what was coming out of this sweet little old lady’s mouth! And she kept calling various people…“YOU CRETIN!”
.
Lucy used that ‘Cretin’ expression constantly…“You Cretin this!”…or…“You Cretin that!”)
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“WHERE’S FATHER KARRAS WHEN YA NEED HIM?”…
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Anyway, the nurse hurried out of the room. It was now just me and Lucy.
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As I possibly just kind-of looked around, trying not to make eye contact, I saw that she stopped rocking her rocker.
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She just fixed her big eyes (magnified by her thick glasses) on me, leaning forward a little, staring intently at me through those thick lenses. And so, I looked back at her. She just stared at me.
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Was she going to say something?
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Was she going to do something?
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And as I watched out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a puddle of urine growing on the floor under her rocker… “This little lady seems like a senior citizen version of Linda Blair (the possessed girl in the movie, “The Exorcist”).”
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Lucy just kept giving me her icy stare as the puddle grew under her. The only thing missing was the green vomit!
.
Well, I soon discovered that this was poor little Lucy’s standard behavior. And the staff was very patient with her.
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And because of these kinds of things, I began to suspect that Satan was taking advantage of this science of psychiatry as a cover, in order to carry out his evil on us, using a person’s dementia or whatever, without being detected.
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And never again after all my experiences, would I scoff at those movies about Satan.
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“NO REST DAY, NOR NIGHT”…
Revelation 14:11
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These first days were really bitter! All I wanted to do was to sleep. Anything to forget my woes!
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But I dreaded to wake up! Reality was too hard to handle! I was still under the condemnation that I was Hitler in the last life.
.
And I was just waiting for my life to end in some horrible way…
…“When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone?
and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day…
…My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
and are spent without hope.”
Job 7:4-6
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I remember dozing off, while sitting in a chair. After a short time, I woke up, only to realize that I was still in serious trouble with God Almighty. I just wanted to go back to sleep…forever…anything to escape this horrific doom hanging over my head!
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“HELLEN ASHES”…
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The next day, my sister, who lived in Portland at that time, came to visit me.
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It was a nice day as I remember. Just the kind of day a person might go for a walk. Take in the view!
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So we went outside to chat.
.
While out there in the courtyard, I looked up and saw a large plume of smoke rising from over the horizon.
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“What’s all that smoke?” I asked. “Oh that’s Mount Saint Helens, she answered…You know about the volcano that erupted last month, don’t you?”
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I thought to myself, “Man, I’m in big big trouble!” And this volcano took me by complete surprise, since I had been out of the country when it first erupted!
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The Devil chimed in, “Yes, Chuck, this volcano shows just how angry God is with you…HITLER!!!”
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Just a side-note of interest. A long time ago, when I was about 10 or 12 years old, my family went camping at this very place, Spirit Lake, which was at the foot of Mount St. Helens.
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I thought it was one of the most beautiful lakes I’d ever seen. The big dark green forest was thick around that lake!
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I remember walking alongside the beautiful lake trail and the really cool little rustic log cabins for the campers to stay in.
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And there was the great Mount St. Helens, towering high above, like a majestic overseer of this beautiful blue lake!
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The Devil however, made some comparisons about the names “Helens” and “Spirit Lake”, as if they were significant to me.
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In other words, I was being punished by evil “spirits” from “Hell”, because I was Adolph Hitler in my former life.
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This made perfect sense to me, at the time…“Yes Chuck, we brought you up here to see this plume of ashes. To see this volcano which is just for you…Adolph! This is Mount St. HELL-ens and SPIRIT Lake!”
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So the Mount St. Helens explosion became the theme for me in this Portland hospital.
So even the people of the world are bewildered as to why this world is so crazy evil!
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Oh yeah, this song asked some of the same questions as this website asks…
…”Why is the world so evil?…
Why all the murders?…
Why all the rapes?…
Why all the hatred over skin colors?…
the molestations of innocent children?…
the wars? The sickness and disease?…
the suicidal spending in Washington…
so many religions?…
so many differing ideologies?…
so much hatred…and bigotry…
and bizarre, unexplainable phenomena?”
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Is all this ball of confusion merely the result of some ancient freak and chaotic explosion?
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And isn’t there any hope in this universe?
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Well, if you are bewildered at this world’s wickedness, please read this chapter.
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Hopefully you’ll come away with a bit different view of why all these things are occurring around the globe.
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But, perhaps you already know all these things contained in this chapter.
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And yet, it’s possible that you’ll read a few things here that will make you wonder if some of the phenomena we simply write off as just “natural occurrences” are actually the product of “Ol’ L.S.D.” (Lucifer, Satan, the Devil).
June 1980 (about 8 months since my woes first began)
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“NO DAD, IT’S NOT GOD, AFTER-ALL…”
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Okay, I was now firmly embedded in this brand-new private Christian hospital mental ward up in Portland Oregon.
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I was being terrorized by the Devil(s). Things looked hopeless for me.
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My parents came up to Portland to see me.
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My mother looked really troubled over my situation, and stood off in the distance of the little family/TV room where we all three were, at the moment. (Nobody else in the room at this moment.)
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My father began asking how things were going for me.
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He asked, “Son, are you still hearing God talking to you?”
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I said, “It’s not God talking to me, Dad.”
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He looked puzzled.“Well who’s talking to you, if it’s not God?”.
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I said, “It’s Satan talking to me.”
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This took my dad by total shock. “WHAT!?” he exclaimed, as he jumped up.
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My mom, standing too far from hearing, said,“What did he say, Honey?”
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My dad answered, “He said it’s not God who’s talking to him. He now says it’s Satan talking to him!”
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Upon hearing that, my mom couldn’t take it anymore, and began sobbing as she hurried outside.
After that visit with my parents, I was walking back inside, and saw a poster on the wall.
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It showed a clock, and the following words, “Time to get off drugs.”
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As I looked at this poster, I noticed the time on the clock hands pointed to 8:23.
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“Eight twenty-three?!”, I thought to myself, “I wonder if this poster has anything to do with what Satan was taunting me about, back in Guatemala?” (On the last day there in Guatemala, the Devil kept repeating that he couldn’t wait until “The Big Eight-Twenty-Three Skidoo”. Read the Chapter “Coming To America” for context)
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But I wasn’t taking any illegal drugs.
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So, I couldn’t figure out what this poster had to do with anything.
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Nevertheless, I just filed this into my memory-banks, as a possible clue to this puzzling riddle by the Devil, concerning “The Big 8/23-Skidoo”.
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Very mysterious!
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THE NON-BELIEVER COUNSELORS…
I had a number of sessions with my counselor. He was great spiritual help.
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But there were other counselors too. Another one told me that he didn’t believe in Jesus. So he wasn’t much help for me. Maybe he was good for others. I don’t know.
One young lady staff-member was talking with me about God. I wanted to know if I was the “The Devil’s Dog”.
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She told me, “No, there’s no such thing as the “Devil’s Dogin the Bible”.
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She then began to tell me that, “God is our loving and kindly Heavenly Father! And as our Father, He has love and tenderness for us, just as a loving father has for his own children. God would never do anything bad to His children!”
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Well, although she didn’t quote any Bible verses, she nevertheless put things in a very nice way. God was a nice, loving Father.
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I wanted to believe her (not to mention that her attractiveness and well-groomed appearance made her look like a person who really had her life “all-together”.)
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JUST A BIG OL ‘SOFTIE IN THE SKY’?…
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However, her explanation didn’t quite fit what I had been going through for the past eight months.
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I’d been cast into a whole lot of very fiery situations, so I knew there had to be more to God than just being a kindly and loving Father.
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There must be a wrath-side to God also. I didn’t know hardly anything about the Bible. But there were pieces missing to this mega-puzzle known as God. Some VERY BIG pieces!
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I also asked the hospital chaplain the same question, as he was walking down the hall. He stopped for a moment and told me virtually the same thing…“No, there’s no such thing as The Devil’s Dog.”
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But I wasn’t totally convinced. Nevertheless, I really really hoped they were correct!
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However from that point forward, the Devil never tried again to taunt me concerning “The Devil’s Dog”.
