One Couple's Testimony:

An Open Letter to Family and Friends

From Gene and Lora Edwards

A friendly "Hello" to all! We have a matter that we've given serious consideration over a period of time, and we want to share our thoughts and conclusions with you. We would hope that you examine the facts with a clear mind, free from pre-conceived ideas or bias. We sincerely hope that you would check out the facts and resources that we quote for yourself.

WINNERS VERSUS LOSERS

Let's begin with the premise that we all want to be successful, we all want to be winners. We know few people who start any activity with the desire to lose or to fail. Lets' suppose you are a golfer. Do you play to do poorly or to lose? You might do so in order to impress your boss by allowing him to win, for example. But otherwise folks normally participate in activities in order to be successful, to win. Now we've heard the argument that we should not try to win but to cooperate with each other: that these two are always mutually exclusive, and that winning is not a reality based goal.

We'll deal with the first argument that cooperation and success are always mutually exclusive. This is easy to disprove in JuJitsu, because the only way one can progress in Danzan Ryu is to help less skilled and knowledgeable students to progress and improve. But there are times in JuJitsu competition when there can only be one winner. But even the loser of the match can learn from the experience, and next time can be the winner. As to the argument that winning is not natural, or reality based, this is nonsense. When an employer has an job opening, and 100 people apply, only one will get the job. Thus this is very much a reality based concept.

THE CHOICES

So we believe that we can all agree that most of us want to be winners, most of the time (excluding exceptional circumstances). So we put the question "How would you like to live forever in infinite joy and happiness, with ever new challenges and experiences?" What if your only alternative was to live forever in eternal torment and pain? Given only these two choices, which would you choose? Any rational person would choose joy and happiness! Which choice would be that of a winner, and which, the loser? What if everyone had the opportunity to be a winner?!!!

What we're discussing of course are the only two options revealed in the Bible. According to the Bible, if you acknowledge before God that you have sinned, truly asking God for forgiveness, admitting that Jesus Christ is The Son of God, that He died for your sins, and asking that He send the Holy Spirit to change you so that you will do His Will, THEN AND ONLY THEN can you receive the gift of eternal life with the Lord.... This is what Seishiro Okazaki, JuJitsu Master, believed when He became a Christian. This is what Bud Estes, JuJitsu Master, believed as a Christian.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible is the most widely published book in the world, year, after year, after year?: NOT the Tao Te Ching!, NOT the I Ching!, NOT the Koran!, NOT the Mahabharata!, etc. ??? ...Well you say, "I don't believe in God, I don't believe in Jesus Christ, and I don't believe in the Bible. Why should I? What proof is there that the Bible is the Word of God? And maybe Jesus did exist, but he was just a prophet or a good man, but not the Son of God!"

JESUS: A GOOD MAN?

Let's deal with the last statement first. Either Jesus is who He said he was, or He is a liar and a fraud. And who did Jesus finally acknowledge that He really was?: NOT a good man, and NOT a prophet, but the Everlasting Son of God. Thus if Jesus is not the Son of God, then He is a liar and fraud: definitely NOT a prophet or a good man! So then you ask, what proof is there that Jesus is the Son of God? How do I know what I read in the Bible is the Word of God?

What great questions! And the answers are going to astound you, because the proof is so overwhelming that once you have examined it for yourself, you will have no other alternative than to acknowledge now and forever that Jesus Christ is the only Son of the Living God. Listen, read and examine everything that we say very carefully and check the sources and facts for yourself. The conclusion that you reach WILL affect your life into eternity!

THE HISTORICAL RECORD

Lets look at the historical record. Many of the Bible's detractors have claimed that it is historically incorrect. However just the opposite is true. In every instance where questioned on historical veracity, evidence from archeology, and secular historians of the age have validated the historical truth of the Bible. Let me give you one example: Many scholars, including many teachers at Christian theological seminaries in the last 30 or so years have denied the existence of King David and the account of him in the Bible. In 1993 archeologists digging at Tel Dan in Gallilee in North Israel, found 9th century BC stone tablets referring to the "house of David" and David as the "King of Israel". Now all of these so called scholars and experts are eating "crow". Friends, this is one of literally hundreds of recent substantiated archeological finds that prove the Bible is absolutely accurate. Conversely, there is not one shred of archeological evidence that contradicts the Bible to our knowledge. ...There just isn't enough space in this letter to list all the new findings, but we will put a couple of books in a bibliography at the end of this for your further reference. Check it out for yourself, please!

