Mysteries of God Revealed: Christ Lives in His Word

What if the words of the bible are not just mere words. What if the words actually contain the transcendent presence and power of Christ? Of course, not everyone experiences this; it has to be conferred upon you before the real power of the hidden Christ manifests itself.

Did Christ not say ". . . the words I have spoken to you are Spirit [or spirit] and they are life" John 6:63 (NIV)? He also said "for my flesh [word] is real food and my blood is real drink" John 6:55 (NIV)

It is astounding that you can experience God himself as you eat and drink the spiritual liquid and food found in his Word. How will you know you are really tapping into something supernatural? When you long to sit at the master's feet because you know how good the spiritual meal was the day before, you know you are not just reading words and nothing more. You are becoming one with Christ. It is his doing. It is certainly not yours.

One approach to lead you to experience this for yourself is to ask God to grant you the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is given: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13 (NIV). The next step is to apply the words of the gospel in the present tense. The above verse about spirit and life can be appropriated into your inner self by stating "Christ's words are spirit and they are life to me. In Jesus' name." You may very well repeat these words slowly and meditate on them as long as you feel a need. If you are not able to make the connection right away. Keep on trying. Perhaps you might want to move to the next or previous text in the gospel account.

My favorite chapters in the gospels are John 14-17. I read the chapters straight through in one sitting. Next I start with John 14:1 which says " Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me [Christ]." I then make this text real to me by saying to myself--silently or audibly--"I am not letting my heart be troubled. I am trusting in God; I am also trusting in Christ. In Jesus' name." By focusing on these words I enter a dimension that takes me deeper into the God realm than I have ever been. When my 45 minutes of study and meditation come to an end I wish I had just begun.

I then kneel for 15 minutes and either refer to the verses I have been meditating on or make my requests for spiritual and material needs known to God. I sometimes ask, believe and thank God for the gift he has promised in his Word. At other times I simply state the promises in the present tense very much as I do with the texts I've been meditating on. I always end each request with "in Jesus' name" and not just at the end of the prayer session. At times I have my watch by my side so I don't get lost in the transcendent dimension and run out of time before I need to leave for work.

If you want to live in a timeless state of life and inner peace, I urge you to give this early morning spiritual exercise a try. It will alter your quality of life in ways that you can't begin to understand until it starts happening to you.

In closing I share a text that I have permanently recorded in my subconscious mind.

"Peace I [Christ] leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 (NIV)

Fire in the Sky Outshines Sunlight

The tension in the world was unbearable. For months the three rogue nations had played their games threatening to test or detonate much of their nuclear arsenal. People of faith everywhere had started taking prayer and fasting seriously for once.

If the end of the world was days or weeks away I wanted to be on the roof with my laptop, taking pictures and short video feeds with the cellphone. Every day after work, what work could still be done in the mounting disorder that the world experienced every day, I took to the roof to document what I saw all around me. The forest smoldered in the distance as the end-of-life mobs set anything they could find that wasn't fireproof.

Last night all the lights went out for 21 minutes and I was able to see a star that shone with a different type of light. It was pulsating as nothing I'd ever seen. When the power came back on, there was too much light all around me on the roof to see the strange star anymore. The next night the lights went out again for 21 minutes and the star was visible again, but this time it was larger. How could anything in the sky that pulsates from so far away get larger 24 hours later?

This pattern continued night after night until one night, the sun came out at midnight. Except it wasn't the same sun we knew. It was three times the size. Even the darkest sunglasses made it difficult on the eyes. I took my videos and pictures and wrote what I saw and how I felt about it and published it for anyone who was still connecting to the worldwide wireless hub for continuity or information.

The next night when the sun came out again I noticed that the fires were burning brighter. The only difference was alarming. The fires that had been lit up till now were the familiar red, yellow and orange flames that one was used to. These fires were green, blue and violet. The fires were not being set from below, but from the very skies. The world we had known had ceased to exist with the arrival of the giant midnight sun.

The next night the most alarming sight took hold of me as I saw in the not too distant cemetery what seemed like huge birds darting up from the trees in the woods surrounding the park. The figures were so distant and multicolored that I wondered what type of bird could change its color so randomly as it flew higher and higher. I photographed the distant figures and posted them for anyone to see and try to comment on it, for I could not.

