Supernatural Blog

When I woke up this morning, on the famed Valentine’s Day, this is what ran through my mind, and I haven’t been able to rid myself of it, so I decided that perhaps, G-d wanted me to write it down and share.

When I was a child, 
I talked like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I put childish things behind me. — I Corinthians 13

Corinth was known for many things in the first century.  What many don’t know is that some believers in Israel had begun drawing cartoons of the Corinthian Followers of the Way.  They drew them as donkeys wearing philosopher robes and carrying the gospel.

Let’s take a quick walk through God’s Word in trying to understand the cartoonists and the Corinthians.

In the Garden of Eden, G-d gave one law.  Just one.  Do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for if you do, you will certainly die.  When the serpent approached the woman, it first questioned whether or not G-d REALLY said that the man and woman could not eat from a specific tree.  When the woman confirmed the law, the serpent informed her that G-d would not punish her but that she would grow in wisdom.  The woman then rationalized and philosophized the merits of the fruit:  it was a form of food, it was pleasing in appearance, and it would make one wise.  Then she and the man disobeyed G-d, breaking the one and only law.  Subsequently, they were thrown out of paradise and would be forced to face the second death.

In the very next generation, G-d told his children how to worship him.  To offer a sacrificed animal.  But Cain rationalized and philosophized how it should be acceptable to sacrifice something unique that he cultivated instead.  He disobeyed.  His worship was rejected.  Then he turned and killed the righteous one, the one obeying G-d as G-d commanded.  Cain was banned from the land of his righteous family and banned from the presence of G-d.  Before Cain killed the righteous brother, G-d had told him that if he lived rightly according to G-d’s laws then he would not have to hang his head down but could lift it high;  but instead of responding to G-d’s words of advice and offering a proper, obedient form of worship, he killed the righteous.

Let’s jump to the New Testament.  In Matthew 5-7, Yeshua warns about the narrow and wide gates, proclaiming that many will prophesy in his name, heal in his name, and cast out demons in his name, but they will not be given access to heaven because of their unlawfulness.

Again, during the last week of Yeshua’s life, he told the parable of the wedding banquet, where everyone was invited, but when the king saw someone dressed inappropriately, not following etiquette rules for how to dress, he was tossed out of the banquet.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.  “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” — Matthew 22

And again we see in the Book of Revelations, the warnings to the seven churches, warning them that if they do not stop their disobedience, their lampstand of salvation would be taken away.

It makes one stop and consider the importance of striving to be lawful.  Yeshua was lawful and always upheld the Law.  If we strive to be like him, then we would imitate him.  Many quote the scripture of John 3:16, “For G-d so loved the world that he gave his only and unique son so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed.”  But many stop reading and do not continue to the end of that passage - John 3:36, “Whoever trusts in the Son has eternal life.  But whoever disobeys the Son will not see that life but remains subject to G-d’s wrath.”

Some may ask, What did Yeshua teach?

During the Sermon on the Mount, he preached that he did not come to abolish the Law.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Some have said that everything was accomplished with Yeshua’s death and resurrection; however, this is not so.  For Daniel, Ezekiel, and many more prophets of the Old Testament prophesied about the second coming which is yet to come - the End of the Age and the Final Judgment.

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” — Matthew 19

“If you say you see yet do not follow Torah but man-made traditions then you are blind.” — John 9

Yeshua was always pointing out to the religious leaders that they were so intent on following man-made laws and traditions that they nullified G-d’s laws.  Yeshua warned his disciples to be wary of the teachings of religious leaders and to constantly test them on what they teach.  If they taught anyone to disobey G-d’s commands, then they were false teachers.  As children, we are to humbly obey G-d’s commandments, not question, rationalize, and philosophize a way out of them as the serpent instructed.

Yeshua questioned the religious leaders at the Festival of Sukkot…..Children of Abraham, Who is your father?  Satan or God?  Obey MY teachings. –John 8:37-59

And yet, many modern believers will point to a verse here or there written by Paul, someone who obeyed the Law diligently, while cutting out the rest of the epistle to that church.  This is called the string of pearl theology.  It is when someone takes a verse out of its context and weaves a strand with other verses taken out of context to give them credence to do whatever it is they desire to do.

Let’s see what some of the 12 apostles have to say about this - the men who tread the earth with Yeshua and studied at his feet day and night for three years.

