Author: Changing from Glory to Glory

I was saved in the "Jesus People Movement". We were the last revival America has seen, other than the recent one that broke out at Asbury University in Kentucky. Many of us "Jesus People" converts became preachers, including myself. In 30 years, my family and I planted churches in Canada and South Africa. We saw many conversions and healing miracles, especially in South Africa. Before salvation in 1976, I fought in the Vietnam War, a bronze star, and then like many disillusioned young people of my generation, I became a hippie. Vietnam wasn’t just about giving us hippies an excuse to get high and medicate our anger, but it was an attempt at stopping Communism’s aggression in Southeast Asia. We failed, and millions of innocent Vietnamese and Cambodian people died, the eventual result of all tyrannical takeovers. Now, in my latter years, I find myself fighting again, here at home, only this time it’s a global takeover, where even our own nation is against our freedoms. God impressed on me as a young convert that I would see the Rapture of the church, and now we are very certainly living in those days just before the Tribulation Period, also called “Daniel’s Seventieth Week,” and “Jacob’s Troubles,” a time when God’s wrath will be poured out upon the unbelieving world. This judgment is not for the Church, the Bride of Christ. We’re going up in the First Resurrection. Paul says to “encourage one another with this hope.” In these final days of the Church Age, the Age of the Gentiles, where there's been a big uptick in Jewish conversions and a diminishing of Gentile conversions, the Rapture seems more imminent than ever.

MY TESTIMONY

I got saved in 1977, in the aftermath of Woodstock and the Jesus People Movement. You can watch the movie, The Jesus Revolution. It captures the flavor if not the whole picture. It was a unique time in American history, the last genuine American revival, notwithstanding the recent outpourings at Ashbury College in Kentucky. The Jesus People revival saw tens of thousands of us diehard hippies come to Christ. There weren’t any scary women banging tambourines, no spiritual warfare flags, and no “uncontrollable, I just can’t help myself” manifestations. God did it all without props. I didn’t even need a church or a preacher to get me to an altar; I got saved the Apostle Paul style, hitchhiking along a scorching, ill-used road on the desert way to Tucson. After hours of fruitless thumbing, watching as an occasional car passed me by, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and though just twenty-seven years old, I was fearful of dying and going to a “Catholic hell.” I dropped my backpack on the desert floor and made my own altar under a weather-ravaged mesquite tree. I fell to my knees, raised my hands, and called out to God, repenting of everything I could think of, including burning down a neighbor’s garage while smoking my first cigarette.

When I got back to my feet, I knew something inside me was different, as if I was starring in a Pilgrim’s Progress movie and the baggage of burden had just dropped off my back. I immediately challenged God to prove that this was real by asking him to make the next car stop and give me a ride. Looking back toward the sunbaked road, which appeared like a wavy, watery mirage, I saw what looked like a heavenly vision. It was one of those transcending moments that etches itself deep within one’s limbic system. It was like I stepped through the wardrobe, not into Narnia, but into a portal of a parallel world, a world I was eternally meant to be in. I thought I heard singing as if coming from a celestial choir of young black girls in blue robes. I saw in this vision a collage of brilliant colors, and out of the midst of this brightly lit spectacle, a figure that looked like the Son of Man was smiling and waving as he passed before me.

I re-slung on my backpack, walked back towards the road, and while mopping my forehead with a red bandanna, I peered through the intense, dry heat at the dazzling image, not sure if I was dreaming. The colorful collage I saw in the vision turned out to be a multi-colored, brightly painted 1960s VW hippie van, but instead of it cruising down the road as might be expected, it was coming back up the road towards me in reverse. Dream or no dream, this was nirvana. A waving hand from a sliding side door beckoned me to get in, and when I did, I realized for the first time that I wasn’t dreaming and that the bearded man only looked like Jesus. Then, the Jesus lookalike said to me, “We saw you a few minutes ago, and something told us to go back and get you.” Things like that happened a lot back then.

Neil Young sang the song, “Almost Cut My Hair,” but I actually did and never looked back. Many of us “day-trippers,” including myself, became preachers. My family and I planted churches in Canada and South Africa. In the latter, we arrived in 1995, just after Nelson Mandela became president, making it legal for the first time to go into the black townships. We set up a tent there and had church three times a week, where we saw thousands of conversions and healing miracles. And so, I was born into the Kingdom of God in a genuine revival, and then I was privileged to see a measure of it in my own ministry in South Africa as well.

