RETURN OF THE RAVEN

For twenty-four years of this man’s life, I had a total of five ravens as pets. During twenty-two of those years, one of those ravens remained with me as the most endearing pet I ever had. First, I hand raised from a baby a raven I named Edgar Allen Poe. Later it would baffle my father by calling out – “Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty.” He could not figure out who was calling our cat, but discovered it was Edgar. Edgar was reportedly shot and killed by a neighbor boy. But while I had Edgar, I got a second raven; this was George, the endearing pet I kept for twenty-two years. As company for George, I then got Louie. He also communicated with my father. Once Dad was pestering him through the wire of his cage, taunting him – “Come on, come on!” After a while, Louie stepped back on his perch and repeated to Dad – “Come on, come on!”

George was actually a female, and Louie was a cocky male. Then for a short time came New Crow, a young raven that simply appeared at our home one day. Finally was Sam, another male that I got for George; but she totally rejected him because she already had a mate – me! George was very jealous of me, and liked neither family nor animal who threatened to take my attention.

George was the last raven I had. I moved her outdoor cage with me to six different homes. Then on May 23, 1988, the year I turned forty, she peacefully went to sleep in the bottom of her cage. Fourteen days later my fourth child was born dipped in blood – Katheryn. Then fourteen days after that my mother-in-law died – Mary Katheryn,. (Interestingly, my birthday is on August 7. Seven days after my birthday in 2002 my father died, and ten days after that my father-in-law unexpectedly died.) Still today I have feathers from George’s “head that I loved to stroke and smell,” from her “breast that showed her age” (they were actually gray), and from her “wings that bore her up until the day she died.” I also have the empty shells of her turquoise eggs with mottled black spots. Why did I keep these things? Because she was precious to me.

All the ravens had the freedom to fly away, as I released them on a regular basis. Only twice did George ever leave me. Once she was gone for three-and-a-half months, and another time for three-and-a-half days. When she came back after three-and-a-half months, her feathers were tattered and marked with her own dung from being caged by someone. I will never forget that day. I was in my bedroom and, as in Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, “The Raven,” she came to my window and called out to me. And equally like Poe’s poem, I opened my window and she came in to me. But her message was not the ominous “Nevermore,” but one of joyful exuberance to be back home with me. I shared her exuberance.

And while George came to and through my window, Louie came to the window of the girl who would be my bride. This is already addressed in the writing, The Raven, but one day I received a call from the girl I had been dating, and she asked if my ravens were at my home. I went outside and, no, Louie was not there. I then went over to her home, and sure enough, it was Louie.

All my ravens had full plumage, and had the right and the ability to fly away; however, Louie had never been away from my home. There was no way possible he could have known where this girl lived, nor had any natural inclination whatsoever to even go there. Louie could have flown 360 degrees in any direction, and innumerable distances. This girl lived four or five miles away. Between my house and hers, there were hundreds of houses, and even more so, thousands of windows. Having never been away from my home, that raven flew across town to her very bedroom window and called out to her, and even stayed there until I got there. The statistical chance of that happening is infinitesimally impossible. Even the very fact she was home was another factor that makes that infinitely beyond anything that could be natural. And most significantly, Louie called out to the girl who would later become my wife. At her bedroom window, my raven miraculously revealed my bride!

Thus you can see that Yahweh has given me a special and highly prophetic relationship with the raven, including the fact that I had ravens for twenty-four years, the number of elders around the throne.

Has the raven ever passed through a window before, other than Poe’s raven, say in the Scriptures? Yes indeed. When the tops of the mountains became visible after Noah’s flood, and at the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven from it. But we read in Genesis 8:7 that the raven “flew here and there until the water was dried up from the earth.” That raven, we can assume, never returned, as neither did the dove after two subsequent releases. But will the raven return? Will it ever be used for good? From my own experience, yes indeed it will! My favorite raven amazingly returned to my window, and Louie miraculously went to the window of my wife-to-be.

When is the next time in the Scriptures we see the raven? In 1 Kings 17:4-6 we find it feeding the prophet Elijah at the brook Cherith. Was that good? The prophet would have died without it. Was this then a type of good, or was it a type of evil? Both. On the one hand it looked to evil. The raven is a type of Satan, and even as the raven fed Elijah until the brook Cherith dried up, so Satan fed the first Remnant lies and error until their time was complete. But what Yahweh uses for evil, He later uses for good. What did Yahweh tell Peter while he was on the roof in Joppa? “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (Acts 10:9-16). In like manner, as shocking as this may sound, we can expect Satan to be used for good.

