A Millennial Prodigal

by Patricia Backora A gathering of worshippers was in full swing at Lily of the Valley Tabernacle, in the spring of 2845. They danced and clapped their hands. Tamborines rang out as they sang The !lory "as #ome $own%& The !lory has come down 'h, ma(e a )oyful sound All nature*s singing songs of liberty+ All praise to "im ,ho*s come, The bands of death undone -ow down before our gracious .rince of .eace/ The !lory has come down "is (indnesses abound "is "and of -lessing "e has opened wide+ 0*1e got a right to sing 2or 0 ha1e been redeemed 3y 4a1ior is my e1erlasting Light/ The !lory has come down 'ur 4o1ereign has been crowned The earth from 4atan*s bondage has been freed+ The 4on has been enthroned "e dwells among "is own Ascribe to "im 5ternal 3a)esty/ The chorus was repeated se1eral times, as the multitude swayed to the )oyous sound& !lory to "im ,ho out of 6ion reigns 'ur Ad1ersary languishes in chains+ Let*s lift up holy hands And )oin angelic bands 0n gi1ing praise and honor to our 7ing/ A special guest spea(er from a distant land was called upon to ta(e the pulpit. 4aul*s hair, once thic( and blac(, was thinner and grayer now. 4aul had, in his youth, been a towering hul( of a man. 8ow he leaned on his cane as he hobbled toward the spea(ers* podium. "is dar(, deep9set eyes

shone with a :uiet )oy. ;et his dignified, lined face bore testimony to storms weathered by his soul+ trials which ne1er befell most 7ingdom Age saints. A gentle humility softened 4aul*s formerly impetuous countenance. "e ascended the pulpit in a mee( and prayerful spirit. 5lderly 4aul might be, but his 1oice rang out with con1iction and clarity as he began to address the <==9strong congregation. 3entally (een, he scarcely needed his notes. -rother -)orn*s message gi1es us food for thought,% said 4aul. Technically spea(ing, we cannot be referred to as >the church*, in the sense of comprising the -ridal #ompany of #hrist which rose to meet "im in the air at "is Appearing. ?ather, we can more accurately be classified as the 3illennial saints. And, at first glance, a lot of 8ew Testament 4criptures do seem to be no longer applicable to saints of our generation, and -rother -)orn specifically referred to those passages which spea( of great suffering which saints of the #hurch Age could e@pect to endure in the course of a normal lifetime. True, we don*t ha1e to worry about being persecuted by the wic(ed or being martyred for our faith. 4o long as we wal( humbly with our !od we li1e in perfect health and dwell in safety. Than( !od for the unspea(able pri1ilege of li1ing in a .aradise 5arth set free from the -ondage of #orruption. Than( !od for this holy 4abbath ?est en)oyed by all of #reation. 0nstead of being hounded by the Antichrist we*re free to shout our lo1e for Aesus from the roof tops. 8e1ertheless, .aradise is much more about the .resence of #hrist our -lessed ?edeemer than about the absence of e1il.% 4aul lowered his eyes. B0n testifying to !od*s grace 0 ha1e been granted permission to cite as e@amples two men who were con1erted after the ?apture. 4ugar 3an 4hane, as he was commonly (nown, was a gangster who pushed hard drugs in this city )ust before the Tribulation .eriod. The biggest tragedy, 0 belie1e, was that 4hane felt forced to be what he was, though 0*m not ma(ing e@cuses for his sin, of course. -ac( in the 'ld ,orld an adolescent boy would be scared of being the wea( one singled out for bullying in high school. 4chools could be 1ery dangerous strongholds of satan, little more than babysitting centers where stressed9out parents got a brea( from (ids they couldn*t control. ?ebellious (ids would pre1ent other pupils from being able to learn in school e1en if they were serious about their education. 51ery day after school 4hane would be intimidated by hoodlums until he finally agreed to )oin their gang. -ac( then you could pay a terribly high price for resisting e1il, and uncon1erted adolescents raised with no spiritual guidance were especially 1ulnerable. B'nce 4hane learned some hand9to9hand combat techni:ues and (arate (ic(s he no longer felt li(e a s(inny wea(ling.B 4aul grinned in spite of himself. B,hen he made friends with my ancestor #lint 4a1age, they loo(ed

