For DO & TRF Supporter Family--Not for DFO Reading
TRF SUPPORTER ADVISORY--Sept.'94
Peter #75
--By Peter Amsterdam
Dear TRF Supporter Family,
1. God bless you, & greetings in Jesus' name! We hope that this letter finds you in good health, inspired & fulfilled in your life & service for the Lord! Dad & Mama are very thankful for each of you, for your faithfulness to the Lord & the Family, for your support & for your willingness to proclaim the Truth.
2. As you know, these last few years have been filled with intense persecution, resulting in us all having to fight for our right to exist as the Family & to continue to serve the Lord in the way we see fit. Thank the Lord, He has brought us through these turbulent times & has won many tremendous victories for us all.
3. The persecution, as painful & difficult as it was to go through, has brought about much good. It flung the Family into the forefront of the news, giving us an opportunity to preach the message to a greater extent than ever before. It brought us before the courts in three continents, in widely publicised cases in which we were vindicated, resulting in a greater acceptance of the Family in many countries.
4. Another good fruit of the persecution was that it brought our young people to the fore as they assumed major roles in organising & staging demonstrations, acting as Family spokespersons, etc. The public saw more of them than ever before, & the Family saw them rise to new heights of witnessing & leadership.
5. Besides the many victories in our outreach, the Lord also used this persecution to cause us to re-evaluate a number of our policies, including those which have been in place regarding you, our TRF Supporter Family. Fighting side by side with you in this fight for our religious freedom helped us to more fully realise the special calling the Lord has given you. He has again emphasised that we are all brothers & sisters, co-laborers in the fields which are white & ready for harvest.
6. As time draws closer to the End, it seems to us that the Lord is trying to unite us (along with other Christians) in a greater way than ever before.--Drawing us all closer together in the common purpose of winning the lost & fighting against the anti-Christ forces which are working feverishly to de-Christianise the World. In light of this, the Lord has shown us that we need to "shorten the cord" between the various concentric circles of the Family. He looks upon the heart & not upon the outward appearance of Family classification.--1Sam. 16:7. He loves all the Family, regardless of whether they are DO or TRF Supporters.
7. Many of you have been shining examples of faith, living in small Homes without much contact with other Family Members. Being in that situation has caused you to get even more serious with the Lord & has drawn you more than ever to His Word as you seek His guidance & direction for your lives. Many of you have testified that being solely responsible for the outcome of your decisions has caused you to become more desperate in prayer about the choices you make, resulting in a closer & more fulfilling relationship with Jesus. In short, being on your own has strengthened you in spirit.
8. Dad & Mama are proud of you. They are thankful for your dedication & that you have stuck through thick & thin. No one was there making sure that you witnessed, that you lived the Letters or that you even served the Lord at all. You could have easily fallen by the wayside because of discouragement & a feeling of abandonment. Instead, you kept forging ahead, remaining faithful to the Lord & the Family.
9. As you know, we are a moving, changing, growing movement. As we pass through the various periods of growth, our methods & modes of operation change. We develop new programmes to meet the needs as they arise, & when those needs change, the programmes have to change. In 1989 the TRF Supporter programme was initiated for a specific purpose. The needs of the overall Family were such that creating another concentric circle was imperative. However, as time passed the basic concept & function of this added circle of the Family changed into something different than its original purpose.
10. Over the last four years the Family has gone through monumental changes. We've taken the major step of coming out from a largely incognito, selah existence, to nearly every Home openly declaring itself to be a Family Home. We have been & still are in an intense fight for our rights to exist & to freely practice our religion. We more clearly recognise that "he that is not against us is for us" (Luke 9:50).
11. The persecution put us in contact with many people, both Christian & non-Christian, who are fighting for religious freedom & against those that are seeking to deny us & others that right. Fighting side by side with these newfound friends has helped us to realise that the Lord was leading us to "Enlarge the place of thy tent, & let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, & strengthen thy stakes" (Isaiah 54:2). He's calling us all to be more open, to work more with others for the furtherance of His Kingdom.
12. The Lord first brought this point home to us when many of our TRF Supporter Family Members came to the fore & stood up to proclaim the Truth during recent media campaigns & court cases against us. Your voices rang out clearly & the media took notice. Some of you testified in court & had a significant impact on the cases. As you rallied to the defense of your Family in the fight for freedom, we became more aware of your dedication to the Lord & His Work. In many areas around the World this gave rise to the idea of fellowship meetings which included both the DO & TRF Supporter Family Members. The reports from these fellowships further focused the spotlight on the TRF Supporter Family & we learned more about your victories & your needs.
13. Having become more aware of your needs, we want to try to better meet them by making some immediate changes which we hope will express our gratefulness & give due recognition to you who are such a vital & important part of the Lord's Family. Perhaps you didn't know, but there are currently over 1,000 adult TRF Supporter Family Members. Our total TRF Supporter population makes up one-fourth of the overall Family, & you collectively win about 15,000 people to the Lord each month, as well as distribute 16% of all the lit & Tapes that are distributed by the Family overall. WS income from the tithes & gifts of our TRF Supporter Family Members has helped finance a great deal of the major pioneer & outreach work in places like Russia & Eastern Europe. So as you can see, you are a very important part of the overall Family & play a major role in it.
14. Before we explain these changes, we'd like to make some apologies. We know that in some cases some of you have not been treated as lovingly as you should have been, either at the time of your move to TRF Supporter status or since then. We have received reports that some of you have been deeply hurt by a lack of love on the part of your DO brethren. Hearing of such behaviour saddens & hurts us. Struggling through the hardships many of you have experienced has been difficult enough without the added burden of feeling unloved or unwanted by the rest of the Family.
15. We acknowledge that some of this behaviour was probably a result of the DO brethren trying to implement the policies that were put in place at the start of the TRF Supporter programme. At that time it was necessary for there to be a more definite line of distinction between the DO & TRF Supporter Members, but we did not intend for the TRF Supporter Members to be treated in an unloving manner.
16. For any of you who were treated in such a way, we apologise & sincerely ask you to forgive us. We're very sorry we did not foresee all the difficulties that you were to encounter when we started the programme, & that the policies associated with it were often implemented without sufficient love, consideration, understanding & mercy. We have been slow in addressing these matters, & we apologise for that.
17. Dad & Mama have been burdened for you & your desire for more Word & closer contact. They have been listening to your heartcries & therefore want to make some changes. For a confirmation of the Lord's Will in this matter & for your encouragement, they asked one of our WS Units to pray & hear from the Lord in prophecy for you, our TRF Supporter Family Members.--And He spoke wonderfully. At the end of this letter is a transcript of those prophecies which we're sure you'll find inspiring.
18. We pray that the changes listed below will be an encouragement to you.
19. The first change is an increase in the amount of Family pubs you will be receiving. You've probably noticed that we have already begun to send you more pubs during recent months, & we hope to both continue & increase this amount by sending you:
* At least one new GN per month.
