Destroying Entropy: The Power of the Gospel

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ text_font_size=”16px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

I was talking with a coworker last night and somehow we got onto the subject of Christianity. He made a statement that Christianity is here to teach us to have a good moral compass. Since that has little to nothing to do with what Christianity is actually about, I politely disagreed with him and explained what it is actually about. The conversation looked a little like this:

Coworker: “Christianity is good for us because it helps people develop a strong moral compass.”
Me: “Christianity isn’t really about morality, although that is a side-result. If you read the entire Bible from beginning to end and look at it from the context that Jesus came to destroy death, it will make a lot more sense.”
Coworker: “That would be nice if that actually worked, but everyone dies. Entropy can’t be reversed.”
Me: “That’s my point though. The purpose of Christianity is to reverse entropy. Jesus didn’t come to teach moral law, although at times he did discuss it, but to supersede natural laws through divine power. His entire goal was to completely reverse entropy.”
Coworker: “If that’s true, that’s some multidimensional s**t!”
Me: “Yes, that’s exactly what it is.”

For this to make sense, it helps to know what entropy is. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word Entropy has a few basic definitions:

“1. The degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system
2. The degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity and/or a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder.”

Ultimately, it means that in regards to the universe we live in, that everything is gradually decaying and degrading into a chaotic mess.

The primary mission of Jesus as expressed in the Bible is actually about destroying death and releasing everyone and everything from the power of death. God warned Adam about it in Genesis 3 quite clearly. John 3:16 states it plainly. Jesus explained his purpose again in John 10:10, and if none of that was clear enough, Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 15 that death was an enemy that will be destroyed, and again in Romans 8 that it is our job to remove the decay from the universe.

Think about it. If entropy is the process of decay and it is our job to wipe out all death, decay, destruction, and loss so that the earth realm functions in the same manner that heaven does, then the gospel empowers us to reverse entropy. I mean, what is raising the dead other than counteracting the laws of death and decay? What is healing the sick or multiplying bread or turning water to wine other than stepping above natural laws to make them function far differently than the failing system of this universe would push them toward? It is clear even in scripture that our universe is headed toward decay, but equally clear is the fact that the gospel is the power of life to those who are perishing, and we have been gifted the power and given the responsibility to reverse that entropic decay once and for all in and through the power of Jesus Christ.

To read more of God’s plan for our future, grab a copy of my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” available on both Kindle and in Print on Amazon.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_code][et_pb_comments admin_label=”Comments” _builder_version=”3.16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Do You Believe The Radical Simple Gospel?

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ text_font_size=”13px” global_colors_info=”{}”]

I was out with family at a lunch the other day, and as we began discussing something Bible-related, somehow the subject of Jesus and never dying came up. I forget exactly how it came up, but someone commented on my belief that we aren’t supposed to die, and how it’s a new one. Nothing about it is new, as Jesus spoke on the subject quite plainly multiple times in scripture (John 6 and 8 to name a few). Paul spoke somewhat clearly on it as well, to the point that 2 Timothy 1:10-11 specifically states “the gospel of life and immortality of which I have been appointed an apostle, teacher, and preacher”. Paul clearly identifies his job as a teacher and forerunner of the gospel of life and immortality. In reality, this gospel message that Jesus and Paul preached is radical yet simple.

While chatting with my family at this restaurant, it really hit me just how radical Jesus was for his day. Think about it. In John 11, Jesus and Martha had a discussion about the “Last Day Resurrection”. An end-times resurrection isn’t actually a new belief from Christianity—it was a common belief of the Jews of Jesus’ day. So what made Jesus so radical? His reply.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'” (John 11:23-26)

When Martha and Jesus discussed Lazarus’s death, she referenced a Last-Day resurrection, but Jesus didn’t go along with her comments. He said something so radical that the people of his day just didn’t understand. Jesus said that whoever believed in him wouldn’t even need a last-day resurrection because they would simply never die in the first place. Most of the Church today still doesn’t get it. Most of us are still in Martha’s shoes and waiting for and End Times resurrection, not realizing that Jesus died and rose again so that we who believe in him would never physically die.

Jesus was extreme for his time in many ways. He called himself a “son of God”, elevating himself to godhood status (the son of a horse is a horse, the son of a God is a god). He told his disciples to forgive endlessly (seventy-times-seven) and to offer to do extra work for Roman soldiers when forced to do a little. He told people he would tear down and rebuild the temple in three days, and that he would come back to life after he died. Jesus was a radical guy. But the most radical thing he said of all the many extreme things he said was that we could live forever without dying.

Two thousand years of church history later, we are just beginning to re-emerge on this concept that has been buried in plain sight in the scriptures for centuries. Scholar upon scholar has studied verses such as John 3:16 that literally states that “whoever believed in him would not die but live forever”, and somehow arrived at a different, more esoteric meaning to the verse instead of the one that is plainly stated. God is reforming the Church, and the result is that we have stumbled across “cutting-edge” beliefs such as immortality . . . beliefs that have been plainly stated in the scriptures for generations upon generations. Yet, for whatever reason, God is now removing the veil that has covered the eyes of His people for so many years, and we are beginning to grasp again the simple revelation of the gospel—that we can live and not die.

