Beginning Tomorrow Today - By Timothy Sherman

By Timothy J. Sherman

Foreword by Dr. Brian Simmons The Passion Translation Bible Project

Published by Eagles Nest Publishing Int. Made in the USA

Copyright© 2016 by Eagle's Nest International Cover d esign: David A. Stoddard - mediarevelation.com Photography: Jean-Claude Berens

Timothy Sherman Ministries 212 W Ironwood Dr. Suite D P.O. Box 426 Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 (208) 471-8113

Printed By BT Johnson Printing And Publishing BTJohnsonPrintingAndPublishing.com

ISBN: 978-1-952645-49-5 Printed in the United States

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The New King James Version. Copyright ©1982, by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc. Used by permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, withou t the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non - commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests or to order copi e s, please use the contact information below.

b B th e y c h d a t s r d a . t n r salnast el adt ehdi mt h: afto rheb esfhoorue l dh i sn ot rt asnees l adtei oa nt h h; ea nhda dwat hs i sn ot et sftoi mu nodn, y , Hebrews 11:5 (KJV) Ft oa iet xhplei rf ti ee nd c eE ndoe ac thh ;f rhoemj utshti sd il si faep pa ne adr ehde wf r aosmt atkhei sn wu po r il nd t bo ehc ae ua vs ee nG! oHde pnreovme ro theadd him. For before he was translated to the heavenly realm his life had become a pleasure to God. Hebrews 11:5 (The Passion Translation) h a G w d o a c t a f a u h i s e t e h p G E le o n a d o se

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Contents

Dedications: .............................................................................................. 7 Acknowledgements: .............................................................. .. ................... 9 Foreword by Dr Brian Simmons: .......................................... . ................... 1 1 Introduction: Time is Not Set in Stone: .............................. . ................... .1 5 1. Translated in Time and Distance: ..................................... . .................... 1 7 2.Three Seasons is like Three Days in the Belly of a Great Fish: ............ ... 35 3. Russian Translation, The Book of Acts Revisited: ............................. .. .. 49 4. Interrogation and Assassination: ................................................ .. ......... 75 5. A Recent Translation: .............. ..... ....... ..... ......................................... ....89 6. The Future: ................................................................................. ... ........ 101

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Dedications

With great gratitude I dedicate this book to my children, Doug, Jessica, Sessi, Atoya, Christa, Anna and Samual. They were growing up with their Mother and I mention her in the book as the one I would marry someday. She is now in heaven with our daughters Anna and Jessica. His mercy en dures forever. These dedicated ones were with me during the seventeen years of this amazing unfolding drama, and were the greatest encouragement any man could ask for. I am so thankful for their love and strength through those years; they also were my greatest teachers. I love them dearly. Also, to Glenda, my wife and best friend, who stood with me and prayed me through great transitions in life. She often asked me over the years to write this book as she had heard the story and loves the telling of it. Also, to Jesus Christ for giving me these great gifts of family, and for being the One that lead me and guided me all through this journey. Thank you Father.

Timothy J . Sherman

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Acknowledgments

I want to express my profound gratitude with thanks to all the saints that helped make this book a reality: To Jesus, the Son of God, thank you for the great honor we have all had in intimately revealing our Father of Lights. To my friend Matt Seppala of Vancouver, Washington, thank you for your deep spiritual insights and business acumen and for your encouragement to write this book. Because you shared the story everywhere with everyone you met, you gave me the wind beneath my wings to soar while writing the manuscript. To my staff at Eagles Nest, led and directed by Jennifer Wilson, my daughter. To David Stoddard for working diligently on the front and back cover ofthe book and obtaining the art work byJean-Claude Berens oflnception Gallery. To me the photo represents the upward spiral ing staircase into the ancient realms of translation. To my wonderful children who are mentioned in the book, and to my former wife, Deborah, who has joined the Lord in the ulti mate translation joining the great cloud ofWitnesses. To my wonderful wife, Glenda, who encouraged me for twelve years to write this book. Without her this book would not be in print. To Sarah Moore for many hours of detail work. To Don and Susan Seamen for their editing.

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Foreword

Have you ever had a dream so real that you wondered i f it really happened? As you read Beginning Tomorrow Today get ready to let mystery of the supernatural mess with you. Too many times we want to sterilize who God is and how He operates. We often require Him to fit into our own ways of thinking when in fact He said in Isaiah 55:9, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways." So why is it we try to compartmentalize everything He does and try to stuff His mysteries into our little boxes when He can not be contained! He's the uncontainable, omnipotent, mysterious miracle working God! 1his book calls us back to our supernatural roots of first love awe and wonder. To live constantly with the fire of God's Spirit burning within us, to live passionate lives giving Jesus Christ our all-that's what first love is all about. I think that it's safe to say that we all have at some time or another watered down the immensity of who God is when in fact He has the creation of the universe on His resume! There's just no way that anyone can explain away the miracles of the Bible or those of today. It's time for the body of Christ to wake up and realize that God traffics in mystery. And when we get to know Him as He is 1 John 3:2 then we too can tap into the mysteries of the universe and of Holy Spirit! Doesn't it say in 1st Corinthians 2:9-10, It is written: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine-these are the many things God has in store, for xi