* One Home Educator per month. Some of these are back issues, so once you are caught up, you will get any new ones at the same time they are issued to the DO Family. (Some of the Home Educators have a very strong bias towards home schooling. By sending you these, we are not suggesting that those of you who have enrolled your children in schools should instead home school them. These are for your information & to give helpful advice to those of you who do home school.)
* One issue of "Victory in Babylon" per month. This is a faith-building story for children, loosely based on factual experiences, about some true-to-life Family children who are apprehended by Child Protection workers, & the many lessons learned & victories won while in state custody.
* Copies of each new Recommended Movie List, as they are sent out to the DO Family.
* One copy per Home of each new Family Video & audio Tape as they are released.
* A short newsletter, the FUN (Family Update News), which has the latest news & testimonies from both DO & TRF Supporter Family Members.
* The FAR (Family Activity Report), a two-page monthly newsletter geared to friends of the Family.
20. There may be other materials added to this list in the future, & you will continue to receive issues of the publications that you are used to receiving. We sincerely hope that these pubs will be a blessing & a strength to you!
21. The second change is the possibility of more contact with DO Family Members. Until recently there has been very little direct contact between our DO & TRF Supporter Members in most areas. This has been difficult for almost everyone, especially those who have close relatives & friends in differing circles of Family fellowship. Many of you had your older teenage children remain in the DO Family when you became TRF Supporters. Others left both their mate & children. We understand & appreciate the extreme sacrifice it must have been for you.
22. In one area, in an experimental programme suggested by Dad & Mama, some teenage TRF Supporters have actually become DO Members again, after going through a live-in course to see if they really wanted to, & also to see if the Shepherds of the course felt they were cut out for DO life. However, we do not expect that DO life will be to every TRF Supporter teen's liking, nor do we think it is necessarily God's Will that they all become DO Members. The best place for each of us is where we can be the happiest & do the best job for the Lord, & in many cases it might be right where we are.
23. Recently, Mama commented: "Dad & I really admire those parents who have sacrificed to let their teens who wanted to, either stay in or go back to the DO Family. Every time I think about these parents & the sacrifice they have made, it makes me cry. But when I think of the great reward they will have for their forsaking I am greatly comforted, & I want to comfort them with this thought also."
24. So from now on there are no longer any general restrictions on contact between DO & TRF Supporter Family Members. It will now be up to you & any DO Family Members you come in contact with to decide how much you want to meet & fellowship or possibly work together. Circumstances & conditions vary so greatly from one situation to another that the only stipulation we will make is that whatever you decide upon must have the full agreement & consent of everyone immediately concerned. No permission is needed from Area Shepherds. Likewise, there is no obligation on the part of anyone to do anything that they don't really want to.
25. At the end of this letter is a contact address or phone number. If you are not already in direct contact with DO Family Members & would like to be, please write or call. We'll do our best, circumstances permitting, to put you in contact with DO Family Members near you.
26. In many areas there has already been an increase in contact & fellowship between TRF Supporters & the DO Family. By & large it has been very successful, & we've received a lot of inspiring testimonies as well as some good lessons. We'd like to share a few tips with you in the hope that they will make your initial contact with DO Family Members go as smoothly as possible:
* Please keep in mind that most of the DO Homes are usually very busy. Even though they are "open," this does not mean that they receive visitors all day every day. So please don't feel offended if you are not immediately invited over to a Home. It just may not be possible right away due to other commitments.
* Some of you are having regular fellowship with the DO Family at fellowship meetings which are organised by yourselves or other TRF Supporter brethren. A number of DO Family Members also attend the meetings & share testimonies, & you all generally have good fellowship & prayer together. If such meetings are not taking place in your area, you may want to discuss the idea with other TRF Supporter Members & the local DO Members to see if holding such meetings would be feasible & fruitful.
* Besides having fellowship with the local DO Family, perhaps you could discuss ways to cooperate on different projects at some time or other. Many DO Homes & TRF Supporter Homes are doing this already & it seems to be bearing very good fruit! Praise the Lord!
27. As much as we prefer to dwell only on the positive, we feel we should offer the following word of caution. Actually, we believe that most of you do not need this admonition, but if some of you feel that the shoe may fit, please don't be discouraged. We are far from perfect & we don't expect you to be perfect either. However, for any kind of cooperation to succeed, we must all be trying to do our best. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3.)
28. The degree to which increased fellowship will succeed is going to depend a lot on the behaviour & attitudes of everyone involved. We're asking the DO Family to do their best to try to be a blessing to you. However, a lot is still going to depend on you.
29. As a TRF Supporter Family Member, you have adopted a lifestyle free of day-to-day oversight by DO Family leadership. This has resulted in a wide diversity among TRF Supporters. Many of you are doing your best to live for the Lord & help the Family, while others are doing less for the Lord. Most of you have a positive attitude towards the overall Family, while a few others seem to have grievances that they voice whenever given the opportunity. Most of you strive to be a good example of Family Christian behaviour, while a few others are sadly a reproach to the cause of Christ.
30. So your own conduct will significantly determine how much direct contact you have with DO Family Members. If you are doing your best to live for the Lord & manifest a loving, humble & positive attitude, then your relations with the DO Family will probably be very good. However, if you are a very poor sample or very vocal in your complaints, then many DO Family Members may want little to do with you. So in the end, how rewarding this increased fellowship will be in your own lives will be largely up to you!
31. Although the distinction between the different circles of the Family--the DO circle & the TRF Supporter circle--may have caused you some hurt or discouragement, in many cases it has been a protective device for both you & the DO Family. The authorities in most areas now seem to understand & accept that there is a differentiation between these two circles, & that the actions of one should not be held against the other. This means that if in the future the DO Family is raided by the authorities, you won't necessarily be lumped in with them. On the other hand, if a TRF Supporter Home is in some way a reproach, then the overall Family won't be held accountable.
32. In a way it's like two flesh brothers who grow up & marry & take up residence in different houses. Each of them then has his own family, yet they are still part of their greater or extended family. The brothers' children are cousins, so they are part of the extended family, but they are also part of their own immediate family. If one of the brothers has some legal or other problems, the other brother normally would help all he can, but he is not held responsible for his brother's actions. In a sense, this is how our Family circles work. We are all part of the overall Family, just as the two brothers are both members of their family, but they live separately & they are not directly responsible one for another.
33. Those in the DO circle live in accordance with the rules & guidelines of the DO Family & choose to submit themselves to the direct shepherding of Family leadership. Those in the TRF Supporter circle, while still part of the greater or extended Family, are not under any supervisory authority of Family leadership. As such, while the DO Family is somewhat accountable for the actions of other DO Homes, it cannot be held accountable for the actions of a TRF Supporter Home.--And neither should a TRF Supporter Home be held accountable for the actions of the DO Family.
