Reality Check: Exploring the Sci-Fiction from a Biblical Point of View
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About this ebook
If you are curious if the biblical view of the eerie and unexplained things holds up to reason and progressive thoughts and ideas, please read this book and challenge yourself by really being a free thinker and challenging your school of thought. This book gives the expression to love God with your entire mind, not just your heart and soul, as Jesus commissioned (Matthew22:37). To the student who loves to be challenged by the mysterious and strange things of the Bible, you will be inpired and revived. From the beginning to the end, we explore topics such as the existence of man, the spirit world, and the future world order. New-age topics that shed new light on the faith movement, healings, miracles, oneness, and the coming age, proving that the biblical perspective can answer any generation and any topic in a reasonable and rational explanation that no other theory or conjure hypothesis can do.
Donavon Flegeance
Donavon Flegeance is the current president of D.R.I.V.E. International Outreach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Christian apologetics and raising scholarships for kids with a theological aspiration. Donavon is also president of Tree Insurance Agency in Houston, Texas, and Jennings, Louisiana. He is a member of the C.S Lewis Society and has received a certificate of studies in apologetics from Biola University. He resides in Houston, where he attends Brookhollow Baptist Church with his wife Ladwina Flegeance. Donavon and his wife, who has a master’s in educational leadership from Lamar University and a bachelor of science from McNeese University and also attended Dallas Theological Seminary, have always served in their local community and church. They have participated in three church plantings and have served the youth for several years in the church and outside the community. Their leadership has earned them respected titles with their peers, as they also raise two youths of their own.
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Reality Check - Donavon Flegeance
Copyright © 2014 Donavon Flegeance.
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 publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
WestBow Press
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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 Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
Credit to BHG Printing for other interior images.
ISBN: 978-1-4908-4766-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4908-4767-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4908-4765-8 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014914244
WestBow Press rev. date: 08/22/2014
Contents
Introduction
Unit I: Eternity Past
Chapter 1: The Realities of Our Origin
Chapter 2: Lucifer: The Most Anointed One
Chapter 3: The Land before Time
Chapter 4: The Lost Caveman
Chapter 5: Pandora’s World
Chapter 6: Angelic Transportation
Chapter 7: Talking Animals
Unit II: Reality Present
Introduction
Chapter 8: Black Pantheism
Chapter 9: Alien Tales
Chapter 10: Realities of the Paranormal
Chapter 11: Gods, Titans, and Mortals
Chapter 12: Knowing the Spirits
Chapter 13: Reality of Our Present Boundaries Revealed
Chapter 14: Reality of Extraterrestrial Beings
Unit III: Reality Future
Introduction to the Future Events
Chapter 15: Postmodernism
Chapter 16: Israel and Prophecy
Chapter 17: 10 Prophetic Signs of the End Times Answered
Chapter 18: Reality of a Believer’s Body
Chapter 19: How Can You Receive All of the Rewards God Has for You?
Chapter 20: Activities in Heaven
Chapter 21: Reality of the Great Debate
Chapter 22: The Reality of Hell (Fact or Fiction)
Chapter 23: Reality of Jesus Christ
About the Author
Special Thanks
I want to thank God first and foremost for giving me the opportunity to complete such a long and strenuous task, the Holy Spirit for his guidance the Son for his strength and the Father for his grace.
I also want to thank my wife and kids for being patient with me as I became a better husband and father, my wife for constant encouragement and strength and my kids for their willingness to listen to daddy’s stories and theologies.
I also thank my close family; my grandmother for showing me what true faith is, my grandfather for always believing in me and encouraging me to shoot for the sky my two brothers one who always knew what to say at the right time and the other who always gave me an imagination to believe in the impossible. My aunts who constantly watch over my life gave me direction and the other whose faith has inspired me to become in love with God, my mother in law for her multitude of prayers and my brother in law for his wisdom friendship and true mentorship in Christ.
