Supernatural Connection

Transcription

1 Your Volume 2: No 3 Supernatural Connection To Heaven and Back End-Times Vision European Anti-Semitism Free Copy Divine Rescue Avoid Going to Hell at All Cost Free Copy

2 Your Supernatural Connection Volume 2: No 3 Publisher: Supernaturally Connected Ministries International (SCMI) Halliburton Road, Hacienda Heights, CA yscm2012@gmail.com Editor: Dr. Evanson Wamagatta Graphic Designer: Dr. Evanson Wamagatta Associate Graphic Designer: Lucy Wamagatta Assistant Graphic Designer: Grace Wamagatta Circulation Manager: Wilson Wamagatta Your Supernatural Connection Magazine is published quarterly by Supernaturally Connected Ministries International (SCMI), a non-profit corporation. It is sent free of charge to subscribers. Copyright 2014 Supernaturally Connected Ministries International (SCMI). All rights reserved.

3 Inside This Issue 2 End-Times Vision 5 To Heaven and Back 8 Avoid Going to Hell at all Cost 16 How Desperate are you to Receive a Miracle? 18 European Anti-Semitism 22 Divine Rescue 25 Struggle Against Witch Doctors in Kenya 28 Test Your Bible Knowledge

4 End-Times Vision The following vision was given in 1961 to an American preacher, Tommy Hicks. Tommy Hicks is well-known for leading the 1954 powerful Argentina Revival. He was given the same vision twice in exactly the same details on two consecutive nights on 25 and 26 July The Vision The vision appeared to me after I had fallen asleep. I suddenly found myself high up in space looking down upon the earth. Every nation, every kindred, every tongue came before my sight from the east and the west, the north and the south. I recognized every country and many cities that I had visited. I trembled as I beheld the great sight before me. There was lightning and rumblings of thunder. As the lightning flashed over the face of the earth, I looked towards the north. Suddenly I beheld what looked like a great giant and I was bewildered by the sight. It was so gigantic and so great that its feet seemed to reach to the North Pole and his head to the South Pole. Its arms were stretched from sea to sea. The giant s body was covered with debris from head to foot. It was struggling to lift its head but all in vain. At times, the giant would move its body and almost rise up. When it did this, thousands of little hideous creatures would run away from the giant. But when it settled down, they would come back. All of a sudden the great giant lifted its hands towards heaven, and when it did this, the little hideous creatures fled away into the darkness. Slowly the giant rose up and its head and hands went into the clouds. As it rose to its feet, it seemed to have cleansed itself from the debris and filth that was upon it. The giant raised its hands as though it was praising the Lord. Suddenly, every cloud became silver, the most beautiful silver I have ever seen. I watched this great phenomenon which I could not understand what it meant. I was stirred as I watched it and I cried unto the Lord and said, Oh Lord, what is the meaning of this? and I felt as if I was actually in the spirit and I could feel the presence of the Lord although I was asleep. From the clouds came great drops of liquid light that rained down upon the mighty giant. Liquid drops of light flooded the whole earth. Slowly, the giant began to melt. Its whole body melted upon the face of the earth. When the giant melted, it turned into millions of people over the face of the earth. As I beheld the sight before me, people stood up all over the world. They lifted their hands and praised the Lord. At that very moment, a great thunder roared from the heavens. I turned my eyes toward the heavens and suddenly I saw a figure in glistening white. That was the most glorious thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I did not see the face, but somehow I knew it was the Lord Jesus Christ. He stretched forth his hand upon the nations and the people of the world. As he pointed toward them, the liquid light would flow from his hands into them. A mighty anointing of God came upon them and the people went forth in the name of the Lord and preached the gospel. I do not know how long I watched but it seemed as if it went on for days, weeks and months. I beheld as Jesus continued to stretch forth his 2

5 hand. But there was a tragedy. There were many people who refused the anointing and call of God. I saw men and women that I knew whom I was certain would receive the call of God. But when Jesus stretched forth his hand toward them, they simply bowed their heads and backed away. As they backed away, they seemed to go into darkness which swallowed them. I was bewildered as I watched. But the people who received the anointing were in the hundreds of thousands and came from all over the world: Africa, England, Russia, China, America, and from all over the world. They went forth in the name of the Lord Jesus and preached the gospel. They were men and women who included ditch diggers, washerwomen, rich and poor. I saw many sick people who were bound with various diseases and sicknesses such as paralysis, blindness and deafness who were healed when they received the Lord s anointing. They were healed and went forth to preach the gospel. every angle. Angry mobs came with swords and guns but the people simply disappeared into thin air. No one was able to harm them. They went everywhere and continued with their ministry of preaching the gospel and healing the sick. They did not need to pray long prayers for the healing miracles to occur. The people were simply ministering in the name of the Lord Jesus. As these people ministered all over the world, tens of thousands, even millions of people were saved when they received the good news of the kingdom of God in those end times. It was very glorious. But some people rejected the message and became very angry and tried to attack the preachers but all in vain. The glorious miracle was that the people who received the Lord s anointing would stretch forth their hands exactly as the Lord had done and it seemed as if there was liquid fire in their hands. As they stretched forth their hands they said, According to God s word, be thou made whole. Since I did not fully understand what was going on, I looked to the Lord and said, What is the meaning of this? Jesus answered, This is that which I will do in the last days. I will restore all that the cankerworm, the palmerworm, and the caterpillar have destroyed. My people in the end times will go forth. As a mighty army shall they sweep over the face of the earth. I watched the anointed people as they went to and fro over the face of the earth. Suddenly a man in Africa would in a moment be transported by the Spirit of God to Russia, China, America or some other place and vice versa. These people went all over the world and they came through fire, pestilence, and famine. Neither fire nor persecution seemed to stop them. As the anointed people went about the face of the earth, a great persecution seemed to come from The men and women preachers were from all walks of life. They went all over the earth. When one would stumble and fall, another would come and pick him up. There were no big I and little you as there was a divine love that seemed to flow forth from them as they worked together. It was the most glorious sight that I have ever known. Jesus Christ was the theme of their life. I sometimes cried or laughed as I stood there and beheld the sight. It was so wonderful as these people went throughout the earth bringing in the end-time harvest of souls. As I watched, there were times when great deluges of liquid light would fall upon Christian congregations and the people would lift up their hands and praise God for hours and even for days as the Spirit of God came upon them. Suddenly there was another great clap of thunder 3

6 that seemed to resound around the world. I heard a voice say, Now this is my people. This is my beloved bride. And when the voice spoke, I looked upon the earth and I could see graves being opened all over the world and the saints being raised from the dead. They all came together and formed the body of the great giant I had seen at the beginning. But this time, it was very different. The mighty giant was arrayed in the most beautiful and gorgeous white garments. Its garments were without spot or wrinkle. Slowly, the giant rose up into the very heavens. Suddenly, the Lord Jesus appeared and became the head of the body of the giant. I heard another clap of thunder and a voice that said, This is my beloved bride for whom I have waited. She will come forth even tried by fire. This is she that I have loved from the beginning of time. As I watched, my eyes suddenly turned to the far north and I saw destruction taking place. Buildings were being destroyed and men and women were crying out in anguish. Then I heard a voice that said, Now is my wrath being poured out upon the face of the earth. The wrath of God was poured out upon the face of the earth. I shook and trembled as I beheld the awful sight of cities and nations being destroyed. I could hear people crying, weeping and wailing. They hid themselves in caves but the caves opened up and there was nowhere to hide. They leaped into water but the water would not drown them. There was nothing that could destroy them. They wanted to die but they could not. Then I turned my eyes to the glorious sight of the body of Christ which was arrayed in beautiful white, shining garments. Slowly, the body of Christ began to ascend into heaven and as it did, I woke up. What a sight I had beheld! I had seen the end-time ministries. Again on July 27 at 2:30 am, the same vision came again exactly as it did on July 26. Conclusion The above is just one of the many end-times visions God has given to people. People are waiting for the end to come but no one knows exactly when that will take place. Jesus gave some signs that would indicate that the end was near and most of them are already here. But the most important question is what will happen to you when your end comes. Your end (death) may come at any moment. Or if you will be alive at the end, will you be among those who will go with Jesus or will you be among those who will be left behind to face God s wrath? 4

