The heart surgery that changed my understanding of Revelation.
I was just hours away from dying. If it hadn't been for my youngest son Seth calling 911, I wouldn't have survived to write this. My face and chest were turning purple, and despite being an athlete my entire life, always working out and staying in great condition, my body was shutting down. In fact, the day before my doctor's appointment, I was doing squats in the gym, completely unaware that my heart needed major surgery.
But this story isn't really about heart surgery. It's about how God used the most terrifying experience of my life to give me the clearest sense of purpose I've ever known.
Fast forward to February 2024, when Dorothy and I received shocking news. I needed open heart bypass surgery. This surprised both of us because I had been an athlete my entire life, always working out and staying in great condition. We prayed and felt it was God's will for our lives.
The surgery went well initially. They split open my chest and fixed my heart, and everything seemed fine during the first week in the hospital. But when I returned home the second week after the surgery, something felt wrong. It turned out the surgery site was leaking at the grafted vein. This was the first time in 20 years that my surgeon had encountered this issue.
I was rushed to the hospital with my face and chest turning purple. I was just hours away from dying. If it hadn't been for my youngest son, Seth, calling 911, I wouldn't have survived.
I had to undergo a second open heart emergency surgery. The new surgeon, also with 20 years of experience, found the stitches had ruptured on the graft, something he had never seen in his lifetime. As he drained the blood filling around my heart, the vein burst, and blood splattered all over the operating room, including his face and the ceiling.
He informed Dorothy that the next two hours would be critical and that I might not make it. Thirty people gathered in the waiting room to pray for me. By the grace of God, they managed to stop the bleeding and sew me back up. My heart stopped during both surgeries. And in that critical state, something extraordinary happened.
After my second operation, during which I nearly died twice, God gave me the clearest direction for my life. He directed me to simplify and compile all the knowledge I had gained from over three decades of studying, teaching, and interpreting the Book of Revelation and prophecy.
God made it crystal clear. "Bernard, this is your mission. Take the wisdom I have given you and teach prophecy to as many people as possible in a simple, comprehensible way."
I shared this vision with my wife and my brother in law, Big Barry. We identified who needed to be involved and the steps we had to take. It became evident that Satan was trying to prevent this from happening, trying to take me out not once but twice. I proudly show my eighteen inch chest scar as my battle wounds. After the second surgery, I became even more determined with a fierce fire in my newly patched up heart. I was totally convinced this was going to be a phenomenal tool to advance Christ's kingdom and put a hurt on Satan.
You might say I had to die twice to give you this book once. Since then, God has brought together all the right people to help me on this incredible journey. What you now have access to is, in my belief, the best and simplest way to understand the Book of Revelation and end time events. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a chart is worth ten thousand. I learn best through visual aids, and these charts will help you grasp the Book of Revelation like never before.
There is no better time for this message than today. Many Christians seem fearful, negative, worried, and anxious. I think this is because they do not study their Bible deeply enough to understand and trust that Jesus is in control and that God creates, controls, and can do all things.
I pray that this approach transforms you into a bold, courageous, worry free, and anxiety free Christian. For years, pastors, teachers, and Christians alike have steered away from the Book of Revelation. Fears, anxieties, and misinterpretations have plagued the study and understanding of this awe inspiring revelation.
But what if I told you that all those complex truths and wild images could be put into an easy to read, understandable format? With The Simplification of Revelation, I promise you will be able to comprehend the book of Revelation and other prophecy like never before. Your eyes will be opened to a new perspective and understanding of what's happening in the world today and how it applies to you.
Here's the truth. I only learned what God really wanted me to know when I was flat on my back in a hospital bed, facing eternity. You don't have to wait for a crisis to discover what He wants to show you about the future.
Grab your Bible, and let's get started.