I’m told that those who examine counterfeit bills don’t study the fake ones, they become so familiar with the genuine ones that the bogus bills are easily spotted. Likewise, once you’ve been immersed in a genuine move of God, the movements coming from a deceiving spirit are more readily identified.

Early on in our ministry, God revealed to me in unique ways counterfeit revivals like Toronto and Brownsville. From there, he expected me to do my part in exposing charlatans like Kenneth Copeland and Rodney Howard-Brown, and other pushers of the poisoned gospels of Kingdom Now and the New Apostolic Reformation. It’s not “new,” it’s been around since the Golden Calf, it’s not “apostolic” in any sense of the word, and it’s not a “reformation,” defined as “improvement,” so it’s none of the above. It’s a “revival” of another spirit, foreign to the Word. And each new generation “discovers” it as if it’s never existed before, this alluring, recycled, repackaged, and regurgitated deception that reinvents itself with predictable regularity, and where unstable, biblically challenged people to flock to it like scavengers to roadkill.

This calling of exposing the counterfeit is not one of those career-building moves that look good on your resume. If you want to be popular and well thought of, this responsibility is not for you. On the other hand, if you’re able to obey God and fulfill his purposes for your life without immediate honor, without recognition, without any official position, and without any financial remuneration, if shunning and other negative attention doesn’t derail you if you’re not addicted to the praise of man, and you’re able to keep the Spirit alive within you, then being a prophetic watchman might just fit your skill set. Otherwise, you might want to ask God for some other gifting.

I didn’t sign up for this, but starting with the Latter-Day Rain Movement in Saskatchewan, Canada, to the laughing circus of Copeland-Hagen, it seems God wouldn’t let me ignore these spiritual con artists, even within our former church organization, which has cost our family dearly, even to this day. And every time, just when you think this deceiving spirit has finally died off, some biblically illiterate church people, “ever-learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,” can be counted on to conjure it back to life.

Shortly after my conversion, I believe God impressed on me that I would see the Rapture of the Church. It’s as if He rose up this final generation of men for such a time as this, knowing that we would see the End Times unfold, leading up to what the Bible calls “Daniel’s Seventieth Week.” This will be a time when God’s wrath will be poured out upon this unbelieving world and is specially designed to bring Israel to salvation. This judgment is not for the Church, the Bride of Christ. The Bride has already been clothed in fine linen, pure and bright, and taken up to be with her Groom. We’re going up in the First Resurrection. Paul said to “encourage one another with this hope.” And in 1Thes. 5:9, he said, “For God has not appointed us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We may experience some of the wrath of man for a while like much of the world already has, but we will be kept from God’s wrath. Rev.3:10 says, “Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth.” God’s Bride has already been tried and tested in this life and found guilty, but being under the Blood, we are now found without spot or wrinkle and free from all condemnation.

The Bible says that the End Times will be noted for widespread spiritual deception in the church, so much so that “even the very elect could be deceived.” That there will be people and churches that will have a form of godliness but deny the power of God. Paul said to avoid them. Nearly all of Christendom is guilty of this, as the gifts of the Spirit are confined to some safe place back in the days of the early apostles, and End Times prophecy is ignored as if it wasn’t over one-fourth of the Bible. Finding a church that preaches the whole counsel of God, including prophecy and the imminent Rapture of the Church, and believes in the gifts of the Spirit operating in the church, is an almost impossible task. And to find one where the pastor isn’t a control freak, and where someone can respectfully disagree with them without them having an emotional meltdown.

We knew after being in the ministry for so long, especially our years overseas in South Africa, it would be challenging to find a “good enough church” but we didn’t expect what we found coming back to the US. This is the Laodicean Age and the dying moments of the Church Age. In these End Times, now more than ever before in history, we need to stay close to God through prayer, hearing the Word, and reading the Bible, much of which seems to be written for these times. Don’t forsake the gathering together of the saints; keep praying for other believers to gather with. Hang on, stay sober and in prayer, and wait on God, as long as you are above ground. He chose you for such a time as this. If you can’t find a biblical church in your area move to one or start a home Bible study group. Considering the unprecedented increase in persecution of believers, even in our own country, a home Bible study might better mirror the spirit of the Early Church. Meanwhile, you don’t have to spiritually starve, grab some neighbors, and have church in your home, watch a Sunday service online. Jack Hibbs.com is one I would recommend if you can’t find a good local assembly.

The Grinch Who Stole “Revival”

The Grinch Who Stole Revival

There is one false belief concerning the End Times and the return of Christ that bothers me, probably because I believed it for so many years myself. It is more likely to be believed by Pentecostals than non. I’m still a Pentecostal—I’ve seen and experienced too many things in my forty-five years not to be.