7 To Heaven and Back There are some people who have had a glimpse of heaven and came back to tell others about it. One such person is Marvin Ford. In 1971, he died and went to heaven and spent about 30 minutes there. He later came back to life. His story is very interesting as you will find out. Marvin was a Christian who had a heart attack on 29 December He was taken to hospital and he was suffering from an acute inferior myocardial infarction. That night many people went to the hospital to pray for him but to no avail. Later the pain in his chest became unbearable and he died. He died of cardiac arrest. the purest, cleanest and brightest gold imaginable. Marvin could not describe the splendor, the beauty and the rays of light that were coming from those streets. There were millions of mansions of all sizes along the streets as far as he could see. No construction was going on as all mansions were finished. Heavenly City Immediately he died, he saw himself in heaven. He was looking at the most dazzling sight he had ever seen or even dreamed or imagined. The dazzling sight was beautiful, splendid, picturesque, colorful and magnificent. These adjectives are totally inadequate to describe heaven. The golden hues that were coming out from there and the rays of the light that was coming from the city were blinding to the eye. The purity and beauty of that city was absolutely indescibable. The walls of the city were as high as they were long and the gates were made of solid pearls. The walls were very thick and there were no shadows because the brilliance of the light was so intense. The walls were perfectly transparent because the light from inside the city was so bright that absolutely nothing could withstand it. The foundations of the walls were made of massive precious stones like rubies, sardonyx, beryl, amethyst and emeralds. There were three levels in the city and streets that stretched for miles. The streets were made of solid transparent gold. The streets were not paved with gold but they were streets of solid gold completely and perfectly transparent. It was Marvin also saw millions of bright, shining, sparkling, shimmering, scintillating and glistening lights all over the city. They were moving with grace, poise, dignity and beauty. Marvin recognized them as the spirits of the departed Christians. He knew everybody, including the prophets, the apostles and the disciples. They all knew him and there was no need for introductions. The people were singing and worshiping God. They were not singing in English; they were singing in a heavenly language. Marvin did not have to learn it. He joined in and sang the songs they were singing. No one was off key or out of 5

8 time; everybody was with one accord and in tune. Everyone was singing and worshiping God. Throne Room Next, Marvin went through a maze of changing colors. Presently, he came out into the brightest, whitest, clearest, cleanest, purest, and most intense light. He saw things he had never dreamed of. The throne of God seemed to be everywhere in the city. No matter what direction he looked at, there was the throne of God. He could not see anyone sitting on the throne because the glory of God covered the throne. The throne room of God Almighty was like the most massive receptacle filled to the top with the most powerful cleansing agent. The agent cleansed everything pure and clear, like crystal without a flaw. It cleansed Marvin. It was as if Marvin s spirit was covered in scar tissue that had never been erased. Although God had forgiven him, the scar of hatred had remained until he went into the presence of God. The cleansing agent seemed to dissolve those scars. Jesus was seated at the right hand of God the Father. He was surrounded by arcs of very brilliant light. There was absolutely nothing that could compare with the brightness of Jesus. Jesus exuded love, compassion, tenderness, purity, power, glory and tenderness. Marvin was also amazed by the fact that he had Jesus entire, undivided attention. He was the focus of Jesus glory and love. Jesus welcomed him into his presence. Marvin fell down at Jesus feet and worshiped him. There was a gusher of praise, adoration, glory and honor from his innermost being going to Jesus that he could not stop. Nor could he have stopped it had it been possible. He praised Jesus the Lamb of God who died for his sins. The preciousness of Jesus just flooded his heart and soul and he wanted to go on and on worshiping the Lord Jesus. Jesus then asked Marvin to stand up. Marvin asked Jesus several questions. He wanted to know how it was that although there were millions of people demanding Jesus attention, Marvin seemed to have Jesus undivided attention. Jesus told him that there was enough of him for everyone since all were precious to him. His next concern was about the condition of the church on earth. Jesus told him that he had everything under control. He next asked when Jesus was coming back to earth. Jesus told him that one of the last signs before his return would be the greatest outpouring and move of the Holy Spirit on earth. Marvin had to return to earth because he had not yet finished his work there. Marvin asked Jesus what he was supposed to do but Jesus asked him what he himself wanted to do. He told Jesus that if he had a choice, he would rather stay up there in heaven. Jesus told him he had to go back. Marvin told Jesus that he would go back if Jesus went with him. Jesus reminded him that the Bible says Jesus would never leave nor forsake him and he would be with him until the end of the age. 6

9 Back in His Body Marvin found himself at the top of the hospital looking down on his dead body. It was as if the roof had been removed. Then he saw a car racing toward the hospital. It belonged to his pastor, Dr. Ralph Wilkerson. God had told him to go to the hospital and pray for Marvin. He got out of the car and ran towards the hospital s entrance. He went up to the intensive care unit and knocked on the door. He walked over to Marvin s bed and pulled the curtains around it. Marvin s corpse was ash grey, with green and purple mixed in. The pastor clasped his hands together and looked up to heaven. He quoted John 10:10 which says that the thief (Satan) only comes to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came so that we might have abundant life. Next, he quoted John 11:25 where Jesus told Martha that he was the resurrection and the life. He also quoted Romans 8 where it says that the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead would give life to our mortal bodies. Pastor Wilkerson then took hold of Marvin s cold, clammy, lifeless hand and began to rebuke death. He commanded Marvin s spirit to return to his body. Marvin s spirit came back into his body with a thud. He felt cold and he was also shaking. Pastor Wilkerson began rubbing Marvin s limbs to help blood circulate around his body. Marvin was completely healed and a few days later, he walked out of the hospital. Conclusion You should keep it in mind that Marvin just saw a very tiny part of heaven in 30 minutes. There is so much of heaven that he did not see. But what he saw is something that every human being should long for and look forward to seeing after departing from this world. Heaven is a very real wonderful place where those who are saved will spend eternity with God. It is a place of joy, peace, comfort and love. There is no sickness, death or other problems. Would you like to spend your eternity there? Whether you go to heaven or hell when you die depends on you and you only can make that decision. Why not choose life and eternity in heaven with God Almighty? Why would you want to go to that horrible hell instead of heaven? It costs you practically nothing to go to heaven because Jesus paid it all on the cross. That is why Jesus is the only way to heaven and you cannot get there by any other way. All other ways lead to hell. Take the road that leads to heaven. 7

10 Avoid Going to Hell at all Cost In March 1976, Jesus appeared to Mary Baxter of Belleville, Michigan, for thirty consecutive nights and showed her the depths, degrees, levels and torments of people in hell. He told her to let people know that hell is a very real place of sorrow and torment. There are no parties in hell, no love, no compassion and no rest. Above all, no one needs to go there. On the first night, Jesus took Mary to a part of hell where she saw pits of burning fire as far as she could see. The pits were shaped like bowls and each was about four feet across and three feet deep. Brimstone was embedded in the sides of the pits and glowed red like hot coals of fire. Pits of Hell Jesus and Mary stopped at one of the pits in which there was a person. Fire began at the bottom of the pit, swept upward and covered the person in flames. In a moment the fire would die down to embers, then with a mighty rushing sound, it would sweep back over the tormented person. The person was in a skeletal form. It was only when the person spoke that Mary could tell she was a woman. Her skeletal form had only a dirtygrey mist inside it. Decayed flesh hung by shreds from her bones and as it burned, it fell off. Where her eyes had once been were only empty sockets. She had no hair. There were also worms that were crawling out of her body and they were not harmed by the fire. The fire would start at her feet and cover her whole body. She seemed to be constantly burning even when the flames were only embers. Great cries and deep sobs shook the woman. She cried and groaned in despair as she begged Jesus to get her out of that horrible place. Although Jesus said nothing to her, there was great sorrow on his face. Jesus and Mary moved to another pit. A man s voice cried out from the pit and begged Jesus to 8 have mercy on him. Great wailing sobs came from the man as he asked Jesus to forgive him his sins and take him out of hell as he had been tormented there for 40 years. When Mary looked at Jesus, she saw that he too was crying. Jesus reminded the man that when he was alive on earth, he refused to believe the gospel. Many people spoke to him about it but he would not listen. He just laughed, mocked and would not repent his sins. The man replied that he was now repenting his sins. Jesus told him that it was now too late as he should have repented while he was still alive on earth. The man begged Jesus to send him back to earth to warn people that hell was real so that they would not end up in hell. Jesus replied that they had many preachers on earth and if they refuse to listen to them, they would still not be convinced even if someone was to rise from the dead. At that, the man became very angry and began to curse using evil and blasphemous words. Jesus informed Mary that people in hell have the same feelings and thoughts they had on earth. If someone was blind on earth, he was still blind in hell. If someone was crippled, he was still a cripple in hell. They remember their families and friends and all the opportunities they had to repent their sins and believe in Jesus Christ. These memories always torment them. In another pit was a woman who looked about 80 years old. Only her dirty-mist soul could be seen inside her skeleton. Her cries were so sad. The woman put her bony hands together, as if in

