Great Cloud of Witnesses Speak

By: Matthew Robert Payne

Narrated by: Bradley D. Barnes MBA

Speaking to saints from Heaven might be rare, but in these times, more and more people are starting to experience it. In biblical times, Jesus had a conversation with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration that was recorded in Matthew 17:1-9. Then, in Matthew 27:50- 53, as Jesus died and the temple veil was torn, scripture records in verse 52: "...and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and verse 53: "...and coming out of the graves after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many...."

We are living in times where known prophets are speaking of encounters they have had with departed saints. For many years, Matthew has been having visitations and, in recent times, Jesus commissioned him to interview 19 saints that the Holy Spirit brought to Earth. These saints, part of the Great Cloud of Witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12:1, answered a standard 10 questions each, questions such as: "How do you feel today, being here to speak to the world?" "What do you think is special to God?" "What do you like about Heaven?" "What keys do you consider important for the Christian life?" "What advice would you give to people who are struggling?" "What message do you have for this generation?"

Through these interviews and the answers that are given, come and journey and get to know these biblical characters in a new and fresh way. Let them speak to you of the God they love and the Jesus they worship set within the context of the life they lived on Earth and the one they now live in Heaven. The saints interviewed in order of appearance are David, Bathsheba, Leah, Rachel, Martha, Mary of Bethany, Paul, Peter, Mary Magdalene, John, Rahab, Eve, Joshua, Moses, Enoch, Elijah, Mary mother of Jesus, Joseph - father of Jesus, and Job.

©2015 Matthew Robert Payne (P)2015 Revival Waves of Glory Books & Publishing

Great Premise!

What do historical figures from the bible have to say about their own (sometimes seemingly tragic) stories and lives? And what message would they give to us in this time? The premise for this book is really interesting and compelling. And the take that Matthew gives to the bible stories is to twist them from something we read as a bad thing and tell us how it made them a better person - especially when they accepted their circumstances and obeyed God. This was new for me and so it had an impact and has changed the way I view many events in the bible.

A couple things, for me at least, really detract from the message. One is the narration. Bradley's voice is pleasant but the tone and how he read for this book was not right for me. Like another review, I turned the speed up to 1.5. Also, Matthew spends an inordinate amount of time defending attacks he appears to anticipate from his book. This took me out of the book and the intended message each time.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for an honest review.

Interviewing Bible Greats

What disappointed you about Great Cloud of Witnesses Speak?

The concept behind this audiobook was creative and clever, and I found the content itself to be interesting and engaging. In this audiobook, the narrator has modern-day interviews/conversations with a variety of well-known Bible characters, like David, Bathsheba, etc.

What made the audiobook unbearable for me was the narration. First, It was impossible for me to listen to at the normal pace-as it was torturously slow. The only way I could listen to it without losing my mind was at 1.5x the normal speed. Even at the faster pace, though, it was difficult for me to endure-the narrator's voice went up and down, up and down, again and again, non-stop. I tried listening to it at 2x the normal speed, and while this DID fix the peculiar up and down quality of the narrator's voice, it was also a little too fast at times.

I believe this would have been an otherwise enjoyable audiobook if the author had just used a different narrator.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review.

Could not Listen Narration is Horrible

Can't really say the story was bad; because, I simply could not listen to the narrator. Buy the book and read it yourself.