Chapter V

""Take heed that no man deceive you."

Matthew 24:4

Even though I had a promise from the Lord that my mobile home would not be picked up (repossessed) until he had a place for me to live, I openly displayed the depth of my faith in his promise by purchasing the tent.

My sister, who first saw the camper, followed up on it. She stopped and asked the owners of it if they would be interested in selling it. They replied that although they had no desire to sell it, they would nevertheless think about it. And to make a long story short, they decided to sell it. My niece obtained a twelve hundred dollar bank loan for me in order to pay for it.

The camper, eight feet wide and sixteen feet long, blue and white in color, was delivered to my lot on a Sunday afternoon. I immediately loved. It had a tiny kitchen, a small eating nook, a compact living area, along with a tiny bathroom with commode and shower. I know the Lord had brought it to me and it was beautiful to my eyes.

I hadn't heard from the bank in months but without a word from them, the next morning at daybreak, that very Monday, the movers arrived and pulled off my modern mobile home. From the time the camper arrived until the movers came was about fourteen to sixteen hours, much less than a day. I could only marvel at the Lord's timing. . . Astounded by the 'close call'.

One thing was certain. His promise came true. They did not get my trailer until he had a place for me to live.

I sat on my mother's patio and watched as the man hooked up my mobile home, then began to pull it away. I had vowed not to cry, but I began to weep bitterly. My tears were not so much about losing my home as about losing the place where I had so many wonderful encounters with the Lord. It was in the hallway of that trailer that He pulled me to himself and changed the course of my life forever. It was in the small bedroom that I'd been given the vision of his Return. It seemed all the memories came one by one as I watched the trailer vanish from sight.

After it was gone I looked at the large vacant area where it had been. Then, I looked over at the small camper and wiped my eyes dry as I thanked the Lord for my new place to live. He had kept his word and I had a new place to live.

An elderly neighbor came with his tractor and positioned the camper then hooked up my water and sewer. Later that afternoon an electrician came and connected the camper to electrical power. That Monday night I slept in it and I was comfortable and content. I still marveled at the Lord's timing and how he had worked through others to get the camper for me. My S.S.I. check would be used to pay back the bank for the twelve hundred dollar loan and my food stamps would provide me with food.

That night as I lay in my bed I did not feel so poor or despairing as one might imagine. To the contrary, I felt rather blessed. I had a roof over my head, a full belly - and then the Lord gave me a special blessing. From my bed I looked out the window to see that the golden reflection from a distant neighbor's outside light had formed a perfect cross on the window just above my head.

The Lord's comfort enwrapped me and I went to sleep looking at the cross above my head. Each night I slept in that camper the cross appeared and I always went to sleep looking at it. No matter what the day had been like - filled with panic or anything else untoward that caused my faith to falter or fail - at night when the cross appeared in my window, so did the Lord's peace to soothe my mind and heart.

And I began to sense the Lord's presence again at intervals. He began to answer my prayers and questions again and I wanted to keep it that way. I couldn't imagine what I had done before to drive him away, and whatever it was, I didn't want to do it again. But, I'd done so many things wrong I didn't know where to start.

Finally, I gave up trying to figure it out. I had him back and that was all that really mattered to me.

I had been in the camper only a short while when I received a very clear lesson from the lord concerning abortions. The way it happened was that late one night I watched a group of Christians discuss the issue of abortion on a television show. As I listened I became somewhat troubled by the fact there did not emerge a consensus as to the evil of the procedure. It surprised me that Christian leaders could appear so indecisive about such an important issue. Even during my most pagan, heathen days I recognized that abortion was wrong and nothing ever said or read changed my mind. I watched the debate a good while before in disgust I finally clicked off the TV.

Then I sat in the dark wondering about what I had seen and heard. It seemed to me that if Christians were wishy-washy in their own beliefs concerning such an evil, how could they truly influence the debate toward the right outcome.

As I went to bed that night I remember saying something to the effect of -"Lord, you heard what I heard tonight. Now what I want to know, Lord, is your view on abortion." I concluded with, "Please tell me how you see it and let me know your thoughts on the matter. Also, help me put aside everything I've thought or heard so I can receive a clear answer from you." And that's how I left it with the Lord. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, around day break, I was awakened by the Lord. He said these word's to me as I opened my eyes:

"Abortion is the fruit of an evil tree."

