On August 3, 1979, Howard Pittman, a Baptist minister for 35
years, died while on the operating table during surgery and had a near-death
experience. After angels showed him the second and third heavens, he was taken
before the very throne of God where he was given a message to share with the
world.
The following is an excerpt from his booklet, Placebo, which
documents his amazing near-death experience. You can purchase his audio tapes
and booklets at the Lake Hamilton Bible Camp store or download the PDF of this Testimony.
Near Death Experience And Exposure Of Demonic Strategies-Placebo
Webster's Dictionary defines "placebo" as "a medication
prescribed more for the mental relief of a patient than for the actual effect on
his disorder, or something tending to soothe."
The doctors tell us that if we know we are being treated with
a placebo, it does not work. In our minds we must think that it is a real
medication and has the strength or power to heal. If the patient believes this,
then the treatment has been known to work wonders in many cases that otherwise
could not have been treated. Placebo treatment is, in fact, nothing of
substance, but in the mind of the patient it is real. In order for this kind of
treatment to work, the doctor must convince the patient of the work of the
medication.
My friend, I declare unto you that this is the exact
"treatment" that most "mouth-professing" Christians are using today. The doctor
administering this "medication" is satan himself. He gives the
"patient" a
sugar-coated religion, a shallow experience, and whispers half-truths into his
ears. He then tells the "patient" that it is real and that it is all the
"patient" needs. The "patient", having been taken in by Satan, believes this and
goes on his merry way declaring to all that he has been born again, his
salvation is real, and this experience is all that he needs.
Doctor Satan will
allow his "patient" to continue to go to church and will allow him to take part
in any church, that is, singing, leading in prayer, teaching Sunday School, and
even preaching. He will allow the "patient" to make any kind of statement in
connection with his "mouth-professing" religion, even to the point of the saving
power of Jesus. Yes, he will allow the "patient" to do all and say all with one
exception. That exception is that the "patient" will not be allowed to live the
life that he confesses with his mouth ...
In the year 1978, I retired from the New Orleans Police
Department and moved my family to a sixty-one acre farm in Mississippi. Around
August 7, 1979 I was suddenly stuck with a grave and disastrous illness. The
night before the tragedy I went to bed as usual …On awakening that morning I was
slightly nauseated and skipped breakfast. My wife asked me if was not going to
eat. I replied that I had to hurry to keep my appointment with some folks who I
hoped would support my candidacy for sheriff with campaign contributions. I was
unaware that God had also made an appointment for me that day.
Let me remind you
that the Bible says that it is appointed once unto man to die and, without
warning, my appointment came. Like a flash of lightning, the main trunk artery
in my body cavity ruptured causing a devastating, sudden, blood loss …So at
midnight they carried me into ICU and at 6:00 a.m. the following morning, my
vital life signs failed again. The chief physician came out of ICU and told my
wife, “It is something else.” They took me into surgery where they worked on me
for an additional seven hours ... [For the sake of brevity, a large amount of Pittman's
description of his Emergency Room experience is not reprinted here. Read his book for the full description.]
Somewhere in that period of time when the physicians were
working on me, I came to myself and realized that I was dying …Knowing that only
God could give me back my life and that only God could change this appointed
time to die, I prayed a strange prayer. My prayer was that God would allow me to
appear before His throne and pleaded for an extension of my physical life. In
any other time and place this sort of prayer would be unusual, however, all of
this was planned by God to ultimately serve His purpose. The thought to pray
such a prayer was instilled in my mind by the Holy Spirit ...
Chapter 7: The Grand Tour.
What happens next is so incredible that some people find it
hard to believe. May I say at the outset that I know the difference between
dreams, visions, and a real experience. May I also point out that if you do not
believe in satan and demons as being real, individual beings, then you do
yourself and the Kingdom of God a great disservice. It stands to reason that you
cannot understand or even withstand an enemy if you do not believe he is real.
At the moment I resisted satan, he fled from me. The angels
were there and they took my spirit from my body. These angels were present all
the time that satan tempted me although I did not know it because I was still in
the flesh. The angels did not attempt to help me until I had resisted satan with
my own will. The only help I had was the supernatural revelation from the Holy
Spirit that the voice I was hearing belonged to satan and not to God. Whether or
not to obey that voice was my choice.
When the angels lifted my spirit from my body, they carried me
immediately to the Second Heaven. We did not have to leave that hospital room in
order to enter the Second Heaven. We entered there in that same room where my
body was, just by passing through a dimension wall. It is a wall which flesh
cannot pass through, only spirit.
For you the reader, to understand what was happening, you must
understand the separation of the spirit from the flesh. To know how this works,
we must know how we, ourselves, are made. The Bible states that we, as humans
beings are made in the image of God. To understand this, we must know what God
is. The Bible states three immutable things about God: 1st God is Spirit, 2nd
God is invisible and 3rd God is immortal. If we are made in His image, then we
are spirit, we are invisible, and we are immortal. Therefore, when we look into
a mirror we do not see our real selves.
We see only the body, or earthen vessel,
in which we live. Since we are all made in the image of God, we would all be
mirror images of one another without our earthly, physical bodies. Therefore, we
were given a soul to separate us from one another to make us an individual.
The animals in this world also have a soul. The only
difference between their souls and ours is that our soul belongs to the spirit.
Their souls belongs to the body. When their body perishes, their soul perish
with it. When our body perishes, the soul remains with the spirit. When the
spirit was lifted from my body, my soul came with it. I suppose the simplest way
to identify the soul would be to say that it is one’s personality. The entire
time I was away from my body I remained an individual, that is, I retained my
own personality. I retained all my faculties. In fact, they were greatly
enhanced.
As we moved through that dimension wall into the Second
Heaven, I found myself in an entirely different world, far different from
anything I had ever imagined. This world was a place occupied by spirit beings
as vast in number as the sands of the seashore. These beings were demons
[devils], or fallen angels, and were in thousands of different shapes and forms.
