IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION

It has been brought to my attention recently that we are being condemned by certain brothers as a kind of "Jim Jones" or "Waco" cult because we are calling upon people to get out of the United States while there is still time; and that if they should fail to do so, they are running the risk that their faith could be compromised and even subverted.

We normally don't respond to our critics; but obviously, when a charge has been made against us that we are trying to lead people out of the United States into another Jonestown, then we have to respond, although we will refrain from dealing in personalities. We will confine ourselves with the issues and leave it at that - and after this, we will say nothing more on the subject. There is too much to do, and so little time to waste on this kind of thing.

I guess that it should have been obvious to me that by taking this course of action (i.e., moving our headquarters from the United States to Canada), we would eventually elicit this type of response. Still, it hurts and is very, very discouraging.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE "GENERAL RULE"

The fact is, many of those associated with Antipas have stayed behind with our BLESSING and ENCOURAGEMENT; for example, our dear brother and sister in the Lord, Fred and Cheryl Palmquist, who are heading up our ALIYA Foundation. There are others too who feel called to stay; and still others who are planning to come, but have legitimate reasons for not doing so now. There are always justifiable exceptions to every rule, and if you are one of them - that's what God has told you - then the Lord bless you! I really mean that. BUT PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT WE IN ANTIPAS MUST DEAL WITH THE "RULE" RATHER THAN WITH THE "EXCEPTIONS" TO THE RULE. I REPEAT, WE MUST DEAL IN OUR WRITINGS WITH THE "RULE" AND NOT WITH THE "EXCEPTIONS." If we were to take the time to deal with every individual exception to the rule, than we would be overwhelmed. You can certainly appreciate that.

So, in connection with this, I must urge you all, dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, to refrain from judging those who feel called to stay in the United States. It is to each servant's own master (i.e., Christ) that he stands or falls, not to us. On the other hand, I must appeal to those who feel that they have been called to stay to please give us the freedom to speak in generalities, and do not force us to descend into dealing with the innumerable exceptions to those generalities.

Finally, if you choose to stay, we will NOT desert you; we will work with you, and - as the Lord leads - we will no doubt find a way of integrating you FULLY into the ministry where you are at. There is so much that you can do for us where you are: you can host Aliya groups (even if you are not planning on going), you can pass out our literature, you can act as a host for Fred and others from the ministry when they pass through, you can operate as a "way station" on our underground railway system in the United States (see Fred on that one), you can write articles on what's happening in your local area, you can support us financially (and heaven knows, we can use all the financial help you can give), etc.

WE HAVE BARED OUR HEARTS TO YOU

As for the charge that we are a "Jim Jones" or "Waco" cult and that we are leading people out of the United States into another "Jonestown," well, what can I say to all that? How does one react to such a charge? - except this:

"... wisdom is justified of ALL her children." (Luke 7:35)

Brothers and sisters: many of you have been with us for a very long time; you have read our material. By now all of you know our hearts. We have bared our souls to you over and over again. If you can be so easily turned aside from us by such a charge, then so be it. Go with our sincere blessing.

BACK TO GENERALITIES: AN APPEAL TO COMMON SENSE

The brothers who label us a "Waco sect" (as if there is some kind of originality in that charge) say that our theology regarding Revelation 18:4 is all wrong. But leaving aside the matter of theology for a moment, a common sense examination of what's happening in the "here and now" should compel one to consider seriously leaving the U.S.

The truth as to what is occurring in the country is plain enough for anyone to see who wants to see: for example, the FACT, as we have indicated on other occasions, that America has embarked on a policy of ENDLESS war; the FACT that the re-imposition of the draft is only a hair's breadth away - a draft that will enlist your sons and daughters in this war to be maimed and killed in the service of corporate greed; the FACT that our country is sliding inexorably into dictatorship; the FACT that our right to assemble and protest the policies of the government is being restricted to the point where it no longer has any practical meaning; the FACT of the increasing restrictions on our right to travel; the FACT of the new and massive increase of government surveillance; the FACT of the massive "militarization of the police;" the FACT that the government can wiretap our phones, monitor our email and Internet usage, search our homes and businesses, and seize documents all without a warrant; the FACT that the government can now arrest people without charges and hold them indefinitely (i.e., "disappear" people); the FACT that the government is blurring the wall between the police functions of the state and its intelligence functions, and so forth and so on.

Again I say, there is nothing theological about any of this. Come on now, where is the theology in this? There is none! It's common sense in the light of all this to consider leaving the country. The very real truth of the matter is, we as a people are taking the same path that Germany took sixty years ago, and if you don't see what's happening, it's because you have PURPOSEFULLY chosen NOT to see, so that in you is fulfilled the Scripture,

"For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." (Matt. 13:15)

THE SUBVERSION OF OUR FAITH:
BEING SENSIBLE ABOUT IT

Moreover, is it that hard to recognize the possibility that if one stays in the country one is running the risk of having his faith compromised if he does so. Come on now! - is that so difficult to see? That's what happened in Germany. Are we so much more different than the German people? I don't think so.