Then he showed me the tree... a horribly twisted tree, utterly grotesque. It resembled a banyan somewhat, but much more gnarled and evil in its appearance. The tree was bent by low hanging branches of rotten, fowl, putrified fruit. Next he zoomed in on one of the fruits and I could see the name "Abortion" on it. That particular piece of fruit grew from a branch with the name of Adultery. As I looked the tree over I could see other branches bent low with rotten fruit; branches wearing the labels of murder... theft... jealousy... rage... rape... covetousness... and on and on. Then the Lord parted the branches so that I could see the trunk from which they grew. The trunk was labeled with the words: self-worship. Next the Lord guided my attention to the base of the tree where he peeled back the earth to where I could see the twisted black root, a very deep root. It bore the words: Rebellion against God.

It was at that point I realized in my spirit that the tangled mess of a tree I saw was in fact a spiritual picture of the United States of America.

As I realized exactly what I was seeing, the Lord said to me:

"If I should lay my ax to the root of this tree...America would cease to be."

I had asked the Lord to reveal to me what He thought of abortion and He had done so in a way I clearly understood. From that morning any thing that I hear which condones the slaughter of the unborn, I reject immediately, no matter the excuses given. Abortion is the fruit of an evil tree. I know for certain this is true for I have seen the tree. An evil tree can not bring forth good fruit, nor can a good tree bring forth evil fruit. The seed is in itself.

When I later pondered the issue of "Life of the mother" the Lord took me to the book of Genesis and to the story of Jacob and Rachel. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, the last of Jacob's sons. In today's world Rachel would most likely have been spared and Benjamin perish under the banner of "life of the mother." That would mean no Apostle Paul who came from the tribe of Benjamin.

All life comes from God. He can take it or give it... And He's always right.

Seeing the tree made me acutely aware of God's picture of America. I wondered how deep was the root of rebellion. Was it so deep that it will lead to our total destruction as a nation. I heard the Lord clearly as He said:

"If I should lay my ax to the root of this tree, America would cease to be."

I had my answer. I fear the outlook for the nation is bleak indeed.

It was during this same time period while I lived in the camper that the Lord began to teach me about his judgements. He took me to the passages in Genesis where He tells Abraham that His descendants would be in Egypt four hundred years because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. The exact verse is Genesis 15:16:

"But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." (KJ)

We can be sure that when the Amorites' iniquity was full according to God's scales of weights and measurements, up came the children of Israel out of Egypt to possess the Land of Promise.

Again I saw the lesson in Daniel where the writing appears on the wall to Belshazar: "You are weighed in the balance and found wanting. Tonight the kingdom will be taken from you."

No one but God Himself knows when a nation's cup of iniquity is full, or when the heavenly scales measure a nation to be "found wanting." God alone is the just judge of the universe.

A verse of scripture that I found to be very intriguing is Hebrews 11:7 (KJ). It states that when Noah built the ark, He condemned the world. The exact words are:

"By faith, Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness which is by faith." Hebrews 11:7 (KJ)

The Lord knew exactly how long it would take Noah to build the ark. He knew the exact moment the first drop of rain would fall; the exact moment the fountain of the deep would erupt upon a violent rebellious world. The Lord's timing, along with His weighing and measuring, is perfect. As surely as He knew when the iniquity of the Amorites would be full; as surely as He knew when Babylon would be "found wanting"; He also knows when the last baby in this time will be torn from its mother's womb.

In my spirit, I sense that the scales of America have already tipped toward the "weighed in the balance and found wanting" side. I further sense that tilt became irreversible the day I sat and watched on television the U.S. government with tanks and gas mutilate innocent children to the death in Waco, Texas.

I was watching CNN, Sonja Friedman Live, when I saw the tank ram the building, then shortly thereafter saw the first sparks of fire fly.

"Oh Lord, Oh God," I prayed, "please get the children out!" Over and over I prayed as the flames leaped and spread, blown by a brisk wind. "Lord, Lord, the children!"

Suddenly I knew they would perish, all the children would perish. The sheer horror of knowing those little ones spent their final hours on this earth being tortured and mutilated by their own government and then being burned alive, numbed me beyond tears into a stone cold silence. I knew as I sat there staring at those smoldering ashes that April 19, 1993, I was witnessing something that went way beyond Waco, Texas. It was as if I could hear the Lord saying:

"And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better that a millstone was hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea." Mark 9:42 (KJ)

I sensed that indeed a millstone slipped around America's neck that day; and the downward spiral toward the sea began in earnest that day. America's soul was tarnished; her scales were tipped and would never be set right or level again. Up until that day I felt there was still a glimmer of hope for a turnaround in this country, but that hope died alongside those children in that blaze. The government's response to the entire debauchery sealed it permanently. Caesar and his legions were quick to put the guilt on others but the debacle was theirs alone...But the nation will pay... and pay... and pay.