This is the way of Yahweh. He plants a seed into corruption, begins with the evil, redeems the evil, and then uses it for good. Surely you can agree with this, for if you cannot, you condemn yourself. For if He can forgive you and use you for good, why is it that He cannot forgive Satan and use him for good as well? If He cannot forgive Satan who is Leviathan and is covered with the scales of pride (Job 41:15) (and by the way, the scales in part can legally make him clean – Leviticus 11:9-11), and the scales of pride fell from the eyes of Paul (Acts 9:18), then how can He have mercy on Christianity which is equally a Leviathan covered with the scales of pride? If anyone condemns Satan to an everlasting judgment and rejection, they condemn themselves. Yahweh’s way is to, in time, not only use evil for good, but to turn evil into good. Yes, our evil deeds may die, but we and him are preserved.

Did not the prodigal son return? Is not lame Mephibosheth brought in to sit at David’s table? Moses lost the glory and could not enter into the promised land west of the Jordan, yet he regained that glory on the mount of transfiguration in the promised land. King Nebuchadnezzar was restored from his own ill fate of being among the beasts because of his pride as well. And even evil Haman, who out of pride wanted to kill all the Jews, was used for good in suggesting and even carrying out the exaltation of Mordecai the Jew. Cain and his offspring were cursed for him killing Abel, yet the exemplary Rechabites, Moses’ wife, and Jael, who killed Sisera, were all his offspring – Kenites (or, Cainites; more on them later). The Gibeonites were cursed unto death, but entered into a covenant with the sons of Israel that preserved them alive, a covenant Yahweh himself watched over (2 Samuel 21). Thus Yahweh, of necessity, has mercy.

Even as the raven brought bread and meat to Elijah, how is it that an evil Satan can be used to bring to us life-giving truth? For this man, it has been in two ways. One, he takes me through death and even corruption in order to teach me truth that I could have learned only by going through it. But also, quite unusually, he is teaching me by a corrupt means – movies. As amazing as it is to this man, there are a number of vital things concerning the kingdom of God that I have learned through these otherwise corrupt movies.

First He used Awakenings, then Field of Dreams. And one of the most incredible journeys of learning concerning the rod, producing several vital writings, was initiated by watching Whale Rider. And then by far the most incredibly prophetic movie thus far has been Unbreakable. But any of the M. Night Shyamalan movies have been immensely prophetic, including The Village and The Sixth Sense.

Recommended to me by two former pastors, I recently watched The Highlander Endgame. Interestingly, the older Highlander was pretty pathetic and of seemingly little prophetic value, but the newer version was quite prophetic. Yet “morally,” both are evil. But when one has two men with immortal lives who have the same last name – Mc Cloud (two cloud-walking Remnant, as in second Remnant Luke Skywalker as well) – and a woman by the name, Faith, and a man with the name, Matthew (first Remnant), who preserves the life of the one who, after gaining the strength of the other Mc Cloud by his death, essentially laying down his life for him, defeats the one who is a type of Satan by chopping off his head, how can one not suspect it to be prophetic? Even one of the actors stated that this movie is about finding redemption.

This writing is going to be one of the hardest writings yet for this man to write down. Why? Because there are so many things here that all relate, but are each unique testimonies. Also, these are very unusual and difficult matters to address. But as you will see, Yahweh does accomplish this.

We have just introduced the idea that Satan will indeed be used for good, and one of the ways he is used for this purpose is through movies. This would especially be true with what people call “sci-fi” movies, those that are not “true” but seek to reach into another imaginary world they create. This propheticness is not so vivid with movies that are just regular experiences – westerns, family, dramas, comedies, etc. No, it is when men seek to reach into the otherworld, or even create an imaginary world, that this is most evident. Why is this true? Let us see.

In the latter 70’s I realized through a related study that there had to be twelve areas of the soul of a man. For two years I studied everything I could from the Scriptures in order to find some indication what those twelve areas were, but all to no avail. Then one day as I sat at my desk at home, I spoke to the Holy Spirit – “Holy Spirit, the Scriptures say that my spirit knows my innermost being (Proverbs 20:27, 1 Corinthians 2:11). Would you send my spirit into my soul and have it report back to me its twelve areas?”

No more had I prayed this than, what I had studied and searched to know for two years, freely began coming to me. Like pieces of wood with writing on them floating to the surface from an unreachable depth, word by word the areas of my soul came to my consciousness. As they came, I wrote them down. As soon as I wrote one down, another came, then another. Soon I realized they were falling into three categories – mind, will, and emotions – and as they came up randomly, I recorded them in each respective category. I will give you eleven of them now.