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And so this ended the accusation that Satan clobbered me over the head with, during my “Vacation From Hell” in Guatemala.
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One more thing to cross off my long list of torments!
It wasn’t too long after I arrived, that I discovered the Chapel Room.
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It was a good long walk from the mental ward towards the front entrance to the hospital.
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It was a very nice hospital Chapel room.
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I was told that the wall-sized mural had cost $10,000 (maybe as much as $30,000 $40,000, or even more, in 2020 money), and was just recently painted.
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And it had to have been just painted.
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You see, it had Jesus standing in a meadow with His outstretched arms.
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But in the background to the left, behind the tree, the artist depicted the smoke from the recent Mount St. Helens volcano rising up from the horizon…
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…just as I had seen it rising outside the hospital, a day or two earlier. So it had to have been finished within the last 30 days or so.
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Anyway, I began to go there often to pray. It was wonderful to go in this little quiet haven, away from the hustle-bustle out there, and try to get close to God!
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Portland hospital “Jesus of Portland“, used by special permission from that hospital.
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“MULTNOMAH FALLS…LEAP OF FAITH”…
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It wasn’t too long into my stay, that a field trip was planned. And so, we all got into a hospital van, and headed east…to Multnomah Falls.
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The falls are beautiful and very dramatic, as you can see in the photo.
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There was a historical ledger at the park, which told the story of some Native American who jumped off the falls to save the rest of the tribe from a sickness.
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I’m not sure how my spirits were, on this outing. But I’m sure they weren’t far!
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What I didn’t realize, is that I would come back to this falls in just a few months… TO JUMP OFF!
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Photo courtesy kelvin kay for wikipedia share-alike license. Click for link.
There was a pretty young lady in the ward, with dark hair.
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As a matter of fact, I took note that she had a striking resemblance to Karen Carpenter, the singer who died of Anorexia a few years after this incident.
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The girl looked a few years younger than Karen. But she seemed to have the same problem (of course, at this time (1980) I had no idea that Karen Carpenter had this problem. Karen died three years later, in 1983).
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Anyway, as I was standing close by in the hallway, near my room, I overheard the nurses and doctor trying to convince her to take a drink of a diet soda.
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But she kept politely objecting, saying it was too fattening.
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Her gentle persuaders told her the soda was diet and only had one calorie.
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But to my amazement, the girl said that“No, well thank you…but…ah…I just can’t drink that. ONE CALORIE is way too many calories!”
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“WHOA!”, I thought to myself, “ONE CALORIE IS TOO FATTENING!?”
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And as I walked away from this gentle little confrontation (probably shaking my head in unbelief), I thought… “MAN! This girl has some serious issues!!”
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So, walking away, this battle of the wills kept up.
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The staff still urging and the girl still (politely) refusing. I thought to myself… “Maybe she’s got a problem with the Devil too! Maybe that’s why she’s got this stuff happening. Maybe the Devil is behind all this.”
Karen Carpenter photo courtesy wikipedia & Carpenters under share-alike license, Click for link.
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“DAMN ASHES”…
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A THINNER ME… But this little exchange of a hospital staff trying to get a very thin person to eat, was just a harbinger of the future.
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And NOT just the future of Karen Carpenter’s… BUTMY FUTURE AS WELL!! Because little did I know, this was exactly what lay in store for me too!
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Yes, I never dreamed that in the future, I too would be afflicted by a similar problem, dipping below 100 pounds myself! I actually looked like a walking skeleton.
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Little did I know that a hospital staff would likewise be trying to force me to eat, exactly as this staff did to her!
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And in the future, I’d be finally committed to the Dammasch State Mental Hospital.
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And I would be tormented by demon angels, while confined for three months with liquid being fed me through my nose!
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Not only this, but while in the hospital, the other patients would prophesy about my future.
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This was to be a very satanic experience.
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And my weight problem was due to evil angels.
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But this was all to happen in the future.
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And if you do get a chance to hear my similar story, you too might likewise decide that some “eating disorders” are spiritual problems, and not just “psychiatric”.
One day as I was in the prayer chapel, the spirit began to suggest that I was not Adolph Hitler.
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He began to suggest that I was, as he originally claimed… Jesus, in a previous life.
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But I was very leery at this point. He had done way too many flip-flops in the past!
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And so, I thought of something…“If I really was Jesus in a former life…Then…make me write that statement on that expensive new mural of Jesus.”
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I thought to myself, ‘God would never allow me to write that statement on this very expensive, and very holy painting.’”
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And so, I sat there waiting for him to compel me to do this deed.
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And sure enough, in a few moments, I found myself under his power, getting up.
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I went straight for a pen laying by a guestbook. I walked toward the mural.
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I began to write (the spirit controlling me) the following words on this mural, in very tiny letters, “Chuck was….” I stopped for a moment. “I don’t want him to give this spirit “wiggle room”.
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So, he had me write, “Chuck was the ORIGINAL Jesus in a former life”.
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“Wow… that’s incredible! I must really be Jesus!”, I thought to myself. (Just a note. I wrote very small. I doubt anyone could ever find it.)
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Well, as you can imagine, this really relieved me. This proved to me that I wasn’t Adolph Hitler! I probably cried tears of relief at this moment!
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Well, this event in that Prayer Chapel that day, ended all that Hitler stuff. Up to this day, I’ve never again been plagued with the assertion that I was Adolph Hitler in my last life.
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Now just because my Adolph fear was put to rest, is not to say that I was Jesus in a former life. That false notion also came to an end, eventually.
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Portland hospital “Jesus of Portland“
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“O LUCIFER…
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SON OF THE MORNING?”…
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(STORY OF JOB)
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One day as I was talking with my counselor, I asked him how Satan could do all these things to me.
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This young counselor with an Abraham Lincoln-style beard began to tell me a story from the Bible. He told me about a man named Job (Job is pronounced with a long “O”).
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Job was a rich man who loved God. But the Devil took everything away from Job.
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So, Job spent months going through illness, and heartache.
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And Job was tempted to curse God, because of all the evil that the Devil brought upon Job.
“AND THOUGH THIS WORLD WITH DEVILS FILLED, SHOULD THREATEN TO UNDO US…”
(line from song, “A Mighty Fortress” by Martin Luther c. 1527)…
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“THE” DEVIL? OR JUST “A” DEVIL?
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Another important issue should be mentioned.
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At some point in time, I learned that the Devil has many “unseen helpers”.
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These are fellow angels who also fell from grace, long ago, at the same time that Lucifer fell.
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These “Evil Angels” now roam the Earth, under the leadership of their commander, Lucifer, doing their evil deeds and manipulating and orchestrating the events of the world, in order to carry out his evil master-plan; which master-plan is detailed within the pages of Scripture.
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One reason I’m making this point, is to say that…I don’t know if I was being harassed by Satan himself, or just your “run-of-the-mill garden variety” evil angel.
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But from what I gathered at about this time in my experience, I learned that there were enough evil angels to “go around” for everyone.
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In other words, this unseen “breed” of spirits, up to this point in time, have been in no danger of being added to the “Endangered Species List”!
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Ha ha…that’s a joke! (But not a very funny joke, however.)
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From what I was told, there are millions, but probably billions of these devils running around on this Earth.
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The Good News is, however, the Devil and his angels will very soon be on the endangered species list…
…”And the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
At this point, someone might possibly ask, “Why are they so evil? Why don’t they simply turn from their wicked ways?”
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The answer to this perplexing question is found in Genesis, in the third chapter…
…“And the LORD God said to the serpent…
Because you (Satan) have done this (tempted Adam and Eve into sin),
you are cursed above all…
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed;
It shall bruise thy head,
and you shall bruise His heel.”
Genesis 3:14, 15
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And so, at the very beginning, God put a curse on Lucifer.
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God was not just talking to the serpent.
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He was speaking to Lucifer who came to Eve through that serpent; making it seem to the woman, that it was the serpent speaking, when it was actually just old “L.S.D.” (Lucifer, Satan, the Devil).
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And so, if God put a curse on Lucifer, then there was nothing Lucifer could do to escape that curse.
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Now I know this all sounds like some children’s story to many who read this.
