When I Woke Up This Morning. Face to face with evil, surrounded by faceless strangers; John makes his stand, a life-defining moment where fear is not an option. John is on the ground, holding the injured ice biker; cars scattered in every direction as the spectators look on. Blasphemies bellow from the stranger. John looks calmly into his eyes and says. “In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of this man.”
The stranger faces the sky and lets out a blood-curdling shriek. “Evil spirits always come out this way,” John said. “Just like Mike said, they would.”
The stranger awoke bewildered; “who are you, you look familiar?”
“I’m John, and you are?”
“I’m Jack, the stranger answered; I’m not sure how I got here, but thank you. I know you don’t I? You’re the Preacher on the Sunday morning show, The Hour of Grace?”
John helped Jack to his feet; the crowd that gathered in the freezing rain applauded. Emergency lights approach in the distance; “I think this is your ride Jack, are you going to be okay?”
“I believe so, John; I haven’t felt this good in years.” Jack scanned the scene; his ice bike was okay. “You lost traction climbing the hill, and we scattered to avoid hitting you,” John said.
“What happened after that,” Jack said?
“A disembodied spirit,” John said. “It possessed you, and I cast it out; it dared me too.”
A demon slayer was born that day.
John returned to his car and continued his commute to work. John was more than a believer; his life was so full of the supernatural he wondered how anyone could ever doubt. John and his best friend Mike had been through more than one exorcism together; however, this was John’s first solo excursion. Two years have passed since John and Mike were last together. Just one more workday before vacation with Mike, this brought a smile to John’s face.
John’s Father, Austin, did a fantastic job growing the Glass Cathedral Church. The Church started in a suburb of the twin cities called Saint Louis Park. The Church began with a couple of hundred members. Today that number is closer to eight thousand members. And the national viewing audience that tunes in every Sunday, three-quarters of a million people.
The smile escapes John’s face as he pulls into the Glass Cathedral parking lot. “How many starving people could we have fed with the millions of dollars it cost to build and maintain this Church,” John said? John always thought about things like this but kept these feelings close. John collected his belongings to head inside.
Once inside, John met Janet, the Church office manager. “How are you today Janet,” John said?
“I’m fine, and you, John?”
“I’m fine, a little shaken from a close accident.”
Janet put on her glasses to have a closer look at John. “It is slick outside, you look fine. You have a meeting with your Dad and Matthew at four o’clock today”.
“I know, do you have any idea what the meeting is about Janet?”
“No, I don’t, John, but your father told me it was important.”
“Thank you, Janet. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
Why was Dad back to work so quickly after returning from the hospital? He spent the last three weeks recovering from a life-threatening case of pneumonia. During his illness, John led the three Sunday morning services for him, including the nationally syndicated TV show, the Hour of Grace, which airs every Sunday morning.
John couldn’t help but wonder what the meeting was about; He often met with his Father. But Matthew is not usually involved.
John opened the door to his office and walked in, closing the door quietly behind him. John set his backpack down and assembled his laptop and accessories from the contents.
On the wall hangs a Master of Divinity degree from Columbia International University presented to John Smith. John wondered if his Dad knew how hard he had to work to achieve that in three years instead of four. John also wondered how his Dad would react, knowing he could cast out spirits. Just like the old days of the Bible.
In college, John tried to share the news of Mike’s Mother and the exorcism with his Dad. But he never took John seriously. Now, John keeps the spiritual knowledge to himself, to avoid conflict. That’s why John left the accident earlier today. He just wanted to help the stranger; he didn’t want to have to explain it to anyone. He just wanted to live his life.
John spent the rest of the morning planning for the Christmas Service; until the phone rang. It was Janet, informing John, his appointment had moved to three o’clock with Austin and Matthew. “Janet, surely you have some information about the meeting?”
“I know it has something to do with your preaching over the last three weeks,” Janet said.
Great, now John was nervous, and Janet knew how to play it. “Thanks, Janet,” John said. He was attempting to end the phone call.
“John, hello, are you still there?”
“Yes, Janet.”
“Emily is holding on line number three for you.”
Thank you, Janet, please tell Emily that I will call her back in a few minutes.”
John hung up the phone to contemplate his fate at the meeting. Unable to collect his thoughts, John grabbed his coat and left briefly to grab lunch. On the walk, his mind drifted back to helping Jack this morning. The event played over and over again in John’s memory.