34. In order to make this clear to those you witness to, your contacts & the authorities, it would be wisest for you to explain that you are either "Supporting" Members of the Family or "Associate" Members of the Family. By referring to yourselves as "Family Members" you run the risk of being held accountable for the DO Family's actions & you put the DO Family at risk of being held accountable for your actions.
35. Remember, though, we're all very much a part of the Lord's Family. He's our Father, & like the two brothers, we're both connected to Him & loved by Him. He doesn't judge us by what Family circle we are in. He loves us unconditionally. He knows all of our heartaches, our trials, our needs, & He cares for us as if each of us was the only one in existence. We are all one in the Spirit regardless of our place in the overall Family. We are all brothers & sisters because we have the same Father & Mother. So let's move on in unity & harmony with one another as we work side by side in the fields, sowing the seed of His Words & reaping the harvest of lost souls. May God bless & help us all as we work together to win the World for Him.
Love,
Peter A.
36. P.S.: Dad & Mama are very interested in hearing testimonies of your life & work as TRF Supporters. You've undoubtedly had many experiences, learning things such as pioneering smaller Homes, that both DO Members & other TRF Supporters would benefit from hearing about, along with all the resultant lessons. In the near future, many of our DO Family Homes are going to be trimming down to a smaller, more manageable size, & that will of course necessitate the pioneering of more Homes. Although many have lived in smaller Homes before, any lessons you could share about how you organised your schedule, children's schooling, & the myriad of other things you had to take into consideration under current economic & social conditions would certainly be a help to them. If you would write these up & send them in to your reporting office, marked at the top "For Dad & Mama," they would greatly appreciate it. Regardless of whether you have any specific testimonies that you would like to share for the benefit of the overall Family, Dad & Mama would also enjoy just hearing from you, so if you would like to write them a note, please do. They may not be able to answer you personally, but will read your note & pray for you.
Following are the prophecies referred to earlier in this letter:
PRAYER:
1. Jesus, we thank You that we can get together like this & pray & hear from You. We thank You for the privilege that You've given us of hearing from You, & we thank You that You are a living God Who speaks to us fresh every day. We are so thankful that Dad & Mama are concerned for our TRF Supporter Family & love them so much, & we thank You for this opportunity to pray about them.
2. We are concerned for them, & we bring our TRF Supporters before You now. As Dad has said, there are many concentric circles of discipleship in the Family, & they are one of them. We thank You for them & for the progress they've made in the last few years. We know that among the TRF Supporters the level of dedication & loyalty & faithfulness differs from individual to individual, just as these virtues do among DO Family Members. We thank You for those who have really profited by being TRF Supporters.
3. We pray now & ask if there is anything You want to tell them as a general group, anything You have for them to encourage them or instruct them. We pray that You will speak. Any instruction from You or encouragement for them would mean so much to so many people. So we pray that You will give us anything You have; that You will speak, & speak to them through us.
4. Lead us in the way that we should go. You said, "This is the way, walk ye in it," so we pray that You will instruct us so that we will walk in the way that You desire. We pray that You will make it easy & clear & speak Your Words through us for these precious brethren.
PROPHECIES:
5. These, My children, are greatly loved. For even as it is told of Me, how I went out to search for the one lost sheep amongst an hundred, so is My Love for all of these, who are not lost, but are perhaps a little farther away from the sheepfold. How I would love to gather them, speak to them, comfort them, lead them & guide them! Many of them do hunger & thirst for the Words of Love & Truth & guidance. They are precious in My sight. They have laboured in the fields for many years, & their rewards are not lost to them. For they have ministered unto the saints & they do minister.
6. Greet them as brethren, accept them as brethren, accept them into your fellowship, but not to doubtful disputations. But love them, work with them, encourage them, inspire them. For I say unto you that I look upon the heart. And if ye will be perfect in My sight, then ye must love these who are perhaps not as strong as you, or lack some quality. I do not despise them. See that ye do not despise them either.
7. Ye have need of each other, because there is a huge job for you to do, & the labourers are few. And these may not be able to labour much, but even little is much if it be done for Me & My Kingdom.
8. And to you who have remained faithful unto Me & the Words of My Prophet, even though you were not able to be continually in My folds, I say that your reward is great. Even now the reward is manifest in your life. For I say unto you, I have blessed you & I have nurtured you & I have prospered you & I have taught you many things. I have made you men & women after My Own heart. For only in trials & afflictions can some things be learned. And only when ye are desperate enough to cry out to Me, as many of you have been, & desperate to hold on to Me no matter what, are the qualities being born in you that are needed. But look not on your time of being alone as a curse or as some evil thing that has befallen you, but rejoice, for in these times I have made you the men & women of God that ye need to be.
9. But now there is a new day, a new dawn, & all My children must join together & unite to accomplish the great task that is before them. Look to the horizon & see the dark clouds that are gathering, for they shall soon sweep the Earth & a great darkness shall be upon it, & a time of trouble that never was before, nor shall ever be again. Ye are appointed unto this time & ye must all hold the light high so that those who will be groping in darkness can see the light & come to the light, that they may be saved. Behold, I ask you to forsake bitterness & sorrow of heart & renew within you the pledge ye all once took to follow Me as disciples, for great & mighty things shall I do through you. For they that do know their God shall be strong & shall do exploits, & My Name shall be glorified in you.
* * *
10. He that is not against Me is for Me, & that which is spoken in secret shall be shouted from the rooftops. Many of you have spoken for Me & for My Family, & your words have gone far, because ye can say that ye know My Family, ye have lived with them, & yet ye are now somewhat apart. Therefore, from this position your witness speaks even stronger. Ye are even a greater blessing in some ways than you were before. Ye have this calling to go, stand & speak to the people all the words of this life, & they will listen to you more than they will listen to others.
11. Ye have been tried & proven in the furnace of affliction, & it has been My Will & My promise that you would come through as better gold, refined & tried, finer steel, a better tool, more easily used in My hand. Ye are able to stand & speak loudly & proclaim to those who will listen, & also to whisper softly in the ears of those who will listen, in the positions that I have put you in. For My hand has been upon you every moment. Even as I was with Jonah in the belly of the whale, even as I was with the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, I have been with you every moment. It has been My desire to protect you & keep you through all these things to perform My purpose.
12. Therefore, fear not what lies before you, but take up the challenge with boldness & conviction to be witnesses unto Me. For this is what will count.--Not your small failings or the moments of weaknesses that seem so great, but the positive will far outweigh the negative, & you will be so glad for how you have stood up for Me & have been counted for Me & My Family. And the other will be as a dream that passeth away, which you will hardly remember for the joy that you will have in serving Me & being counted for Me.
13. So take up this challenge & rejoice in it & exult in the calling that ye have, to be counted as children of David, in your own special way & with your own special calling, & with a place of fruitfulness unto Me.
