PERSECUTION & BACKSLIDERS! DO 2817 7/92
1. Amen! Praise the Lord! TYL! "Come ye aside & rest awhile!" (Mark 6:31.) PTL! TYL! You all lead such busy lives, I think a moment's meditation would do you good. Why don't we each one pray a little short prayer for this meeting.
2. (Maria: Lord, we just thank You so much that we're so privileged to be here with Thy Servant & Thy Prophet, being able to hear the counsel that You give him. Thank You Lord that we have such a beautiful place to meet together & that You've kept us in safety & security. Continue to do that, Lord, as we counsel together & hear from You. Keep us free from disturbances, give us good unity & keep us in tune with You, in Jesus' name.)
3. (Fam: Thank You Jesus for this real blessing of being here with Grandpa & Mama. Thank You for them, & really anoint this time & strengthen each one. Especially strengthen Grandpa & thank You so much for him. Thank You so much for this beautiful time of fellowship.)
4. (Fam: We do acknowledge You, Lord. You said where two or three of us are gathered together in Your Name, that You're in our midst. And Lord, we certainly know that this Work is of You. Many have tried to fight against it, but we have thrived & they've fallen by the wayside, & we do thank You, Lord. Thank You too, Lord, for this place, & we do pray You'll continue to keep us.) Amen, Lord, keep us.
5. (Peter: We thank You, Lord, for the precious Family that You've raised up! You've used Dad & the Word that You've given through him to make it all possible, & it's borne such wonderful fruit with millions of souls & Thy Message spread across the Earth. We thank You that the Word that You've given through Dad has really strengthened the Family, & we pray that now as we have this time together, You'll continue to speak through Dad & give him strength. Give the Message, whatever You have, & anoint Dad for it, in Jesus' name.)
6. (Fam: Jesus, You told us to acknowledge You in all our ways, & You promised You'd direct our paths. We ask that You do that now as we spend time at Your feet. You said, "In the multitude of counsellors there is safety & every purpose is established." So we pray that You'll bless & anoint & lead & guide Dad as he directs this meeting. You promised if we'd open our mouth You would fill it, Lord, & in Jesus' name we claim that. We thank You for how You have spoken so marvellously & abundantly, & we pray that You will be with us at this time together sitting at Your feet & Dad's feet. Thank You for the privilege of being here with Thy Prophet, as Thy servants, Thy tools to do Thy Will.) Amen, praise the Lord! TYL!
7. Thank You Lord for these wonderful helpers that You have given us to hold up our hands, in battle & in peace, & that You've kept us & preserved us for so long, Lord, safely, & protected us & provided abundantly. TYJ! PYL! And now we know that You are going to continue to do so, Lord, You've never failed. We've just gathered together here this morning to seek Thy face & wisdom & counsel & guidance in all that we do in Thy Work, Lord, & for Thy children around the World!--So great a Family, Lord, so important, & doing such a great work that the Devil is furious! But now lead & guide us & teach us how to handle these situations, Lord, to keep our cool & our calm & our faith & our trust & our peace in Thee. You promised to give us peace. You said, "My peace I give unto you: Not as the World giveth, give I unto you." (John 14:27.)--But You give peace that stays & lasts & never fails! TYJ! PTL! Hallelujah!
Protecting Dad from the Strain of the Battle!
8. To me, it's really quieting & reassuring to see God's Creation & His creatures, how He takes care of them! The little birds that flit around, I don't think they spend much time worrying about anything! It's wonderful how God's Creation has such a wonderful, reassuring effect, peaceful & calming!
9. And I certainly have enjoyed the peace & quiet you folks have given me, not bothering me unless you have to. Mama's certainly a good overseer & manager & counsellor. It's just amazing to me what that little girl can do!--What burdens she can bear & how much she can get done in spite of her eyes & not being able to see. (Maria: It's amazing what the Lord does! I've got the Lord & all of you to help.)
10. I'm sure the Lord let it happen, as I've told her, so she can keep her eyes on Him more, & so you'd help her more with her work. She's had to include you a lot more in her work. She used to read every scrap of paper, every word of every report. No wonder she ruined her eyes! Now she can still listen to what she has to on tape & does all her dictating & editing that way too. She listens to those tapes day & night.
11. When you get older you don't need so much sleep, & I try to be real quiet when I get up in the morning. I don't exactly get up, I just sort of sit up in bed & put on my reading glasses so I can read & do a little work, but it seems like even if I open one eye, she's conscious of it. It sends some kind of a signal to her that my brain is awake & I'm thinking! Ha! But I try to keep quiet so she can sleep. (Maria: Poor Dad, he tries so hard to keep from waking me, but it doesn't work. It must be pretty frustrating.) Well, I think you do manage to sleep through some of it.
12. God bless her, she's trying to carry so much of this burden all by herself. She's even been afraid to share some of it with me for fear it might disturb me, not wanting to worry me with it. She's waited several days sometimes to tell me some big news, & has not broken the news till she feels it's an auspicious time to do so, & waited till she feels like I'm able to take it. (Maria: --And when we also have lots of victories to tell you about!) Yes, she always approaches it positively & victoriously & it's a victory, never a defeat! She always waits until there is good news about it & then she tells me, after the battle's already won! That's sweet of Mama, because she knows I'm very sensitive to these things.
13. When I see the Family suffering, I suffer with them!--Like when I saw that Media video the other night. (See "Prayer for the Martyrs!" ML #2815.) Even watching that was a little bit of a hard ordeal for me to go through. Of course, I was rejoicing with them at the same time, & it was beautiful how happily & bravely they're challenging their enemies & doing a good job of it, God bless them!--But still, I know it's a hard thing to go through. I used to be there at the battlefront with my hippies, & it is a battle!
14. Anyhow, God bless Mama for trying to handle all this by herself. (Maria: I've got wonderful helpers, God bless them!) Yes, what would we do without them? We have such a good team! And I appreciate your not coming to me till things are really necessary & urgent. She's protected me from a lot of what's going on until it's somewhat solved, & then she reports to me the good news. And I appreciate that, because especially now in my old age, I am not quite as able to take some things as I used to be.
15. I used to be right there at the forefront of the battle, in the thick of it! I marched with them, demonstrated with them, had church sit-ins with them & was right there at the forefront of the battle!--Until some of them woke up to the fact that it was getting a little too dangerous for me & hard for me, & there were too many people out trying to catch me & get at me. Finally, I think it was Josh who got a Scripture for me about David in his old age, how they had to remove him from the forefront of the battle where he wouldn't have to stand quite so much pressure & be in so much danger. (2Sam.21:17b--"Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the Light of Israel.") TYL!