To read more on this and related subjects, pick up a copy of my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” available on both Kindle and in Print on Amazon.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_code][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]

[/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https://www.thekingsofeden.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gospel_Kindle-188×300-1.jpg” _builder_version=”4.10.8″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Inner Healing: A Key To Immortality In Christ

A few weekends ago my wife and I were blessed to spend an evening with friends. We had dinner together, then hung out in the living room for a while talking about a variety of things, but one subject that stuck out to me was inner healing. Inner healing is very important to me, as I believe it is one of the primary ways we become able to step into the fullness of all that Christ has for us. It’s not so much that inner healing helps us grow, but it removes all of the hindrances that keep us stagnating in our spiritual walk so that nothing can prevent us from moving forward. What struck me about the conversation wasn’t the subject as a whole, although I did learn a few things, but something specific that my buddy Steve pointed out.

He noted that Jesus was sinless, so the power of death wasn’t at work in him, which isn’t new information, but what struck me is that Steve also pointed out that Jesus didn’t have any emotional wounding, and therefore his soul wasn’t fragmented—he was possibly the only human alive who has ever remained totally whole. While this might not sound significant to some people, it was deeply meaningful to me. (For some background, read “An Introduction to Soul Fragmentation“).

In my ongoing pursuit of immortality in Christ, I keep my eyes and ears open for information and revelation on the subject, and when I heard this, I knew it was an important key. However, for it to make sense, one has to understand something else Steve was explaining—how the enemy uses the mechanism of a fractured soul to afflict us and prevent us from living in the fullness Jesus purchased for us. When we have parts of our soul still under demonic bondage, we cannot fully live out everything that God has for us. Furthermore, demons cause ongoing death, loss, and destruction (John 10:10), so it should be of little surprise to us that having parts of our soul being tormented by the enemy can harm us as a whole. In fact, because each part of our soul possesses a portion of our free will, it is actually possible for a part of us to sin in some way even though the rest of our being is uninvolved, and we all know that sin causes death (Romans 6:23).

I should clarify here before moving on that I do believe there are men and women alive on the earth today who have lived for hundreds of years, and recognize their souls may or may not still be in some level of fragmentation (Having not met any of them personally, I don’t know one way or the other). I think that these individuals have probably touched on various aspects of this revelation of immortality in Christ, and as such are living out of the fruit of that revelation, whatever it may be. It’s also entirely possible they have hit on this point as well, but it’s not likely all of them have. Why do I say this? I don’t want anyone to think that having one’s soul made whole is a prerequisite to immortality, because I don’t think it is. However, I do think that as we pursue this revelation, that every key moves us one step closer to the goal.

In nursing and medicine, when treating people’s pain we do something called “multimodal pain management.” What that means in simple terms is that we will give someone a few different medications, each of which do different things and connect with different receptors, all with the ultimate goal of managing pain. One medication works on nerves, another on inflammation, another on relaxing muscles that are influencing the pain, and still another on the actual sensation of pain in the central nervous system. All of these together do a better job of pain management than simply using one of them, but any single one of those medications when used by itself will still help reduce pain.

How this relates to immortality is that I personally believe in a sort of multimodal approach to immortality in Christ. Some people firmly believe in taking communion daily as the key. Others focus on getting an inner revelation and mind renewal. Still others believe that growing our faith in this area is the way to go. As my buddy Steve helped me identify in this conversation, inner healing is yet another key to walking out this revelation. I personally believe that all of the above are relevant, and that we should make use of any and all of them.

If you want to learn more about this subject, I encourage you to pick up a copy of my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” on Amazon, available on both Kindle and in Print. You can also check out my articles in the Resurrection and Immortality category here on the site.

Raising The Dead In The Hospital

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.21.4″ text_font_size=”15px” z_index_tablet=”500″]

Last year, I was contacted by a husband to pray over his wife who was very ill. When my wife and I arrived at the hospital, she had literally just passed away. Given her condition, they had already turned off monitoring equipment, so the husband made sure not to notify the hospital staff so that we would have time to pray together before anyone came in to do any post-mortem anything. In this situation, getting access to the wife’s body was easy because not only was the husband leading the charge, but no one else even knew about it at the time. Unfortunately, getting access to a body to pray over it and command life isn’t always that easy, especially in a hospital setting.

Another time, I got a call from a friend who let me know about a local family who wanted prayer to raise their child from the dead. They were still in the hospital, and weren’t sure how to go about getting access to their child’s body to have time with her to pray. I called the family, made a plan, and later that evening my wife and I visited and we all prayed together over the child for multiple hours. The staff were incredibly helpful, and made lots of room for us to do what we wanted to do without any pushback of any kind. So what did we do to get the staff on board and why were they so helpful to us? Great question.

We contacted the chaplains.

I honestly believe hospital chaplains can sometimes be the secret weapon to get done what we want done. And here’s why: Many chaplains, especially in cities, are “non-faith-specific” in that they are trained how to help people of any belief system or religious path engage their own beliefs during their hospital stay. While a chaplain has his or her own beliefs, the goal of a chaplain is usually to support the patient and their family in their process, not push the chaplain’s beliefs onto them. Knowing this, we just got the chaplains to help us walk out our beliefs. Chaplains basically have to give equal value to all spiritual paths, yours is just as valid as anyone else’s. Therefore, they will usually go to bat for you. In this case they did, and four of us had multiple hours of time alone with the child. Sure, things could get weird if we told them we’re having a good old-fashioned dead-raising, so we went with a simpler tact that anyone can use.