MIND Perception/Thought Reasoning Memory Creative Imagination

WILL Destiny Actions Environment Intake/Input

EMOTIONS Commitment Preference Responses *

Each of these was later given a specific definition. But when the eleventh area was reported to me, the twelfth was then given to me in a completely different way. Yahweh did not allow my spirit to provide the twelfth and final area of my soul, but He Himself spoke it to me – *Attitude!

There seem to be at least two reasons why He made this distinction regarding the twelfth. One, because one’s attitude wholly impacts all the other areas of one’s soul, as well as everything one does or attempts to do in life. Attitude is critical! Failure and success is determined by attitude. Second, and related to this, even as the twelve apostles had one member critically different from the others, so it is true with the twelve areas of one’s soul. That twelfth apostle was Judas, who is always listed twelfth when the apostles are named, and whose place was taken by Satan. Of course what makes him and his office particularly unique, is that his office is vacated by Satan and is filled once again by a man in this day, thus legally repairing the 2,000 year breach in the church.

One of the outstanding qualities of the Remnant Bride is its seamless garment of truth; and this truth is not just vaguely repeated, but is clearly replicable. And this is certainly the case here with the testimony of the uniqueness of the position of the twelfth apostle, for we see this pattern elsewhere. It will be worthwhile to briefly digress on this.

Where else do we see Yahweh choosing twelve? First, He set up the twelve tribes. And of the twelve, did He not also set one of them apart for a very special purpose? Indeed He did, for in Numbers 3:11-13, 44-51 He set the tribe of Levi apart to be the payment for preserving alive all the firstborn per the tenth plague upon Egypt. These became the priests who ministered to Yahweh. Likewise, when Yahweh commanded Moses to send out the twelve to spy out the land of Canaan, once again there was one who was unique from the other eleven. Who was it? It was Caleb.

In Numbers 13:6 we read that Caleb was the leader who was sent out for the tribe of Judah. But Caleb was unique from the others for several reasons, first in that he was a mix – his father was a Kenizzite (Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:6), who were descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:11, 42). Also, the meaning of his name is quite unique. “Caleb” means “dog.” Thus, the two remaining witnesses who entered into the promised land west of the Jordan, Joshua and Caleb, by the meaning of their names were – Yahweh-savior and dog.

Caleb is further unique in that, as we find stated in Deuteronomy 1:34-40 (39), of those who ate from the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil,” he and Joshua alone entered the promised land west of the Jordan (i.e., the two Remnant coming out of Christianity). In fact, it was Caleb who first spoke up and gave the good report about entering into the land of promise (Numbers 13:30). For this Yahweh declared – “But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it” (Numbers 14:24).

Quite interestingly, the place of Yahshua’s birth, Bethlehem, was formerly called Ephrathah. Bethlehem was founded by Salma, the grandson of Caleb. Caleb’s wife and grandmother of Salma was Ephrathah (1 Chronicles 2:50-51). Thus, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the place of Yahshua’s birth, was founded by the household of Caleb, and appears to have been named after Caleb’s wife.

And what land did indeed Yahweh give to Caleb? He gave him the land which his foot had trodden upon as a spy, and Caleb had traveled to the very burial cave of the patriarchs at Hebron (Numbers 13:22, Genesis 49:29-32, Joshua 14:9-15). Thus, Caleb was given Hebron, which also became a city of refuge (Joshua 21:11-12), and was King David’s original capital (2 Samuel 2:1-3, 11). Therefore we see the highly unique place Caleb had as a leader of the sons of Israel.

What can these two testimonies regarding Levi and Caleb add to our understanding concerning the twelfth apostle? Each prophetic testimony brings different truth, but first you will notice that the Levites did not keep their promised priesthood forever. It was given to another, to the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:11-25). Equally, Satan’s role as the twelfth apostle, even the “covering cherub,” will not remain. On the other hand, Caleb looks to the preservation of the right of the twelfth apostle to be fulfilled in the Millennial reign, wherein the covenant is with the patriarchs of the church, the first Remnant.

Finally, we see in this seamless garment of truth regarding the replicable pattern of the twelfth apostle, which is in fact the place of the Elijah ministry (Love of Money, page 14), yet another testimony. When Elijah came to place his mantle on Elisha, what was Elisha doing at the time? The answer is obviously governmentally and prophetically quite revealing. In 1 Kings 19:19 we read that he was “plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth.” Thus, when the man who reveals the office of the twelfth apostle went to place his mantle upon Elisha, he was plowing with the twelfth oxen! Is this not a clear and revealing testimony regarding the identity of this vital office? Absolutely!

Therefore, as evidenced by the Levites, by Caleb, by Elisha, and by Judas, the twelfth place is critical; and thus Yahweh would not allow my spirit to reveal the identity of the twelfth area of my soul, but spoke it directly to me.