16. So I thank you & the Lord that I can be a little bit more in retirement, although still very active in the feeding of the Word & helping make any important decisions & giving a certain amount of guidance & counsel in some of these things that you need to bring up to me. And I think between Mama & me & you, & especially the Lord, we've usually handled the situations pretty well. So in spite of the attacks of the Enemy, we're doing better than surviving, we're getting the victory & we're getting a lot of good publicity out of it as well as bad, & we're getting the Message out!
17. The Lord is using these people, even our enemies, to bring us out & to go on the attack! As one young man said on the video--I think he was an American they were interviewing in the park in Tokyo--"I really admire you all for standing up & fighting for your rights!" People have a natural admiration for the courageous fighters who not only defend themselves, but go on the attack, like you've been doing lately!
Scripture & Picture of [EDITED: "One Backslider"]!
18. I got a Scripture this morning with a rather horrible picture, almost like a horror movie! I got the Scripture first of all, thank the Lord, but the picture came with it as an illustration. Quote'm that Scripture again, Honey. (Maria: "When the wicked, even mine enemies & my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled & fell."--Psa.27:2.) And I got the most gruesome picture of [EDITED: "this backslider"] with her mouth all red & dripping, drooling with blood like a vampire! Of course, she's just a little ignorant nobody, but it shows you how the Devil is using her. Even Deborah is just being used.
19. These backsliders think they're so smart, & yet they're so dumb! They don't realise how the Devil's forces & our real enemies are just using them as bait & as fronts & stooges! It's pitiful! They're having to take the brunt of it in their battles. Of course, our soldiers out on the front lines are also having to take the brunt of it, but thank God, they're strong enough now, they've been taught long enough, & they're doing a good job of handling it.
20. But those backsliders don't realise that as soon as those forces have gotten what they want out of them, they'll just cast them aside as they did Judas! Right now they feel important. They feel like stars!--They're getting a lot of publicity & are in the papers & on television & all this, & they seem to be glorying in it.
Giving the Public Our Side of the Story!
21. But you notice the media in Japan soon got tired of it. After they got our side of the story they were satisfied & they didn't want to even hear any more. The public's attention span is rather short & "the people seek a new thing," the Bible says.--Acts 17:21. They get tired of the old news pretty quick, as soon as their curiosity is satisfied, & then they want to go on to something else. As the old expression goes, "they're beating a dead horse," really riding what's almost a dead subject. They've almost ridden it to death & I think the people are getting fed up & tired of it, thank God! The people feel informed now that they've heard our side of the story, & I'm sure most of them are satisfied, those who have at least given it any consideration at all.
22. I used to say to Fred, "Why don't you go on the attack & get out there & publicise your answers to some of these lies they tell about you!" And he said, "Well, no matter what kind of an explanation I give, my enemies wouldn't believe it, & my friends don't need it!" In a way he was right--if they're good enough friends & close enough, they don't need it--like you! I haven't had to explain these things to you, you know me well enough. But between our enemies & our close friends is a vast multitude of people who are uncommitted one way or the other & are curious & do deserve an explanation--the uninformed. There may even be some in the Family who are somewhat distant & don't know all the facts & might be inclined to wonder about some of these charges, & perhaps even be deceived & believe them.
23. (Maria: Our explanations have been very good for those who don't know much about us.) Yes, they're the ones who need the most explanation--the lawyers & judges & even the public who need some kind of an explanation. They don't know what the truth is, so it's our duty to give it to them! Peter said to "always be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you."--1Pet.3:15. In other words, they really want to know, so if they ask you, give an answer! But to our enemies, it wouldn't matter how many explanations you give, their minds are made up & they don't want to be confused with the facts!
24. But don't be too quick to label folks as enemies just because they might ask a few antagonistic questions. Some people are just asking to be convinced, to be won, & instead of making quick judgements, you need to ask the Lord for more discernment. Many people who don't totally agree with some of our beliefs & practices will have many points on which they can agree, & it is certainly worth trying to win these people.
Backsliders & Judas!
25. It sometimes mystifies me how some of those backsliders we have done the most for, could hate us so! Why do they hate us? Why?--When we were unusually good to them & patient with them & put up with them for years, even when they were nothing but a problem all those years! (Maria: Maybe because we spoiled those people. We spoiled Watchman & put up with his tantrums, & we spoiled Mene & showered too much attention on her.) And Jeth & Deb, we spoiled them too. Maybe part of it is a guilty conscience on their part.
26. They say that one of the most automatic human reactions is self-defence. The minute you're accused of anything or you know you're guilty of something, you right away go on the defensive to defend yourself. And one of the usual human mechanisms of self-defence is counter-accusation. I have been over that with you in various Letters like "The DDDB" (ML #759), about the people who doubt, disobey, deny & betray! They finally are forced to betray us, because they have nowhere else to go but to our enemies. Nobody else will receive them, & they just can't stand to be ignored & not have some kind of fellowship.
27. Backsliders get a lot of sympathy from our enemies. Our enemies will always receive them with open arms, like the scribes & Pharisees did with Judas, but then when their dirty work was done, what did they do? (Family: Got rid of him.) They paid him off, & when he tried to come back & repent & return the money, they just sneered in contempt & said, "You don't have anything to do with us any more." In other words, "We don't need you any more." And then they're really deserted! They've deserted the Lord, they've deserted us, their friends & their family, & they've gone to our enemies for comfort & fellowship & consolation & even usefulness. But then when our enemies finally get through using them & cast them aside, they have no place to go, & they're even ashamed to go to the Lord! So what did Judas do? He just went out & hanged himself when he realised what he'd done!--Mat.27:3-5.
28. The Catholic Church believes that anybody who commits suicide goes to Hell. Well, maybe, for a while. I kind of believe in Purgatory too. But I don't know, if anybody was that repentant & that remorseful to grieve so much over what he's done, knowing what he's done wrong & being sorry for it, surely the Lord loves him & would forgive him. Of course, Judas didn't go to those to whom he had done wrong, he went back first to his false friends, & they no longer received him. He was ashamed to go to his old friends, the disciples, & he just couldn't stand to live with what he'd done any more.
29. We've had one backslider come to that already. Of course, the System blames it all on us & they say it was because of his association with us, & they say it was our fault. Well, you haven't heard of any of our faithful, loyal Family Members committing suicide.--No full-fledged Family Members who really love the Lord & are serving the Lord with us & are in good shape.
