PERSECUTION JEWELS!--No.12
DO 2910
Comp.1/94
Wonder Working Word Workers!
1. Bless all Thy children around the world. Thank You for releasing the prisoners (our Family in Argentina)! Now give them greater joy than ever before as they continue to build Thy Kingdom, in spite of the filthy Satanic enemies who cannot stop it! Reward every one of those enemies according to their works and their evil deeds and what they've done to us--which in the end has only helped to glorify Thy Kingdom. Thank You Jesus! Hallelujah!
2. Sometimes I've been tempted to think, "Look at all the trouble I've gotten these people into!"--But look at what a reward they're going to get in the end! They just need to keep their eyes on Heaven.--Like Moses, who looked beyond "the pleasures of sin for a season" to the reward of the future (Heb.11:24-27). And like Abraham, who "looked not at his own body as good as dead," but gave glory to God, knowing that what He had promised He was able also to perform (Rom.4:19-21).
3. We don't just look on the present, we look beyond it to the future! We're definitely futurists, and some say we're doomists, but we are the greatest optimists in the world! We look over and past all this garbage, and we're just trying to save a few jewels out of it before we go on to the Millennium and the New Heaven and the New Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness for ever and ever!
4. If we have suffered with Him we shall also reign with Him forever! (2Tim.2:12). For our present suffering is but for a little while, and worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2Cor.4:17).
5. We have such a Wonder Working Work because of the wonderful work of the Word, which is Jesus! Thank You Lord! The Word is so wonderful and our people are so wonderful and they do such miracles with the Word--Jesus! He is the Word. Praise You Lord!
Our Influence on the World!
6. It looks like we've done a small work for the Lord. We've just been little people for a long time. Compared to others we're still very small, but we try harder. Thank You Lord! For our size we're accomplishing quite a bit.
7. My, the vastness of this world; it makes you feel like one little speck amongst millions of people. Those enormous religions make us look like nothing, but we're pretty important to the Lord because we're the only us! There have been great men who have begun very great religions. John Knox was such a great reformer that he established the Presbyterian religion, overcame the Catholic church and spread his denomination all over the world--at least his people did. Martin Luther first conquered Germany and the Scandinavian countries with his religious Reformation, and then the Lutherans swept over the world! Of course, they've had hundreds of years to do it. John Wesley founded the Methodists, and they've swept around the world too. And when they began to cool off a little, along came dear William Booth to split off and start the red-hot, soul-saving Salvation Army!
8. I believe if we had more time and it hadn't been the End of Time, going right into the Tribulation and the Coming of the Lord, that we would spread out all over the world! (Maria: We are, we have!) Well, we are spread out thinly, but I believe we would have gained members or followers in the millions! (Maria: The Lord said that everybody will see our light and that lonely, lost people who are looking for the truth will come and put their little lights with ours and it'll be a big light.) Amen! Millions already have!
9. How wonderful, Lord, that all those great religions have spread all over the world from such small beginnings! And, Lord, we too have spread all over the world from a very small beginning, and many souls have been saved. If there had been time there would have been many more. But like You say, we may become even more numerous and prominent in these Last Days, because who else knows survival like we do, and who else witnesses like we do? Who else knows the future like we do? And who else is such a great threat to the Antichrist that our rabid detractors even brand us as "the most dangerous cult in the world"! We are dangerous to our anti-Christ enemies because we're exposing them, and they hate us for it.--And they've responded by attacking us and persecuting us and jailing us and causing us suffering!
10. But people are beginning to look more and more to us for the truth and people are beginning to be drawn to us more. "They that understand shall instruct many" (Dan.11:33). I believe we're leading a lot of people right now. They wouldn't necessarily confess it or acknowledge it, but obviously we are. So praise the Lord! The Lord is making us an influence in the world. We're making our mark on history, thanks to the Lord and all of our hard-working Family!
Held Hostage in Argentina!
(Maria's counsel to the Argentine Family:)
11. (From Maria, 12/93:) In Argentina we have won a wonderful victory, but the battle isn't over yet! It seems to me like the "powers that be" decided they could silence our protests worldwide by giving us what we were demanding in releasing us from prison and giving us back the children, but still continue their evil plans to try to legally put us out of action by continuing this "investigation."
12. We are in a bit of a dilemma: On the one hand we proclaim a great victory worldwide--which of course it is--but this implies to the world that the whole thing is over and done with. So then if we come back later and continue our picketing because Argentina continues their persecution of us, it sends confusing signals. Nobody will get that stirred up about a case that is just being continued, or even a complaint that Argentina is holding our missionaries hostage in their country--unless you are real hostages in the way they think of them, bound and gagged in some small hole in the ground, tortured and beaten, blindfolded and deprived of sleep and food and water!
13. You have to have something a little more sensational than just saying, "The authorities want to continue their legal investigation, so we can't leave the country." The Argentine authorities probably realized that and thought they could get us off their backs worldwide if they would at least free our folks for the time being, until they're able to get us on some charge that will stick, where they can throw us all back in jail and do it properly next time.