If ever you are in a situation where you don’t know how to get the hospital to bring the body back to you (as a family member), tell them this: “As part of our religious beliefs, a minister will be coming to the hospital, and we would like to have time to pray together in the presence of our deceased loved one.” If you are the minister, just change the script slightly, but the underlying concept is the same. If no minister is coming, again, just change it slightly. Regardless, the key point is that being in the presence of the body and having time to pray is an important part of your spiritual path. Honestly, using the terms “our spiritual path” or “our religious beliefs” are like trumps cards in hospitals that makes people do what you want even if they strongly disagree with you.

At the end of the day, the goal of praying to raise the dead is to release the life of Jesus Christ. Even if we die, it isn’t too late. The entire message of the gospel revolves around the pivotal point that God raises the dead, as if Jesus wasn’t raised, no one else can be either, but because He was raised, we can be too. Don’t ever let a life situation, and especially not hospital staff, stand in the way of doing what Jesus commanded us to do in raising the dead.

If you need a quick reference guide on what to do to raise the dead as well as how things work in the United States (and probably most first world countries), pick up a copy of my book Practical Keys to Raise the Dead. If you want a more in-depth understanding of the subject of resurrection as a whole, pick up a copy of my book Faith To Raise The Dead, or my friend Tyler Johnson’s book How To Raise The Dead. If you want to host a School of Resurrection to bring this teaching to your church or ministry contact Tyler Johnson at OneGlance Ministries to schedule one in your area.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”3.18.9″][/et_pb_code][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.18.9″ /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

How Much Life Do You Want?

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”22px|0px|54px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.8″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

My wife tells me that I flit from thing to thing and idea to idea—and she’s not entirely wrong. It’s just that in my moving from one subject to another, whether in prayer and contemplation, writing, or otherwise, I tend to circle back around to the same subjects over and over again. The subjects of life and immortality are some of these ideas that I keep coming back to, so the other day I was spending some time in prayer and discussion with the Holy Spirit while driving to work. As I did so, I began to inquire about how we can practically engage the revelation of immortality in Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 1:10-11) to live and not die.

One point I made was that we know that this is enacted in part in our thoughts and words on an ongoing basis. As Proverbs 18:32 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” The things we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts alter our reality, and we receive the results of that fruit, whether nourishing or poisonous. If we speak death over ourselves, it should be no surprise when we grow sick, old, and die. Likewise if we spend even a few minutes each day praying and decreeing life in our bodies then we can expect to live healthier, more vibrant lives. Nevertheless, this can’t be the only piece to that puzzle, as if that is all there was to it, then we’d be there already. As I pointed this out, Holy Spirit nudged me that this is indeed an important step in the process that I have been neglecting, and that is partly because in some ways it seems almost too simple to be true.

I was reminded of the story of Naaman, the commander of the King of Aram’s army. He contracted leprosy, and sought out Elisha the prophet to heal him. He got angry when Elisha didn’t even meet him in person, and sent a messenger to tell him to wash very specifically in the Jordan River. Naaman got very angry, complained that many other rivers were better, and left in a rage. His servant spoke to him and said something that showed great wisdom on his part. “Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!’ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”

Sometimes we write off the simple things because they seem too simple, and I have been guilty of this. Nevertheless, while speaking life over ourselves daily is a useful and important habit to build, if that was all it took, I wouldn’t be asking the Holy Spirit how we can walk in this reality, as masses of people would have been doing this for centuries and living thousands of years at a time. So, we continued chatting briefly, as I began to ask more questions about how we can live this out and have it work for us here and now without having to wait for decades of speaking life over ourselves for this revelation of immortal, abundant life to work gradually over time.

Well, Holy Spirit asked me an interesting question, saying “Since you have been set free from death, the question really becomes ‘how much life do you want?'”

At first glance this might sound a bit strange, but the scriptures confirm that we have, indeed, already been set free from sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” If we think about it, that means that we have literally been set free from anything that should cause us to die. I will point out that “set free from” doesn’t mean we are incapable of dying. It simply means that we are no longer forced to.

This has puzzled me for a while, actually, as I have thought to myself that we already know that Jesus has already paid for all sin, sickness, poverty, pain, disease, and death for all time. Therefore, it seems odd that people still die. After all, if we have been set free from sin and death, shouldn’t we stop dying? I think the question “How much life do you want?” answers this.

In theory, we are not supposed to die, but if we want to die, we can. Likewise, if we want to live, we also can. God gave the children of Israel these choices in Deuteronomy 30:15, 19, which says, “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. . . This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live . . .” The same choices God gave to the Israelites, He has given us in Christ Jesus. So while we shouldn’t die, we still can if we want to. The key difference between the Israelites and us is that we have received an upgraded version through a perfect sacrifice that has wiped out all of our sin, and therefore removed the right of death to destroy us. However, we still have the ability to choose death if we still want to.

