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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – May 17

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Look Up, Lift Up Your Heads,

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Part 7:

“Over the Rainbow? Or Stay Down Here?”

To read Part 1, click here… “July 4th (Look Up & Lift Up Your Heads!)”

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“There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!”

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Remember those words?

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Well, perhaps the Reader of this article is too young to know about the movie which popularized those words, “There’s no place like home!”

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Wizard of Oz Judy Garland – 1939 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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THE WIZARD OF OZ

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And for those who are too young to know, that movie, The Wizard of Oz, was a blockbuster mega-movie starring that fresh-faced young lady named Judy Garland, who played Dorothy of Kansas.

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And in this incredible movie, young Dorothy was taken up in a Midwest tornado-whirlwind, soon finding herself in a colorful wonderland in which she and three fellow seekers begin a journey to find The Wizard of Oz, in hopes of asking him to give to each of these four sojourners, that one thing which was lacking in each of their respective lives.

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Dorothy, of course, was wanting the Wizard to help her find her way home, back to Kansas.

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And in the end of this charming movie, Dorothy is told to keep repeating the words, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…” And lo and behold, when she opens her eyes, she finds herself back home in Kansas, now appreciating her home and humble circumstances like she never had done so before!

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WIZARD OF OZ ORIGINAL POSTER 1939 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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So what’s the point of this article?

At a loss by George Shucklin – wikimedia – share-alike license

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SUSPICIOUS RESEMBLANCE TO PILGRIM’S PROGRESS

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The point is, that this movie which captured the hearts of successive generations since it first aired, had a very suspicious resemblance to the book, Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan.

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Yes, The Wizard of Oz was obviously, the secular world’s answer to that incredible allegorical tale by Bunyan, which also won the hearts of, and greatly encouraged millions of Christian pilgrims since it was first penned in the mid-seventeenth century!

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Pilgrims Progress title page third edition – 1679 – wikimedia commons – public-domain

Pilgrim’s Progress Enters The Wicket Gate – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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WHICH WORLD WILL YOU CHOOSE?

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The big difference between those two tales, is that in Bunyan’s book, the focus was on the Pilgrim’s sojourn to the Celestial City (Heaven).

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On the other hand, The Wizard of Oz movie only proved that this present world is the best place to be.

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SANTA CLAUSE & THE WIZARD BOTH INSPIRE UNBELIEF

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And just like that old mythical character, “Santa Clause”, The Wizard of Oz likewise had a very suspicious resemblance to God.

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Of course, when Dorothy’s dog pulled back the Wizard’s curtain, it was discovered that the wizard was just a mere man, fraudulently posing as a Wizard.

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Dear Santa Claus – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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So why bring all these things to light?

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At a loss by George Shucklin – wikimedia – share-alike license

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“Look Up; Lift Up Your Heads!”

Luke 21:28

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Well, that mega-movie is a very great example of how Satan masterfully uses the various media to get people’s eyes focused downward.

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On the other hand, Bunyan’s tale, Pilgrim’s Progress, got its readers eyes focused upward, to Heaven!

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Yes, even movie-goers cannot escape the battle between Heaven and Hell (this present world). And the Wizard of Oz has been one of Satan’s most successful Hollywood productions, for the above stated reason.

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The Pilgrim’s Progress – by Byam Shaw – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain

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“THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR…”

Ephesians 2:2, 3

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Oh yes, Satan is very subtle! He was subtle when he first deceived Mankind in the Garden, and he is even more subtle today, in the ways that he deceives the world’s citizens!

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The Bible declares that, “Satan…deceives the whole world” Revelation 12:9.

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Yes, this low-profile deceiver even has seemingly erased himself out of the minds of men, causing mankind to doubt his very existence!

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ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel

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ATHEISM, THE 6TH HEAD OF ANTICHRIST

(to read more on this, click here)

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And as charming as this movie was, it nevertheless was a very subtle assault by that unseen Master Deceiver Antichrist spirit, to further cause movie-goers to disbelieve in the existence of God.

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It exposed the great Wizard of Oz as a complete fraud!

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Yes, Satan has used the modern media to convince much of this world that God is nothing more than a mythical character, thus plunging a great portion of the earth’s inhabitants into a hopeless prison called, “Atheism”, now deceiving them into thinking that there is no way of escape out of this sad and hopeless world of death!

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Atheist sign Wisconsin State wikipedia share-alike license (2)

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THE PROMISED LAND AWAITS!

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But the very Good News is, that there is indeed a way of escape!

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Yes, “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high”, there actually is a land which is infinitely more wonderful than anything which no storyteller or movie producer could ever possibly imagine!

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And that Promised Land is waiting for the arrival of all Pilgrims who are weary of this sorrowful world of sickness, death, and hopelessness!

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The River Of The Water Of Life by H. Melville – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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END-TIME EXODUS

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And the Reader is encouraged to also join the exodus out of this “City of Destruction”, the world, and begin the Pilgrim’s sojourn to that Land in which there will be “no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”. Revelation 21:4

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And while lying in bed, one might even close their eyes, look up, and keep repeating the phrase, “There’s no place like home in Heaven! There’s no place like home in Heaven…”

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ABOVE PICTURE: The True Upward Pathway www.signsofheaven.org

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To read part 8, click here…

December 6th (Look Up, Lift Up Your Heads, Part 8: “A New Heart For The Tin Man?”)

Tin Woodman – William Wallace Denslow – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Open my eyes, that I may see the veracity of this message, and keep me from allowing Satan to bring my focus back down to earth…

Prayer – Mother and Daughter – Wikipedia – (cropped image) the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…February 9 (The False Prophet, Part 11: “Which World Will You Choose?”), or you can also read… May 27 (As The Flower of the Field, Part 18: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow?”)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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