THE PROPHETIC RECORD

What about prophecy? The Bible is approximately 30% prophecy. Based on historical accounts, both secular and religious, most of the Bible prophecies have come to pass. The only ones that have not yet occured are those pertaining to the "end times". What about Jesus? There are over 330 separate prophecies regarding Jesus Christ, Yeshua, or the Messiah in the Bible. Many of these are in Old Testament writings that date back to 1000 BC or further. Let's just take one of these to begin with: the prediction that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem from the tribe of Judah (Micah 5:2) . There were well over 2000 villages and towns that had descendants of the tribe of Judah in the first century. The figure agreed upon was 2400 although this is still probably too low. Thus the odds that He would be born in Bethlehem AND from the tribe of Judah are conservatively 2400 to 1. Using this same logic on other Old Testament predictions: He would be preceded by a messenger (Isaiah 40:3), He would enter Jerusalem on a colt (Zech. 9:9), He would be betrayed by a friend (Ps. 41:9), His hands and feet would be pierced (Ps 22:16), He would be wounded by his enemies (Isaiah 53:5), He is betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12), He will be spit upon and beaten (Isaiah 50:6), The betrayal money would be thrown in the temple and then used to buy a potter's field (Zech. 11:13), He would be silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7), He would be crucified with thieves (Isaiah 52:12), People would gamble for his garments (Ps 22:18), His side would be pierced (Zech. 12:10), None of his bones would be broken (Ps 34:20), His body would not decay (Ps 16:10), Burial in a rich man's tomb (Isaiah 53:9), Darkness covering the earth (Amos 8:9). Just these 17 predictions alone according to the laws of statistics place the probability against these 17 occurring by chance at:

480,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 to One

or 1 chance in 480 Billion X 1 Billion X 1 Trillion.

THE ODDS

How would you like to get into a bet with someone with those odds in your favor, like on your favorite football team winning a particular game, or your probability of not sinking a particular golf shot from the edge of the cup? Of course you would NEVER get odds like these. Remember these odds are based on only 17 prophecies and there are over 330!!! I don't know if you are a betting person, but I would NEVER bet my life against these odds!!! It would be insane! One mathematician calculated the odds against ONLY 40 of these predictions coming true and that number was 1 X 10 to the 157th power. This is a number so vast that the human mind cannot comprehend it! If you are betting against Jesus, you are betting against these odds! In many scientific circles, odds of 1 in 20 are considered solid evidence!!!

INCREASED KNOWLEDGE

Over 2500 years ago, the prophet Daniel was told by the Archangel that at the end times knowledge would increase. Well let's examine this in light of the historical record. Let's compare the ways things were about 5000 years ago with how they were approximately 150 years ago. If you wanted to go somewhere you rode on a horse, in a buggy (chariot), on a sailing vessel, or you walked. You wore clothes that were made from wool, hides, cotton, or if you were lucky, silk. You cooked on a wood stove, or if wood was scarce you used dung. If you had appendicitis, someone chanted over you or drew blood from your veins. How have things changed in just the last 150 years? This will really surprise you when you look at the inventions and discoveries of the last 150 years: steam turbine, rayon, radio, atomic numbers, nylon, rocket engine, radar, TV, transistor, computer, penicillin, DNA, cloning, disc cultivator, airplane, gas engine, telephone, typewriter, auto, aspirin, AC motor, atomic bomb, moon walk, genetic engineering, organ transplants and other incredible surgical advances, etc. etc. We are literally experiencing an explosion of knowledge! According to the experts, we double our knowledge every 24 months now!!! God's Word was right again!