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But when you think about it, you have to ask yourself the question, “Why is this world so evil? Why are there so many unthinkable atrocities occurring on a daily basis around the globe? And why does all this evil seem so well orchestrated at times?”
Well doesn’t it seem orchestrated? I mean, it’s like…how could Hitler mesmerize an entire nation to get behind his demonic attempt to take over the world?
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I have a very elderly neighbor who was a little boy in Germany.
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He told me that he, as well as the entire nation of Germany, believed that Hitler was some sort of “deliverer” to help bring about good into the world (still being mostly ignorant as to his atrocities against the Jews).
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And it wasn’t until Hitler was crushed by the Allies, that my German neighbor and his fellow countrymen woke up to just how evil Hitler really was, and what he’d been up to.
And how could a multitude of people in Africa be mesmerized in just a few months…
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…to carry out that hateful and ruthless act of slaughtering thousands of their fellow humans and countrymen…
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…neighbors, who just happened to be of a slightly different blood-line?
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I saw an interview with one of the men involved in this mass slaughter.
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He confessed that he and others were brainwashed by the leftist college students who were orchestrating this brutal mass-murder.
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And after it was all over, he woke up to the reality of the atrocities that he and his fellow countrymen had committed.
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And then he felt really bad about what he’d done to those innocent men, women, and children of the Tootsies.
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So how could this be? How could an entire throng of people be so easily manipulated, if there was no Satan and his evil fellow angels working behind the scenes, to inspire hateful madness within the hearts and minds of these aggressors?
“IMAGINE THERE’S NO DEVIL…HE WONDERS IF YOU CAN?”…
(Word-play on the lyrics of the John Lennon song, “Imagine”)
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Well, these are just two examples of the well-orchestrated evil that has long plagued Mankind.
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And I could give a lot more examples. And so could you, no doubt!
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Nevertheless, it seems like there is an orchestrated effort to erase Satan out of existence.
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Most don’t even want to acknowledge that there is a Devil; even many Christians have joined in this effort.
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Even many in the Christian community will start pointing the accusing finger, if you speak about Satan. “Oh we’re not supposed to be talking about Satan.”
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Well, who says?
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There seems to be some unwritten rule regarding this. The Bible doesn’t say anything like this!
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Oh yeah, I totally agree, we’re certainly not to become obsessed about Satan! Our daily thoughts should be mostly about Jesus and the Bible.
These are just two very quick examples of the orchestrated evil in the world.
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But with some careful consideration, there could be shown, perhaps thousands of examples of Satan’s orchestrated evil the world over.
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Take, for instance, the current-day phenomenon in which a vast percentage of Americans now believe that the USA must be completely destroyed and replaced by a so-called “Utopian” Socialist regime.
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Nevertheless, Satan has done a marvelous job of “erasing his tracks” behind him.
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And as already stated, he has all but “erased his self completely out of existence” in the minds of most of the Human Family.
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I heard someone say, “The greatest feat that the Devil ever performed, was to convince the world that he doesn’t exist!”
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Well, actually, I think that even a greater feat than that was when he convinced much of the world that God doesn’t exist!
The Bible reveals that Lucifer was given dominion over this world long ago.
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The Bible calls him, “The God of This World”in 2nd Corinthians 4:4.
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And also, he is titled, “The Prince of This World”, three times in the Gospel of John (John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11).
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And in Isaiah, Chapter 14, it is explained that Lucifer was jealous of God.
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Listen…“How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like The Most High.”
Isaiah 14:12-14
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Yes, Lucifer, being very powerful and extremely intelligent, had long ago taken control of this world, turning it into his very own kingdom, with his own selfish attributes, using them as tokens of his character, to be loved, admired, and even worshiped by this world’s deceived citizenry!
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And so, by this means, he can maintain an invisible presence, and still be worshiped
But it’s high time that we humans fulfill this following prophecy from Isaiah…
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“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer…
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee,
and consider thee, saying,
‘Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,
that did shake kingdoms?’”
Isaiah 14:12-16
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Hey, at least let’s just look upon this subject “narrowly” as it says in the above verse.
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At least let’s give credit where credit is due!
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People have spent a lot of time blaming God for everything bad.
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How come the Devil rarely gets the blame?
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And he’s the one who is behind most of the evil on this fallen planet!
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Well, maybe this little e-book has given us this narrow examination of Lucifer, and how he operates in this fallen world.
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But it seems that Satan gets “let off the hook” almost 100% of the time.
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And why?
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Well, it really seems like anyone who even dares to mention the Devil is immediately scorned, as if he’s saying, “The Devil made me do it! The Devil made me do it!”
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Well, maybe “The Devil did make me do it!” is a much truer statement than most people think!
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Maybe, just maybe, the Devil is making a lot of people do a whole lot of things in this world, that they might not otherwise do!
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Not that we’re just “little ol’ innocent bystanders“! Not saying that!
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But when you stand back and see giant societal movements coming in and back out again, like the waves of the ocean, it makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
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At least it should make a person wonder.
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But hey! People, for the most part, don’t like to entertain such ideas.
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Nevertheless, the almost flawless orchestration of political and social phenomena in this world, is just too well-orchestrated to chalk off as being merely, “a coincidence”.
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And the horrendous depths to which so much evil sinks to, makes it quite impossible to believe that there’s no literal Satan!
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He just has to exist! This extremely evil world is proof-positive that Satan does indeed exist!
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But hey, for the past 8 or so months, I was freely conversing with an evil spirit on a daily basis!
Well, after the Devil ceased his condemnation that I was Adolph Hitler in my former life, things began to go well for me.
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As a matter of fact, I was feeling so good, I became a general nuisance around the hospital ward.
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For one thing, I started a ‘petition-signing’ amongst the patients when the hospital started serving us these pathetic tofu squares at breakfast, instead of the scrambled eggs they previously served!
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And then also, I began giving my own counselling sessions to one or two patients. The staff told me nicely to “cease and desist”.
Becky came to visit, and we decided to go sight-seeing in Portland.
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We found a large shrine called Mother Mary’s Grotto.
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It was a big garden that you could walk through with different shrines dedicated to various aspects of the Gospel.
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It was a really beautiful shrine, with lots of really nice statues.
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And since I didn’t actually kill the Virgin Mary (as the Devil mercilessly accused me. See “Fantasy Island” for explanation),
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I could now visit this shrine without any dread.
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We then went to a large chapel where people were entering.
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And so, I asked Becky to go with me.
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I was really excited to hear a Bible sermon!
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After all, through my ordeal, all I ever heard in English was the Devil’s sermons, so to speak! So, a real biblical sermon was “just what the Doctor ordered!”
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But as we took our place in this church, the minister, or priest, or whatever, began speaking in some foreign language! Latin, or Greek or something!
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And then, we all got up in line to go by the priest, who handed us each a wafer and a tiny cup of grape-juice!
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And then, to my disappointment, the service ended and everyone began leaving. I really wanted to hear a sermon…in English! Oh well. I guess I would just have to wait!
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Photo of similar Mary shrine courtesy Wikipedia share-alike license. Click here for link.
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HOLY SHMOKES!
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After this, we went into a gift shop where I bought 3 or 4 Bibles and maybe a dozen large crucifixes on necklace chains.
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As I was coming out of the gift shop I saw a priest. I asked him if he would bless these Bibles and necklaces. He made some gestures with his hands and said some things.
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I thanked him. But as I walked away, I noticed this priest was lighting up a cigarette.
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Well, I didn’t know hardly anything about Christianity, but I guess I always viewed smoking as a sin.
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And for such a holy-man, a Christlike individual, to be smoking really disappointed me, causing me to think his blessing on my Bibles and crucifixes was not so much of a blessing.
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And so, here was my first Christian-encounter with hypocrisy (not his, but my own hypocrisy, since I myself was still currently smoking!)
When I got back to the hospital ward, I waited until the patients and staff were all together in the living area.
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I then gave a crucifix necklace to each patient and each staff-member. I suppose I should have bought smaller crucifixes. These over-sized crucifixes were about 2 or 3 inches tall.
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But hey, it’s the thought that counts. Everyone was obviously so overwhelmed with gratitude, that they were speechless! LOL!