30. Believe it or not, even a lot of our backsliders have remained loyal to the Family! When questioned, they've refused to say anything against the Family & have said their time in the Family did them a lot of good, that the Family was doing a lot of good, but that they just didn't feel like they were up to it or like they were soldiers enough themselves. They weren't willing to sacrifice that much, they weren't willing to really go all the way & forsake all, including their pride & their own will. They frankly felt so guilty, they couldn't stand to live with the Family any longer. They knew that they were not good enough soldiers & were not wholehearted enough & were not really obedient enough & not really loyal enough Family Members. They were so ashamed of themselves that they just couldn't take it & make it, but they didn't speak against us, & there have been a lot of those.
31. But some of them, being as weak as they were, sought other fellowship. They no longer had Family fellowship & they couldn't stand being by themselves, on their own, so they found out that our enemies gladly received them & really made a fuss over them & spoiled them & doted on them & glorified them & put them in places of glorification & used them as dandy bad examples of what the Family does & blah blah, & they have their moments of glory.
32. Even Judas had his moments of glory. When he went & kissed Jesus right in front of all those soldiers & the scribes & Pharisees, His enemies, he had a moment of glory, with all these guys backing him. (Mat.26:47-49.) He was justifying his own sins, trying to justify & excuse himself, therefore he felt justified in doing what he did because the Devil had so deceived him into thinking that he was right about all the things he'd criticised Jesus about.
33. They're convinced by these enemies that they're right! They even go through a process of ... they don't call it deprogramming any more, that's been too vilified, but what do they call it? (Peter: "Exit counselling.") (Maria: Also they've called it "recovery" or "re-entry into society.")--Ha! Yes, they go to these supposed experts, even pastors & preachers & Christians who are posing as their friends & posing as wise counsellors & agreeing with them, convincing them that they've done the right thing & giving them all kinds of ammunition to shoot at the Family & all the bad things they know about the Family. They tell them, "We know the Family's wrong & we know how bad they are, & you're right, you should have defected long ago! We sympathise with you & we're here to help you! We'll do everything we can for you! We receive you, we don't think you're bad. To us, you're not backsliders, you're just people who finally came to your senses & saw how bad the Family is & how bad they treated you. We agree with you & we're for you & we'll help you!"
34. So they use them against us & glorify them & get them to write books or go on TV & testify against us, & for a while they're a star, having their own self-glory, being appreciated the way they feel they weren't appreciated in the Family, being recognised the way they weren't recognised in the Family, being glorified & their talent used the way they feel it wasn't used in the Family! "Here are some people who really understand me & appreciate me & like me & don't talk about all my faults & pray with me about my doubts & fears. They praise me & glorify me for what I've done!"--And they convince our backsliders they've done a good thing, really deceive them! Because they've rejected the Truth, the Lord says He'll send them strong delusion, that they might believe a lie, that they might be damned!--2Th.2:10-12.
35. Now that word "damned" in the original doesn't necessarily always mean "sent to Hell." It means to be judged, sentenced for their sins. And the Lord has lots of ways of judging & sentencing His Own children for their sins & punishing them. So when they don't receive the Truth, because they don't want to for some reason or other--it's against their pride & what they want to do & everything else--they're finally wide open to lies. They want to believe the lies, they want to believe that they're right! They want to believe that all these lies they hear from others about us are right, because they want to excuse & justify themselves. So they become blind, deluded, & they really do believe the lies, because they want to believe them.
36. And the Lord allows them to be sent this strong delusion because they've rejected the Truth. What else is there for them to believe but lies? If you reject & leave the Truth, what have you got left?--Nothing but the Devil & his friends & their lies & delusions, because that's what you've turned to! You didn't want to believe the Truth, you didn't want to accept it, you didn't want to obey it, so you turn to people of the same kind who have also rejected it, let's face it. All those enemies have heard the Truth & they have rejected it. Why?--Because they don't want to believe it. It's not that they didn't have the Truth, but they rejected it. God's Word says they refused to believe the Truth, & therefore there's nothing left, they chose to believe the lies.
37. So these backsliders have hobnobbed with our enemies who are pretending to be their friends. And there's nothing those enemies want to do more than destroy them too, but they're just going to wait until they have used them & they've performed their dirty work with them, just like they did with Judas. He's a prime example of this whole principle. He betrayed Jesus, helped them find Him, kissed Him, & let them arrest Him & put Him in bonds & persecute Him & beat Him & everything else. The traditional story is that he only consented to betray Him & lead them to Him under the promise that they would not hurt Jesus or kill Him. That's the story from tradition or legend. I don't know whether it's true or not, but it sounds logical. In other words, he knew Jesus was right & a good man, but he was scared.--And that's another reason some people turn against us, because they're afraid of persecution.
38. Judas saw things were going the wrong way. Instead of Jesus becoming King & Judas becoming one of His major advisors, & instead of taking over the worldly kingdom here & now, it looked like Jesus was losing the battle, & He was becoming unpopular. He'd been riding a wave of good publicity for a long time & doing a lot of good, & only a handful of real bitter, jealous enemies in the background refused to receive Him. But now comes the bad publicity & the smearing & the unpopularity & persecution, & with it, downright danger!
39. Judas was like an opportunist politician all the time, obviously from the very beginning. He just hooked his wagon to a star & managed to hang on to the money. Some people like Jethro (of Deborah) & Judas, they were loyal for the money, & both of them--as well as Deborah--when they saw that things were not going so well & they were starting to go bad, had to make a decision. The good publicity began to turn to bad publicity & it wasn't quite such a glory to be king or queen of the roost any more, they were going to have to stand some bad publicity & persecution now! They saw the money might not be so good any more, & the job might not be quite so good any more, therefore they had to make a decision, "What are we in it for?" Things began to go sour & turn bad instead of having it easy on Easy Street & revelling in the funds like Jethro & Deborah did, rolling around in fine cars & whatnot while Mama & I had almost nothing--when we didn't even have a car!--Not that we minded, we didn't envy them at all! We were glad to be free & were thankful for the Lord's supply, whatever we got. We ate whatever we were given & slept wherever we were provided for & were thankful.
40. But those who are in it for the money & the power, like Jethro & Deborah, when those possibilities begin to fade, then they wonder, "What am I doing here, anyhow? I don't have to stay here & put up with all this gaff (verbal abuse, harsh treatment) & all this bad publicity & be counted as one of the bad ones, & one of the bad people, the leaders of these bad people! And besides, Dad is beginning to get wise to me & he's not promoting me any more.--In fact, he's even demoted me because he knows he can't trust me!"