Peter/Kepha/The Rock, the one Yeshua gave the keys to the kingdom

… just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, things which the uninstructed and unstable distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.  Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, guard yourselves so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.  — 2 Peter 3

Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ….For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.  They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has defeated him….It would have been better for them not to have known the … holy commands…way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” — 2 Peter 2

James/Ya’akov, the brother of Yeshua

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. — James 3

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.  You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.…As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. — James 2

So rid yourselves of all moral filth and the obvious evil that is so prevalent and  humbly accept the Word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  But the man who looks intently into the perfect Law which gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. — James 1

Jude/Y’huda, one of the twelve apostles

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have wormed their way in, secretly slipping in among you. They are godless men, who pervert God’s grace into a license for immorality and unlawfulnes…

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.  And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day…….Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them

John/Yochanan, the beloved of Yeshua

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him………I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray…… remain united in him through the laws and the spirit
……… Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.  Everyone who continues sinning, violates Torah - indeed sin is the violation of Torah………Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world…..They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood……..This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

So friction began amongst believers.  Those who rationalized and philosophized rather than accepted and obeyed.  The humanism prevalent in Greek and Roman society began philosophizing the Scriptures, began making decisions and interpretations for themselves based on their own reasoning as did the first woman, Cain and many others.  It is a teaching of the serpent to rationalize a way out of obeying God’s commands.  So, the church in Corinth was cartooned as a donkey wearing a philosopher robe and carrying the gospel.  Their heart put man first and God second, they based their interpretations on the desire to meet their animalistic urges (for the church in Corinth was known for its promiscuity) not live holy or righteous lives.  They wanted a license to sin, and they called it grace, claiming that G-d would not really punish them because G-d loved them.  Really, has anything changed since the garden of Eden?  It’s the same trick used over and over again.  Yet, the trick works.

So, who is your father?  G-d or Satan?  Who do you choose to obey?  Who do you strive to be like?  No one will be perfect, but who do you yearn and actively work to imitate?  G-d already knows.  Do you sin by accident or do you rationalize why you should continue in it?  Inspect your heart.  King David once wrote “For if I had cherished unlawfulness in my heart, ADONAI would not have heard me.  There is a big difference between sinning and cherishing sin in one’s heart.  The difference is conviction when one is faced with their sin.  David repented when confronted for his adultery; he did not rationalize it.

Who is your father?  It is the question Yeshua asked the religious leaders.  I challenge everyone who reads this to re-read the four gospels through.  Within one week.  All in context.  Then the next day, read the letters of Peter, James, Jude and John to the churches found in the New Testament.

Truly, what could it hurt?

Some may be upset that I did not provide the exact verses within the chapter.  That’s fine.  Blame me that you have to read the entire chapter to find the verses.  I’ll take the fault for forcing you to read more scriptures.  Forcing you to read things in context.

Thank you to all those who entered their own personal encounters with the supernatural for the contest.  If you would like to read the completed list, please see the “Book Giveaway” post.  The winners are:  Julie Almanrode, kathleen williams, Beth Blair, Kevin Maze, Rabbi Immanuel Ben Yehudah Ha Levi (Gomez), Aik.

LGG Member Spotlight Interview

Your name, please?
Rebecca Ellen Kurtz

When did you join the LGG? How did you make the connection?
I found LGG when I was researching for a genre for my own book.  I began reading about the LGG and thought, “Wow, these are the books I would like to read.”  I didn’t even know what speculative fiction was, but finally realized that is what I was writing.  I was going between Mythic Fiction, Supernatural Thriller, Action/Adventure/Romance (what the film script was listed as), and then Amazon put it under Horror/Occult for the demons, vampires, and exorcisms.  I joined….well, definitely less than a year ago.  I’m thinking last spring.

What’s the first thing you remember that happened in the Guild?
I remembered thinking, “Wow, these people communicate a lot.”

Tell us some good things that have transpired from belonging.
Some excellent connections have been made with people who write stories like mine.  It has helped me find books to review for my blog:  Godly Goth.  It’s wonderful to know that there are others out there that enjoy and write speculative fiction.  Authors understand promotion and marketing, and some of the authors on LGG have reached out to help new authors in promoting and marketing their novels.

