My First Experiences with God...
by Richard Aaron Honorof
I was first awakened by God in the spring of 1973, when I was age 29. At the time I was living in a small apartment in Encino, southern California, working in the medical field. One day I picked up a Bible which had been left in a hospital room in Santa Monica, California, where I had been visiting some friends. I took that Bible home, and then for the first time in my life. I began reading the Jewish Holy Scriptures.
For the next three months or more I could not put that Bible down, for God's Presence showed up in my room, and many of the Scriptures came 'Alive' off the pages of that Bible and entered my heart, as God's Wonderful Love poured into my wounded and hurting heart, and I would just cry and cry every time this would happen. It was such a most wonderful experience. God especially revealed and made alive to me so many of the Old Testament Scripture passages related to our promised Jewish Messiah. During that time, God next directed me to read the first four Books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which also came 'Alive'!
God then showed and confirmed to me in such powerful ways, from both the Old and New Testament Scriptures, who the Messiah really is as prophesied and promised throughout the whole Old Testament (Tanakh). Then God spoke 'three Living Words' into me as I read the 21st chapter of the Book of John, and planted them so deep into my heart and soul with His Spirit and His incredible Love, 'Words' that would change my life forever, "Feed My Sheep!"
As I compared what I was experiencing from the Bible and from God's wonderful Love those amazing three months, with what little I knew about synagogues and religious Judaism of that time, I concluded that religious Judaism was so very different from the experiences that the Living God of the Bible was so richly blessing me with, that I decided then to stay far away from religious Judaism and Jewish synagogues.
Also, in those days I would have absolutely nothing to do with Christianity or with churches, for I am a Jew! Prior to these experiences I had been calling out to God for many months, perhaps even years, that if there really was a God, to please come into my life and to help me, for I was so hurting and unhappy with life. Many times I would walk up into the hills at night, above my family's home in Sherman Oaks, southern California, and just cry out for help to an unknown God of the Universe, not knowing if such a God really even existed.
I had been a pre-medical student in college, and had received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from U.C.L.A. At the time of these experiences with God I was working in sales in the medical field, but my personal life was a disaster, and I felt so lost and lonely and miserable.
My parents were atheists, secular Jews who had nothing to do with the Jewish religious. 'God' was never mentioned in our home, or by any of our Jewish friends or relatives, as far as I can ever remember. However, a few times, while growing up, my grandparents and other relatives invited our family over for Passover seder, where I first heard the Passover story.
Those three months in the Spring of 1973, when I experienced God's Wonderful Love and the Bible coming alive, quickly stopped, because I was tricked by hell, leaving my God and the Bible far behind. I began reading many books on reincarnation and the occult, trying to figure out why those amazing experiences with God had happened to me. I knew almost nothing about real 'evil', or about 'the invisible Spiritual worlds'.
Soon I was drawn deep into all kinds of New Age and occult activities, eastern religions, and drugs. I entered into a real world of terror and hell, which lasted for nine long and dreadful years, the worst years of my life. In 1982, I came out of the occult a destroyed man, suffering terribly from constant fears and great demonic torments throughout my body and soul. It was only then that I slowly began turning back to my God and to the Bible; to the God who had been so real and so Loving to me in 1973!
And once again the God of the Bible came to save me. He is so faithful!
Around 10am, Passover weekend, on Saturday morning, April 10th, 1982, on the 'Feast of First Fruits', coming out of nine years of drug and demonic occult destructions throughout my body and soul, I was out in the southern California desert, high in the foothills above the town of Palm Desert, where I was desperately crying out to God for help, to stop the constant suffering and demonic torment ... when suddenly I could feel myself being lifted up into Heaven by God's Spirit. And as I was being lifted up toward Heaven, I also became very conscious of the Presence of Someone who was empathizing with my great agony and my terrible suffering. And while my eyes were still closed, I was shown a vision of a Man dying on a tree, also experiencing tremendous suffering.
And moments later... when I opened my eyes, a Man stood before me, about 12 feet away. His whole Being was ablaze in 'Light', like 'the Sun' blazing in Brilliant Glory! I couldn't see His face; all I could see through His Glory was the simple golden crown which He wore on His head. He didn't say a word to me, but He walked over to me and Lovingly placed a red crimson robe over my shoulders. I knew that I was standing before 'the King of Heaven'.
Later I found out that He is called 'the King of Glory!'
Soon after that I found myself back down in the desert. And I was now somehow a changed man. I knew that I was different, and that I now had an assignment in my heart. The assignment was to go back to the Bible, and to pull out every Scripture from the Old Testament on the Messiah which God had first shown me nine years prior, in 1973. I knew that my God would show me what to do next with these Scriptures.
This project took me the next ten years to finish, and it became my first book, a book of Scriptures with my nature photography, using only the Old Testament. It was called: "The Coming Messiah, The Son of David!" It was published in the United States in 1992. In a few years it sold out, and has not been republished!
In 1995, I became an Israeli citizen. While living here in Israel, God has directed me to write many more Scripture books for Him from the Tanakh (Old Testament) about our Jewish Messiah. These books have gone out free by the thousands, all over Israel, to reach my lost Jewish brothers and sisters.
These Scripture books from the Tanakh reveal the Truth about our Living God, who is also our Loving Savior and our real Messiah, who cries out for His people, the children of Israel, to return to Him, to the God of Heaven, and to be Saved from all their sins.
Since that time in 1982, God has healed me and restored my soul. And He continues to heal me daily and restore my soul, and to save me from all my enemies. He has been helping me to let go of my fears and to love Him more, and also to love and forgive others who have really wounded me; to better obey His Word and surrender to Him, and to trust Him more deeply. He daily blesses me with His Love, Peace, Joy, Strength and His Protection. His Mercies are truly new for me every morning, and He is so Faithful!
He is continually making my life new, as He helps me to learn how to grow in God as His saved son.
He is the Living God, the Author of the Holy Scriptures!
He is 'the Holy One of Israel!'
He is 'the LORD of hosts' and 'the King of Glory!'
(Isaiah 43:3,4; Zechariah 9:9-17; Psalm 24:7-10;)
He is Yeshua, my Messiah, and my God!
July, 2011
