THE NEW ANTIPAS TRAINING

INTRODUCTION

The Antipas Training is being totally revamped and overhauled to reflect what I now feel MUST be the real goal of the training: ASSISTING THOSE DARING FEW WHO POSSESS THE COURAGE TO INVOLVE THEMSELVES IN THE PROCLAMATION OF THE "GOSPEL (or GOOD NEWS) OF THE KINGDOM" to ALL the world.

It is precisely this Gospel (i.e., the "Gospel of the KINGDOM") that has been vouchsafed to our particular generation in these "last days" (Matthew 24:14) together with the concomitant obligation to proclaim it to all the world - specifically, the coming of Christ's KINGDOM to earth, a KINGDOM that is grounded in social justice for ALL mankind; a world of equity where men are not divided up between the "owners of capital" on the one hand and "labor" on the other hand, and where men and women are not divided up on the basis of their race or even their gender (Gal. 3:28); where the rich do not oppress the poor; where every man has equal access to God; where privileges cannot be bought by the wealthy; where there are no death squads, no poverty, no torture, no hunger, no disease, and no room for oppressors of any kind. [For those not conversant with what the Bible means by the use of this phrase (i.e., "Gospel of the Kingdom"), we urge you to see our article, "The Good News of the Coming Kingdom;" please also see our "Statement of Faith."]

WE HAVE BEEN CALLED AS
HERALDS OF THE COMING KINGDOM

VERY OBVIOUSLY, SUCH A KINGDOM WOULD BE TOTALLY AT VARIANCE TO THE WORLD WE NOW LIVE IN, AND WITH THE AMERICAN NEW WORLD ORDER SYSTEM THAT NOW PREVAILS UPON THE EARTH - and would, therefore, be a very dangerous matter in which to become involved.

Nonetheless, despite the great danger this matter poses to us on a personal level, it is our obligation as servants of Christ - if so be we really are His servants - to act as HERALDS of this coming kingdom; TO ANNOUNCE ITS SOON APPEARANCE TO A WORLD THAT IS EARNESTLY WAITING FOR ITS MANIFESTATION; A WORLD THAT IS GROANING AND TRAVAILING UNTIL ITS APPEARANCE. (Romans 8:19, 22)

SETTING US ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH OUR LOVED
ONES & THE AMERICAN NEW WORLD ORDER SYSTEM

Naturally enough, this cannot help but have the effect of placing us on a COLLISION course with ALL those who in any way benefit from the American New World Order System or who are connected to it; among other things, it will have the effect of setting -

"… a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." (Matthew 10:35)

And so much so that -

"A man’s foes shall be they of his own household." (Matthew 10:36)

That's heavy! That's very heavy; but Jesus goes on to say:

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37)

And that's not all: neither can we expect any mercy from those so-called "Christian" institutions and churches that suckle at the breasts of the American New World Order System:

"Take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the … [churches] ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them." (Mark 13:9)

BEING RELIEVED OF OUR COMMISSION
AS A "SERVANT OF CHRIST"

But despite the hardship implicit here, if we fail in this COMMISSION, we will fail as "servants of Christ," and we will run the very grave risk of being cast out of the household of God as servants in Christ's employ (as it were) -

"… where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:30)

And there is more; the Bible goes on to say that this dismissal will be permanent - that it will be "IMPOSSIBLE" for a person who is once dismissed from Christ's service, to be renewed again to that service; this is precisely what Hebrews 6:4-6 seems to suggest when it says:

"For it is IMPOSSIBLE for those who were once enlightened [substitute the word 'employed' here], and have tasted the good word of God … if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance [substitute the word 'employment' here] …" (Hebrews 6:4-6)

But should you be surprised by all this? - after all, what would you do with an employee (i.e., a servant) whom you had employed, and who - after being instructed carefully in his duties - refused to carry them out, and not just once, but time and time again. You would surely dismiss him from your service, and you would not consider him again for employment.

God forbid that this should ever happen to YOU! - you who now call yourselves "servants of God."

THE GOAL OF THE ANTIPAS TRAINING

If, then, as servants of God, we have been called by God in these "Last Days" to act as "HERALDS" of Christ's coming kingdom, then the Antipas Training must be arranged so as to reflect that fact. It must be oriented so as to prepare people -

• To ORGANIZE with others at the LOCAL level sanctuaries against the economic and religious tyranny of the American Empire and the false Christianity that it is "pushing" on the rest of the world; to establish islands of peace in a sea of despair; spiritual and economic shelters where people can find help - places where it cannot be said that "if a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food" he will be turned away (James 2:14-16); places where "LOVE IN ACTION" IS DEMONSTRATED ON A COMMUNAL BASIS.

• To ANNOUNCE the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, a kingdom where it will be said -

  "The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

  "AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THEIR BE ANY MORE PAIN: FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY." (Revelation 21:3-4)

• To SPEAK OUT against the relationship that the American church (or its parallel institutions outside the borders of the United States) has with the American New World Order System - a relationship that impugns Christ's holy Name. [Please see our article, "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth."]

• To DECLARE that the church belongs to the poor of the earth, not the rich and high-minded. [Please see our articles, "Capitalism and Christianity" and "The Deceitfulness of Riches and the Marxist Paradigm."]