all his lovers. But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit! Yes, he has revealed to us his inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit who constantly explores all things. Tapping into Him is tapping into the mysteries of the universe for as Daniel put it, "He is the Revealer of Mysteries"! To tap into mystery we only have to tap into Him! God is the limitless God, free from all our boundaries of time and space. We must Begin to see Him this way. We can hear the wind blow it says in John 3:14, but we don't know where it came from or where it goes. But we do see the evidence that the wind was indeed there. So it is with God's Spirit. In this book you will journey into the supernatural realm that the prophets operate in. We know and love Timothy Sherman. His testimony of real life supernatural encounters will both amaze you and challenge you to lay hold of God in a new way. He is a God that is ever so near, in teracting with us behind the scenes of our lives in such a way that like Jacob when we awaken we will say, "God was in this place and I never even realized it." Gen. 28:16. Believe and you will receive! Knock on the door of opportunity and watch God open large doors of opportunity for you that no man can shut! We're living in the most exciting times in history thus far! Now let's go on ajourney of discovery as Timothy opens the door to his own supernatural life, like the journey of the prophets that have gone before! We know you will love reading this book. Don't you think it's time-for Beginning Tomorrow Today?

Dr Brian Simmons The Passion Translation Project

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Introduction Time is Not Set in Stone

For me, the fall of 1974 was a living revelation of the reality that "time is not set in stone."This amazing story happened through supernatural power, beyond all natural human ability. Through the years, as I have told of these events, some have wondered i f this story could have been an imagination or a flashback from my former life and my use of controlled substances. Some think it may have come to me in the form of a trance, a dream in the night, or even some kind o f vision. I am convinced that I was actually transported. I ex perienced a translation - a mysterious miracle that prepared the way for events spanning many years and that proved the reality of supernatural translation and a lifestyle o f miracles. Reports of similar experiences have been recorded from time to time since history began. God allowed me to be the recipient of several of these clock-defying, supernatural phenomena. Beginning Tomorrow Today is an encounter project that has extended through 42 years o fmy life. Many others, probably more than we realize, have experienced their own event. It is time we told our stories. xv

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1

Translated in Time and Distance

My sleepy body drank in the warm, golden, early morning light that shone through the window of my door. It was the fall of 1974, and I lived in a cozy little one bedroom side-house apartment. A very amazing, wonderful event began to unfold in a supernatu ral way. This morning I had been experiencing the deep peace and abiding presence of the Godhead, the One true God of love, light and life. The brisk fall morning was crystal clear. Warm bright rays of liquid sunlight washed over me like a summer shower. Shining through the window, these life rays of the sun appeared as swirling beams reflecting dust floating through the air. After having waited in the quiet for several hours, I walked into my bedroom and knelt at the end of my single bed. As I went to my knees, laying my head on my open Bible on the bed before me, I sensed God's goodness and inner rest. 1 7

Suddenly, I was surrounded by a group of about eight hag gard, hungry-looking men in what appeared to be prison clothes. They were standing in a chilly building that appeared to be a bar racks full of bunk beds. I became aware of a few other men also scat tered around the barracks sitting or lying on the bunk beds. There was quiet chatter inside and also the noise o f men outside. I was not very observant of the surroundings, but the atmosphere was uncom fortably cold, dingy, pale and lifeless. They were as startled as I was at my sudden appearance! By the expressions on their faces I could see that their minds and emotions were as challenged as mine. I had invaded their territory, their living space, and their miserable existence! Because of this it was up to me to initiate some kind of connection. They were much more on the defensive than I was, and yet they opened up within a few minutes as I made proclamations of Jesus Christ, the One in Whom they believed. I was on my knees praying in my cozy bedroom one second, and standing in a cold barracks the next! My eyes were wide open in dismay. I was surrounded by strangers in prison clothes, speaking a foreign language, all of them reacting to this longhaired, hippie looking American that was standing right in front of them. The sud den change caught me offguard, but fortunately a supernatural surge of peace and a deep knowing that this was a God thing came over me. I was filled with a calm and with an exciting strength and confi dence beyond mysel£ A defining destiny flowed through me beyond anything I had ever known before. I was glancing around and won dering what to say and do (if anything), having no panic or fear at all. The presence of the Spirit's power suddenly made me aware that my trust in God was greater than my fear of man. It filled me with purpose and faith in my emotions, and the heart to boldly declare the name of the Son of God. With a startled look on their faces these men broke out into very loud expressions using a language I did not understand. A cou ple of them stepped back prayerfully, as though seeing a vision, an 1 8