If the Lord lays his ax to the root of the evil tree which is America, I can't say whether it will be with one fell swoope or if He will strike it with several hard blows. He did not tell me the manner He would employ, He told me only the outcome. "America would cease to be." I believed Him and I believe Him.

Would you prefer for the Lord to strike down the nation, or leave it alone to slowly rot from the root upward. It doesn't matter what we prefer for the choice is not ours. It's His. Only He knows. For sure and certain America's cup of iniquity is being measured by the One who hold the cup.

In many ways America as a nation has already ceased to be. She is much like a fatally wounded beast, shot through the heart, staggering back and forth under the wound, quickly approaching the point of the death collapse. Can anyone with eyes that see doubt this?

There's a possibility that the imminent collapse is not based on America alone, but on all the nations. It is probable all with (will?) collapse together. The coming hours, days, months, and maybe years will tell.

There is however one fact of which I am sure. When the Lord Jesus comes to get us from this earth to take us to be with Him in glory, the places where we now occupy will be engulfed in fire. This present earth will melt like a big ball of wax. Of this fact I am certain.

Were those adults in Waco more sinful that (than?) the rest of us? Were those that the tower of Siloam fell upon when Jesus walked the earth in flesh, blood and bone, more sinful than all others of that time? The Lord answers with the words:

"I tell you, nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:5 (KJ)

That's why people cannot let go of Waco. Somehow they sense that they were seeing more than met the eye that day, and in fact, they were.

Seeing the earth melt is one part of the vision of the Lord's return that I have struggled with 'to make plain'. It directly contradicts most of the beliefs and teachings of today. In the vision the Lord showed me there was no seven year tribulation nor was there a millennium. And there's no way to fit them in the vision the Lord showed me and told me 'to write'.

I recall one day of weak faith (of which there has been many such days) and I was vacillating between what the Lord had clearly shown me and what I was hearing daily from television preachers. I understood that their belief in a Millennium was based mainly on the Book of Revelation chapter twenty. I had read the chapter but I could not understand it, nor did I attempt to explain it not even in my own mind.

Early in my walk with the Lord I developed a real fear of "adding to, or taking from" the book of Revelation. If I believed God to be true to His word, and I did; that He fulfills His word, and He does; then I knew that the warnings found at the close of this last book of the Bible were true. And knowing that, I approached the Book of Revelation with caution. For a fact, whenever I would read or attempt to study the book I would whisper the prayer, "Lord, please don't let me add to or take from this book."

But on that particular day the Holy Spirit told me to get my Bible and read chapter twenty. It seemed He hovered right above my shoulder as I slowly and carefully read the chapter verse by verse. Then when I completed the reading He quizzed me with:

"Now, who is with me those thousand years?"

I looked down at the chapter, studied a moment then answered, "It says .... those that are beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God."

He asked me then:

"And what does it say about the rest of the dead?"

I read on, then answered, "It says... the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years were finished."

He asked a final question:

"Do you think that perhaps my word has been misinterpreted?"

I nodded in agreement, "Yes, Lord."

I began to understand the vision the Lord gave me of His return would not be confirmed or verified by the doctrines of men. However, the vision would be verified by God's word.

Once I began to study in earnest I realized how very plain the Lord does make it in His word. The first fact to consider is that the Lord Jesus does not engage in double-talk. To disagree or to fight against His word is like butting one's head against a brick wall; or as He told the Apostle Paul:

"It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (Acts 9:5 KJ)

In our day we are guilty of making the identical mistakes His disciples made prior to the coming of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. They were anxious for an earthly kingdom to be established. But, once the Holy Ghost came, an earthly kingdom passed from their theology. For a fact not once after Pentecost is the establishment of an earthly kingdom ever mentioned again by any Apostle.

I'm certain that with all the Lord has taught me over the years through His word an earthly kingdom will not take place - not on this present earth. This planet has a date with a firestorm that will totally engulf it and melt it. However, there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

The Lord Himself made distinct promises concerning our times. He said it would be like the times of Noah and of Sodom and Gomorrah. No one with any degree of spiritual discernment need not look any further than the newspaper headlines or television reports to realize we have arrived shoulder to shoulder with those comparisons.