41. So they decide, like Judas, to get out while the gettin's good! They figure, "Well, the best thing for me to do is prove I'm not one of them. The best thing to do is get out while I can! There's not anything more in it for me--no more power or glory or good publicity or money or position--now it's too much sacrifice, it's too much persecution, it's too much gaff! Now it looks like I'm going to be suffering instead of rolling in the good things like I have been, & Dad is beginning to get wise to me, & he's getting revelations exposing me!" That's where it gets to the bad point. Remember how I saw Deborah & Jeth swimming in a cesspool?--And trying to get us to come in with them? (See "The Cesspool!" ML #664.) Misery loves company, & I never saw a backslider yet who didn't try to get others to backslide. I mean a real backslider. They try to take others with them to justify themselves. Misery loves company & they always try to find somebody to sympathise with them.
This Work Is of God & You'll Go On No Matter What!
42. It's a purging! Gideon had his purge. The Lord wanted to show him what he could do with only 300 instead of 32,000!--That he didn't need that many men, they were more in the way & a drag. (See Judges 7:1-8.) So the Lord is certainly sifting out of the Family those who are only a drag, & He's certainly showing who are the real fighters & have real faith & testimonies, & He's making glorious victories out of seeming defeat, thank the Lord!
43. If I should depart & go on, I hope the Lord is your leader & you will go on strong, if not stronger, than ever!--Just like the true disciples did after Jesus was gone. They were never as strong before as they were after He was gone! They never really began to spread into all the World & convert the Roman Empire until after the Lord was gone! So don't ever think that just because I should go on to be with the Lord that you can't make it without me. If you're depending on me instead of the Lord, then things will go down, & that's what's happened to so many great men's work. It was too much of a personality cult. Oh, I could name so many of them, it's pitiful!
44. A lot of the televangelists are getting scandalised & victimised. I don't think all of that stuff is true, although some of them have confessed to some of it. Of course, they have been attacked by their enemies, & I think they paid that gal that scandalised Jim Bakker to go in & seduce him! And I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same thing with some of those gals with Jimmy Swaggart. They're not above that sort of thing, deliberately suborning men or women to go in & destroy men of God! Sad to say, they were weak enough that they took the bait.
45. So it's pitiful how many of those works were founded on those personalities, & after the man was gone, they collapsed! That's, of course, what their enemies were after--what they were out to do was destroy their work--& sad to say, that has occurred in a number of cases now. And boy, the ACs are really getting full sway now, they're really being successful! Now they're even daring to start attacking larger groups, not just the televangelists.
46. First of all they attacked the cults; they were easy prey because nobody liked the cults anyhow. All the Christians & churches were against the cults, so they had lots of help. But they're really getting up there now & even attacking some of the larger denominations. (Maria: They're coming out & really attacking the Catholics too.) Yes, I've read about quite a few scandals involving priests & pedophilia (sex with children). No wonder they're having so many problems getting new priests, with their false doctrine of forbidding marriage! Paul said that was a "doctrine of devils" (1Tim.4:1-3), & it's destroyed them. And of course their enemies take it--& they're true sins, horrible things--& they use it to destroy them.
47. Well, if this Work be of the Lord, no man will be able to stand against it! But if it be of Man, if it's just of me, it will come to nought.--Acts 5:38-39. What do you think? (Fam: I have no doubt that it's of the Lord.) Is our Work of the Lord or not? (Fam: Absolutely!) Or is it just built on me? I told Mama, if I'm such a handicap now & causing such a scandal, etc., if I thought it would do any good, I'd be happy to resign! If it would save the Work, I'd even be willing to die if that would take the heat off! (Maria: That wouldn't make any difference to our enemies.) Yes, do you think the Devil would quit just because he killed me?--Ha! Every one of you is a little one of me, & every one of you is a little one of Jesus, most of all. And the Lord has made it clear they'll never be able to kill us all, they'll never be able to stop our rain, because it's of the Lord.
48. If this Work is not of the Lord, we might as well quit!--But of course we can't, because it is of the Lord! And instead of being defeated, we've grown stronger & more prosperous & more fruitful! Our Work has spread around the World & we have phenomenal statistics to prove it! We've distributed millions & millions of pieces of Gospel literature to the World, to billions of people, with millions of converts! (Fam: That's one thing they fail to put in any of those articles about us, is about all the converts.) Yes! We've reached billions of people & had millions of converts!
49. The Lord has blessed us & prospered us & made it possible for us to do things we never even dreamed of!--Although He did, & He even gave us revelations of what was going to happen which were hard to believe! I just had to take it by faith. I held that Letter on "They Can't Stop Our Rain" for a long time before releasing it. (ML #128.) I thought, "That's going to be hard for our Family to take, hard for them to believe. They're going to think I'm really exaggerating, really stretching it!" But it was the Lord! The Lord gave it.
50. So if this Work is of the Lord, you'll go on, no matter what happens!--With or without me! Do you really believe that? (Peter: Definitely, no doubt about it.) You're sure? (Fam: Yes, Sir!) Well, I know it, because I know what the Lord has done & shown us & shown you, & the results, the proof of the pudding! And I think that is one wonderful thing about this new attack. In several places now, not only in Japan, but in Australia, etc., they've brought out our young people, & there's such a difference between the teenagers you hear about in the System & our teenagers! Here are our teenagers in droves--happy, singing, testifying, witnessing, doing good instead of evil!--While the System's teenagers are often a bunch of drug-ridden, violence-infested criminals!
The Failure of the Public School System!
51. They're finally admitting their God-damned public schools are one horrible failure! They've produced nothing but a horrible, violent, rebellious, drug-ridden, crime-infested generation! They can't brag about their public schools any more. That invention of Horace Mann was an invention of the Devil! Horace Mann was [DELETED] was the one who promoted public schools & persuaded the U.S. government to have enforced public, government-dictated education, compulsory public school attendance, etc. What a doctrine of the Devil! And yet I can remember when I was young he was considered a hero of the public school!--Horace Mann, the father of public schools. Well, that's giving him too much credit, it really was the Devil, but he sure used him. And the public schools were the Devil's own instrument to produce a lost generation--several lost generations now!
52. Well, praise God, theirs are coming to nought & failing! Their schools, their governments & their social structures are falling apart!--Their churches, their doctrines, even evolution is being debunked now, the whole thing!--Their World governments, their New World Order! I think you'll find some of those cartoons in the WND very amusing about the New World Order! The whole thing is failing. Even the UN is failing, it can't stop one little war in Yugoslavia!
