Preface
On August 3, 1979, Howard Pittman, a Baptist minister, suffered physical death as the result of a massive internal hemorrhage. His spirit was lifted from his body by guardian angels who led him through the Second Heaven, where he was shown the secrets of satan's dominion. He appeared before our Lord in the Third Heaven where he pleaded for an extension of his physical life. There God showed him what kind of life of worship and service he had really led, and Howard Pittman was graciously transformed from a Laodicean-type Christian to a Philadelphiantype Christian. (See Revelation chapter 3) He was miraculously healed and sent back to this world with a five-point message from Heaven – The Greatest News Since Pentecost!
"Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." Joel 2:23
Dedication
To the Supreme Creator, Who out of a Heart of Love, gave me a second chance. It was He Who dealt with me, an unworthy sinner.
Also, as this book was taking shape there were two people who figured prominently in its formation; my wife Joyce, who labored alongside me and struggled patiently to decipher my grammatical mistakes, and my dear father, who is now enjoying Glory-land with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Once in a great while God permits such a man as my father, Ephraim Pittman, to walk through this life. As he walked, he brought me the first ray of sunshine. He taught me how to love and how to know that there really IS a God Who truly cares about the individual. To all of these, I humbly dedicate this book.
Foreword
Webster's Dictionary defines "placebo" as "a medication prescribed more for the mental relief of a patient than for the actual effect on his disorder, or something tending to soothe." The doctors tell us that if we know we are being treated with a placebo, it does not work. In our minds we must think that it is a real medication and has the strength or power to heal. If the patient believes this, then the treatment has been known to work wonders in many cases that otherwise could not have been treated. Placebo treatment is, in fact, nothing of substance, but in the mind of the patient it is real. In order for this kind of treatment to work, the doctor must convince the patient of the work of the medication.
My friend, I declare unto you that this is the exact "treatment" that most "mouth-professing" Christians are using today. The doctor administering this "medication" is satan himself. He gives the "patient" a sugar-coated religion, a shallow experience, and whispers half-truths into his ears. He then tells the "patient" that it is real and that it is all the "patient" needs. The "patient", having been taken in by satan, believes this and goes on his merry way declaring to all that he has been born again, his salvation is real, and this experience is all that he needs.
Doctor satan will allow his "patient" to continue to go to church and will allow him to take part in any church, that is, singing, leading in prayer, teaching Sunday School, and even preaching. He will allow the "patient" to do all and to make any kind of statement in connection with his "mouth-professing" religion, even to the point of the saving power of Jesus. Yes, he will allow the "patient" to do all and say all with one exception. That exception is that the "patient" will not be allowed to live the life that he confesses with his mouth.
The "patient" does not see any need for any other type "treatment" since this one seems to be working so well. You see, the "patient" must believe the "medication" is good for him in order for it to work He must have trust in two things for this "treatment" to work. He must trust the doctor and must trust the healing power of the medication. This explains why this type "medication" works. It works by the faith of the patient. It has been proven that the more the "patient" believes in the doctor's ability and the medication, the faster the healing. In other words, the greater the faith, the greater the job done by the placebo treatment.
Doctor satan gains the confidence of the "patient" by misrepresenting himself.
Oftentimes, he comes as an angel of light. Sometimes he will even come as God.
There is one thing for certain. He will never come in his own name. The qualification he flashes before the eyes of the "patient" are always impressive and ALWAYS FALSE. Having beguiled the "patient" and taken him in, he now springs a trap by convincing him of the great healing effect of the sugar-coated religion that he is about to give him. He convinces the "patient" that he must always take only what is given by Doctor satan and that he must not seek another opinion from any other physician. The "patient" must never listen when another tries to show him the weakness produced by this type of life.
The placebo treatment in the church today is a surface religion which contains all the elements of true Christian religion with the exception that these elements are superficial and intellectual. They are a mouth-and-word-practicing religion and not a heart-and-deed-practicing religion. The true and the false religion in our Christian denominations today contain nearly all of the same elements. The big difference is that the false religion is only taught; the true one must be lived. satan has taken control of our visible church today, and with the help of his demons, he now has the greatest part of all Christian denominations on the placebo treatment. They all know about God and they all know about the second birth.
