Spirituality/General: Has a Savior Returned?

It was rainy January day in Knoxville when we searched this Baptist church's windows for crosses that were said to appear - but none were found; the opaque windowpanes were dark and wet, nothing appeared abnormal. My first thought was that we'd wasted a trip. I didn't know then that light caused the crosses to appear. But we persisted and returned that evening and found five crosses, one blazing in each window.

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The crosses' edges flickered like flames; there was definite movement in the glass. Since the church windows were solid, and nothing had been seen in those panes earlier that day, I wondered what was going on. What focused the light as a cross? But there was no doubting our eyes, because there before us, an even-armed cross floated in each window. Seeing such marvelous light formations shimmer, sparkle, and appear to rise 40 feet in the churchyard was moving - both physically and emotionally.

The crosses appeared in 1995 at Copper Ridge Baptist, a small church located on the outskirts of Knoxville. Joe Bullard pastored there for twelve years before the crosses appeared, and about thirty people attended his Sunday services. After the crosses came everything changed. Miraculous healings began, visiting crowds overflowed the church building into the parking lot. Over 50,000 people saw the Knoxville crosses, and national media coverage exposed the crosses to millions more.

I am a retired computer engineer, who along with my wife had come to see the miraculous crosses of light. My wife, Glenna, and I had investigated other paranormal events, but the Knoxville church was our first visit to a cross-site. That winter night we were the only visitors, as fog in the Tennessee Mountains kept everyone else away.

Joe and his wife told us about doves of light flying through services, angels appearing on church grounds, and mysterious men appearing and disappearing during services. Many paranormal manifestations occurred in Joe's services, which both church members and visitors witnessed.

Joe had opened his church and the crosses to Buddhists, New-Agers, Catholics, and Charismatic Christians - people of all faiths and those of no faith. But the outsider's actions and beliefs were too "strange" for the small mountain church to handle. Conflicts erupted over Joe's openness, and the disagreements between him and the members spilled over into the services. Eventually the crowds stopped visiting, and a few months after our visit Joe resigned. After his resignation the church windows were removed, thus removing the crosses.

After returning home, my scientific mind studied the physical aspects behind those light formations, while my metaphysical side focused on what the crosses were trying to say. I discovered that crosses are a worldwide phenomenon; they all exhibit the same even-armed shape; and they all occur when light shines through an opaque glass pane, after a molecular change in the glass. Crosses appeared in homes and churches, to Christian and non-Christian alike, and most cross occurrences are followed by miraculous healings. Pursuing the crosses' trail led us to a mysterious man - a man that Joe and some of his members had seen materialize in their services.

When I first discovered this man's unusual appearances, I was skeptical and curious. I didn't disbelieve in materialization and dematerialization - Jesus did that in some biblical incidents. Too, in parapsychology studies, I found angels often took physical form to save men from imminent danger.

I found instances of the man's materializations, both in published materials and from individual interviews. The best-documented appearance occurred in 1989 in Nairobi, Kenya and was covered by CNN and BBC, plus other major media services. Media reports stated that a mysterious man materialized before 6000 Christians, spoke perfect Swahili for fifteen minutes, and then dematerialized. I discovered the story, along with the man's picture, in a magazine named Share International. Although most news sources didn't report the man's name, Share International said his name was Maitreya.

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The man's picture found its way to Knoxville. Joe and several visitors verify the man in this picture materialized during a few services. A most interesting appearance came after Joe resigned as pastor.

During a Sunday morning drive, Joe and his wife saw this man wearing a white robe and white turban standing beside the road. He smiled, waved at them, and then dematerialized. Both Joe and his wife verified the man was identical to the Share International picture.

Given that these unusual appearances are occurring, what are they trying to say? One probable message is that God is present in the extreme change and difficulty that are all around. Each miraculous healing verifies that hope exists. Another possibility draws attention to a returning world teacher or savior. The bible prophesizes a world savior will return accompanied by signs and wonders. I lean toward the world teacher's return.

In mythological stories, when an individual awakened spiritually he changed names. An American Indian always took a new name after a successful vision quest. In biblical stories, Jacob became Israel after wrestling with the angel; Saul became Paul after the Damascus road experience; Simon became Peter after Jesus appointed him to head the Christian church.

The world population numbers six billions, with major religions expecting their own savior, and large population segments having no religious inclinations, so a returning teacher/savior must unite these various groups. Thus a world teacher will probably need a new name to be accepted by everyone and to reflect a new spiritual awakening. World peace is mandatory for any continued spiritual progress. A returning teacher must help reorganize world finance and governments for peace cannot occur, if fear and greed control financial markets, or if governments are driven by political intrigue and deception.

Time alone will determine if the crosses and this man's unusual appearances herald a world teacher's return. However, thus far these signs have meant hope and healing; they've brought people together in loving ways; and they seem to support all religions.

Time alone will determine if the crosses and this man's unusual appearances herald a world teacher's return. However, thus far these signs have meant hope and healing; they've brought people together in loving ways; and they seem to support all religions.

To study more about the world teacher idea, the reader can visit www.theteacher.org.

©Copyright 2003 by AlternativeApproaches.com

About the Author: Bill Draffen is a retired engineer/computer analyst who worked on all of the Apollo missions and most of the Gemini missions. He and his wife Glenna have been involved with ESP and psychic phenomena since the mid-1960s. He is currently seeking a publisher for a book he's written documenting his wife's brother's World War II POW experiences. He would be interested in hearing from anyone who has had experiences similar to the one in this article. You may email him at gbdraffen@juno.com.