11 prayer. The woman had only one leg and there seemed to be holes drilled in her hip bones. When Mary asked Jesus for an explanation, he told her that the woman had suffered from cancer and great pain on earth. She had become bitter and blamed God for her condition. When people went to pray for her, she rejected their prayers and told them she did not need God or his divine healing. That was why she went to hell when she died. When the man saw Jesus, he begged him to get him out of hell and promised to preach the true gospel. When Jesus told him it was too late and there was nothing he could do for him, the man shook his fist at Jesus and cursed him. Pity was on the face of Jesus as he walked on. The old woman cried out to Jesus and begged him to forgive her and get her out of hell. She promised to serve Jesus for the rest of her life. Jesus told her it was now too late as he had done everything for her on the cross so that she would not go to hell but she had refused to repent her sins while she was alive on earth. Sadness was written all over Jesus face as he walked away. In another pit was a woman and her skeletal form was full of holes. Her bones were showing through and her torn dress was on fire. Her head was bald and there were only holes where her eyes and nose were supposed to be. A fire was burning and her flesh kept falling off. She tried to climb out of the pit but just as she reached at the top, a demon pushed her back. When she saw Jesus, she pleaded with him to get her out of that place. She promised to serve him for the rest of her life. In answer to Mary s question, Jesus said the woman had refused to repent and serve him while she was alive on earth. Instead, she loved to sin and she used her beauty to make money which became her god. She was rich, famous and could afford to buy anything she wanted. She had been killed in a car accident. Jesus wept as he moved away. On another night, Jesus and Mary stopped at a pit in which there was a man who was preaching the gospel. Mary wondered what the man was doing in hell. Jesus informed her that the man had been a preacher and had served the Lord. But when he became successful and rich, he stopped preaching the truth. He preached there was no hell and led many people astray. He even held seminars where he talked against the Holy Spirit. He also hated people from other races. They stopped at another pit in which was a woman who begged Jesus to get her out of that horrible place. She also promised to serve him for the rest of her life. Jesus reminded her of the many opportunities she was given to repent but she hardened her heart and would not repent. Jesus informed Mary that the woman had lived a promiscuous life and had broken up many homes. Although she had attended church, she only did it in order to seduce men. On another night, Jesus and Mary stopped at a pit from which a woman cried out to Jesus to deliver her from the flames of hell. She reminded Jesus that she was a member of the church and had attended church regularly. Jesus, full of love, reminded her that he had done all he could but she had rejected his offer of eternal life. She had only accepted him with her lips but she would not repent her sins. She had pretended to love and serve the Lord when she was with other Christians but when she was alone, she was involved in all sorts of sins. She would also not forgive others. As Jesus and Mary walked away, the woman screamed and cried with rage and cursed and swore at Jesus. Jesus and Mary stopped at another pit where a woman was accurately quoting the scriptures. 9

12 Some of the lost people around her swore and cursed her while others told her to stop. Still others asked if there was ever any hope for them to ever get out of that dreadful place. When Mary asked Jesus why that woman was in hell, he told her that the woman had been a very good preacher and she had led many people to Christ. One day, she found out that her husband was having an affair with another woman. Although he asked her for forgiveness, she would not forgive him. She instead became bitter and anger took root. One day, she killed her husband and the other woman, and committed suicide. Jesus and Mary moved on and came to another pit in which was a young man. Jesus explained to Mary that the man was 23 years old when he died. He had been raised up in church but he would not repent his sins and believe in Jesus. He kept putting of the day of his repentance thinking that he had all the time in the world. He spent his time going after the pleasures of the world. One night, while he was driving home after attending a party, he was killed in a car wreck. They next came to another pit where a woman pleaded earnestly with Jesus to take her out of that horrible place as she had been there for a very long time and she could not bear it any more. Jesus reminded her that she could have avoided going to hell if she had listened to the preachers God had sent to her. She had pretended to be a Christian but her heart was very far away from God. She would also not forgive others or stay out of sin. Although she had hidden her sins from people, there was nothing she could hide from God because God knows what is in the heart of a person. After Jesus had finished speaking, the woman began to swear and to curse God. coffin. The torments the man was being subjected to were terrible to behold. When the man saw Jesus, he begged for mercy. The man promised to serve Jesus and to preach the gospel if he rescued him from hell. Jesus explained to Mary that the man had a big church and had led many people to Christ. But when he became successful, pride entered his heart and he stopped preaching the truth. He also began to pursue worldly materials and pleasures. He even used the tithes and offerings to buy big cars, houses and other things. The lust of the flesh and the deceitfulness of riches led him astray. He also taught that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was a lie and that those who claimed to have the Holy Spirit were hypocrites. He preached that everyone would go to heaven because God was very loving and would not send anyone to hell. He caused many people to backslide. He was being tormented by Satan because he had once preached the gospel and many souls were saved. Cells in Hell On another night, Jesus took Mary to visit another section of hell where there were cells as far as she could see. Like jail cells, the cells were all in a row, with only two feet of dirt separating them. The walls of the cells were made of light clay and dirt. The doors were made of black metal with bars of metal and locks on them. There was a person locked in each being tormented. The cells were reserved for people who had knowingly and willingly served Satan on earth. Preacher in a Coffin On another night, Jesus took Mary to visit another part of hell. They came to a coffin with 12 demons marching around it. As they marched, they were chanting and laughing. Each had a spear in its hand which they kept thrusting into the coffin through small openings that lined the outside. Mary could see the man s heart which the demons were piercing and blood was sputtering from it. A desperate and hopeless cry was coming from the 10

13 The cells were occupied by people who had been involved in the occult. They included sorcerers, mediums, idol worshipers, witches and wizards. They had deceived many people and led them astray. They had also done great wickedness against the Lord and his people. They loved to serve Satan and would not repent of their evil deeds when God gave them opportunities to do so. There were cries, moans and screams from the damned souls in the cells. Jesus and Mary stopped in front of one of the cells. A bright light from Jesus illumined the inside of the cell. There was an old woman with a real body seated in a rocking chair crying as though her heart would break. Her color was ashen-flesh mixed with a grayish tint. As she rocked, tears rolled down her cheeks. She was in great pain. When she saw Jesus, she stood up and cried to him to have mercy on her. Demons began to rip off her fresh. She sat down again but this time, only her skeleton with a dirty mist inside was visible. Where there had been a clothed body, now there were blackened and burned bones and empty eye sockets. The woman moaned and cried out to Jesus but it was too late since there was nothing that Jesus could do for her. would reward her with eternal life. Jesus and Mary walked away and stopped in front of another cell that was occupied by a woman who was blue-gray in color. Her flesh was falling off the bones. Her blackened bones were all burned up and she had on ragged clothes. Worms were crawling out of her and a dirty odor filled the cell. She was also sitting in a rocking chair holding a rag doll. As she rocked, great sobs shook her body. Jesus informed Mary that the woman had sold her soul to the devil. She had been a soothsayer, a diviner and a medium. She not only practiced witchcraft, but also taught others. She also worshiped Satan and attended devil-worship services. Satan had given her lots of power. He had also lied to her that she would never die as he had power over life and death. Other Cells On another night, Jesus and Mary came across a blind man in a cell. He said he was in great torment and very thirsty and asked Jesus for a drink of water. He also said that he knew that Jesus would one day come to get him out of hell. He told Jesus that he was now repentant. Jesus was sad as he walked away. Soon they came to another cell which was occupied by a man who begged Jesus to get him out of hell as he had repented for a long time. The man had mocked and made fun of the gospel, salvation and the Holy Spirit while he was alive on earth. He would not repent his sins even though he had many opportunities to do so. When Jesus reminded him of this, the man began to curse and to utter many evil things against God. Jesus informed Mary that the woman had been a witch and a worshiper of Satan. She had not only practiced witchcraft, but she had also taught witchcraft to others. God had given her many chances to repent but she had hardened her heart. Satan had deceived her into believing that he They came to another cell where a desperate cry of sorrow was coming from. Jesus told Mary that the man was full of hatred and had murdered people. He had also refused to believe that God would forgive if he repented his sins. He was given many opportunities to repent but he refused. He instead continued to sin and he died in his sins and was lost in hell forever. The next cell that Jesus and Mary came to was occupied by a woman who was in horrible agony as 11

