Pneumatikos INSIGHT

On Religion, History & Society:

A Forum for Conservative Christian Thought

Volume 5, No. 2, April 1999

In This Issue:

• West Loop Church Update

• A PENTECOSTAL IN THE SYNAGOGUE:   Assemblies of God Minister Testifies of Divine Healing at City-Wide Clergy Meeting

• BIBLE PROOFS:   Hezekiah's Seal: Official Seals of Three Biblical Kings Come to Light

• REPORT:   "The First Major Female Pedophile in the State of Texas"

• LETTERS

West Loop Church Update

I got a call the other day from the Houston-area Trinity Broadcasting Network station. They had heard about the church, and were looking for an address. So word is getting out. I will be looking into what TBN services might be beneficial to promotion of the church. However, since West Loop Church is aimed at reaching the unchurched, I am unsure as yet how much help Christian television might be.

I had two sources refer me to a Rev. Doug Oss, so I gave him a call. Brother Oss was a teacher at Central Bible College, with experience in missions. He felt directed of the Lord to plant a new church in Salt Lake City. He calls Salt Lake City "a plum," which apparently means that he considers it a key to the spiritual heart of the nation (as I do the West Loop of Houston). Like my vision for West Loop Church, he engaged the help of friends and former CBC students, among others, to help him found it. Like me, he considers that he could not do it alone, or at least it would take a very long time to do so. I understand that attendance at the Salt Lake City church has reached 200.

District Council begins April 27 in San Antonio. I have yet to determine whether I will be able to attend, but as much exposure as the church can get, the better, so I hope I can.

Remember me in your prayers, since I am currently suffering from laryngitis, and am unable to communicate effectively on the phone.

For more information on West Loop Church, visit the website at http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Crete/6111/westloop/westloop.htm.

A Pentecostal in the Synagogue

Assemblies of God Minister Testifies of Divine Healing at City-Wide Clergy Meeting

by Paul A. Hughes

The event was Beth Israel's annual Clergy Institute, led by retiring Rabbi Samuel Karff. The Institute invites all clergy in the Houston area to attend. Rabbi Karff and a special guest were to speak in turn, in each case followed by a rejoinder from the other speaker.

Rabbi Karff spoke first, a warm and caring message on concern for those in physical and emotional distress, and the need to address those realities in a concrete way. His address held no surprises, but that of the other speaker certainly did. The guest speaker for the event was Dr. Samuel Solivan, Associate Professor of Christian Theology at Andover Newton Theological School in Boston. Dr. Solivan, it turns out, is an ordained minister in the Spanish Eastern District of the Assemblies of God. His life story is truly a testimony to God's healing power.

Samuel Solivan was born into a poor family in New York City. His pregnant mother, whose job was cleaning churches, went into labor while cleaning the sanctuary of a Methodist church. The pastor arrived at that opportune moment, and delivered her baby, literally, on the altar of the church. He christened the little boy Samuel.

Unfortunately, little Samuel had physical problems. He had a large tumor which had crowded his brain and distorted his face. The tumor was removed, but doctors told his mother he would always be retarded.

As a boy, Samuel prayed that God would use him somehow. When Samuel became a young man, he was drafted into the military, to be assigned to duty in Vietnam. Before reporting for duty, he decided to attend a certain storefront pentecostal church where he was not known. During that service, a man prophesied that there was someone present who was going to be used of God, and not to worry, because he would soon be back home.

Reporting for duty, an officer reviewed Samuel's records and realized that he was not mentally qualified for military service. He was honorably discharged and sent back home.

In the coming years, Samuel received miraculous opportunities to study for the ministry. His intelligence seemed to increase as the opportunities came, till finally he earned a doctoral degree. The Lord has also substantially restored his face which, though still slightly drawn up on one side, does not appear abnormal.

The assembled crowd received Dr. Solivan's testimony gratefully, and there were more than a few "Amens" during its delivery. At the end, he received a standing ovation.

I believe that his reception, and the mere fact of receiving this opportunity to tell his testimony in this venue, reveals a hunger for the power of God, even amongst mainline Christians and Jews, that would not have been in evidence a few short years ago. May God bring revival!

BIBLE PROOFS

Hezekiah's Seal

Official Seals of Three Biblical Kings Come to Light

The March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review details the existence of the three seals, held in private collections and only recently divulged to exist.

In the days of the Old Testament kings, documents were sealed by first tying the papyrus scroll with a string, leather thong, or strip of papyrus. Then a wad of fine clay was placed on the tie and pressed with an inscribed seal, much as wax was later used to seal envelopes. The wad of dried clay bearing the impression of the seal is known to archaeologists as a bulla.

First, a bulla from the seal of Ahaz, father of Hezekiah, was reported by BAR in its May/June 1998 issue. The seal simply reads, "[Belonging] to Ahaz [son of] Jehotham King of Judah. (Words in brackets are implied by the Hebrew.)