When the city was almost ablaze, I noticed that the couple on the roof next to mine that had come out every night, as I had done, were strangely hovering six feet above the roof. I knew the Chinese had experimented with personal hovercraft platforms, but how anyone could have a prototype in their possession in this country was beyond me. I photographed them and with only a word or two, I posted it on my blog.

After an hour or two I realized that the enterprising Chinese had sold more prototypes to eager Americans than I had thought possible. Here and there in the buildings surrounding me I saw other couples hovering six feet above the roof. It seemed as they were waiting for something. With instant phone detection, no doubt, they were able to contact each other and coordinate whatever they were planning as they hovered six feet above the roof of their high rise buildings.

In a flash the sky exploded in blinding light of emerald and blue shades of undulating waves of color and sound. I was about to send a quick note and publish it when I noticed that much to my surprise I was no longer standing on the roof. I too was hovering six feet above the roof. I didn't know what this could mean as I had no expensive Chinese hovercraft, for sure. In a panic I wrote my last message and clicked the orange "Publish" link in my blog program. Nothing else needed to be said. My last message went out to anyone who was still connected, as I dropped my laptop and looked at the One who was seated on the throne in the middle of the giant sun.

"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall." Malachi 4:1,2 (NIV)

[Originally posted as The Second Coming, Wirelessly]

The Evolution of Adventist Christianity

Adventism keeps adapting and changing as any living entity must. Where will it be twenty years hence? Will Adventists one day be nothing more than Sabbath-keeping Methodists? Now there's nothing wrong with Methodists, especially since Adventist pioneers were Methodists themselves. Nevertheless, there has traditionally been something outstandingly different about Seventh-Day Adventists.

In addition to observing the seventh day, Saturday, as the day of holy rest and devotion, Adventists have traditionally held beliefs that most of Christendom does not possess. Some of these major beliefs are the following:

1. The Investigative Judgement: We are all being judged according to whether we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and the life that results after experiencing such belief.


2. The State of the Dead: The soul is not immortal. When we die we enter soul sleep and await the resurrection of the body at the Second Coming of Christ.


3. The Sanctuary in Heaven: Christ entered the most holy place in the Heavenly Sanctuary (temple) and has been acting as intercessor in a heightened sense since 1844.


4. The Seventh Day Sabbath: The fourth commandment requires that Saturday, not Sunday, be kept holy.


5. The Spirit of Prophecy: Spirit-inspired writings did not end with the Book of Revelation. Adventists believe that the writings of Ellen G. White are inspired though are not above the Bible. The possibility of future manifestations of the prophetic gift are certainly possible, as well.

Again, Adventism is changing in different ways. For example: positive views about evolution by science professors in a few centers of higher learning though not at the official level; divorced persons are accepted as church members; in some progressive congregations gays, lesbians and transgender folk are welcomed though not necessarily accepted as members; some worship services feature Christian rock music; some congregations allow members to sport jewelry; some members attend movie theatres or see the same movies at home on their DVD players; some members don't endorse some of the distinctive doctrines mentioned above (investigative judgment, sanctuary in heaven, spirit of prophecy)

In spite of these changes in North America, Europe and Australia, Adventism continues to experience explosive growth in Brazil and the Philippines, just to name a couple, where church growth outpaces comparable groups like the Church of Latter Day Saints and Jehovah Witnesses (The Watchtower Society.) It has been suggested that in countries like Brazil and Philippines the dissemination of church publications, e.g., tracts, bible studies courses, Spirit of Prophecy books, etc., have contributed to the explosive growth in proselytes in countries in the developing world.

Like any vibrant and dynamic entity, there are developments toward or away from orthodoxy. Which strain of Adventism will triumph remains to be seen. Which would make more sense in the long run if it absorbed the other one?

Beatles Music Used In Adventist Worship

The music of the Beatles' I'll Follow the Sun is tamer than some of the praise music sung in my local conservative Adventist church. Believe me when I say that my congregation is conservative although I'm sure there are more conservative congregations if you go looking for them. Nevertheless, the influence that the Beatles' music has exerted, perhaps unconsciously, on the composers of a significant amount of the music heard in my church is intriguing.

