—A Warning from the Lord!6/88DO 2439

1. I got something from the Lord this morning. I've been thinking about it for quite some time. It's odd, this article that came in‚ it sort of inspired me. After reading & praying about it, I was washing up in the bathroom, looking out the window, admiring the perfection of God's creation. Look at the trees, how they grow just so far & no further so there's lovely curved lines to their tops. Everything is in decency & order. They could be sticking up all kinds of ways! The Lord keeps the trees beautifully‚ doesn't He? When you think of all those trees, how they just come to a certain point & stop, & form those nice curvaceous lines‚ perfectly symmetrical & beautifully in order, it's beautiful!

2. So every morning I look out the bathroom window when I'm washing, etc., & I stand there while I'm drying & observe God's creation. It always really inspires me & thrills me! And after reading this article I was particularly inspired & thinking of the future, & if you'll allow me the time, I'll try to read it for you real quick. (See WND 233, pg.4.)

3. This article was written by a Japanese professor of literature, a literary critic who has authored many books. Now there's bound to be some very good reason why a big paper in Japan published this. Of course, since this article is about one of the earliest forms of communication in Japan, that paper thought it very interesting & historical.—Communication between persecuted Christians! They had a vast secret communication network by which all the news was passed around & by which they communicated with the outside World—Europe, the Pope, everywhere, so that things did not happen in Japan very long before the word spread clear across the World about what was going on there.

4. When you think about the time period this article is about‚ you realise it was during the period in Europe when they were having the Reformation. When independent Christianity began to flourish in Japan, it was stamped out by a hideous monster whose name was Hideyoshi. I wouldn't be surprised if maybe that's where they got the word "hideous"! His name was Hideyoshi, & he had a few other conspirers, & of course all prompted by the Devil to quick close up Japan & stamp out Christianity before this new form of liberal Protestant Christianity got a base there, because under the Protestants the next great missionary push occurred, & began way back there during that period of the Reformation.

5. The first great missionary push, was, of course, under the Catholic Church by the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus. Now the Protestants have published mostly all the evil they could think of about the Jesuits & some of their dastardly deeds, etc., but the Jesuits were really organised originally as the Society of Jesus to become missionaries to spread Christianity throughout the World, & they did a very good job of it. They built missions almost everywhere. They virtually thoroughly evangelised Latin America & went right on up the coast into California, Jesuit missions were built there, & they went all the way to Japan with Francis Xavier's landing at Kagoshima in 1549. (Reads article:)

6. "There's a period in Japanese history called the Christian century, which spanned the late 16th century"—that means the 1500s. I always get that confused. This calling it by centuries really makes it difficult. The 16th century is not the 1600s, it's the 1500s! "Into the early 17th century. It refers to the 89 years between Francis Xavier's landing at Kagoshima"—that is in the very South of Japan—"and the suppression of the Shimabara Uprising in 1638." This uprising apparently must have had something to do with the Christians. I don't know the exact history of that. But this era was from 1549 to 1638, actually 89 years.

7. "Historians divide this era into two parts, the Azuchi-Momoyama & the Edo periods‚ & during this time lived such historic personalities"—they could have said such horrible monsters as well!—"As Oda Nobunaga"—maybe they got the word "odious" from his first name—"Toyotomi Hideyoshi"—he's the most famous one—"& Tokugawa Ieyasu"—almost sounds like Jesus. But those three were the main persecutors, the main monsters.

8. "During the Christian century, foreign missionaries came to Japan from the West, & Japanese, such as Bernardo of Kagoshima, members of the Japanese mission to Europe of 1582‚ Pedro Casui Kibe, Konishi Manso & Hasekura Tsunenaga, travelled to the West & back." A whole delegation of them went & toured Europe & finally went to see the Pope, because they were of course all Catholics then & Jesuits.

9. "Unfortunately, these first Japanese to visit Europe were unable to put their foreign experiences to good use once back in Japan"—because they weren't able to get back into Japan because the persecution began while they were gone—"but their accounts are clearly recorded in the respective nations to which they travelled.

10. "Hideyoshi‚ Ieyasu & Iemitsu made every effort to destroy all written records & every physical trace of Christianity in Japan" during the persecution. Apparently the Devil knew the power of the Word, so they destroyed all written literature, everything they could possibly destroy!—Not only Bibles & Scriptures, but even letters of Christians & reports & all kinds of literature, all traces of Christian literature.

11. Now mind you, that was in a civilised period of the Western World's history‚ at the time of the Reformation! Think of it!—After Columbus had discovered America, in the days of Martin Luther & the development of the Reformation. That was in the period when the King James Bible was produced, think of it!—While God was winning great victories in Europe & in the West! Christianity was spreading, & even the Catholics were becoming a more purified, reformed church. The Reformation had a tremendous effect on the purification of the Catholic Church & the elimination of many of their practices which were non-Scriptural, etc.

12. So while the Reformation was helping to reform the Catholic Church & a great sweep of Christianity was inundating Europe from both Catholics, Jesuits, the Protestants & all, & there was a tremendous missionary movement that it pushed also. Obviously Francis Xavier, the Jesuit, came to Japan at that time, which was the first historical account in written records of the evangelisation of Japan. However, there is also some record or rumour from much earlier, that not long after the Early Christian period, Saint Thomas came to Japan‚ & Christ was preached, so that when Francis Xavier went there he found a rudimentary Christianity still in existence in Japan in groups of what they call primitive Christians.

13. Of course, during and after this persecution, Christianity in a sense went into hiding‚ it wasn't blotted out. They tried to stamp it out completely, & all of its literature & everything, & it was forbidden‚ banned, & Christians were persecuted & slaughtered, & they stamped out all public Christianity. The only kind that could continue to exist was secret Christianity. Well, the most interesting part of this article is yet to come.

14. They tried to stamp out all records, all written material, the power of the Word, because the Devil knew how powerful the written Word was. "But reports & records that remain abroad convey the impressions, excitement & emotions of these Japanese who came into contact with an entirely new civilisation."—When they went to Europe, etc.

15. "This period interests me," he says, "for various reasons, & I have had many occasions to peruse the records of the period left by Luis Frois & other missionaries."—Frois must be French. "I'm particularly impressed by the breadth of their information network. Information collected about Japanese Christians & political leaders was forwarded to Jesuit headquarters, from where it was distributed to the kings of Spain & Portugal‚ Jesuit superiors in Rome & the Pope."—In other words, they had an information collecting & dissemination network just like we have, & it was all done by hand, personal messengers!