The second seal is more elaborate, and reads, "[Belonging] to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz King of Judah." In addition, the seal bears the image of a dung beetle (scarab), its wings spread so that they arc upward to each side, and a round ball held forward by its front legs. The scarab is a symbol of life which the Phoenicians borrowed from Egypt. According to author Frank Moore Cross, the figure on the seal represents a deity bearing up the sun. So why this pagan symbol on Hezehiah's seal? As Cross concludes, "it appears that the reforms of Josiah were more rigorous in their anti-iconic thrust than those of Hezekiah" (or perhaps this seal was used before the religious reforms took place).

Finally, an actual seal, carved out of brown agate, of a king of the Ammonites has surfaced. In Jeremiah 40-41 we read of Ba'alis, the Ammonite king who sent an assassin to murder Gedaliah, governor of Judah. The seal bears the figure of a winged lion, or sphinx, and the words "Ba'alis, King of the Sons of Ammon."

Report

"The First Major Female Pedophile in the State of Texas"

Martha Gomez, a 34-year-old woman posing as a teenage boy, has been charged by Houston police with the sexual assault of three teenage girls.

Posing as a teenage boy by the name of Emilio Garrison, Gomez allegedly used a personal ad phone service to romance the girls, two of which are age 16, and the third age 13. After endearing herself to them, she then arranged to meet them in person. According to an investigator, "It was almost like she had a spell over them."

Gomez is alleged to have raped one of the girls twice at gunpoint, using a sexual prosthesis. One of the girls has reportedly attempted suicide. After the relationships were broken off, Gomez made repeated phone calls to their mothers, threatening them with terrorist violence, which prompted the mothers to call police.

Unfortunately, after an initial questioning by police, Gomez disappeared. At last word, she is still at large, and might have skipped the country into Mexico. (Houston Chronicle, April 5, 1999)

Letters

Hey! Thanks for sharing the news letter. It is great to hear from you again Paul and see what good you are up to. I can use some of the ideas in helping another part of the flock (other sheep) located in these distant pastures.

Bill O.

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Dear Paul:

The Lord, in His faithfulness, continues to raise you before the Body. I sense you are right on track with His leading and wooing -- what I sense and others sense all other the country.

This new endeavor in the West Loop area is exciting -- I occasionally get to Houston on business, and I look forward to worship with you and your congregation.

What an exciting time to be alive in the Lord -- He is reallly up to something! We are so blessed to be a part of this end-time scenario!

God bless

A. Brueck

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Dear Mr. Hughes,

I have been "Born Again" and have been part of the CHURCH for many years now. I however have not been "going to church" because I don't believe what I see out there calling itself "the church" is what Jesus started 2000 yrs ago. I honestly read of a real living, organic, and spiritual body that came into existence with the 12 disciples. It is not something you "Go To" or "Join" or "become a member of" but a literal spiritual body you become part of (Jesus body) when you accept Him with your heart.

I do not find anything wrong with meeting with the brethren on a regular basis, but to do it in a controlled fashion where one man speaks and all others listen seems more pharisee like to me.

If I could find a group of brothers who would meet around a table and talk about the real day to day struggle of being a believer today, a group of brothers who build up and edify each other, I believe that would be closer to what Jesus was planning on.

In Jesus Name,

Frank

(Read my reply on the "Bible Q&A" page.)

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Dear Rev. Hughes:

I'm a professor and current Chair of the Social Sciences Department at Evangel and noticed that according to your newsletter you were at our University recently. It said turnout was light at these "Bible Schools."

It is a very common misperception that Evangel is a Bible School, but I would like to correct the record and point out that Evangel is the National Assemblies of God University of the Arts and Sciences. While we require 16 hours of Bible in the general education requirements, most of our students will be entering ministry in the non-preaching fields. They will be the lay people in a congregation, most of them choosing to be involved in Assemblies of God churches in lay positions. For example, I advise those students wishing to go on to law school after graduation from Evangel.

I mention this to you as a reason why you probably had a light turnout at your Evangel meeting. I would also like to pass on a suggestion for help in your area that worked quite well for Otto Wegner, a friend of mine with a home missions work in New Jersey. He worked with Evangel Business majors, school teachers and other graduates to help them find employment in their chosen field and then used them in his church as lay people, deacons, royal ranger leaders, etc. I believe that was quite successful for him.

I wish I would have been able to meet you when you were at Evangel. Please feel free to stop by my office next time you are in town and I will buy you a cup of coffee (or a can of pop if you don't like coffee!). I will be praying for your work and hope it exceeds the work of my friend, Doug Oss. It is a pleasure to watch and pray for men who are willing to follow the leading of our Lord!

God's Peace,

Bryan Sanders

(Note:   it is correct that reference to Evangel as a "Bible school" is not strictly accurate, since it was established to be the Assemblies of God's liberal arts college. The editor performed a Teaching Practicum in 2nd-year Greek at Evangel in 1986, under the supervision of Dr. Randy Tate. See my article, A Pentecostal Education:   A Short History of Higher Education in the Assemblies of God.)

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