son of hope
david berkowitz
forgivenforlife
the monster is dead
In 1977-78, New York was terrorized by a monster in
the dark. Six people were dead and seven were injured, before the nightmare came to an end with the capture of the gunman,
who had written taunting letters to the police, calling himself the
"Son of Sam". He was sentenced to six consecutive
life terms in
prison.
It turned out the gunman, who was also
known as the "
44 caliber killer" was a troubled young man who had been drawn into a
cult of
satan worshippers.
He spent several months in prison psychiatric
facilities. Then he spent ten years just surviving from day to day in New York's
maximum security
prison system.
Then he began to read the Psalms. He read
the verse that says, "this poor man cried, and the Lord delivered him out of all his troubles". He read the verse that
said, "my cry came before
the Lord, even into His ears." The God of heaven that he had
been angry at all his life, called to David's cold, stony, demon-ridden
heart. All alone, near midnight, in his lonely prison cell, David Berkowitz got down on his knees and poured his
heart out to Jesus. He let his heart be melted by the power of Jesus' love and forgiveness, and the chains the devil
had on his mind were
shattered, and David felt the peace of a new mind, and a forgiven soul.
Since 1987, David Berkowitz has lived the life
of a dedicated servant of Jesus Christ. He knows he will never get out of prison. Whatsoever a man sows, that
shall he also reap. But the Lord has blessed and annointed David Berkowitz, even as he
lives out his life sentence behind prison walls.
As his crimes are known around the world, so
now is the glorious hand of Jesus Christ in his life, known around the world.
Just like the Gadarene demoniac who was so full of demons, that he cried
out, "my name is Legion, for we are many", David Berkowitz is now "clothed, and in his right mind".
A few years ago, he started writing notes about
life in prison, and the things he has learned about serving Jesus, even in a hard place, like a maximum security
prison.
This site offers the reader some of those notes.
When he served the devil, he called himself
the "son of sam".
The name has come to mean mindless terror and violence.
When he came to Jesus, he began to call himself
"son of hope".
There is a beautiful Hebrew word that means
"son of hope".
"Ben Tikvah". We gratefully present to
the reader the notes
written in prison from the reborn heart of a man who was once chained
under the basement floor of Hell, but is now walking in
newness of life with the King of Kings. "ben tikvah notes".