Even those in similar shapes and forms were contrasted by diverse coloring. Many
of the demons were in human shapes or forms and many were in forms similar to
animals familiar to our present world.
Others were in shapes and forms too
hideous to imagine. Some of the forms were so morbid and revolting that I was
almost to the point of nausea. When I first arrived in the Second Heaven, I knew immediately
in what direction I must go to reach the Third Heaven where God was.
I don’t
know how I knew that, but I did. I also knew that if I was going to get my
prayer answered, I was going to have to appear before God the Father in the
Third Heaven. I was aware that I was traveling in that spirit world under the
protection of the Holy Spirit, and that the angels who were escorting me were
also moving about under the protection of the Holy Spirit. It might seem strange
to you, the reader, that the angels needed the protection of the Holy Spirit,
but remember where we were, the Second Heaven.
The Second Heaven is the place
where satan presently has his throne located. satan is not yet in Hell although
Hell is to be his final destiny. All the spirits in that world were aware of our presence and
were aware of the Holy Spirit’s protection over us. To give you an idea as to
why that protection was necessary, let me give a Bible reference to the power of
satan as demonstrated in the Second Heaven.
The tenth chapter of the book of
Daniel tells about God sending one of His angels to deliver a message to Daniel.
Because of the importance of that message, satan did not want it delivered. In
order for the angel sent from God in the Third Heaven to reach Daniel, he had to
pass through the Second Heaven. satan sent one of his princes, or one of his
archangels, to stop the angel. The angel had to fight and could not get through
alone so he had to call for reinforcements. God had to send one of His princes,
or the archangel, to help the messenger and even this took twenty–one days.
After the angel delivered the message, he reminded Daniel that he, the angel,
would have to fight his way back through the Second Heaven.
As we moved about there in that world, I was greatly
disappointed that my escort did not take me in the direction of the Third Heaven
where God was. Instead, we moved in the opposite direction. As we moved from
place to place in that world, I learned many things about demons.
I did things differently in the spirit realm than what we do
here in the physical world. For instance, we do not communicate with our mouths
and ears, but rather, we communicated with our minds. It was like projecting our
words on thought waves and receiving the answer the same way. Although I could
still think to myself without projecting, I discovered that this really did not
benefit me because the angels could read my mind.
I could hear different sounds in that world, but I did not
hear with my ears. I heard with my mind, but I was still able to “hear” those
sounds. When we traveled, we traveled mostly at what I call the “speed of
thought.” When we traveled at the “speed of thought,” there was no sensation of
movement.
The angel would say where we were going and we were there. There were
other times when we did not travel in that manner, and I was very much aware of
movement while traveling. One of those times when I was aware of movement was
when they brought me back into the physical world and allowed me to see the
demons working here. We moved about here somewhat like floating on a cloud.
Still, I had the sensation of movement.
Make no mistake about demons for they are very real. The Bible
makes more statements about demons than it does about angels and it points out
in Luke 10:18 that demons are evil.
Mark 5:8-9 indicates how numerous they are
and
Matthew 10:1 shows that they are unclean.
Matthew 12:21-30 states that they
are under the command of satan and
Matthew 8:29 shows that they can possess
humans.
In the demon world, there is a division of power much like a
military structured chain command with rank and order. Certain demons carry the
title of prince, which is always the demon in charge of a principality. A
principality is a territory, an area, a place or a group that may range in size
from as large as a nation to as small as a person. When satan assigns a prince a
task, the prince is given the authority to act in the name of satan and use
whatever means necessary or available to him to accomplish his task.
When we started the tour of the Second Heaven, the angels
began by showing me the different types of demons. Each demon was revealed to me
in a form that indicated his area of expertise, and I soon discovered that there
is no such thing as a “general practitioner” in all the demon world. They have
only one area of expertise which they do very well.
As each type of demon was pointed out to me, I quickly
discovered a social order, or rank, that existed among them. Those at the top of
that order were revealed in forms similar to humans. As we moved down the order,
or rank, I saw demons in shapes or forms that looked like half–animal and
half–human. I saw demons in forms resembling animals we know in this present
world and I saw demons in forms and shapes so revoltingly morbid that you cannot
possibly imagine them.
At the very top of the order were the warring demons which
were the “cream” of satan’s “crop.” They moved about the Second Heaven and were always traveling in groups, never alone.
Wherever they went, all other demons moved out of their way. These warring
demons were revealed to me in human form. They looked like humans with the
exception that they were giants. Appearing to be about eight feet tall, they
were rugged and handsomely constructed, somewhat like giant athletes. All of the
warring demons were colored bronze. They were giant, bronze soldiers. All of the
other demons seemed to be subject to them.
The second most powerful type demon was also revealed to me in
human form and these demons looked like ordinary people. All of those possessing
this area of expertise seemed to group together at about the second place of
command. Chief among this group was the demon of greed and contained within this
same group were demons of hate, lust, strife, and a few others.
The third most powerful type and group of demons were revealed
to me in mixed shapes and forms. Some had human form while others had half–human
and half–animal forms. Others resembled animals in their forms. These demons
possessed skills in the dark arts area such as witchcraft and other related
areas. Also among this group were demons of fear and the demons of
self–destruction as well as those demons which are expert in mimicking departed
human spirits [familiar spirits] and in manifesting themselves to the physical
world as ghosts.
When we got down to the fourth group, or order, all the demons
of this rank were revealed in forms other than human. Some had forms like known
animals while others had unknown forms. In this group were the demons of murder,
brutality, sadism, and others related to carnage.
As we moved even further down the order toward the end of the
chain of command, all the demons were revealed in horrible and morbid forms.
Some were so revolting that their appearance produced nausea. They are so
despised by their own companions that they always seem to be lurking off to
themselves while in the Second Heaven and even while in this physical world.