In both cases, the flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord's chosen were delivered and all the rest perished, either by the water, or by the fire and brimstone. When the Lord's own words make these comparisons so very clear it's hard to understand how we allow our own doctrines to mute or twist the meaning of His words.

And that's the real foundation block of the modern doctrines concerning the seven year tribulation and the millennium. We desire to cling to this earth in spite of the Lord's own teachings.

I once asked the Lord why we did that; why we twisted everything to our own desires.

He showed me that we are 'earthy'... it's the only environment we've ever known. We come from dust and return to dust so it is to the earth we clearly relate, not heaven. When Jesus becomes our Lord and Savior, there is a battle between heavenly and earthly concerns. It is when we shed these mortal bodies of clay and become clothed with the spiritual bodies the Lord has promised that we truly realize the glory and splendor that comes with the escape of earth's gravity. In the vision of the Lord's return I saw this earth melting by fire and it didn't bother me at all.

We are much like babies in the womb. The Holy Spirit is the umbilical cord which nourishes us and connects us to God. As long as we are in this womb there will be times when the umbilical cord becomes knotted or twisted by our movements and we hinder the heavenly food for our souls. But, just because we are unruly and trying, the umbilical cord is not removed from us. We may suppress our own nourishment but the Lord has promised to 'never leave us or forsake us'.

Then we are brought to the birth and are lifted out of the earth's womb where we are welcomed into God's heavenly family. The Lord Jesus promises us we will be 'as the angels'. In His presence there is fullness of joy...that's exactly what we experience when we are separated from the earth. While on this planet we've known happy times and content times and joyful times, but never on a permanent basis.

During these years of my isolation whenever I've had a day of 'feeling good' or 'happiness' or 'contentment' I've discovered my total inability to enjoy that time completely because knowing that it won't last, I worry about what will happen next. It's all part of being 'earthy'. But when we are no longer earthly beings having been transformed into heavenly beings we discover the earth's fate no longer troubles us. We have been severed from it forever and it has no more pull on us.

God clearly tells us over and over in His word what the future will be for this planet. But we remain much like His first followers, tagging along after Him, pulling on His coattail, asking the same questions... "Lord, tell us when you will establish your kingdom on earth... tell us, Lord Jesus ... when will it be?"

It's as if we don't believe Him when He stood before His accusers and stated plainly:

"My kingdom is not of this world..." John 18:36 (KJ)

The Lord wasn't trying to trick us or deceive us, or lead us down a garden path. He told it like it was:

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." (John 18:36 KJ)

The Lord took me to the fourteenth chapter of Revelation and taught me from His word the following lesson:

First begin with verse 14:

"And I looked, and beheld a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle." (KJ)

Verse 15: "and another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, 'Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.." (KJ)

Verse 16: "and He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped." (KJ)

Now, stop and consider the facts of these verses - the Lord Jesus sat on a cloud, a loud voice cried, the harvest was ripe, the sickle thrust, the earth reaped. This is the first sickle.

But it doesn't end there. It continues on!

Verse 17:

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, He also having a sharp sickle.

Verse 18:

And another angel came out from the alter which had power over fire and cried with a loud voice to Him that had the sharp sickle saying:

"Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the cluster of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe."

Verse 19:

"And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."

Verse 20:

And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress even unto the horses bridles by the span of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."

Now, consider these facts - the sickle is wielded by an angel who was directed by the angel with power over fire; the vine is gathered and cast into the winepress of the wrath of God. This is the second sickle.

There are two sickles. The first is wielded by the Son of Man who gathers the harvest. The second is wielded by an angel (directed by the angel with power over fire) who gathers the vine of the earth for wrath of God. The verses clearly state that the harvest is followed by the wrath.

The parallel of Revelation chapter 14 is found in Matthew chapter 13. It is in Matthew that the Lord Jesus teaches the parable of the wheat and the tares. Again we find the wheat is gathered, the tares are burned. And we also find when it takes place for the Lord is very clear on the mater. We shall follow the verses:

Matthew Chapter 13, vs. 37 - 40 (KJ):

Verse 37:

He that sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

Verse 38:

The field is the world: the good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Verse 39:

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.

Verse 40:

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. "

It simply could not be more plain. When the Lord Jesus declares it shall be, only the most blinded, or deluded or misinformed could believe, teach, or preach doctrines that oppose or contradicts the Lord's own words.