angel, an apparition of some kind, or something miraculous. M y own mind raced, but in my spirit I had a knowing. Even my own mind was questioning, "This must be a dream, but it seems so real, like no dream I've ever had, like a clear movie or a vision." Sensing that the Lord had put me here, I began to declare the name ofJesus and with that, I began to sense a great supernatural anointing of His presence increasing in and through me. I stepped out, and I questioned the men, "Jesus, do you know Jesus? Is Christ in you, the hope of glory?" I blurted this out without thinking because I really didn't know what else to say or do. "I'm here to reveal Jesus to you!" My mind, wanting to interrupt with natural reasoning and circumstantial evidence, began to ask me questions, "How could this be? Who are you people? Where am I? Is this real or is it a dream? What are you doing, God?" These and many more random thoughts arose from my emotions. Fortunately my mind quickly settled. I felt His peace, courage, and confidence inside. An amazing knowing and settling resonated within my soul. "I don't know how I'll do it, but I belong here to do God's desires and to give them the Lord," I thought. The men dressed in prison clothes were beckoning and wav ing their hands to a man standing nearby for him to come over to them. They spoke to him in very animated ways. The communica tions seemed to be questions and commands, and the speaker was making expressions with body language toward himself and then toward me. Nikolai, the man they were calling in this way, stood out as a strong, steady, wise leader who was much more calm and thoughtful than the others. He was not frightened, and the light of Jesus was on his countenance. I knew inside that they were all followers o f the True Light. They had that clear kind of light in their eyes and on their faces. They took me by the arms and aggressively escorted me, while glancing around, as they quickly ushered me to a washroom at the end of the building. Then they took me to a more secure, hidden place. I still had on my American clothes and longhair look of the seventies. Their hair was buzzed. 1 9

I sensed they were speaking in Russian and wanting this leader and interpreter to talk with me. I was peaceful and compli ant. Nikolai, the one they had beckoned to, began to ask me ques tions in broken but understandable English. They knew that was my language by my declarations ofJesus, but only the interpreter could speak any English at all. He asked many questions and interpreted our conversation to all standing b y. Another man received com mands and ran off. He soon returned with clothes for me to wear: an oversized, baggy, dingy and worn prisoner gray uniform made of heavy material. I put it on over my clothes to keep me warm while they continued to ask questions and to prepare everything for me to stay among them. It was amazing to me that I was still wearing the clothes I had put on that morning. Their interrogation continued: "Where did I come from? Who was I? How did I just appear in their midst?" But Nikolai confirmed what they already knew in their hearts and spirits: "God brought you here to appear to us like an angel or one of the departed saints. God has caused this incredible sign and wonder for His pur poses, with our highest good in His heart--help for us for the glory ofJesus in this dark place!" I had just been supernaturally grafted into a gulag, a Russian prison ministry. I knew this miraculous translation must have been done the same way that Philip, in the New Testament and Enoch of the Old Testament, were supernaturally sent through time and space. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, my entire being- -spirit, soul, and body--was supernaturally transported into a hell hole as bad as the Nazi concentration camps in World War II. I found myself in the cold, Russian, sub-zero winter weather; standing in a place I had not been a second before. I would live in these inhumane surroundings and watch men die from extreme neglect, torture and punishment, and from beat ings and abuse under the iron heel of the tyranny of communism. I had been supernaturally sent as a missionary to the Evil Empire: Communist Russia, the USSR, the Soviet Union. I was somehow, by God's sovereign power, behind the Iron Curtain. 20

Background

Just one year prior to the time of my story, something of God's love had begun mysteriously shifting my prodigal heart and lifestyle. I was consistently crossing paths with new and intriguing groups o fhippies. I had not known them closely and was only slight ly acquainted with them. These people had left the lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock'n roll for a higher enlightenment as Jesus freaks. I was a hippie, also, and was falling into a warm and caring friendship with one of these hippie girls named Deborah. She was constantly talking with me about our mutual desires to leave the shameful life of self-gratification and paranoia that was characteris tic of the culture. Our relationship, and specifically her influence, was drawing me increasingly closer to choosing the deeper longings and higher aspirations of a new love that was awakening in our hearts. We were finding an open agreement that was greater than our empty lifestyle. She led the way by constantly asking me about my knowledge of God. In deep sincerity she kept asking questions and making con victing statements that rang true in my gut, statements about spiri tuality, about the unknown and the unseen, statements about Jesus. From my early childhood I had been drawn to these things. Like so many in those psychedelic times, I was intrigued, and I was drawn increasingly to a new lifestyle commitment. These new direction friends seemed to have been transformed into excited, happy, giving, individuals who loved everyone without looking for something in return, and they did it without the high of drugs. I unexpectedly ran into them everywhere I went, whether I was strolling through the park, walking along a street, or hitchhiking across town. Without planning on it, the one I kept connecting with the most was this young lady, the one with whom I would some day 2 1