* * *
14. Have I not said, ye are the salt of the Earth? And if the salt hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? And if the salt is not shaken & scattered abroad, wherewith shall the Earth be salted, & wherein shall I find faith in the Earth? Have ye been scattered? Is this a defeat, to be scattered throughout the Earth to fulfil the purpose I have ordained?--That ye should go into all the World, that My Gospel & My Name may be known to every creature, that My Word may be proclaimed where others have not gone, that My Name may be held up that others may be drawn unto Me, whom to know is life eternal.
15. Why art thou cast down? Why is thy soul disquieted within thee, saying, "I have been forsaken, I have been cast out." Have not I always commanded My children to go, that My Name may be proclaimed where it has not been heard, that My Truth may be given to those who have not seen it, that I may be glorified? Is not this thy purpose upon the Earth, to lift up Me & proclaim My Name to those who long to hear it?
16. Is this a defeat, that ye have been scattered & are not bunched up together in the fellowship of My children wherein ye were in times past? Or is this a victory out of a seeming defeat, wherein I may be glorified, & that your faith may be strengthened, & your wings may be tested, that ye may soar to heights hitherto unattained? Have I not always said that My greatest victories come from seeming defeat? And in this time of trial & this time of feeling forsaken, have I not drawn you unto Myself?
17. For God seeth not as Man seeth, & I look not on the outward appearance, but on the heart. And if in your heart ye have given your all unto Me, I know this. Others may not have known this, but I know this. Have I not said, every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, not of necessity; not because of the opinions of Man, not because of the peer pressure of others, but because of love & love alone, & in love for Me. If ye have given your heart unto Me & walked humbly before Me, this is well pleasing in My sight, & a savour & a sweet sacrifice with which I am well pleased, & for which I will reward you greatly, now & in the time to come.
18. Walk humbly with Me & serve Me, not with eye service as a man-pleaser, but a servant of Christ who seeks to do his Master's bidding & who seeks to uphold Me before others so they may come to Me, & who seeks to train his little ones in the way that they should go, who seeks to be faithful.
19. One thing is required in stewards, & that is that a man be found faithful. And if ye who have been without My folds are faithful unto Me & faithful to your Shepherd & faithful to the Words I have given you & the standard I have taught you these many years, think ye that ye will be judged as less than those within the fold, if ye obey My commandments & walk before Me by faith?
20. Without faith it is impossible to please Me. But if ye walk by faith & walk in My ways & seek first My Kingdom, & withstand the scorn & the ridicule not only of the World but even of some of those who rest assured within the fold, yet ye have remained faithful unto Me, do ye think that this is a small thing in My sight?
21. I look not as Man looketh. I look on the heart. And in the day of judgment, every man will give account of himself before Me of those things done in his own body, & in those deeds performed from his own heart, whether they are of gold & silver & precious stone, as done cheerfully unto Me & not unto Man, or whether they are wood & hay & stubble & man-pleasing & a voluntary humility. And every man shall be rewarded accordingly. And if ye who feel rejected & forsaken are faithful to Me, great shall be your reward!
22. Rejoice, ye faithful, for ye serve the Lord Christ, the living God!--He who beholds the hearts & ponders the goings of Man. Rejoice, for ye have an opportunity to run a race solely unto Me. And though ye have been ashamed, if ye are faithful unto Me, ye shall receive glory from Me if ye will but walk before Me in the land of the living & uplift Me & be faithful unto Me & proclaim My Name. I will reward you greatly, & ye shall receive praise of your brethren & commendation from Me, yea, honour before the Angels if ye will proclaim My Name before this adulterous & wicked generation.
23. If ye will proclaim My Name without shame & without fear, I will proclaim your name. And ye shall receive honour not merely from Man, not merely from your brethren, but ye shall receive honour from Me & sit at My table & be blessed of Me, if ye are faithful. Purpose in your heart what ye shall give, & give unto Me, & I will give bountifully unto you beyond your wildest dreams. For ye are My children, & I will never leave you. I will never forsake you, for I am with you always, even unto the end of the World!
* * *
24. These are My sheep & I care for them, & I have them in the palm of My hand. I have never left them nor forsaken them. I have heard their prayers & I have seen their bleeding hearts. Their cries have reached unto My throne, & I have been touched with the feeling of their infirmities & by their needs, for they are My precious sheep & My precious children of David.
25. There are those in the inner circle who do look upon them with contempt, with self-righteousness & hardness of heart. This hardness of heart does cause Me to weep, this lack of understanding & sympathy. For these ones of Mine who do feed in distant pastures have felt the hand of My chastisement & have been exercised by a great discipline.
26. And many feel broken & lost & hurt & hungry, for they do realise that because of their different weaknesses or even sins & failures & shortcomings, the thing which they did most greatly love in all the World has been taken from them--the privilege to dine at the table of David, to eat of the Words of David & to drink of the new wine.
27. Many look back upon those Days of Heaven & they do yearn with hungry hearts for the days when they drank of the wine of David. They do look upon those days & they do cherish those treasures which they once held in their hands, but that now have been taken from them. They do weep & they do long to be brought closer, that their hearts & their souls may be fed.
28. And yet they have waited patiently, they have trusted, they have had faith, for they do know of the love of David & Maria, & they have faith in the love of David & Maria. They say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Though all be lost, yet will I trust Him. For to whom shall we go? Thou alone hast the Words of Eternal Life." If there were some place that they could go to be fed, they would go. But they know that only at the table of David can they be fed, & can they find the Words of Eternal Life to feed their souls. And so they do wait patiently, & they do look from a distance & they do wait for the crumbs which will fall from the Master's table, that they might eagerly gobble them up, that they might find the strength for their souls that they do search for.
29. And behold, there are those who do sit at the table of David, who have within their reach the new wine from the presses of David & Maria, who could drink & eat to be satisfied to overflowing. Yet there are those at the table, those of the inner circle, who do not appreciate these Words, for they are glutted & their familiarity has bred contempt. Oh, if these of the inner circle could just realise the precious value of these jewels that they do have in their treasure chests, if they could learn to value them like these ones do who graze in the distant pastures! For they do know the value of these precious jewels, now that they do look upon them from such a great distance.
30. Behold, I will not judge these ones harshly, for I do not see as you see, I do not look upon boundaries, I do not look upon classifications, but I look upon the heart. Man looks upon the outward appearance, but I look upon the heart. For if each man & woman has given unto Me of their utmost, & has used their gifts & their talents to the greatest, & has been yielded & faithful to Me as much as is within their power & their capabilities, if each person has given their all for Me, then I will reward them accordingly. For I have given unto each person talents & gifts, & their reward depends not upon their classification but upon their faithfulness. According to where their heart is, so shall each person be blessed.