16. "Let me cite two examples. After being out of Japan for seven years, the members of the 1582 Japanese mission to Europe"—they sent this Japanese delegation to Europe to meet the Pope, etc., & to be encouraged by other Christians there—"the members of the 1582 Japanese mission to Europe learned of Hideyoshi's expulsion order while in Goa," India. They were on their way back. "The order had not been in force more than a year, yet the authorities in Goa knew about it‚ & together with the mission members, investigated the avenues open for the mission's return to Japan." The news got around! They had such an efficient news network.—Even then in those days with the slow transportation & virtually no forms of communication except by personal messenger.

17. "In another instance, Ieyasu's order for the prohibition of Christianity went into effect while Hasekura Tsunenaga was abroad"—he apparently was one of the missionaries—"and even though he did not know of it, the authorities in Madrid did." He was abroad, he didn't know about this complete ban on Christianity by this next guy after "Hideous." But Madrid knew about it, "as well as the subsequent persecution of Japanese Christians before Hasekura arrived." Of course, we're not familiar with all the names of these people, but apparently they were important.

18. "The only forms of information transmittal in those days were hand–carried letters & reports." I wrote a subtitle to this article: "The World Word Network of Early Japanese Christians!—Will it come again?—The Lifeline!" Will we have to do it? Well, we've already been warned that that will come again when all other forms of communication are controlled & forbidden, etc.

19. "Travellers faced many hazards both on sea & land, & even though the Jesuits took care to send the same report by more than one person or ship, the great speed with which information about Japan was transmitted abroad over huge distances is surprising." Isn't this an amazing article to be published in a Japanese newspaper? A lot of his stuff in here makes me suspect that there's somebody in there that must be a Christian. There are lots of secret Christians in Japan. I think many of those people who are helping our Family there, many of our friends there are at heart secret Christians. Well, let me finish reading this article & I'll tell you what the Lord told me this morning.

20. "Jesuits were scattered throughout the World spreading the Word of God, but wherever they went the sending of written reports to their superiors & Jesuit headquarters seems to have been required." Who does that sound like! I wouldn't be surprised if they were written monthly. "Such reports were even written in secret during persecution. One Jesuit continued to write reports & secretly send them out of the country right up to the time of his execution."

21. It gives a quaint little illustration here to go with the article. It shows the Christians communicating with each other behind the backs of the soldiers, even right out of jail.

22. "Such reports were the basis for the formation of policy & for the encouragement that came from Jesuit superiors abroad." In other words, they were also hearing from their leaders, like we feed the sheep. "Such restricted types of communication are unimaginable to us today‚ but we can well understand the enthusiasm & trust the fathers put in their channels of information.

23. "Personally, I think the desperate efforts made to maintain contact among members of the Christian community gave rise to the national network of communication that came about during the persecutions of the early 17th century."—In other words, under persecution it was even more vital to keep alive this network of communication.

24. "Christians experienced strict surveillance & oppression. The Christian message of the missionaries was the secret that was passed to Christians hidden all over Japan."—In other words‚ it's like our materials. "Missionaries & believers were able to bear up under persecution & maintain hope even in the face of mortal danger because this communication existed."—Which shows how important our lifelines are, communications, reports, literature‚ etc. "Messages conveyed through the secret network literally were the source of their continuing to live."—It kept them alive, in other words.

25. "For Christians in Japan, the message & the information network itself were their route to Heaven‚ their guide post. Christianity lasted a little under 100 years in Japan."—I think that's somewhat of a misstatement, it's still there! Well‚ what he's talking about is while the government was actually officially Christian under the Shogun. "But the Christian network extended from Kyushu to Matsumae in Hokkaido & included remote, largely unpopulated regions as well as castle towns & inhabited areas." Now this guy's an authority on the subject, he studied the archives, etc. "The Christian network was indeed impressive."—That's his last line, his punchline, & I've added: "—And is alive again!"

SECRET OPPRESSION OF CHRISTIANS IN JAPAN TODAY!

26. So the point is, after reading this, & getting inspired by it‚ I got up from the throne & went about my oblations, & then stood there as I always do every morning looking out the window at the World of God's beautiful creation! And boom, just out of the blue when I was admiring the contour of the trees, the Lord spoke just as clearly as anything & He said, "There is still secret oppression of Christianity in Japan!" It's now secret oppression, it's not public‚ they don't publicise it, but they secretly oppress Christianity & Christians there, our Family has found that out.

27. You can't really get a good job or do well in business or anything else there if they know you're a Christian. Now that's secret oppression. It's not publicised, you don't read about it, but the whole impression of the message was that such oppression is still going on, but secretly. And the Enemy is now the one who has the secret network of communication!

28. In other words, the enemies of God are still just as active & striving just as much, the Devil is just as interested in oppression of Christianity in Japan, trying to stamp it out, wipe it out, stop it, obliterate its literature‚ etc.—And they have a secret network of communication through which they do their best & their damnedest.

29. I'm sure that the Lord intended that to be a warning to the Family there to watch their Ps & Qs, because the Devil is still there & working very hard to stop any new efforts to convert the Japanese! Do you suppose for a minute he hasn't heard about us, & they haven't heard about us? Our literature is still getting out to the general public & has in Japan for years, by the millions! I don't doubt that the persecution stirred up against our sidewalk witnessers there was probably stirred up by our enemies, which, sad to say, include not only the Shintoists & the Buddhists, but the Christians, the formal churchianity Christians!

30. They got us off the streets but they drove us underground. Do you suppose for a minute they haven't heard about our recent underground successes & even our overground success there with the School & their Pyramid? What do you think they're doing right now? (Fam: Probably figuring out a good way that they can get the Family, of course.)—Exactly! Just like in the 3-1/2 years of Jesus' public ministry‚ the Scribes & Pharisees were constantly counselling together how they could get rid of Him. It took them 3–1/2 years to do it. The Lord kept them off & prevented them from stopping His ministry for 3-1/2 years. But they were boiling all the time & seeking how they might go about to kill Him!—Jn.5:16,18; 7:1,32; 8:59; 10:31; 11:53, etc.

31. So just because the Family there is getting by with it & things are going so beautifully & gloriously & so miraculously doesn't mean that they've forgotten about us or that they intend for it to keep on going that way! Now that's a sobering thought that I want you to remember & think about. Because to be forewarned is to be forearmed, & the wise man, God's Word says, foreseeth the disaster or the trouble, & endeavours to avoid it.—Prov.22:3. Do you get it? I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just trying to forewarn you to know that it is going to come sooner or later, & they are planning it now! They are trying to figure out what would be the best way to stop it & get rid of it without appearing to be intolerant.

