God has spoken the following to me, and I pass it on to you, "The punishment of America has been decreed. It cannot be turned back. Privation and hunger are determined. America the proud will be debased. And with the church which calls itself by My name, I am especially furious. The earthly church which has cast its lot with those who cried out for the crucifixion of My Son will be burned as stubble. This is only the first punishment. Repent not, and the trumpets of Revelation will sound." (December 29, 2006)
In years past, you preached universal reconciliation. Now, you are preaching hellfire. Why?
In His holy sovereignty, God intervened in my life, and restored me to Himself. I did not choose to leave universalism and return to God's truth. I fought. I kicked. I held onto universalism as tightly as I could. But God had decided that enough was enough and that it was time for me to return home. So I quit fighting and let go.
I grew up a Southern Baptist and was schooled in the Bible. I knew the truth. I loved the truth. Yet, there was a weakness in my faith. And because of that weakness, my faith could not stand against the onslaught of personal difficulties and the intellectual assault of a secular university. At the age of 22, I experienced a profound collapse of faith. I did not disbelieve the existence of God, but I doubted His love. I feared that He was aloof and did not care about me. Not wanting to be an atheist, but unable to believe in Biblical Christianity, I turned to a generic monotheism. There is a God, but He does not answer prayer. He watches and observes, but does not walk with us. I came to see life as a great crucible, a school of hard knocks, that God throws us into. We come here to learn from pain and difficulty. And God does nothing to relieve the pain. He stands by the seashore as we sink or swim. And since we all participate in the school of life, one's religion makes no difference. God, the schoolmaster, will use this bitter, painful life to teach us all that we need to know. We may not learn here, but we will learn in the afterlife. Thus, my universalism was born.
I then turned to the writings of Raymond Moody. It appeared that the near death experience confirmed my theology. The message from the so-called "being of light" is that life is a school. Knowledge is all-important, and there is no hell. Life is painful, yes. But the knowledge we gain will advance us to higher realms. I loved the message of Raymond Moody's friend, Dannion Brinkley, who quotes the "being of light", "You are great and powerful beings." Yes, life stinks. But stick it through, because someday you will be like a god.
Yet, there was still an emptiness to my religious philosophy. We are all born to commune with our Heavenly Father. A distant God, who does not answer prayer, left me feeling cold. So, I turned to the occult. I engaged in meditation, and was able to have what felt like out-of-body experiences. During meditation, powerful sensations would come over me. The nerve endings of my head and body felt like they were on fire and I experienced a physically-based euphoria. At times, I would feel the presence of evil during these experiences, and I would back away from meditation for awhile, only to return to it later.
This went on for many years. I believed in universalism and preached it. I won converts. During this period, I married, and then convinced my wife of universalism. I started this website, "observations.net" and used it as a platform for my universalism.
But, fortunately, there were limits as to how far I would go. I never became a new ager, for I never abandoned belief in a real, personal God for pantheism. I did not adopt the new ager's moral relativism, for I knew that right and wrong still existed. I even wanted to retain my belief in Jesus. But I used the teachings of liberal apostates such as Marcus Borg of the "Jesus Seminar" to "sanitize" Jesus of all hellfire. The Jesus I believed in was not the Jesus of the Bible.
I was strongly convinced of the truth of my ideas. Little could shake me. I felt secure in my universalism. But God had other plans for me.
My wife went to see a Christian counselor, and the counseling she received caused changes to come about in her life. She wanted me to see this counselor as well, but I resisted.
Then, one night, as I engaged in meditation, I felt a powerful sense of evil. I did not believe in Satan. I regarded him as a myth. But I came face-to-face with evil, and realized that there was a person behind it. I began to fear that I was destroying myself spiritually. I wanted no part of this evil being.
Therefore, I went to see my wife's Christian counselor. During this counseling, I came face to face with the real Jesus Christ. And I knew that He was calling me back.
I began studying the Bible again, and we found a Bible-based church to attend. Yet, I still wanted to retain my universalism. I tried to defend it intellectually. But my intellectual defenses would not work. Finally, I had to surrender to the will of God.
I was 22 when my faith collapsed. I was 44 when I returned to God. I spent 22 years in God's house. I spent 22 years in the spiritual wilderness. My collapse began in the summertime. My return began in summer. I see a pattern and God's hand in these events.
I completed an Old Testament survey course offered by the Southern Baptist Seminary Extension program. In one of my final essays concerning the effect of the course on my life, I wrote:
"Studying the OT has deepened my walk with God. Strangely enough, seeing the judgement of God has been comforting. My former universalism seems somewhat weak, even a bit sickening to me now. The doctrine of hell still frightens me somewhat, and, at times, universalism can still be a bit tempting. However, universalism can too easily spawn the philosophy of moral relativism. It can lead to a lack of seriousness about life for our choices no longer have eternal consequences. Universalism leads to self-righteousness because the universalist somehow thinks that he is enlightened and superior for rejecting the doctrine of hell. And self-righteousness brings out the worst in people, separating them from a serious walk with God."
"Instead, the knowledge that there is eternal judgement, that Christ died to save us, that we are saved purely by the undeserved mercy of God; this has led me to become kinder, more humble, more gracious. I’m a better person as a Bible-based Christian than as a universalist. And I used to think that the doctrines of conservative Christianity were psychologically destructive. However, I’m finding myself to be far more confident now. Because before, I had to base my confidence on self, and that just didn’t work."
"I ask why I had to be self-reliant as a universalist. And I think the reason is thus: The god of universalism seems so kind and loving. He will forgive and reform everyone. But his love for us is sappy rather than passionate. He makes no distinctions. Everyone is his child whether they choose good or evil. If the homicide bomber, the atheist, the cruel and the evil are as much the children of God as those who live decent, quiet lives, then there is nothing special about being a member of this god’s family. Such a god is easily mocked as everyone chooses his own standards without any eternal consequence. This god inspires absolutely no confidence whatsoever. And, thus, I was left with me as my own god. As a result, my life wasn’t particularly happy, and it lacked direction."
"The God of the Bible, though, is strong, passionate and serious. He is kind and loving, but He inspires fear because He is strong and He judges. The God Who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah cannot be ignored. The God Who expelled Israel and Judah from the Land of Promise cannot be trifled with. The God Who spoke strong words through the prophets, and Who did as He warned, must be listened to. Such a powerful, righteous God can be respected and honored. This God can be trusted to direct our lives. This God can be trusted to intervene for us. This God is not blithely indifferent to the evil of the world. And, truly, His seriousness makes me feel much better. With true Christianity, one’s confidence is based on God rather than self. And I now find myself far more comfortable. Things don’t worry me as much as they did before. I trust this God to take care of me and my family. And after considering this reality, universalism doesn’t seem so tempting anymore."
Luke 22:36 Then said He [the Lord Jesus] unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
The Lord so commanded. Therefore, do not argue. Every Christian man, and even woman, should own a gun and know how to use it. Gun control laws do not matter. In Christ's day, the Romans made it illegal for subject peoples to own swords. But, yet, Christ commanded His followers to be prepared for their own self-defense. And it is He Who must be obeyed, not man.
Are you a ready to fight for Christian Civilization?