14. I think we're going to have to yell and scream and raise our voices against their continued injustice and the ridiculous fallacy of all of this! It's my opinion that the adults should get on all the talk shows they can, all the radio shows they can, and in all of the newspapers they can and continue to shout and yell and cry "religious persecution." They need to publicize their false imprisonment and the institutionalization of the children, telling their stories left and right. What they need to do this time, though, in addition to the accounts of the horrible conditions and circumstances they were subjected to and the people who mistreated them and their children, is to highlight the reasons behind this religious persecution.
15. The public is still not going to get the point that it's religious persecution until they understand the reasons why this is happening to us. If you don't give them strong enough reasons that they can believe for why this is happening to us, then they will opt to believe the lies of our enemies, that we are in this trouble because we have "abused our children," we have "indiscriminate sexual practices," we "condone adultery," etc.--Not to mention the other outrageous charges of "child slavery," "kidnapping," "endangering national security" and so on.
16. You've got to convince people of the real reasons for your persecution. They've got to be presented effectively and clearly and powerfully enough for people to believe them over the lies of our enemies, otherwise they don't have any other alternative but to believe the other side. After all, they've got to have some reason why all this is happening to you. So are you willing to come out head-on against our enemies?--From the backsliders who wanted fame and glory in our group and couldn't get it, and therefore decided "if they couldn't be a great man, they'd kill a great man"; to CAN and SPES, who have several hidden agendas, including money; to disgruntled parents who have been embarrassed and humiliated because their child has joined an unconventional group; to schools who don't like the competition that our home schooling gives them and how it exposes their own system; to the churches we expose because we're living the Bible while they are not, and who can't believe we could be Christians because of some of our controversial Scriptural interpretations; to the pro-abortion baby killers and sodomites who hate us because we tell them that God is angry with them for what they're doing; to the AC New World Order, which has representatives working in all of these areas and which hates us the most and wishes to destroy us because we are exposing their plans for taking over the world and setting up their One World dictator, the Antichrist, who will abolish all faiths and demand that the whole world worship him!
17. You need to highlight in your talks the fact that over 600 of our children worldwide have been forcibly taken and tested by government officials, and have all been cleared; and in fact, have shown remarkably high test scores, showing that they were exceptionally well-adjusted, happy, delightful, creative children. Many, amazingly enough, showed high test scores even after enduring traumatic treatment at the hands of our persecutors.
18. Highlight the Peruvian investigation, which continued intensively for three months into every aspect of our lives, with the district attorney aggressively visiting the Homes with teams of doctors, lawyers, psychologists, accountants, etc., determined to find some wrongdoing. The authorities also ran exhaustive checks through various law enforcement and other government agencies such as the anti-narcotics bureau, the anti-kidnapping bureau, the missing persons office, the Immigrations department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Revenue Service and even the electoral registrar. But after three months they had to agree that they could not find anything except wonderful, beautiful children with loving, concerned parents who were sacrificing their lives for their children, and also to reach people with the truth of God's message.
19. You can also point out the fact that 50 of our children were just tested in Mexico, and every one of them has received very favorable results. So this Mexican testing along with the Peruvian testing brings to about 700 the number of our children who have been medically tested, although this last hundred was at our request.
20. Another thing you should do is bring out the many ways in which we are similar to the Catholic church, and that community life for the Catholics is one of the highest forms of service and sacrifice to the Lord, where their monks and nuns forsake all and leave their former lives and go into seclusion to pray and serve God. You could also talk about how the Bible says that true Christians will be persecuted, and how Christians throughout the ages have received persecution from the systems of their day.
21. So number one, expose the reasons behind this persecution.
22. Number two, explain salvation by grace and how folks can come to have a personal relationship with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
23. Number three, warn the people of God's judgments that are already falling on their country at this very moment, and will only intensify as time goes on unless they repent of their sins and stop what they are doing to us, God's prophets, and what they and their government have done to thousands upon thousands of other poor innocent victims for their own selfish, lustful, greedy purposes.
24. Be specific about God's judgments and how, in spite of the fact that this government thought they were rich and increased in goods and a success with the world, God sees beneath the surface. He sees the corruption, violence, trampling of the poor and silencing of the dissidents (perhaps nowadays a little more subtly than before). The facade of democracy and economic success is fast crumbling, as evidenced by the way they have treated us and their poor. Journalists who try to speak out freely are attacked or intimidated. Corruption exists everywhere.
25. While you wait for your freedom to leave the country, you can continue to show how this whole case against you is a farce and there is no evidence, and how the charges are ridiculous. You can hit them one by one and prove that there is no evidence to substantiate such ridiculous things. You can decry the horrible conditions you were placed under and relate your traumatic stories. At the same time you can campaign for better conditions in the jails and for the poor folks who are left there for years unwanted, forgotten, and uncared for. You can tell them how you prayed with the folks in the prison and were able to bring them hope.
26. Tell of the human rights abuses and the horrible child abuse of the government. Bring your young people on and let the public see them. Let them give their testimonies and be interviewed and sing and dance and show the people what wonderful fruits they are and what a wonderful place the Family is to grow up in. Try to get on as many talk shows as you can where you don't have to face the opposition, where you can have free rein to give your side of the story without the Devil trying to interject his.