What’s your genre and subgenre? Why do you think that is?
Supernatural Thriller/Mythic Fiction/Romance.  Well, we have angels, demons, Nephilm and mortals caught up preparing for the final battle of Armageddon.  Raechev and Caleb (Nephilim/ brother and sister) return to their home town of Nineveh where an archaeological dig has stirred up some mysterious supernatural deaths.  They get caught up in their fallen brethren’s plans and are hunted by some mysterious archaeologists who seek out supernatural entities.
The premise of Sons of God is that the N’filim, the descendants of angels and mortals, are the basis of all world mythology.  The novel series includes Thor, Loki, Nimrod, Sekhmet, Osiris, Sokar, Mithras, Ishtar, and several more.  Of course, some serve Elohim while others plot to rebuild a strong N’filim army before the Battle of Armageddon to defeat God.  Scholars acknowledge that the Greek gods closely resemble what the Hebrews would call fallen angels living amongst and having children with mortal women.  We still hear tales of Hercules, Medusa, Thor and other half divine heros and villains who survived a great flood.  In Norse mythology, great battles were fought between the gods (fallen angels) and cannibalistic giants before a flood wiped out the giants for the humans to repopulate the earth.  Celtic mythology of the Tuatha de Danaan continues this trend and has documentation for their ancestors originally hailing from the Middle East where tales of the N’filim were first recorded.  In almost every ancient religion there are tales of angel-like/divine creatures mating with humans and/or animals to create their god-kings or a superior semi-divine race worshipped by humans.

Do you like to read the same genre as you write? What other genres interest you? Favorite authors?
Pretty much, but I also greatly enjoy romances.  Although each of my novels has some romance in it, the novel itself is not a romance.  Favorite authors include Lynn Kurland, Francine Rivers, Frank Peretti, Stephanie Meyers, and Dan Brown (not for his “facts”).  I am still searching for authors to love though now that I know where supernatural thriller authors have been hiding - LGG & Where the Map Ends.

Tell us about your published work, and where we can go to find out more.

Sons of God:  Supernatural Thriller/Mythic Fiction/Nephilim/Vampires/Romance/Messianic Judaic Author

According to the Christian Fantasy Review, when thinking of Sons of God, “one should think of Twilight, the Mummy movies or Indiana Jones full of paranormal activity. But this one has a Biblical worldview….In fact, it is a romance at heart.”
Sons of God tells the tale of a 3,000-year-old half-angelic, half-human female warrior who disguises herself as a treasure hunter for mythic items while hunting down her fallen brethren who’ve committed atrocities against mankind. But now, in the present day, some mysterious murders begin occurring at the archaeological dig at Nineveh, and she must return to face her worst mistake. The most fascinating aspect of this mythic thriller is research from the Old Testament on this supernatural race and historical accounts of these blood-drinking tribes, which introduces an alternate vampire theory. It raises the question - is this semi-supernatural race mythical or not? Sons of God has been dubbed the Da Vinci Code for Twilight, Hancock, & Indiana Jones fans.
To one Christian Barnes & Noble manager, Sons of God is a perfect gift for any teen who is being drawn into the rapidly growing genre of Twilight, House of Night, and other YA books in the horror/occult genre. Blessedly, the Sons of God series is pro-God and anti-occult. Although just getting into several B&N stores, Sons of God has already made it to the Amazon Best-Seller List several times.
If you wish to read the article based on the research found in Sons of God “Are the Hebrew N’filim the foundational element of all world mythologies and vampire lore?” please scroll to the bottom of the spotlight interview.  Other sites that have reviews, interviews, etc are also at the bottom.

What are you working on right now? How’s progress?
I’m reviewing editors’ comments for book 2, Nimrod, in the Sons of God series, and I’m writing book 4, Caleb.

What are your dreams for the future of Christian speculative fiction, and for yourself within that?
For authors to be able to write realistically.  Oftentimes, the guidelines for Christian fiction is too goody two-shoes.  It’s unrealistic, and you can’t connect with the too-perfect protagonist.

Your best writing tip?
Write with all five senses.

What else are you up to that our readers would find interesting?
I am also a screenwriter and producer.  I’ve written and produced various television shows and am awaiting feedback from one of my scripts currently in script competitions.  I just received notification today that 1636 has made it through the second judging round at CWA.  From 2000 down to 75 scripts.  I also have a couple of producers requesting the script for Aryan State which I need to finish soon, and I’m helping some Messianic rabbis organize a pastor’s convention for those wanting to know and understand more of the Hebraic roots of Christianity.