They do not associate with the other demons except in the line of their duty.
There was another group of demons that I was able to see, but
I do not recall much of their ability. It was purposely taken away from me as I
was not permitted to learn or retain too much memory about them. I don’t even
know where they rank in order and their form was not revealed to me. I am not
sure of their entire area of expertise, however, I am vaguely aware of their
powerful hold on the flesh.
It seems that this mysterious group of demons work
differently from all other demons and are used in only special cases and special
situations of which I do not clearly understand. As I stated, I was not
permitted to retain too much in my memory about this particular group of demons.
I was only permitted to retain that portion which I am now reporting to you and
this, in itself, is very vague.
I’m also aware that these particular demons are harder to deal
with than any of the rest. It seems their great strength rests in their ability
to remain anonymous in their work in the human being. Among this group is the
one that is able to manifest himself as a form of epilepsy in the human. I am
not sure but I seem to recall that some other demons in some of the other groups
also have the ability to mimic epilepsy. I do not know if demons cause epilepsy,
perse, but I do recall very vividly that they can mimic this condition in human
beings.
At one time during this tour of the Second Heaven, I watched
the demons within their own related group and I experienced an awful feeling. It
was an overwhelming, oppressive, and morbid feeling. This feeling came to me
shortly after I had entered the Second Heaven and I wondered what was causing
it. It was at this time that I learned that the angel could read my mind because
my guardian angel said to me,
“That feeling you are wondering about is caused by
the fact that there is no love in this world.” The angel was telling me that in
this Second Heaven there is not one bit of love! Wow! Can you imagine all of
those demons serving a master they don’t love and the master ruling over beings
that he doesn’t love? Worse than that, these companions are working together for
an eternity and they do not even love each other.
I started reflecting on what our physical world, called the
First Heaven, would be like without love. If God had not introduced His love her
in our world, then we would be living in a no–love atmosphere like the Second
Heaven. By God giving us His love, we are able to return that love and then love
one another. Can you imagine what it would be like in your own home or your
community it was totally void of love.
When I was made aware of the fact that no love existed among
the demons, I wondered even more about their motivation and zeal. What makes
them work so hard? What makes them carry out orders so rapidly? They don’t love
one another, yet they carry out these orders so quickly and with such zeal that
any military organization on Earth would be proud to have such loyal and
obedient employees. I wonder if their motivation could have anything to do with
the judgment and sentence that awaits them. It seems that since their first
rebellion ages ago while in the Third Heaven, they have reached a place in their
existence where they can no longer rebel.
Whatever it is that motivates them
seems to excel in their very being while they, in turn, are expressing their
fury upon the flesh. It may just be that the only enjoyment of their entire
existence is to create misery for the flesh. Even though I was permitted to go
among them and watch them while they worked, many things were not explained
fully or made clear to me.
Some of the things that I saw in entirely, I was not
permitted to retain in my memory. I knew the high order of the demons resented
my presence and would have withstood me had I not been under the protection of
the Holy Spirit. One of the warring demons came right up to me and leered into
my face, but I did not flinch for I was not afraid. I knew it would not be me
with whom he would have to contend but, instead, it would be He who brought me,
the Holy Spirit.
The demons in the middle order seemed to totally ignore me and
went about their existence as if I were not there. Those of the lower order
seemed to display slight fear of me or fear of the angel that was escorting me,
however, the higher order of demons had no fear of me or the angel.
My escort informed me that he wanted me to see a demon in the
process of actually possessing a human being. At this point in the trip, I was
escorted back through the dimension wall separating the Second Heaven from the
physical world. When we came back into this world, we were in the same hospital
with my body but in a different room. The room appeared to be an employee’s
lounge. I saw tables, chairs, dishes with food, and in the room were a young man
and a young lady facing each other while laughing and talking. It was obvious
that they could not see the angels, yet I was so close to them I could
almost reach out and touch them.
I could hear and understand every word they
said. They thought they were alone and as they laughed and talked, they were
unaware of the horrible creature standing between them. This demon was so
horrible in the appearance of his shape and form that I recognized him
immediately to be from the lower group, the perverted group. The angels, the
demons, and I were in the spirit in that room and were aware of everything that
was happening. Those in the flesh were only aware of themselves for they could
not see or hear us even though we were back in this physical world. Since we
were in the spirit, we still communicated with our minds.
I
was not really paying close attention to the words the two
were speaking. My entire attention was focused upon the demon. He was a
most
horrible looking thing, reminding me of an over–grown, stuffed, slimy,
green
frog all out of shape and proportion. He moved slowly up into the face
of the
man then, suddenly, like a puff of smoke, he seemed to disappear into
the face, just as if he went through the pores of his skin. When the
demon had
entered the man, the angels said, “Now it’s done.” The angel then
proceeded to
tell me how it was that this man was possessed. He stated, “The demon
made
himself desirable and attractive to the human.”
The angel then pointed
out to me
that mankind has a sovereign will, all his own, beyond which the demons
cannot
come. He also pointed out to me that the angels could not come beyond
that
sovereign will of man. God, Himself, will not violate that will. We are
made in
the image of God, therefore, we were given, like God, a sovereign will,
the
right to choose our destiny. I was not permitted to retain all that I
learned
along these lines.
I faintly recall that there is another process under certain
given circumstances whereby demons may possess or be allowed to enter small
children. It seems as though those demons from that mysterious group are the
ones that are allowed to do this. From what I recall about this, it is only
under the most unusual circumstances that this can happen.
According to what the
angels told me, over ninety percent of all cases of demon activity in human
beings is restricted to those humans who are at or over the age of
accountability.
During the course of this talk the angel was giving me, he
pointed out that all of God’s children have been given power over all demons and
can cast them out, however, this power is based on the faith of the Christian.
It will only work when the Christian knows without a doubt what he is doing.