The harvest occurs at the end of this world. The burning of the tares occurs at the end of this world. How many times will this world end? Answer-- just once. Both the harvest and the burning occur at the end. There can be no logical debate on the issue. The Lord's words end all debate for there are no clearer, plainer words in all the Scriptures. Period.

And that's precisely what the Lord showed me in the vision of his return. It's taken years for me to learn to depend on God's word, not man's doctrines. His words are spirit and they are life.

John's Gospel Chapter 14 speaks clearly concerning the destiny of believers. The Lord Jesus states plainly that he goes to prepare a place for us in his father's house where there are many mansions. He goes to prepare this place for us so that he can receive us unto Himself, that where he is we may be also. Therefore we can trust completely on his words for if they were not so, He would have told us.

Now one may wonder what does it matter whether or not there is a seven year tribulation or a millennium? Why does it matter if when He catches us away there's seven years left, are not?

It matters greatly. Were there not ten virgins? The five left behind believed they had time, when it became clear, in fact they did not. The Bridegroom only came once. Those that were prepared for him went in with him; those who were not prepared for him were locked out..

The first reason that it matters whether there is a seven year period of time remaining after the Lord's return to get us is this... It gives a seven year false window of time which does not and will not exist. The Bridegroom in the parable taught by Jesus did not give the five additional virgins extra time to get the oil for their lamps. They were either ready and waiting for him or they were not. If today someone is on the fence and discerns no sense of urgency due to misleading doctrines, he may very well still be perched there when the last trump sounds. At that time the fence sitter will not have time to fall to one side or the other.

The second fact is this... If the body of Christ has not discovered that we're in tribulation and have been so for almost two thousand years, then the words of Lord Jesus, "In this world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world," have surely fallen on deaf ears.

American Christians can be compared to righteous Lot who set vexed in the gates of Sodom and Gomorrah. While other believers in many parts of the world are deprived of freedom to worship, to meet, to pray, to openly proclaim the gospel; some who face daily death for their faith such as in the Sudan - we Americans set vexed in spirit and soul watching the decay and turmoil all around us.

The rotten fruit of this evil tree is not only destroying this country it is being exported around the world on a daily basis. Along side shipments of Bibles go "Playboy". Was it a sign of great progress in Russia when Bibles could be studied in schools? Indeed it was. But at the same time young women are exposing themselves for the next centerfold. There have been ministries from this country who have entered into business arrangements in Russia that are more than a bit shady. Arrangements which the Lord told me were "fellowships with Belial."

It sounds good, even impressive to say "we're going to win so many souls (a million, ten million, a billion) for Christ before the year 2000. It sounds good but are we capable of doing it.

First, we need to understand that all the Father gives to Christ Jesus are going to come to Him. We aren't going to increase or decrease that number by one single soul. Salvation does not depend on our slick slogans, but rather solely on the work of the Holy Spirit. If the Lord should use us to proclaim the gospel message to a lost soul, we need to understand that from beginning to end it is the work of the Holy Spirit. There aren't going to be any souls hanging from the spiritual belts of any man or woman. We are merely laborers in God's field of harvest. The field is His, the crop is His, the laborer is His.

The Lord told us that when we've done all our jobs we are commanded to do, we are all to say, "Lord, have mercy on me, an unprofitable servant." Those words make it plain where all the praise and glory are to be placed... At the feet of God.

We need to take a long hard look at what's really happened to the church in America over the past thirty years.

In this present time, Christianity is big business. Every believer needs to attend a 'religious convention' and check out the wares. It's difficult to discern if what is being done today in most cases is basically different from what the money changers did in the temple when Jesus drove them out. The question is: Is the Lord Jesus today being merchandised?

Whatever happened to 'freely you have received, freely give'? When did those words fall by the wayside? When did the modern church conclude that God was unable to meet all needs? Can anyone, anywhere in this country, imagine the Apostle Paul writing to the early church, "Brethren, I'm sending you a letter by my own hand, but first please send me a love gift of five ninety-five, or more as the Spirit leads. I need it if I am to reach the world for Christ."

No, rather he wrote that 'the love of money is the root of all evil.' That's not a sermon preached too often today.

The early Apostles knew the work of salvation from start to finish. A wonderful verse in Acts reads as follows:

and when the gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Acts 13:4 (KJ)

Again, all the Father gives him are going to come to Him. It's wonderful and a great privilege to be used of God to save a soul; it makes one feel so good inside. But it's so important to realize that all glory goes to God... And He will not share His glory.