Not only that, I believe both the world and the Church have been duped into believing that death is our only choice. A large part of this is attributed to what I refer to as a worldwide death-consciousness, the collective understanding of almost everyone in the world that we are all fated to die, and this collective consciousness carries an energy with it that pushes us all slowly toward death. Because we have been swindled into believing the lie, we confess the lie, live the lie, and teach the same lie to others, only further perpetuating the myth of mandatory death. The Bible tells us something far different, and Jesus said many times over that we can live forever.

Kobus Van Rensburg, a prophet and teacher and former senior leader of SpiritWord Ministries (https://spiritword.org.za/) received this same revelation many years ago, that he had a choice whether to die or live. With this revelation in hand, even during his battle with cancer, he was pronounced clinically dead on six different occasions and was resurrected each time, until finally dying more permanently on December 21, 2013. If nothing else, he demonstrated that we can choose life time and time again, and as we choose life, we can receive it in place of death. While many have mocked him for his beliefs, few can say that they defeated death after dying on six separate occasions.

All in all, I am left asking myself the same question “how much life do I want?”, and I encourage you to ask yourself the same. Do you want to enjoy and experience all God has for you without old age, pain, and health problems? I welcome you to continue with me on this journey as we pursue and apprehend the abundant, immortal life of Jesus Christ.

To read more on this and related subjects, pick up a copy of my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” available on Amazon in both Kindle and in Print.

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Raising The Dead: Processing Vicarious Trauma and Grief

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

One of the topics I occasionally write about is the subject of raising the dead according to Jesus’ command found in Matthew 10. Because it has been treated as a somewhat fringe topic, fairly few people teach in-depth on this subject. In my own journey to follow Christ, I’ve discovered some lesser-known details regarding the process of pursuing resurrection for those who have passed on. Today I want us to look at the vicarious trauma and grief associated with praying to raise the dead.

A first question (and a very good question) is “what are vicarious trauma and grief?”

According to the American Counseling Association, Vicarious Trauma (also known as secondary trauma or compassion fatigue) is the “emotional residue of trauma” that people experience as they help others process through their own pain, trauma, and problems.* While typically associated with counselors, nurses and caregivers, doctors, and emergency personnel/first responders, vicarious trauma can ultimately happen to anyone who is exposed to the pain of others on an ongoing basis.

Grief is a deep level of sorrow associated with loss, usually involving the death of a loved one. A friend tends to identify grief with “the acceptance that something bad has happened.”

Grief is a normal, accepted part of the process of losing a loved one, and vicarious trauma is typically only associated with picking up and carrying the pain of others that is not your own. Thus, if dealing with death one will typically either grieve the death of a loved one or experience vicarious trauma from someone else’s pain and loss, but not both.

In chapter 11 of my book Faith To Raise The Dead, I talk about how to stay encouraged while believing for the dead to be raised. While I don’t address the subject of grief specifically in that chapter, I believe it is a barrier to standing in faith to raise the dead. However, we are also human and we cannot stuff that grief down forever. When I involve myself into a resurrection attempt, I invest my heart in it. I try to save any grieving until after a burial, but if it creeps through along the way, I spend a little time crying and/or getting over it, then I keep pressing through in prayer to see a miracle happen. It is true as believers that we weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn, and I have found this most especially true when dealing with death in situations like these. The reason I believe ignoring or pushing past grief is important is because we are literally praying so that the problem that causes the grief will disappear. Thus, it doesn’t make any sense, nor does it seem to be a faith-filled stance, to me, to grieve someone’s death while praying for their return.

Picking up the grief in the situation is, I think, a normal thing to have happen. However, there comes a point where it goes beyond simply grieving someone else’s loss and moves into the realm of vicarious trauma. Some view this as the difference between sympathy, which is feeling pain for someone else’s problem, and empathy, which is understanding someone else’s pain in their problem. I suppose this is true by definition, but when we engage our hearts into something like raising the dead, it is hard not to sympathize, and in some ways, I think it is unhealthy. If we remain entirely aloof from the process, how engaged can we really be in the outcome?

When it comes to raising the dead, I have found that vicarious trauma is a very real thing, which is something I never considered when I began a serious journey to raise the dead seven to eight years ago. As we come in contact with the pain, grief, and loss of others, it becomes hard to distance onself, and that pain that we pick up over time can add up. In the end, it is a heavy weight to carry, and at times it has weighed me down. In situations like these, the only solution I have is to spend time with God. The Bible says of Jesus that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, so I spend some time in prayer, often with tears, trading my burdens for His, and releasing my baggage to Him.

Now, considering I want to help people step into the reality of resurrection power and successfully raise the dead, why am I talking about this? Wouldn’t it be better to leave out the ugly details and emotional pain that comes with it? Sure, that might be enough to get someone to put their foot in the door, but it isn’t going to make them last. It certainly won’t help them persevere when things get rough. The Bible has some advice on the subject that I think is highly relevant and very important for us to consider. In Luke 14: 28-35 it says:

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

This passage admonishes us to look at what we are getting ourselves into before we set out to do something. If we don’t, the reminder is that we are at risk for failure. It is the scriptural equivalent of “look before you leap.” As I read the Luke passage, something else stuck out to me that I find poignant and directly related to resurrection. If we consider that we are the salt of the earth, if we lose our saltiness, how can we “get fixed” again? When I become too burdened by vicarious trauma, the only way I can “regain my salt” is to lay it all at the feet of Jesus. I make use of practical earthly tools (such as Good Grief, a flower essence for emotional healing), but in the end, I cast my cares upon Him because He cares for me.