There are certain Christians who have received a special gift in this area. They
are those who have been called specifically by the Holy Spirit to a deliverance
ministry and in almost every case, those called to a deliverance ministry have
also received the gift of discernment. When one is commanding demons, it is most
important to know what spirit one is dealing with.
In those rare cases where
children are possessed [not so rare anymore folks… a number of children are
possessed today because of the opened doors to the enemy.], it takes a special
effort and divine insight in each case to deliver them. Such a case was reported
in the Bible in
Matthew 17:14-21. All Christians potentially have the ability to
command demons.
My escort told me that they wanted me to see demon activity in
the outside world. I was then escorted outside the hospital directly through the
brick wall into the streets of that city. I was amazed as I watched all the
activity of the humans in the physical world. Going about their daily pursuit,
they were completely unaware that they were being stalked by beings from the
spirit world. I was totally flabbergasted as I watched and horrified as I saw
the demons in all shapes and forms as they moved at will among the humans.
While I learned about demons not being able to work in a
person’s life against their will, I also learned the angels cannot do it either.
Each born again Christian has a guardian angel and before that Christian’s life
is over, it might take a whole host of angels to keep him. I learned that
guardian angels fight for us, but they cannot fight in the area of our will. The
fighting they do is sort of like protecting our “blind” side.
They oppose the
demons when the demons come against us outside the area of our will. They cannot
oppose the demons when the demons come against us through our own will.
Remember, we are made in the image of God, like God, we have a sovereign will.
I learned that the demons will fight the angels if they must,
but they prefer not to do so. They find that it is easier and safer to destroy
us through our own will where the angels are unable to interfere, rather than go
outside our will where they would have to fight angels personally. Because of
this, the demons have developed great skills in the area of deception. They move
through our lives by deceit and trickery and keep us totally unaware of their
activity.
I was made aware of the fact that not all demons are in the
Second Heaven. There are some demons so awesome that they are reserved in chains
in Hell, however, satan and his army of demons are not in Hell, presently.
Neither do they want to be there. I was not permitted to look into Hell, nor was
I permitted to view the chained demons. I do know that these demons who are
chained went beyond the limitations of their domain.
God in His wisdom has allowed satan and his demons certain
bounds or limitations within which they may work. They may not go beyond those
limitations established by the Lord, however, those demons who are chained in
Hell did just that. Because they went beyond the restrictions established by the
Lord, they are now chained in Hell.
The Bible points out this fact in many places, especially in
the book of Jude. Any time satan goes beyond those bounds, he must receive
permission from God. In the case of Job, he was granted the permission, but in
Peter’s case he was not granted permission. The demons who work in children
under the age of accountability are allowed to do so only after obtaining this
special permission. [I might add that a “legal” door was opened by certain sin
or sins that gave the demon/s a right in the first place… ]
It was not made
plain to me what sort of circumstances must be present for God to grant
permission, although it was made clear that in certain circumstances permission
is granted. However, permission to work in children under the age of
accountability is rarely granted. [Look around since he got this, things have
changed folks, satanic doors have been opened… more by parents.]
The majority of
the time satan is denied this special permission, but in these last days we can
expect a substantial increase I demonic activity, not only in adults but in
children as well. This increase in demonic activity is what the Lord warned us
about in
Mark 13:22 when He spoke of the incredible miracles that false prophets
would perform in the last days. It is difficult to understand why the Lord would
allow demons to work through children.
The demons that are reserved in chains did not obtain
permission for their activity which violated the restrictions established by our
Lord. Their illegal deeds are recorded in
Genesis 6:2-5. Because they did not
obtain permission, they received immediate punishment. Specific punishment for
the devil and his demons is scheduled for the end–time and is recorded in
Revelation 20:1-3. As you well know, the lake of fire was created for the devil
and his demons as their eternal fate.
In this age we must be on guard for satan’s fiery darts of
deception and temptation that are allowed within the limitations of the Lord’s
permissive will. There is a time limit set by the Lord in which demons may work,
but that time period has not yet been fulfilled. As Christians we are able to
have them “bound” under the authority of Jesus, however, this is NOT permanent.
We can NOT cast them into HELL for only God can do this. That is why it is very
important for someone who has just been delivered to be properly instructed to
remain in the Lord’s will, lest they become afflicted again. A Christian CAN
cast out demons from a lost person, but unless that person gets saved and abides
in the Lord’s will, there will be the possibility of the demons returning. [See
Matthew 12:43-45].
Demons are real, individual, spirit beings and they are the
ones manipulating all the evil in the world today. This was shown to me while I
was in the spirit world traveling through the street of a city and watching in
horror as the demons went about their task of corrupting humans.
Although humans are spirit beings, we
are confined to physical
bodies. The great spiritual warfare that rages today is between the
“spirit of
man” and the “spiritual forces” of evil directed by satan which are
contending
for control and manipulation of our fleshly, physical bodies. Our
spirits fight
by faith and through our sovereign will; while the devil and his
[fallen] angels
fight through deceit, cunning, trickery, and temptation. You must make
no
mistake about this war or the weapons involved because the scriptures
are plain. I actually saw these demons contend for control of that
human body.
It may seem to you that mankind is vastly over–powered by
these spirits because these spirits are able to see and hear everything we
think, say, and do; while we are totally unable to perceive any of their
activities. It is very difficult to fight an enemy you cannot see, hear, and
feel, but as long as you trust the Lord, you have nothing to fear. At times,
even the strongest Christian may doubt their existence and activities, thus
making it easier for them. However, man was not left defenseless.
Being made in
the image of God, man, like God, has a sovereign will and no spirit can violate
that will without the permission of the person himself. Because of this, these
demons have developed great skills in deception. The basic principle of their
operations is to make something evil as desirable, beautiful, and
non–threatening as possible so that the person being tempted will lower his
guard and accept whatever it is that is being used to cause SIN. Once someone is
deceived, it becomes easier for the deception to remain. In the case of
possession, it becomes easier for the demon to maintain his control.