But the voice didn’t go away. He just kept talking and talking.
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After some weeks, I became overwhelmed with the fear that I was like a man with a very contagious, killer-disease: namely…I HAD THE DEVIL IN ME!!!
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I had the “disease of Satan”, which seemed to indwell me to some degree. Well, he had to indwell within me, didn’t he?
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After all, he could talk to me (in my mind).
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And he could somehow put thoughts into my mind. And somehow, he seemed to know many things I was thinking.
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As the days went by, the voice didn’t go away.
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I decided that I needed to do something to rid myself of this satanic voice.
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I decided to go back up to Portland to the Multnomah Falls.
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It was where that Indian jumped off to save the rest of the tribe from some disease.
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Even though that legend was a little suspect, nevertheless, this still seemed like a fitting place to end my life.
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And I too would be engaging in a “noble act” by eliminating this satanic voice that was speaking through me, and to me.
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I suppose, in the back of my mind, I was doing what I’d seen in that movie, The Exorcist, when Father Karras was filled with the Devil and jumped to his death, onto the streets far below.
“SOLDIERS OF THE CROSS…ARMOR UP…THE TIME IS AT HAND”
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These words made a strong impact on me, at that moment. “Profound statement!”, I thought to myself…
…“Whoever painted those words must also be aware that Judgment Day is at hand.”
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But now, I had a little hope. “That inscription on that old barn just might be the answer to my problems.”
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I might have thought…”put on the armor of God. Very interesting concept. Hm-mm.”
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ONE MORE TRAIL TO CLIMB
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Upon arrival at the falls, I looked up and saw that the trail to the top was going to be a good climb.
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But hey, I climbed for eight hours up from the bottom of the Grand Canyon (see Chapter 1)!
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And this climb would only take an hour or so.
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Probably the voice was talking to me all the way along the trail upward.
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The climb was steep but very scenic with lots of beautiful trees, shrubs and ferns, etc.
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But the sun was going down, and I knew I had better “high-tail” it up this hill before it got too dark!
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(Multnomah Falls photo: Kelvin Kaye). Photo on right by www.oregon.com.
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BACK TO WHERE THIS STORY BEGAN…
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Well that’s my story! Now you know the basics of what I’ve gone through for over a year.
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So can you really blame me for wanting to take a plunge to my death?
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How would you have handled this, if you were in my shoes?
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When I think back on it all, it seems like a dream…a really bad dream!
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But I found out, that the truth is stranger than fiction!
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And now this will hopefully be over for good!
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And hopefully I will die a death that will separate me for all eternity from this voice! From this spirit! And from this Devil!
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It’s now time for me to take this leap of faith. “Lord, forgive me and receive me into your eternal kingdom….”
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My body plunges down into the water…
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…In a moment my head bobs out of the water. Hands begin to clap upon the announcement…
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“Welcome Chuck! Welcome into the family of God!”
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I carefully inspect my baptismal robe to see if every inch has water on it. I don’t want even one inch of my body to be unbaptised.
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NEW LIFE IN JESUS AHEAD
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What happened to jumping off the falls, you ask?
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Oh that! Yeah! You’re asking if I jumped off the falls.
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Well, no, I didn’t.
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What happened is this: I got to about half way up the trail, and it was getting dark.
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And frankly, I lost heart, and decided not to jump. So, I climbed back down and drove back home to Klamath Falls.
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And then back in Klamath, I decided to start going to church in a little Baptist congregation.
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And after a short time, I decided the best way to rid myself of this spirit that’s been plaguing me for over a year was to die; that is, I would “die in Jesus”.
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I would go to that watery grave of Baptism. And so here I am! At a Baptist church! Getting baptized! That would be my final plunge!
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What better way to get rid of Satan than to take a plunge to almost certain death…a death that leads to life… a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ!
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But after the baptism, I’m noticing a dry spot on my baptismal robe. I ask the Pastor later if that mattered. He says “No”.
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Still it bothered me.
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LITTLE FLY FREED BY BIG GOD…
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So I guess you could say that God plucked me out of Satan’s spider-web.
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Oh the mercy of God to a very miserable wretch like me, who wasn’t even looking for God!
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Could I have stood up to Satan on my own?
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The “Mental Ward Games” only proved that I was no match for Satan.
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I miserably lost the contest! But who wouldn’t have lost the contest with the Devil?
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He’s way out of my league…and yours too!
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There’s only One who could defeat Satan.
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And to my great joy, that One defeated him on that hill called “Calvary”.
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And that One defeated the Devil, on your behalf, and on my behalf.
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And though I was cast into “Tophet” (see Jeremiah 7:32), and tormented by fire and brimstone, I nevertheless came out of it unharmed. And the smoke of my torment will rise up forever and ever, no doubt. This awful lesson-book of sin will never be forgotten!
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And I learned a lesson that I’m sure I won’t forget through the days of eternity.
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And I’m telling you this story because you should be aware of just who is this “Wicked One” who has seemingly all but erased himself out of existence…
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…because even though he’s covered his tracks pretty well, he’s still out there working his deceptive and destructive satanic arts upon this unsuspecting world.
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But I’m also telling this story so that maybe, just maybe some person, living in unbelief and atheism like I was, might turn from their sin, becoming a Follower of Jesus.
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But don’t wait till Judgment Day!
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And truth-be-told, ya never know when your Judgment Day begins!
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“What? Did you (the readers) say something? I thought I just heard a voice. Everyone be quiet for a moment.”
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“Are you still here Satan? Is that you, Satan?”
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(Silence for a moment.)
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“I’m still he-e-e-r-re !!”
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THE END…
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Dear Reader: A question still lingers. And that question is this…
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“Who will be next to take a ride in an “RX-7” (an “Our Ex-Heaven”)?”
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Well if you do, just make sure NOT to be like me.
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Yeah, don’t you get caught on that day without having on your “Armor of God”!
And so, this has been the story of how my atheistic belief was shot dead; yes… shot dead by God!
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As dead as…as for instance, say, Billy the Kid…killed by a ‘bullet in the back’.
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And just like Billy the Kid, my atheism wasn’t looking for that bullet either!
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Yes, Billy the Kid and atheism have a lot in common!
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Like Billy, atheism is a ruthless killer.
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It has slain many-a-man, much more than Billy ever did!
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But as I said, my atheism received that bullet-in-the-back on that fateful November night when I personally met the Devil.
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But in my case, meeting the Devil turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me!
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Not that the Devil was trying to help me. But God is greater than the Devil, and uses the Devil for His own divine purposes.
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Nevertheless, I’m sure those evil angels must’ve had a great time anyway, tormenting me during these long months and days!
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But I hope and pray that every atheist will have his or her atheism shot dead…just like my atheism was shot dead! Just hope ya don’t have to suffer all the torment that I had to suffer.
Oh, by the way…I read the other day of an old tombstone in Maryland that said…
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“Here lies an atheist 6 feet below. All dressed up, but nowhere to go!”
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An atheist has a truly miserable ideology, or religion, or whatever you want to call it!
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Nowhere to go after he or she dies! Just food for daisies and earthworms…and crabgrass too!
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But instead of the above epitaph, I would only wish that the following words below might be inscribed on the stone marker above each and every atheist from this moment forward…
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“A former atheist lies here below. His atheism died when he found Jesus, and now he’s got a wonderful place to go!”
Sometime later, Becky’s mother came to visit from Guatemala.
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And we decided to go on a 3 or 4-day whirlwind tour up the awesome and majestic Oregon coast, beginning in Brookings Oregon.
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And so, I rented a motorhome.
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I must say, I can’t remember a more fun and more trouble-free trip!
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It was as if the Lord was blessing every moment of our little tour.
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While stopping in one little town, I saw a blue captain’s hat (like ol’ Heph used to wear), and bought it, and wore it throughout the trip.
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Through the winding Redwood Highway, these awesome trees stand as gate-keeping giants to the powerful Pacific Ocean.
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From there we came to Brookings, just a few miles from the Oregon/California border.
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And from there we proceeded up the Oregon coast until we came to the incredible Sea-Lion Caves!
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Yes, the Sea-Lion Caves are a must-see for any tourist!