14 she was being tormented. Jesus explained to Mary that God had healed the woman of cancer and for a time, she had served him. But she had gone back to her old life of nightclubs, drinking and immorality. She still thought she had plenty of time to repent and come back to Jesus but she died before she could do it. Jesus and Mary moved on and came to another cell that was occupied by a man. Cries of such utter pain and regret came from him. While the man was alive on earth, he had chosen the broad way instead of the narrow path. He had loved to sin and would not repent even when God gave him many opportunities to do so. Great sobs shook his body as he cried out in regret. Jesus and Mary came to another cell occupied by a woman who also begged Jesus to get her out of the place. The woman had been a Hindu on earth and she had refused to believe in Jesus when missionaries had preached the gospel to her. The Arena Jesus and Mary walked on and came to a huge arena. Seated in the arena were people who had been brought out of the cells. The people placed at the center of the arena had been leaders in the occult world. They were mediums, soothsayers, sorcerers, mind readers, witches and warlocks. When they were alive on earth, they deceived many and caused them to follow Satan. The people they had deceived came and tormented and tortured them. One form of torment was to tear a person s bones apart and bury them in different parts of hell. The mutilated person felt tremendous pain. Those seated in the arena also threw stones at those in the ring. Every imaginable method of torture was 12 allowed. The people being tormented cried out for death but did not find it because they were already dead. Satan himself was giving orders for them to be tormented. This was his fun center. Mary Abandoned in Hell On another night, Jesus took Mary on a visit to another section of hell. As they were walking along, Jesus suddenly disappeared and Mary was left alone in hell. She cried and called out for Jesus but he was nowhere to be seen. Fear gripped her and she ran blindly in the darkness. Two demons grabbed her and put chains on her arms and began to drag her away. She screamed but Jesus did not come to her rescue. The demons threw her into a cell and locked the door. As she cried, the demons laughed sarcastically. The dreadful odor of hell saturated her body. She could also not understand why she had been locked up in a cell. Mary thought she had died and gone to hell. She realized she was lost forever. She sobbed as she called out to Jesus. A demon told her to shut up because Jesus would never come to help her. A woman s voice from the next cell told her that she was lost forever as there was no way of escape from hell. A feeling of intense loneliness and utter despair came upon Mary. The demons came back and opened her cell door and dragged her out. A roaring fire sprang up in front of her and it seemed as though her flesh was being ripped off her body. Something unseen was tearing at her body while demons were biting her all over her body. The most excruciating pain swept over her; she was hurting beyond what she could bear. The demons took her to Satan and threw her down before a dirty altar on which there was a large, open book. Mary wondered whether this was real or she was dreaming. The demons forced her to bow down before Satan. A fear like she had never felt came on her. A chain was placed on her and when she looked down at herself, she saw that she was a mere skeleton just like the other people in hell. Worms crawled inside her and she was enveloped in flames.

15 Mary was gripped by the most awful emotions. She could not feel God, love, peace or any warmth. She could only feel fear, hatred, excruciating pain and sorrow beyond measure. She called out to Jesus to save her but there was no answer. Satan commanded two demons to take her to the deepest part of hell. She was thrown into a dark, cold and clammy cell. She could feel both cold and burning at the same time. Fire burned her body and worms crawled over and through her. People were trying to swim out of the lake of fire but when they were almost out, something unseen would push them back into the flames. Outside the lake of fire was the blackest of darkness. Only the light from the flames illuminated the night air. River of Torment On another night, Jesus and Mary visited another part of hell where there was a large river flowing between unseen banks. It was a river full of blood and fire. There were many people in the river chained together and the weight of the chains dragged them under the surface of the water. The fire roared like a great furnace and when it had passed, the people looked fiery red and their bones were blackened and burned. They cried in regret and sorrow. When Mary asked for an explanation, Jesus told her those people had been perverts who had practiced homosexuality and all sorts of abominations. They had led many young girls and boys into the sin of homosexuality which they called love while it was perversion and abomination. They had refused to repent and be saved from their sins. Although Jesus still loved them, there was nothing he could do for them. All of a sudden, light filled her cell. Jesus appeared and she was instantly back in her home. Jesus told her she would not have realized hell was real until she had experienced it for herself. Now she knew the truth and what it was really like to be lost in hell forever. Jesus had to let her go through it to make her realize how terrible hell was. She was now in a better position to tell others about the horrors of hell. Outer Darkness On another night, as Jesus and Mary were walking through hell, they came to the section known as outer darkness. There was a fire in the middle and sounds of weeping and gnashing of teeth and utter hopelessness in the place. The place was reserved for people who had known Christ but had backslidden. Mary Abandoned in Hell Again On another night, Jesus and Mary stopped on a hill overlooking a valley. Mary saw many people falling down and landing with a thud at the bottom of the hill. Demons would chain and drag them away. Horrified cries of distress and despair filled the place. Jesus told Mary those were people who had just died and were arriving in hell. Suddenly and without any warning, Jesus disappeared and left Mary in hell. She began to run down the hill looking for Jesus. She was stopped by a large demon with a chain. It laughed and told her there was nowhere to run to as she would be in hell forever. The demon bound her with the chain and threw her to the ground. As she lay there, a strange, gooey film began to cover her body with a horrible stink. She felt her flesh and skin begin to fall off her bones. Her body turned into a dirty-gray color and holes appeared all over her body. Her bones were also teeming 13

16 with worms which she could not get rid of. She was able to see through her body. She could also feel the decay in her body. It then dawned on her that she would be in hell forever. She screamed in abject horror but all in vain. Mary wondered if she was dreaming or she was really in hell. She also wondered if she had committed some great sin against God and lost her salvation. Her memory was still intact and she could remember exactly what had happened on earth. She could feel, see, smell, hear and taste the torments of hell. She could also see inside herself; she was only a dirty skeletal form. She could also feel everything that was happening to her. She wanted to die but could not. Mary knew life was going on earth and people were going about their business: work, laughter, love, and other things. But all that was overshadowed by the awful pain, darkness and the dirty fog in hell. A dim yellow light was everywhere. The smell of rotting flesh and corruption was unbearable. When she thought about her husband and children, she begged God not to let them end up in hell. Just then a demon taunted her by telling her that her Jesus had let her down. She was now Satan s property. The demon picked her up and placed her on the back of some kind of animal. Her hands were tied behind her back. The animal moved on for what seemed like hours and then it stopped. With a jolt, she was thrown off the animal to the ground. She was picked up from the ground and put in a cell and the door locked. Mary looked around the cell in horror. She prayed and repented her sins. She repented of things she had done and things she had left undone. She thought of many things she could have done to lead others to Christ and to help others when they needed her. She wanted to die but could not. Mary began to sing about the life and the power in the blood of Jesus. Demons with spears came and screamed to her to stop it. As they stabbed her all over with the spears, she felt hot flashes of fire and pain. They also chanted that Satan was god and they hated Jesus and all he stands for. She also remembered her whole life and those who had told her about Jesus. She remembered praying for the sick and Jesus healing them. She remembered Jesus words of love and comfort and his faithfulness. She thought of all the good things God had given her: air to breath, food, children, a home, and good things to enjoy. If only she had been more faithful and obedient, she would not be in hell. 14 Minutes seemed like hours, and hours stretched into eternity. She had no sleep, no rest, no food and no water. She had a great hunger and was thirstier than she could ever remember in her life. She was also very tired and very sleepy but the pain went on and on. All at once, Mary was lifted from the cell by an unseen force. When she regained consciousness, she was back in her bed at home. When she woke up the next day, she was very sick. For days she relived the horrors of hell and its torments. Once again, Jesus had let her experience the horrors of hell so that she could tell people hell was a very real place and they should avoid going there at all cost. Conclusion You may believe the above or dismiss it as nonsense. How you react depends on whether you

17 believe hell is a real place or not. But if there is no hell, then you have got practically nothing to worry about. On the other hand, if hell is a very real horrible place of agony and torment for the dead, you need to pay closer attention to what this article and the Bible say about hell. You should always bear in mind that you cannot wait to find out if hell is a real place or not eternity. The good news is that you do not need to go to hell. God did everything in his power to make sure that you would not go to hell but rather you would go to heaven and spend eternity with him there. The only way to avoid going to hell is to believe in Jesus Christ that he paid for all your sins on the cross. after you die. What if it is a real place? Once in hell, there will be no way out and you will spend your eternity regretting why you did not listen while you were alive on earth. You will join millions of people who, just like you, refused to listen to the truth and hardened their hearts against God. If you end up in hell, then you will only have yourself to blame for all Repent and turn away from your sins and live for God for the rest of your life. God will forgive you your sins and give you eternal life. The choice is yours: choose life in heaven and not death in hell. You must avoid going to hell at all cost. 15