Another great defense man has is the guardian angel. The
guardian angel is not assigned to all mankind, but only to those who are “saved
and belong to God.” Remember, just like the demons the guardian angel cannot
violate the will of any man which is why most of his activity is reserved to
protecting that individual outside his sovereign will.
Man’s greatest weapon,
however, is the Word of God. In his description of the weapons used in our
spiritual warfare, Paul insists the Word of God [Ephesians 6:11-18] as the only
offensive weapon mankind has. Although vastly outnumbered by these beings
[thousands to one individual], man is adequately prepared for battle.
Because of
a sovereign will, guardian angels, and the Word of God, man has superior defense
and is much more potent in the battle for his soul than the demons. Therefore, I say to everyone — if you are serious in your
commitment to fight this war and win, fear not! Your commander–in–chief,
teacher, healer and sustainer — the Holy Spirit — will NEVER leave you NOR
forsake you.
When the angels decided that I had seen enough of the demons
at work in this physical world, I was taken back into the Second Heaven just by
passing through the dividing, dimension wall. Once back inside the Second
Heaven, my escort guided me in the direction of the Third Heaven and I was happy
at last. After all, this was where I had wanted to go all the time. Even at this
stage, my physical life was still my primary concern.
Suddenly we came to a most beautiful place. I know that I’ve
already reported how terrible that the Second Heaven was, so you can imagine how
surprising it was to find anything beautiful over there. God would not allow me
to retain the memory of why this place was so beautiful. I do remember that it
was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. This place looked like a tunnel, a
roadway, a valley or some sort of highway. It had a most brilliant light all its
own and was completely surrounded with an invisible shield. I knew that the
invisible shield was the protection of the Holy Spirit.
Walking in this tunnel, or along that roadway, or valley, or
whatever, was what appeared to be human beings. I asked my escort who they were.
He told me, “They are saints going home.” These were the departed spirits of
Christians who had died on Earth and they were going home. Each of these saints
was accompanied by at least one guardian angel and some had a whole host of
angels with them.
I wondered why some saints were accompanied by only one angel
and others had many. I was watching as the saints passed through the way that
all saints must take to go home. Here it was, the passageway from Earth to the
Third Heaven. I found that only “authorized” spirits were allowed in that
tunnel. No demon was permitted there.
When my escort had finished explaining to me about the
homeward trip of the saints. I started into the tunnel. The angel stopped me and
told me that we had to travel alongside the tunnel and not inside of it. I
traveled, therefore parallel with but outside the tunnel where the saints were.
While we were traveling alongside the tunnel, we did not move at the “speed
of thought.” Instead, we traveled as it floating on a cloud. In other words,
there was no cloud but the mode of traveling felt as if I were floating on a
cloud.
I could see the saints at all times moving along inside the
tunnel. They were in the form and shape of humans, yet I could not detect any
race, age, or sex. They were all clothed alike with the garments appearing to be
made up of two pieces.
There was a blouse or shirt and a pair of slacks. The
color of the garments was a pastel, baby blue with one of the garment pieces
being a shade lighter than the other piece. The blue was so light that it was
almost white. I realize that these saints I was viewing had not yet received
their glorified body because that must wait until the first resurrection.
At first I was disappointed that I was not permitted to travel
in the tunnel with the saints, but the disappointment was eased when I was told
that we were going to the same place they were going. After all, I knew that if
my physical life was going to be extended, I would have to appear before God.
Even now, my physical life was still the uppermost thing to me.
As we traveled along, I noticed all around me that the demons
were beginning to drop behind. The Gates came into view and the closer we got to
those Gates, the farther behind fell the demons. When we arrived before the
Gates there were no demons in view. Although the Gates of the Third Heaven
opened out into the Second Heaven, no demon could come close.
Instead of allowing me to enter, the angel stationed me before
the Gates, slightly to one side. He instructed me to stay there and watch as the
saints were permitted to enter into Heaven. As the saints were allowed into
Heaven, I noticed a strange thing. They were permitted to enter only one at a
time. No two were permitted to enter those Gates at the same time. I wondered
about this but it was never explained to me. I’ve studied about this often since
I have returned and now I think I know why. I believe this is a tribute or a
salute to the individual. After all, that individual made the choice with his
own sovereign will. Remember, it had been pointed out to me specifically that
we, as images of the Living God, possess a sovereign will through which we have
the right to choose our own destiny.
As the saints were being admitted, I was wondering why I was
not being allowed to do what I came to do. I was so impatient to get my request
before God that I missed the whole point of what I saw. This point was so
important that the Holy Spirit told me Himself. I watched the fifty saints enter
Heaven, but the point I missed was the time frame involved. It was explained to
me that at the same time those fifty saints died on Earth, 1,950 other humans
also died; or only 50 out of 2000 made it into Heaven. That other 1,950 were not
there.
Where were they? That was only 2 ½ percent going to Heaven! Ninety seven
point five percent did not make it! Is that representative of the entire world
today? If so, 97 ½ percent of the population of this world today is not
ready to meet God. The sad part, my friend, is that it is exactly representative of
this Laodicean Church Age in which we live today. We are now in the time when
the great majority of church goers are only “mouth–professors” and not
“heart–possessors.”
At the outset, I stated that I would not try to convince
anyone of anything I said. However, I would like to offer as evidence the
parable of the sower as told by Jesus in the thirteenth chapter of the book of
Matthew. If you read this chapter closely, you will notice that three out of
every four people who heard the gospel preached, turned it down. That is
seventy–five percent anyway you look at it. I am talking about three out of
every four people who bothered to hear the gospel, turned it down!