Our Tribulation Is Already Beginning!
53. Anyway, we were on the subject of what makes some of our people backslide & be used of the Devil like Judas was. They do it for all the same reasons that Judas did. He finally saw it was getting a little too hot & there was no prospect of a future position of being a glorified financial money-greedy counsellor of the King of a restored Israel. He wasn't going to be in on the winning side, but instead it looked to him like his side was losing!--At least losing in the way he wanted it to win. So he decided the best thing to do was to get out, & the best way to get out was to prove he was no longer a member, by being willing to betray the Lord!
54. And you can bet there's usually money involved! They make those long trips to do their dirty work against us, so they're certainly getting all their fares paid & their hotel & restaurant bills paid. After all, they've got to feed them while they're there. Also when they get back, they've gotta keep'm on their side, so they've got to keep giving them some kind of assistance, if nothing more than to help them write the book & help'm get it out. (Maria: And to appear on TV & on the witness stand against us.) Yes. So it's not hard to understand why our enemies are backing our backsliders, the people who weren't really willing to pay the price & have fallen away.
55. I was even thinking of asking you if you'd like to have me resign. (Peter: No way!) (Maria: We need you now more than ever!) I thought of the way the Lord turned to His disciples & said, "Will ye also go away?"--Jn.6:67. Will ye also go away? (Peter: No way!) Will ye also go away? (Fam: Never, there's no place to go!) And that's what the Lord gave me, that that's what you'd tell me. There's no place to go. Well, they went away. There were a lot of disciples who did go away, & a lot of ours have gone away, & they found a place to go--temporarily--but it's not going to last. And as it was with Judas, they're going to be so sorry in the long run.
56. (Fam: It seems like this is a fulfilment of prophecy too, where it says, "Some of them of understanding shall fall." And also, "Even the very elect could be deceived." It's Endtime prophecy being fulfilled.--Dan.11:35; Mat.24:24.) Yes, it's all a part of the same horror of the Last Days. Our Tribulation is already beginning, because we've been in the vanguard, the forefront of the battle! We have been exposing the Devil & his dirty tricks & his people, & they don't like that at all! They don't like exposure! There's nothing the Devil hates like exposure! He does his best & his damnedest when he does it secretly as an "angel of light" (2Cor.11:14), & his ministers & agents pose as righteous people.
57. Look at all those Child Protection & Community Service agencies, robbing parents of their children under all kinds of excuses! On the slightest little anonymous phone call they can come in & snatch your children away just like that! These laws are part of the Antichrist dictatorship, just like the tactics the Communists used. Anybody can complain about you, that you're supposedly abusing your children, & they'll raid your home & take away your children, like they took 140-some of ours! Just think of it!--With no proof whatsoever, absolutely no excuse whatsoever, except the dirty lies being told them by our enemies!--Who are now apparently in a worldwide concerted campaign to put a stop to us & to shut us up for good so we can't tell the truth about them & we can't expose them any more--their criminal tactics, their violence & their evil plan to take over the World!
58. But instead, as the saying goes, "give the Devil enough rope & he'll hang himself," & they're now hanging themselves in Australia & places like that, where instead of exposing us, they're exposing themselves & discrediting themselves because of their evil conspiracy against us, which has shown itself to be nothing more than religious persecution! The agencies & the police & others involved are now on the hot seat & are getting criticised & debunked! Well, they're not going to like that, & they'll be even more furious! They don't like to be exposed, they don't like to be discredited, they don't like to be made fools of, embarrassed, scandalised & humiliated before the whole public & the World! So they're not done yet!
59. They're not done yet, & probably God's not done yet either, because He's using all this to expose them! He's using all this to show the public the truth about their governments & their diabolical agencies & their police states & a lot of other things! The governments are being exposed, & they're furious! Like when Jesus exposed the scribes & Pharisees, they got absolutely furious & they determined they'd have to kill Him! The day will come when they'll probably decide under the Antichrist that we are so dangerous that we not only have to be exposed & humiliated & persecuted, but killed! That's what the Bible says! If you don't worship the Antichrist, the Image says, "Kill'm!" (Rev.13:15.) Well, don't dread that, that'll be the best thing that ever happened to you! The ultimate orgasm!--Release from all this! TYL!
No Such Thing as Death for Us!
60. You should literally look forward to death, because there's no such thing for us! Jesus put it so bluntly, it's even been hard for some Christians to swallow. He said, "You'll never die!" He said, "I am the Resurrection & the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth & believeth in Me shall never die!"--John 11:25,26. Ah, I'll never forget the thrill I had when I saw that verse carved in marble above George Washington's tomb at his home at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, there by the Potomac River. It's a testimony to everybody!
61. But that's hard for even Christians to believe, that you'll never die! "What does He mean by that, that you'll never die?" Well, you never really die. I've heard most preachers explain it away & say it means you'll never go to Hell, you'll never really die the death of the sinner. But I believe more all the time that the Lord means that you just simply will not experience that kind of death, whatever it is, you will not die! Your body may die or be killed, but you will never even experience death! The real you, your spirit, will never really feel it or know it!
62. Your body may feel pain, but a lot of the Christians died on the stakes burning, singing & praising the Lord! And that was an impossibility in the first place, because the first gulp of smoke & you're done for! In fact, their enemies used to say that the reason so many Christians died so easily was that they were taught to inhale the smoke right away so they would die quickly. Well, that doesn't explain how they could keep on singing while the flames were licking around them. And that didn't explain it to the Romans either, & instead they realised it was the miraculous power of the Christians' God & it resulted in their conversions by the thousands!--Not only the way the Christians lived, but the way they died!--Although we know they didn't really die.
Storm Troopers of the Jesus Revolution!
63. We're the first, we're in the forefront of the battle, we're the vanguard! Remember what those Jewish reporters in the U.S. said about us years ago when they came to investigate us? They were ahead of their time. They said, "They're like the storm troopers of the Jesus Revolution!" Well, who were the storm troopers? They were some of the most loyal troops & were willing to fight & suffer & die for their cause, they were the elite! So they said we were the elite Christian troopers! Well, frankly, that's a compliment, because we were being compared to people who were of unquestioned, undying loyalty & discipline, even willing to die for their leadership.--Although our loyalty is first & foremost to Jesus, of course!
It's Only the Beginning, Folks!
