My Grandfather Was a Mob Boss — E.A. Johnston

When I was doing research on my new biography on the mildly used Evangelist Sam Jones, I learned he was a direct descendant of Jonathan Edwards on his grandmother's side. My heritage is not as distinguished as that as a matter of fact.

My grandfather on my Italian mother's side was a Detroit mob boss. In fact, I'm named after him for my middle name is Angelo, which means angel in Italian but my grandfather Angelo Caruso was apparently no angel.

You can pull it up all online friends and Research yourself because he was part of a nationally famous news photo. And he made history on the cover of Time magazine. I'll give you the rundown. He was close to Henry Ford the automotive maker.

As a matter of fact Henry Ford appointed my grandfather to be head of his Ford Motor Company servicemen in Dearborn, Michigan at the Ford Motor Plant. What that really means is my Grandfather who was the mob boss of the downriver gang.

Henry Ford hired him to be his muscle to fight against the encroachment of the United Autos workers unions and all this came to a head and became history when a battle broke out between the two and became what was known as the Battle of the overpass.

As a matter of fact You can google that you'll see the famous photo that hit all the newspaper front pages all Over America at the time and they're prominently in that photo is my grandfather. Grabbing a man and the caption reads Ford Motor Company servicemen beat Richard Frankenstein a UAW organizer during the Battle of the overpass.

Pictured is Richard Frankenstein with his jacket over his head and Angelo Caruso. Like I said, I guess my grandfather was no angel. That's my heritage friends. My father was an agnostic. So he claimed These men's genes are in me.

Natural Heritage Cannot Save

Because they were born of the flesh and the likeness of their father and in the likeness of Adam. And I was born in the likeness of them in the natural birth as well. Jesus was having a conversation with a lost religious ruler by the name of Nicodemus who was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews and Jesus was trying to convince him that just his heritage in religious traditions and Dogma and customs weren't enough to get into God's.

Holy heaven. You see this man. Nicodemus thought his religious standing was good enough. But the miracles Jesus did disturbed this man and it disturbed him so much. He sought out Jesus in the nighttime.

Nicodemus and the Limits of Religious Heritage

Because he was too afraid to be seen with him during the day and in the third chapter of the Gospel of John We read Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest except God be with him.

The New Birth and Regeneration

Jesus answered and said Fairly fairly I say unto thee Except a man be born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God. And I guess this is where a lot of us get confused a day friends about what conversion is.

Are men saved as a result of a decision? They make or as the result of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said you must be born again and that was the cry of the great British evangelist George Whitfield who shook two continents and revival for God with the one theme of you must be born again.

A Minister in Boston asked Whitfield after he was preaching on Boston Common to 20 ,000 hearers. Mr. Whitfield since you've been among us. You only preach one thing. You must be born again. When sir, will you preach us a new message?

To which Whitfield replied when ye are born again, and that's the great need of our hour today friends where Society is in a moral downgrade and fast spinning out of control. And we foolishly believe we can fix things by electing the right senior citizen who can get things fixed, but man cannot fix the Deceitfulness of the human heart and self society's ills with new government Legislation the only solution is you must be born again.

Moral Decline and the Need for Heaven-Sent Revival

You know, I bet if we got enough people in this country to really be born again That in itself would Transform society because then there'd be a holy fear of God in the land again. Only a heaven-sent revival can save us from ourselves.

Salvation Rests on Christ, Not Ancestry

I have a photo of me as a little child Sitting in my grandfather's lap. I always loved my grandfather and I didn't find out about his dark career in Infamous. No, no rotary. No, right. No, I'm so Thumbed up by it.

I can't talk. Notoriety is what I'm trying to say until just a couple of years ago when I was conducting research On him and I found that news story online and boy was I surprised. It's a good thing. I don't have to rely on my genes and my paternal background.

To get me into heaven if I did I'd be in bad shape for sure. My only hope is in Christ Jesus and his blood for the remission of sins. Regeneration is the great need of the church in America today. Because she can't rely just on her traditions.