Something you reckon not many people know about you? (such as a quirky hobby or ability)
Uh, I perform exorcisms?  Also, I’m one of Elohim’s seers.

Your website or social media profile?
On the Facebook Fan Page, I give out free prizes, interesting tidbits, and sneak peeks at upcoming novels in the Sons of God series, and I really need to update my IMDB page.
Author Site:  http://www.rebeccaellenkurtz.com/index.html
Ephesus LLC Site:  http://www.ephesusmedia.com/
Supernatural Blog:  http://rebeccaellenkurtz.com/blog/
Godly Goth:  http://rebeccaellenkurtz.com/GodlyGoth/
IMDB:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1982238/
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/REKurtz
Myspace:  www.myspace.com/reksonsofgod
Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sons-of-God-Messianic-Fiction-Novel-Series/163712519464

Reviews
Sons of God by Phyllis Wheeler at The Christian Fantasy Review
http://christian-fantasy-book-reviews.com/blog/2009/04/27/sons-of-god-by-rebecca-ellen-kurtz-a-review/
Amazon Reviews:  http://www.amazon.com/Sons-God-Rebecca-Kurtz/dp/0982313500/ref=pd_rhf_p_img_1

Sons of God! What’s it about?
According to the Christian Fantasy Review, when thinking of Sons of God, “One should think of Twilight, the Mummy movies or Indiana Jones full of paranormal activity. But this one has a Biblical worldview….In fact, it is a romance at heart.”

Sons of God tells the tale of a 3,000-year-old half-angelic, half-human female warrior who disguises herself as a treasure hunter for mythic items while hunting down her fallen brethren who’ve committed atrocities against mankind. But now, in the present day, some mysterious murders begin occurring at the archaeological dig at Nineveh, and she must return to face her worst mistake. The most fascinating aspect of this mythic thriller is research from the Old Testament on this supernatural race and historical accounts of these blood-drinking tribes, which introduces an alternate vampire theory. It raises the question - is this semi-supernatural race mythical or not?

What are your writing influences?
Dan Brown, Frank Peretti, Stephanie Meyers, Edgar Allen Poe, Screenwriting, and anything gothic (combining both horror and romance to create a pleasing sort of terror).  I appreciate Dan Brown’s intelligent and lucid thrillers on religious mysteries; however,  I included my research because it’s factual, and it strengthens the argument of a spiritual realm and God.  Frank Peretti’s novels deal with my favorite topic, spiritual warfare.  And although I’m not a fan of Meyers’ writing style, she does craft great, dark romantic relationships.  With Edgar Allen Poe, his stories send chills down my back.  I love authors who provoke the senses and do not bore my intellect.  If I read five sentences explaining the same environment, I get bored, so I don’t do it.  I am a screenwriter, and Sons of God was originally a film script.  So my novel is like a film, the story is visual and keeps moving, no getting waylaid by superfluous descriptions.   Cinematic characters do not have a lot of backstory, but must be figured out by their actions and reactions.  Most readers tell me that the film (mental visuals created while reading the book) continue to play in their heads long after they finish it.

Beyond strictly literary influences, are there any life experiences that factor into this story?
The spiritual realm has always been as real to me as the physical.  At first when demons attacked me, I was always able to spot them and defend myself in the name of Jesus Christ.  The most horrifying assault is actually embedded within Sons of God, but the overall message was one I learned at great cost.  I had always heard of demonic deception, but I didn’t understand it till I lived through it.  For years, my anger at God’s lack of protection during the deception haunted our relationship, but writing Sons of God was cathartic.  Now, I’m receiving messages from Christians who were spiritually healed while reading Sons of God.  Whether from demonic attacks or demonic deception, bitterness and hurt had created a rift - a demon’s purpose, to try and wedge something between us and God.  Sons of God helped some recognize the deception and realize God wasn’t the culprit.  Many Christians are so fearful of even thinking on demons that they do not test the spirits - a warning repeated by the Old Testament prophets, Jesus, Peter and Paul - a warning stressed too many times for Christians not to adhere to.  My recent  conversion to Messianic Judaism has given me a deeper understanding of scriptures and Jewish context from which the N’filim view their world.

