The Bible and Life

[1] Seymour, William Joseph. The Azusa Street Newsletter. Published by the Apostolic Faith Mission in Los Angeles, California from 1906-1908.

Sunday, May 21, 2023

The "Rat" in the attic

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

The “Rat” in the attic

I have been a hospice volunteer for a few years now. Off and on I have heard a reference from the nurses about a rat in the attic. That was always the reason why they would never go up there. If they needed anything to be put up there or taken down, they would call the maintenance manager. The maintenance manager was a little Vietnamese man of the age of about seventy.

That particular evening, one of the nurses mentioned about putting something in the attic. I was not very busy, so I informed them that I could take it up there. They quickly told me that the maintenance manager would do it tomorrow. Again I overheard them referring to the rat in the attic.

I got a little curious, plus a little stupid, and I have never been up there before, so I decided to walk up there just to have a look around. After a little while, when the nurses got busy and were not looking for me, I sneaked up the stairway.

I got up the stairs, opened the door, and slipped inside. Just as soon as the door closed behind me I felt troubled. I had the flashlight on my cell phone on and it illuminated the attic fairly well. But it was a large attic and the back of it was still dark.

I looked around with the flashlight. The attic was mostly empty, with just some things along the walls close to the door. As I was slowly feeling more nervous, I think that the maintenance man was smarter than I thought.

I slowly started to leave the door area and started to walk towards the middle. Then the more I walked the worse I felt. I have a feeling of cold dread! The further that I left the door, the more intense the feeling of dread that I felt!

I quickly concluded that there was not a rat up here but an evil presence of some kind! That’s when I got really frightened! But I decided to sally forth into the evil void! My stupidity is sometimes shocking.

After a little pause to build up my nerve, I started walking again towards the middle of the attic again. I walked slow and steady repeating out loud, “In the Name of Jesus!” That helped out a little, but not much.

When I got to the middle, I was surrounded by the light of my little flashlight. The feeling of evil dread was now overwhelming! I could now sense that the evil presence was located at the far end of the attic in the left corner. I don’t know how I could sense this, but I could. Maybe it’s a spiritual gift.

The feeling of dread was now so intense that I couldn’t walk any further. I was standing in the middle of the attic frozen like a statue. I couldn’t move! The evil presence was there, and it seemed like it was staring at me! I could sense that it didn’t want me up there. It didn’t want anyone up there!

I then heard a voice in my head saying, “What are you doing up here?” and “You shouldn’t be up here!” This was the voice of God speaking to me. Certainly words of wisdom!

I slowly started to back up. I didn’t want to turn my back on that evil presence, that demon. I slowly walked backwards. I eventually got to the door to the stairway. When I got to about five feet away I made a run for it. Opened the door and ran down to the second floor. I now felt safe!

I spent a few minutes leaning against the wall, sweating, and trying to learn this important life lesson. The nurses knew all about this evil demon in the attic. They referred to it as a “rat’ so that the hospice patients and family members would not overhear and become frightened.

I had learned some of the wisdom of our hospice nurses and how they communicated things. I was learning some of those lessons the hard way.[1]

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

[1] My own personal experience.

Friday, May 19, 2023

Visions of Jesus

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

This was first published in 1906 in the paper, Household of God, by Thomas Junk. It was reprinted on the same year by the Apostolic Faith Mission Newsletter.

While Brother G.W. Evans was with us in Oakland, California, exhorting the people to come to Christ, we observe he was speaking i verse with great earnestness, in which the great blessing of salvation and happiness and eternal life were held out to all who would come to Christ and obey Him.

After speaking in this manner for probably five minutes he fell backward to the floor, and remained in an unconscious state for probably ten minutes; and then arose. After meeting a woman in the congregation went to him and requested a copy of the poetry he had spoken, and found he was oblivious to the fact that he had repeated a number of verses.

Later I talked to him about this experience, and he stated that he had never committed any such verses to memory and knew nothing of having repeated them in the meeting.

He then told me that while he was speaking the whole rear end of the Hall became filled with faces of angelic beings from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall. A literal bank of beautiful faces, with Jesus in the center, and all faces turned towards Him. He says he recognized Peter and James and John, also John Wesley.

During his gaze at this Heavenly host he spoke unconsciously the invitations and exhortations to all to come and receive the rich blessings offered. He knew nothing of his fall, but returned to consciousness to find himself on the floor. The same thing occurred again, about ten days later in the meeting, with this difference he did not recognize any of the faces, except Jesus, standing in the center.

At both times, he says, there were waves of spiritual power and glory coming from Jesus all over him. I believe everyone in the house felt the Divine power present, and the altar was instantly crowded with penitents.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Down The Hallway

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Down the hallway

By this time in my young life, the late teenage years, after several years of supernatural experiences, I developed a sense of the presence of spirits. What does this mean you might ask? This means that I could “feel” a spirit that was in the building, but not in the same room that I was currently in!

I will give you an example. I was awakened late at night, from myself, or by “something” I cannot tell you. But I was startled awake, and laid in bed for a few minutes. I then “felt” something moving just outside my bedroom in the hallway. This “feeling” that I felt was something in the spiritual dimension. It was not emotional or physical, but a spiritual “feeling.”

While lying in bed I could feel something in the hallway, on the other side of a wall and a closed door. This was a spirit, but not just a spirit, it was an evil spirit. I knew that it was an evil spirit because I could feel a cold evil “feeling” coming from it. I understand that is an inadequate way to explain it, but that’s the best I can do.