18 How Desperate are you to Receive a Miracle? There is nothing more powerful than the testimonies of supernatural healing miracles. Testimonies demonstrate that the Word of God is true and that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. They help to build people s faith to pray for themselves and for others who need healing miracles. May God use the following testimonies to inspire you to secure the miracles you need. Desperate Blind Woman An American evangelist, Derek Prince, was holding a 7-day crusade in Kenya in the 1970s. At the end of each service, he would ask those who needed supernatural healing to go forward for prayers. Among those who went forward on the first night was a blind middle-aged woman. After the evangelist prayed for her, nothing happened and she went home still blind. On the second night of the crusade, the evangelist once again invited those who needed healing to go forward. The blind woman went forward but after he prayed for her, nothing happened. The same thing happened on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth nights. The woman went forward each night but she was not healed. By this time, the evangelist was anxious and somehow embarrassed and he was thinking maybe he was the one who lacked enough faith to get the woman healed. Then came the seventh and the last day of the crusade. The evangelist, as usual, gave an invitation and the blind woman went forward as usual. When he laid his hands on her and prayed, the woman s eyes were instantly healed and she could see for the first time in her life. You can imagine the woman s joy when God supernaturally healed her. 16 The blind woman s testimony is very inspiring since it encourages us never to give up until we receive our miracles from God. The blind woman could have given up after being prayed for two or three times without seeing any results. She could have concluded that maybe it was not God s will to heal her. Her faith in God did not allow her to do that. Each night, she went forward hoping to receive her miracle. When nothing happened, she would not lose hope. She would go home believing she would receive her miracle at God s appointed time. God honored her faith. Desperate Paralyzed Woman Njeri was a Kenya businesswoman in the late 1970s and her business was doing well. She was in her late 30s and did not know the Lord and neither did she care about the things of God. All she cared about was making money. Tragedy struck unexpectedly one day and her life was turned upside down in the twinkling of an eye. On that particular day, she was riding in her own public transport bus when it was involved in an accident. She was unconscious when she was rushed to hospital. What was horrifying, when she came to, was to be informed that she had broken her spinal cord and she would never walk again. She would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. That was a very bitter pill to swallow but there was nothing she could do about it. For the next 9 years, she was confined to a wheelchair and she could hardly do anything for herself. Her children took care of her. Njeri became very depressed and suicidal. Some people tried to comfort her by telling her it was God s will that she was crippled and she should learn to live with that since there was nothing she could do about it. Njeri did not want to hear anything about God because she blamed him for her condition. God could have at least prevented her from becoming paralyzed but he did not. She therefore did not want to hear about him or have anything to do with him. With time and with insistence from her friends, Njeri s heart gradually softened towards God and she was eventually saved. She started praying and attending

19 church. God became very real to her and she realized it was not God who had caused the accident that had left her paralyzed. After she was saved, Njeri came to strongly believe in God s supernatural healing power. Above all, deep down in her heart, she came to believe that one day, God would heal her. She was convinced that she would not die as an invalid in a wheelchair. That is how strong her faith was. She began attending meetings of reputed anointed preachers who prayed for the sick and were healed. She attended meetings such as those of Margaret Wangari of Banana Hills since miracles were said to occur during her meetings. She was prayed for many times but nothing happened. However, she did not give up and she continued to attend meeting after meeting hoping to receive her miracle. This went on for several years but Njeri did not give up as she believed God would one day heal her. Her day finally arrived. It was a Sunday morning and Wairimu Nilsson was holding a worship service in the old Nairobi Town Hall. Njeri arrived a bit late and found the place packed with people. Her wish had been to sit at the front but that proved impossible. The ushers put her (still in her wheelchair) at the back of the hall. Njeri was very disappointed as she thought there would be no chance for the evangelist to pray for her. She need not have panicked at all. When the service began, she could feel God s anointing all over the place. Njeri had a vision when the congregation was singing the Kikuyu hymn, Ngukanyuka O Kahora. She saw angels in heaven also singing the same song. What happened next took place so fast that Njeri thought she was in a trance. Next, Njeri saw a great light and a hand reach out and touch the broken part of her spine and push the bones back into their proper place. Njeri does not remember what happened next because when she came to herself, she found herself at the front of the hall jumping about and thanking God. God had at last remembered her and answered her prayer. She had received the supernatural miracle that she had longed for and waited for many years. Her supernatural healing miracle proved to be permanent. Njeri s testimony is very inspiring since it encourages us to never give up until we receive our miracles from God. Njeri could have given up after being prayed for two or three times without seeing any results. She could also have concluded that maybe it was not God s will to heal her. Her faith in God did not waver. She continued to believe that one day God would raise her from that wheelchair. God honored her faith and she received her supernatural healing miracle in accordance to God s perfect timing. How desperate are you to receive your supernatural healing miracle from God? Have you already given up after being prayed for several times without seeing any results? Have you concluded that maybe it is not God s will to heal you? If you are as desperate for a miracle as the blind woman and Njeri were, you should never give up, no matter how long it takes. Keep praying and waiting and you will, like the blind woman and Njeri, receive your miracle in God s perfect timing. Many people give up after praying for a short time or being prayed for several times without seeing any results. You should continue praying and being prayed for, no matter how long it takes, until you receive your miracle. Never give up or conclude that maybe it is not God s will to answer your prayers. Keep on praying and you will receive your miracle in God s perfect timing, if you do not give up. 17

20 European Anti-Semitism The Jews have been hated and persecuted in Europe for the last 2,000 years. Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) is an integral part of the western civilization. European anti-semitism culminated in Adolf Hitler s Final Solution (Holocaust) which was an attempt to exterminate all European Jews in the early 1940s. This article traces the roots and progression of European anti-semitism for the last 2,000 years. The word anti-semitic was first used in the 1860s in Germany in reference to the prejudices and hatred many Germans had towards the Jews. Some German intellectuals tried to characterize the hatred of Jews as a rational and reasonable phenomenon. Dispersion of the Jews After the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in 70 AD, Jews were expelled from Jerusalem and much of Judea. Following the Simon Bar Kokhba revolt of AD, the Romans expelled all Jews from the Holy Land. They also changed its name to Palestine; a name derived from the ancient arch enemies of Israel known as the Philistines. By 1516, only a small community of 5,000 Jews remained in Galilee. The Jews were dispersed all over the world and they settled in North Africa, Europe and elsewhere. This became known as the Jewish Diaspora. Throughout the centuries, the Jews, wherever they were, would start their New Year by toasting one another and declaring, Next year in Jerusalem. This meant that they hoped to celebrate the next New Year in Jerusalem. This appeared to be a forlorn hope. Church s Anti-Semitism When the Roman Empire embraced Christianity in the early fourth century, anti-semitism began to rear its ugly head within the church. Since the Jews refused to convert to Christianity, they were labeled as Christ-killers and held responsible for the death of Jesus (Matthew 27:22-25). It was not until 1965 when the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church decreed that the Jews were not responsible for the death of Christ. Some prominent early church leaders, such as Justin Martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, Ambrose of Milan and St. Augustine of Hippo, preached hatred towards the Jews. St. Augustine, for example, wrote that the Jews were a wicked people and should be banished because of their evil. A church council held in 200 AD banned Jews from associating with Christians. Another council held in mid 300s AD banned Jewish customs in the church. By 400 AD, anything to do with the Jews was considered heresy. In 529 AD, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I issued the Justinian Code. It excluded Jews from all public places, prohibited them from giving evidence in lawsuits involving Christians, and forbade them from reading the Bible in Hebrew. In 533 AD, marriage between Jews and Christians was outlawed, as well as the conversion of the Jews to Christianity. Other laws were also passed that forbade Jews from holding public office, employing Christian servants, or appearing on the streets during the Holy Week (week between Jesus last supper and his crucifixion). Among the myths about Jews that took hold was the blood libel. This myth claimed that Jews secretly 18