27. It's a dangerous commission, and of course the powers that be aren't going to want to hear any of this from you. This continued outreach will take a great deal of faith for yourselves and your children, but apparently the Lord is already leading you this way and we believe He will protect you and keep you until you are able to get this unfinished job done for Him, so that then you can all leave and He can judge the country accordingly. God bless you, and thank you for all your love, prayers, faithfulness and fighting spirit. We love and appreciate you very much!--Love, Maria
Why We Are Persecuted!
28. (Maria:) We need to bring out the specific reasons why we are being persecuted. Actually, the whole reason is quite complicated, or at least too spiritual for the world to understand. We Christians know that it's the Devil who is persecuting us, and he is using anything and everything he can to do so. For the world at large, it's difficult for us to point to only one reason, since there are so many reasons and so many avenues the Devil is working through to attempt to accomplish his goal.
29. Of course, the main reason is that we are playing an increasingly important part in God's Endtime battle against evil, and the Devil is very afraid of us. Therefore he is working through every agent he has, religious or secular, anyone he can get to criticize us, or anyone who we have spoken out against that he can get to fight us. Anyone who isn't a real sold-out Christian or one of God's sheep is probably not going to agree with us, and many of them are going to be outspoken against us.
30. We are so different from their System and so opposed to it in almost every respect that they can't understand us. Not only are we opposed to it, but we let them know about it, which exposes, humiliates, embarrasses and convicts them! And when people are embarrassed, humiliated, convicted and exposed, they usually strike back.
31. Not only do we have one Enemy, but we have many enemies coming from all directions, all inspired by one source --the Devil! However, trying to explain all of this to anyone, even Christians, is almost an impossibility, as it is so far beyond their comprehension. So we have to try to put it in terms that they will be able to relate to, and which will at least start them on the road to understanding.
32. There will have to be enough examples within our explanation that will open their eyes to see what is really happening, and break them out of the mindset they have that we must be getting what we deserve because of our sexual beliefs. Or if they don't have quite that vindictive a stance, they probably feel, "Of course, this is happening to them because of their past. What can you expect? People don't realize that they're not still doing these things, so you can forgive these governments for going in and attacking them."
33. This is what we have to refute in order to make the point that we are trying to make: That we are being persecuted for our religious beliefs, and aren't just "suffering for our sins." We've got to disprove their claims that the authorities are just doing this out of concern for our children--"these poor children, who, if not sexually abused, are at least psychologically damaged" by our lifestyle and beliefs, they say. It's important for the whole Family to know how to clearly and powerfully help people understand the religious persecution issue.
34. It might help people to understand better if we explain that through our years of religious persecution we've been accused of whatever was a convenient charge or new phobia of the public at the time, varying from country to country, of course. This is another thing that helps to show that they attack us not because of this great "concern" for our poor little children, but that it is just the most effective charge that can be brought against people nowadays, and the one that arouses the public's ire to the greatest heights.
35. It's very important to show not only that we are being persecuted, but stress that we are being persecuted because we are Christians. We have to first prove to most people that we are Christians before they will view what is happening to us as religious persecution. We can't just dive right in and say, "Look at us, we're suffering religious persecution, so you'd better watch out or you're going to get it soon, too!" Their reply may be, "Well, maybe you're not suffering persecution! According to all the things we've heard about you, maybe you're being punished for your sins!" So we have a two-fold job: Not only to show that Christians are being persecuted today, but even before we can do that, we have to show them that we are indeed Christians.
36. This is something we need to keep in mind with any testimonies that we share, that they include not only the gory things that our folks went through, but also how they handled the suffering.--How they looked to the Lord; the miracles the Lord did for them; how they witnessed to their captors and fellow prisoners, the concern and love they showed toward them, and the sample they were to them. The latter is equally as important as the former, as it is proof that we are Christians, and that that is the real reason why we are getting persecuted. The things that we are saying and doing that are causing us trouble are according to the Word and part of the message that the Lord has commissioned us to give to the world, and this is why we are getting it.--Because we are exposing the evil.
"Five Minutes Longer!"--By Grandmother
(From "Meditation Moments":)
37. The Duke of Wellington, who conquered Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, said it wasn't that British soldiers were braver than the French soldiers, but that they could be brave five minutes longer. The victory was determined by holding on a little longer.
38. Anything wonderful can happen in that little margin of time when you don't give up but keep on believing and keep on praying. Robert Browning said as he faced death, "One fight more, the best and the last!"
39. If we would sometimes just put up one fight more against the Enemy who's trying to defeat us and discourage us, and just hold on five minutes longer! Dr. Frederick Harris described this spirit in these words: "Often the deciding issue in any contest is not when one is outnumbered, but where and when one stops fighting."
40. The final score is determined by a struggle that is pushed for just five minutes longer. So be sure in that five minutes you give God a chance rather than accept defeat. It's a decision, just a venture to hold on in spite of appearances and consequences.
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family