The text in question is from Joel 2 beginning in verse 28: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men will see visions.” The takeaway from this by some, is that before Christ returns to take his Church, there will be a massive, worldwide revival resulting in millions of souls being swept into the Kingdom of God as well as a general reviving of our churches. There is much preaching on it, some Gospel music promotes it, and many books have been written that support it. So much so that if I didn’t know better, I would start to think I’m not a very faith-believing Christian myself.

But as glorious as this revival would be, this is not what the text is saying. This is where the Grinch comes in. Joel’s prophesied revival won’t happen while the present church is still on the earth, which is obvious when you read what Jesus said about the last day’s church. In Luke 18, he said, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man returns, will he find faith on the earth?” And in the Book of Revelation chapter three, speaking to the Philadelphia church, the truest of the seven churches, he said to them, “I know that you have little power, and yet you have kept my word.”

This is not a picture of a last day’s church in bounce hopping off the chart revival, but a group of sincere, humble believers who understand their weaknesses and have drawn close to God and are not ashamed to depend on him for their strength and peace. It is not the kind of church that will be flashed across the glossy front covers of Christian magazines, but the kind that has endured through difficult times and has kept his word.

In reading the rest of Joel’s prophecy in verse 30, this false belief is further exposed. He continued, “There will be blood and fire and columns of smoke, and the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood.” Perhaps Joel even saw this in a vision. These are not the signs in the sky that will be seen just prior to the Rapture, but they are the prophesied signs that will take place during the Tribulation period, probably toward the very end of it. At this time there will be a great revival where multitudes will come to Christ. And in verse 32, he clearly shows that these multitudes being saved, Jews and Gentiles alike, are survivors of the Tribulation. It reads, “For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape…and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”

This particular misunderstanding of scripture is not basic to salvation and shouldn’t be a cause for division among believers. Nevertheless, a misreading of this text from Joel will likely cause some sincere Christians needless confusion and frustration about the End Times.

Sorry to be the Grinch who stole revival, but better to live in a grounded understanding of truth than to live with a grand delusion that will leave many people disheartened and burnt out. But there is one thing believers can look forward to with certainty, and that is the Rapture of the true Church. The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word “raptu,” which means “caught away” or “caught up.” Paul promised in 1Thes.4:17, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

I believe we are living in a time when this is imminent as never before, even at the door, as the bride prepares to meet her groom. Not a time to fear about being good enough—if that’s your fear, you already are—

but a time to be expecting to look into the face of Jesus and to be surrounded by the saints of all Ages, with angels singing, the Father smiling, as we are welcomed into our eternal Home, never to be separated from Jesus ever again for all eternity.

And about that last day’s revival. After receiving our rewards and crowns and after enjoying the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, I believe we will be able to look down and witness that revival as it’s happening. And then, at the Lord’s command, we will join him, riding on horses, accompanied by a countless number of angels, in returning to earth and watching Jesus destroy the last vestiges and strongholds of Evil, simply by speaking a single word. There may not be a Nuremberg-type trial for this world’s evil players, but there will be a final judgment on them that will be far worse. There will be no place to hide for them, even if they’re circling above us in their silly rockets.

CALLING OUT

With all the disinformation and propaganda coming from almost every quarter during this made-to-order “pandemic,” there is something to be thankful for on this 400^th anniversary of Thanksgiving. That is, there is a sometimes-unlikely group of brave souls, a “calling out” of those who can see the Evil that is happening in our world, while others living in that same world cannot. Call it what you may, I believe we are seeing an Ancient Evil afoot in our world, one who is rightfully called “The Father of Lies, emerging from the bowels of the earth, but one that is only allowed to exercise his havoc for an appointed time.

I believe this calling out is from God. Not that it’s only some Christians who are seeing the light, but it’s a calling out of those whom God has chosen as His own. This group doesn’t always have much in common other than having a noble heart and a love for Truth. It’s a reminder that God doesn’t see things as Man does—He is not as concerned with some outer habits as He is with matters of the heart.

God is not a politician groveling for your vote. He is not a preacher only looking for your sin. He’s a God who knows His own before they were even born, and though it is a mystery to me, I am thankful this Thanksgiving that He has chosen me. And even though some who know His “calling” have not yet come in from the world, I am thankful for his patience and persistence in pursuing them until we are all safely home.