What has the reception been to Sons of God so far?
Mixed.  As said, some are being spiritually healed - some admitting that they didn’t even know they were upset with God till reading the novel.  Some have accused me of being overly fascinated with demons and a demon worshipper since I have demons and exorcisms in the novel, but like I said, the message God laid on my heart was dealing with demonic deception.  I shirk this off since Christ was accused himself by religious leaders for exorcising demons and spiritually healing people of scars left from spiritual warfare.  In fact, if you go through all four gospels, you would find that after telling others of the good news, the next most important thing that Jesus told his disciples to do was cast out demons in his name.  It seems that Satan has crafted such a strong fear of even discussing demons within Christianity, that he is winning on the second most given command that Christ gave to us.  One Christian wrote that there are some children of God who no one wants to talk about but all have peace knowing they exist:  those called and aren’t afraid to fight the ugly spiritual battles.

Why did you include your research?   Why did you quote from the Koran?
The Sons of God series reaches out to all religions and nonreligious people.  As most academics would, I see the extra-Biblical texts as supportive and confirming the truth found in the scriptures.  Archaeologists who only find references from one society scoff, but if a semi-supernatural race with similar attributes is recorded in every ancient civilization, it is substantiated as fact.
Furthermore, the Koran texts were chosen as a direct witness to Muslims.  The last long segment from the Koran within the story itself discusses the Jinn’s acceptance of the Koran since it denied the trinity and Jesus.  The Jinn in the Koran are known to be evil and deceptive, jealous of humans and God’s favor, so the fact that the Jinn oddly turn kind is very suspicious and is meant to make Muslim’s pause and think.  Of course Christians do not know this, but not everything has to be for and about Christians in service to God.

Sons of God is listed as a supernatural thriller and mythic fiction.  Why?
The premise of Sons of God is that the N’filim, the descendants of angels and mortals, are the basis of all world mythology.  The novel series include Thor, Loki, Nimrod, Sekhmet, Osiris, Sokar, Mithras, Ishtar, and several more.  Of course, some serve Elohim while others plot to rebuild a strong N’filim army before the Battle of Armageddon to defeat God.  Scholars acknowledge that the Greek gods closely resemble what the Hebrews would call fallen angels living amongst and having children with mortal women.  We still hear tales of Hercules, Medusa, Thor and other half divine heros and villains who survived a great flood.  In Norse mythology, great battles were fought between the gods (fallen angels) and cannibalistic giants before a flood wiped out the giants for the humans to repopulate the earth.  Celtic mythology of the Tuatha de Danaan continues this trend and has documentation for their ancestors originally hailing from the Middle East where tales of the N’filim were first recorded.  In almost every ancient religion there are tales of angel-like/divine creatures mating with humans and/or animals to create their god-kings or a superior semi-divine race worshipped by humans.

Please explain how the Bible supports the existence of vampires.
Both historical and Biblical records recount that humans worshipped a pantheon of gods made up of N’filim and fallen angels.  Most polytheistic religions required human sacrifices and drank the sacrificial blood.  As the Hebrews’ Book of Enoch includes the records of semi-divine entities drinking blood straight from a human, so do many other ancient religions.   In Jewish texts, the post-flood N’filim race has been described as having unnaturally long lives, grew to heights of nine to twelve feet, and had skin much paler than mortals.  Historically, these N’filim tribes were known to drink blood from skulls, flay people alive, and sacrifice babies to demons.  Current archaeological finds further support that drinking blood was common amongst the Canaanite giants.  Therefore, we are presented with an unnaturally long-lived, pale, semi-supernatural tribe known for drinking blood recorded by both ancient civilizations, religious texts, and archaeological finds.  Of course, they were not the undead as in Bram Stroker’s fictional interpretation.  Vampire is an ancient word which simply means blood-drinker.

This is Book One in a five-book series, right? Without giving *too* much away, where is this larger story going?
By the end of the series, the main characters, old covenant N’filim, are permitted by God to partake in the new covenant, but because they’ve seen Biblical history up through modern times as a whole, they have a very different view than modern believers who focus on Graeco-Roman church doctrines for guidance.  The series follows them through pre-flood, the kings and prophets, the diaspora, Mithraism, Jesus and Messianic Judaism, the formation of the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation, Jewish Mysticism, Hitler’s Third Reich, the charismatic movement, and modern times.  From a Jewish perspective and through millenniums, God illustrates that he is a jealous God who demands obedience from those who profess to love him.  The N’filim watch as the church falls away from God as did the Hebrews.  As Solomon states, “there is nothing new under the sun.”   Loki, the trickster giant who followed Jesus around, plays an unexpected role as spiritual warfare heats up and occult entities build their army for the ensuing Battle of Armageddon.  The series’ five titles are Sons of God, Nimrod, Thor, Caleb, and Loki.