21 slaughtered Christian children and used their blood for ritual purposes. Another myth stated that the failure of Jews to convert to Christianity was a sign of their service to the anti-christ and their innate disloyalty to European (Christian) civilization. Conversely, the conversion of individual Jews was perceived as insincere and as having materialistic motives. In 1215 AD, the Roman Catholic Church issued a decree that made it mandatory for Jews to wear special clothes and markings to distinguish them from Christians. In addition, Jews were not permitted to attend universities. aim was to win the control of the Holy Land from the Muslims. The crusades coincided with widespread persecution of the Jews. The crusaders could not understand why they had to go to the Holy land to fight against infidels while the Jewish infidels lived among them. Before the crusaders left in 1096, they went on a campaign of slaughtering the Jews from January to July 1096 AD. 12,000 Jews, who amounted to about In the early 15th century, laws were passed all over Europe that forbade Jews to live in cities; they were confined in ghettos. They could not leave the ghettos except to pursue business interests with Christians. Anti-Semitic laws, such as the wearing of a yellow badge, became very common in many European countries. In most of Europe, Jews were denied the right to own land. Commerce guilds were also closed to them. Jews were left with very few ways to make a living. That is why they became money-lenders and peddlers who bought and sold goods far and wide. They also became craftsmen and developed a reputation for their golden hands which produced expert work. Jews also worked as managers of the large estates owned by non-jewish European nobles. They also collected taxes for the nobles. That is why the peasants viewed Jews as oppressors for collecting taxes from them. Expulsion of Jews Jews were expelled from England in 1290 and it was not until 1657 that they were permitted to return to England. They were expelled from France in 1306, from Austria in 1421 and from Spain in In Russia, the Jews were confined to the so-called Pale of Settlement, the area comprising Ukraine, Belorussia and eastern Poland. European Crusades The crusades took place from 1096 to 1291 AD. Their one-third of the Jewish population in Germany and France, were massacred by the crusaders. Entire Jewish communities were forced to choose between baptism or death. This was the beginning of the pogroms (riots launched against Jews by local residents and frequently encouraged by the authorities). When the crusaders captured Jerusalem from the Muslims in July 1099 AD, they rounded up all the Jews (about 1000 men, women and children), shut them in a synagogue and set it on fire. In order to drown the cries of the Jews who were being burned alive, the crusaders marched around the burning synagogue singing praise songs to Jesus. The Pogroms forced many Jews to flee from western Europe to central and eastern Europe where life was no better since they suffered pogroms in those areas as well. For example, at least 100,000 Jews were slaughtered in Poland between 1648 and

22 In , the Cossacks massacred many Jews in Ukraine. They ravaged the Jews with startling savagery: sawing them to pieces, flaying them alive, roasting them to death over slow fires and slitting infants in half with their swords. The Black Death In , the Black Death (bubonic plague) spread across Europe and killed millions of people. About one third of the European population perished. Since no one knew what was causing the deaths, Jews became the scapegoat. They were accused of poisoning water wells and thus bringing about the deaths. It did not matter that the Jews themselves were dying of the plague. What the Europeans needed was an explanation and someone to blame for the epidemic. Superstitious and hate-filled mobs massacred thousands of Jews, believing that killing Jews was not only justified but in accordance with God s will. It was a divine retribution for their alleged blasphemous and satanic practices. controlled big business, banks, and the shop on the corner. They seemed to control the whole economy. Change was unpleasant for many Europeans as the old way of life had its comforts, predictability and a measure of security. Emancipation of the Jews did not mean that anti-semitism came to an end. The more the Jews prospered in the new economic set-up, the more anti-semitism increased. The debate on the Jewish question entered a new chapter. In the past, the Jews had been viewed as different and unacceptable because of their religion. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Jewish question became one of race. Social Darwinism It was argued that Jews were different, not because of their religion, but because their blood was different Protestant Reformation Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation, initially wanted to convert Jews to Protestantism. But when they refused, he became anti-semitic. In 1546, he published a booklet titled, Of Jews and Their Lies, that was very anti-semitic. He wrote that the Jewish synagogues and homes should be destroyed, Jews should live in segregated areas, and their rabbis stopped teaching Judaism. When Hitler and the Nazis came to power in Germany in the 1930s, they followed Martin Luther s advice. Emancipation of Jews During the Age of Enlightenment, many European countries granted Jews equal rights. In 1791, France became the first country to grant equal rights to its 40,000 Jews during the French Revolution. Prussia and Bavaria gave Jews full citizenship in the early 1800s. In the early 1800s, Emperor Louis Napoleon of France conquered much of Europe and liberated many Jews from the confines of the ghettos. However, anti-semitism did not fade away. The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution spread to all Europe in the 19th century. It was a time of vast economic changes when economic life became fiercely competitive. Everything that went wrong was blamed on the Jews who were now very active in the economy of their countries. The Jews were seen as the ones who 20 from that of Europeans. Race-based Jewish-hatred spawned pseudo-scientific racial theories of so-called Aryan superiority. This so-called scientific basis of anti-semitism excluded any possibility of Jews being assimilated into European culture; they could never become Europeans. This was Social Darwinism, a belief that people of different races were in competition with one another and only the strongest races would ultimately survive. Viennese Anti-Semitism Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was the most rabid hot-beds of anti-semitic agitation as there were many Jews living in the empire. In 1885, for example, students at the University of Vienna formed an anti-semitic union to fight against the increased admission of Jews at the University,

23 and the increasing number of Jewish lawyers, journalists, artists, doctors, and professors. In 1887, the Austro-Hungarian government passed a law prohibiting the immigration or settlement of foreign Jews in the empire. Jews constituted about 10% of the Viennese population. Part of the Jewish population of the city was unusually successful by European standards. They spoke German perfectly, dressed in the fashion of the day, and viewed the splendor of Vienna with the pride and arrogance of the native-born. They were doctors, lawyers, journalists, writers, and store owners. It was said that three of the four major banks in Vienna were owned by Jews while the fourth was owned by a Greek. Poor Jews also lived in Vienna. They were mostly Orthodox Jews from the empire s rural provinces. Dressed in black coats and black hats and with their long beards, they became the object of intense loathing by the German population of Vienna. They were viewed as dirty in appearance, unscrupulous in business, aggressive in the market, spoke bad German, reeked of onion and garlic, and worshiped a foreign God. They were also suspected of being socialists or communists. The Gentile population of Vienna very much feared being physically overwhelmed by the poor, foreign and repulsive Jews from the provinces who came to the city in an effort to find work and livelihood. The young Adolf Hitler ( ) spent six bitter years from in Vienna living on failed dreams in a succession of rented rooms, flop houses, and a men s hostel. These years represented a time of political radicalism, economic pressure, and intense anti-semitism in the imperial capital. Life s problems were blamed on the Jews. Hitler wrote in his autobiography (Mein Kampf), For me this was the time of the greatest spiritual upheaval I have ever had to go through. I had ceased to be a weak-kneed cosmopolitan and became an anti-semite. Jewish Homeland in Palestine Anti-Semitism convinced some leading Jews that they would never be accepted or safe anywhere in Europe. The only place they could be save was in their own country. A Viennese Jew named Theodor Herzl began a movement to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. His movement was called Zionism and offered hope to the impoverished, scorned Jewish masses that they might one day live in peace in their own land. Theodor Herzl was a journalist from Vienna who was assigned to cover the Dreyfus Affair in France in the early 1890s. Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish officer in the French Army who was accused of passing military documents to the German Embassy in Paris. Despite the lack of any conclusive evidence, he was convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment. From the Dreyfus Affair, Herzl concluded that anti-semitism was difficult to escape no matter how enlightened a country one lived in. Herzl came up with a 22-page pamphlet entitled, The Jewish State in which he argued for the formation of a political organization to rally Jews together. Jews responded positively to Herzl s suggestion that they should meet and unify their diverse Jewish organizations. The First Zionist Congress was convened in Switzerland in August There were 200 delegates representing every aspect of Jewish religion, cultural philosophy and thought. The 3-day congress founded the World Zionist Organization with Herzl as president. Thereafter, Herzl met with the Ottoman (Turkish) Sultan and asked for a charter that would allow Jewish mass immigration to Palestine. This request was denied. He then asked Britain to allow a Jewish settlement in the Sinai Peninsula but this was also rejected. However, the British offered Kenya for Jewish settlement, an offer that the World Zionist Organization rejected. Conclusion The Jews wanted to establish their homeland in their ancestral land of Palestine. Although it appeared this would never happen, the Jews persisted and their dream became a reality in May 1948 when the state of Israel was established. But this did not bring anti-semitism to an end. Anti-Semitism has persisted up to the present and it is even more widespread than it was before the formation of the state of Israel in