I had not attended an Adventist church for almost 15 years until four and a half years ago. The music I encountered bewildered me. The instrumentation featured mild electric guitar licks or passages. Almost every song featured mild to mid-tempo drumming. In addition, chord changes and rhythms that are found in Beatles songs were in the songs I heard in church. The lyrics were very spiritual and theologically sound, but the music that accompanied those lyrics were reminiscent of pop radio of the late 60s and early 70s. I didn't at first care for these modern-sounding church songs. I preferred the songs in the hymnal. I don't know when it happened, but at some point during the past four and a half years, the Beatles-flavored praise songs started sounding pretty good to me. They were easier to recall as I lived my life than the staid church hymnal hymns I had grown up with. I was concerned.

I still sing church hymnal songs during my devotions and my quiet moments, but those moments are becoming less and less. The modern-sounding praise songs are becoming part of my daily devotional meditations.

I supposed if someone played a karaoke version of some of the Beatles less-known music and sang sacred lyrics to them, no one would even notice and some would applaud the tamer praise song they had just heard. One of the tamest songs in the Beatles catalog is I Will from the White Album aka The Beatles. Perhaps in time, if is not occurring already, songs like this one will be heard in Adventist worship with religious lyrics not sanctioned by the Beatles' estate. Since it would not be for profit, there is no way that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono or Olivia Harrison could prevent such Adventist Beatles songs from having their day in Adventist worship.

Even the music--though not necessarily the lyrics--of the Beatles can be used to draw people closer to Jesus Christ. Imagine that.

For a traditional treatise on this subject by the late Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D. please see
"Christian Rock" Music In The SDA Church

Recipe for Living Well

So much time is spent in wondering whether one has eternal life or not. So many sleepless nights. So many efforts to read everything in sight regarding the path to heaven. So much concern about trying to enter through the narrow gate. So many nights wondering if you are being emptied of self.

Instead of subjecting yourself to this type of misery any further, here's a solution that makes more sense both for your mental health now and your eternal well-being, as well. Each morning of your life spend at least 30 minutes reading the Bible, especially the Gospels, and praying for five minutes regarding what you've read. This is the means to maintaining a relationship with Christ Jesus, the one who gives you a better quality of life now and eternal life in the future. As you sense your need, you may very well increase the time you spend reading the Bible and praying. Depending on your soul hunger so will your intake of spiritual food (Bible) and spiritual exercise (prayer) be.

After you nourish your spirit then you are ready to help those in need and to share, as God enables you, what Christ Jesus means to you. Some of the projects that come to mind are the following: help eliminate homelessness, joblessness, and social inequality.

Please see the original post in Spectrum Magazine for the reason for this post: Confidence

Beatles for Jesus

With the world abuzz about the release of the Beatles' Rockband video game and all of their remastered CDS on 9-9-09 I was inspired to resurrect a trend that was popular among young Christians in the early 70s. To my surprise one could slightly change the words of one Beatles song, in particular, and sing it as a praise song to Christ.

The following lyrics have been adjusted and can be sung to the tune of And I love Her.

I give Christ all my love

That's all I do

And if you saw my Lord

You'd love him too

I love him

He gives me ev'rything

And tenderly

The kiss my saviour brings

He brings to me

And I love him

A love like ours

Could never die

As long as I

Have Christ near me

Bright are the stars that shine

Dark is the sky

I know this love of mine

Will never die

And I love him

Bright are the stars that shine

Dark is the sky

I know this love of mine

Will never die

And I love Christ

Supernatural Life: Bright as Sun

Yes, John F. Kennedy did say not to ask what your country can do for you, but rather, what you can do for your country. However, when it comes to your creator, you are permitted to have a different spin on this issue--at least initially. After you are assured of what blessings Christ has given you, then you can turn your attention to what you can do for him.

So what has Jesus done for you in the last month? Has he given you life and health? If you've not been in the best of health, can you ask him for healing? Will he give you healing as you continue to look to him daily? Has he given you life? Yes, but you might not think that the quality of life you are enjoying right now is on par with the life you may have lived in the past or the life you'd like to be living today. Ask him to further you toward that goal of a higher quality life.