Praying to raise the dead is an emotional process. There is nothing enjoyable about praying for a dead baby to return to life, and it is even more painful when the baby doesn’t rise and you hand it back to the mother knowing full well that in that moment, you failed to successfully release the power of God to solve the problem. When those situations happen, we have to know that we are all-in, and we have to know how to lay the grief and trauma at the feet of Jesus so we can heal, get up again, and keep pursuing the abundant, powerful, resurrection life of Jesus Christ to display it to the world.

If you want to learn more about raising the dead I encourage you to do the following:

1. Sign up for our Raise the Dead Initiative mailing list here to receive updates and connect further.

2. Get some books. I have written two books on the subject: Practical Keys to Raise the Dead and Faith to Raise the Dead. Practical Keys is a series of excerpts from Faith To Raise The Dead, all of which give practical advice for when you are actively praying to raise someone at that time. Faith To Raise The Dead goes more into theology, but has a chapter devoted to resurrection testimonies, an appendix in the back of faith-building scriptures to help you pray for the deceased to return to life, and I answer a lot of common and even difficult questions surrounding the subject.

Tyler Johnson, founder of the Dead Raising Team has written multiple books on the subject as well: How to Raise the Dead and The Dead Are Raised. Be sure to check out Father Hebert’s encouraging book Saints Who Raised The Dead for pages upon pages of uplifting testimonies about saints in history who have raised the dead in Jesus’ name.

3. Join the Raise the Dead Initiative on Facebook. The Raise the Dead Initiative is a group I started to help the Body of Christ grow in this area, and I will eventually develop an RDI teaching curriculum to train believers to pray for and raise the dead. You may also be interested in The Dead Raising Team (DRT) and Dead Raising Campaign Facebook groups.

4. Look at how you can host or attend a School of Resurrection in your area. Contact Tyler Johnson via his website at http://www.oneglance.org/ to arrange the event. Tyler is an awesome man of God and good friend who regularly teaches Schools of Resurrection to help transform our understanding on the subject of resurrection life. He has Dead Raising Teams around the world who are ready to mobilize in their area to release the abundant life of Jesus Christ. You can also head over to Gumroad to buy and download a complete Resurrection School Audio Series.

5. Watch/listen to David Hogan’s YouTube Series on the subject of Raising the Dead: Session 1 — Session 2 — Session 3 — Session 4

6. Pray for and actively engage opportunities to raise the dead in your area by reaching out to friends when you hear that someone has passed away.

*https://www.counseling.org/docs/trauma-disaster/fact-sheet-9—vicarious-trauma.pdf

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”][/et_pb_code][et_pb_comments admin_label=”Comments” _builder_version=”3.16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”] [/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

The One Jesus Didn’t Raise From The Dead

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font_size=”16″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

I had a discussion the other day with a friend about raising people from the dead, and one of the things we talked about was what Jesus did. She pointed out that Jesus didn’t raise everyone from the dead. It’s an interesting idea, so I want to look at that as we discuss the one Jesus didn’t raise from the dead.

If we look in scripture, there are exactly twelve resurrection stories. Of those twelve stories, four of them are ones Jesus raised from the dead. Incidentally, the scriptures also only record four times that Jesus even encountered dead bodies. So, then, which one is the one Jesus didn’t raise? None of them.

One of the most common arguments people make against raising the dead is that Jesus didn’t resurrect every single person who died in his era. Someone who makes that argument would be correct—Jesus didn’t go to every graveyard, search every mausoleum and crypt, and hunt down every remote tomb to body-snatch every single person he could find and bring them back to life. What he did do is never back down from a situation he was presented with.

Consider this: Jesus never turned away from anyone who asked him for help, or anyone whom he felt compassion for. While he didn’t hang out in graveyards, he did take responsibility for that which was in front of him. As part of Jesus’ teachings on the Mount, Matthew 5:42 expresses this fairly well saying, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Jesus would always give to those who asked of him, and often what they asked for was healing. In situations where the ill individual died, he raised them from the dead.

The fact is that every single dead person Jesus was faced with that the Bible records, He did something about. I think sometimes people read too far into the text and make assumptions about things that literally cannot be proven in any way because it doesn’t mention them one way or another. We have no idea how many dead people Jesus actually came across in his life, as it only gives detailed records of his birth and 3 years as an adult. We don’t technically know if Jesus came across other dead bodies during those three years that just weren’t written about. As such, we really shouldn’t make up doctrine based on facts that we don’t have.

What we can and should do is identify what we know Jesus did, and then do that. What we know with certainty that Jesus did based on what is written is that he addressed the problems in front of him. If someone cried out to him for healing, he healed the person. Sometimes Jesus seemed to pick out a single individual to heal, such as the man at Solomon’s Colonnade. It doesn’t say Jesus healed everyone else there, so it’s possible (and likely) He didn’t. But it also doesn’t tell us that any of them asked for help either.