WOMAN WHO FOUGHT CASE OVER HUSBAND'S BURIAL

32. Japan wants to have its good reputation, its self–righteous reputation before the World, that they're not religiously intolerant & that the government doesn't take sides in religious matters. Well, they certainly showed that they do in this case we read about of the dear little Christian woman who fought a court case about her husband's burial. I put something in the WND about it recently. (See WND 240.)

33. I'll just sum it up for you if you haven't read it yet: This Christian woman has been fighting through the court to get compensation from the government for forcing her husband to be buried—I don't know what they do‚ whether it means just his ashes or what—in a Shinto shrine. She's a Christian.

34. You've got to admire her guts, she's fought through three different courts, a local court, a higher court & finally the Supreme Court. Both lower courts decided in her favour that she ought to be compensated, because when she requested & told the authorities that she didn't want them to bury her husband or his ashes or whatever it was at the Shinto shrine, the government literally forced it. This government organisation of veterans, some Shinto organisation of Shinto veterans‚ insisted on it, because he had been in their military outfit.

35. So she went to court to protest & ask for compensation, for damages in other words, that she was not allowed to bury her husband in a Christian cemetery. You've sure got to admire her guts & spunk! She fought it for 20 years! In 1968 she won a fair judgement in the local court, but they carried an appeal to the higher court, & they decided in her favour too. Then the big government came into it. The government brought it to the Supreme Court & they decided against her in favour of the Shintoists!

36. I think she's probably gotten more sympathy & stirred up more controversy & it's caused the whole nation to choose sides, & has publicised the fact that there are Christians there, that there are fighters willing to fight clear through the courts for their religious freedom & their rights! And the court itself was divided. Six of the judges had reservations about the government taking sides in a religious matter. They said it was not their domain & they should not do so. But the majority decided against her.

37. So it has stirred up a lot of controversy & has shown that there's lots of sympathy for her, & apparently for Christians, at least for freedom of religion, & I think that's good, because it's made people come to the fore to defend her. And even though they're not Christians or anything, they've been defending her rights, that the government violated her religious rights by insisting that the guy be buried in a Shinto shrine. Most of the reactions have been sympathetic for her & in favour of her & critical of the Supreme Court's decision.

38. It shows that they're still busy there. The Christians aren't very busy, but this one woman‚ at least, had the guts to fight for her rights all the way up to the Supreme Court for 20 years, think of it! And I'm sure the Lord allowed it & used it, because even though she lost the decision, she gained sympathy & favour & caused a storm of criticism against the government's religious leaning.

39. The government came out with the most ridiculous decision you could possibly imagine! They said the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, & that she should understand this means that the Shintoists have as much right to have freedom of religion as she has, & therefore they had a right to bury her husband if they wanted to. The writers have said it's the most ridiculous‚ contradictory decision they ever heard from the Supreme Court, & the press there has just been in a furor against that Supreme Court decision.

40. Actually the only ones who have been sympathetic to the Supreme Court's decision was the Supreme Court! Nobody else thought it was a fair decision. They say that all the lawyers, the educators‚ everybody has been critical of the Supreme Court for it, & it's almost made fools out of them!

41. (Maria: So maybe next time they'll be a little more careful about their persecution of Christians.) Yes, that's exactly it. I think the Supreme Court was amazed & surprised to find out what a furor they created & how many people were sympathetic with the Christians. So the next time they try to attack Christians, I think they're going to do it with kid gloves & be much more careful.

FINGERPRINTING CASES

42. It's also like this issue about fingerprinting there. Now that battle has mostly been carried on by the churches in favour of the Koreans, who are mostly Christians, & it has been the church leaders & church missionaries who have been in the forefront of that battle. So now the government is getting a little easier all the time on what they call the refusers, fingerprint refusers. Until now, they haven't kicked them out of the country, & they haven't forced them to come down & get fingerprinted every year in order to get their residency certificates. First they put it off to every 2 years, then 3 years, now they say you only have to come in once every 5 years.

43. They kicked one guy out of the country‚ a Japanese American with American citizenship‚ & that was a big issue there for a long time, a year ago. They wouldn't give him any assurance of a return visa or anything like that, & I think recently he tried to go back & they wouldn't let him in. But, on the other hand, in his case he was really obstreperous.—They gave him more time, first they gave him three more years, & then when he still wouldn't get fingerprinted they even gave him another year. I thought they were extremely patient.

44. No doubt one reason they were so patient was because there was such a furor in his favour, in all the refusers' favour‚ because he represented the martyr of the leadership of the refusers. So all that publicity is making them kind of pull in their claws a bit & handle such people a little bit more gently & easily.

45. So this could be a good indicator that the government there is going to handle Christians a little more carefully. All of this could work to our benefit, but it doesn't mean that they're quitting. Just because they've had a few defeats‚ they're just being a little more careful about how they attack Christians.

OUR ENEMIES' STANDARD ACCUSATIONS & PROCEDURES!

46. Remember when the scribes & Pharisees decided to attack Jesus, they tried many different approaches.—First of all, regarding His religious doctrine. But the Roman government didn't give a damn about Him not agreeing with the Jews' religious doctrines. So you know what charges they finally made against Him, they had nothing to do with religion.

47. They finally came up with charges of sedition against Rome‚ & literally blackmailed Pilate into his hands-off decision by saying, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar's!"—Jn.19:12. In other words, "We're going to tell Caesar about it, that there's this radical rebel down here stirring up the people against Rome"—which were all lies, of course—"& you did nothing about it, you let Him go!" So he supposedly washed his hands & said, "See ye to it!"—Mat.27:24. In other words, "I don't see anything wrong with this guy, I'm not going to do anything about it," but he let them do it. In fact, he let them use his Roman soldiers to do it!

48. So this is their standard procedure of attack & has been ever since then. They don't come out & charge you, saying it's a crime that you're a Christian or because you don't believe just like they do or anything like that. They always try to charge you with an actual crime that's against the law‚ or to say, like they did in [one country], that you're Communists trying to undermine the government by advocating the violent overthrow of the … government!—All kinds of absolute lies that they had in the papers, to finally persuade the people. They tried to use the fact that we were Christians converting the people, but it didn't work. The government said, "We don't care about that!" But when they finally went to the newspapers & the public & smeared us & said we were Communists, that's what did it.

49. They did just the opposite in [another country], they said we were American CIA. Just like I said years ago, the Fascists accuse us of being Communists & the Communists accuse us of being Fascists, whatever they figure they can get the most support with, whatever kind of propaganda will be most effective against us. And lately, in most of these cases, their accusations have been sexual, so-called incest, or pornography, child sex & blah blah.