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Right on the edge of the narrow Coastal Highway 101, hugging a high cliff, an elevator takes you down-down-down about a 1000 feet into a large cave.
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Entering into this sea-lion sanctuary there they sit, barking loudly, echoing throughout the ominous-looking caverns!
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And all this makes for a very dramatic scenario, together with in-coming waves, crashing against the rocks!
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Next, we went to Depoe Bay, a little tourist mecca in which the raging sea crashes against the sharp cliff, sometimes spilling almost onto Highway 101, which runs through this little tourist-shop burg.
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It’s a great place to stop to eat, while driving up or down the Oregon Coast.
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There we stopped to see the little black stone-faced building which housed the aquarium (no longer there), in which various aquatic species are seen.
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The main attraction was a damp and echo-filled room with a pool in which about 5 or 6 barking seals beg for little pieces of fish which visitors can purchase.
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There was one totally blind seal, whose eyes were completely glazed white.
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But in spite of his handicap, he performed more tricks, and clownishly slapped his fat belly in hopes of getting some fish thrown to him.
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Really funny to watch this old aquatic clown!
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And seemingly almost miraculously, this blind one could sense exactly when and where food was being tossed in his direction, jumping up and catching it mid-air!
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Pretty good for a “blind old seal”!
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Later on, that day, while laying in the upper loft of the motorhome I began slapping my increasingly fattening belly (because of Becky’s great cooking!).
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When I suddenly realized I was doing a good imitation of that fat old blind seal, I laughed and laughed (I often laughed at myself over something funny. But of course, I’ve never liked other people laughing at me! Who does!?)
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From Lincoln City on the northern coast, we drove inland through beautiful state capitol of Salem (where I was born), and up the Santiam Highway.
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There we stopped at Silver Falls State Park where about 7 different waterfalls can be be seen along the hiking trail. (and the one in this picture, you can even walk behind!).
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And being raised in Salem, we kids always loved to have a family picnic at that incredibly beautiful park!
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My parents even had an old log cabin nearby where we spent many weekends, as kids.
This entire e-book story is concerning events which occurred prior to my becoming a Christian.
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To give this story proper context, I tried to write it in somewhat the same irreverent humor that I used back in those days.
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Forgive me for this irreverence! But I suppose I wanted for the Reader to get to know me, as I was back in those days.
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Becky and I were finally married about 10 months after we met, on December 6th of 1980.
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The reader should keep in mind that this is just the first Part of a three-part story about a man who began a journey out of the fires of Hell, and upward toward the Celestial City of God.
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My unchristian behavior during this first installment was merely because I had not the slightest clue of how to be a Christian.
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So please excuse any offensive behavior on my part.
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This Part 1 of my journey should make more sense, if and when God permits me to write the next two installments.
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“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low…” Isaiah 2:10-12
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This is the end of this e-book, “Judgment Day-RX7″. However, you may go to the companion web-site. Just click here…
Okay, so it was now about 100 days or so after finding out my public school indoctrination which I abundantly received, on the ideology of “atheism”, needed some really serious revamping!
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And now I was conversing with unseen spirits just as matter-of-factly as I would, say…talking with my Uncle Charlie!
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And more than this, the spirit was now giving me songs and telling me things about the world and about the unseen world that few persons had ever been privy to!
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This was unreal beyond the wildest imagination! But it was real! Very real!
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And so, I’ll share a few more of the songs given, plus some of the information shared by the Unseen One with whom I was now conversing on a moment-by-moment basis.
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And I really mean “moment-by-moment”! Because this was a morning till night phenomenon! It just didn’t let up!
“THERE’LL BE A LOAD OF COMPROMISING“SPIRITS RISING”, ON THE ROAD TO MY HORIZON!”…
(Wordplay on the lyrics of the 1975 Glen Campbell mega-hit, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, inserting the word, “spirits rising” in place of “compromising”)
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I was also led to believe that there were persons in the song business who were “insiders”.
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They knew about the spirits, and were aware that their music and success was a gift from God.
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He told me that I was going to go down to L.A. to get into the business.
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He told me that a certain famous recording artist was an “insider”, and knew all about how God was working within the music business.
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And I was to go to this famous recording artist’s home.
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And this recording artist (I’m too embarrassed to even mention names!), he would take me in, until I “got on my feet”.
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He also told me (or I played guessing games, trying to prod him into telling me) just who else in the music business knew about God, or was being led by God.
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And after guessing, he let me know a number of famous people he had working for him in the music business.
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Okay, Okay, I know how ridiculous all this recording artist stuff’ sounds!
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And it’s more than just a bit embarrassing to even put it in writing for people to read (not to mention that I myself was merely a mediocre musical talent)!
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But I’m simply telling you what happened.
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And just consider how often an article appears in the news about some person claiming that God told him to do this or that!
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Now what I went through, hopefully begins to explain, at the very least, that some of those “deluded” persons were no doubt likewise being misled by spirits, just as I was being misled.
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Well, my experience explains a-lot, that is, if you believe what I’m telling you.
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But if you don’t believe this account, it nevertheless doesn’t make it any less the reality of the unseen spiritual battlefield which this world happens to be!
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And actually, unbelievers (and Christian skeptics) are truly, the “deluded ones”!
You see, before this all happened (i.e., my encounter with the unseen spiritual world), I usually got a pretty good night’s sleep.
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But at this time (Summer 1980) I began to find it very hard to sleep.
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This was my first encounter with “Insomnia”.
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And because I realized my problems were spiritual in nature, I also attributed this sleeplessness to spiritual sources…
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Just listen to this verse…
…“When I lie down, I say, when shall I arise,
and the night be gone?
And I am full of tossings to and fro
unto the dawning of the day.”
Job 7:4.
This verse from The Book of Job (Job is pronounced with a long “o”) shows that Job had a spiritual problem with sleeplessness.
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The Devil caused Job many problems, this being one of them.
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Here’s another verse about sleeplessness, being brought on by God… “Thou (God) holdest mine eyes waking…” Psalm 77:4.
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Now I’m not saying that all sleeplessness is due to higher powers.
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But the Bible does declare that it possibly can be the cause.
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As these two verses point out, both Job and the psalmist were suffering spiritual insomnia: one brought on by God, and Job’s, which was brought on by an unseen evil spirit.
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And I’m not even saying that my sleeplessness was necessarily of spiritual origin.
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All I’m saying is that it possibly could have been.
Also, I heard something that gave credence to what the spirit was telling me regarding the music business.
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And this gave me belief in what the spirit told me.
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I heard John Denver, in an interview, tell the interviewer that the songs he wrote were a “gift from God”.
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And he said it in such a way, that made me think that he wasn’t just being casual or flippant.
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He seemed to really believe that his songs were given him by God!
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Also, at about this same time, or a little later, I heard that John Denver was in a movie, called, “Oh God!”, about a man who had an unseen companion…God.
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God was played by George Burns.
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And so, I made sure to watch this movie when it came out on TV.
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And George Burns was a perfect God, as far as I was concerned.
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Burns behaved similar to the spirit I was communicating with.
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A lot of humor and irreverence.
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And so, the spirit told me that John Denver was one of the special, “insiders”, in the music business.
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Photo of George Burns – courtesy Allen Warren & Wikipedia – share-alike license. Click here for link.
(Title of the Bruce Johnston song, “I Write The Songs”)
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These songs which I was being given triggered an old memory. Years earlier. About 1972 or so.
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I had just moved back to Klamath from San Francisco, where I had struck out, that is, I failed to “make it” in the pop music industry.
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It was then that I returned to working in the family restaurant.
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Nevertheless, one sunny spring day, back in the Basin, I was sitting in the back yard with my guitar.
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I began composing a song.
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But to my amazement, in just a few minutes time, I had composed a really nice little song.
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This song just kind of “plopped down into my lap”, as they say.
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I didn’t even have to put much effort into composing it.
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And I remember feeling a little weird, when I sang it, because it came so easily.
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Anyway, here it is. Too bad you can’t hear the music…
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Because the music is simple, but as good as the words…
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…THE GOODBYE SONG
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1st VERSE… “This time come tomorrow I’ll be gone,And I may not ever be this way again.So I’d like for you to have this song,And ya know that you will always be my friend.”