31. And even these who have weaknesses, many of whom are frail or tired & sickly, or do not have the strength to be on the front line of the battle, when compared with the rest of My children in the World, they are very strong because of the years that they have fed of the Words of David, & because of the experiences that they have had in serving Me on the mission field & laying down their lives, & because of the training that they have received as fulltime disciples. What you call weak, many others call strong. And they & their children shall be ensamples to many, & they shall shine like lights, & they shall be lifted up. Many of My children in the World shall look unto them & shall marvel at their strength & their wisdom & their faith.
32. So even though they may not be able to be on the front lines of battle, they have a special place in My Kingdom. And if they will just be yielded unto Me & use the training & wisdom that I have given them, they shall have their own flocks to feed & to shepherd & to train. These flocks of theirs shall support them, & they shall be very grateful, & they shall partake of their wisdom & their faith. They shall grow, & so shall the numbers of My children grow.
33. So do not look down upon these in your pride & self-righteousness, thinking that they are below you, & that ye are better. For they have their place, & you have your place. But the difference of places does not diminish My love for them, it does not diminish the care that I would want to bestow upon them. For I love them as I love you, & they are great in My sight, & each is precious & very valuable.
34. Feed them of the Words of David, that they may be strengthened, that they may feel closer, & that they may be rewarded, & that it may prove to be true in their lives that as they have sought Me, so have I given them the desire of their hearts, which is the Words of David.
* * *
35. Behold this miracle of My Spirit, that I can restore unto you that which I have previously given. (Referring to some prophecies which were lost in the original prophecy session due to a tape recorder malfunction. When Mama heard about it, she requested that a second meeting be held to ask the Lord to give those prophecies again, & He answered miraculously!) And so it shall be with My children who are seemingly lost. They are not lost, they are with Me, & I shall restore them unto you, & many more with them.
* * *
36. I will judge among sheep & cattle & goats. I will judge a righteous judgement in the Earth. A man had two sons, & he said to the one, "Go & do thus," & the son said, "Yea, I will go & do it" & he did not. The other son said, "No, I will not," but in time he said, "I will do the will of my father." I say unto you, which one of the two sons did the will of his father? The one who seemed to be agreeing & most willing, but didn't do his father's will? Or the one who seemed to not be doing his father's will, but then did his will & tried to obey his father?--Tried to obey his father David, the wishes of his father.
37. Oh, bless the days of David, the precious days of David! For these days will be gone & a drought will fill the Earth; the tree will be shaken & the hearts of men will be tested; each of you will be tested. And when you pass through the waters, will you not look at some of these little ones who were tried in the fire & were tested & made white & endured in these hardships? Will ye not look at them for an example & say, "They made it, so can I"? These will be a light & an example to many in the Family who must also go through dark times of testing & trials in the days ahead, to hang on, to keep going when they have little hope to hang on to. What examples shall these faithful ones be to them then. How precious shall I make a man of faith, better than gold of Ophir.
38. The woman who sat at the well felt she could not be part of those who went up to worship at the temple, yet Jesus said to her, "Daughter, the day comes & now is when the Lord seeks those that will worship Him in Spirit & in Truth," for it is in the heart that Man shall worship God, & it is in the heart that God seeketh those to worship Him, & it is by Man's heart that he shall be judged.
THE SWISS SECT DEATHS!
10/94
--What It Could Mean for the Family!
--By Maria
1. I'm sure all of you have heard by now of the recent tragic deaths of the members of the Order of the Solar Temple, which was apparently a rather bizarre occult secret society based in Switzerland and Canada. I'm sure you've probably also realised that this situation was engineered by the Devil to be one more step in his desperate attempt to curb religious freedom, and to stop the Family in particular! The Enemy never got the victories he was hoping for in that rash of court cases against us, so now he has engineered this incident in Switzerland.
2. The whole thing is a very clever & masterful piece of diabolical work. The worldwide "anti-cult" media is intent on exploiting the actions of the Solar Temple to turn the public against all non-traditional religious groups, trying to put us--& groups like us--out of action.
3. The Enemy used the "Manson Family" cult murders & later the Jonestown situation some years ago as attempts to try to get at us, as well as other groups. The Waco tragedy was even more dangerous to us, not only because those folks held some beliefs similar to ours, but because the public was propagandised by the media to identify all non-traditional religious movements with Waco. However, because of the U.S. government's very questionable handling of the entire Waco debacle, & also because of many freedom fighters in the U.S. who stood up for religious freedom & the truth, it turned out to not be as effective against us & similar groups as the anti-cult movement and the ACs were hoping. But now they have attacked again, in a part of the World where they can do even greater damage, where there seem to be very few voices willing to speak out & stand up for the Truth, & very few true Christians who have any significant voice or influence.
4. The Enemy must have realised that he hadn't hit hard enough on the preaching of the Endtime, convincing people that such beliefs are lunatic & fanatical, so with this Swiss situation he now seems to be giving it all he's got. The Order of the Solar Temple believed the end of the World was coming soon, & preached it, & when they died it did come for them. Now our enemies are trying to say that our beliefs will lead us to the same sad ending. One of our major messages, the Endtime, is now being portrayed by the AC media as something absolutely crazy & utterly fanatical.--And some of the media are even calling for the government to stop any groups who are preaching the Endtime. They are identifying people who hold such beliefs with dangerous people such as criminals, arms smugglers, money launderers, brainwashed religious fanatics, psychotics, misfits of society, & any other disparaging label they can pull out of the hat.
5. They not only want to make it look like the Endtime Message is dangerous, because, they say, it makes people want to escape this World by mass suicide or murder, but now they're even implying that living together communally is also dangerous because of the peer pressure of the collective group influence. However, their major concern is not that a few people are going to be murdered or take their lives; that's only a cover-up for their true motive, which is to stop us, who they consider their greatest & most dangerous opposition, from making such an impact on the World through our preaching of the Endtime Message. It's no wonder the Enemy is trying to prejudice people against communal living.
6. In fact, in several countries they are even pushing to enact laws that say that believers cannot live together. We've received a number of reports of television programs in the wake of this Swiss incident in which members of the anti-cult movement have urged the authorities to impose a ban on religious groups living communally. It's almost unbelievable that in a supposedly free world, they would have the gall to try to stop Christians from living together!
7. The message the Antichrist & his forces are trying to get out loud & clear is: "Don't listen to these crazy & fanatical Christians who come around talking about the Endtime being here & warning you of its dire consequences. It's a bunch of baloney & religious nonsense, & you will become crazy, too, if you listen to it!" It is amazing to what extent the Enemy is willing to go to keep our Message of the Endtime & of his involvement in it from getting out to the World. We must be having a great impact, along with other Christians who are faithfully preaching it.
8. There seem to be quite a few Christians in the U.S. now who are actively preaching the Endtime, although from what I understand, most of them don't expect it all to end quite as early as we do. However, we are probably the only international group which is actively promoting the Endtime worldwide & getting this Message out to the public on every continent. So we know that the Devil is most intent upon stopping us, & that this attack is most directed at us!