li(e an odd couple. 4hane was short and wiry but #lint had been pic(ed on himself in school because he got too fat from drin(ing beer, and the (ids (new his weight wasn*t muscle. #an you say >praise the Lord, e1erybody, because, while we en)oy the fat of the land, it doesn*t encamp round about our middles as it would ha1e in the 'ld ,orld/% 'nce the laughter subsided 4aul continued& -ut #lint*s biggest weight problem wasn*t around his waistline, it was a horrible weight of demonic oppression no one on earth suffers from now, and those demons dro1e #lint and 4hane to want to be richer and more powerful than the bullies who pic(ed on them. #lint got (ic(ed out of school because he shot a gun at some guys who harassed him in the loc(er room. 4o without a decent education, how could #lint and 4hane get richC The easiest and :uic(est way was to brea( the law, and a person dead in sin doesn*t care who gets hurt by their sin. 4hane (new where to obtain the most dangerous illegal drugs, and 4hane*s brother, who was a law student, showed them what legal loopholes to use to escape the clutches of earthly )ustice. ,e won*t dig up any more gory details, but we can than( !od #lint was con1erted immediately after the ?apture. ,hat a testimony to the unspea(able grace of !od. 8ot long after #lint*s own con1ersion he won 4hane to the Lord. #onsider how much harder it would ha1e been for those men to recei1e #hrist than now. Today, !od*s people no longer ha1e to fear being put to death for their faith. 51en physical illness is a rarity, and that*s usually caused by o1erindulgence in food or drin(. 8e1er do we hear of a young mother mourning o1er the death of her baby, or a man being gi1en si@ months to li1e because of cancer. 8o longer are !od*s people called upon to turn the other chee( to those who would hurt or slander them. 0nstead, the wic(ed are remo1ed from our midst, and !od is faithful to immediately 1indicate the righteous. The apostle .eter e@horted #hristians to re)oice whene1er their faith was was refined in the fire of deep trial, though the trial could cause them great hea1iness of heart. -ut !od*s people ha1e, as a rule, been granted blessed rest from persecution and great sorrow. #enturies ago 0 myself passed through fiery trials, but they resulted from premeditated, deliberate sin on my part. 'ne of my greatest sins was being ungrateful to !od for the blessing of li1ing in such a world as we now ha1e. "ow unspea(ably great are our pri1ileges/ -ut, belo1ed, the bedroc( principles of the ,ord of !od are eternal. 4atan doesn*t harass people anymore, but we are still mortal. ,e can still commit sin e1en without the de1il being here to dri1e us to do it. ,e still need to show charity and patience toward one another. A married couple can bic(er o1er the most tri1ial things. A word carelessly spo(en can wound. Aust the other day someone told me about two men who got in a

fist fight o1er some woman both of them wanted to date. Angels arri1ed on the scene and bro(e up the fight before much damage was done, then too( the men to be dealt with by the authorities. 0t seems to me that people who can*t settle their differences peaceably aren*t fit to fall in lo1e with anybody, because they don*t (now the true meaning of lo1e. And it*s high time e1erybody buc(led down and applied themsel1es to getting ready for eternity. This 3illennium will soon be o1er, and afterward it will be one endless bright day of !lory for all those who ha1e parta(en of the di1ine nature and allowed #hrist to wor( mightily in their hearts. -ut millions will rebel and side with satan, who is soon to be loosed out of his pit for a brief time. 0, who once felt the heat of di1ine wrath and came perilously close to eternal damnation, tremble at the thought of the horrible )udgment which shall fall upon those rebels. -rethren, let us wal( with the Lord in all humility of heart. Let us steer clear of slippery slopes. Let us guard against pride and ta(e heed lest we fall. ,e are all so close to the finishing line. Let us not stumble in the final stretch. A tremendously wonderful priDe is at sta(e& 5ternity as a glorified son or daughter of !od, clothed in the radiant nature of #hrist "imself. Although the de1il is absent our fallen flesh nature is still present with us until the day of our final glorification. 0t is only by the grace of !od that 0 am standing before you here today to testify to the power of #hrist to blot out transgressions. 0, who en)oyed blessings #lint and 4hane ne1er dreamed of in their li1es, became a far worse sinner than those two e1er were. That in spite of the fact 0 had been born again for many decades. 0 failed to gain the mastery o1er my own fallen nature. 0 refused to heed the wisdom of the ,ord of !od, or e1en listen to saints raised from the dead. 0 failed to lo1e others with the Lo1e of #hrist. 0 sometimes confused lo1e with lust,% 4aul cho(ed, and this led to the ruination of other souls who idoliDed me and loo(ed up to me because of my genius intellect. Li(e 8ebuchadneDDar, !od had to humble me in that area for a time before 0 finally bowed the (nee and ac(nowledged that Aesus alone is Lord. -ecause of my sin 0 forfeited some of the pri1ileges of life in .aradise 5arth. 0 rebelled li(e an unruly toddler and 0 e1en abused the pri1ilege of wealth, so the independence of an adult was ta(en from me. 0 ha1e been permitted to resume life in the community but 0 remain under strict sub)ection to guardians who ha1e been appointed by our rulers to loo( after all my needs. These many years since my spiritual restoration these wonderful glorified brethren ha1e diligently guided me the ways of holiness. 51entually my business was passed on to my two younger children, who, than( !od, grew into godly, responsible adults who married well and ha1e beautiful families of their own.% Through tear9misted eyes 4aul loo(ed lo1ingly on the close9(nit congregation who were silently cheering him on.