But the reason these twelve areas of the soul were laid out here and this story told as to how Yahweh revealed them to me, was not so much for what has been said thus far, but for the purpose of considering one other area of the soul – Creative Imagination! Here is its definition:

The act of forming a mental image of something not present to the natural senses or never before wholly perceived in reality.

(If you want to read the definitions and descriptions of all twelve areas, click here.)

Creative Imagination can be a very powerful and compelling and certainly revealing part of the soul. It is from this area that inventions and new understanding in sciences and technology often arise (e.g., Newton and the law of gravity). It is evidenced in the arts. But it is also evidenced in sci-fi movies.

How did my soul come to know its twelve areas, but that my spirit revealed them. The activity of the Creative Imagination is to go beyond the realm of the known into the unknown. When someone seeks to do so, they seek a dimension that is not in the realm of natural reasoning and consciousness, but rather into a realm that enters through the veil. It seems that Creative Imagination is linked quite closely to the spirit of a man, and that spirit has the ability to touch realms that are not natural, but spiritual.

When sci-fi writers and producers seek to develop a movie, they become like God and, though only in imaginary form, create “life.” And in so doing, they actually draw from a realm from which their minds cannot understand, but get flashes and pieces that reveal what that unknown and yet-revealed realm will be. Their stories may even be contradictory to what will in fact unfold; but nonetheless, they present truth in riddles.

When M. Night Shyamalan wrote and produced his movies, did he know anything about the Remnant? Certainly not. Did he know anything about the Elijah ministry and its work to reveal the One who has the power of an indestructible life, and the need to break the neck of the strong man who takes over the house of God, both corporately and individually? Undoubtedly not. But even so his movie, Unbreakable, tells all of this and much more!

Does Night know how the present-day twelfth apostle gains the authority to know things that no man has ever known before? Certainly not. But his movie, The Sixth Sense, reveals this, once again in a riddle.

You see, Night is seeking to present something out of his Creative Imagination, and in doing so is tapping into the pattern and mechanics of the kingdom of heaven, and presenting them in a realm that he does know. He is extracting kingdom truths and placing them in fictional stories. The end result is that, unbeknownst to him, he is creating a riddle, a parable.

When I watch a movie, anticipating that it is prophetic (and these are essentially the only movies I watch), I have learned to not watch them either from the standpoint of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or from a moralistic standpoint, or even from a mere entertainment standpoint, but I watch them from a prophetic standpoint, from a governmental standpoint. If the movie is prophetic, and there are indeed those that are, then I want to know what it is revealing so that I can learn what Yahweh will do and is doing.

The reason I do this is because I have learned, I have experienced, that Yahweh’s governmental and prophetic truths are presented in some movies in riddle form. Let me ask you – If Yahshua used events of the day to speak parables/riddles to people when He walked on this earth; if He placed countless parables/riddles in the Scriptures via names and places and events and, yes, even contradictions; why in the twenty-first century would He not use things that we see today, such as movies, to speak parables/riddles to us? He is still speaking to man in everyday events through parables/riddles, so that, once again, those who have eyes to see and ears to hear can understand, whose spirit man is being awakened to perceive and understand things that natural man cannot. Today, Yahweh is actually using movies to say – “The kingdom of heaven is like ….”

Understandably, someone could object and say that movies are morally corrupt and God would not use them. But if this be the case, then He can never use that person either, for in His eyes they are equally corrupt. Yahweh told Samuel – “for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance” (1 Samuel 16:7).

When Star Wars first came out in 1977, I heard some young Christians getting excited about the prophetic testimony they were seeing in it. My response then was that they were foolish, and I despised them. But as it is said, experience is the best teacher, and there is no way today I can deny that Yahweh uses movies to reveal incredible and even vital spiritual truth. What I thought to be foolishness back in 1977, I now know to be wise. What I thought to be weak, I now know to be strong. What I thought to be despised, God has chosen, “the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). I can say with no reservation that there are vital spiritual truths I have learned today, that I could not have learned any other way (e.g., by just reading the Scriptures) than by Yahweh’s use of some specific movies in which there were incredibly revealing parables. This is a fact, and I cannot deny it; He uses the things that are not, to nullify the things that are.

Frankly, from my moralistic viewpoint, I wish He had chosen something else to use; but in His wisdom He did not. That I have learned to accept and embrace and learn from and be changed by. Let me give you a recent revealing example of the highly prophetic testimony of a movie per the subject of this writing – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Continue to page 2 of Return of the Raven for THE BLACK PEARL

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