wmoa ur rl dy ac no dm rpaliestee layf as emt i tl hy .e Schoeu rws aes atnhde tohnee daet stthi na yt tf iomr emoa nf my . y l i f e w h o During this period o f several months I had returned to some oa snp Fe cetbs r ou af rt hy e3 ,G1o9d7 4o, f mmyy npeawr e ng itrsl, f lrei eanv di n' sg bt hi ret hpdraoyd, i gt haal tp Ii gwp aesn ." It rt awnass- lSaot end oofuGt oodf ' st h leo vkei n. " g(dCooml o sos fi adnasr k1n:e1s3s) aTnhde i An tpoo st ht lee KP ianugl dwo rmo t eo ft ht hi se. Ht r iasn swl artiitoi nng, sc arl el evde atlh teh en emwobs ti r tcho,nbc iesien gi nbf oo rr nm af rt oi omn aobno vt he .e Tshpi si r int ue awl bmi rotrhe ttroa ncsolma tei o nf o ris etvheer ye nt rt ur ye tboe lai el lv eort !h eTrr at rnasnl astl ai ot ino nwsa, sa nadwtohredr e t haraet wlitoeuraldl steanksee.on an amazing reality for me, in a supernatural and a One day I read in the book of Genesis, the book of begin n ni o n t g , s, about a man called Enoch who "walked with God; and he was for God took him" (Genesis 5:24). The New Testament book bo ef cHa uesber eGwos dc l he aa rdl yt rsat antsel sa t ei nd chhi amp.t"e rT h1i1s :5E nt hoacth hset o"rwya ss t nu oc kt fi onu nmdy, thoughts but made no natural sense to me at the time. Long before my translation to Russia, I had experienced t s e i i x e m p s. e i l r a I i r e w n s a c tr s e a d n i . n g W e w h e o v i n l e e d n e t h s r i k i o n i f n m g th y e in m d t r i h d e e - a t m C ee a - n l l i i s k f o e a r n n tr d i a a n a c h g e i a l s i l n s a a i n n n d d m v c i y s a i n l o a y n t o e s n t s I w h a e s a n d - a cs oh mi l de t ai mn de s aldoos el e ms c ye nwt a, yI . wO onual dc owuapnl ed eor f ft oh re she oiunrsst atnoc ense, wa dpeleapc essl eaenpd- ianwe sask ewno tuol df i cnodmme yosveelrf imn et. hIe wgor euel dn lliue s dh oawl fna lifna tf hi eel ds haacdr oes st o t rhees tr oaandd from my house. These translation experiences were not at the level o f those o f EE lni joachh wa ne rde Enl ioj at hs,eoe nf c aonuyr s em aonr ed Ia'fmt e rg ltahde ior f ttrhaant s, lbaet ci oanuss ,e I E anmo c hhaapnpdy tsoe esmt iel ldbceo hmepr el e! tDe lrye ar emasl . iNni gwhhti cvhi s iIo nwsowu ledr eg on optl aucne sc oamn dm osene ttoh imn ges, bi nu tt hI ec odurledanm' ts t awkoe utlhde mu n ff oo rl dg ri ann tt he de , sbaemc aeu swea my adna yy st, i mw ee se ktsh eo re veevnetns 22

months later. Because of these trance-like, daydream experiences I had a hard time understanding what was really happening. "How could it be?" I wondered. Though troubled in my thoughts, I put all those fears out of my mind because of the warm peace that always came when one of these events was about to happen. I increasingly took these experiences for granted. I was unable to explain them because of a lack of language or vocabulary. My close friends would sometimes avoid me when I talked about these strange and quite extraordinary spiritual occurrences. Besides, I came from a tongue talking Pentecostal family. My friends who often thought of us as "holy rollers" already perceived us as weird. I spent more than fourteen years as a young man doing my own thing. I was well practiced at rejecting and forsaking God's presence and my good and Godly upbringing. But even though I was running the wrong way, I could not outrun God's Spirit nor could I ever denounce my belief in Him from my childhood roots. He was always there in so many ways, preserving me and keeping me. Several of my friends and I were preserved from death in car and motorcycle accidents. Several were not. God was always revealing this invisible pattern of protective intervention in dangerous situa tions. He would intervene in supernatural ways through unexplain able happenstance, through strange, loving, kind people whom I felt were angels or "mysterious ones." One example of these mysterious ones was when I was seven or eight years old. On occasion I would go exploring into the hobo jungles. A hobo jungle was a place where bamboo and tall young willows grew thick near railroad bridges. Hobos, homeless men and women, illegally used the trains for transportation. There were still many of these hobos in the 1950s since the law against hopping and riding the trains was lightly enforced at that time. My friends and I hopped trains often and rode them for miles just to have fun and to explore. We would then catch another train going in the opposite direction when it was time to go home. These wandering souls called hobos would congregate for overnight stays, build their shelters, lay out their bedrolls, and build 23

small cooking fires. Many of them would get drunk on cheap wine or other liquors while cooking. They would play with their knives or sharpen them, play cards, and tell stories and yarns about all kinds of subjects. They wore old raggedy clothes and looked very poor and sad. When they were drinking they would become funny, exciting, and sometimes a little scary. Since I lived next to the train tracks that ran through my town, I was very interested in these fellows because of their stories and the fun they seemed to have.

