Back from the Abyss

Arthur W. Stuckey

Description

Back from the Abyss is the astonishing true story of one man's unique spiritual journey, resulting in startling revelations from the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual gifts and afflictions are mysterious and unknown, and therefore people can’t help but wonder and be intrigued by them. However, Back from the Abyss offers much more than insight into spiritual gifts and afflictions. By reading this book with an open mind, readers will gain extraordinary insight into a variety of spiritual matters.

Back from the Abyss includes a prophetic element to help us understand the times in which we live. Mass shootings, pandemics, inflation and climate change - what does it all mean? Are we living in the last days? As turmoil in our world increases so does interest in end time prophecy. A recent Google search for end time prophecy yielded over 100,000,000 results. Readers of Back from the Abyss will learn the real cause of apostasy and turmoil in this present age, and even get a prophetic glimpse of the future.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Men's Interests
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Antichrist
• Redemption
• Rapture
• Rédemption (homonymie)
• Abyss
• The Rapture
• Revelation
• Prophecy
• Antéchrist

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 23 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664283091
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Back from the ABYSS
Arthur W. Stuckey


Copyright © 2022 Arthur W. Stuckey.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis © copyright 1942 CS Lewis Pte Ltd.
Extract reprinted with permission.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8308-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8310-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8309-1 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022920423
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 12/22/2022
Contents
Introduction
 
Chapter 1 The Past: Far from the Peaceful Shore
Chapter 2 Spiritual Gifts: For the Common Good
Chapter 3 The Paradox: A Demon-Afflicted Christian?
Chapter 4 Of Affliction: Made to Be Broken
Chapter 5 The Demonic: What Is Your Name?
Chapter 6 Close Encounters of the Spiritual Kind
Chapter 7 About Christianity: Our Heavenly Reward
Chapter 8 Miscellaneous Thoughts: The Kitchen Sink
Chapter 9 A Transformation: Renewing of the Mind
Chapter 10 The Future: Our Blessed Hope
 
My Favorite Psalm
Afterword
About the Author

To the lonely and afflicted.

Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.
—Proverbs 29:18
We are a free people because we live according to what we know is right or wrong. If truth is taken from us, then Right and Wrong are taken from us as well. If we don’t know Right and Wrong, then we can’t, we won’t control ourselves, but will look to someone else to bring order through brute force and raw power. We will be controlled by a tyrant, and we will no longer be free—and don’t count on that tyrant to be kind or merciful. He has no sense of Right and Wrong, either, and will do to us whatever he wants.
— Nightmare Academy (The Veritas Project, vol. 2), Frank Peretti
Introduction
You shouldn’t read this book, unless you want answers to the following questions:
• Are evil spirits real?
• Is the anti-Christ in the world?
• Are we living in the last days?
• Can a Christian be demon possessed?
• Will Jesus Christ soon return to earth?
If you would like answers to these questions and more, Back from the Abyss is a book for you. By reading this book with an open mind, you will gain extraordinary insight into spiritual matters.
God works in mysterious ways. Back from the Abyss will take your understanding of that concept to a whole new level!
Chapter 1
The Past: Far from the Peaceful Shore
Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.
—Psalm 25:7
M y name is Arthur Stuckey, but most people call me Art. I was born in Alaska in the mid 1960s, where from 1962 to 1966 my parents taught Cup’ig Native American children for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I have two older brothers, an older sister whom my parents adopted, and one younger sister. We moved from Alaska to California in 1966.
I had a difficult upbringing, to say the least. I grew up stubborn, selfish, mischievous, disobedient, rebellious, and overly sensitive. Those traits followed me into adulthood and got me into plenty of trouble. I did what I wanted, without considering what consequences might arise. If only I’d known how severe those consequences would be. Had I foreseen the torment my actions would bring, I would have made very different choices in life.
My Early Religious Experience
I grew up in a Christian home—sort of. We believed in God and went to church, but I’m not sure any of us really understood what it meant to be born again. Some good Christian people attended my family’s church, but I witnessed some hypocrisy there as well. At least two of the former pastors had extramarital affairs before getting divorced. This didn’t exactly bolster my estimation of religion.
The mood at that church often felt somber. Our subdued worship services consisted of singing traditional hymns out of old hymnals. I love many of those old hymns, but (being a rocker at heart) my preference is for upbeat contemporary praise and worship music.
It’s an understatement to say I found the sermons tedious. I’d frequently take pencils meant for filling out offering envelopes and doodle on church bulletins to pass the time. I’d often daydream, occasionally dozing off. I once fell asleep, pitched forward, and hit my head on the wooden pew in front of me. You talk about embarrassing!
I’m not bashing church or Christians. There are many excellent churches out there, as well as many genuine Christians. I’ve been in enough churches to know there are good (and not so good) churches in every Christian faith tradition.
My parents took me to a church service in a nearby city when I was eight years old. The pastor spoke about salvation. When we returned home, I asked my father about salvation. He sat me down and led me in a prayer, and I asked Jesus into my heart. Afterward, my father told me I’d been saved. Sometime later, I was baptized in my family’s home church. Even though I clearly didn’t understand the significance of what I’d done, God heard and answered my prayer. He placed his Spirit within me, where he’s remained ever since.
I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll
In my early teens, I began my lifelong love affair with rock ‘n’ roll music. I remember hearing “Stairway to Heaven,” by Led Zeppelin, for the first time. I also remember buying my first record, an album by the hard rock band Kiss, with money I’d earned from a paper route. I bought it more for its shock value (to my parents) than for the music itself.
My friends and I formed a garage band, playing both covers and originals. I couldn’t play an instrument so I became the singer. My singing skills at the time left much to be desired, but we had fun making noise in my parents’ garage.
I began writing song lyrics, and over the years, I’ve written dozens of songs. Our garage band didn’t last long, but I continued to sing and write, and I’ve been a part of a number of projects since then. I taught myself to play some guitar and program drum-machine tracks. Over the years, I’ve purchased a variety of music and recording gear, so I have everything I need to make basic multitrack recordings. Music is just a hobby for me, but it’s something I enjoy.
I still love rock ‘n’ roll; I doubt that will ever change. I listen to Christian music as well. Some of the songs I’ve written have Christian lyrics, and some secular. I don’t believe rock ‘n’ roll, or any other genre of music, is inherently evil. It’s the lyrics that either glorify God or glorify sin. I’m sure there’ll be rock concerts in heaven, along with every other style of music. Those concerts will be free and more amazing than anything we’ve seen or heard on earth.
Maybe it’s my ego, but I’ve always felt people who are negatively influenced by music are somewhat weak-minded. I’ll concede that some rock ‘n’ roll has a rebellious spirit about it. Nevertheless, music is a gift from God designed to make our spirits soar, giving us a foretaste of what heaven will be like.
I’ve known people who’ve gotten rid of their secular music collections after feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit. I respect that. If the Holy Spirit convicted me regarding secular music, I’d do the same. So far, that hasn’t happened. Certain songs do grieve my spirit. If a song like that comes on the radio, I change the station.
As I grow older, I find myself listening to Christian music more often. Why only listen to secular music when there’s so much good Christian music out there? I’ve recently become a fan of Skillet, a Christian rock band that’s become extremely popular, even among secular listeners.
A Wayward Teenager
Regrettably, I was also in my early teens when I began viewing pornography. My neighbor, who was a year or so older than me, often showed me his collection of pornographic magazines. He gave me pictures of nude women, which I brought home and hid in my bedroom.
I started going to parties, where I experimented with drugs and alcohol. I went from being an honor student in seventh grade to failing nearly all my classes in eighth grade. I no longer cared about school and often cut class to get high instead. This pattern continued all through high school.
Kicked out of regular high school, I was sent to a remedial/continuation high school. The principal asked