NEW KNOWLEDGE EXPLAINS PROPHECY

This knowledge is not limited to devices, drugs, etc. It also pertains to knowledge of the Bible. Just over 50 years ago folks reading Zechariah 14:12 could not imagine what he was describing. Yet we see this now as the result of a nuclear blast; "Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths..." Only now do many of the Bible passages make sense, in terms of modern technology. For example the scripture "I will praise you everywhere around the world, in every nation, for your loving kindness is great beyond measure, high as the heavens." (Ps. 108:3-4) How could this come true, except through satellite technology, the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus, is being transmitted "everywhere around the world, in every nation" ..."high as the heavens". There are other places satellite technology is predicted in the Bible as a source for spreading the good news! And of course thousands of new discoveries in archeology are now validating the Bible as never before.

NO OTHER RELIGIOUS BOOK

Are you aware that no other religious text in the world has the exact prophecies as found in the Bible. In fact most of them have no prophecy at all, and the few references to future events were either so vague as to be meaningless, or they never happened at all! Prof. Estes repeatedly warned us away from other religions. He said we had a more sure source of knowledge in the Bible.

ISRAEL IS RE-ESTABLISHED

How about April 14, 1948, the exact date of the re-establishment of the state of Israel? This was predicted to the day 600 years BC by the prophet Ezekiel (Ez. 4:3-6) and modified by Leviticus 26:18, 21, 23-24, 27-28) [Refer to Armageddon: Appointment with Destiny, by Grant Jeffrey pp.38-41]. Not only did God restore Israel on the exact day he told his prophet almost 2600 years ago, but he restored their ancient language to them as predicted too (Zephaniah 3:9). ... This is important to know: Never in the history of the world has a nation been destroyed, its people killed, disbursed, and enslaved for 2000 years- never has that nation had its language restored to it again. Yet God said He would do this and restore them to their land and He did 2600 years later, ON THE EXACT DATE PREDICTED, May 14, 1948! Isaiah confirmed the restoration to the land in Isaiah 43:6 (almost 3000 years earlier). ...Other predictions made many hundreds of years before Christ in the Bible pinpointed the EXACT DATE he was crucified! Only the revealed Word of God could do this!!!

BIBLE TEXT HIDDEN IN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE

Speaking of languages, how is it possible that the earliest Chinese ideographs (picture words) tell the entire story of Genesis, up to the time of the dispersion at the tower of Babel? There are several books out on this. One of the older ones is " The Discovery of Genesis: How the Truths of Genesis were found Hidden in the Chinese Language", by C.H. Kang and Ethel R. Nelson, 1979). For example the "picture word" for happiness is "the first person in the garden with God". What a strange way to describe happiness... unless they had read or knew of the story of Genesis!

A DOCTOR'S MIRACLE RESURECTION FROM THE DEAD

How about death experiences? The one we especially like was Dr. Richard Eby ( Did You Read My Book?, and Caught Up Into Paradise, 1978). He fell off a balcony in 1972 landing on his head. He died instantly! His brain was turned to "jelly" and he lay over night as a bloodless corpse in a room in the hospital before his body was rediscovered. What was significant about his case was that it is impossible for our surgeons to restore a mangled brain, or return life to a bloodless corpse. His restoration to life was an incredible miracle! The good doctor explained that he had led all his life as a Christian, and at death he was immediately in heaven. Jesus approached him and after a lengthy conversation, with the Doctor asking most of the questions, Jesus gave him three directives. Jesus told him that he was restoring him to his body and that he must tell everyone that (1) Jesus is real, (2) hell is a real place, and (3) heaven is a real place. But the most astounding thing that Jesus told Dr. Eby was that he would not die again. Jesus promised that he would take him ("rapture" him just like Moses and Enoch) next time without bodily death. Well Dr. Eby was about 55 when his first "death" occured, and this would put him in his 80's now. If there is to be a general rapture of the "church" (believers), it should happen soon! Could this be a hint to us?