Sometimes I would stop by in the early morning or after noon while walking to and from school. Most of my friends, especially the girls, wouldn't go into the hobo jungles. I seldom

"You will not touch him; go back t o y o ur Business."

went with anyone but once in awhile a friend would go in with me. I would occasionally encounter a couple of evil men, and sometimes women, who would begin to threaten me for some evil purpose. I was never quite sure what that purpose was, but it made me back away and get ready to run, and run I could. On more than one occasion a clean-cut, well-dressed hobo would come from nowhere, stepping in between me and them as I was getting ready to run. He would extend his hand toward them and would speak a quiet but firm sentence, "You will not touch him; go back to your business!"They would leave without hesitation, pout ing and murmuring as they turned away. I would think, "Wow! How did he do that, and who was he?" I was amazed at these wondrous happenings. This mysterious one would instruct me to listen to my parents and use caution in all contacts with these fellows. He told me that he knew my mother prayed for me and said, "We are watching out for you, always." I would wonder what he meant by "we." I was always curious as to how he and others like him on various occasions in my life could come and go so suddenly, without my being able to see their entry or exit. To this day it still 24

months later. Because of these trance-like, daydream experiences I had a hard time understanding what was really happening. "How could it be?" I wondered. Though troubled in my thoughts, I put all those fears out of my mind because of the warm peace that always came when one of these events was about to happen. I increasingly took these experiences for granted. I was unable to explain them because of a lack of language or vocabulary. My close friends would sometimes avoid me when I talked about these strange and quite extraordinary spiritual occurrences. Besides, I came from a tongue talking Pentecostal family. My friends who often thought of us as "holy rollers" already perceived us as weird. I spent more than fourteen years as a young man doing my own thing. I was well practiced at rejecting and forsaking God's presence and my good and Godly upbringing. But even though I was running the wrong way, I could not outrun God's Spirit nor could I ever denounce my belief in Him from my childhood roots. He was always there in so many ways, preserving me and keeping me. Several of my friends and I were preserved from death in car and motorcycle accidents. Several were not. God was always revealing this invisible pattern of protective intervention in dangerous situa tions. He would intervene in supernatural ways through unexplain able happenstance, through strange, loving, kind people whom I felt were angels or "mysterious ones." One example of these mysterious ones was when I was seven or eight years old. On occasion I would go exploring into the hobo jungles. A hobo jungle was a place where bamboo and tall young willows grew thick near railroad bridges. Hobos, homeless men and women, illegally used the trains for transportation. There were still many of these hobos in the 1950s since the law against hopping and riding the trains was lightly enforced at that time. My friends and I hopped trains often and rode them for miles just to have fun and to explore. We would then catch another train going in the opposite direction when it was time to go home. These wandering souls called hobos would congregate for overnight stays, build their shelters, lay out their bedrolls, and build 25

small cooking fires. Many of them would get drunk on cheap wine or other liquors while cooking. They would play with their knives or sharpen them, play cards, and tell stories and yarns about all kinds of subjects. They wore old raggedy clothes and looked very poor and sad. When they were drinking they would become funny, exciting, and sometimes a little scary. Since I lived next to the train tracks that ran through my town, I was very interested in these fellows because of their stories and the fun they seemed to have.

Sometimes I would stop by in the early morning or after noon while walking to and from school. Most of my friends, especially the girls, wouldn't go into the hobo jungles. I seldom

"You will not touch him; go back t o your business."

went with anyone but once in awhile a friend would go in with me. I would occasionally encounter a couple of evil men, and sometimes women, who would begin to threaten me for some evil purpose. I was never quite sure what that purpose was, but it made me back away and get ready to run, and run I could. On more than one occasion a clean-cut, well-dressed hobo would come from nowhere, stepping in between me and them as I was getting ready to run. He would extend his hand toward them and would speak a quiet but firm sentence, "You will not touch him; go back to your business!"They would leave without hesitation, pout ing and murmuring as they turned away. I would think, "Wow! How did he do that, and who was he?" I was amazed at these wondrous happenings. This mysterious one would instruct me to listen to my parents and use caution in all contacts with these fellows. He told me that he knew my mother prayed for me and said, "We are watching out for you, always." I would wonder what he meant by "we." I was always curious as to how he and others like him on various occasions in my life could come and go so suddenly, without my being able to see their entry or exit. To this day it still 26

happens from time to time.

Little did I realize that I was being prepared for things to come! About twelve years later, at twenty-eight years of age, I would experience a miraculous translation of Biblical proportions. That translation turned out to have great purpose and destiny and brought great honor to God and touched many, even multitudes. The domino effect continues to this day!

Younger Years

I was born from above or saved in church at the tender age of six. In those younger years, I remember innocence and knowing the touch of a loving, nurturing mother and father who kept me in Sun day school and kept me around good people. These experiences made Jesus very real to me. However, as I began to experience adolescence, girls suddenly became the main attraction. I had to be "the man," and youthful pride overcame me, much like it does many young men. My wrong choices of those days brought sorrow to all who loved and believed in me. They knew there was something better in me and they wanted to see it in my life. I had fallen captive to my selfishness and began following the crowd. I felt forgotten and mis understood by my Dad. Feeling as if he didn't know or understand what I needed, I shifted the blame for my behavior onto my father.