At the end of the day, the goal is to emulate Jesus and be conformed into His image. We can make a lot of excuses in life about all the people we should and shouldn’t pray for to raise the dead. In my own life, I have very strong convictions about the subject, and while I don’t stalk funerals, if someone calls me requesting prayer to resurrect a loved one, I take it seriously and attach a level of personal responsibility to it just like I see Jesus doing in Scripture. And at the end of the day, I think that’s probably the best way to go about it.

If you want to learn more about raising the dead, consider out the following resources:

1. Sign up for our Raise the Dead Initiative mailing list here to receive updates and connect further.

5. Watch/listen to David Hogan’s YouTube Series on the subject of Raising the Dead: Session 1 — Session 2 — Session 3 — Session 4

6. Pray for and actively engage opportunities to raise the dead in your area by reaching out to friends when you hear that someone has passed away.

[/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<script type=”text/javascript” src=”https://app.getresponse.com/view_webform_v2.js?u=B40ZB&webforms_id=6653905″></script>[/et_pb_code][et_pb_comments admin_label=”Comments” show_avatar=”on” show_reply=”on” show_count=”on” background_layout=”light” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″]

[/et_pb_comments][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Sowing And Reaping To Raise The Dead

A few months ago I spoke at a church in Maryland about faith, spiritual laws, and miracles, and one of the examples I gave about the law of sowing and reaping was related to raising the dead. If anyone could have heard my thoughts as I was speaking, they might have laughed. I was explaining to the congregation (along with it being interpreted into French sentence-by-sentence) how I am passionate about the abundant life of Jesus Christ, as well as His power and subsequent command to us to raise the dead. I explained how on infrequent occasion will pick up fresh roadkill to “practice” praying for the dead to be raised, and as I was sharing this, I realized that I probably sounded very silly and maybe should have picked a better, more acceptable illustration to explain the law of sowing and reaping. As I thought about it later, however, I decided that while another illustration might make the idea more readily accepted by others, the truth is that the only reason I pray for roadkill is to become more proficient at raising the dead.

Some of you readers might also find this somewhat strange, but let’s be honest, I only do it because it works.

But wait Michael, you haven’t raised the dead yet, so how can you say it works?

Simple: The Bible says it quite clearly, and it is a spiritual principle that is actively and visibly functioning in all creation, so it is impossible to deny its success. Galatians 6:7-9 says:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

This passage is possibly the most clear of all the passages on sowing and reaping in scripture, as it quite succinctly explains how it functions. From this, we can see three keys to the law:

1. It makes a mockery of God to think we can sow and not reap, as it is a spiritual law inherent in creation.
2. Our sowing and reaping will bring either death or life
3. If we do not give up, we will reap a harvest sooner or later

This past week or so has been a bit emotionally trying for me, as I have spent some of my time praying to raise a 27-week gestation premature baby from the dead. I never quite realized how traumatic that could be. Don’t get me wrong. I get upset and have to fight internally to keep myself out of a place of grief any time I pray to raise the dead, but this one was different somehow. I think part of it was that I could see how much pain and suffering this death was causing the family, and I recognized that this precious little baby had a long future ahead of her that was just stolen. All in all, the situation was rough but we continue to pray and believe for this life to be returned to this small child.

In this process though, I really had to look inside and ask myself “Why do I do this?” I mean, think about it. As one of the Portland Leads for the Dead Raising Teams, I get contacted occasionally to pray to raise the dead for total strangers. Why do I willingly subject myself to adding other people’s emotional pain onto my own when I don’t have to? I spent some time this past week thinking about this, and what I settled on is basically how I began this blog post:

I am passionate about the abundant life of Jesus Christ.

In fact, I am so passionate about it that at times I go out of my way to enact spiritual principles such as the law of sowing and reaping found in scripture to accelerate the process by which I apprehend living out of that reality—one where I don’t just give lip service to believing that Jesus raises the dead today, but where it actually happens when I pray for them. Some people may find this strange, but the truth is that when things go south, everyone wishes they knew someone who operated in miracles. I personally don’t believe we as Christians have the luxury to hope we know someone else who can get the job done. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to walk in the miraculous at a level such that if someone dies (or any other problem rears its ugly head), that when we show up, so does Jesus and His abundant life to reverse the situation.

I never want to have another encounter with a mother where I hold her lifeless child and fail to release the life of Christ in the situation. I won’t shrink back, mind you, but I never want to have to share in that kind of pain again unless it is just long enough to wipe it away by the resurrection power of Jesus. Sowing and reaping is, I think, one of the most basic but also most overlooked keys God has given us to walk in everything He has commanded us to do.

I talk about this more in my book Faith To Raise The Dead, along with many other subjects including faith, authority, God’s will to raise the dead, and a host of other practical things that come up in this process. The book covers common questions related to raising the dead, as well as give a glimpse of where God wants to move us as the Body of Christ in this area. If you have ever had thoughts about this subject and haven’t quite known how to proceed, I encourage you to get this book, dig into all of the scriptural teaching found within, and see where God decides to take you.

