Umpqua National Forest, Oregon, USA-Pacific Standard Time Zone
~~* Pilgrimage to the Golden City-An Epilogue *~~
Epilogue:
It has been well over three decades since the
experience in the Himalayas of dedicating myself anew to be a disciple of Yeshua
Messiah. From the onset, my relationship with Him has been life changing
and still remains with this effect to this day. It should be apparent to any
reader that much of what I had experienced could not be related fully in my
story because of time and space restraints. Even so, I would be remiss if I didn't
clarify where my pilgrimage stands now. My effort is entirely geared toward
encouraging any would be or present pilgrim onward on the Path of
Life toward the Golden City and the coming New and eternal Day.
The past 30 years have been saturated with the profound
intensity of the times in which we live. My experience with Messiah has not
diminished, but rather has been accentuated by the turbulence of our era.
Nonetheless, the stability found in His presence offsets the tempest and fills
me with real peace. My journey through life following Messiah has been marked
with continual and deep confirmation of His reality and its ever present and
wonderful growth in my life.
The anxious thoughts and churning of my heart concerning the
destiny of the earth and in particular humanity have been put at ease. This
is not simply the result of a future "pie in the sky" hope founded in some mystics
prophecy, but a very real and present power of Love and Life that
I find in Him . These elements of His being will prevail completely over evil and
darkness, now and in the future - to be sure the future can be seen and known.
It will be all and more than my heart has ever longed for; to this the true prophets
bear witness.
The scene gains greater clarity every day because of the
Messiah. Its scope is not merely planetary but universal and cosmic in
scale. No doubt the human race will reap what it has sown. Judgment is here. Justice will be done.
This is what causes the gnawing anxiousness in many hearts. There is a refuge
for the one who is seeking a solution - that refuge being the promised Messiah
of Israel, Yeshua haMashiach.
There are many that are making merchandise of the fear.
Don't let anyone attempt to direct you to another answer to earth's
problems. When you look to political science, social science, environmental
science or any spiritual system outside of that which is found in Yeshua the
Messiah of Israel, you are merely being diverted from the true answer.
All of the days that I had spent wandering diligently, searching in invisible
realms, are now replaced with a reality more tangible than the physical universe
and yet unseen with the naked eye. The reality is Messiah. He said, "I am the
way, the truth and the life."
At first even though my days were filled with persistent
study of scripture, I could not grasp the breadth of my experience. Steadily,
every aspect of all that I had learned in my search was exposed to the scrutiny
of the new-found light of the sacred writings of the Holy Bible.
The prophetic utterances addressed every nook and cranny of
my soul. Chains - more binding than any forged by primitive or modern man - fell
off, snapped off, under the weight of the quickened written utterances of God. Pools of my tears
stained many a floor as His deep inner joy would well up in me at the melting
away of my darkness.
Absolute surrender and absolute security were daily fare in
the Truth. I ate and drank voraciously and confidently of waters and food
vouchsafed freely to anyone inwardly hungry. This tremendous cleansing appeared
wave after wave, day after day.
So that you may understand my hope, I want you to know that
all that the evil spell has destroyed has been undone by a progressive and
careful application of Messiah's transforming power. Unbeknown to me, my
exposure to the powerful forces in the spiritual realm were changing me into
something I didn't want to be. What I thought was light was in fact great
darkness. There is no greater deception than spiritual darkness masquerading
as the truth. The process of "initiation" was actually
turning me into something other than human, which certainly was not divine,
though it appeared to be.
Day by day as I meet with Messiah and surrender myself to
Him anew, He changes me. Not into a better person but into a new creature altogether
like Himself. To be sure - that process is ongoing, joyful and comforting.
Because my conversion was so dramatic it opened doors of
opportunity to experience a very broad spectrum of Christianity. Much of what I've
seen I cannot condone. I know that the conditions of mediocrity that exist in
many churches because of a lack of spirituality will not satisfy the heart that
has tasted of the spiritual realm. Only a vital and true spiritual life in the
Son of God Himself will be able to keep the soul ravaged by spiritual darkness
from the vulnerability gained from its exposure to the Great Dragon. The
explaining away of so much of scripture as mere cultural bias that pertains only
to the times in which they were written is grievous and wearisome. A condition
of spiritual sickness has stricken much of Christianity because of it.