THE IMMORTAL BLOOD SERIES

My time traveling romantic comedy, A Wife Worth Living, was written to give me a way through the stress and fears of caring for my wife after she had a stroke while we were living in Mexico. Twice I thought she had died. Without my asking, I believe God gave me the whole outline while I was driving an egg truck to Portland. He still does that sometimes; I mean, gives us messages. Writing this also enabled me to keep up my spirit and gave me a chance to have some fun with God.

Its sequel, just released, The Blood of Champions is my attempt to make sense of our suddenly darkened world and to offer some comic and spiritual relief for the frazzled and fearful. It is also designed to bring hope and discerning clarity in a day where both are being sold off to the highest bidder. And as a bonus, it provided me with some much-needed mental and spiritual therapy. I hope it will do the same for you.

IMMORTAL BLOOD SERIES BOOK 2

In this time traveling sequel to A Wife Worth Living, Roger Appleby, a recovering nerd, and his new bride Grete, a PTSD stroke survivor, time travel with their family from 19^th century native America to the 21^st century insurrection. How does Oliver transition from being a teenaged “Thunderbird god” to a time traveling P.O.W. in Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and finally, to be caught up in a modern-day Marxist revolution? Why does Heidi, a homespun farm girl get “woked” and take to her dark side and the rioting streets of Portland? What did one of the world’s top microbiologists discover that alarmed him about the government-mandated vaccine? And how can they get help from a man who lives in a tree and died over a hundred years ago? The Blood of Champions will take you there in real time.

A Wife Worth Living

So excited about the book cover for my new book. Finding a bizarre guy and girl in a wheelchair wasn’t easy. But it reflects the spirit of the story. It’s NOW available on Amazon.

Christian novels without the cheese

Are you fed up with reading Christian novels that are:

1) Cheesy romance stories with endings you could have predicted by page 10?

2) Ones that give you PTSD around the End Times?

3) How about preachy ones with stereotypical advice on why you’re not measuring up?

Then, I invite you to read, mine, for what I believe will be a refreshing, out-of-the-box, belly-laughing, yet insightful change: “When Elephants Fight” and “A Wife Worth Living,” both available on Amazon Kindle.Christian novels without the cheese

Job had badass faith.

When a Christian suffers, is it because he has sinned and needs correction, or are there other reasons that are far more probable? The best example given in God’s Word concerning suffering and trials is found in the Book of Job. Job lost everything he had, his possessions, his family, and even his health. There are some who believe that when a Christian suffers, it is because God is correcting them for some unconfessed sin in their lives. Although this can be true, it is far from the most common reason. Usually, the suffering, mature Christian has no idea why he is experiencing a trial. If he did, the growth he could gain in faith would be lessened, so God often allows the saint not to know the “whys.”

Job is the story of a good man suffering for no apparent reason. In contrast, the Apostle Paul suffered for his “thorn in the flesh,” knowing that it was to keep him from becoming overly puffed up by all the revelations he was receiving. We know this because Paul specifically asked God about the “whys,” and God told him. We know that David lost his child that was born to him from his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and because he murdered her husband. This time, God told him that the child’s death was punishment for his sins. And the sin in the Garden, well, we all know what that cost our first parents.

But outside of these examples, I know of no other instance in the Bible where God explained to a godly person why they were suffering. So, why did Job suffer the loss of everything? I believe one reason was that he was the perfect target for Satan, not because of sin, but because of his righteousness, and God had confidence that Job was badass enough to handle it. serveimage (2) His trial was not punishment or correction, but a back-handed compliment from God that he was up for the challenge, and that forever he would prove as an example of how godly people should respond to tragedies and other distressing situations in their lives. An additional reason, I believe, was to be a witness to unbelievers of the reality of God and his faithfulness, even in the worst of circumstances. And as an aside, that when the devil boasted that Job would curse God to His face, it had to be satisfying for God to put it back in the devil’s face instead.

I believe another reason for Job’s ordeal was so that God could confront his “friends,” and their legalistic, judgmentalism toward Job. Often times, the worst part of a righteous person’s suffering is the condemning attitude of the very people that should be a comfort to them. Finger-pointing, pharisaical, self-righteous critics, who apparently believe the Holy Spirit has retired and has appointed them as His replacement, only increase the believer’s misery and often leads them to self-condemnation and isolation. The more mature you are, the more likely God lets you experience trials that have nothing to do with you, but He allows them for the sake of others.