50. Such persecution usually comes—& it always comes—when our job is done, when God feels we've done our best & reaped the best we could & the job is done. This is just standard procedure, you already know that, I've written about it. He then lets the Devil loose to purge & make white the Christians‚ to sift them & divide the sheep from the goats & the men from the boys & all the rest‚ to test & try us & to see who really means business.—Dan.11:35.

51. Also, when it comes like this, like in this court case in Japan, it forced the entire nation, everybody that read about it, to take a position for or against. They were forced to take a position & to make a decision. People read about those fingerprint refusers & they're forced to side one way or the other, they make a decision in their own minds whether they're right or wrong. And even if they're wrong, are they sympathetic with them, do they figure the government's too tough on them?

52. After all‚ those Koreans were born in Japan‚ & have been there for generations, & they're still making them register & be fingerprinted like they were foreigners! Think of it! And the Koreans resent it! They figure, "Japan is our home & they should accept us as citizens & not have to fingerprint us & make us register like aliens!" Of course, those laws were passed right after the Korean War, or even during the Korean War, when there was a great deal of fear that the Koreans in Japan would side with North Korea. See, they were concerned about the Koreans there, who they were going to side with, North Korea or South Korea, so they began wanting to find out who all the Koreans were & where they lived & fingerprint'm! So at that time you might say it was justified. I'd say the way the Koreans in Korea are behaving right now it's probably still justified! So‚ thank You Lord!

OUR WEAK POINT—VISAS!

53. Now, let me ask you a question. I've given you the historical background. It's my job as Prophet to warn you, & what I heard from the Lord this morning I count as a warning. In other words, don't forget, the Enemy's still around in Japan, only he's having to operate in secret now because it wouldn't be very good publicity for him to come out & show that the Japanese were anti-Christian & anti-freedom of religion‚ etc., especially when they guarantee such freedoms in their Constitution.

54. So since they can't attack you just because you're Christians & just because you are winning souls there, which you're winning a lot, how will he attack you? It will come, it's bound to come‚ & the Family there needs to be prepared to face it when it comes & have contingency plans to handle it! Now you tell me, how do you think our enemies there will attack, & what do you think they're doing now?

55. What is the first way they always attack? (Maria: They're probably investigating the Family to see who we really are.) Who do you think is most likely doing the investigating? (Maria: The Christians & the religious people there.) Yes, they usually instigate it & agitate for it, but who do they get to do their dirty work for them? (Maria: The government.) Always, it's just the old time-worn process & policy of action, our religious enemies go to the government & complain, just like the Scribes & Pharisees did. This is historical & as set a standard policy as you could possibly imagine!

56. So‚ what are our weakest, most vulnerable points where the government can be agitated to do something without it looking like they're against Christianity or against us religiously? What kind of legal violations could they choose to push against us? (Maria: They could probably come up with a very legitimate reason why they can't grant our Family visas.)

JAPANESE RESISTANCE TO CHANGE!

57. The Lord has done some miracles, it is a miracle they even give our people there the extensions that they have! And the Family's gotten a lot of favour & gotten a lot of statements & they have a lot of people signing petitions & whatnot in their favour. But the Japanese are really rutters! They themselves confess that they're very hard & slow to change. They are changing gradually & slowly, but it's like moving mountains! They don't like change, they don't want to change, they shut out the whole World for 200 years, nearly 300 years, & refused to change, refused to even look at the rest of the World or even hardly acknowledge there was a World out there!

58. Their World was Japan & that's all they needed & all they wanted & they didn't want anything else that was not Japanese, & a lot of them still feel that way! It's just inherent in them, it's been drilled into them for centuries. Just like Hitler said about the Germans, they are a super race, & they really consider themselves superior to the rest of the World‚ & now that the rest of the World is acknowledging that they are superior, they're absolutely convinced of it! Now they know they're superior, even the rest of the World is acknowledging it! So why should they change? Hmm?

59. For a long time now since WW2 they've been trying to respect World opinion & trying to reform & change & conform according to Western opinion & World opinion‚ most of which is Western, at least as far as publicity is concerned‚ & because the United States conquered them. They've tried to please the United States in trying to change. But now that it is being acknowledged by the rest of the World, especially the Western World, that they are superior‚ do you think that's going to help them change any? (Fam: Not at all.) What do you think it's going to do? (Fam: Make them want to change the rest of the World!) Yes, it's going to make them even harder to change! "Why should we change? What's the need for change? We're better than you! So why should we even try to be like you any more?"

60. For a long time they tried to be like the U.S. & they tried to change, they even offered to change their religion & asked for missionaries to come teach them about the religion of this great country that overpowered them & won the victory! They figured it must be the best country & it must have the best religion, & they'd like to know about it, & for a long time they were open. But then the Christians didn't come & the missionaries didn't come.

61. Isn't that a sad commentary?—When MacArthur begged for them to come! He was the ruler, the king of Japan, & he begged for 2,000 missionaries! The Catholics sent their thousand but the Protestants sent a little dribble! I think dear Fred Jordan probably sent more than almost any other denomination. He sent 300 missionaries to Japan! But of course they didn't know the language & they didn't know anything about the Japanese, they were worse off than we were, so they obviously didn't have too much success.

62. By the way, I understand he still has some kind of mission there in Tokyo, he's still got Soul Clinic missionaries there somewhere‚ they're still being supported by the Soul Clinic. It would be interesting to ask if the Family has had any contact with them or if they know anything about them or who they are, where they are. Japan was Fred's main focus. In fact, it was that invitation from MacArthur that even created his missionary department. He didn't have any Missionary Department before that‚ he was just teaching church Christians how to win souls.

63. But when MacArthur made his pleas for missionaries, one of the Alliance ministers who had joined Fred bugged him & bugged him that we ought to have a missionary department & we should send these missionaries that MacArthur's asking for to Japan. So that was their first missionary effort, sending missionaries to Japan. And then they started sending missionaries to Mexico, & then Latin America, then Africa, blah blah.

BUT IF NOT!—VISAS

64. Now we always hope & pray for the best, but what else do we do? (Fam: Prepare for the worst.) Exactly. The Bible has established the principle by a good many illustrations & stories. "But if Not!" Now I don't believe the Lord will allow our work there to be stopped yet. The Devil may try to put a few traces in the way & a few obstacles & hindrances, such as forcing everyone to go back to taking long visa trips in order to stay there.

