Searching for Truth
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I am frustrated, it seems I have been burned once again by my own curiosity. I have been fascinated for years with the study of the supernatural...many religious books line the shelves in my personal library, Where Heaven and Angels are a common theme and prayer is a favorite topic. I like to read about near death experiences and there is even a book or two on how to deal with the forces of darkness.
The study of things supernatural reinforces the idea that we are not alone. If the supernatural exists, God exists, and if there is a God at all, He is all he says He is and is fully capable of giving us His word intact. One thing links into another and builds faith. But one should be very careful, you need to be sure what you believe, even an old veteran like me can get fooled sometimes.
Twice in the last month I have encountered men with wonderfully detailed descriptions of trips to heaven. Both supposedly died, took the tour and returned to tell us about it. One was a Medical Doctor who was often featured on Christian Television. He was an older man even when I first encountered him years ago and bought his book. There was an air of honestly about him that engendered respect and I was excited when I found interviews on YouTube featuring him. His voice broke and he spoke with reverence and emotion about what he had seen and heard in Heaven. But I didn't have to listen to his impassioned story for long before I heard him say that Jesus himself had promised him that he would not die before the rapture of the Church occurred. He spoke with excitement and faith of the surety of this promise. The trouble was when I checked his bio he's been dead for real for a while now. He wasn't the only one, another deceased gentleman with a rockin' testimony said the same thing. It is always good to "Google" anyone before you put to much stock in their testimony.
This brings up the question, were they lying through their teeth or did Jesus promise something he couldn't provide? It is a problem that must be addressed. I have been in this "way" a long time and I can tell you Christ doesn't make promises he can't keep. I was raised in old-time Pentecost and more or less "cut my teeth" on a church pew (figuratively of course). I am Bible College Educated and hold a Bachelors degree in Bible and a Masters in Christian Education. I hold papers with my denomination and have taught and studied the Bible all adult my life. I am neither bragging nor complaining it is simply the truth, and I should know the Bible about as well as anybody does. Yet these two buggers sold me their stories lock, stock, and barrel. I hadn't a clue and saw nothing suspect in their stories till i got to the part that they were both dead. I must say it shook my confidence just a bit. Not in the Lord but in my own powers of discernment. It brought me down a peg or two to realize I could be fooled.
The study of things supernatural reinforces the idea that we are not alone. If the supernatural exists, God exists, and if there is a God at all, He is all he says He is and is fully capable of giving us His word intact. One thing links into another and builds faith. But one should be very careful, you need to be sure what you believe, even an old veteran like me can get fooled sometimes.
Twice in the last month I have encountered men with wonderfully detailed descriptions of trips to heaven. Both supposedly died, took the tour and returned to tell us about it. One was a Medical Doctor who was often featured on Christian Television. He was an older man even when I first encountered him years ago and bought his book. There was an air of honestly about him that engendered respect and I was excited when I found interviews on YouTube featuring him. His voice broke and he spoke with reverence and emotion about what he had seen and heard in Heaven. But I didn't have to listen to his impassioned story for long before I heard him say that Jesus himself had promised him that he would not die before the rapture of the Church occurred. He spoke with excitement and faith of the surety of this promise. The trouble was when I checked his bio he's been dead for real for a while now. He wasn't the only one, another deceased gentleman with a rockin' testimony said the same thing. It is always good to "Google" anyone before you put to much stock in their testimony.
This brings up the question, were they lying through their teeth or did Jesus promise something he couldn't provide? It is a problem that must be addressed. I have been in this "way" a long time and I can tell you Christ doesn't make promises he can't keep. I was raised in old-time Pentecost and more or less "cut my teeth" on a church pew (figuratively of course). I am Bible College Educated and hold a Bachelors degree in Bible and a Masters in Christian Education. I hold papers with my denomination and have taught and studied the Bible all adult my life. I am neither bragging nor complaining it is simply the truth, and I should know the Bible about as well as anybody does. Yet these two buggers sold me their stories lock, stock, and barrel. I hadn't a clue and saw nothing suspect in their stories till i got to the part that they were both dead. I must say it shook my confidence just a bit. Not in the Lord but in my own powers of discernment. It brought me down a peg or two to realize I could be fooled.