I sensed that it was walking from one end of the hallway down to the other end. I could, in a spiritual way, know its exact location and its movements. Whether this understanding came from me or “something” else, I did not know. This evil entity then turned around and walked back, paused at my closed door, then walked through the closed door, and into my room!

It just stood there, in front of my bedroom door and stared at me. This demon then threw a net of fear on top of me! Yes, I saw it as a spiritual net. It seemed like an eternity! I lay there paralyzed with fear! I was unable to move or even speak!

After a few minutes (it seemed like hours), this spirit turned away and walked back through the closed door and continued to walk through the outer wall of the house. It was gone! Then the net of fear left me. I lay there in bed covered in sweat! I wasn’t hot, but I was sweating with fear!

I laid there trying to figure what had just happened to me. At first I thought that it was a ghost. Then, when it had thrown a “net” of fear, I decided that could have only been a demon. So my best guess was that it was a demonic entity.[1]

William James Roop

[1] My own personal experience.

Monday, May 15, 2023

Sanctification and Power

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

This was first published in 1906 in the paper, Household of God, by Thomas Junk. It was reprinted on the same year by the Apostolic Faith Mission Newsletter.

Have you accepted Jesus?

Will you accept Him?

Have you accepted Him as your sanctifier?

In John 17:15-17, Jesus prayed, "I pray not thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy faith, thy word is truth.... And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they might also be sanctified through the truth."

Also in 1 Thess. 1:4, "This is the will of God even your sanctification."

Bless His dear name. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in unto him and sup with him and He with us." Praises to our God. Hosanna to His omnipotent name!

If we are sanctified and have clean hearts, living pure, holy lives and having perfect love for our souls, O, let us receive the Baptism with the Holy Ghost, the promise of the Father, that we may be able to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. For Jesus gave this great commission in His resurrection power, after He rose from the dead.

"Go, ye, into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world."

O, dear loved ones, we must preach and teach and practice all that Jesus has commissioned us. If we have not received all of the fullness of our blessed Christ, let us continue till we shall be filled with all the fullness of God. Let us press forward to the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. O dear loved ones, this means the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire upon our souls.

It is heaven in our souls here. O, let us get down before God and humble ourselves until we can hear Him speak. He desires to speak with His people today as He did in the early morning of the church. The Holy Ghost wants to speak to the people.

We praise God for the instruments He has raised up to bring to us light, but far above all, we admire the great Teacher of teachers that never makes a mistake, that loved us even to the throbs of death when He hung on Calvary from the sixth until the ninth hour and there was darkness over the face of the earth, proving to a lost and benighted world that He was the Son of God.

Infidels were compelled to confess that this was the Son of God, for they heard His words on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." His great desire on the cross was for the salvation of souls.

Dear ones, have we got that burning passion for souls of the lost? When we are persecuted and tried for the word of God, can we say in our hearts, Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do? This is what it means to have the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, faith such as Stephen had when he was being stoned to death. He could look up into heaven and see Jesus at the right hand of God. It seems that he could not feel the stoning he was so wrapped up in Jesus. There was a smile on his face like an angel when he fell asleep in Jesus.

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Lake of Molten Lead

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Lake of Molten Lead

This same man, who had never seen a vision before, was retiring for the night in a hotel. After having prayed, he was sitting on his bed when he saw the floor open at his feet, revealing a lake like molten lead, with living creatures plunging and moving in it, and men continually falling in.

Above his head, seemingly up in the air, there seemed to be something like a very large bird cage, full of people, and as he gazed he occasionally saw a person descending from the earth and joining the company in the lake of molten lead![1]

William James Roop, M.A.B.S.

[1] Seymour, William Joseph. The Azusa Street Newsletter. Published by the Apostolic Faith Mission in Los Angeles, California from 1906-1908.

Spirit Walking In The Room

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

Walking in the room

This was my first known experience with a demonic entity. I was lying in bed late at night. I had been sleeping just fine until I woke up suddenly. I was laying there quietly and just thinking. Then I just had this weird, cold feeling starting to come over me. I could not understand what was going on.

I then felt some cold, evil entity come through my bedroom wall, the one by the closet and facing the bed. I could not see anything in front of me, the room was completely empty. But there was “something there!” I could not see it, but it was there! I became very terrified!

The fear made the seconds pass into hours. I started to sweat profusely! I could “feel” this invisible entity walk around my bed, and stand next to me, just staring down at me! How did I know this without seeing anything? I felt it spiritually, with spiritual eyes. I didn’t understand it at the time, I just knew it.

There we were just staring at each other. I was lying in bed shaking and sweating. The demon is standing next to the bed staring down at me. Then I spiritually felt a net of fear being thrown on top of me by this demon. Then I understood what fear really was!

This evil, spiritual net caused me to become so fearful that I was physically paralyzed! I had been sweating before, but now I was quickly becoming drenched in sweat! This was a whole new level of fear! As I was lying there trembling, this evil thing started to laugh at me. It turned away and walked out through the closed door to my right.

When the demon left the house then the cloak of fear had left me as well. I lay there sweating and trying to recover. After about an hour later, I dozed back off to sleep. I slept out of physical exhaustion due to the trauma of the event. The demonic event took a lot out of me and made me physically and emotionally exhausted!

Unfortunately, this was the beginning of several demonic or ghostly events that would happen to me in this bedroom as a teenager. These kind of event happen mostly at night because everything is quiet and there are no other distractions. Spirits can be noticed more if we don’t have the distractions of life filling our senses. [1]

William James Roop