John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim's Progress, was born in Elstow, near Bedford, England in 1628.  The little that he learnt at school he soon forgot, but when he married, his wife helped him to read and write.

He was a tinker by trade and in 1657 became a preacher.

In 1660 he was put in prison because he refused to obey the authorities and give up preaching.

Whilst in prison, he had a dream and this dream he wrote down and called "The Pilgrim's Progress."

In this book, Bunyan calls the main character Christian, but Bunyan could have given the character his own name because it is nothing less than a portrait of himself.

Bunyan died in 1688 which serves as a solemn reminder that there is a time to be born and a time to die.

Let us turn to the story.

Joel 2:28    Matthew 25:13