9. The anti-cult & anti-Christ forces are warning the World that they should be highly suspicious of any groups of people who are living together. Their message is, "Don't believe what these people tell you about what they are doing, no matter how good it sounds, no matter how sweet they act, no matter how polite they may be, no matter how quiet & orderly they appear, because underneath all of this nice surface appearance there is probably something very sinister going on!"
10. So, needless to say, this latest development presents some very great challenges for us. It is definitely a time for desperate prayer about how to best & most wisely react to this situation, & how we are going to overcome the obstacles that the Enemy is trying to set in our way. One thing we know is that we cannot stop preaching the Endtime Message! That is exactly what the Enemy is trying to get us to do.
11. Contrary to what the ACs are trying to make people believe, most people who believe in & preach the Endtime do not stockpile weapons, are not violent, & are not dangerous. In fact, most of them are intelligent & concerned people who really know what is going on, & are therefore trying to warn others of the coming evils so that they can be prepared.
Believing in the Endtime Does Not Cause People to Become Suicidal!
12. What the Enemy's forces are telling the World is that everyone who believes in the Endtime is crazy & dangerous, & subject to mass suicide because they believe the World is getting worse & the World as we know it is coming to an end. So they brand them as "out of touch with reality," & therefore dangerous. But their logic is horribly flawed. It's nonsensical to say that just because a tiny handful of folks who happen to have some kind of cultic Endtime beliefs may have committed suicide, or may have been murdered, that the millions of others who believe in the Endtime are going to act in a similar manner.
13. That's as good as saying that everyone who faces a bleak dark future of horror & pain is going to take their own life, because they can't stand to face it. But what about terminally ill patients? Knowing the terrible suffering they are going to have to go through, how many of them commit suicide? A very minimal number. And how many people who are facing (or even in the middle of) a horrific war in their country, knowing all the anguish, suffering & terrible destruction that is going to take place (or that is taking place), commit suicide? A very small percentage. Likewise, most of the World is seeing & continually hearing about the destruction of their environment, the drying up of their water supply, the decrease of their food supply, the death-dealing hazards of pollution, the burgeoning national debts that continue to worsen, & the overwhelming crime wave. Fears of all sorts plague them. A lot of people are honest enough to see & admit that things are getting worse, that the World has become a terribly dangerous place to live. Yet only a very tiny percentage of them commit suicide because they can't face it.
14. So just because you believe firmly that something very bad is about to happen does not mean you are going to commit suicide! Most people bravely face it, including us. Even though we believe something bad is coming, we believe something much better is soon to follow, praise the Lord! So we have even greater strength than most to courageously face future troubles. We have the power of the Lord & a conviction that we need to stay here on this Earth to help others through the difficult times until the glorious appearing of Jesus, Who will make everything right, & wipe away all tears.
15. So while we're willing to dedicate our lives to the Lord & lay down our lives in sacrificial service to Jesus & others, giving till it hurts for our brethren & the lost, & "dying daily" as we decrease & He increases, we certainly are not by any stretch of the imagination suicidal! --As we've made clear many times before. We are not depressed, we are not in despair, we do not fear the future & we do not wish to die--only to live to show others the Way. Yet there is more than one lying voice in the media, trying to frighten the authorities & the public by saying that the Family is the next tragedy about to happen. There is even one report of an anti-cult spokesman saying that we've actually been planning it for a few years. How ridiculous! These are absolutely libellous & slanderous statements that could legally get these people in a lot of trouble, if we decide to sue them!
Don't Cower & Compromise!--Stand Up for the Truth!
16. So, for you who are out in the public day after day, you may be facing some major antagonism & questions as a result of this current anti-cult media campaign, but do not water down your Message! Remember, that is exactly what the Devil is trying to get you to do! So go on the attack in the power of the Spirit, be proud of who you are & what you stand for, & Whose coming Kingdom you are preaching, & God will bless you for your courage & conviction. Of course, you need to ask the Lord for His wisdom in answering people's questions, & seek His guidance in all that you do. As well, you should make sure you've established good will with your neighbours & local officials, which will go a long way in helping to allay their fears.
17. Every time a major worldwide attack like this happens, it looks like our very existence is in jeopardy, & of course that is what the Enemy means to do: Stamp us out. But God is greater!--And He is soon going to stamp out the Enemy & his anti-Christ forces when Jesus returns for His Own & lets loose His judgements on this wicked World! Remember, God, Who has promised that what He has begun in us He will continue to perform until the End, will not allow His Work to fail! He has promised that in spite of World persecution, in spite of World recession, in spite of incidents like Waco & this latest situation in Switzerland, we will triumph & we will win! So keep trusting & keep praising! There are still great things ahead. Praise the Lord!
18. P.S. Earlier reports of mass suicide of Solar Temple members in Switzerland have not been confirmed; in fact, it now appears that at least some of the deaths were murders. Two very credible experts on new religious movements, Doctor Gordon Melton & Massimo Introvigne*, have pointed out that the anti-cult movements, in effect, "blew it"! In a jointly authored paper presented at the 1994 Annual Communal Studies Conference, held in Oneida, New York, October 6-9, they said, "While they [the anti-cult movement] were devoting all their resources, time & effort to harass larger & largely law-abiding NRMs, they knew absolutely nothing about the Solar Temple, whose strange ideology had only been seriously studied--well before the tragedy, & not without alarm--by the very social scientists, such as Jean Francoise Meyer, labelled by anti-cultists as `cult apologists.'"
19. Dr. Massimo Introvigne concluded a press release by saying, "I believe that the tragedy tells governments that they should keep in closer touch with international scholars (who knew quite a few things about the Solar Temple), rather than relying on pseudo-experts from the militant anti-cult movement who lead authorities astray, pointing their finger at law-abiding movements such as The Family or the Unification Church, thus diverting resources from watching the small minority of apocalyptic occult groups where real dangers may be involved." q
*(Gordon Melton is the Director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion, based in Santa Barbara, California. Massimo Introvigne is Managing Director of CESNUR, the Center for Studies on New Religions in Torino, Italy, an international group of scholars monitoring new religious movements throughout the World.)
From Reuters, AP, and the Washington Post:
Swiss police ended the international mystery of cult leader Luc Jouret's fate, confirming that he was among the dead found in the Order of the Solar Temple's fire-gutted chalet in the alpine village of Granges-sur-Salvan.
Jouret apparently perished along with 52 of his followers in the round of blazes, slayings, bludgeonings and unexplained deaths among members of the apocalyptic order based in Switzerland and Canada.
The investigation has become global, as authorities in Australia have joined those in Europe and North America looking into allegedly extensive money-laundering activities by cult members, transactions that may be tied to arms trafficking.