Dad, A Father: Best Man I've Ever Known

My Dad, Sessil Edward Sherman, "Bud," was a good, hard working, and moral man of deep integrity, who seemed unable to verbally express emotions or to show me love and affection as I was growing up. He was strong of soul and tough, but not abusive. He tried to train me and make me strong, but I perceived this as neglect 27

ing me and criticizing my choices throughout my younger years. I believe he didn't realize what he was doing and that he meant well. My impression at that time was that all he wanted to do was work. I think the misunderstanding came because I was incredibly different from him and felt only Mom understood me. Dad was a survivor, the oldest of nine children growing up in the Great Depression. He worked to provide for his family all his childhood days, until he joined the U.S. Navy at age nineteen. He fought in World War II as a gunner's mate on an aircraft carrier and was decorated three times for valor. Dad never told any of us about his awards. We did not find out until the funeral director informed us that he had been informed by the Navy. This was an earmark of my Dad's humility and quiet resolve. During the years that my Mom was in a nursing home, my Dad was there every day to care for her. We were all dumb- founded by the love he showed my mother. Every one in Mom's nursing home loved and knew my Dad, and he won many of them to Jesus. He loved my Mom just like in the movie, "The Notebook." During his four years of active duty in the Japanese invasion of the South Pacific, he watched many of his shipmates die or get wounded in battle. He sent most of his Navy pay home to care for his mother and family. He was a man's man, the greatest man I've ever known. At the beginning of this project Dad was eighty-six and still taking care of himself Since that time Dad has passed on to his heavenly reward at the age of ninety-one. Dad won people to Jesus everywhere he went and I know he now wears the soul winner's crown. We were very close, and Dad was and is my hero. I now know that he loved me, but, a good deal of the time I was't sure of that as a child or as a young man. I loved him and want ed his approval, but we never told each other that. He wasn't at all visibly spiritual. He didn't know how to father a strangely gifted and highly sensitive son who was free-spirited and athletically motivat ed. Dad trained me in hard work and the tough things; but, he didn't know how to kindly nurture or father me. He wasn't fathered that way. As a survivor in tough times, he had not experienced much of 28

a childhood. I was wild of heart, high strung, and aggressive. I had a very sensitive nature and expressed it in seclusion. I spent much time alone wandering in the California hills, creeks, d r y riverbeds, and canyons exploring nature, old mine shafts, and tunnels. In these soli tary wanderings I experienced many supernatural things that were preparing me for a life o f the supernatural ministry I have walked in for almost four decades of my life.

Mom the Overcomer

My mother was amazing and the best anyone could ask for or want as a housekeeper, wonderful baker, and cook. She was a con stant, kind, and loving "Momma," as I affectionately called her in her later years. She was almost always full of a good and happy spirit, except when she was praying or disciplining. Momma prayed in the Spirit with strong cryings, pleading with God for her family, and for a lost and dying world. She prayed in great faith, reminding Him that she was standing on His promises. Plus she loved to dance and sing and laugh all the time. Many times a month during the years I was at home, I wit nessed her praying all night or into the early morning hours decree ing and declaring God's promises. In my eyes she was the perfect mother and a true follower ofJesus. She helped pray me through to victory in every area I now enjoy. She was loved by all and was dis ciplined in every area of her life, affectionate and joyful at all tinies. She was beautiful. I have great honor and respect for my parents and am forever grateful for them.

Destiny: The Big Picture God often does incredible things with seemingly unquali

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fied people. I am one of them. The prayers of others, especially their parents, can bring them through to victory. Such was the case in my own life. These supernatural events that I experienced began happening to me when I was six. When I was twenty I had an amazing vision of the second coming ofJesus. I turned to the Lord in my thoughts and conversations because I was terrified; I was being warned to forsake my current lifestyle. Things were revealed to me then that I did not understand. It would take seven years before I returned to Jesus as Lord of my life and began to understand these events. At that time, as a newly returned prodigal, I had little credible history as a believer. I had not been able to spend time intentionally preparing for the glorious things that were ahead. But God knows all. He looks on the heart and knows our deepest thoughts and intentions. He sees the big picture of our destiny and reveals to us what we need to know in order to live a lifestyle that glorifies Him. These supernatural encounters began to unfold not too long af ter I had returned to Jesus and to fellowship with family and friends. It all began in a community of exciting but everyday special people of redemptive faith in Hot Springs, Arkansas. pain I had caused God and others, I turned toward God's love. This new attitude changed my mind and my heart. I received an amaz ingly strong desire for committed abandonment to the Lord's ways. "Why go halfway with the Creator who fully loves and accepts me?" I reasoned. As a divorced father , a nd as a single man , I somehow understood that my struggle of completely leaving my past lifestyle would require fully turning toward the Lord and His ways and to His people. I could not accomplish this alone. To break the cycle of damage in my soul caused by my selfish decisions and mistakes 30 The Seeker'sJourney In my Holy Spirit encounter of deep godly sorrow for the