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CHORUS “And God give ya some love to carry along.May your roads be sunny, short or long.And on your way I pray, you won’t do anyone wrong.And God give ya some love to carry along.”
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2nd VERSE “Never let the rain get in your eyes,Behind the clouds there’s a whole lot of blue skies.Just let ol’ Mother Nature be your guide,Cause that’s one girl from who we just can’t hide.”
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CHORUS “And God give ya some love to carry along,May your roads be sunny short or long.And on your way I pray, you won’tDo anyone wrong.And God give ya some love to carry along.”
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3rd VERSE “Life is just an ever-flowing song,And it’s up to you to keep the music strong.So try and fill your world with those ya love,And never lose those dreams your dreamin’ of.”
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CHORUS “And God give ya some love to carry along.May your roads be sunny, short or long.And on your way I pray, you won’t do anyone wrong wrong.And God give ya some loveto carry along.And God give ya some love to carry you along. God give ya some love…to carry along” .
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An old friend from our former high school band liked the song, and a few years later, arranged the song for his new band.
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He also changed the word, “things” in the last verse, to “those”.
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So, the last line was changed to… “So try and fill your world with [those] you love…”.
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One night when I was visiting Salem Oregon, I went to hear his band.
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They played that song very well, with the word-change, in three-part harmony.
church worship music – cropped image – wikimedia – share-alike license
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Anyway, here’s an example of one of the “Christian” songs that the spirit gave me…
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“I CAN TURN TO JESUS”…
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“When I find myself, standing all alone,
I can turn to Jesus…for he is always near.
And when I find myself, losing hope in “Love”,
I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near.”
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“I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near
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“When I find myself, losing hope in “life”,
I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near.
And when I find myself, losing hope in “Man”,
I can turn to Jesus…for He is always here.”
“I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near.”
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Okay, so these lyrics weren’t that great!
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But as I have stated…when “God” is giving you songs directly, even the mediocre ones seem good.
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And the music was actually, not too bad, even though very simple.
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But as far as his method of composing, as I also said earlier, he wouldn’t talk during these song-writing sessions.
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He just made my head nod “Yes”or “No”,depending on the chords or the words, if they were correct or not.
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I am certain he had very good (and deceptive) reasons for doing this.
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And I’m pretty sure I know why.
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But I’ll just let you figure that one out for yourself.
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Very simple reason.
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A DEAL WITH THE D…?
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Bob Dylan (no mediocre song-writer!) gave an interview in which he made several statements regarding higher powers helping his career.
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In one statement, he says he made a “deal with the D…” … and then he stops short of actually saying the obvious.
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When quizzed about this by the interviewer, he began to back-peddle from almost saying “deal with the Devil” and then begins to indicate that his deal was with the “Commander”.
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With some more prodding, he clarifies that it is the “Commander of this world and the unseen world”.
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Now for the sake of honesty, it must be noted that his comment “deal with the D…” sounded a little like he was merely being flippant.
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But his comment about the “bargain with the Commander” sounded very serious.
I suppose I received about a dozen songs during these times.
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Some were Christian. Some were secular. All were just about okay.
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Looking back, I would say that none were what I would consider really good, except for maybe one (“Oregon, I’m Coming Home to You”).
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But at the time, I was totally taken in by the spirit’s story of how I was going to take the music world by storm.
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So, the songs seemed good at the time.
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After all, when you have a spirit telling you these things, you tend to believe whatever that spirit might tell you (But, to be fair with myself, I suppose that with a good arranger and quality musicianship, they probably could have made a fairly good set of songs).
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But there was another pretty good song I had composed years earlier.
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The spirit also told me that this song was given me by God. It’s called “A Highway Song”…
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A HIGHWAY SONG
(Whistling introduction to the tune of “Oh Susanna”)
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(Now, an original tune)
“I been so many places…I’ve seen a lot of borderlines.
“I’ve seen so many faces… and had me some pretty good times.
“I’ve sung alot of travelin’ songs, about the things I see.
“But there’s no one here to lend me an ear—–,
“So I’ll sing this one for me.”
CHORUS
“So I keep movin’ along…singin’ my highway song.
“Some folk gotta settle down…but me I gotta roam.
“Gotta keep…movin’ along…Gotta keep…movin. along,
“Cause freedom is the highway…and the highway…is my home.”
VERSE 2
“Sometime’s I get so lonesome, lying under the starry sky,
“And wishin’ I’d-a settled down…and made that girl my wife.
“But I was young an’ restless, so I set out on the road,
“And when I looked behind, I couldn’t seem
“To find my way back home.”
CHORUS
“So I keep movin’ along…singin. my highway song…etc…”
REFRAIN
(“Singin’ Oh my Lordy Lordy, such a fine ol’ day, singin’
“Oh my Lordy Lordy, a pretty, pretty fine ol’ day, and I—am well on my way!”)
VERSE 3
“Sunrise come tomorrow, I’ll be headed for the western plains.
“Tonight I’ll stay in the Cascades, in this dang ol’ Oregon rain.
“But I heard in Carolina there’s a big bluegrass Jamboree,
“An’ for a guitar pickin country boy—
“…That’s just my cup o tea!”
CHORUS
“So I keep movin’ along…singin’ my highway song.
“Some folk gotta settle down, but I’m just a rollin’ stone.
“Cause freedom is the highway…and the highway…is my home.”
(Ends with whistling “Oh Susanna” as song fades out)
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This song took quite a while, and with quite a few changes.
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But after composing this song, I became a little nervous about the music.
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This is because the chorus and tempo sounded vaguely like the chorus of the song, “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson (My distant cousin!!! Too bad I didn’t look the least bit like him! Just the opposite, actually! Sigh…oh well. But on the other hand, I probably would’ve gotten into a whole lot more trouble in life, than I already did! And so, my average looks probably saved me from being a complete “unholy-terror”, unleashed on the world!).
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But as far as “Highway Song”, I thought it necessary to do a little re-arranging on the chorus to make it not sound so much like Nelson’s song.
Now during this time, a very incredible phenomenon occurred a number of times.
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While sitting in my front living room, I would go into a trance-like state.
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And as I sat in my chair, I would hear a long (and annoying) buzzing noise, and then I would slip into a dreamlike state (this probably occurred just two or three times).
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And everything looked very surrealistic, but very real!
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It almost was like these computerized digital cartoons, but even more realistic!
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Yeah, these visions/dreams seemed so real, that I thought they were, until I would come out of them to realize I was only having a vision!
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Now I can only remember one of these, in which my parents came to me, asking me… “Where what did you do with the “Crimie?”
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By saying the “Crimie”,they were referring to a huge, old Chrysler, which we all sometimes used as a back-up vehicle.
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The reference to “Crimie” concerned my embezzling money from the restaurant, and me living such a life of crime, in various ways.
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And after a few moments, when I awoke from these dream-like visions, I was amazed that it was only a dream or vision, because it seemed so incredibly real!
The spirit told me lots of things…”Oh God”, I begged him, “does the Devil really exist?”
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I really wanted to know. “No Chuck, there’s no Devil. Only God. All that Devil-stuff is just man’s imagination. To explain evil.”
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So, I guess the spirit’s story about no Heaven nor Hell was in harmony with that very famous song, “Imagine”, by John Lennon… “Imagine there’s Heaven…No Hell below us…No religion too!”
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Wow, there’s no Heaven, and no Hell! Wow!
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I was getting “inside information” that few people knew about, if any!
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What a newsflash!
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But the difficult thing about John Lennon singing that song is this: it’s hard to imagine a deceased man, like Mr. Lennon, getting all excited that there’s no Heaven…no eternal joy…just nothingness for all eternity, now that he’s dead.
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Truly, atheism has to be the world’s most miserable religion!
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And it’s more than a little disconcerting to listen to someone singing about the glories of “no Heaven”, knowing that the man singing has been long ago deceased.
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Even the false religions promise you eternal bliss!
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Many people suppose that even a FALSE hope is better than NO hope!
“IMAGINE YOU’RE AN EARTHWORM…IT’S EASY IF YOU TRY”…
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And one of the horrible aspects of atheism, is that the older I got (as an atheist), the more miserable and nervous I became, whenever I thought about my prospects for the future.