When Elephants Fight by Alan Kern

Why did Solomon Tate punch out a fellow missionary, befriend a witch doctor, experience a “holy laughter” manifestation, while trying to expose its dangers, and stare down a wild bull elephant? How will he conquer his fear of confronting abusive church leaders? What choices will two Xhosa brothers make when they are confronted with the Gospel and compelled to choose between cultural witchcraft and biblical Christianity, and how will they live out those consequences? What spiritual connection is there between the lidloti spirits, dancing in the “borrowed bodies” of an African sangoma, and the involuntary convulsions of hyper-charismatics?

What would happen if an American missionary couple planted a tent church in the heart of a South African township and had to withstand the witchcraft of an angry sangoma, who opposes their new church, and battle powerful forces within the Pentecostal Holiness Fellowship, who accuse them of the attempted murder of their fellowship’s leader? This is just the beginning of the challenges that Solomon and Goldie Tate face in the novel, “When Elephants Fight.”

Set in the culturally-rich environment of the Xhosa tribe of post-apartheid South Africa, the Tates risk their lives to expose a coup attempt by those who would hijack their fellowship into the extra-biblical River Movement.

Throw in Nelson Mandela’s new presidency, apartheid, Desmond Tutu and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 9-11, the “river snake,” a kidnapping, and a “who-done-it” murder mystery, and you have an historical novel that will appeal to a large spectrum of Christian and secular readers in both the U.S. and Africa.

Blog 14: “Grace”

Yesterday, Laurie and I made our first visit across the bay to the island of Cozumel.
Half hour by ferry—they say if you’re prone to seasickness you shouldn’t worry about this trip. Half way across, I asked for the plastic bag, but thankfully, I didn’t need it. We went there for Laurie’s neurologist’s visit, but we had been given an incomplete address and several taxi drivers I spoke with had no idea where the doctor’s office was. So, I approached a police pickup and inquired. They didn’t know either, but they invited us onboard while they drove around and figured it out. And they did, getting us to the doctor with five minutes to spare. I reciprocated by buying the three of them lunch.

Afterwards, we taxied the twelve miles to Punta Morena, on the far side of the island, away from the tourists, much less developed, but far better beaches and ate fifty feet from the crashing waves. Laurie was in beachcombing heaven. On the ferry back, Laurie rode on the upper deck with the wind blowing through her hair, while I chose to read “The Good Years” by Walter Lord in the a/c, cushioned seats down below. I’m not sure where the term “Montezuma’s Revenge” came from, I’ll have to look it up.

In the gospels, there’s a scene where Jesus’ disciples want to know who will be greatest in the Kingdom. Jesus takes a child and sets him on his lap for a demonstration. Children in that culture were not viewed as they are today, like treasured things that adults revolve their lives around. In that day, children were not valued much at all. Another thing about children is that there isn´t one thing they can do, good or bad, to increase or decrease their parent’s love or position with them.

So, there were at least two reasons Jesus used the child to demonstrate God’s love. One: Jesus is not looking for the high and mighty who wear their blue ribbons of religious activities like prized bulls at the county fair. He’s far more interested in those whose halos are a bit tarnished, bent up out of shape, cracked, and occasionally sliding off their heads, but He has their heart. Also, God isn´t judging us by our perfections or imperfections but by His unchanging perfect righteousness that He is freely given to us.

Maybe this isn’t much of a revelation to you, but for me, having come out of a legalistic church group after thirty years, where you were judged by how many times you punched the time clock for church attendance, it is this grace that I desperately need. I remember part of a praise song from those days that went like this: “I have climbed up, that much higher, in that good old Gospel way.” Since we never heard any sermons on grace, it never occurred to me that you couldn’t climb up higher. They did, however, mock a church across town called “Grace Chapel,” for having “greasy grace.” But I need that grace, and I don´t care how greasy it is. In fact, I´ve got a lot of ”greasy grace” to catch up on, because my halo of self-sufficient religiosity has taken a hit.

If you´ve been battered by life’s circumstances, at least you know you’re in good company with millions of saints that have gone before. In fact, the godliest of them all suffered the most rejection, abuse by religious Pharisee’s, family rebuffs, misunderstandings, slander, betrayals, not to mention physical torture and death. Now, there’s a happy thought.

So, man up Buckwheat, the best is always yet to come. This world is passing like a comet, never to be seen the same again. Those who are clinging to it as if it’s the greatest necessity in life will be the ones holding onto empty hopes and dreams. Our hope is unfading, untarnished, unblemished, “which is reserved in heaven for us, that is beyond the reach of change or decay.” 1Peter 1:4