65. "But If Not!"—Are you Family members there prepared for such an alternative & do you have contingency plans of how you're going to continue even if you don't get the Immigrations approval for all your visas? As the Boy Scout motto goes‚ always be prepared! Hope & pray for the best, but prepare for the worst! Then you'll never be disappointed.—Well, you might be disappointed, but you won't get caught short & unprepared!

66. At first, when Jesus' enemies brought Him before Pilate, he just wanted to look the other way. But they kept nagging him & nagging him until he couldn't look the other way. They kept bringing up their charges & bringing up their proofs & bringing up their witnesses that accused Him, etc., & they as good as said, "Come on, look this way, you're not even looking‚ you're just letting Him get by with it!—We've got proof here that He's violating the laws! Now you enforce the law! You've got to, here's the violation, here's the proof, enforce the law!"

67. So even if you're getting by with something like visa extensions this time, what are you prepared to do next time? What if the next official is not so generous & so fascinated? The Lord is very gently warning you that your enemies have not gone out of existence, they're still around, & they have their own secret communication network, & they haven't forgotten us.

ANOTHER WEAK SPOT—BUILDING INSPECTIONS!

—How they closed down Fred's Huntington Park house.

68. Besides visas, another area they can use to get you is building inspections. Our large Homes & Schools could also have visits from the health inspector because they're feeding so many people‚ etc. I don't know what the laws are there in Japan, but I know back in the States any kind of public or private schools which house & feed their students, have to abide by certain health rules‚ safety rules, this, that & the other. (Maria: Then they check the kitchen & the food preparation.) Yes, & the temperature of the dishwater & things like that. (Maria: From all that we've heard, the Japanese have been quite amazed at how good & clean & nice a setup we have there.) Thank the Lord, the Lord has given us favour, & we're really making hay while the sun shines!

69. They closed down Fred's big two-story building in Huntington Park‚ a huge monstrous thing where he put all of his families. He put his single students downtown in this six-story mission at which he had a nice fireproof concrete & steel A-number-one fireproof building. He had the mission on the first floor with the little chapel for the bums‚ & on the second floor he had sleeping quarters for the bums & the homeless, etc. But from there on up it was all school, classrooms & dormitories for single students.

70. But out in Huntington Park, which was South of Los Angeles, about halfway to Huntington Beach, a nice beautiful residential district, he had this big old wooden building which had been a hotel or sort of a rooming house. He got it real cheap for a song or so‚ & he put all of his families out there, couples with children. In the daytime he ran a nursery for all the kids while the parents went into school.

71. Well, that's where they finally got him. They couldn't get him downtown, the building was too good & everything was AOK. They inspected his kitchens & all that sort of thing, the temperature of dishwater, "How many are you housing? How many are you feeding? You have to have so many square feet per person" & blah blah blah, they're really particular in California.

72. But out at Huntington Park it was the fire warden that finally got him. They kept coming & saying, "You've got to have a fire escape here, you've got to have a door there," & he kept doing all these things‚ "before we give you approval." But then when the final showdown came, he had enemies‚ & they kept needling the fire department & health department, this, that & the other.

73. They finally said, "Well, you haven't got a license for childcare," & they condemned the building as well, saying it was a fire trap, it's uninhabitable, it's not safe, because it was a big wooden building.—No matter how many doors & fire escapes & everything else he put in. He went to all this expense to do it, & then they didn't pass it! They were just being as ornery as they could be! They just didn't want it there, the neighbours didn't want it. It was in a pretty nice neighbourhood, this big old building. I must admit, it was kind of a firetrap. I was in an earthquake there upstairs one day & I was glad it was a wooden building, the whole thing was going back & forth like this!

74. And then the Department of Childcare came. They said, "You've got to have a special license for a nursery! And you've got to have certain qualified nurses, etc., for a nursery like this! You'll have to have this & you'll have to have that, & we'll have to check your kitchen where you feed them‚" & all this sort of thing. And it just got to be where he couldn't take it any more, they were requiring so many things.

75. It was obvious they were just harassing him, because no matter what he did, he couldn't please them! So they finally condemned the building & forced him to close it down. That's when he had a big move to send all the couples with children out to Texas, TSC, & establish a family unit out there. That was just about the time I was leaving, & they asked me to stay & help them with that operation there. But by that time I was getting fed up with them because I couldn't see much of a future in it for me, especially under its leadership then‚ this old goat farmer along with his 50 goats there‚ who wanted all the personnel to spend all their time farming, with almost no witnessing & very little classtime.

WHEN DAD LEFT TSC!

76. I was a teacher, & I wanted to teach, & he wanted to farm, & we were really at odds with each other! He was determined to get me out, & I was determined to get him out! I was fair, I said, "Fine‚ we'll farm some days & we'll go to town & witness some days. That's what we're here for! We weren't called to go farming & just milk goats! If you're doing all this just to support this thing so they'll have enough to eat, send these guys into town provisioning, & they'll make more in the long run than you could ever think of making from these 50 goats & this scrubby little garden!" He was just infuriated that I demeaned his goats & his garden! He was an old farmer himself, just a hick.

77. I said, "Do you know what you've got here? You've got expert qualified carpenters, door-hangers.—This guy over here‚ he can make more in one day hanging doors"—it's a very specialist item in construction—"or this guy over here, he can make more in one day cabinetmaking, finished carpentry in a house, than you're making off of this damn bunch of goats here in a whole month!" He blew up & suddenly he got an attack of asthma & he landed in bed. Fred was ready to fire him when he got my report on him. But the guy went to bed sick, & Fred said, "How can I fire him when he's sick in bed?"

78. I said, "Then I quit, I can't stay out here wasting my time on a farm when I was called to preach the Gospel! I came to the Soul Clinic to get authorised to become a missionary!", to get some kind of denominational outfit to accredit me to be a missionary, because you had to have some kind of official backing to go to the field in those days. We've kind of abandoned all that. But to get Federal government recognition & governmental recognition on the field where you could apply for missionary visas, you had to have a recognised denomination behind you who could guarantee your support & your return fare & all that sort of thing. So Fred qualified, he fought it through & he got it & was sending out missionaries galore.

79. Anyway, that's what happened, that's when I left TSC. I said‚ "Well, I'm going to go back to the churches & I think I can sell them on this program!" Right then it was very popular to have these church canvasses of neighbourhoods & towns. Chaffey‚ who I think was from Dallas Theological Seminary, the biggest Baptist Seminary in the World, had written a book on personal soul-winning & virtually against Billy Graham, proving statistically how many more souls a church could win by personal witnessing than by having Billy Graham come to town.—If they'd just get the church people out, get the Christians to go door-to–door to witness & win'm & bring'm to church!

