As mentioned previously, I had desired to marry a girl who didn't share the same sentiment. That experience was highly instrumental in bringing me to the place where all the conclusions I had drawn about life, and the expectations of success I thought those conclusions would bring, all turned out to be nothing more than a story I had made up about what I believed about life. This caused me to cry out to God regarding my shattered state, and evident inability to do anything about it. Although I didn't recognize the response as coming from Him since I was not acquainted enough with Him to do so, He told me to get the truth, get the wealth, and that he would take care of the rest. It was sometime after agreeing to do this that the door opened for me to move to Arizona.
At first, I was naive enough to believe that it would only take me a year or two to find the truth, and that in turn would lead me to something that would help me get the wealth. What I didn't have any idea about was the magnitude of opposition that didn't want me to get the truth or the wealth. Had I known in advance, I may have been tempted to decide that things weren't as bad as originally perceived, and made the best of what I had.
Upon waking on Sunday, April 19, 2020, all of this was brought back to my memory as it was made evident to me that I had indeed acquired the wealth the day before. One of the effects that acquiring the wealth has had on me is that I no longer have any animosity against those who have played the different games of life mentioned previously (particularly those whom I have had a personal investment in). Instead, I pity, and have compassion for them. They hardly know what they have done, and the effects that they will reap for doing so.
After seeing all this, it felt like the things stated on these pages summarized everything I've ever wanted to say, or felt that I needed to say about life, God, politics, the world, and everything else. Then, sometime in July, the following Bible verse was brought to my attention. "And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." Daniel 11:45. Our first parents came into this world on probation to see if they would develop a character that would make them fit for immortality. When they failed, the son of God yielded his life so that he could purchase another probation for them, and their offspring. The act of planting described in this verse is the last thing to occur in this world before humanity's probation is closed, and the final reaping for eternal life or death is experienced by all. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:11-12.
The eleventh chapter Daniel revolves around a conflict between two powers that are described as the king of the south, and the king of the north. At first, these two powers are the Greek and Roman empires, as these were powers that were starting to come together in Daniel's day. But as can be seen in the chapter, these titles apply on a larger scale as the chapter comes to its conclusion. Today, the king of the south represents a secular/political power while the king of the north is a "Christian"/political power. As it is written, the king of the north prevails over the king of the south, which allows his act of planting in the glorious holy mountain.
The glorious holy mountain at the time of Daniel was referring to the city of Jerusalem, and serves as a reference to those believers who have a testimony of true righteousness. The king of the north planting the tabernacles of his palace in this mountain represents the successful efforts of this end time religious power to enforce its confusing game of religion within the Church. This process began in 1888, and has been ongoing ever since.
Needless to say, I was not aware of any of this when I first started reading the Bible as a younger man. After reading it, I had a desire to return to church as our family stopped regular attendance when I was thirteen. At that time, there was no United Church of Christ where I lived in Arizona, so I went to a local Southern Baptist church.
I ended up getting baptized into this church because it was brought to my attention that I had adopted a certain presupposition about my relationship with God that was erroneous, and my participation in this ordinance of baptism was a public expression of repentance of my erroneous ways in order to follow the truth. Another thing that became evident after joining this church was that not all churches believe the same things, and have different conclusions of what the Bible says about various topics. This left me wondering which one is the true one since they can't all be correct. After six years I was convinced that I had found it, and was baptized into the Seventh-Day Adventist church in 1999. This time, the baptism was not one of repentance, but an expression of an investment in this particular denomination.
From the time I started reading the Bible, the subject of prophecy was in the forefront of personal interest. There was always this intuitive knowing that these things would come to pass in my lifetime, and that knowing motivated me to want to know more. This all changed in January of 2000 when my focus shifted to the subject of righteousness by faith after listening to a series of recordings of a talk that was given at one of this denomination's colleges.
One of the motives for reading the Bible in the first place was the subject of sin. I don't recall anything being said about this in church while growing up, so I had no idea what it really was except to assume that it was associated with bad behavior. It seemed like it was mentioned more in the music I listened to at the time than anywhere else. Even after reading the Bible, its definition was still allusive, but the reality of it was being felt, and that made me feel like it was something needing resolution.
Despite being in this insecure state, there were always people who believed that I should be a pastor since I seemed to be someone who was a proficient public speaker, and was an avid reader with a photographic memory. Such prospects always struck me with fear until listening to those tapes in 2000. Now, the light was starting to dawn, and with that came the desire to be a pastor. Unfortunately, it would soon be evident that the light wasn't as appreciated as one would think. At the time, this was most perplexing. But looking back, it is now clear that there were, and still are people whose investment in having the denomination be a playground for people to play the game of religion far outweighed my investment in it being that assembly of those who have a testimony of righteousness. As a result, I stopped attending that church in 2002, and mailed my baptismal certificate back to the state conference's office with a request to remove my name from their records.
In November of 2015, a door opened for me to move back to Arizona. After being here only two days, it was shown to me that the objective of the gospel is for people to not only have the same quality of relationship with the Father that Jesus had, but that they are to have the same quality of relationship with one another. At first, I wondered why God brought this to my attention when I already was aware of this. It would become evident in 2019, after passing a test that involved how I handled a woman that was brought into my life, that this was God's way of returning my investment in Seventh-Day Adventism as being the Church. And that return came with an increase that is as big as God himself.
Now, in the wake of this verse from Daniel that was recently brought to my attention, my focus is to simply set an example for people as to what a life of truth, faith, and righteousness entails. Except this time around, I have been made free of any expectations, and the temptation to make any further investments in people or organizations.
"And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Revelation 10:11.