It’s been a long time since I e- mailed you, and I don’t expect you to remember. Briefly, I wrote you about my weekly bible discussions with my pastor and how I was in deacon training/ minister’s training at my church, despite my views on purpose/ salvation/ free will. Things were going well, and I had been doing the majority of the preaching when he would go out of town.

Then all of a sudden, he takes me and my wife out and tells us that he’s marrying a deacon in our church. The problem: one of my earliest e- mails was about his marriage and the ungodly way they separated. You told me that it was a sticky subject, but I felt led to discuss it with him, since he spoke for years on the importance of “covenant.” In fact, in three separate cases in our church where the men walked away, he went to other states to talk with them and did everything to help them get back together. Two couples became deacons and are still happily married, while the third was still married until one year after my preacher’s divorce.

His wife for years had issues with the deacon he is marrying (concerns that she had feelings for him). His wife did things that were difficult to tolerate, but there was never any affair on either person’s part – they both said. Many people left the church after their divorce, but we stayed, because although they got divorced, he is human and no overt character issues were noted. He and the female deacon have always had what I thought was an inappropriate relationship more like a daughter to a father. He has a similar relationship with two other deacons; the only problem is that they are males. There was definitely an emotional bond between them, and the 3/4 of the church members that left cited this as their reason for leaving.

In the last two years, things were turning around at the church, but I started noticing increasing intimacy between him and the female deacon that began his separation. Just prior to him telling us, two months earlier his wife wanted to work on their relationship. Initially, she refused therapy, but for the last two years, she has been receiving counseling from a pastor at the church she now attends. My pastor said he told her it was too late because of the hurt and pain he had felt, however I discussed the issue of forgiveness with him. What he didn’t tell me then, but I realize now was that he had moved on.

In no way can I go to this wedding, because I feel it is wrong. I personally could not go to the wedding and still go to the church, but the problem is that he has elevated me to a position unofficially of assistant pastor. In fact, I was scheduled to be ordained as a minister/ deacon. Many people in the church respect me, and that would be scrutinized. My wife and I met with my pastor and told him about our feelings. He was hurt but understood our point although he disagreed. I asked to resign from my training until we came to our decision of staying or going, because he let us know that we would be expected to come to the wedding. His daughter has now stopped talking to him and his son is having difficulties. This is a bad situation, and I feel our leaving will only make matters worse. I just knew this was going to be my place to grow until God told me what to do next—- oh, yeah… He’s God and I am the clay. Just needed a place to clear my head since I am to meet with him next week to give him our final decision. If you feel in your spirit that I am wrong, please let me know.

Thanks

D____

Hi D____,

It is so good to hear from you again.

You are being tried by God, not for God to see what you will do. He already knows exactly what you are going to do. That was decided “before the world began.” What this trial is all about is to show you what you are. Are you going to allow the temptation of being elevated in this church (“all of the kingdoms of this earth and their glory”) to rob you of your opportunity to rule this earth with Christ? I have faith that you will not make that mistake.

Here is what I want you to do; I want you to read Rev 10 and Rev 11. Rev 10 is about the “little book.” Rev 11 is about what is in that “little book.” Now I want you to go to Ezekiel 2 where you will be told what this is all about. Read that whole chapter. Notice what the last verse of Ezekiel 2 says is in that little book. That is ALL that is in that little book. You must come to realize this Truth. We are part of God’s “two witnesses.” The reason Rev 11 follows Rev 10 is to show us what we will experience when we are faithful to the words of that “little book.” There is no ‘great end time revival’ in that “little book.” There is only “mourning, lamentation and woe.” That is all there is. There is “no rain during the days of [ the prophecy of] the two witnesses.” NONE. You, like Christ and like all of His witnesses, are not called to win the world to God. Babylon does that:

Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, [ Christian] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

This is the effect of all the doctrines of orthodox Christianity, ” the beast that comes up out of the earth.. with two horns like a lamb.”

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb…

This is the part of our walk which we must all experience while we are still “in Babylon.” And what is the Truth of this “beast” that comes up, not “out of the sea” of mankind, but “out of the earth” of God’s “many called,” but not the “few chosen?” Here is this verse in its totality:

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

This is why Christ told the church of His day:

Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

And sure enough this ‘beast that comes up out of the earth “looking [ so much like] the Lamb” of God, makes his converts to worship the image of the beast that came up out of the sea. Instead of nurturing their converts in the Truth of God’s Word, they see these converts as nothing more than tithe- paying milk cows. The poor unsuspecting convert is told that he is entitled, as the son of God, to the best of everything this world has to offer. And furthermore if he will only “plant a seed” and tithe, he will be given everything, and more that he could possibly want in this physical life.

Sadly, this is God’s assessment of this whole picture:

Jer 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

God is already directing you in this matter. I believe that if you read these chapters of His Word which I have outlined above, you will see why you must do what you must in this situation.

Read these chapters and get back to me. You need to know what exactly is in that ‘little book.’ Let me know how it goes.

Mike