80. Fred had gone to Dallas Theological Seminary, his father was a preacher & he was going to become a preacher & Chaffey won him over. That's where he really got started on that soul-winning kick. Right then there were a whole bunch of different men going around, especially in the Baptist Church, selling churches on what they called local canvassing, etc., & it was becoming very fruitful & really working.

81. So I said, "Well Fred, I think I can go back to the churches!" He came all the way out to TSC to see me personally to beg me to stay. He even gave me $10, wasn't that nice? Ha! Well, I was very thankful for it then, but I thought at the time he could have given me a little more than that, he could have just as easily given me $100! I think he was deliberately trying to keep me from going by not giving me too much. He wanted me to stay & be on the faculty there at TSC for all these missionary families.

82. And I think he was really open to ease the old goat farmer out. I know he was, he definitely planned to fire him when he heard some of the stuff he did‚ not just from me but the others too. The guy was really hard on people & worked them all day, oh, he was a slave driver! And all he was interested in was farming & just getting enough food so that everybody could eat, that's all he seemed to care about. He didn't seem to be a bit interested in going to the field, witnessing, winning souls, nothing, but just making the Ranch pay. So nearly everybody wanted to get him out. But his last line of defense was claiming he had an attack of asthma & going to bed so Fred couldn't fire him.

83. So I gave up. I said, "Fred, I can't wait for this guy to get out, I want to get out myself & do something! I don't want to just sit around here farming!" He said, "Okay, Dave." I said, "I'm going back to the churches, I'm going to teach them soul–winning & get into this canvassing stuff. I believe they'll accept it, I believe they'll go for it, if somebody could just sell it to them!" He laughed & said, "Dave, I tried that for years. I tried it even with my own church!" He had a great big church‚ 3,000 members, in Huntington Park. And that's where he gave up & quit & went out on the road by himself, to prove to his church that he could win more souls single-handed than they were winning there in their church just by preaching & having church services. And he did! And that was the beginning of the Soul Clinic.

84. So he said, "Dave, I tried that, they won't receive it. They just are too lazy, they just won't go out. You're going to find out that they think you're right & they agree & they say amen to all of it, that's great, & then the night or the Sunday afternoon you ask them to all come out to go out & canvas house-to-house & go witnessing, you're going to be all by yourself except for maybe one or two or three little saints that have already been witnessing & passing tracts every Saturday night & whatnot." And that's exactly what happened.

[MORE ON TROUBLE]

85. What's our last Achilles' heel? (Maria: Our reputation. … They're really not making any secret of it, they're getting out our Posters & tapes.) The Japanese are so tolerant in many other ways‚ really broadminded in some ways‚ you might say, because they don't seem to know much about religion at all or have any, & they could really hardly care less. I don't think that our message about sex would necessarily affect the general public all that much, at least not as much as it does in some of these other highly religious cultures, whether they be Christians or they be Buddhists, Islamic or whatever they are, because the Japanese have hardly any standards along that line.

86. Now I may be wrong, but it appears to me that our sexuality would not affect Japan all that much. When the truth gets out & our enemies begin to smear us with the pictures & the literature & all the rest, I don't think it would have as much impact there as it has in some other countries. Of course‚ some of that stuff they show & some of those lies they tell could be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back as far as the government's concerned, & kind of turns the conservatives in the government against us, then people wouldn't be quite so enthusiastic about us. If nothing else‚ they'd be ashamed to come out to the School & ashamed to be openly supporting the Family. It'll make'm kind of worry about their own reputations. The Japanese are really concerned about what people think.

87. As Mama says, the Family there at the School hasn't been secretive about it‚ they distribute our Posters & tapes right in their Pyramid. Of course, they haven't put out [our private] material that our enemies use to try to smear us.

88. Now how do you think that would happen? How do you think our enemies are going to [attack]? (Maria: From overseas, if some of the literature & brochures have been sent from people there to supposed friends or relatives or whatever.) That's one way. (Fam: Backsliders is one way, or Family friends who know the Family & the School, who turn against us.)

89. There are several methods. I'm sure the Lord is preventing it & protecting the Family right now, because they could have easily already found it out & started spreading the word around. So it's only a miracle of God they haven't. Obviously the Lord is staving it off to help the Family accomplish as much as possible as long as they can.

90. I think their School there is a prime sample, a prime example, of what can be done in the way of a big School. They are learning how to do it & what to do & what a terrific witness it can be & how to win souls that way, by using their School as a real witnessing tool. But when the news gets out & the fact is known that it is us, & they start putting smearing things into the newspapers or even on television, there's nothing they love more than juicy‚ sexy stories, especially about religious people!

91. We're known as the sex cult, that's their favourite name for us. Well, it really sells papers & it really makes TV shows get an audience, & we have really gotten publicity! I think that the World actually chuckles at it & likes it, loves it, because it really sells the papers. And they don't necessarily condemn us for it, a lot of them want to know where we're at! (Maria: Except for the most recent accusations, the child abuse issue. That's the one thing that the Devil really likes to use now.)

92. There's a great clamour coming now, a big wave about child abuse. And since we're accused of child abuse, that's one thing that hardly anybody will put up with. Even old sinners, nobody's going to defend that. Of course, it's not true, but nevertheless, our enemies don't hesitate to lie.

THE NEED FOR CONTINGENCY PLANS!

93. So what I'm asking is what is their contingency plan, when we know‚ as the Lord said this morning, that our anti–Christ enemies there are still in operation & they've got their secret network. Right now they might even know who we are. But just coming up to the School & attacking the Family is not going to do the trick, what they have to do is try to turn the people against us, & bad publicity has been their favourite method.—When they can persuade local media to expose us.

94. (Maria: Except for the Lord's protection, that "20/20" program in the States could have some repercussions in Japan also.) Yes, I've have been thinking about that too. That program shows they haven't forgotten about us‚ & it shows they still consider us a threat. Why else would they do it?—Especially our religious enemies‚ who are nearly all of them. You take that big publishing house, Zondervan in Grand Rapids, backed by the Brethren…! They've got us coming & going on both counts! And that's no doubt why they've published Deb's book. And she's been known to be writing a new one, they've even asked her for a new one, we heard. Of course, with Bill thinking about the money they will make, which the first one probably did, he's probably been busily working away at whatever kind of new smut he can get on us.

95. I just had the feeling—& I'll be pleasantly surprised if it's not true—that Zondervan, a great big powerful & influential publishing house who always try to get publicity for their books, that they're the ones that got her on Pat Robertson's show, it was to publicise the book. He's always doing that for different books, having the authors on there as a guest & publicising their book. They get the free publicity for their book, the authors & the publishers, & he gets the free guests. He doesn't have to pay them, & they don't have to pay him, it's tit for tat.