If you want to get more involved in stepping out in faith to raise the dead consider doing any or all of the following six steps:

1. Sign up for our Raise the Dead Initiative mailing list here to receive updates and connect further.

5. Watch/listen to David Hogan’s YouTube Series on the subject of Raising the Dead: Session 1 — Session 2 — Session 3 — Session 4

6. Pray for and actively engage opportunities to raise the dead in your area by reaching out to friends when you hear that someone has passed away.

An Unhealthy Fascination With Death

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

There is an insidious belief in many Christian circles that says God is really interested in healing the soul and both didn’t and doesn’t prioritize bodily healing. Consider such verses as Isaiah 40:7-8, which says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” A glance at this verse clearly juxtaposes the idea that God’s word lasts forever, but that all of mankind dies. It isn’t a far jump from there to say that because the physical body is going to wither anyway, God doesn’t really care about or prioritize it. What He really cares about is soul transformation, and values it far above and beyond bodily healing. Furthermore, some people go so far as to say that death doesn’t exist and that because the spirit is undying that when the body dies it isn’t really death, just a transition from one state to another. I can see where people come from regarding this, but the belief is inherently flawed—these are all nice-sounding but inaccurate ideas that foster an unhealthy fascination with death.

One of the main problems with beliefs such as those above is that they promote an unhealthy attitude and understanding toward physical healing, raising the dead, and abundant life and immortality. As a result, healing has typically not been very successful in the greater Church as a whole, resurrections from the dead are uncommon, and immortality is nearly unheard of.

Consider that Jesus, in John 10:10, made a very radical distinction for the people of his day. Stating clearly that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,” Jesus was telling the people of his day, all of whom believed that Satan worked for God and that all death ultimately came from God, that the two were in opposition to one another. He further clarified that He, Jesus, came to bring life that was so abundant that it could not be counted. The word in that passage that is translated as “full life” or “life more abundantly” is the word perissos which basically means exceedingly and surpassing far more than is needed. Jesus wasn’t mincing words or skimping on the details when he explained that He and Satan were in opposition, the one promoting death and the other promoting life—not just a little life, but far more life than could be necessary in any given situation.

Healing is quite simply a manifestation of life. Raising the dead is likewise a manifestation of that same life, and immortality, abundant life, and divine health are all words to describe this life that is overflowing such that death cannot begin to have a hold. This means that not only can one’s body not get sick, but it will not grow old or see disease, illness, or decay in any form. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” These verses show us that even those who are dead will be raised back to life in bodies at some point. This heaven-when-we-die reality is only a temporary state because God has no intention of keeping us there exclusively anyway.

The only way we can accept the idea that God doesn’t place importance on our physical bodies is if we teach what the Church has taught for the past thousand years or so. And while most sensible people might assume that would be a good thing to do, the fact is that the early Church Fathers didn’t actually hold such beliefs. It was actually a false teaching that not only crept into the church over time, but gradually took hold and overthrew the previous more-accurate beliefs about God, judgment, heaven, and hell. A great (and short) book to read for more on this subject is The Question of Hell by Richard K. Murray, available free on his website thegoodnessofgod.com (http://www.thegoodnessofgod.com/books/)

If we look at what Jesus said quite plainly about our physical bodies, it becomes impossible to believe that God holds no value in our corporeal form. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me *will never die*. Do you believe this? (emphasis mine)” In John 6:48-51 he perplexed the people when he said, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Keep in mind that when read in context, Jesus was comparing physical death in this passage, not spiritual death. He states quite clearly here that we can eat and not die. Sickness, infirmity, weakness, disease—all of these things are manifestations of death in our bodies. It is impossible for us to have death actively working within us and for us to simultaneously live forever.

The TRUE gospel is a gospel where Jesus came to destroy the power of death. We quote it all the time in John 3:16, but don’t seem to realize what we are saying. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” That word “perish” there means “to die.” God loves us so much that Jesus came so that those of us who believe in Him would literally never die. That is the true message of the gospel. Once the power of death was defeated, we no longer have a date with death and can live forever because of what Jesus has done.+

It is impossible to not-die and have eternal life if the means by which we gain eternal life is by dying and going to heaven after we die. Jesus wasn’t talking about spiritual death when he spoke to the people because he already knew that our spirits are eternal and cannot die—he spoke of physical death. Yet, while Jesus actively healed people from their injuries and diseases, we welcome death and even teach people that it is a transition into a “greater glory” with God. If you have failed to fully receive the working power of the blood of Jesus in your life then yes, after you die God is gracious and has a holding place for you, but no, you did not actually receive the fullness of the gospel that Jesus purchased because His gospel is one where you don’t die. Remember that in John 14:6 Jesus said that he was the way to the Father, not death.

God is rapidly driving the Body of Christ into a head-on collision with this revelation. As this happens, we have three options: attempt to halt the car even though the brakes have been cut, grab the steering wheel and attempt to veer aside, which will only end up in a crash, or simply watch with eyes wide open as God steers us into the most amazing depths of His goodness, mercy, and grace. Are you up for the ride? Because ready or not, here God comes!

The Validity Of Witnesses

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.10.8″ text_font_size=”16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

I had a private discussion recently with another believer, and the nature of the discussion had to do with the scriptural validity of immortality through Jesus Christ. The other person’s underlying question was essentially “if we were supposed to live forever, then wouldn’t someone already be doing it?” There are a number of problems with this question, but one in particular deals with the validity of witnesses.