64. So it's just the beginning & you don't have to worry about it! You might suffer a little pain. Some of us might suffer, & some of us have already suffered some pain. A lot of us have been jailed & mistreated & beaten & whatnot. Some members of our Family were jailed, beaten & mistreated before they were even Christians, also by the Devil's people! I don't doubt that that was because the Devil knew what they were going to be & do, so he was on their trail already!
65. So as the hawker in the sideshow used to say, "It's only the beginning, folks! It's only the beginning! Buy your ticket now!" We've got our tickets & it's just the beginning, thank the Lord! So, praise the Lord! Do you wanna quit? (Fam: No! It's actually exciting to be back in the news!) Do you think I ought to quit? (Fam: No! Definitely not!) I was trying to think what would help our folks, that maybe I should send a resignation to be published to the media, so I could get out of the way & they couldn't blame me any more. Some of our enemies are even questioning whether I'm dead or alive! But it wouldn't really matter even if I were dead! The Devil wouldn't leave us alone just because I was dead, not as long as you, the Family, carry on! (Maria: There was a time in the early days when we never even mentioned you to the public. They didn't even know you existed!--But we still got persecution for our beliefs & lifestyle.)
The Backsliders Are Accomplishing God's Purpose!
66. But the Lord is using this persecution! Just like the Devil is using those backsliders, God is getting His use out of them, believe it or not! How many times have I told you in the past that the Devil is working for the Lord! (See "The Sheepdogs!" ML #1439.) All the Devil's people are working for the Lord, they just don't know it. They're accomplishing His purposes. If it hadn't been for some of them, we wouldn't have been forced to come out & attack & proclaim the Truth & show the sample & win the victories, because of the seeming defeats! (Dad coughs)
67. The Devil doesn't like this little talk! He tries to make me cough & quit, & it looks like one of the tape recorders has even given up the ghost! But that doesn't stop us! Little things like that are not going to stop us. We're not going to let the Devil stop us just because of a few little problems. Neither are we going to let the Devil stop us just because of a few little idiots & imps who are trying to ride on the crest of a wave of persecution & be glorified & supported & praised & seemingly justified by attacking us! But as soon as the Devil is through with them, he'll spit them out & destroy them! But of course the Devil has to wait for that until the Lord is through with them & has used them to accomplish His purpose.
68. I'm sure that some of those people were saved. They once knew the Truth, & there are some verses that really show what's happening. In the 6th & the 10th Chapters of Hebrews it talks about people like that. It says that once they've had the Truth & have tasted of the light & even the Spirit & everything else, if they go back, it's impossible to renew them again to repentance. They've gone too far. (See Heb.6:4-6; 10:26,27.)
69. The Holiness people of course use those verses to try to debunk Eternal Security. They say, "See? They can't repent, so God's not going to forgive them, so they're going to go to Hell!" But we don't believe it means that. I believe the Lord means they've gone too far to return to His Work, the Family & the former privileged positions they had, nobody'd trust'm!--About all that's left is to destroy them that their souls might be saved!--1Cor.5:5.
70. Surely even Deborah received Jesus at one time. It seemed like she was saved. She used to be a pretty good little girl & she used to sing for the Lord & testify. She joined the Family when she got fed up with working for Fred Jordan & her husband, just working as a slave for Fred all the time, just for the purpose of making money, that was all, just a job, no feeling that they were really doing something for the Lord. She got so fed up with that that she was about to leave Jeth, & she came to me & begged us to give Jeth a job with us. She said, "Either that, or I'm going to leave him & I'm going to join without him!" I think she saw the way her children would go too if she didn't get them in with us. And, of course, they finally did go the wrong way, sad to say, after they left the Family.
71. Well, the Lord had mercy, He gave them a chance. I think part of Deb's coming was also in jealousy over seeing Faithy being so used of the Lord, singing & being a leader & a pioneer, & really a flame of fire as an evangelist! I think Deb was envious of that too & she figured, "If dumb little Faith can do it, certainly I can do it! I'm certainly a lot smarter & more talented & more beautiful than Faith!" I think she had some of that in mind, that we would really promote her, which we did in the long run. She wanted to be glorified & her talent recognised & appreciated & used.--And it was!--Of course when this went to Deborah's head, it was also her downfall!
Don't Worry about It!
72. Have I made the point of why these backsliders do it & what the Lord is doing by it & what's going to be their fate in the long run? Don't worry about it! When their cup of iniquity is full & the Lord is through with them & the Devil is through with them, they'll get their just deserts & be damned--judged, punished, even killed, if necessary!
73. The Antichrist will do as many a dictator has: Many a dictator has used people as his stooges & his instruments, like the [EDITED: "ACs"], to fight his enemies, & then turned around & killed them, because they threatened the throne or were a danger to him! It's common policy with the Devil to do that sort of thing, to use people & then execute them, eliminate them, get rid of'm!
74. So don't worry about it. It's all in the Lord's hands & the Lord's taking good care of it. It will go no further than God wants it to go, as far as He wants it to do us good, for "all things work together for good to them that love the Lord."--Rom.8:28. And it's all working together for good! Can you believe that? (Fam: Yes, it is! Definitely!) Do you really believe it's good? (Peter: Oh yes, I see it every day, for sure, no question about that!) It's good that it happened & is happening? (Fam: Yes!) You'd better believe it, because like the fellow said, "They told me to cheer up, things could be worse. So I cheered up, & sure enough, things got worse!"--Ha! Or like that joke about Goldwater (the man who ran against Johnson in the 1964 presidential campaign). "They told me if I voted for Goldwater, everything would be much worse. So I voted for Goldwater, & sure enough, everything got worse!"--Because Goldwater didn't win!--Ha!
75. So don't worry! Cheer up! Things are going to get worse!--Ha! But it's not so bad, the Lord will give you the grace. The greater the test, the greater the testimony! The greater the trial, the greater the triumph! The greater the battle, the greater the victory--& the greater the grace to bear it!
76. Like that dream the Lord gave me about that rifle. (See "Dying Grace!" ML #1775.) I looked down that barrel of the rifle & really, I wasn't a bit afraid! I thought, "Thank You Jesus! I get my walking papers now, my honourable discharge!" That was the general impression. I just suddenly felt, "Ah, at last, here it is, thank You Lord!" And that was it!