"is daughter Lila, still rosy9chee(ed and comely for her age, blew him a (iss. "er husband, surrounded by myriad family members, smiled warmly. 3omentarily 4aul shuddered and breathed deep. 0 made shipwrec( of my own soul, although we 3illennial saints sail a smooth sea the saints of the #hurch Age could only dream of. !od would ha1e been fully )ustified in putting me to death for the terrible sins 0 committed, but "e, in "is unspea(able mercy, decided to sal1age 4aul 4a1age from the .it of "ell.% 3ost of those present murmured :uiet praise to !od for restoring 4aul*s bac(slidden soul. 8ot all was sweetness and light. A shrill yell from the bac( of the sanctuary& %There*s no such thing as hell and you (now it/ Euit trying to scare us, old man/% Two youths in hooded gray )ac(ets )umped up and down, ma(ing mon(ey noises at 4aul before they rushed outside laughing. 4econds later terrified shouts were heard. 4aul*s face paled. Tremulously he clutched the wooden pulpit, (nowing what must be transpiring )ust outside the door. A young deacon rushed o1er to steady him when a white mist appeared before the wonderstruc( eyes of the congregation, then the fully materialiDed form of #lint 4a1age, ancestor of 4aul. 0nstead of a potbellied degenerate with drug9glaDed eyes, #lint loo(ed li(e a powerfully built angel in white. #lint appeared much younger than his descendant, though he was hundreds of years older. 8o one mar1elled that a glorified saint could suddenly appear, for all the people (new these immortals possessed the same type of body as their risen 4a1ior. Aesus could appear and disappear at will, though "e had a solid body of flesh and bone. #lint had long ago reached the end of his natural life span and had been translated into immortality without first dying. 0t*s o(ay, 4aul,% #lint said, patting him on the bac(. ;ou*re doing )ust fine. $on*t pay those idiots any mind. 4hane*s out there right now preaching them a good sermon, and if they don*t clean up their act they*ll find out the hard way hell e@ists.% 0 hope they don*t ha1e to go that route,% said 4aul. ,hat a surprise, !randpa #lint, that you would turn up here. 0 hope you didn*t ta(e offense at anything 0 )ust said.% #lint stared down and his stomach and chuc(led. 8o way, 4aul, 0*m in great shape now, most importantly on the inside where it counts. Aust (eep on telling e1erybody about how wonderful Aesus is. Tell e1erybody what you*1e learned about what it means to lo1e !od and to lo1e "is people with "is Lo1e. ;ou too( a long hard fall, 4aul, )ust li(e me and my buddy 4hane did. ;ou got hurt real bad but you didn*t die. Aesus sa1ed some pretty bad

dudes from hell, but nobody can lo1e Aesus more than we can now, can theyC% 8o they can*t, my belo1ed #lint,% whispered 4aul. ;ou and 0 ha1e been down in the 1alley of sin, so we appreciate the mountaintop of mercy that much more. Those who*1e been forgi1en much lo1e much. And because #hrist lifted me bac( up when 0 fell, 0 want to be "is hands to hold others up when they feel wea(.% 4on,% #lint chuc(led, that*s what real lo1e is, in a nutshell.% To read about 4aul*s slide into personal sin and his arduous )ourney bac( to spiritual health, order the following eboo(s&

Tough Lo1e in #hrist*s 3illennium -oo( 'ne

To order from Barnes & Noble (Nook Book e-book): http: !!!"barnesandnoble"com ! to#gh-lo$e-in-christsmilleni#m-book-one-patricia-bakora %%&'()*+'*, ean-)'.&&%('%&.+% To order from Ama/on (0indle edition e-book): http: !!!"ama/on"com To#gh-1o$e-2hrists-Millenni#mebook dp B&&34A0PB5 ref-sr6%6(, ie-5T7*&8id-%(.'%&&3&&&sr-*-(&key!ords-bakora

Tough Lo1e in #hrist*s 3illennium -oo( Two

To order from Barnes & Noble (Nook Book e-book): http: !!!"barnesandnoble"com ! to#gh-lo$e-in-christsmilleni#m-book-t!o-patricia-bakora %%&'()*3%), ean-)'.&&%('%&9%9 To :rder from Ama/on (0indle edition e-book): http: !!!"ama/on"com To#gh-1o$e-2hrists-Milleni#mebook dp B&&34A;A<+ ref-sr6%6., ie-5T7*&8id-%(.'%&%&)3&sr-*-.&key!ords-bakora