would take time. To continue to stay a committed believer I would need to spend a lot of time in the presence of the Lord and with other committed and godly believers. I did not always do a very good job of this, but I've had victories over many struggles as the Lord, my family, and the body of Christ have stood with me time and time again. We understand that the Invisible God is Spirit, and we can only know Him through the spiritual part of our being. This causes the mind of the Spirit within us to produce kingdom thoughts and impressions. My mother loved Jesus and trained me to love Him, too. Her nightly bedtime Bible stories included pictures of Jesus and ended in loving prayer. As a result, I supernaturally fell in love with His presence and revelatory and visual words at a very young age. So I now returned to those memories and began the seeker's journey of John 3:30: "He must increase, but I must decrease." On most days between four and five in the morning, I would rise for praise, prayer, and for the study, meditation, and reading of God's Word. I loved this time of studying and walking the floor, of sitting or lying on my face singing and praying in the Spirit.Jesus would, much of the time but not always, show up in His manifest presence. He would reveal Himself to me in many ways, changing my identity through His finished work on the cross. His resurrection, ascension to heaven and sending to us the empowering of the Holy Spirit was, and is, so real. The Godhead has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within all true be lievers, those who have the seal of the Holy Spirit in their foreheads, which is visible to God, to angels and to fallen evil spirits alike. By revelation God would show me incredible things in His 31

Book through impressions, open visions, and inner pictures in my heart, mind, and spirit, as well as other manifestations of the Spirit of Light in Christ. We understand that the Invisible God is Spirit, and we can only know Him through the spiritual part of our being. This causes the mind of the Spirit within us to produce kingdom thoughts and impressions. I believe we came out from Him, and that we return to Him, as He is "the Father of spirits" (Hebrews 12:9). We all stand before God, in life and in death. I have continued to pursue this hungry-seeker-lifestyle even to this time in my life. I love to pursue the Lord in the early morning hours, to awaken the dawn. It is not a legalistic bondage or demand. On the contrary, it is a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. It sometimes takes a push on my part, but it becomes easy to return to as I just arise and do it. I long for "the rising of the Day Star in my heart" in the early morning hours! After the translation encounter in the winter of 1974, I be gan to experience many high-level visions and encounters with the Lord for the next two years. In one of these encounters, directly following the transla tion, the Spirit of God revealed to me that the communist wall of oppression and death in East Berlin, Germany, would be torn down. Communism as we knew it would fall apart. God said, "The wall will fall. Many Communist Bloc nations will become independent from Stalinism once again. A great revival will come to those nations and millions will turn to the Lord as churches are raised up all over the USSR." He spoke to me out of the bright light that filled my bed 32 Prophecy of the Future The Wall Will Fall

room and every room in my soul. I fell at His feet in awe and in the fear that He would leave. His open, manifest presence did leave after a few minutes but not His abiding presence or the things He revealed to me. The consciousness and singleness of His full pres ence was within me and in my apartment for months, and I felt like a sanctuary. His inner audible voice is even in me now, very often showing me things to come. Words form from thoughts He laser beams into the tablets of my heart. For example, "Prophesy: Communism and the cold war in its present state will end. A new war that is a very old war will grow by the sword oflslam." He has been revealing more to me from that time until now concerning the latter times we are living in and the rise of globalism and the advancing o f His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. "I will send you to Russia. You will be a part of the harvest that I will show you. You will be there at the time of liberation; the Iron Curtain will be removed."The Lord clearly revealed to me, "Wait until I send you there; do not go before the right time, My set time." I shared this prophetic word in many places around the United States for more than fifteen years and met some who were assigned to be the same voice and others who had encounters, also. Few could believe that the mighty ommunism of the USSR could fall during our lifetime. This insight was spoken by other credible voices also but it didn't seem possible. The USSR was such a looming giant. But God said through mere lips of clay that it would happen and it did and millions turned to Jesus as a result. My family moved to the northeast corner of Wyoming in 1982 to pastor a church in my birth town of Gillette. Our church invited a lady named Billy Brim, a spiritual mother, prophet, and teacher from Oklahoma to come and do a conference. She rallied churches wherever she traveled to pray for the liberation of the Communist Bloc nations and for the fall of Russian communism 33

and its power to hold nations hostage to its evil desires through the constant threat of nuclear war. This was her burden for the peoples of that part of the world. While she was staying in my parents' home in Gillette I spent some quality time with her on several occasions. She invited me to join a team of fewer than twelve people to go to Russia and its neighbor Finland. She is an incredible woman of God of the highest integrity and anointing, a true mother in Israel who has ministered in Israel faithfully for many years. I was excited by the thought of finally go ing back to Russia, this time by plane. To see this incredible place from outside the prison walls and to meet the people I had loved and prayed for so deeply all those years would be a great reward. God had promised I would return. It all sounded so good. Everything was coming together. We would minister in forbidden places and at secret meetings at great threat to our freedom or maybe even our lives if caught. It was an honor for me, and a great adven ture in the Lord. I felt that all of us who were invited were hand picked from different parts o f the United States to go to Red Square, Moscow, Russia, on an intercessory prayer vigil to tear down the strongholds of Satan over those nations. We were adding our part to that of millions of other saints praying around the world to set the Soviet Union free from communism. God was bringing a Jesus invasion to that massive block of hundreds of thousands, even millions, of persecuted saints, to the lost and dying, and to the persecuted and forgotten Jewish com munities as well. But the fullness of time, God's set time, had yet to come. God spoke and I heard, "Wait. Others may; you may not. It isn't your time for Russia yet. The time draws near. Pray and prepare for supernatural miracles, for provision, souls, and an effectual door of entrance. Remember, your entry was by My sovereignty and My creative realm oflight, for I spoke and you became light!"