Keep in mind, however, that life is more than living a pleasant and stimulating life. Life is also more than always being in the pink of health. Christ can give you supernatural life and health right now that is more valuable than your every day variety. He offers you an enhanced quality of life. Even when you are in pain or when life is not as perfect as you'd like it to be, the enhanced life that he gives you makes up for that.

This can sound rather vague or intangible if you've never experienced it first hand. Let me tell you that it is worth the bother--if you can call it that. Before I try to explain how to enjoy this supernatural life and health, let me try to describe it further.

Supernatural life makes the sun shine brighter even when it is temporarily hidden by an overcast sky. An enhanced life makes a child's laughter more heart-warming than it would otherwise be perceived. The future looks brighter no matter how it may look to the person who is experiencing the same set of life experiences that you are currently experiencing. A glass of pure orange juice is more refreshing than a bottle of beer would be on a hot summer day. The gentle handshake of a friend is more reassuring and comforting than a week of one-night stands.

How do you start experiencing this higher quality of life? The one who gives you life can also give you supernatural life. Spend half an hour every morning reading from any of the four gospels. Ask Christ to help you as you read the Word of Life. Ask him to give you a supernatural desire for these mystic words of life. After your half hour with the good news found in the gospels, share your concerns and joys with Christ. Ask him for the blessings he has promised you in the chapter you just read. One of my favorite promises is found in Matthew 11. It promises you that if you come to Christ [spend time with him via his words and talk to him in prayer] he will give you rest. That's supernatural rest that's promised. Not the rest you get after a long day at work in front of your TV set. It's a rest that can't be explained until it is experienced first hand.

After you start enjoying this supernatural life that only Christ can give you, you can then address what you can do for Christ. It will be simpler to accomplish than what he has given you, but it will be well worth the blessing that you will be able to impart to others.

Noah's Interstellar Ark

Hurricanes in Florida, terrorism in New York City, earthquakes and wildfires in California, tornadoes just about everywhere, global warming, raging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and genocide in Darfur. The harsh realities of living anywhere on planet Earth hint that there are no desirable cities or countries left to live in. Why bother moving out to somewhere else? Why not consider moving up! I mean that literally, not figuratively

Noah in the Bible was not given a ready-built mode of survival from the catastrophic flood that wiped the known-world into oblivion. He had to build the ark himself. In like manner this is what must be done by Adventist Futurists and their supporters. There is nowhere to escape in the event of a worldwide conflagration but up and out. Humanity possesses the God-given science, vision and the means to build arks in space to escape Earth's destruction by fire.

If Noah and his family had to begin again from scratch after they escaped death by water into a virtually new world, a postdiluvian one, why might not modern-day Noahs also escape into a virtual new world beyond the disaster of a worldwide Apocalypse?

Yes, Christ still returns, but not to Jerusalem on Earth, but rather, to a spiritual Jerusalem on another world or sphere. All the prophecies of the Bible may need to be cast in new settings to adjust to unforeseen glitches ushered in by the postmodern world in which we live.

We've all heard the expression of not putting all our eggs into one basket. We must not disregard the possibility that the damage or dangers that have been perpetrated on Earth by humanity, or by problems endemic to life-on-Earth, may be irreversible. There may be hope yet. We need to act in undreamed of ways. We cannot wait to see the Earth dying with no solution at hand. Planning for alternate versions of deus ex-machina may not be such a bad idea after all. How true would the saying then be that "God works in mysterious ways."

The Mystery of Ernie Knoll, Adventist Prophet

Due to a variety of reasons I have chosen to present the following comments about Mr. Ernie Knoll and his claim to the gift of prophecy.