HELL IS A REAL PLACE

Regarding other near death experiences, Maurice Rawlings, M.D., a heart specialist, in his book To Hell and Back: Life After Death - Startling New Evidence, 1993, gives a reasoned and balanced presentation of the subject. So many others paint only a rosy picture of the near-death experience, but their methodology was flawed. You see if you don't interview someone who has a "bad" experience within a few hours, they will immediately suppress it, claiming no experience. The reason is that the experience is so hideous, so awful, that the human mind cannot continue to allow it to come to consciousness. Dr. Rawlings, on the other hand, interviewed people within hours of their near-death experiences, and heard many frightening tales. These people spoke of demons tormenting them, their bodies burning in flames, yet they are not consumed, just continually tortured by the unending pain. He researched the historical record and found many famous non-believers on their death beds crying out in terror as they faced hell. Voltaire was one, and there have been many others (Sir Francis Newport, Napoleon Bonaparte, etc). It is a frightening account for those who have rejected Jesus Christ. Some were at first deluded by a beautiful being of light (Lucifer = "lucis ferre" = light bearer) only to be led into a pit of flames a few moments later. All non-believers should definitely read this book to get a glimpse of their future!!!

HIDDEN BIBLE CODES

What about the hidden Bible codes? Recently equidistant letter sequence codes, similar to those used previously by military cryptographers, were found ONLY within the PROPHETIC Bible texts. What was found there is utterly astounding and amazing. For example within the prophetic text of Isaiah 53: 10, which discusses the coming Messiah, (look this up and read this verse yourself) are encoded the words "Yeshua Shmi", which translates as "Jesus is My Name". The odds calculated by the scientists for this occurring by chance in this brief verse are ONE IN FIFTY QUADRILLION! Thus God revealed the Name of His Son, the Name of the Messiah, secretly in this text for us to find almost 3000 years later! This and many other prophetic events have been found encrypted in the Bible. Of course the scientists tried to duplicate the feat by encoding an equal amount of information in the same amount of surface text, using every language. They could not do it! Even using supercomputers! Their conclusion was illuminating: "only a supernatural intelligence, far beyond our human capacity, could have produced the pattern of secretly coded words found in the Bible." The reader is invited to look in the Statistical Science Journal for the work of the following great scientists on this subject: Professor Harold Gans, Professor Kazhdan of Harvard, Professor Doran Witzumn of Jerusalem College of Technology, etc. Just in case you think that these codes could appear by chance in any manuscript of equal length, they tested this with Tolstoy's War and Peace, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Hebrew apocryphal books (written 400 years before Christ), and many others. They found nothing in these other texts! Furthermore, changing even one letter or word in the text will destroy the code, so this is evidence that the Bible is absolutely accurate, every "jot and title".

NEW DISCOVERIES VALIDATE BIBLE

To give you an example, Christian "scholars" in many theological seminaries have been teaching that the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, because it has so many prophecies that have come true related to Jesus, must have been written after the death of Jesus. They have been claiming for about 30 years that Jesus' disciples wrote this book to prove their Messiah. Up until a few years ago we could not disprove this because the oldest copy of Isaiah we had was written about 300 A.D. BUT just a few years ago in a cave in Qumran, another vase was found. When the vase was opened, a complete text of Isaiah was found inside. The scientists at Hebrew University dated it and found it was written about 800 years B.C. Furthermore when they compared it to our current text, not one word, not one letter was changed or out of place. This is a miracle in itself. It also preserved the hidden codes.

APOSTACY IN THE CHURCHES

The Bible warns that at the end there would come many imposters, and there would be a general turning away from the word of God. How apparent this is now. We've had the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Jim Jones, David Koresh, and many others claiming to be Christ. Numerous mainline churches teach that the Bible is not correct, ordaining homosexuals as priests and pastors, and calling for acceptance of other Gods (Gaia- "mother earth"). Yet the Bible teaches that these are all abominations: that the word of God is inerrant (it is the people interpreting it who err, and these are many), homosexuality is an abomination, and we are told to "have no other gods before Him". Truly the word of God is again prophetic. We are rapidly approaching the times of the great tribulation according to the Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Jerimiah, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Matthew, Revelation, and others.

