Notes of a Preacher

“Hell from beneath is stirred up to meet you at your coming; it stirs up the dead for you, all the chief ones of the earth; it has raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. They all shall speak and say to you: ‘Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us?’ Your pride is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your harps; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you. How you are fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mountain of the congregation, on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the one who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, each one in his own tomb; but you are cast out of your grave like an abominable branch, like the garment of those who are slain, thrust through with a sword, who go down to the stones of the pit, like a corpse trodden underfoot. You will not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land and slain your people. The offspring of evildoers shall never be named” (Isaiah 14:9–20).

From these passages of Scripture we can see who he was, what he did, and what he became.

He was the covering cherub and the forerunner of God, just as John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus. He went before God and prepared the other angels to meet Him. When they saw this cherub, everyone understood that the Lord God Most High was about to come. He also helped the other angels carry out their work in an orderly and coordinated way, so that when the Most High appeared, everything would proceed smoothly and in proper order. He was also given authority to manage God’s resources. He was like Joseph under Pharaoh, who in his day administered all of Egypt while remaining Pharaoh’s servant. And here is another reason why he hates the Jews, the chosen people, and the Christians who have followed Christ: because we will take his place in the Kingdom of God and of the Lamb and will “walk among the fiery stones.” I am not presuming to claim these “positions” in the Kingdom of God, for Jesus Himself, the Son of God, said: “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (Matthew 25:34).

Why did the former son of the Dawn become what he became? He conceived the thought: “To take the Creator’s place.” The very thought itself was sheer madness—it is like knocking away the support on which you are standing—and he began devising a plan for how to accomplish it: a palace coup. But God does not merely give life or bring things to life; He Himself is Life.

Pride and arrogance destroyed the wisdom God had given the former cherub. Through deception and slander he drew a portion of the angels after himself, and on the day of his rebellion he and all his followers were cast into the depths of Hell (Revelation 12:4).

Jesus died on the cross of Calvary for our sins, and after His death He spent three days and three nights in the depths of Hell—not as a sinner, but as the Righteous One—illuminating every corner of Hell and proclaiming that authority over that place belonged to Him. And on the third day He rose from the dead. “Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psalm 24:7–10).

“...for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:18–19).

Jesus is the only One who has defeated the entire kingdom of Satan, the adversary, and He is the only One who can help you. All power and might belong to Him: “...and you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in Himself” (Colossians 2:13–15). No one else is able to solve your problems. The only One who can and wants to help you is the Son of God, who died on the cross of Calvary and rose again on the third day.

Chapter 6

Destiny—How Much Is Contained in That Word!

Destiny is usually understood as something that cannot be avoided—a combination of circumstances beyond our control. But is that really so? What does the Bible say about it? What part does God play in our lives?

The first passage of Scripture that comes to mind is this:

“Now it shall come to pass, when you have crossed [the Jordan], if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1–2).

“And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them” (Deuteronomy 28:13).

Here we read what God has promised to do depending on whether we fulfill the condition or fail to fulfill it. The entire twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s complete influence upon our lives, whether you believe in Him or not. Ignorance of the Law does not release anyone from responsibility.

Many people say, “We are not under the Law; we are under grace,” or, “We do not need the Law; we have the teaching of Christ.” Jesus said: “Jesus answered them and said, ‘My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority’” (John 7:16–17).

Jesus said that His teaching is founded upon the Law of God the Father and that He was not saying anything new. Statements such as those mentioned above come from Christians who do not want to search deeply into the Word of God and who have listened to preachers and teachers who told them what they wanted to hear. I write about the relationship between the Law and grace in the chapter “Law or Grace.”

I am now in my sixties, and through my dealings with people—Christians and non-Christians alike—I have seen that what is written in Deuteronomy chapter 28 works one hundred percent in the life of every person and in the activity of organizations, businesses, and nations. The principle is the same for everyone: if you keep the commandments, it will go well with you and you will prosper; if you do not, everything you put your hand to will eventually fall apart and will not stand. In other words, God takes a direct and complete part in our destinies.

Here are two more passages of Scripture:

“‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ says the Lord, ‘thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:16).

These two passages speak of God’s determination concerning what is to happen in our lives. In the “Book of Destiny” it is written what we are meant to do, but whether we actually do it or not depends entirely on us. The “Book of Destiny” is written by God as His plans for our lives—plans for good works and not for evil, so that our future may be filled with hope for something better. And God will see to it.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Besides the “Book of Destiny” (Psalm 139:16), there is also a “Book of Remembrance”:

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who honor His name. ‘They shall be Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘on the day that I make them My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’ Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (Malachi 3:16–18).