96. Anyway, that is also something I wanted to warn you of, that apparently our enemies are still afraid of us to the extent that they're willing to go to all that expense & all that trouble to throw another bomb at us. And I wouldn't be surprised that it's also because the Devil knows that a lot of our folks are having to go back to the States. In fact, we are already in operation there, & I'm sure our people there are being faithful & active in passing out literature.—A thousand of'm!

97. It's supposed to be a free country & they can pass it out on the streets all they want, except that it will get them known, that we're back in the States again & active‚ & the parents there now don't want their children to join us any more than the parents of the last generation did! So they're going to warn the parents that we are there, that we're back again. …

98. So I have an idea that those are several reasons why they're going back to hit us broadside if they can with this big TV show, "20/20‚" which is a very popular show. They do interviews & stuff like that. It's a kind of a variety informational thing. And every time they do that in the States, then it starts a new wave & the media pick it up, the papers pick it up, & then the international wire services pick it up, & it's news. Something new has been added, & as you know‚ it finally seeps around the whole World, & it's apt to come out in Japan as well.

99. So, Family, what's your contingency plan there, when the bad publicity wave hits your School? (Maria: That means when it hits all of Japan.) Well, if our other Schools there, our small local Schools, don't show any connection to the big School, they might be spared. …

100. … [B]ut what about when the bad publicity wave hits?—Which is just almost bound to hit, it always hits! When we've more or less done our job the Lord always allows it to hit to refine the products & to persuade us to move along to someplace else that's more fruitful.

101. … I think maybe it's because they're not as well known there in Japan, they haven't had as much bad publicity there & those aspects of us have not been smeared around as much as they have in some other countries.—Probably because there aren't as many Christians there & they're not on the job as much as they are some other places.

102. But somebody's going to get worried about the Family there sooner or later & start [trouble]. We'll see. I just want to warn you, & the Lord has warned you, that they have their own secret communications network & they could even be working on it right now & preparing their plans.

WHAT WE'RE THERE FOR!

103. Our folks need to always remember what we're really there for. I know they need that playground that they're building, their kids need it, & maybe it will go on & be useful to somebody, whether us or somebody else, at least some other poor kids that live there in their neighbourhood or something. I always figure improvements are never wasted, somebody's going to appreciate it & enjoy it even after we're gone. That's why I never hesitate to work on a house & fix it up & make improvements, etc. I just figure I'm improving & changing the World by helping to change our own little circumstances.

104. But let's all be sure we keep our eyes open & our ears open & our hearts open & don't forget what we're here for, that we're not just in this Army to repair watches! I think it's important to have watches, & certainly in anybody's army to have them working properly, but at the same time let's keep our priorities straight. Of course, I think working on that playground has been a great training project for them & is good for them. (Maria: Yes‚ they've reported that it's provided a lot of good get-out for them as well.) And it also gives them a project to appeal for. It struck the fancy right away of some of their kings because they like to see something accomplished.

THE BUILDING CRAZE!

105. This is why people go so great for churches & buildings, schools, they can see something, & they like to feel like they've had a hand in it. "I helped build that church." "I helped make this playground for children." "I helped this school & all of its little kids," etc. The church has been reared on the building craze & they just love to see something, a permanent monument to their faith. Just look at the World, look at the churches, look at the temples, shrines, every religion in the World, mosques! I doubt if dear Mohammed ever thought of having a mosque.

106. All religions finally gravitate to some kind of buildings‚ except us. And I think one dear backslider even accused us of having finally done that by having that School there, that we had gone the way of all churches now & were going to have buildings‚ blah blah. Well, that was just his excuse. But nevertheless, watch out we don't!

107. There's just something about this building craze that hits every religion, & they've finally got to build some kind of a monument or temple or house of God or mosque or shrine or whatever it is to honour their religion & their God! They want to boast that they've had a part in it & that they helped to build this "eternal monument" that they think will last forever though they are gone.—At least their name will be inscribed on the window or on the plaque‚ & they can then live on in the memory of people by having some kind of a permanent marker to show that they gave, they built, they came, they went.

108. That is one of the greatest parts of the psychology of this donation & giving business.—And when you have promised plaques & names & stuff like that‚ you'd better get them up, because they want to see them before they die! They don't want to have to come back in their ghost to take a look, they want to know now, they want their roses now!

BE PREPARED!

109. I guess that's enough for now. That's my job as Prophet, to warn you of impending possibilities‚ & to remind you that you need to always be prepared. If such adverse publicity begins to come out against the School there, what are they going to do about it? Well, the first thing we usually do, of course‚ is we try to counter it & answer it, & that way we get more publicity. The Lord knows that also, we not only get bad publicity, but we also get good publicity for our side & our message, it helps to get the Word out. But of course you can't beat City Hall & they always win in the long run. I don't think we've ever won one of those battles yet. We've never really taken it to court & we're not going to because there's nothing they love better than to get us in court & just really sock it to us! So we usually hit & then run.

110. Well, maybe the [quiet] ministry of some of our smaller witnessing Homes there may be able to continue for awhile. (Maria: Well, they're all supporting the School, everybody there is. Because the thing is, it's given the Homes on the field something to give to their friends to say, "Look‚ we are doing something, even though you don't see much here, you don't exactly want to support us, well look at what we are doing as a whole!") Yes, it's difficult to get people, especially those [materialistic]-type people, to support something they can't see!

111. Well, they should think & pray about what to do to prepare, & let the Lord lead. One thing they can cling to‚ one promise, is that whatever temptation, He'll always make a way of escape!—1Cor.10:13. That's a good promise to claim. Of course you may be like my Dad when the chairs began to fall over, & my Mother said, "Run, Dad!" "Where?!" She meant for him to run up & catch the next row before it fell over, instead of that he looked around for exits & he said, "Where?" Maybe they'd better have their [next place] picked out! (Maria: Maybe the weaker ones will have to go back to their home countries‚ & the stronger ones could maybe go to one of our remaining open fields.)

112. Well, PTL! TYL! The Japanese government may have tried to stamp out Christianity there 400 years ago, but it's still there & it's flourishing right now more than ever‚ especially with the Family! Of course, this is probably its last stand, & the Antichrist Government will then take over! But praise God, we'll keep on going as long as we can, just like those early Christians did. (Maria: We're sowing a lot of little seeds now. Even if they don't really understand much of what they're doing & they receive the Lord, in times of trouble when they have to make a decision & stand up, the Lord will show them more & He'll help their religion to flourish.)