Post a Story, Win a Book

In an effort to bring together other people that have had personal experiences with the supernatural and/or spiritual warfare (and to spread the word about my book) I have decided to give away a free autographed copy of my book Sons of God to five people who share their own stories in the comments section of this post.

I will get things started by sharing my own story here:

After awaking from a deep sleep, I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I was not alone – someone, or something, was swiftly approaching my bedside. As a pervading sense of evil began to roil my stomach, I turned to Jesus Christ to protect me. I desperately tried to exorcise whatever evil was approaching, only to find that I could not speak as my throat felt as if it was being crushed. I knew that I couldn’t just think the words “blood of Jesus;” I had to speak them out loud. With every attempt to speak more and more pressure would clamp down on my throat. My eyes flew open, and I finally saw my attacker – a large black shadowy figure looming over my body. It had hard angles, a somewhat boxy head and boxy back as if unfurled wings were being held tight to its body, and its arms were pushing down on my throat, crushing my vocal chords. I didn’t know if it was trying to kill me, possess me, or just stop me from speaking the words. My fear quadrupled. Finally, my adrenaline kicked in when my need for oxygen became lethal, and I screeched out “blood of Jesus.” It disappeared. My mom called the next morning, asking why she had awoken shortly after three knowing that she desperately needed to pray for me because my life was in grave danger. I told her. We both got shivers when I told her the time my attack subsided - 3:13.

Make sure you leave a way to be contacted if your entry is chosen.

For those wishing to peruse, here is an article that came out in the Virginian-Pilot.

Due to porn spammers, I had to take down my forum.  Below is a post from the member REK on the forum.  It has not been altered in any way.

Title:  Is Islam Peaceful?

There are so many religions who have strayed from the original teachings of the Master who began said religion.

Humanity is humanity, some people being kind, some being users/abusers, and some just being dogmatic and close-minded.  Each religion has their fill of all types.  I’m a Christian and I think the Crusades were stupid and UNCHRISTIAN!!!!  Religious wars made in the name of Christ is a mockery of Christ’s teachings who taught us to love our enemies.  HOW SHAMEFUL!

So let’s look at a few Masters of some world religions because each religion models itself after the teachings of its Master.  We will overlook the users/abusers of each religion who acted in opposition of how their Master lived and taught for their own personal greed or desires and focus on what each Master taught their followers to do.

Buddha - I don’t believe he killed anyone or told anyone to kill anyone.

Jesus - Told followers to love their enemies.  By his actions, he even healed the soldier who was wounded by Peter (a disciple) when they took Jesus away for trial and crucifixion.  He was a lamb led to the slaughter - a model of pacificism.

Joseph Smith, Jr.  (Mormon) - taught Blood Atonement which said that if someone was waffling in their beliefs that they should be killed before turning their backs on their beliefs so that they could go to heaven.  Shortly after Joseph Smith was murdered  - after the polygamy revelation (which Joseph did not personally condone during his life), the Baptism of the Dead, and the Endowment; his followers who were being attacked moved to Utah and later murdered an entire peaceful pioneer crossing.

Mohammad himself led the first Jihad (religious war).  He added verses to his teachings

Quote

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YUSUFALI: To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged;- and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid;-
PICKTHAL: Sanction is given unto those who fight because they have been wronged; and Allah is indeed Able to give them victory;
SHAKIR: Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them;

And led 300 Muslims against Meccan merchants.  The Muslims won.  Then the Meccans built up their own army of 3000 and routed the Muslims which Mohammad claimed was lost due to the Muslim’s lack of steadfastness.  Later Mohammad lined up assassinations and a siege on Medina.  When a Jewish tribe began negotiations with the opposing side, Mohammad beheaded all of their men (who would not convert to Islam) and enslaved their women and children.  Henceforth, wars continued (with the same terms and had Christians pay a religious tax) until Mohammad’s farewell speech where he left his disciples with words to love others (too bad he didn’t model his life on that).  After Mohammad’s death, his disciples (truly shocking ) continued jihads beheading anyone who refused to convert or pay a religious tax throughout large portions of Africa, Spain, etc.    Surprisingly, it resurfaced in 2001.  Surprisingly?  What of all the plane hijackings in the 80s?  Or the bombings around the world?