I also thank all the pastors and clergyman I have had the pleasure to serve and sit under, the one pastor in particular for the discipleship and prophetic word suggested to me; that I would do such a thing. And to the many many preachers who I have never had the pleasure to meet but have mentored me through the expository word of God over the years, Thank you and may the grace and peace of God stay with you all.
Introduction
What Is Reality?
Reality Check is a compilation of details of the reality we live in. It’s a replica of an Anderson Cooper segment on CNN called Keeping Them Honest.
The idea came to me when I was watching the presidential debate, and Anderson Cooper came on, checking the two candidates’ facts. CNN also used these fact checks a few other times, but it was most appealing to watch on that occasion. The Keeping Them Honest
report also performed a stimulus check revealing how the government was spending our money. The report carefully showed the American people what projects the money was funding. I thought it would be a good idea to put this strategy to the test in dealing with the world we live in. I wanted to combine the CNN approach with the slogan used by Fox News: Fair and Balanced.
When I did so, the title of Reality Check was born.
What is reality? It is the actual being or existence, as opposed to an imaginary or false nature. Reality is everything that does or could exist or happen in real life. In philosophy, it’s the totality of the real things in the world, independent of people’s knowledge or perception of them. In actuality, reality is real existence, or all that exists or happens. Be open to exploring this realm.
You can’t enjoy this book unless you understand the definition of reality. The simplicity of the definition shows that reality is actual being (living), as we are. To disregard something that could exist or happen in real life is to not live in reality. We are humans, we live in a world of good and evil, we die, and we go on to live somewhere else. There are things that science and other phenomena cannot explain. Not to explore them is a travesty. This book will curb your curiosity and refuel your interest in these realities of life.
If you’re a fan of science fiction, you’ll be shocked to know how much of this book and our lives consist of realities that we know only by various movies we watch. One of the reasons for this book is to point out the realities of the life that we live in. Seeing those realities through recent unbelievable sci-fi movies and worlds that bring imagination beyond our thoughts will make you stop next time you see those things and ask yourself if you can imagine the substance in some shape or form realized in the past, this current world, or the future world to come. The Star Wars series and the epic battles between good and evil in movies like X-Men, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings series, just to name a few, leave you wondering how people’s minds can come up with so much drama and be so narrative.
A few years ago, I started learning about the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation became more fascinating than anything I have ever encountered. Besides, I was actually in the story. As the pages unfolded, I started seeing what will be. I started remembering old cartoons and comic-book heroes. I realized that the book was unraveling like a sci-fi movie, and it captivated me.
Have you ever watched a movie in which the superhero was taunted as the real villain or just as much of a villain as the bad guys? Whether it was the Ninja Turtles, Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, or even the X-Men mutants, everyone got a bad rap. By reading this book, you will learn that our world is much like theirs—even the good guys (the angels and God himself) take the wrap and suffer ridicule by God’s own people. How exciting it would be to have superheroes in our world, saving all those people and looking at the supernatural events as they unfold. If you think about it, God himself has done that many times over. What about the Israelites who experienced their escape from captivity through the awesome hand of God? God performed supernatural acts through the ten plagues and, later, the Red Sea, the cloud by fire, the manna from heaven, and the wall of Jericho—and I could go on and on.
We will explore these supernatural events. We will dialogue conspiracy theories surrounding the realities of aliens, spiritual visitations, and the paranormal and other questions that have been on the rise. Perhaps as Christians, we have been putting this discussion off for too long. So-called educational TV shows are bombarding our culture, and as Christians, we have no explanations for these shows’ findings. Critics might say that the church has better things to talk about, such as the ABCs of Christianity or the message of hope and prosperity. The detractors say that the congregation isn’t ready to hear these things, but the same was true in Corinth in Paul’s day. First Corinthians 3:2 says, I fed you milk and not solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able.