A common question, or rather objection, I hear about immortality is “who do you know who has done it?” Well, I suppose that depends on what you are actually asking. Are you actually asking do I know someone personally because if I did personally know them then you would believe? Because if I were completely honest, I don’t think that’s what people are asking at all. I think what they are really saying is a statement that sounds like a question, and the statement would be something like “It’s not actually possible, or it would be common, and you and I and everyone else would know people doing it and see it happen, so I’m simply going to ask you to show me the physical proof and when you aren’t able to, we can accept that I am correct in saying it isn’t possible.”

I remember once, years ago, when I was discussing the spiritual gift of praying in tongues. The person I spoke with was a cessationist (who believes that ended a long time ago), and he basically asked the question “do you know anyone who does it?” I answered in the affirmative, because while I didn’t at the time, I knew other people who did. Well, unsurprisingly his answer was “well, that can’t be, it must be through a demonic spirit.” He asked for witnesses, I informed him that I had witnesses, and he immediately invalidated their testimony. What good is asking for a witness if you decide that anything he or she says has no validity? The entire point of a witness is for them to share what they saw and heard. If you don’t like what they saw and heard, it doesn’t alter its validity—it just makes you close-minded.

I recall Jesus telling a parable that touched on this very thing. The story was about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. The rich man ignored the teachings of Moses and the Prophets, and ended up in a place of torment. In his request to have Lazarus go warn his family, the reply was, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31).

At some point in time we have to decide whether we are going to accept the testimony of the witnesses given us. We actually have multiple witnesses of this very reality, that we can live and not die, but whether we will accept them or not remains to be seen.

Consider this: The Bible states quite clearly that both Enoch and Elijah did not die. Jesus died, but then came back to life, then after that proceeded to ascended to heaven still very-alive much like Elijah did. These three witnesses alone should be sufficient to say “this is possible.” If it is possible for some, then, it is possible . James 5:17 says, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” While it might be far-fetched for some to accept that anyone can attain immortality, ascending to heaven without dying, if Elijah did it and the Scriptures are clear he was just like you or me, then we don’t have any excuses to keep us from accepting the possibility that we could as well.

Furthermore, there are others throughout history as well. Possibly the most well-documented is that of the Maharishi of Mt. Kailash, a hermit who Sadhu Sundar Singh met sometime in the early 1900s; this man spent his time interceding for the world. This man claimed to have been baptized by the nephew of Francis Xavier, a Catholic missionary who lived from 1506 to 1562 (Citation goes here). In other words, using insanely conservative math the man was at least 340 years old, and in reality was probably around 400 years of age. Either we believe the man who spoke to Sundar, or we don’t. Keep in mind that this man was a hermit who lived in the middle of a mountain and had no interest in contact with most of humanity. He gained nothing whether he lied or spoke the truth. This man referenced others who also were hermits on Kailash as well, although I don’t believe the Sadhu ever met any of them (As a side note, Sundar was born in 1889 and was presumed to have died in in 1929, but that remains unconfirmed as no one ever actually saw his dead body, and considering he personally knew an immortal . . . ). I once heard a story by a well-known charismatic preacher who was translocated by the Lord and met a Native American man who was over 200 years old. I have heard other stories as well, but again, it all comes down to the validity of witnesses. Are we willing to accept their testimony in spite of its rarity, or do we reject it because it isn’t common?

At the end of the day, isn’t that really what is on trial—whether or not God will do uncommon things? The way I see it, if the Bible tells us something is in the promises of God for us, it doesn’t matter if it is a common experience or not. We are promised spiritual gifts, divine healing, raising the dead, and much more, but there are many who have never heard anyone pray in tongues, never experienced divine healing, and have never seen nor known anyone who was raised from the dead. While some might dispute the validity of tongues for today, it is unarguable that divine healing and raising the dead are scriptural and are for us today.

In reality, the question we have to ask ourselves is “Am I going to let someone else’s experiences limit and dictate my encounters with God?” Whether someone else is successful or not at living forever has literally nothing to do with:

1) Whether God has promised it for us
2) Whether God has prepared it for us
3) Whether the Bible supports this belief and
4) Whether I can access it through Jesus Christ.

It doesn’t matter if we don’t see it now, nor if we look foolish going after it. 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” Looking foolish for pursuing the gospel is frustrating at times, but not enough to stop me from going after everything God has for me. I don’t personally let anyone else’s success or failure dictate what I can experience in God—and neither should you! That’s the part where we walk by faith and not by sight. But here’s the cool thing: as we continue to walk in faith that “these signs will follow those who believe” and the evidence will eventually be there.

I discuss this and related topics in detail in my book “The Gospel of Life and Immortality,” available on both Kindle and in Print on Amazon.

Destroying Entropy: The Power of the Gospel

Do You Believe The Radical Simple Gospel?

Inner Healing: A Key To Immortality In Christ

Raising The Dead In The Hospital

How Much Life Do You Want?

Raising The Dead: Processing Vicarious Trauma and Grief

The One Jesus Didn’t Raise From The Dead

Sowing And Reaping To Raise The Dead

An Unhealthy Fascination With Death

The Validity Of Witnesses

Recent Posts