The sad part
about this is the overwhelming majority of the people that did turn the gospel
down, do not know that they have turned it down! They have bought a lie of satan
and have been deceived. They have been led to believe something that is not the
truth and they been fooled by satan into rejecting the gospel! Place the
seventy–five percent who turned down the gospel with those in the world who made
no pretense of hearing the truth and you have the overwhelming ninety seven and
one-half percent of the population today!
As I contemplate this fact. I now understand the Lord’s
disgust with the Laodicean–type Church. I also clearly understand the verses of
scripture in
Matthew 7:22-23 that describes how many people will stand before
the Throne at the Judgment pleading. “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy
Name? And in thy Name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful
works?” only to have the Lord say to them, “I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity…”
Chapter 10: The Rude Awakening
My escort told me to stand to one side of the Gates and
present my case. He assured me that God would hear and answer my request. As I
stood before the Gates, the sense of joy, happiness, and contentment radiated
out from Heaven. I could feel the warmth it produced and as I stood there to
plead my case. I could feel the awesome power of God. No being could possibly
appear before Him, even separated by a gate as I was, without experiencing this
awesome power, might and majesty.
At first I had a sense of fear, sort of guilty
feeling that is always produced in me when I believe I have imposed on others.
In my mind’s eye I could just visualize a busy God who was annoyed with me for
taking Him away from important things. Then, just as suddenly as this feeling
came, it passed. I then found strength or boldness in my belief that I had
served my God faithfully for many years. To me, I was convinced that this
request of mine would be a snap!
Boldly I came before the throne and started out by reminding
God what a great life of love, worship, and sacrifice I had lived for Him. I
told Him of all the works I had done reminding Him that I was now in trouble and
only He could help by granting me an extension on my physical life. God was
totally silent while I spoke. When I had completed my request, I heard the real,
audible voice of God as He answered me.
The voice I heard was not like the sweet voice that
satan had
used to trick me before in the valley. You could put together the noise of all
the storms, volcanoes, tornadoes, and hurricanes and they could in no way
imitate what I heard. The sound of His voice was in no way like the sweet voice
I talked about earlier. The sound of His voice came down on me from over the
Gates even before the words hit me. The tone of His anger knocked me on my face
as God proceeded to tell me just what kind of life I had really lived. He told
me what He really thought of me and even other people who lived as I did.
He pointed out
that my faith was DEAD, that my works were NOT ACCEPTABLE, and that I had
labored in VAIN. He told me that it was an abomination for me to live such a
life and then dare call it a life of worship. Furthermore, He said to those who
do it, they are in danger of experiencing His everlasting wrath. As God dealt
with me, He displayed His wrath to me. Notice, it was not His everlasting wrath.
He did say there are some who will experience His everlasting wrath.
I could not believe He was talking to me in this manner! I had
served Him for years! I thought I had lived a life pleasing to Him! As He was
enumerating my wrongs, I was sure He had me confused with someone else. There
was no strength left in me to even move, let alone protest, yet I was panicking
within myself. No way He could be talking about me! All of these years I thought
I was doing those works for God! Now He was telling me that what I did, I did
for myself.
Even as I preached and testified about the saving grace of Jesus
Christ, I was doing that only for myself in order that my conscience might be
soothed. In essence, my first love and first works were for myself. After MY
needs and wants were met or satisfied, in order to soothe my conscience I would
set out to do the Lord’s work. This made my priorities out of order and
unacceptable. Actually, I had become my own false God.
He makes it plain in His teachings that He is a jealous God
and will have no other gods before Him; flesh, stone, blood, or whatever. He
will have no other gods before Him. God told me that He would not accept this
kind of worship in the day of the Pharisees and He certainly was not about to
accept it now in this the Laodicean Church Age.
He put it to me as plain as
words and actions could make it. In order for our works to be acceptable, we
must work according to His command in
Matthew 6:33 which empathically states,
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these
other things shall be added to you.” As God told me about my true motives, the
verse of scripture in
Matthew 16:24-26 and
Luke 14:26-33 became so clear to me.
In Matthew 16 it states, “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will
come after me, let him DENY himself and take up his cross, and follow me, for
whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life
for my sake shall find it.”
In Luke 14 beginning with verse 26 it is stated, If
any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and HIS OWN life also, he cannot be my disciple.
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and
counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?”
In verse 23 of this
same chapter Jesus makes the following statement which is the cornerstone of the
two portions of scripture previously stated: “So likewise, whosoever he be of
you that forsaketh not ALL that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”
Only now as I was here before Him being chastised did those
two portions of scripture become crystal clear to me as to their true meaning.
As God told me about my TRUE MOTIVES, I could see plainly for the first time how
MY WORKS were DEAD.
Because God was displaying His wrath toward me, I could not
stand nor could I speak. No strength was left within me as I was nothing more
than a wet rag lying there writhing in agony. It indeed, was fortunate for me
that this was not God’s everlasting wrath, only temporary wrath. However, at
this time I did not know this was only temporary.
It needs to be stated that at no time while God was chastising
me did He say I was not saved nor did He say that my name was not in the Lamb’s
Book of Life. He never mentioned salvation to me at all but only spoke about the
works produced through my life. He told me the type of life I lived was an
unacceptable life for a true Christian. As He spoke to me of my dead works, he
indicated that there are some people who are not saved but think they are.
These
people will experience His everlasting wrath. He also made it plain to me that
there are others of His children who will find themselves in my present
condition on Judgment Day. This revealed to me the true meaning of
1 Corinthians
3:15 which states, “If any man’s works shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:
but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
There are no words that can describe the pain I endured as
God’s wrath was upon me for this life of so–called service. The agony was beyond
the scope of the imagination and the remorse that I felt produced a very heavy
burden similar to a physical weight pinning me down or an enormous stone
crushing me. Growing weaker and weaker, my mind was frantically racing in an
effort to grasp what the Lord was telling me while recalling each actual
incident. God leaves no room for error and that includes whatever is in our
minds.