Raul Batista,


I found some humor in your post [See below,] I enjoyed that. I have ran across some Batista's in life's journey, they are some good people. :)


Anyways, talking about promotion, here is some more websites I have put up. They are not "cookie cuttered" so to speak, of the original, http://www.4hispeople.freewebpages.org/ , but give me some time, I might make them as such. :)

http://www.forhispeople.freewebpages.org/


http://www.4hispeopleinfo.freewebpages.org/


http://www.ivhispeople.freewebpages.org/



http://www.misteranonymous.freewebpages.org/


You know Ernie or Becky Knoll could be checking or posting on this board. On the last email he sent out he admitted that he made up Candace due to the fact that he had read postings of negativity on a forum board and countered with "Candace".I gather he gets a lot of email though since he is using a spam block on his email. So, he might not have time to look on the boards. Apparently he is not the admin of the original website, http://www.4hispeople.com/ , since if he was, the content would have been taken down by now.


Posted by: Mister Anonymous (not verified) 11 August 2009 at 2:55


Original comment:

A modern day prophet should not attract too much attention to him/herself. Rather, (s)he should let their writings speak for themselves. Of course, self-promotion is not a bad thing at times. I think even Ellen White told a few people that she was experiencing something a little out of the ordinary.

I'm both interested and annoyed by this post and it's ongoing mystery about who or who isn't Ernie Knoll.

I, for one, refrain from directly reading the "visions" lest there be some mystic influence at work when they are read.

All the best to Ernie Knoll if he is indeed on this website regularly checking up on the comments.

I'm even thinking suddenly, that I myself might be this much talked about Ernie Knoll and don't even realize it yet.


Posted by: Raul Batista (not verified) 11 August 2009 at 2:14


For the entire post and all comments please see The Prophetic Career of Ernie Knoll

Living Through Jesus

How wonderful these words sound if you believe in Christ Jesus. How banal or annoying they appear if Jesus Christ has no meaning for you. For some, however, the words have no meaning at all because they have never heard of Jesus Christ. Sadly, there are some who use the name "Jesus Christ" as a swear word and have no inkling as to the wonderful person whose name they are using needlessly. Some might even find the thought of living for Jesus humorous. I've met people in the past that believed that it was a waste of time pursuing a life with Jesus Christ as its center.

Thankfully, I don't believe that way. "Jesus is the joy of living. He's the king of life to me." These words from the church hymnal have been on my mind for many months. As a child I sang them often and didn't really connect with them. I sang them dutifully in church or church school, but didn't find them especially gratifying. The reality of enjoying Christ as a real person in your life is a gift from God through his Holy Spirit. It is a transcendent reality that is bequeathed to us with no apparent explanation, at times.

Four years ago, out of boredom, I started singing one particular song as I walked my dog.

"It's a wonderful, wonderful life when you're with the Lord above. It's a wonderful, wonderful life when you're saved by his love. There's a joy that you never can tell and great things from the Lord above. As I walk with the Lord in my heart there's a song. It's a wonderful, wonderful life."

Only in retrospect was I able to trace a revival in my spiritual life to the seemingly passive singing of the powerful words of this song. The message in the song actually became my conscious reality. For that miracle I am grateful to the Lord.

In addition to intoning the words of this song daily, but with little feeling to what I was singing, I started claiming the promise for the reception of the Holy Spirit found in Luke 11:13 which says, "if you then who are earthly know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him." I had claimed this particular promise on and off for years, but more as a vague desire for something that I had known once. I don't think I really believed the words I was saying.

At any rate I can't say how long I claimed this promise, but when something otherworldly started happening to me, I did not automatically connect it with the promise I had routinely been claiming on my daily commute to work.

In accepting that something extraordinary was beginning to occur in my life I decided to start getting up early in the morning and spending time with the New Testament. It was only after a few months that I actually became interested in attending church. I had not attended church in over 15 years. After three and a half years of attending church I felt it was meaningful for me to seek rebatism.

Temptations of ever-increasing variety never cease to cross my path, but for reasons that baffle me, I continue to seek God morning by morning. I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary to continue having this mysterious relationship with Christ. I'm simply letting him fill me with whatever spiritual and material blessings he wishes to shower me with. Yes, of course, I continue to rise early to eat the word of life and to commune with God through prayer, but this desire does not come from me, how could it? It would be so much more pleasant to continue sleeping or to enjoy other activities instead of the bible and prayer. Nevertheless, the mystery of spirituality continues to grace my days. I am astounded and indebted to Christ Jesus for this continuing blessing.

It is my hope that if you have never given Jesus Christ the time of day that you will do so very soon.