The puzzle of who these people were and what they were up to has been obscured in the ashes of a burned chalet and farmhouse in Switzerland and a villa in Quebec where temple followers and three of their children were found dead. Police have identified about half of the 53 bodies recovered.
Some had been alive, possibly comatose, at the time of the electronically triggered fires, and toxicological tests continue. Others had been shot, some repeatedly, or beaten to death.
Until its cataclysmic end, the Order of the Solar Temple seemed for the most part an orderly and benign secret society whose theories and marketing were conventional in today's religious universe.
But for his increasing admonitions to his followers to prepare for the end of the world, Jouret might have remained just one of a number of purveyors of self-improvement.
Jean-Francois Meyer, a Lausanne, Switzerland, researcher on spiritual movements, said Jouret was well known for his doomsday predictions.
Guy Mettan, editor of the Tribune de Geneve newspaper, attributes the recent rise of cults in Switzerland, where membership is now estimated in the tens of thousands, to economic dislocation ... and to the inevitable growth of apocalyptic visions as the world approaches the third millennium.
"This horrible drama shows that the proliferation of sects, the disorientation of individuals and the approaching end of the century must not be taken lightly."
Prophecies After Solar Temple Tragedy!
10/94
(From Mama: After I had written the above, I asked some of our Family Members to pray & ask the Lord what our reaction should be to this tragedy, & He gave the following:)
Prayer:
1. LORD, You've hidden these things from the wise & prudent, & have revealed them unto babes. We're just babes, we don't know what's best & what we should do. The media says the members of this strange religious cult have been killed, or have killed themselves, & our enemies are trying to use this against us. They've already been saying "The Family is next," or "Watch out for the Family, they're this same kind of group."--And spreading around all their garbage against the Endtime Message & even against communal living.
2. So what do we do, Jesus? Please show us now if You have anything to say to us, any direction, any guidance or any warning about how we should respond & how we should react. Do You have anything to tell us about this situation, anything we should do to get lemonade out of this lemon? Should we just go on preaching our regular Message & not get into addressing this Solar Temple incident, or what? Please show us, Jesus, how to respond, what to say, & whether or not we should respond to this at all. We ask You to speak to our hearts & minds & give us words of wisdom from You. Empty us of our own thoughts & give us Your thoughts; not our spirit, but Your Spirit. In Your name we ask.
Prophecies:
3. My people must know not to hide their light under a bushel. They hear this news, & some of them are trembling & are fearful; but they must be comforted & encouraged to let their light so shine before men to glorify Me, to lift Me up higher than before, to spread the Message with more faith than before, to not quench the Endtime Message, but to shout it abroad, to go above & beyond these lies of the Enemy!
4. But to enable them to do this, to go beyond any fear & intimidation of these lies, a fire must be built in their bosom that will give them the strength to shout out My Message. These are the ones that need the answer--My children--so that this does not quench or smother their flame. It is very important to rebuke the lies of the Enemy that try to enter into their hearts--these lies & past lies--to keep them free from the bondages that the Enemy wants to put them under. Thy job is to feed My sheep, to keep them free & to comfort their hearts.
* * *
5. Behold, I have sent you to preach the Gospel. Preach the Word, be instant in season, out of season, but be not entangled with these works of darkness. For lo, I have raised up others who shall fight this battle; but unto you it is given to preach the Word. Unto you it is given to spread the Words of David, & by your fruits they shall know you. And as you continue to do the work that I have given you to do, & to let your light so shine before men, those that are My sheep shall know that ye have the Truth.
6. I would also that you give the message regarding this situation to your friends, to those that ask of you, but that you devote your energies & your time to preaching the Word, to preaching the Gospel. For I have not sent you to meddle with the affairs of this World, but to preach the Gospel.
7. If ye follow in My steps, ye shall be blessed in all that ye do, & I will protect you; for I am your shield & your buckler. The Enemy goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking to devour you, but I will stop his mouth. Ye cannot stop his mouth in your own strength, even if you would try; therefore I would that you would do the work that I have sent you to do, which is to preach the Gospel. Preach the Word, spread the Words of David, the Message for this Endtime, the Message that no other people on the face of the Earth are preaching like you are preaching, the Words warning of this Endtime that I have given unto My servant David. For your ears are blessed that have heard these words, & many more ears shall be blessed as you preach.
* * *
8. For ye shall hear of wars & rumours of wars, but the End is not yet. Ye shall hear of tumult & great crises of nations. Ye shall hear of heavings of the world below, the underworld, & ye should not be stirred from your main task by these. Ye should set your face like a flint & let your eyes look straight forward. Look not to the right hand nor to the left, but do the job that I have called you to. Be not moved from your purpose, but be firm in your heart to sow the seed & reap the harvest. For these are like cries from the netherworld, the speech of these is like the voice of devils. It is sent to tempt & to distract, to take away from the Message that I would have you preach.
9. Therefore it is important that you hold not back because of the lies of the Enemy. It is important that you be not fearful, & that you be not afraid of the miserable attempts of Satan & his minions to detract from your work; but that ye continue on, strong & fearless, not fearing the attacks of those who would lump you together with these evil ones. It is important that you continue to preach the Word, to be instant in season, out of season, to give an answer to everyone that asks of you.
10. And as you are My faithful witnesses, I will protect you, for it is a part of your witness that ye should answer the charges of those who would ask you a reason of the faith that is within you. But it is important that in doing this, ye be not distracted from your task, that ye do not give second place to the pouring forth of My Word, that ye hold not back, that ye continue to leave the floodgates open, that ye continue to spread My Word, to let the teams go forth, to let those burn free that are anxious to give My Word, that ye encourage more to give My Word. For in so doing, the lies of the Enemy will be swallowed up in the Truth, & evil will be overcome with good. For this is the victory.--It is in My Words & the love & faith that you will show as you obey & give out My Word.
* * *
11. What fellowship hath light with darkness, or what fellowship have the children of Belial with the Children of David? For between you & them there is a great gulf fixed. In you is light, & this light is the light that lighteth all men that come into the World; but with them is darkness.
12. For by mercy & truth is iniquity purged, & in this I will bring forth a victory, because they shall see you & they shall see your great works & your good works & your love & care for your fellow man, & then they shall know that ye are not of these. I allow these events that My children might be glorified in the Earth, for within them is life, & they bring life to others, and in them is no darkness & no death.
13. And those that will lift up their finger & point at you & say, "Aha, aha! These are like them," behold, I will turn around & smite them in the face! And the words in their mouth will become as sand & as ashes, & they shall be made to bow down before My children & say, "Surely the Lord God is with you, & surely the Lord God is in you, & surely the Lord God is in your works & in your words." This will I do that I may be glorified in My children, that your works may be manifest, that they are wrought in God & not wrought in evil. For ye are a good tree & bear good fruit, & your fruit remains. But these dwell in darkness & their works were done in darkness & in secret, & now they have been made manifest, that they were not of Me.