113. I don't know whether that helped you any or not, but I just thought it was important to warn you that "offences needs must come, but woe unto them through whom they come!"—Mat.18:7. But why do they need to come? It says there in Daniel, "to purify & make white."—Dan.11:35. It helps us, strengthens us, tests our metal to see if we're pure gold, to see if we really mean what we say & we're willing to suffer & even die for our faith!

114. The Lord loves martyrs, He's had a lot of them!—Psa.116:15. They're the ones that in Heaven are pictured as being especially honoured in the Book of Revelation, etc. (See Rev.6:9-11; 20:4.) So it's no terrible disaster or catastrophe or tragedy for people to even get killed for their faith! All those Japanese martyrs probably have special status up in Heaven right now & are glorified for how they suffered for their faith because they refused to deny it. So that time is coming too. But in the meantime‚ let's keep on doing our best‚ amen? Why don't you close in prayer, Mama?

CLOSING PRAYERS

115. (Maria: Thank You Jesus for this wonderful counsel, Lord, & these wonderful words of guidance, instruction & care & love for us. We thank You Jesus that You're so faithful to always warn us & always prepare us, Lord. We thank You for it & ask You to help us all to not just be hearers‚ but also doers of the Word, each of us to do what we can‚ Lord, to prepare for the things to come & to also be as careful & prayerful as we can, to not make it come sooner than You want it to because of our unwise actions, Lord. We ask You to hold it off as long as possible, as long as You know we need to do the job.) Amen, rebuke them in Jesus' name! Rebuke the Enemy & all of our enemies! That television show, Lord, may You turn cursing to blessing! PTL! TYJ!

116. (Maria: Help us to do as much as we can as quickly as possible‚ Lord, to work before the night has come (Jn.9:4), to do all we can, while we can, Lord, not only at that School, but the whole Family throughout the World that are doing their best for You! Help them to realise the shortness of time & the importance of really having their guard up against the wiles of the Enemy! Give us all wisdom & strength‚ & continue to give us counsel & guidance through Dad. Strengthen him, Lord, & make us all strong in spirit to do Thy Will. TYL!)

117. Amen, thank You Jesus! You know the situation, Lord, & You know the future. Help us not to worry about it, but to be aware of it, Lord, & to be forewarned is to be forearmed‚ prepared for it‚ & not be surprised or in any way be taken unawares, but to be prepared & to prepare for it, & to all keep the pilgrim attitude, Lord‚ to remember that we're always pilgrims & strangers here in this World‚ we have here no certain resting place, but Heaven is our Home! What a day of rejoicing that will be when we all get to Heaven, Lord, & shout the victory! PTL!

118. Help us to do our best while still here, while we still have this glorious opportunity to save souls for Thy Kingdom, for Thy Heavenly City, Lord! They'll be so glad when they get There, Lord, that we came & told them about You!—That we loved them enough, Lord, to try to reach them & save them for Eternity. We won't be sorry, Lord, we won't regret a single one, we'll be thankful for every single one that we won & led to Thee‚ Lord, everyone who was reached, all those that were witnessed to, even those that didn't get saved‚ Lord, at least we gave them an opportunity, we reached them with the Gospel & we at least did what we could.

119. We don't want to strike fear or terror into these hearts, Lord, about the future, but we just want to be strengthened & prepared. "A strong man armed keepeth his goods in peace" (Lk.11:21), & we are not ignorant of the Enemy's devices, of the Enemy's machinations, but are to be aware of the various fronts on which he may attack, & be prepared & be really in the spirit, Lord, eyes & ears & hearts open to Thee, so we can receive whatever message of warning You may have for us to prepare us! And with every one‚ Lord, You'll always give some way of escape, & we claim that promise, Lord, in Jesus' name! PYL! TYJ! Even if it's straight up, Lord, in the Rapture, or whatever it's going to be, You're going to get us out of this mess!

120. Thank You that we're still able to work in this mess, Lord, & save souls out of the mire & out of the pit while we're here in this World! And thank You for the vision for Schools You've given us, to train our children properly & give them the benefits of good training & schooling & even recreation & all the rest, TYL! Our Schools are benefiting not only the heathen, Lord, but also benefiting us as well. So we thank You Jesus for it all, & we know that it will go on just as long as You want it to‚ & that our enemies had better beware lest they be found to fight against Thee, Lord, & if this thing be of God, no man can stop it!—Acts 5:38,39. And we know it is of You, Lord!

121. You have done miracle after miracle for Your children, & we thank You for answering prayer & for keeping us & providing for us, Lord. Continue to keep us & continue to bless us, & most of all continue to make us a blessing. TYJ! Help them there not to fear, not to worry, but to trust You, Jesus, & just simply to plan for whatever may happen, Lord, so that we will not be left helpless or unprepared.—In Jesus' name. TYL! PTL! TYJ!

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES!

122. Well, I've done my job, that's it. I think you just need to remember that we do have enemies. And as the Lord said about Japan this morning‚ they still secretly oppress Christianity there & they have their own secret network of information.—Which means when our job there is done, they'll probably catch up with us. But don't worry about it or fear it, just accept it & know it's bound to happen sooner or later. That just may help our folks there to be even more energetic to work fast, knowing that time is short & we have to work fast to make hay while the sun shines! Amen? PTL! Just don't waste time.

123. All right! TYL! Thanks for your time! I felt it was necessary for you to kind of know what's going on. Considering the situation, the successful operation of that big School there is such a miracle‚ the way God has blessed it & given us favour & friends & help. (Fam: It's sort of like "Stand back & see Me fight, saith the Lord!")—Especially when we've never done anything like this before!

124. (Fam: I've been reading some of the old Letters, like the Black Book Letters, & in a lot of ways, the counsel about TSC, how we didn't have to go out, the public came out to see us, it's all right there.) Right, in a way it really is sort of another TSC situation. PTL! (Fam: "Sample Not a Sermon" & all those Letters come so alive now because the situation in our big Schools is somewhat similar, those same principles can be applied.)

125. Well, we go through different phases. None of them ever last, but they last as long as they are fruitful & as long as we accomplish the purpose, & then we move on, just like they did in the Bible‚ pilgrims & strangers, they never stayed anywhere very long.

126. (Fam: Another real benefit besides all the friends being won & everything is that the Family there are really learning a lot.) There are a lot of benefits in having such Schools. We're really taking good care of our kids, giving them better training & more time‚ & they can see that we really love them & are trying to help them. They will cherish their days at our Heavenly Schools when they're gone. (Maria: They hope it's not going to be gone for awhile.) Well, it's always gone, it always goes!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family