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Three Seasons is like Three Days in the Belly of a Great Fish

During the time in translation I experienced what seemed like three seasons; the end of fall, winter, and the beginning of spring. Sometimes it all seemed like a blur of three weeks, but I be lieve it was closer to three months because of the seasonal weather changes. Near the end o f the translation, it seemed like Jonah's three days in the belly of a great fish, all beyond my control. It was com pletely providential, an active and highly functional combination of excitement, adventure, loneliness, bitter cold, hunger, troublesome doubts and the fear of being exposed or caught. The manifest pres ence of God was very strong and very powerful. Great grace was always evident. Time seemed to pass quickly even though, at times, 35

it seemed to drag. I was fed, protected, hidden, clothed, and escort ed everywhere; except when I would sneak out to explore. At times confinement pressed me to pursue certain freedoms that looked like scouting expeditions. This made my protective brothers fearful and concerned for my safety and the safety of all who were hiding me. We continued to experience various kinds of physical and emotional healings, revelations, and the awareness of angelic help. There had not been many healing miracles and mysterious workings of the Holy Spirit in the prison before I suddenly landed there. The persecuted followers of Christ were weary and doing really well just to maintain their witness and confession of faith under such harsh circumstances. By miraculously sending me there God had ignited all of our hearts. This translation was so incredibly amazing. Only God could have done that! I performed personal ministry in the gifts and the anointing as an ·overflow of His presence in me and of my faith in the finished work of the cross and of the resurrection. This confidence in Jesus was high in these spiritual areas. The amazing gift of God was on me in His strength and grace for this journey. The inmates in this prison were encouraged and excited to be activated and instructed in that part o f the ministry o fJesus through the Holy Spirit's power. Multitudes of Soviet believers had been brutally murdered over the decades. They obtained the martyr's crown for their testi mony and confession of the faith all over the USSR. Their testimo nies were legendary throughout those nations. Many of the believers whom I was honored to meet there had suffered all their lives. They were so faithful and committed as they stood true to Jesus under worsening circumstances. I was infused with their courage and re solve, which has convinced me that martyrdom is an honor and a gift from God. These experiences are preparation for what is now increasing and will spread to many nations of the earth. Martyrdom is already taking place in many places, even in the Western nations, for highly honored saints in these last times in which we live. 36

Food was scarce and all essentials for life were bartered among the hierarchy o fthe prisoners. Even the guards were involved. There was also the black market of supplies that were acquired by having favor with the crooked and only occasionally compassionate guards. Survivalists were hustling. The criminal underground and the freedom resistance were closely guarding their identities and were almost impossible to detect. They checked me out. The Holy Spirit revealed some of them to me in dreams and by the discerning of spirits. When I asked my close friends about this they confirmed the fuller picture o f these courageous souls for freedom. Only God could have kept me hidden with the genius He gave to the prisoners in preserving my life during my covert stay. This Russian prison revival spread to prayerfully handpicked prisoners. We were highly secretive in dealing with those chosen in dividuals, especially in the beginning stages. The Spirit had to show us those who were safe to entrust with this gospel of the Kingdom of God. Many would be quick to expose us and eventually some did. The excitement and the freedom of the joy of the Lord were increas ingly difficult to hide. Acts of love were also difficult to hide which caused suspicion and persecution toward all who were recognized as believers. This only fanned the flames of passion for Jesus and of His love for this underground church community o f prisoners, these bondslaves of Christ. Healings and miracles, visions and prophetic dreams, and awareness of angelic activity were all at work. The clash between the opposing kingdoms of darkness and light became evident through the increase of persecutions. At all times we had to gauge the free dom of our own hearts. Demons holding some captive were exposed, and when directed by the Lord, we took authority over them and cast them out in Jesus' name. Godly counsel was given, often bring ing freedom and joy. A very few of the prison guards were giving us favor, sometimes even showing us kindness. Love can conquer ha tred, and joy is often contagious. A soft answer can turn away wrath. 37

We wanted so much to just break loose and go for God openly but this would have been certain death for some and would have meant the end of patiently building future plans the Lord was unfolding. The fall of aggressive communism and the end of isolation from the free world was a secret burning desire in most who only dared tothink of it.

At the first part of the encounter He did not speak to me with the words o f His mouth but spoke His glory rays into me, infusing me with His Word, the Scrip ture, and with visions and revelations of heaven and of future events.

Face to Face A Look at Time Travel, Quantums , Dreams and Visions in a Translation

At another time while I was worshiping Jesus, I was caught away to Him. He appeared to me and showed me what had hap pened when He translated me into Russia. I have written about this in another book, Face to Face in His Glory, so I will not explain that encounter except as it relates to this one. In that encounter I stood before the Resurrection and the Life. He infused His outshining rays of love light and many other aspects of heaven and eternity into my conscious mind and into my heart. This is revelation in the third heaven realms as experienced by Paul, an apostle ofJesus Christ. 38