John went to his usual hangout for lunch at the mall. However, lunch had come and gone, and John was still searching for answers. Why does Matthew want to meet with me? What did I do wrong? Not having a clue, John reached for his cell phone and dialed Emily, the one person John knew could bring clarity to all of this.
“Hello”
“Hi, it’s John.”
“Hi, honey, how is your day going today,” Emily said?
“Pretty good; Honey, what do you know about the meeting this afternoon with our fathers?”
Emily was quiet for a moment and then started speaking after an uncomfortable silence. “Well, my Father told me it was important. But that’s about all I know.”
“It’s just a little odd,” John said. “I am nervous.”
“Don’t worry honey, I love you very much, and I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”
“I hope your right. Honey, I need to go for now and finish the details for the Christmas service. Can I call you back a little later?”
“That’s fine. I love you very much, John.”
“I love you too, honey; I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock. Bye.”
The walk back through the mall to Church went too quickly. Emily and John met soon after John moved back from Columbia South Carolina two years ago. Fresh from the south, she found John’s acquired southern accent very charming. John finds everything about Emily beautiful. She is everything a man would ever look for in a wife, and to top it off; she’s a believer.
The rest of the afternoon, John spent arranging the Sunday morning Christmas service. Christmas is the second busiest day of the year at the Glass Cathedral, right after Easter. John’s phone rang. “Hello, John, its Dad. Matthew and I are waiting for you in my office.”
“Is it three o’clock already,” John said? “I’ll be right there.”
John hung up the phone and packed his things. Why can you get more done the day before vacation? The day isn’t any longer. But there is something about knowing you will have some time off that helps pull everything together.
John second-guessed the three lessons he delivered for Austin. While walking the long hallway towards the office, his mind flitted. Why is Matthew going to be there? What did I do wrong?
When I Woke Up This Morning. The removal of Enoch, Jubilees, and Jashar from the Bible
Who profits from the books of Enoch, Jubilees, and Jashar disappearing from the Bible? A certain group of created beings come to mind; they were unhappy with their fate. These ‘sons of God’ looked down on ‘the daughters of men’, and grew jealous. Their leader, Semyaza, didn’t want to suffer for this act of defiance alone, and the most infamous pact in history is made. Two hundred Angels fell that day, at Mount Hermon, which translates as a curse.
When I Woke Up This Morning. The two creation stories in the Bible
When I Woke Up This Morning. The first creation by ‘ben Elohim’ Genesis Chapter One
Humans were created after the other animals. The first man and woman were created simultaneously. Genesis 1:25-27
When I Woke Up This Morning. The second creation by Yahweh ‘YHWH’ Genesis Chapter Two
Humans were created before the other animals. The man was created first, then the animals, then the woman from the man’s rib. Genesis 2:18-19
When I Woke Up This Morning. Who are the Watchers?
The watchers, direct from scripture, are also called ‘sons of God’ and ‘holy ones’. In Hebrew, they are called ‘ben-Elohim’. These ben Elohim comprise the divine council or magistrates of Elohim. (Psalms 82:1 – God stands in the congregation of the mighty; he judges among the gods., Genesis 1:26-27 – Then God ‘ben-Elohim’ said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and overall the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.).
When I Woke Up This Morning. Just one Bible?
When I Woke Up This Morning. Many Christians believe in a single Bible, a Bible that is freely available to everyone, a Bible that is undisputed as the true word of God. It’s time to wakeup; these have been terrible assumptions, that most of us were forced to believe growing up. The many different Bibles have content that varies greatly between Bibles. The best example is the Ethiopian Bible; Ethiopian Christians are landlocked; literally by land, and also by opposing religions. The Ethiopian Bible evolved on its own, free of western influence. The Ethiopian Bible is considered to be more accurate by some. If you didn’t know, Ethiopia is where the Queen of Sheba is from, the Queen of the South.
- Free to be just a Christian(1)
- Thoughts on the punishment of the wicked. Why Hell is not Eternal Punishment.(2)
- The missing book of Enoch. (3)
- The missing book of Jubilees. (4)
- The missing book of Jashar. (5)
- Proof of authenticity of the book of Jashar.
- The Kebra Nagast, The story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