I am not saying that the Mormons or some Muslims are not peaceful now-a-days.  But to say that the entire religion is peaceful when their leader themself taught/modeled their life otherwise?

Response by HunterGatherer:

I really want to borrow a copy of the Koran from the library and just read it for myself. I think every Christian should do this and be familiar with what it is saying. It is the major religious group who is persecuting Christians and we need information as to why they do this.

I had been watching Hashem’s films on YouTube a year ago and then on his own site about the end times. He would quote Jesus’ words and other scriptures in these videos.

A major question that I have is why would someone who is in the Christian church become a Muslim? What is it about that religion that brings people into it voluntarily? I can see how they would get converts when a sword is being placed to one’s neck, but it seems that this religion is growing in the US and other countries where there are no swords involved.

I’m very concerned about persecution and other issues coming from Islam.

Response by Sharath:

Huntergatherer -
My guess is that it is because Islam focuses on attributes of God that many christians today neglect - and because these attributes are part of the innate drive that people have within them to connect with God, people end up deceived into islam and see christianity as irrelevant.
Islam has a strong sense of community.  A strong sense of discipline.  A strong sense of constant focus.  There are prayers to be said upon waking, upon putting clothing on in the morning, upon going to the bathroom, etc, and these are not done as rituals of bondage, but as a joyful remembrance of the Creator in all things.  While christians are Biblically commanded to “do all to the glory of God” and “do all in the name of Jesus”, muslims actually have it woven into the fabric of their culture to actually take every moment of life and speak the name of Allah over it…so islam because a way of life.  Whereas often christianity is presented as a once a day prayer thing (morning devotions.)
Islam also majors on submission.  And humans are wired to want to submit and render themselves to the One who is greater than they.  This stirs peoples’ hearts and souls to venerate Another.  Men enter armies because they feel it a high calling to take their part in a chain of command.  Women are wooed by men who inspire them as leaders.  Male and female are wired to be inspired by submission.  But christianity tends to water down the submission parts of the Bible and so in islam, while you fall on your face 5 times a day before God, in christianity it is the rare church where people fall on their faces and venerate God….

Due to porn spammers, I had to take down my forum.  Below is a post from the member REK on the forum.  It has not been altered in any way.

Title:  Kabbalah versus Cabala

About ten years ago, I did some reading on Kabbalah which is the mystic branch of Judaism.  According to Kabbalah, only a few elite of Jews who are naturally gifted with the mystical realm can be members.  Apparently according to what I read, because too many Jewish mystics were getting seduced into divination, sorcery, and witchcraft; the leaders restricted it to a bare minimum who they believed would not be seduced by their natural sensitivities to the spiritual realm.  I read many of these Jewish writings and noticed that none of their teachings would affect the Christian plan of salvation (well, knowing the Jews do not believe Christ was the Son of God nor altering any other part of Jewish belief pre-New Testament).

However, now we have the rise of Cabala (the nonJewish sect) with celebrities like Madonna, Britney Spears, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Roseanne Barr, etc getting involved and wearing red strings around their fingers.  Now this nonJewish instigated portion is quite a bit different and raises many negative questions.  I’ve been doing some readings on their beliefs….. hmmm.  Holy water?  from what?  It almost seems to be a commercial religion.  Where are they getting all these new things from? 

Response by HunterGatherer:

Rebecca, there is an Eastern and a Western Kabbalah. The Eastern is the Jewish belief which is different than the Western which originates from Alistair Crowley and added to on down through various people like Dion Fortune. I’ve been trying to study up on this, but it’s like taking a bath in sewer water. The Lord directed me to find out the information, but I confess I have taken a bit of a break on this subject. Perhaps we can do this together and it wouldn’t be so lonely a walk through.

I’ll post things here about it and hope you will do the same. Thanks!

Response by REK:

Sounds good.

It may take me a bit though because I’m in the middle of research for the fourth novel in the series.