IN PRESSING A POLICY SUCH AS THIS …

In pressing this kind of very tough training on our followers, however, we are pressing NOTHING more than what our secular counterparts press on their followers; and in requiring the kind of dedication needed to follow through on this training, we are, again, demanding NOTHING more than what is required by our secular counterparts.

For example, take what Dr. Michel Chossudovsky, a professor of economics at the University of Ottawa and a fervent opponent of George Bush's American New World Order System, demands of his students:

PRESS HERE FOR VIDEO

Clearly, Chossudovsky is demanding very tough ACTION from his students - i.e., those who attend his lectures at the University of Ottawa and who claim to understand what he is talking about. It seems that to unbelievers bent on being participants in "changing the world," this is the "right" and "natural" thing to do - and in meeting Chossudovsky's demands on them, THEY ARE PREPARED TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES, THEIR REPUTATIONS, THEIR PRECIOUS RELATIONSHIPS, THEIR MONEY, AND ALL THEY HAVE FOR "THE CAUSE." They recognize that no successful "revolution," as it were, can be carried out "on the cheap." And on this wise, it can be said of them,

"The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8)

And isn't this tough-minded attitude the kind of mindset that the early church had with regard to the difficulties it faced, or the Reformers, or men like Tyndale, Wycliffe, etc. who endured -

"….trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

"Who were stoned, who were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented …" (Hebrews 11:36-37)

NOT SO TODAY'S CHRISTIANS

Not so today's Christians, however! They think - like those two twits, "Alexander and Hymenaeus" (please see "Letter to My Detractors"), that they can have a "revolution" while sipping cappuccino at Starbucks, spending their money at the mall, running up debt on their Visa and Master Charge accounts, keeping their lawns well trimmed and groomed, their houses neat and "picked-up," their mortgages paid, and - in general - being thought of as "nice guys," who have their "trip together." But Jesus said,

"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

IF ALL THIS SEEMS TOO MUCH …

If all this seems too much for you; if, by your actions if not your words, you portray the kind of cappuccino-sipping Christianity which is ubiquitous in Christian circles today; if you prefer tending your lawn, and making sure your bills are paid on time rather than being participants in a revolution where you have to risk family relationships, your own finances, and your own security in this world, then the Antipas Training is NOT for you.

If, on the other hand, you want your life to count for something insofar as the Lord is concerned; if you want the Lord to say to you at His appearing, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25:23), then we invite you to become an Antipas Trainee.

THE ANTIPAS TRAINING

The new Antipas Training, when it is finished, will consist of ten modules that will parallel the NEW ANTIPAS PAPERS - and in this way they will pretty much look like the old training, except for the following:

• You will be able to proceed through the training at your own speed; you will not be held to the rigid timetable that was a part of the old training.

• The tests will no longer be written, but true and false, and multiple choice. This will facilitate speed in the matter of grading and other such things.

• New reading material will be added to each module which you will be required to read and sign off on.

• Finally, the new Antipas Training will include PRACTICAL exercises at the end of each module that MUST be completed before you can proceed to the next module.

It is the presence of these PRACTICAL exercises that will make the new Antipas Training so different from the old training. These exercises have been carefully constructed so as to gradually, but with an ever-increasing tempo, turn you into a "DOER" of the Word rather than an "hearer" only. The Bible says:

"Be ye DOERS of the word, and not hearers only, DECEIVING YOUR OWN SELVES." (James 1:22)

And that's precisely what happens when people are "hearers" only of the Word of God - they are living in DECEPTION; thinking of themselves as "servants of God," when in fact they fail to react to God's commands. Again, there is a difference between knowing what to do, and actually doing it.

In addition, there are a number of other requirements that will be laid upon all those who want to involve themselves in the new Antipas Training. First, each module will cost the student $30.00. There will be NO exceptions UNLESS the student resides in a Third World country. The training is free to all such students. But, again, all those students who reside in the United States or any other "First World" country will be required to pay $30.00 before proceeding to the next module.

And why is that? - because if one cannot "pony up" this money, it is indicative of where that person is. $30.00 is less than three cappuccinos a week at Starbucks - and if one cannot make this small sacrifice, we DON'T want him or her in the training.

Some would protest, saying "I am out of work at the moment;" but somehow or other your rent gets paid, your utilities get paid, your car payment is paid and so forth. If God is so far down your list of priorities that your utility bill or your car payment, or your school expenses, etc. take precedence over Him, then you have no business involving yourself in the Antipas Training. Your god is the god of GMAC, or Ford Motor Credit, or Visa, or Con-Edison, or whatever - and if that's the case, you need to go serve that god, and forget about serving Christ. It is written:

"Thou shalt worship no other god [but me]: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14)

Obviously, if you put your loan payments, your rent, your utility payments and so forth above your giving to the Lord, then these are your gods, not the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says:

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24)

[For those of you who desire to better understand Antipas Ministry's rather rigid attitude toward giving, please see our article, "Support Us" on the front page of the website; please also see our article, "The Cost of Discipleship."]

If I have not dissuaded you by now NOT to get involved, then I urge you to sign up now for the training. You will be notified when it is completed and ready for you to become involved.

God bless you,

S.R. Shearer
Antipas Ministries

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