The surprise was so overwhelming in its magnitude that it
rendered me senseless.
My strength left me immediately, just as though I had
been hit by a bolt of lightning. Even if God would have ceased and allowed me to
speak on word of protest, I would not have been able to do so. I had absolutely
no strength whatsoever to utter anything. In my mind I was
constantly DENYING the wrong in my life while acknowledging the fact that I had
committed them. My conscience was asleep but my mind was NOT.
Slowly, it all began to be absorbed by me. Remember how the
Bible tells us to have no other gods before us? I had thought that the Most High
God was the only God of my life, but I was not fulfilling that part of scripture
which tells us that if we allow anything to come between us and the Lord,
(whatever it may be) it becomes our “God.” I realized that each day of my life
was devoted only to MYSELF! My whole life I was preoccupied with.
MY needs FIRST
and THEN I was concerned with what the Lord wanted. The money to help the
church, the poor, or anything else was secondary because I was my OWN “god.”
Naturally, the devil was contented with allowing me to remain in that condition
because as long as I was in that condition, I was of no use to the Lord and His
kingdom.
I allowed this to occur because I was really indifferent to
the things of the Lord. It was too uncomfortable to change and I was convinced I
could remain as I was without having to really DO anything (such as following
the Lord’s commandment about DENYING myself and picking up my cross daily to
follow HIM.) For this reason, my life was wasted and amounted to absolutely
nothing in the Lord’s eyes.
I hope that you understand what it is that I am saying because
it is the whole point of this chapter. The fact is we must prove we are really
Christians by first examining our motives behind each deed in our lives, and
then repenting and recommitting ourselves to follow the Lord daily. When we
decide to serve Him FIRST, this decision must be followed by ACTION or it will
be as useless as if we did not decide to do so in the first place.
Chapter 11: My Real Father
When God was through with me the interview was over as
suddenly as one would turn off a faucet. I was not allowed to linger or even
reflect on what God said. The angels immediately carried me away as if I were as
wet rag having no strength in myself. Totally annihilated, I could not even
gather my thoughts.
The angels carried me back through the Second Heaven, through
the dimension wall, and into the hospital room where my body was lying. It was
not until I reached the bed upon which my body lay did I regain my composure. As
I regained my composure, I vehemently protested, “No! No!” I told the angels,
“God did not answer me! He did not say yes or no to my request! Please, oh
please, take me back!” I pleaded with the angels.
God is a God of order and He never does anything haphazardly.
Since all of this entire experience had been planned by God, the angels complied
with my request to take me back. God was dealing with me gently and tenderly
through His great LOVE knowing what was necessary for me to experience in order
for me to have the scales fall off my eyes.
During the time God was displaying His wrath toward me, I
thought this wrath was terrible and painful. I found out later that it was
nothing compared to the pain the lost will experience when they receive His
everlasting wrath.
While in route back to the Third Heaven, I was beside myself
trying to come up with a logical reason or legitimate basis on which to plead my
case. God had already told me that my life had been a failure, therefore, I
could not offer my past life as evidence of my intentions to serve Him. Somehow
or another, the thought of Hezekiah came to my mind. When God sent word for him
to put his house in order, he cried and prayed and God heard him. God extended
his life for fifteen years.
I remembered from my studies about him that Hezekiah
was the “good–old–boy” type, similar to me. I remembered how he had good
intentions in his heart but how he had trouble translating out those intentions
into everyday living. Since this seemed to be the same kind of trouble I had in
my life, I concluded that God dealt with Hezekiah based on the intentions of his
heart. Because of this assumption, I concluded this reasoning would be the basis
of my plea.
Upon my arrival back before the third heaven, I was brought to
the same place from which I had previously pleaded my case. Not nearly so bold
this time, I remembered how God's wrath had floored me beforehand. Nevertheless,
I had asked God for a favor and God had not answered. Wanting his answer no
matter what it was, I timidly started pleading my case again.
This time God did not knock me down but let me talk. God did
not talk to me in anger but started out answering me in a tone of pity. Before
it was all over, God was speaking in sorrow.
Opening my plea by quoting scriptures to God, I began by
telling him all about Hezekiah. I told God that I figured out that Hezekiah was
the "good-old-boy" type, that the intentions of his heart were pure, but he
seemed to be unable to translate out those intentions into everyday living. Here
I was, an insignificant nothing and the smallest creature in all his universe,
bartering words with this great and awesome God who had created it all.
I said, "Father, if You will grant this request, I promise you
I will do better the next time." The Lord answered me thus, "Howard Pittman, you have
promised before." God did not have to say another word. There they were, all the
promises I had made to a holy God in my past entire life. Not one of them
remained whole. Somehow, someway, I had managed to break them all.
With nothing
left to say, no words in all my vocabulary, nowhere to go, I fell on my knees
before him. All I could say was "Amen" to my own condemnation. I knew that if at
that moment God would banish me into the pits of hell, it would be just to say
"amen" to my own condemnation.
At that moment God did not demand justice but showed me mercy.
The scales fell from my eyes and my soul was suddenly filled with light. That
powerful, awesome, all-consuming God was now not evident. There on that throne
dealing with me was my REAL Father. God was no longer a distant God, but a real,
genuine Father. The realization of his being my true Father and my best friend
came to me for the first time in my life.
The wonderful relationship I had
enjoyed with my physical father and the wonderful love we shared for each other
was suddenly brought to mind yet magnified a thousand fold. For now I was with
my real Father, the one who loved me so much that God left all of his creation
to deal with me, the prodigal son.
For the first time in my life, I saw in my mind's eye who God
really is. For the first time I met God as God truly is, my real Father, my very
best friend. As the realization of who God is flooded my soul, great and painful
sorrow also came. Sorrow came when I realized that through disobedience I had
hurt my Father. This realization and sorrow produced actual pain which was not
just a guilt feeling but actual pain similar to what one would experience in the
flesh when one sustains a physical injury. At this point in time, God started
dealing with me in sorrow and no longer did the tone of his voice express pity.