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Prior to all this trouble I was now going through, I was experiencing some frightening nights, thinking about eternity.
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Because I was an atheist prior to all this.
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And I really didn’t want to be dead for all eternity. (Truly, “Darkness” is the atheist’s worst enemy! Atheists quite often need to have music playing or a little light burning, or the TV on, when they go to sleep at night, for fear of the darkness of eternity!)
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And so, I would sometimes lie there in bed at night and try to think that possibly I might come back someday…somewhere out in the universe, as maybe…an earthworm or something.
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Pretty bleak as far as prospects for the future…huh?
John Lennon’s song about “atheism”, though a pretty song, musically/poetically, was not much comfort for me back then, when I was an atheist.
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And even right now, as I’m writing this, my dear father is struggling with aging and Parkinson’s Disease.
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And it rips me in pieces to see him face eternity as an atheist.
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It’s a real heartbreaker! He’s facing death and he has no hope for the future!
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On the other hand, I can agree with Lennon on this one point: that no hellish torture chamber which goes on for all eternity is something to sing about!
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He was correct about that! And I was totally on board with him on that point!
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(Just a note: I remember reading an interview with John Lennon not too long before his death, in which he stated that he was “beginning to understand the parables of the Bible”. So it’s possible that God was working with Mr. Lennon prior to his untimely death. So maybe when he finally died, he had already become a believer in Jesus!)
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Imagine!! John Lennon in Heaven!! Now that would really be something to sing about!!
The Beatles song that “possessed” John Lennon and “wrote itself”
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And speaking of that, “Magical Mystery Tour-guide”, John Lennon, the following article excerpt on him was written by the Internet site, www.faroutmagazine.co.uk…
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“John Lennon had a wild ride as part of The Beatles…The Beatles provided Lennon with the space to note down his feeling and emotions on paper and put them in a song and, on occasion, THE SONGS WROTE THEMSELVES DOWN.
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“One such track…was ‘Across The Universe’, a song which Lennon says “wrote itself”.
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“The track is often thought of as one of Lennon’s best works, but the singer admitted he felt like he had little contribution to the track after explaining its conception to David Sheff…“(the song was originally written in 1967)…I kept hearing these words over and over, flowing like an endless stream.
“I went downstairs and it turned into a sort of cosmic song…It’s so interesting. ‘Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup/ They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe.’ Such an extraordinary meter and I can never repeat it!”
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“Lennon would hold his hands up and suggest that he had little to do with songs final construction: “It’s not a matter of craftsmanship—it wrote itself. It drove me out of bed. I didn’t want to write it… and I couldn’t get to sleep until I put it on paper… It’s like being possessed—like a psychic or a medium. The thing has to go down. It won’t let you sleep, so you have to get up, make it into something, and then you’re allowed to sleep.”
“It may have had something to do with the time in which he wrote it, a dreamlike state which McCartney has also professed to have found fruitful for songwriting. “That’s always in the middle of the night when you’re half-awake or tired and your critical facilities are switched off.”
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“However the song came about, there’s no doubting that it is one of The Beatles finest. The fact it arrived seemingly of its own accord is the icing on the cake.”
Well, there were other famous pop stars who got their inspiration from dreams…
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…such talents as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards, Billy Joel, and others, which by surfing the Internet, these and similar accounts can be discovered.
Here’s a question for you…“Where does literary inspiration come from?”
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Here’s another question…“And why do most prolific music composers just run dry after a while?” (After all, you’d think that with time and experience, they’d only become that much more prolific in their composing!)
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And here’s another question…“Why do many of the really great songs and the really wonderful music compositions just seem to simply, ‘drop into the lap’ of composers?”
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And just one more question…“And just how could a very young child compose a sophisticated symphony, which requires translating years of maturity and life-experiences into music, which the child simply has not yet attained to?”
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OH COME ON!!! Even if they had a great big brain, they’ve just not experienced the many life-lessons required, to be translated into extremely sophisticated music!
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Well, read on, and maybe you’ll learn the secret that some have already learned…
(First line from the 1972 Gordon Lightfoot song, “Cotton Jenny”)
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Well, now that things were going well for me, a realtor friend showed me a little house for sale in a new subdivision over by Klamath Lake.
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It was a hilly area with lots of Pine trees.
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It looked like a little “gingerbread house” in a forest…on a hill.
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Really quaint!
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I liked it!
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So, I bought it.
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And as with each new house I bought over the past eight years (I bought-and-sold houses as a money-making sideline back in those years), I was excited to move in.
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With all the trees and hills, this house was like living in a forest.
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It wasn’t a very big house. But it was comfortable for one or two persons. About 1200 sq. ft, or so.
One day he said, “Chuck, you wanna know what your license plate stands for?”
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My license plate was a special plate I ordered when I bought this car. It read “RX7-LTD”(My RX-7 was a limited edition. Hence the “LTD” on the license plate)
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But the spirit had another interpretation ready for me…“’RX-7′ means you’ll live another seven years, and then you’ll get sick and die. So the “RX” stands for Rx.” (Rx obviously being the common universal tag used to indicate prescription medications).
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“The “7″ stands for 7 years. And the “Limited” stands for your limited life ahead.”, said the spirit.
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This didn’t bother me too badly. After all, 7 years was quite a while! That’d give me until about 1987, which was a long time from now (It was still 1980 when this happened).
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And isn’t 7 years a long time?
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Right? Well…right?
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And not to mention, he promised the next 7 years would be filled with glorious things! A real win-win proposition, wouldn’t you agree!?
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“And you know what else?”, (said the spirit), “Do you want to know what else your little black car symbolizes?”
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Mostly everything was a guessing game with this spirit.
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So I played along with his question-&-answer game, and eventually he’d tell me… “Your little black (actually metallic cobalt grayish-black) car looks like a coffin, doesn’t it? It means you’re going to die in 7 years.”
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And so, upon hearing this, I looked out my window at that little car and squinted and tried to see it as a coffin.
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“Well…yeah…maybe it does look a little bit like a coffin”, I admitted to myself. “Yuuuk!”
“ROUND, ROUND, ROUND, ROUND, I GET AROUND, YEAH!…”
(first line of Beach-Boys hit-song, “I Get Around”)
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Yes, I did a whole lot of driving during those days.
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And there was a whole lot of chatter going on between the spirit and myself. Sometimes he talked.
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Often, he’d just shake my head.
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If I guessed the answer, he’d simply shake my head very slightly, “Yes”.
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Needless to say, this could be a bit embarrassing when I’d come up to a stop-light!
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My head would be shaking.
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I felt like one of those little dashboard figurines that shake its head as you drive down the street!
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And I was always afraid the driver next to me would think I was crazy (can you imagine anyone thinking me to be crazy!? How absurd the thought! lol!), even though my head wasn’t shaking so much, as to be even slightly noticeable.
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But in spite of trying hard not to, I just couldn’t stop my head from shaking.
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If he chose to answer me by shaking my head, it was going to happen, whether I liked it or not!
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Anyway, this is how the spirit told me about all the things that were ahead for me.
During this time period, a friend set me up with a date.
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You see, just prior to my troubles beginning, my girlfriend, at that current time, broke up with me.
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So, a caring friend set me up with a blind date.
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Even though I was in no mental condition to be going on a date, I still went over to meet the very pretty lady.
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But when I went to her apartment, and while she was getting ready, the spirit began to put me through another “test of faith”.
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You see, while she was in the bathroom, the spirit told me I should lay back down on her bed, where I was sitting.
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Oh not for any wrong purposes. But just to lie there on her bed…which I knew was really crossing her boundary line, as well as making me look slightly ridiculous!
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But what could I do?
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If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be showing my faith.
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So I did (the spirit promising that he’d keep her away, “as long as you have faith, Chuck!”).
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Well that didn’t happened!
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Yes, I really felt a little foolish when I had to jump up as she suddenly entered the room!
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I’m not sure if we ever actually went out on a date, or not. But if we did, I never saw her after that.
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Oh yeah, now I remember! We went out for lunch or something.