I can usually pick up on the fact that a person is a nut pretty quick. You can find more fruitcakes on the net than Grandma made last Christmas, but most of them are relatively easy to spot, It bothers me when I know that I've been fooled. Don't get me wrong I believe God still speaks to his people and that from time to time there are folks who have experiences that are extraordinary and hard to explain. Those experiences and testimonies are out there you just have to weed through the false ones to get to the true. I seek out and greatly enjoy the testimonies of children, They are guileless and unable to lie to the extent adults do.
But what of the other folk? Do they lie about what they claim has happened? Some get lucrative speaking engagements and write profitable books. There are folks in this world who will do anything for money. If it were me I'd be afraid a bolt of lightning from the sky would strike me dead if I lied about such things. But as you know everybody's different.
Then there are the good hearted and sincere people who simply let their imaginations run away with them. I'm not talking visions of heaven here I'm talking about the "God told me's" and the setting of dates. Matthew 24:36 tells us that "No one knows when that day or hour will come, Even the angels in Heaven and the Son don't know. Only the Father knows." Never believe a rapture date setter. There are also "chemical" experiences that can seem quite real, to almost anybody.
I think that there are other folks who are provided "experiences" by the Devil and they are used to make the Church look foolish and to lead people astray.
The bottom line is that we must check everything by the Bible. It is our first line of defense and will serve as a light to expose truth on most occasions. Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet,and a light for my path." Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. If there is a question go with your "gut" many times what we ascribe to instinct is the Holy Spirit trying to get your attention. These proofs seemed to have failed for me in the instance of my two "travelers" but there is a third "Proof," time...falsehood seems to have a way of showing itself over in time.
Perhaps I was a bit too anxious, Heaven is a place I intend to go, maybe before very long. Like any journey it is helpful to talk to someone who has been where you're going, it is comforting and exciting....as we look toward the prize. But we should be careful not to get swept away in our enthusiasm and get distracted from what is true. Truthfully everything we need to know about Heaven are hidden in the pages of the Bible. Stick with the word, it says a lot about heaven if we just take time to read it,
2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Revelation 22:1-5 -Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with it's twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. .
But what of the other folk? Do they lie about what they claim has happened? Some get lucrative speaking engagements and write profitable books. There are folks in this world who will do anything for money. If it were me I'd be afraid a bolt of lightning from the sky would strike me dead if I lied about such things. But as you know everybody's different.
Then there are the good hearted and sincere people who simply let their imaginations run away with them. I'm not talking visions of heaven here I'm talking about the "God told me's" and the setting of dates. Matthew 24:36 tells us that "No one knows when that day or hour will come, Even the angels in Heaven and the Son don't know. Only the Father knows." Never believe a rapture date setter. There are also "chemical" experiences that can seem quite real, to almost anybody.
I think that there are other folks who are provided "experiences" by the Devil and they are used to make the Church look foolish and to lead people astray.
The bottom line is that we must check everything by the Bible. It is our first line of defense and will serve as a light to expose truth on most occasions. Psalms 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet,and a light for my path." Trust the Holy Spirit to guide you. If there is a question go with your "gut" many times what we ascribe to instinct is the Holy Spirit trying to get your attention. These proofs seemed to have failed for me in the instance of my two "travelers" but there is a third "Proof," time...falsehood seems to have a way of showing itself over in time.
Perhaps I was a bit too anxious, Heaven is a place I intend to go, maybe before very long. Like any journey it is helpful to talk to someone who has been where you're going, it is comforting and exciting....as we look toward the prize. But we should be careful not to get swept away in our enthusiasm and get distracted from what is true. Truthfully everything we need to know about Heaven are hidden in the pages of the Bible. Stick with the word, it says a lot about heaven if we just take time to read it,
2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Revelation 22:1-5 -Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with it's twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. And twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. .