Instead, the sound was of genuine sorrow.
I suddenly realized that God was
hurting too. God was hurting because I was hurting. Being a true and just God as
God is, God had to allow me to suffer the pain and God could not lift it from
me. Although God had to allow me to suffer the pain, God would not allow me to
suffer it alone. God the most High, the most Supreme, the Creator of all, the
Father of all would not let me suffer alone.
By this time I suddenly realized that my physical life was not
so important after all. What I was really concerned about now was what my Father
wanted. His will had suddenly become the first thing of my life and my physical
life was no longer important. This is when God gave me back my physical life.
Only when I reached a place that my life did not mean anything to me, did God
give it back to me. Now that the prodigal son had returned, the Father could
talk at last. God could tell me what my trip to heaven was all about and that
God had a message God wanted me to tell people on earth.
I now repeat for you point by point the entire five point
message that God gave me to deliver to this world today.
- Point Number 1: For those who call themselves Christians, this
is the Laodicean Church Age in which we live. A high majority of so-called
Christians are, in fact, living a deceived life. They talk Jesus and play
church, but do not live it. They claim to be Christians and then live like the
devil. They have bought the great lie from satan who tells them that they are
alright. He tells them that it is alright to go to church on Sunday and attend
mid-week services but as far as the rest of the time is concerned, they are to
get all they can out of life. As far as their Christian life is concerned, they
believe they are comfortable and have need of nothing and as a result, they are
only lukewarm Christians if Christians at all.
Point Number 2: Satan is a personal devil.
- Point Number 3: To the whole world, this is Noah's second day.
As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the
son of man. Humans took no thought of what Noah was saying nor did humans
believe that anything was about to change. Humanity could see the storm clouds
over the horizon, but yet did not believe the rain was imminent. Notice the
close parallel today. Humanity can see all the signs of the last days, yet
humanity does not believe that anything will change. He does not believe in the
impending coming of our Lord and he does not prepare to meet God.
- Point Number 4: For those who claim to be Christians, they are
supposed to be ambassadors for Christ here on earth. One cannot have any true
witness or power in his life unless that one lives his Christian faith at all
times, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. To be a true Christian one
must live it, not just talk it. To honor God with your lips and not your heart
is not acceptable. Those who accept the responsibility of teaching, preaching,
or any leadership role have much for which to answer.
- Point Number 5: God is now in the process of recruiting an
army with which God will shake this old world one more time. By working through
his soldiers, God will produce great miracles that will shake the established
hierarchy of the so-called organized religion that is in this world today. These
soldiers that God is now recruiting will demonstrate the power of God to a
greater extent than did the disciples in the Pentecostal age. Now the
recruitment has begun in earnest because God is about to perform the great
miracles through his army that God promised us God would do in the Bible. John
the Baptist brought the spirit of Elijah into this world and he did not even
know he had it. John denied it, but Jesus confessed that it was so. The purpose
of that spirit was to make straight the paths of the coming of the Lord.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Alpha and Omega, the Cause of all the universe's
existence was hurting because a mere Earth child was hurting. Oh, what Love!
What Understanding! It was so far beyond anything a mere Earthling can
understand. Oh how precious just one, little, insignificant Earth child is to
that Great God" – Howard Pittman
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SALVATION MESSAGE
If you wish to escape the eternal fiery burning torment of HELLL FIRE inorder to make HEAVEN, you must accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal saviour today because tomorrow is never promised. You must restitute and confess all your sin unto God and also ensure you joined “ a Bible Believing Church for more spiritual growth” However, if you are a Christian and still indulges into various kinds of sins such as......
Envy, anger, unforgiveness, lying, hatred, malice, murmuring, gossiping, stealing, taking or giving bribe, exams malpractice, fraud, smuggling and robbery. Perhaps you into masturbation, fornication, adultery, prostitution, Lusting after MONEY and SEX, abortion, lesbianism, homosexuality, kidnapping, ritual killings and assassination; You must confess and repent today.
Perhaps you into drunkenness, fighting and quarreling, alcoholism, smokers, divorcee, polygamous marriage, occultism. Consultaton of native doctors for charms making. PRAYING in the name of MARY or any Saints or Angels, BOWING DOWN or HONORING THEM. You must renounce all these abominables and plead for God's mercy
Perhaps as a Woman you still given-in into vile affection "CHANGING THE NATURAL USE OF YOUR BODY INTO THAT WHICH IS AGAINST NATURE" Therefore indulging yourself into worldly fashions, dressing in transparent clothes, wearing of mini and tightly skirts or WEARING OF TROUSERS (pant). Exposing your breast, lapse to seduce men. Painting lips, fixing attachments, weave-on, jewelries and earrings. Making-up, putting on extra eye lashes, piercing of noses, tattoos, nails fixing and body bleaching
You must repent, dispose and burnt them off and ensure you maintain your natural beauty because unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Remember; your soul is precious and was costly purchase by the Blood of Jesus Christ and you can't afford to lose "yours" in Hell for the next billions and trillions of years in ETERNITY with eternal sorrow, tears, anguish and hopeless of ever coming-out due to mere pleasure and fashion of this world that PASSETH-AWAY which you can easily forsakes NOW and run to Heaven.
Oh Heaven; a place of an everlasting joy, without tears, sorrow and neither pains but rather filled with happiness and God's glory. Please my beloved, "Don't Miss Heaven" and I pray to see you in that Glorious City very soon. Please Say Below short prayer and get right with God today.
CONFESSION AND ACCEPTANCE OF CHRIST
Dear Lord Jesus Christ; I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me. I believe that you died on the cross for me, to save me.
You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and ask you to take control of my life; I give it to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you. I love you, Lord Jesus, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you in Jesus name i pray. Amen