14. Fear not to go forth & proclaim My Message, for even in these hard & troubled times My Message will bring you before kings & before nations that ye may be a witness unto them, & a witness against them if they receive not your words. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works & glorify Me, your Father in Heaven.
15. Fear not, neither be afraid, neither doubt nor despair, for I am with you, & I have taken you through deep waters & through impossible situations, & I have brought you forth as fine gold, that all may know that ye are fine gold. And those that did seek to persecute you have been persecuted themselves, & those that did seek to harm you have been harmed themselves. For everyone who has raised up his hand against you I shall smite, and I have smitten.
16. I give unto you Words of life & of hope. Spread forth these Words of life & of hope to the hearts of many, & I shall prosper you in your ways & no harm shall befall you. Even though a thousand shall die at your side & ten thousand at your right hand, yet it shall not come nigh unto you. For ye are My hallowed ones, My sacred ones, My holy ones, whom I have called forth to go unto all the World & to preach My Gospel, & to tell others of what shall come & what shall happen. And now more than ever people seek to know the Truth. Spread forth the Truth! Go forth, cry aloud the Truth, give My Words to the people, & whether they hear or whether they forbear, that is up to them. But I have called you to spread My Words.
17. Fear not what may come nigh unto you, nor fear that ye shall be compared unto these ones, for I say unto you that there is no comparison. I have raised up stalwarts, strong ones to speak in your defense, & they even now do speak & their voice is heard, for ye have rallied them. Ye have rallied them over the years to speak up & to proclaim the truth, & the World doth hear them because they are known of the World, & the World will listen.
18. But fear not, neither be afraid, neither dismayed, nor downcast, nor hiding in your tents, but go forth boldly & with faith, & I will take you to greater heights than ye have ever been before because ye are My Endtime army, & because ye must go into all the World & preach the Gospel, & because your voice must be heard. Therefore I have engineered & I have allowed all these situations that your voice may be heard & that My Message may get out to the people.
* * *
19. Fear not, neither be dismayed, for this weight that shall press upon you is of Me, as your former persecutions have been of Me, and I shall use it for your good as I have always done. For I bring it against thee like flint, which shall sharpen your tools & make you stronger soldiers.
20. Consider the times before when you suffered persecution & the fruit that this time has borne in your life, how ye have been strengthened, ye have been exercised in a godly warfare, & ye have become mighty in many ways. I will continue to bring pressure upon you to sharpen your tools, to sharpen your faces, to sharpen your wits, as it were, that I may bring forth in you greater power, greater faith & greater expertise in the ways of war. And I shall bring forth through your mouthpieces more sharply honed tools to meet the precise needs of the battles at hand.
21. So fear not these pressures that come upon you like flint, for they shall sharpen your faces, they shall sharpen your individual strength & faith, they shall sharpen your movement as it becomes more fine-tuned to meet the needs of the hour; they shall sharpen the tools that ye prepare, & it will work for My glory & for your benefit.
* * *
22. These things that are happening are the signs of the times, the signs of the Endtime. Preach the Word, be instant in season, out of season. As it is written, let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man, & I will supply the Words & shall guide you in what ye shall say to be a witness unto all nations.
23. For there be many sceptics, & many who fight against you & fight against Me, but I direct the course of events, & you can use them to propagate & share My Message with all. Search the Scriptures, for in them ye have eternal life, & they shall be the Words of life that shall be poured out in these dark days. For these things are not setbacks, these things are not chinks in your armour, but these are things that ye shall use to further the Gospel & to further the Cause.
* * *
24. I am the Light of the World, & if I be lifted up I shall draw all men unto Me. And ye are My lights in this World. Lift Me up & I shall be your rereward; I shall be your guard. I shall defend you & hallow you round about. Stand aside & let the Lord fight. Lift Me up & I shall win your battles for you. If I be lifted up, I shall draw all men unto Me. I cannot fail. Turn, therefore, not to the left or to the right, but march straight on to the victory!
Verses & Visions:
25. In answer to the question we asked the Lord, I got, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the Earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee."--Isa.60:1,2.
* * *
26. With my prophecy (see paragraphs 3 & 4), the impression I had was not just to witness about the Endtime as usual, but to go much more on the attack about it.--And that the brethren who have the faith to go more on the attack about giving the Endtime Message will be the ones who will be stronger for it.
* * *
27. I had a vision of Nicodemus & Joseph of Arimathaea speaking before the Sanhedrin. The interpretation was that the Lord had raised up other people whom the World can relate to, to explain these things & to defend us at times like this. The disciples didn't get involved with that, they just kept on giving themselves "continually to the Word of God & prayer."--Acts 6:4.
* * *
28. Matthew 24 tells us that many false christs & prophets will arise & deceive many, saying He is here or there, & to believe it not. (Mat.24:23-26.) We'll be able to give people the real Endtime Message, point them to the right interpretations of prophecy, and help them avoid the false christs and prophets.
* * *
29. I got the verses, "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid," & "Let your light so shine before men."--Mat.5:14,16. Also the verse, "They that understand among the people shall instruct many."--Dan.11:33.
30. I was reminded of the words of the poem, "A Sample, Not a Sermon," where it says, "I'd rather see a sample than hear one any day; I'd rather one would walk with me than merely show the way." The impression I got was that we have a lot of good works, we have our "consider the poor" work & our positive outreach projects, & these are things the Lord is very pleased with.
31. Then the quote came to me about how He has to hold us over the fire all the time. So these kinds of things can be good for us because they keep us moving & on the attack & fighting & doing things, & therefore getting the Message out.
* * *
32. I got the words "contend for the faith" & "hold that fast which thou hast."
* * *
33. This comes at a time when we're standing on the threshold of a huge witnessing push. The reaction could be to retreat from it as a result of all the negative, anti-cult media, & that's what the Enemy wants us to do, right when we're on the eve of this big push; but we shouldn't hold back.
* * *
34. I got, "When they saw the boldness of Peter & John, they marvelled & took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." I also got "Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering & doctrine." We've been through a lot of suffering, & we have a right to reprove when someone accuses us falsely, to exhort them with the Word, & people will marvel at our boldness, & realise that our boldness is because we've been with Jesus.
* * *
35. I got the verse, "That ye may be blameless & harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked & perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the World, holding forth the Word of life."--Phil. 2:15. It takes on a new meaning for us now. We are blameless in the sense that we are totally unlike this group & its weird occult philosophy, & certainly harmless as far as violence & suicide & murder & all that, & we're just to go out & give people the Word.
* * *
36. While we were praying the Lord gave me: "All these things are the beginning of sorrows." I wondered what that meant, & just now what came to me is that this kind of thing is going to happen more & more. The Enemy's going to use this kind of thing more & more, & we just need to be on guard.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family