24 Divine Rescue God delivers his people from danger if they trust and cry out to him. The following story is about a Christian woman in Nazi Germany who was in danger of being sent to the notorious Nazi concentration camps but God supernaturally rescued her because she trusted in him. If God had not intervened on her behalf, things would have turned out very differently for her. Helene was a devout Seventh-day Adventist in Nazi Germany during World War II. Her husband was in the army fighting in Russia. Helene had refused to join the Nazi Party on the grounds that what the party stood for was incompatible with what she believed. The Nazi Party retaliated against her and her husband s monthly paychecks, her only means of support, stopped arriving at her door. When the first paycheck failed to arrive, she waited for a few days thinking it might have been delayed in the mail. But no check came. That Sabbath, she mentioned her problems in the church and members took a collection which was enough to see her and her three children through until the end of that month. But no check came at the end of the month. Desperate, Helene visited an old friend and told her about her problems. The old woman told Helene she had saved some money and she would lend it to her and she could repay her back when her paychecks arrived. They went to the bank and the old woman withdrew her entire life savings and gave it to Helene. The money was enough to take care of Helene and her family for the next six months. Helene wrote letters to government and welfare agencies explaining her situation and begging to be given the withheld checks. There was no response. 22 Finally, she wrote to her husband in Russia and explained what was happening. Trouble with the Authorities A few days later, she received a letter from her local Nazi Party office asking her to visit their office at her earliest convenience. She was overjoyed as she thought they were responding to her letters and she would get the withheld money. She quickly walked to the building the Nazis occupied. When she showed the letter to the receptionist, the receptionist gave her a strange, pitying look before she pointed at a door. Helene walked into the office and saw a man sitting behind a desk stacked high with papers. He held up a piece of paper and asked Helene if she recognized it. It was the letter she had written and sent to her husband a few days earlier. Curiously, Helene asked how the letter meant for her husband had ended up with the man. He informed her that the government was at liberty to intercept and censor mail written and received by individuals under suspicion. The man informed her that it was forbidden to write bad news to soldiers fighting at the war front. It was forbidden to tell them anything negative about what was going on back home because that would undermine their morale and keep them from giving their best to their country. The man told her what she had done was not only a subversive criminal act, but also treason which was punishable with death.

25 Helene stared at the man incredulously and tried to defend her actions. She told him that she had not received her husband s paychecks for months and she had written to him to find out what was happening to his pay. The man coldly told her she had committed a crime and it had to be dealt with. He told her she would hear from them soon. Helene trembled with fear as she walked home. She prayed and asked God for help and wisdom. Several weeks passed but Helena did not receive her husband s paychecks. She continued with her campaign of telephoning and writing to local agencies about the missing paychecks but no one responded. Brown House One day, Helene received a letter from the local Nazi Party headquarters. It summoned her to appear before Herr Springer, the head of the Nazi Party in central Germany, on the following Monday at 10:00 am. Helene sank onto a chair and read the letter again. Herr Springer had a reputation of being the most ruthless and cruel of the local Nazi Party officials. People referred to the local Nazi Party headquarters as the Brown House because of its brown-stuccoed exterior. Everyone avoided its ominous presence. It was well-known that the Nazis committed unspeakable atrocities in that building. People were tortured in the Brown House and forced to confess their crimes. Many people who entered the building were never heard of again. There were also rumors that there was a secret underground passage that led from the Brown House to the local Gestapo headquarters. Enemies of the state were taken there and then transported to the dreaded concentration camps. Helene was in a dilemma as to what to do. She thought of taking her three children and going into hiding. But how would they survive in hiding without money? On the other hand, if she went to the Brown House and was arrested, what would become of her children? Helene did not have an answer. She knelt and prayed that God would deliver her from all the dangers that faced her and her children. After she had prayed, she felt God s peace come upon her. She also told her children that she would visit Brown House on the next Monday morning and they should pray about it. That Sabbath before the church service begun, Helene pulled aside several church members and held consultations with them. They also prayed together and interceded for her and implored God to keep her safe. On Monday morning, Helene bade good-bye to her children. She told them that if all went well, she would be back home by noon. She also reminded them that Brown House was a dangerous place and she may not return. She told them she had made arrangements with some families in the church to take care of them if she did not come back. Helene made her way downtown and arrived at the Brown House a few minutes before 10:00 am. Glancing up at the menacing facade, she saw barred windows set in foot-thick stone walls. She also noticed that there was no doorknob in the steel door. The house looked more like a prison than a government building. 23

26 She pressed a small button and heard a bell ring. When a buzzer sounded, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The door closed behind her with a soft click. She turned and saw there was no doorknob inside either. A uniformed man peered through a small window and asked what she wanted. She told him she had a 10:00 am appointment with Herr Springer. He told her his office was on third floor, number 11. The window shut with a bang. Helene climbed the stairs in the ominous, dark house. She met no one but felt surrounded by angels. She knocked on the door and a voice told her to Come in! Once inside, she approached a dark walnut desk on top of which was a thick folder and a polished brass nameplate engraved with Gauleiter Springer. The man behind the desk placed a thick folder in front of him. He told her there were documents in that folder which were very condemning. She had refused to join the Nazi Party or the League of Women. Her children had refused to attend school on Saturday. She had also written a subversive letter to her husband. She had also resisted the Nazi Party s calls to cooperate. The man wondered whether she was a Jew. Helene denied that she was a Jew. She told him that she was a Seventh-day Adventist and one of the Ten Commandments required God s people to worship him on the seventh day and to keep it holy. That is why she kept the Sabbath. The man picked the phone and asked his assistant to check if Helene was a member of the Seventh- day Adventist Church. A few minutes later, the phone rang and the information was confirmed. The man told Helene that she had a lot of nerve to speak openly of keeping the Sabbath at that dangerous time and in that house. After a long pause, the man said he was well acquainted with the Seventh-day Adventists. He asked her if she knew the Meiers. She knew them because Meier was an elder in her church. The man said the Meirs were his neighbors and when he moved to his apartment, they had invited him and his family for dinner. He told her the Meirs were good neighbors and he had a lot of respect for the Adventists. Helene was astonished because the Meiers had never mentioned that the cruel Nazi Party boss was their neighbor. The man asked her why she had not received her husband s paychecks. She told him about the continuing harassment by party members and their hatred for her because she would not join the party. She said she would never join the party and would continue to keep the Sabbath and be faithful to God no matter what the consequences would be. The man stood up and told her not to worry about the money as he would make sure that she got it. Helene was stunned. Finally, she said, Herr Springer, I don t know how to thank you for your kindness. May God bless you! With a fathomless expression on his face, the man opened the door for her. He told her he was not Herr Springer. Herr Springer had woken up very ill that morning and was unable to go to work. The man said he was simply filling in for Herr Springer that day. A few days later, Helene was notified to appear at the child welfare office to pick up a check. The check contained all her husband s paychecks that had been withheld. Conclusion God supernaturally intervened and rescued Helene from being sent to a concentration camp. There is no doubt that if she had found Herr Springer in office that day, things would have turned quite differently for her. But God did not allow that to happen. He had the right person at the right place at the right time whom he used to perform the miracle that God had in store for Helene. Always remember to trust in the Lord and to pray and God will perform miracles for you as he did for Helene. 24

27 Struggle Against Witch Doctors in Colonial Kenya Missionaries in colonial Kenya encountered many problems and challenges. One of the greatest challenges was the competition from the witch doctors who had a strong hold on the people s spiritual wellbeing. Breaking the power of the witch doctors was not as easy as the missionaries had originally thought. Missionaries considered witch doctor as one of the greatest obstacles to their missionary work. They described the witch doctor as an evil type of medical practitioner who practiced magic and witchcraft. He went around carrying all manner of instruments of torture, and medicines having the ugliest and bitterest properties possible to obtain. The witch doctors were the focus of the missions unrelenting wrath. They were accused of intimidating their people by warning them that many disasters would overtake and destroy them if they gave in to the demands of the missions. They were also accused of scaring people away from the missions by spreading malicious rumors that missionaries collected the sick people cast out into the bush to die, not to treat them, but to harvest their organs which they sold back in their countries for a lot of money. to them for medical treatment had to first remove the superstitious charms the witch doctors had given them, before they could be treated. What is worth noting is that the missionaries made no effort to distinguish between the medicine men and the witch doctors. They instead lumped them together and labeled them as undesirable and unscrupulous agents of the devil. However, there was a very big difference between them. The medicine men were good people who were not supposed to get involved in witchcraft. They were physicians and in some cases, they combined their practice with the functions of a soothsayer, seer and priest. It was believed they possessed the power to identify the spirits that were responsible for ailments and to expel them by appeasement. Interestingly, the missionaries had in the early days recognized the existence of the medicine men. One of the pioneer missionaries had acknowledged that the people had doctors of their own who travel about. The missionaries further accused the witch doctors of binding people to their power through their superstitious beliefs. They had blinded the minds of their people to the extent of making it hard for them to grasp the basic gospel truth. That was why the missionaries insisted that the people who went A few years later, the missionaries attitude towards the medicine men took an about turn and they began to denounce them as mere witch doctors. This occurred when they realized that the medicine men dabbled in the spirit world in the course of treating the sick. This took place when diagnosing the cause of illnesses and in the propitiation of the aggrieved spirits in order to secure a healing for the sick. This was quite unacceptable to the missionaries as it amounted to communing with demons. This contravened the Scriptures which stated that such contacts were not with the dead but with demons masquerading as spirits of the dead. That was why the missionaries consid- 25