77. I don't know how well I'd stand up under beatings or torture or imprisonment. I don't know if I have the grace for it right now, & you don't either, because you're not being beaten, tortured or imprisoned! But all the Christians I ever heard of who were, managed to have the grace to take it. Some have been imprisoned, like that Chinese Christian leader, in prison some 25 years before they let him out. I guess they found they just could not quench his faith & it didn't do any good to keep him any longer, he was just a problem for them. And they kept Wurmbrand a long time too, but as a result he came through with a glorious testimony & a wonderful book which has been a tremendous encouragement to Christians throughout the World of how he survived such treatment, & the last I heard he's still going as head of some kind of Russian work.
78. The last I heard, Peter Dyneka is still going too, & his children are still going, in spite of all they've been through! Dyneka went into Russia in the early days of Communism when they were just slaughtering Christians! They were murdering them by the millions in Russia under Stalin & all. He went & held meetings in little Baptist churches & school houses & whatnot, & the crowds were so thick they all stood, packed in, standing up! They had no benches or seats. And people crowded outside the windows & doors to try to hear, for hours! You probably think you're suffering now because I've kept you this long! Ha!--And you're sitting in nice comfortable seats in a pleasant place with a lovely view. If you can't stand to look at me, you can always look out there at God's creation.--Even though I am a creation of His, too! It always comforts my heart to see the beauty & harmony of His creation & His creatures.
Dad Behind the Scenes Manufacturing the Ammunition!
79. Well, I don't want to be cruel to you & make you suffer by having to sit here too long. Dear Mama's doing well. She wanted to come to this meeting, but she was feeling a little weak & didn't know if she was able. She thought maybe she'd lie in the other room & listen. But I said, "I need you there. I need your support." I just need her spirit. She is one of those who helps keep me going, along with all of you.
80. And I appreciate the way you've protected me from the worst & kept me & guarded me & tried to give me as much comfort & convenience & peace & quiet as possible so I can continue to do what I have to do. Even though I've had to retire from the battlefront, I'm helping you to make the ammunition that's going to the front, & I have to be back here where I can have peace, quiet & security to do it. I never got out any Letters when I was at the forefront of the battle with all those hippies! I never did much organisation, I never did much of anything but demonstrate & have sit-ins! Well, I did teach the kids in the Light Club & buried a lot of the Truth in their hearts, but what's happened to all those talks? I understand they've found a few of them here or there that were recorded, but I don't think we've ever published them all.
81. Anyway, I've done a lot more since you've helped me stay behind the scenes manufacturing the ammunition to forward to the front! I think my job has been more important & more effective to feed the sheep, than to be one of the sheep, or even a bellwether, or whatever I was in those days. Of course, I enjoyed it! I really enjoyed it, I must admit. It was dangerous, but like any soldier, it was a challenge & it was exciting & it was thrilling & I knew I was really doing something for the Lord, leading those kids in their demonstrations against the System & even against apostate churches & especially Godless schools & all of that!
82. But I soon began to realise that if I was going to survive long enough to continue to encourage the Family, I wasn't going to be able to go to every battlefront. They were really after me, & sometimes discretion is the better part of valour. "He who fights & runs away, lives to fight another day," & that's what I finally had to do, & what I'm still doing. And the Lord by His mercy & His miraculous power has protected me & you all these years & kept us where we could be the most useful! TTL!
83. What would we do without you, our precious staff members, who help us with administration & communication & organisation & management, both local & worldwide? And what would we do without Mama, my encourager & the lifter up of my head, my inspirer!
84. I'll tell you, you just can't get that woman down! I think sometimes I almost get her down, but she just refuses to get down. She just hangs on. She even says she's sorry when it's my fault! Even my having to see that Media video the other night had good results in the long run--the prayers that it brought & the wisdom that the Lord wrought through it, as well as inspiration & my getting to see what the battlefront is like today. And I'll admit it's a little scary & reminded me of how it used to be, & reminded me of how it could be again if I got out there like the enemies want me to do!
85. They're hoping I'll come to the rescue in person! Even our friends & lawyers want me to come & testify, & that's just what our enemies are waiting for! If they could just get their hands on me, there's nothing they'd like better! They'd shoot me if they could get away with it, & the day may even come when they'll shoot us anyhow, even if they can't get away with it! There's been many a martyr for a cause, & there's been many an assassin who's willing to die in order to shoot the one he thought was the villain!
Statements of Our Beliefs!
86. So praise the Lord! Has this little talk been encouraging or discouraging? (Fam: Very encouraging!) Well, Lord, have I covered enough? I think Mama was on the right track in getting out all these Statements & affidavits & testimonials & all the rest. We need to furnish our lawyers with all the ammunition we can to convince the judges, etc. We've got to produce the goods now & really deliver the ammunition! Some of those Statements of Faith & Belief & practice, etc., are excellent! We've never come out with those before, although we probably needed them for years. But now we've been forced to come out with them, the lawyers have demanded them, & our people need them, because they've been called on the carpet now in many places. (Maria: Our Family friends too! When one of our good friends in Brazil read the Statement he said, "After all these years, I finally understand what the Family's all about!") We're finally being forced to put our beliefs in writing!
87. Well, at least all my writings & crazy tirades convinced you & you followed! You heard what you needed to hear & wanted to hear, & you believed it & followed it. But there are some people who are a little harder to convince. (Maria: Plus, we have thousands of pages of Letters!) Yes, they need it all boiled down to where they can read it in one sitting. You're never going to get any of those judges to read everything I've ever written! Not even you can read it all! I certainly wouldn't want to have to go back & read it all!
88. But God bless our editors, some of them are going through it, & thank God for some of those indexes & concordances of the Word! I began to see the need for that clear back when we were in London, & I started Ho on that then, to try to start making a concordance--or an index, we called it then--of some of the subjects we dealt with & where to find the references, etc. I think now we've finally got some pretty good indexes & it's not too hard to find what you want to find, even though you don't have time to read it all. We had a little team working under Ho right there in London that first started that work, with their little filing cards, & it was a big job! I knew it was going to be a big job, but I never dreamed it was going to be this big a job!
Dad's Affliction
89. Well, praise the Lord! TYJ! I hope, Lord, I haven't wasted too much time on things I didn't need to say, but we trust that some of this will be a help & encouragement & inspiration to some of our people.--Not only these leaders here, Lord, but those who are out there, & those who are yet to come, & up & coming even now amongst our teenagers.--That some of these words will encourage them & help them to better understand what's going on & why, & what's going to be the end of it all. TYL!
90. So anyhow, don't worry about it! Like the boss who hired the grocery clerk said, "Work your eight hours & don't worry. Some day you'll be like me & work 16 hours a day & have all the worry!" Well, I don't want you to have to work that hard, although some of you are already working that hard, like Mama, who can't even sleep because she's got so much on her mind. I tell her, "You can't get so involved! You've got to cast your burden on the Lord & He'll sustain you. Concentrate on the Lord. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."--Psa.55:22; Isa.26:3.