They all know about loving one another, but only a few really live these things.
The overwhelming majority of so-called Christians in the world today are actually only "mouth-professing" and are many, many miles away from heart-possessing.
As a result of this, they have no Power in their lives. They cannot live a life of true witness because they do not have the Truth for their leader. Instead, they are being led by a lie.
The Bible describes this condition explicitly. If one serves the world, in no way can that one serve God. Know this and know it well. To be a disciple of Christ, we must be separated from this world, sanctified. We must live our religion, not just talk it. Evidence of this condition of the great majority of the "mouth-professing" Christians today is found in the Bible, the book of Revelation Chapter 3:14 through 22. This is the seventh or last letter.
It was revealed to me by God that this letter was written to this, the Laodicean Church Age. We are now living in the close of church history as recorded in Revelation 3:14-22. I quote, "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
We see from this letter that the "mouth-professing" Christians are not aware of their true condition since they know all the elements of true Christianity. They assume they have need of nothing else because Doctor satan has convinced them of the healing strength of his "placebo treatment" Since they are not required to live their faith, they truly have nothing of substance. It is totally intellectual and a head-knowledge religion. With only an intellectual religion, man's spirit is stifled and this allows him to practice immoral things in his life. He excuses himself by going to church and using satan's lie that we all do it and just cannot help it. This intellectual religion allows a man to go to church on Sunday and sing "Oh, How I Love Jesus." Then, he goes into the world during the week foreclosing on a mortgage on some poor, less-fortunate brother. He excuses this action by saying that this is business and must be worked that way because you do not mix business and religion. This intellectual religion allows for just about any type of immorality and it always has a ready excuse furnished by Doctor satan which is always accepted by most of the peers down at the local church. This is the condition we find ourselves in today.
The heart-possessing Christian is the exception rather than the rule. He is looked upon by the "mouth-professing" Christians as a religious fanatic or freak and is hated and persecuted by the rest of the world. Although most cannot say why, they truly hate him. To the heart-possessing Christian I say, "Take heart. Be of good cheer. Our Savior was the first to be persecuted, hated, and scorned by the world even to the point of being put to death. Through it all, He remained true and He was the first Overcomer. The good news, my friend, is that you can also overcome.
Introduction
What I am about to tell you is the whole truth, I know because it happened to me.
It is so amazing that some people find it difficult to believe. In no way am I going to try to convince you because that is not my job. My job is to tell you. If you are one for whom this message is intended, you will know of its authenticity by the testimony of the Holy Spirit to your spirit.
The only other statement that I would like to make in support of my claim that this message is from God to you through me is this fact: When God assigned me this task, He told me to go by faith and that He, God, would open all the doors. This command to go tell was received by me on May 7, 1980, and in just ten short months, by stepping out on faith, God used me to take this message into all fifty states and over twenty foreign nations. This, in itself, would not be so incredible if it were not for the fact that I had absolutely no means with which to finance this message. On May 7, 1980, when God said go, I left my employment and stepped out on faith with nothing but my unshakeable belief in God and that He was able to keep His Word. I started my long journey that would take me and this message into all nations in three years. In light of this fact, no matter what you think of the message or me, you must admit that in order for it to reach all the fifty states and twenty foreign nations in so short a period of time as ten months, God had to do it.
I could not.
Before I tell you about the miracle, I must tell you about a small part of my personal history. I need to do this only because you will need to know this information to better understand the miracle. You will have to understand my spiritual condition and physical condition to understand the great miracle that God performed in my life.
I was born November 24, 1928, the seventh living child of a family of eight children. I was raised in a Christian home. My father was a deacon in the church for over fifty years and at twelve years of age, I made a public profession of faith and joined the church. At age twenty-two I surrendered to preach and entered college in preparation for that ministry. After a two-year struggle I gave up college and made my way to the city of New Orleans where I entered the law-enforcement profession. Here I began a career that lasted over twenty-five years. During this career I practiced my Christian faith as I believed it. I was also able to continue my education even to the point of attending seminary. At one time, while serving fulltime as a police officer and a seminary student, I pastored a church.