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If only I’d known that passage in Scripture…
“Then the devil took Him (Jesus) up into the holy city,
and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple,
And said unto Him, ‘If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down:
for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning you:
and in their hands they shall bear you up,
lest at any time you dash your foot against a stone’.
Jesus said unto him, ‘It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord thy God’.”
Matthew 4:5-7
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So, this passage prohibits us from doing something foolish, to prove our faith that God will help us at the last-minute, even in small situations of life.
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Oh, if only I’d known this passage, it would’ve saved me a whole lot of grief!
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And not just in this little situation, but even more, in a few “bigger situations”!
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Cause he was always compelling me to do outrageous things to, “Prove you faith, Chuck!”
About this same time, I somehow met up with a certain lady I knew from the club I played at on the weekends (actually, Thursday nights through Saturday nights, from 8 pm to 1 am).
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Well, to make a not-so-long story even shorter, I asked her to go with me to Reno for the weekend.
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So, this extremely pretty lady and I zoomed off to Reno.
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I badly wanted to make a good impression on her!
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I was wearing my best slacks and big fat gold/diamond ring and oh man… was I dressed to kill!
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Fancy new sports car to boot!
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So there I was…cruisin’ down the highway to Reno! Me…my slinky metallic-black RX-7, and a beautiful babe sitting next to me!
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The wind blowing through our hair! The bright lights of that infamous gambling mecca just over the horizon!
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Spending our time at the gambling tables!
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Or perhaps going to a dinner show and watching some world-class entertainer!
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“What could be better!?”, I ask you…“What could be better!?”
Anyway, we arrived there five hours later and got a room at one of the casinos.
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I can’t remember which hotel we stayed at.
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I usually stayed in a suite at the recently built MGM Grand Hotel.
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But maybe I didn’t for some reason. I just can’t remember. Maybe Harrah’s. It’s not really that important anyway.
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But I wanted to impress her, so I’m gonna go with… the MGM Grand. It was brand-new and very impressive!
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Yeah, it was definitely the MGM Grand! Now I remember!
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Okay, so I’ve set up this story properly.
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But as one radio old announcer always used to say…“And now…for the rest of the story!”
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I GOT “BORED-STIFF”…LITERALLY “BOARD-STIFF”!!
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No sooner than we got there, and up into our large and very impressive suite, my entire body went stiff like a board!
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I mean, I couldn’t even bend at all!
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Oh yeah, I could walk, but just barely! I didn’t know what-in-the-world was happening to me!
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And so, we decided that I should go to the emergency room of the local hospital. So we walked to my car (actually, she walked…I waddled…totally humiliated! She had to stuff me into my small little car.)
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This was definitely not the best way to impress a lady!
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Well anyway, she drove me to the emergency room of the local hospital.
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And after an hour or two, they released me, giving me some medicine, shrugged shoulders, and no further encouragements.
Photos of Reno & Grand Sierra (formerly MGM) courtesy Wikipedia, public domain.
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“TAKE THE ‘GONG’ WAY HOME!”
(satirical wordplay on the 1979 Supertramp song, “Take The Long Way Home”)
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Well, needless to say, this brought my “perfect weekend” plans to a screeching halt!
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She drove me home…me still stiff as a board! Cruisin’ down the highway, still wearing my best slacks, my big fat diamond ring and oh man…and…uh…dressed to kill.
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And the not-so-bright-lights of Kalamity Flats (Klamath Falls) just over the horizon!
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I repeatedly apologized. And she was a good sport.
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Yes, she was as gracious as she was beautiful.
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And I was as mortified as I was…uh…oh whatever!
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As we were driving home, I began to suspect that this entire ordeal (or should I say…this entire “horrordeal”) was brought on by my unseen spirit companion.
“A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass (donkey), and a rod for the fool’s (my) back!”
Proverbs 26:3
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When we got back to Klamath that night, my body quickly returned to normal again. She said goodnight to me…with no further encouragements…never to see her again!
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And by that time, I realized that the whole incident was courtesy of my unseen spirit “companion”. Yeah, that old Hope-You-Guessed-My-Name Guy was at it again!
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But thankfully, the spirit never put me through that same phenomenon ever again.
“A woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together”
Luke 13:11
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Well, if there’s some morale, or life-lesson, or any further encouragement from this rather embarrassing experience it might be the following…
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You see, I much later discovered the story, from The Gospel According to Luke, Chapter 13, in which an evil spirit caused a woman to be bent-over for eighteen long years, prior to Jesus meeting her, casting out that spirit from her, allowing her to stand upright once again!
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Thus, the life-lesson learned is, these spirits do indeed have the powers to do such things which outwardly appear to be merely physical ailments!
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And thankfully, this phenomenon didn’t last eighteen long years like that bent-over person in that Bible account.
“Are those the right words?”, I asked. The spirit made my head to nod, “Yes”.
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The spirit did no talking during this time. He only made my head nod either “yes” or “no”.
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And so, this song went on like this until completion.
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At the time, I thought it was a great song.
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But over the years, I began to suspect that he really wasn’t interested in making that song a good one.
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And truth-be-told, it was possibly just a mediocre “Oregon version” of John Denver’s Colorado schtick…
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Or, maybe not.
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I dunno.
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“(GOD) HE IS THE GREAT SOURCE, MY INSPIRATION…”
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Jimmy Webb, one of the most celebrated secular song-writers in the music business (no mediocrity in his songs!), once made this statement… ”I couldn’t write a song without God. Sure, I could hack out hackneyed phrases and clichés, but to write anything meaningful I have to be in tune with God. He is the great source, my inspiration, the current that I have to connect to. Sadly I’ve not always used the gift He’s given me—the answered prayer—as best as I could or should have. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve done things I wish I hadn’t done.”
(Incredible compositions such as “Wichita Lineman”, “Up, Up, And Away”, “Galveston”, “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”, etc., etc….)
(Lyrics from the Bruce Johnston song, “I Write The Songs”)
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The spirit also told me, “I have a lot of people in the music world who have received my songs.”
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And he even led me to believe me that the song, “I write the songs”was about him.
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“I WRITE THE SONGS”……by Bruce Johnston
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“I’ve been alive foreverAnd I wrote the very first songI put the words and the melodies togetherI am music, and I write the songs”.
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“My home lies deep within youAnd I’ve got my own place in your soul.Now when I look out through your eyesI’m young again, even tho’ I’m very old” …
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“…Oh, my music makes you dance and gives you spirit to take a chanceAnd I wrote some rock ‘n roll so you can move.Music fills your heart, well that’s a real find place to start.It’s from me, it’s for youIt’s from you, it’s for me.It’s a worldwide symphony” …
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[Chorus:]“I write the songs that make the whole world sing.I write the songs of love and special things.I write the songs that make the young girls cryI write the songs, I write the songs”
“I am music and I write the songs…”
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Okay, so I totally believed the spirit, that this song was indeed written by him and about him.
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After all, the song was about some spirit entity who has been alive FOREVER!
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And he writes all the SONGS! Yeah…this all made sense!
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After all, he was giving me songs.
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Why would I doubt that he was giving other people songs too?
But I think you get the idea. Kind-of a “look-for-the-light” type of song. But it was Christian enough for biblically-challenged me, at that moment in time.
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PAUL TELLS ALL!
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Paul McCartney made the following statement… “I woke up with a lovely tune in my head. I thought, ‘That’s great, I wonder what that is?’ There was an upright piano next to me, to the right of the bed by the window. I got out of bed, sat at the piano, found G, found F sharp minor 7th — and that leads you through then to B to E minor, and finally back to E. It all leads forward logically. I liked the melody a lot, but because I’d dreamed it, I couldn’t believe I’d written it. I thought, ‘No, I’ve never written anything like this before.’
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But I had the tune, which was the most magic thing!”
Well, one great principle that must be remembered, now that we are in the time of the False Prophet (this present-day antichrist society)…
Well, one great principle that must be remembered, now that we are in the time of 
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TOMORROW: 
QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
TO READ PART 33, CLICK HERE…
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only making 
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One young lady staff-member was talking with me about God. I wanted to know if I was the 
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But in my case, meeting the Devil turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me! 
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