28 ered the medicine men as the agents of the devil and grouped them together with the witch doctors and treated them as public enemy number one. In contrast, the witch doctors were poisoners and dabblers in witchcraft. Unlike the medicine men who performed their work openly, the witch doctors performed theirs secretly and in the dark. They attained eminence from a good working knowledge of poisons and they used witchcraft exclusively for nefarious purposes such as poisoning, bewitching and placing curses on individuals at a fee. Practicing witchcraft was against the law and witch doctors were hated and unpopular for they were dangerous and destructive. If found out, the penalty was a violent death by strangling, spearing or being burnt alive. Missions Helped by Government The missions also enlisted the support of government officials in their struggle against the witch doctors. In 1920, for example, the Kiambu District Commissioner (DC) arrested some of the more notorious witchdoctors in the district and had 17 of them convicted. Those convicted were given a chance to either abandon their calling or be sent back to Murang a where they had originally come from. One of those convicted of practicing witchcraft was Kamiri wa Itherero, the chief of Riuki location. In 1912, the DC had investigated Kamiri following missions accusation that he was a witch doctor. The DC found out that Kamiri had been an outstanding seer and medicine man before the coming of the Europeans and he was very influential, even more than Paramount Chief Kinyanjui wa Gathirimu himself. He also found out that Kamiri had never tasted beer in his life and he concluded that this is the sole reason why his people do not like him. However, the missions disagreed and continued to insist that Kamiri was more feared than respected because he was both the principal medicine man and witch doctor of the district. They claimed that he practiced secret arts, particularly the art of 26 poisoning and detecting thieves and evil doers in general. The missions also insisted that the people could not dare to disclose his malpractices to the government for fear of dire reprisals since he was very powerful and influential. The DC was puzzled by the conflicting opinions about Kamiri. He was however convinced that Kamiri was averse to modernism and that was probably the cause of the misunderstanding between him and the missionaries. Nevertheless, the DC promised to keep an eye on Kamiri and to deport him from the district if he found him causing mischief. It was not until 1920 when Kamiri and two of his sons were arrested for practicing witchcraft and jailed. But by 1921, Kamiri and the other witch doctors who had been jailed had been released. After his release, the missionaries continued to insist that he was still practicing witchcraft. Consequently, Kamiri was arrested before the end of 1921 and imprisoned once again for practicing witchcraft. After Kamiri was released in September 1922, the neighboring white farmers complained that he had once again resumed his nefarious craft. They were afraid their labor needs would be adversely affected since some people were threatening to move away in dread of Kamiri. Kamiri was re-arrested in June 1923 and thereupon, the missionaries and the white farmers forwarded affidavits to the government demanding that he be deported but all in vain. Kamiri was released and interestingly, no more complaints were lodged against him after that.

29 Missions Victories The missions big victories came when they successfully treated people whom the medicine men had failed to cure. A case in point is that of a young convert called Kiarie who had killed a snake in his homestead contrary to their customs. Snakes were not supposed to be killed when they visited homes as it was believed the spirits of departed ancestors inhabited snakes at times. Killing such a snake required a sacrifice to appease the offended spirit but Kiarie would not offer a sacrifice. The medicine man predicted that Kiarie s younger sister would die as a consequence of his actions. As if to prove the medicine man right, Kiarie s little sister fell ill and everything the medicine man did failed to cure her. In desperation, Kiarie s parents finally allowed him to take her to a mission hospital where she eventually recovered. Her miraculous recovery greatly undermined the power of the medicine man and paved the way for the gospel. Another illustration is that of a young mission adherent, Kanugu wa Munenge, who became the first known person in the area to have survived the effects of two curses. Kanugu and another young man, who had already died, had been cursed at a dance ceremony. The medicine man was unable to cure him when he subsequently fell ill due to the curse. It was only when he became wild with delirium that his parents reluctantly allowed the missionaries to treat him. A big fight to save his life began and for ten days, the doctor went to see him every three hours, whether by day or night. Then, one dark night a stick, on which a witch doctor had placed a curse, was thrown on the roof of the hospital where Kanugu lay dying. When such a thing happened, it was believed the person would never rise up again. But Kanugu defied the curses and rose up again. His recovery was seen as a decisive victory for the gospel because it convinced Kanugu, his wife, and his mother to become Christians. Sometimes, the missions would lose the battle as it happened during the 1913 outbreak of plague. One of the victims was the ten-year old son of the chief of the area. For two weeks, his father refused to take him to the mission hospital and had him attended by a medicine man, but all in vain. In desperation, his father finally took him to hospital after the missionaries had promised not to bury him in case he died. Some white person stayed with the boy day and night for the next two weeks. While he was at the hospital, his relatives went twice to take him out into the bush to die because they thought he was dying. The boy had such a fear of the bush and the hyenas and when he saw them come, he would plead with the doctor to Send them away. Don t let me be torn in pieces by the hyenas. The missionaries prayed for him as they had never prayed for a patient because they thought that his recovery would glorify our God. But to their utter disappointment, the boy died. The missions greatest victories came with the conversion of the medicine men. Such a person was required to burn his paraphernalia publicly before he could be allowed into the church. It was not until 1916 when the first medicine man became a convert and he burned his paraphernalia, in spite of the fact that traditions said he would either die or become insane if he destroyed it. Conclusion The witch doctors are still with us today and they are found in every country and culture. They include psychics, shamans, astrologers, spiritists, palmists, mediums, fortune-tellers, spiritual guides and channelers. They are all agents of the devil out to deceive people and lead them astray. You must keep away from such people because consulting them is spiritual idolatry that will cost you eternal life. Only God knows your past, present and future. If you want to know something, why not consult God himself? 27

30 Test Your Bible Knowledge The quiz is meant to encourage you to read the Bible regularly because it is the inspired word of God that is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that you may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 1. The children of Israel lived in Egypt for years. 2. The Old Testament prophet who predicted the town where Jesus would be born was. 3. Timothy s mother was called. 4. The shortest book of the Old Testament is. 5. The prophet who wrote that a virgin would conceive, bear a son, and call his name Immanuel was. 6. The last king of the northern kingdom of Israel was called. 7. Prophet Samuel belonged to the Israelite tribe of. 8. The commander of the three mighty men of King David was. 9. Rahab of Jericho was married by an Israelite man called. 10. The first disciple (apostle) of Jesus to be killed was. your answers to yscm2012@gmail.com or mail them to Halliburton Road, Hacienda Heights, CA They should be received by August 31, Remember to include your full name and address. The first 5 people to get all the answers correct, and to also correctly spell them, will have their names published in the next issue of Your Supernatural Connection Magazine. Last Quiz s Answers (There were no winners) 1. Jedidah (2 Kings 22:1) 2. Unmarried (Jeremiah 16:1-2) 3. Zedekiah (2 Chronicles 36:11-21) weeks (Nehemiah 6:15) feet by 6 feet or 9 cubits by 4 cubits (Deuteronomy 3:11) 6. Dragon (Revelation 20:2) 7. One angel (Revelation 20:1-3) ,550 (Numbers 1:44-46) 9. Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:1) 10. Ahaziah: (Chronicles 22:2) 28

31 Do You Have Something to Say? your comments to or mail them to Halliburton Road, Hacienda Heights, CA They should be received by August 31, Remember to include your name and address. The editor reserves the right to edit or reject comments for publication. Articles for Publication your article for publication to com or mail it to Halliburton Road, Hacienda Heights, CA Articles should be 500-1,000 words and should be received by August 31, Articles should be about the supernatural power of God. Your article should not only glorify God but also strengthen and encourage other believers in their walk with the Lord. Your Supernatural Connection Magazine reserves the right to edit or reject any article submitted for publication. The publication of your article is not to be construed as an endorsement of the views expressed therein.

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