In the “Book of Remembrance” are recorded the things we do—our actions and our motives.

There is also the “Book of Life”: “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Only the names of those who will enter Eternal Life are written in the “Book of Life.” Who enters eternal life depends upon the decision of Jesus Christ. God the Father has entrusted all judgment to His Son. Everyone who rejects the Son of God remains without salvation. There is no greater sin than rejecting the Savior. It was because of His love for you that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary—to save us from the lake of fire, and not only from that. On the cross of Calvary, Jesus died not only for our sins, but also for the consequences of the sins we committed. He took upon Himself our curses, sorrow, troubles, and failures. And now it does not matter what your life was like before you met Christ—whether it was filled with disappointment and misery, or whether you were simply a “respectable sinner.” You do not need to become righteous first and then come to God; without Him, you cannot do it. Come as you are, live with Him, and He will make you righteous. This is what grace is: as you live with Christ and come to know Him and His Word, you begin to change. The closer you draw to Him and the more you know Him, the more He is able to accomplish works of righteousness through you. This is grace—when it is not you, but He who works through you.

So God has purposed good for us, but whether you do good or not depends personally on you, and upon that depends what your future will be—both here on Earth and in Eternity.

Many will ask: What about the evil that happens apart from our will—war, sickness, murders in everyday life, accidents? Here is the answer from the Bible: “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 14:13–14). God will never abandon those who are faithful and devoted to Him. I write this not because I read it somewhere or because someone told me about it. This is my life with Him, confirmed by those who wrote the Bible and experienced the same thing in their own lives—with Him.

The conclusion is this: what you are doing now is either building your future life or destroying it.

“Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

Chapter 7

The Ink of Eternity

In 1996, a Christian conference was held in the city of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, where Craig F. Pitts preached about Christ and shared a vision from God that he had received some time before and later put into verse.

Eternal Ink

I dreamed I was in Heaven

Where an angel kept God’s book.

He was writing so intently

I just had to take a look.

It was not, at first, his writing

That made me stop and think

But the fluid in the bottle

That was marked eternal ink.

This ink was most amazing,

Dark black upon his blotter

But as it touched the parchment

It became as clear as water.

The angel kept on writing,

But as quickly as a wink

The words were disappearing

With that strange eternal ink.

The angel took no notice,

But kept writing on and on.

He turned each page and filled it

Till all its space was gone.

I thought he wrote to no avail,

His efforts were so vain

For he wrote a thousand pages

That he’d never read again.

And as I watched and wondered that

This awesome sight was mine,

I actually saw a word stay black

As it dried upon the line.

The angel wrote and I thought I saw

A look of satisfaction.

At last he had some print to show

For all his earnest action.

A line or two dried dark and stayed

As black as black can be,

But strangely the next paragraph

Became invisible to see.

The book was getting fuller,

The angel’s records true,

But most of it was blank, with

Just a few words coming through.

I knew there was some reason,

But as hard as I could think,

I couldn’t grasp the significance

Of that eternal ink.

The mystery burned within me,

And I finally dared to ask

The angel to explain to me

Of his amazing task.

And what I heard was frightful

As the angel turned his head.

He looked directly at me,

And this is what he said . . .

“I know you stand and wonder

At what my writing’s worth

But God has told me to record

The lives of those on Earth.

The book that I am filling

Is an accurate account

Of every word and action

And to what they do amount.

And since you have been watching

I must tell you what is true;

The details of my journal

Are the strict accounts of you.

The Lord asked me to watch you

As each day you worked and played.

I saw you as you went to church,

I saw you as you prayed.

But I was told to document

Your life through all the week.

I wrote when you were proud and bold,

I wrote when you were meek.

I recorded all your attitudes

Whether they were good or bad.

I was sorry that I had to write

The things that make God sad.

So now I’ll tell the wonder

Of this eternal ink,

For the reason for its mystery

Should make you stop and think.

This ink that God created

To help me keep my journal

Will only keep a record of

Things that are eternal.

So much of life is wasted

On things that matter not

So instead of my erasing,

Smudging ink and ugly blot.

I just keep writing faithfully and

Let the ink do all the rest

For it is able to decide

What’s useless and what’s best.

And God ordained that as I write

Of all you do and say

Your deeds that count for nothing

Will just disappear away.

When books are opened someday,

As sure as Heaven is true;

The Lord’s eternal ink will tell

What mattered most to you.

If you just lived to please yourself

The pages will be bare,

And God will issue no reward

For you when you get there.