Paul preached the Word and addressed whatever he needed to address in the church, including cultural issues. Both Christians and nonbelievers need to address these topics. During the studies of these topics, as I questioned nonbelievers, I was surprised to see how passionate they were about these topics. They thought of me as intelligent because I was able to have a conversation with them about these things. The people I talked to were regular middle-class folks, educated and uneducated. Consider this also: a 1997 Gallup poll conducted in September found that 45 percent of Americans think UFOs have visited Earth. Another Gallup poll said three out of four Americans profess at least one paranormal belief. A Time magazine poll showed that 80 percent of Americans believe the government is hiding the existence of extraterrestrial life-forms, and 54 percent believe intelligent life exists beyond Earth. If this isn’t enough reason to discuss these topics among Christians and non-Christians, I don’t know what is. If we have any concern for our teenagers, who will be questioned the most on these ever-increasing topics, we will seek God’s guidance with prayer and humbleness.
Strategies of Interpretation for Christians
We will explore the supernatural events of the Bible—past, present and future. We will not rationalize the Bible, as some have in the past; some even deny the miracles of Jesus in the Bible. Many people take the mythological approach, denying the grammatical, historical interpretations and miracles. These rationalistic viewpoints regard Jesus as a moral and ethical teacher and not the Savior of all mankind. These individuals call themselves Christians but believe what non-Christians believe.
While you read this book, I want you to know that God gives us the ability to believe in and conceive of science fiction and the nonfictional worlds we have produced through movies and cartoons. God is a supernatural God, and he works in the supernatural. This world and the world to come are supernatural.
What is supernatural? It is related to or attributed to phenomena that cannot be explained by natural laws. Sometimes it can be attributed to the occult or magic, supernatural beings, false deities, and ghosts. We often take these events for granted, believing that they can only happen in movies.
Every now and then, I used to hear from the prosperity preachers of this twenty-first century that God is a supernatural God, and I used to think, He is supernatural—however, not only for earthly needs but also for the futuristic life that he has in store for us. Preachers often make fantastic points about the gifts and promises of God, creating euphoria for the Christian believer. Assuring them they can create wealth and live healthy, free lives on this earth, they often claim, The first step to spiritual maturity is to realize your position in Christ.
The Bible says we are joint heirs and sons of God. These preachers say that you are at liberty to enjoy all the rights and privileges in the kingdom of God here on this earth. But why are Christians still getting sick? Many of these same preachers say sickness results from our lack of faith. But I don’t believe that’s the reason—I believe that some of the riches we want to claim for this earth are only available for the next world we enter. They’re only available in our new walk with Christ, when we leave this present body and are welcomed into heaven.
I also believe we should take the Bible more literally than we suppose. Bible professor Roy Zuck says we should interpret the Bible using a literal method that approaches Scripture in the normal, customary way we talk, write, and think. He means we need to take Scripture at face value in an attempt to know what God meant.
More and more preachers are teaching the realities of the past, the present, and the futuristic world to come. I thank them for that because without them, this book would not be possible. By doing this examination, believers are inevitably hopeful and have something to look forward to, as did our fellow brothers and sisters before us who, because of these hopes, endured Roman persecution and American Southern slavery. Now, I don’t want any of the critics to misunderstand my statement. Being with Jesus is the ultimate hope and reward. It’s what we all should look forward to. But I don’t imagine that God would get upset if we have a meaningful discussion about our future bodies, the possible past world, the present unseen world, and things to come. These are all reality checks we will explore.
I want to keep the research on what I have found to be most interesting as simple as possible. I want it to be in plain English. I believe most people are not into the philosophical speaking evidenced by the Greeks. Such language started in early church history, because Greek philosophers trained and educated most individuals back then. Many thought of learning philosophy as a first-rate, high-quality education. At the time, I guess it would have served as the best means of education. However, it got in the way of interpretations of the Bible.