Several years ago as I was in prayer one night, out of the blue, the Lord ask me this question:

"What is the most dangerous thing man has built?"

Hmmmmm... I thought about my answer. The first thought that came charging forth in my mind was "the bomb" of course. But before I could speak the Lord said:

"Not the bomb."

I knew I wasn't going to get the answer and so did the Lord for he said:

"The platform."

To which I replied, "The platform?" That answer made absolutely no sense to me. "The platform?" I wondered how that could be.

The session ended as the Lord spoke words to this effect:

"The bomb can destroy a man's body, but the platform can destroy his soul. It is a place where man exalts himself to his own destruction." There was a slight pause then the Lord concluded with, "It is only safe to stand on a platform when one has no desire to stand there."

After the exchange, I sat a long time on the floor in my prayer room thinking about what I had just heard. Having lived most of my life in Tupelo, Mississippi, the town of my birth, the first person I thought of in connection with the platform was Elvis Presley.

During my youth I had attended four Elvis concerts and a fifth one years later close to the time of his death in 1977. I recalled the young magnetic performer in velvet shirts one year, a gold lame' coat the next, on the wooden platform at the Fairgrounds in Tupelo. At one of the performances there was an attractive actress and a Cadillac automobile waiting for him beside the stage. I remembered that I sat there watching him as the crowd around me went wild; screaming, yelling...it was deafening. I thought to myself, 'he's really made it big.' In my mind he had indeed achieved the American dream...Poor boy makes good.

But, at the last concert I attended in Jackson (the state Capitol) a short while before he died, I was totally shocked, even stunned at what I saw. Walking onto the platform was a swollen, overweight Elvis-- bearing little or no resemblance to the young man I watched years earlier. I could hardly believe my eyes. That night I realized that the American dream did not come cheap. I suppose it was a year or so later Elvis died, having paid in full the price exacted by his platform. He had probably been exalted as high as any American entertainer in history, and his fall had been as low.

I pondered platforms and performers for while longer; then platforms in general. My writing career had been a platform. It was there I hoped to exalt myself... That's what it was all about... A way to elevate myself above the ordinary... To be special. I had fallen a pretty good distance myself.

At a later time the Lord told me one more thing about platforms. I don't remember how it happened that we got back on the subject of platforms, but we did. He said to me:

"If you go to an empty field and build a platform in the middle of it, eventually, in time someone will find it and climb up on it."

I nodded in agreement. I began to develop a healthy fear of both platforms and self exaltation... And at the same time I lost all fear of bombs.

I realized that all the modern messages about nuclear destruction, nuclear winter and the like, have no basis in the word of God. To the contrary, the Lord states plainly in Genesis chapter 8, verse 22 the following:

"While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (K J)

While the earth remaineth-- that's God's promise. And there is no doctrine or teaching of man that can or well alter God's word. While the earth remaineth - those are the key words in this promise of God. And how long will the earth remain? Until the day that the Apostle Peter writes about in his second epistle.

Today's believers can put any 'spin' they desire on Peter's writings, but it does not and cannot alter what is written. And what is written is:

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Peter Chapter 3:10 (K J)

How do simple logical facts get so twisted in the clear light of God's word? God makes a sure promise concerning the earth's condition as long as it remains; this is in Genesis, close to the beginning of the Bible. Then Peter, through the Holy Spirit, writes in the clearest terms of how the Earth will perish; this is in his second epistle, close to the end of the Bible.

Also, the day of the Lord coming as a 'thief in the night' is not unique to this passage of Scripture. The Lord Jesus himself states that his second coming will be so.

The more I understand vision of his coming to get us, the more I know it will be as He showed me. The day shown to me in the vision could be any day. There were no markers put down along the way to make it unique. I merely walked out into my yard and it was over. No warning - nothing. Here one second; gone the next.

I once asked the Lord, "What will be happening while we're at the marriage supper of the lamb?" I knew there wasn't going to be a seven year tribulation taking place, so I wondered what would be occurring.

He answered me:

"I told the end from the beginning."

Immediately I understood. While we are enjoying fellowship with the father, son and Holy Spirit - a new heaven and a new earth will be spoken into existence just as promised. I thought back to the first chapter of genesis.

We humans always seem to get it backward, don't we? This present heavens and earth came into existence through the spoken word of God. He spoke and it was so. However, we may all be assured that it's going out with a 'Big Bang'. "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise" - Which tells me the big bang comes at the end of this universe.