The people are adrift on a sea of relativism.
Doctrines of "grace" have become a license
to conform to the world culture, instead of freedom to realize and
experience a heavenly culture and kingdom. The reaction in many has been
to be snared by religious bondage or go to a man made religion founded on
self-abasement, calling itself Christianity. Others have taken the route of
throwing off constraints and finding themselves wallowing in sin. In spite of
this I have met those who know Messiah in many nooks and crevices of
Christendom.
Don't get me wrong please, for I do not want to steer
anyone from the simplicity of their faith and devotion to Messiah. For example -
if you've ever wondered how to witness to someone like I
was, consider this brief example. When I was still living with the MacKays,
wearing my silk doti (a Hindu garb),
meditating before my incense-laden altar, there was a young woman from a strict
Christian sect who used to houseclean for the MacKays. No doubt I frightened
her, but she would go about her duties in her modest dress with head veiled
singing , "What can wash away my sins...nothing but the Blood of
Jesus..."
I didn't think about it much then. It wasn't until later
years that she came clearly into focus, and the message she sang also rang
through and through in my heart. Her humble demeanor of shamefacedness is burned
to this day upon my psyche. She was a living message that was, unbeknown to me
at the time, planted within.
Also I rejoice to say that Mr. and Mrs. MacKay have come to
know the Messiah. They presently reside in Colorado and they, with several of
their children, have placed their hope upon the coming return of Messiah, having
confidence that the sacrifice of the Lamb of God is sufficient for them.
I walked through many corridors of Christianity, always
leaning toward those who professed a biblical faith. And always I thirsted for
the portrayal of what I saw in scripture to be the life of those who
truly believed. Like broken fragments of a great stained glass window
found in the rubble of a dilapidated cathedral, the denominations and
fellowships we have been a part of make up pieces of a puzzle that will never
become the whole, healthy image they claim to be. A kernel of truth is at their
heart and their foundation is often the true and only One, Yeshua Messiah. But
He is SO much more and our representation of Him is SO beclouded and far
short of His reality. It need not be so. Charismatic or Plain Folk (Amish-
Mennonite), intellectual or emotional, sophisticated or lowly, big churches or
home fellowships, a veritable plethora of convictions and persuasions - I found
them in each place: individuals who really have been touched by Yeshua Messiah.
Though meeting them encouraged me (because of their spirituality), the fact of
their being divided grieved me.
I saw some suffer great disaster because of the current state
of the church. Its incessant proclivity to mimic this present world or to revert
back to failed unbiblical religious systems actually stands in the way of
individuals entering into the Truth of Messiah. Buddhism never threatened my
path as heartily as nominal Christianity.
We have spent many years (in tears) not affiliated to any
particular group of people. Yet we know we are bound up tight as can be with
every member of that body, which is called the body of Messiah.
Holding fast to what we have been shown is good, we press on.
Disdaining the trappings of paganism and man made religion that we have found
thriving in the midst of the people of God, we press toward an ideal and beauty
that we know is in Him and in those who love Him.
We press toward the Great Golden City. We love Israel and the
Son of David, her King. Casting off the inertia of peer pressure, we forge ahead
toward understanding the Hebrew roots of our faith, acknowledging our grafting
into Israel through her King, Yeshua Messiah.
Eschewing pagan notions and the traditions of men, whether
they appear in Judaism or Christianity, we have become free to adhere to the
truth - day by day. If you are a Messianic believer or are searching out the
biblical origins of your faith, I welcome dialog with you. If you are a seeker
of truth and the path has led you to Jesus, but you are not comfortable with
what you see in the many institutions claiming to represent Him, I welcome
dialog with you.
Daily we drink deeply of living waters from a fountain not
seen by human eyes. You can also. As Messiah has said, "Come all you who
thirst. Come and drink of the fountains of the Waters of Life without cost."
Stanley Petrowski