The early church fathers tried to mix Greek philosophy with the Bible; therefore, they interpreted it much like a Greek-mythology novel. They ignored the literal and believed more in the allegorical. To use everyday words, an allegory means a work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning. Many writers in the past opposed the allegorical and spiritual interpretations, calling them monkey games, awkward, absurd, loose rages, fantasy unlimited, or frivolous games. Allegories swept into the Catholic faith and, still to this day, place the tradition of the church above the Bible. I do love my Catholic brethren and I stand firm in the believe that Protestants, Evangelicals and Catholics are the only sect that can be call brothers because they all stand firm on the death, burial, resurrection, virgin birth and the importance of the God head Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ( aka the Trinity). Because of their apologetic works on doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit and the Son we can’t help but appreciate the contributions of the Catholic brethren.
In the Counter Reformation, a council set up by the Catholic Church to respond to the Protestant Reformation convened at the Council of Trent. They concluded that the Bible was not the supreme authority but that the truth was in the written books and in the unwritten traditions, and they felt that applicable interpretation was only possible by the Roman Catholic Church, the giver and protector of the Bible.
Why did they do such a thing? They believed in the rational (logic or scientific knowledge) instead of a supernatural God. They also wanted the common people to depend on the Catholic Church. For the very purpose of interpreting scripture as it should be understood is why, in the fourteenth century, Martin Luther broke away from the Church, marking the beginning of Church reformation. Martin Luther had read the words of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), one of the most famous theologians of the Roman Catholic Church, who said that the literal meaning of the Scripture is basic,
and he built his thesis where Thomas Aquinas left off. According to his work Exposition of the 37th Psalm, Martin Luther believed every devout Christian could understand the Bible. He believed that there was not a book in the world more simply, plainly, and clearly written than the Bible.
Let’s go back to Roy Zuck, who asks a daunting question: Must a person be educated in a Bible college or seminary to be able to interpret the Bible properly? No, the meanings of the pages of Scripture are not limited to a few. Just for reference, Billy Graham didn’t finish Bible school; he was a dropout who changed the world. D. L. Moody, David Wilkerson, and even the prophet Amos in the eighth century, who came from the fields, were not from any seminary. Martin Luther believed that if the Holy Spirit illumined a person, then it was possible for anyone to understand the Bible. To put all this in perspective, a person who comes humbly before God with a pure heart regenerated by the washing away of his sins in harmony with the Holy Spirit who guides us in all truth can interpret Scripture. Under this condition, anyone can display the willingness to search the essentials—Bible background, Bible history, and theology—with sensible reasoning and good judgment and without any preconceived notions. We are capable of understanding the Bible.
I intend for this book to reach those who want to know the Bible in a supernatural way. I developed the opinions and research in this book by the methods and fundamentals I described earlier. If a person who doesn’t know Christ comes to the knowledge of Christ with an interest sparked by his desire for the future and seeks that for himself, he can get to know Christ in a whole new light, which is easy to do, according to our previous discussions. The Holy Spirit births us with passion and desires to seek certain things. He gives us each gifts to prophecy, teach, and evangelize. What is your gift? In today’s world, the supernatural is all around us; kids don’t hunt or fish with their fathers, as they used to. They are more into playing video games together; with the spark and interest of video games, kids are more in tune to the science-fiction world. They are more open to believe what we can’t. A lot of our parents watched western cowboy shows growing up, so they could not pass anything on to others; we weren’t attentive to such things. But now, with advanced technology, we should be open to accepting some of the possible events of the past and the future. Kids are naive not only about fantasy worlds but also about the occult world. With the advertisement of the world’s version of a curse, I believe we should begin to have dialogue first. I believe this book will present a good formal discussion with kids and adults who like to wonder about the supernatural.
I am appreciative of C. S. Lewis, who was an atheist who studied Greek mythology, vain philosophy, and other things that directed him on a quest of futile effect. He later found truth and discovered the true God Almighty. He took that passion and used it to reach millions. We will talk about what he did later.
I am not C. S. Lewis, but if my interest in the spiritual body and futuristic world can inspire another C. S. Lewis for the twenty-first century and lead a young boy or girl