91. No reflection on Mama, she's just got a big job keeping all you guys busy! She's got to be one jump ahead of you. But you need to pray for her & her strength. She can't use her eyes any more, but she still has to use her voice. For some reason I haven't been afflicted in any of those areas. I still have good eyes, good hearing & a good voice & I can still talk!--Mama too!
92. The only way the Lord has allowed the Enemy to afflict me is through this problem with getting my food down. I abused my body for years & the Lord finally had to really deal with it in order to straighten me out & get me back on the right track & keep me humble & keep me prayerful & keep me from wasting so much time eating, & eating so much food I didn't need. And I feel better & I've kept my weight steady--the Lord has--& I have less indigestion & less appendicitis! I'm better all the way around even though I don't eat much--about three pints of liquified food a day!
93. Sometimes I used to forget to thank the Lord for the food, now I don't dare forget. I have to pray over every new mouthful, & as Mama knows, I pray every time. If I don't, the Lord has a way of reminding me that I didn't pray.--It won't go down! "You forgot to pray, you forgot to thank Me, you forgot to ask Me, you forgot to trust Me. You forgot to really look to Me!" He really keeps me busy praying that way, & as long as I do that, it goes down with no problem & everything's just going fine, thank the Lord! I feel better than I've felt really for years!
94. I can even watch you folks eat all that good solid food without feeling bad! I used to almost begrudge it a little bit, I must admit, & the Lord's had to cure me of complaint. I used to kind of envy you a little bit to be able to eat all that delicious juicy stuff. But the Lord has really socked me pretty hard a few times when I tried it, to make me thankful that I can even drink my drinks & my milks & blends & stay alive at all, otherwise I wouldn't even be here! So He's made me very thankful for my food, my drinks & blends, instead of complaining about it or envying somebody else's food. I think I've almost gotten the victory now! I can sit there & watch you eat without even coveting a bite! (Maria: That really is a victory! None of us could do that!)
95. Well, it sure keeps me praying & keeps reminding me that it's only the Lord that keeps me alive, & just His Will & my yieldedness. It also helps keep me humble. It humiliates me to realise the Lord has to spank me like this & discipline me like this, chasten me like this, in order to keep me on the straight & narrow, to keep me thankful enough & praying hard enough & doing what I ought to do, when my very life depends on it! Every time I go to take another sip I have to be reminded that my life depends on being able to swallow that, & my being able to swallow it depends on the Lord! I can't get away with it any other way, & that's what I have to do. So praise the Lord! I swallowed a lot of the wrong stuff for a long time that hurt me, which is probably why I can't swallow any more, except what the Lord wants me to! PTL!
96. (Maria: That might be part of it, but the Lord said that the main reason right now at least, is as an illustration to the Family, & when they've really done their job of giving the World the meat of the Word, that the Lord will heal you.) That's no doubt for their sakes, that's how He's dealing with them. But don't try to excuse me or defend me for all my sins of the past, which some of you know only too well! But the Lord has obviously used it to accomplish His good purpose, thank the Lord!
97. So praise God! God bless you all for your faithfulness, & thank you for your little love notes that let me know you're still around & that you still feel the same. I've appreciated the declarations & affirmations of love & loyalty from all of you who have written. And I love you too & am so proud to be your father! You're wonderful children!
98. Anything else, Mama? Anything I haven't covered that I should cover? Isn't she the most marvellous woman you ever saw? She has such guts & courage & fight, you just can't get her down! (Maria: Honey, I don't have anything except what you & the Lord gave me.) Well, that's the way the Lord made her! She can't go down or we'd all sink! Like the little girl said about the Lord, "And Lord, please take care of Yourself or we'll all be sunk!"
99. Is there anything else that I should have covered, or was that enough for awhile? "The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak!"--Mat.26:41. Well, rather than have another round of prayers, why don't we just join hands & pray the Lord's Prayer, amen? I think that prayer means more to me every time we pray it. It's a great prayer! So let's pray the prayer that He taught us to pray: (Prays the Lord's Prayer.)
Loving Our Enemies!
100. Well, that part of the Lord's Prayer about forgiveness brings up one more little point. That's always been a little problem with me, how can I forgive those who trespass so horribly against us? I have prayed for my enemies, so I've proved I can do it when the Lord gives me the grace & the faith for it. God knows, I prayed for Deb for years.
101. Maybe I haven't prayed enough for my enemies. I've cussed'm enough & cursed'm, & even said I wish the Lord would kill them! Maybe the Lord's trying to teach me a little more love & to be sorry for them, because they're such a mess! They are headed for real trouble! Of course, those who really had the Truth like our backsliders--and even our enemies who have had the Truth--they sicken me! I wonder how the Lord can stand them & why He doesn't just wipe'm out! Well, they sicken Him too. He says, "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."--Heb.10:38. Some of those guys, as Jesus said, their "time is always ready."--John 7:6. He can wipe them out whenever their cup of iniquity is full, but apparently they've got a little ways to go yet. So maybe in the meantime we need to pray for them somehow, that if it be possible they will turn to the Lord & repent & forsake their evil ways; but if not, that the Lord will deal with them, punish & judge them.
102. However, for some of them, it looks like they've passed the point of no return. Some of them are so obviously demonic & set on destroying God's Work & His children that the only way you can pray for them is to pray God's judgements upon them. I prayed against that first judge who was handling the case against us in Barcelona, & look what happened to him! I guess you heard he had a nervous breakdown! And the police there really got it too! And the citizens there are really getting it now! They said prices have gone up so sky-high in Barcelona, three times as much, even the tourists can't afford them any more!
103. Well, I only kept you 25 minutes over! That's a little unusual for me to let you go so soon, after only three hours!--Ha! I'm really not living up to my usual class. Three or four hours used to be my average. Amen, do bless & keep them now & give them a good lunch & good nourishment & a good rest, Lord, to ponder these things which You've given us. And may this little talk be a blessing, to be transcribed & sent to the Family to encourage them, to let them know that we're not worried & we know it's all in Your hands, Lord, & You'll do whatever You want to do to get glory out of these attacks of our enemies! Just help us to be willing to be used of Thee to do our part of the job, in Jesus' name. Amen!
GBAKY ALL!--KGFJ!--Tx!--WLY!--The End is Near!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family