LET'S READ

We apologize for the poor job we have done in presenting this brief outline of evidence to you. There is so much more out there: like the data from the subatomic particle physicists and astrophysicists related to the existence of God outside the 10 known dimensions of the universe. But time and space are limited in this dimension, so we will refer you to some of the better resources on subjects already covered. In addition to the books already mentioned, we would recommend Armageddon: Appointment with Destiny, The Signature of God, and The Handwriting of God, all by Grant Jeffrey. There are many fine books on the end times based upon the Bible. If you haven't read any Hal Lindsay, then you should get his book Planet Earth- 2000 A.D., 1994. An excellent book for those who still have doubts is by Peter and Paul LaLonde, 301 Startling Proofs and Prophecies: Proving that God Exists, (1996). If you've ever wondered what's behind all the flying saucers and alien encounters (now being discussed seriously by top scientists) you should read Alien Encounters: The Secret Behind the UFO Phenomenon by Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman. Chuck is a U.S. Government and Industry intelligence analyst with over 30 years of experience in the field. His well researched and documented book is captivating (read 1 Chronicles 20:6 for a hint to the mystery).

CHECK IT OUT AND PROVE US WRONG

Well friend, as we said in the beginning of this tome, if you want to be a winner, and you are clear of mind, there is only one choice. You'll have to put your money so to speak on the odds. And the odds are overwhelmingly on Jesus Christ. There is absolutely no evidence of prophecy, in hidden codes, or anywhere else justifying any other path. Now you can say, "I don't believe in the law of gravity.", and jump out of an airplane from 5000 feet without a parachute. But anyone will tell you that this is dumb! Why buck the proof, the evidence? ... Unfortunately the Bible says that many will, because we are hardhearted. Looked upon logically, this is just plain stupid. ... But if you still have doubts after all that we have presented, promise us one thing. Promise that you will read each of the books we've cited in this letter. That may take some time, but look at what you have to lose! If we're right, you gain eternity, and if we're wrong you've lost a couple of evenings reading. On the other hand, most of these books are really fun to read! ...We really hope to see you at the wedding party of the Lamb! If anyone knows how to throw a party, it is God!!! Nothing but the best music (out of this world), great dancing (no one ever gets tired), and the very best wine ( and no one gets drunk)! Please be there!!!

May God Bless You!

OTHER RESOURCES

P. S.There are many other excellent books and resources available regarding the latest insights regarding the Bible and Bible prophecy. For example John Hagee has written an excellent commentary around the Revised King James in his new Prophecy Study Bible, 1997. A couple of his other books are very good too: Beginning of the End, 1996; and Final Dawn over Jerusalem, 1998. Zola Levitt, a messianic Jew, has written several fine booklets explaining Judaism in relation to the final days: Seven Churches, 1980; The Seven Feasts of Israel, 1979; A Christian Love Story, 1978; In My Father's House, 1981. Another book edited by William James has selections from several top Bible scholars: Grant Jeffrey, Chuck Missler, Dave Breese, Zola Levitt, and John Walvoord: Foreshocks of Antichrist, 1997. Another great Bible scholar is Dr. Jack VanImpe who has written several excellent texts such as Revelation Revealed, 1982. All of the authors of the books I've recommended are literal Bible believers. There is good reason for this: because the Bible says it is literally accurate, and because archeology, science, and history have proven this correct. Do not refer to sources of those who are not literal Bible believers. They will mislead you! Prof. Bud Estes said so!

A REMINDER

Also remember, religion, religious denomination, etc. have nothing to do with the truth of the Bible. Religions were created by men to organize and control folks. Many of them introduced their own doctrines and ideas that are not supported by the Bible or the scientific and historical record. Do not be mislead by them. Put your faith in the Bible. For example, there is absolutely no evidence in the Bible that believers are going to be segregated, organized, or recognized in any way, shape, or form when taken into heaven: for example "Baptists over here, Catholics over there, Methodists by the creek, etc." Thus when you select a church to attend, pick one that literally interprets the Bible. We should warn you that not all the truths revealed in the Bible are fully understood yet. The ONLY man we knew who understood and could explain them all, was Bud Estes.