The fact is, when Hitler took power in Germany in 1933 he was supported by only 39 percent of the population. Indeed, at least initially, he was vehemently opposed by at least one-third of the German Protestant Church - the so-called "Confessing Church." Nonetheless, by the time the war started in 1939, the "Confessing Church" had gone over to Hitler almost in toto, and he was enthusiastically embraced by more than 95 percent of the German people, including such genuine Christian giants as Martin Niemoeller and even Dietrich Bonhoffer (at least for a time). What happened to all these "good Christians?" They had been co-opted; they had been engulfed by a PROCESS that had very little to do with theology per se, and everything to do with REALITY IN THE HERE AND NOW!

THERE IS A PATHOLOGY AT WORK HERE

The very real fact of the matter is, there is a PROCESS that is at work today in the United States that cannot help but subvert the people of God - and it is IDENTICAL to the PROCESS that took hold on Germany during the Hitler era where the life (so to speak) of the Nazi state became so intertwined and twisted together with the lives of Germany's individual citizens that it became impossible to function any longer as a human being in Germany without at the same time being involved intimately with the crimes of that nation. And that's precisely what's happening today in the United States, SO THAT NOW IT IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO FUNCTION AS AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE UNITED STATES WITHOUT BECOMING INVOLVED IN THE GREAT WICKEDNESS THIS COUNTRY IS VISITING ON THE REST OF THE WORLD.

Of course, these brothers - the ones that accuse us of being a "Jim Jones" or "Waco" cult - say that all the world will eventually become part of the American New World Order System anyway; and, therefore, to leave the United States will - in the long run - accomplish little or nothing for those who choose to leave. BUT THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE! IT'S NOTHING MORE THAN A CONVENIENT BUT VERY WICKED CONTRIVANCE AND SUBTERFUGE.

THE UNITED STATES REALLY IS DIFFERENT,
AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH

As I have said time and again, Yes! - it's true, ALL the world will eventually be absorbed by the American New World Order System, just as all of Europe was eventually conquered and absorbed by Nazi Germany; but there was still a great difference to be remarked upon insofar as Germany's conquered territories were concerned (i.e., France, Denmark, Poland, the Ukraine, Norway, Holland, Belgium, etc.) and Germany herself; and there was a GREAT DISTINCTION to be remarked upon insofar as the conduct of these different populations were concerned vis a vis the people of Germany.

The truth is, Germany's population actually PARTICIPATED in Germany's crimes; the population of Germany's "slave states" SUFFERED as a result of those crimes. There is, as I have said before, a big difference here; it is, to put it in the vernacular, the difference between the "screwer" and the "screwee;" the difference between the one who is being raped, and the one who is doing the raping; the difference between the perpetrator and the victim; the difference between MASTER and SLAVE - SO ALSO INSOFAR AS AMERICA IS CONCERNED vis a vis HER CLIENT-STATES, i.e., HER SLAVE STATES.

GETTING "REAL" ABOUT REVELATION 18:4

In the light of all this, is it not reasonable to conclude that when the Lord says for us to "... COME OUT OF HER, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4) that that is EXACTLY what we should do? [For the theology connected to this, please see our article, "The Aliya Foundation." Believe me when I say that the theology behind all this is not that difficult to grasp; not at all!]

The brothers who say that we are a cult suppose that this verse refers to the rapture of the church at the end of the Tribulation Period. But frankly, the reasoning behind such thinking is so convoluted that it is hardly worth refuting - and if someone "buys off" on that, well, there's nothing that I can do about it. It's akin to arguing over whether or not two plus two really does equal four.

Brothers and sisters, listen to me here. I know that it is a very difficult thing to contemplate leaving the country. I also realize that it's difficult to admit to the possibility that our faith could actually be compromised if we stay. But then, what do you think the middle part of Rev. 18:4 could possibly mean? - "... come out of her, my people, THAT YE BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Obviously, the Lord is speaking to His people (that's what He says), and by implication He is plainly saying that if you don't "Come out" there exists the possibility that your faith will be subverted. Do you have another explanation for what that could possible mean? And then there is the matter of the third part of that verse, "THAT YE RECEIVE NOT OF HER PLAGUES (JUDGMENTS)." What does that mean? You tell me.

THE SUBVERSION OF OUR FAITH

And don't think that it is beyond reason that one can lose his salvation: after all, what does the Bible mean when it says:

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, GOD SHALL TAKE AWAY HIS PART OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE, AND OUT OF THE HOLY CITY, and from the things which are written in this book" (Rev. 22:18-19) ?

Now what does that mean? Plainly, the Bible is saying that it's possible to be REMOVED from out of the Book of Life. Obviously, to be REMOVED from the Book of Life means that one was in it prior to his removal.

These are scary verses, and not ones to be trifled with. Do you really want to take a chance here that by disobeying the heavenly command to "Come out" your faith will not be subverted, despite what Rev. 18:4 says, that is, to come out "... that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues (judgments)" ? I don't!

Wishing away these verses won't wash! Ignoring them won't cut it. What are we to do? - pretend they don't exist, or apply to these verses a convoluted and clearly dishonest interpretation that makes them of no effect as our critics are plainly attempting to do. Is that what you really want us to do? I don't think so.

Maybe you're right. Maybe it's not possible to lose your salvation. There are certainly verses that indicate that that might be the case. But as my mentor in the Lord, Don Morsey, once told me, "Steve, the object of the Christian life is not to see how close you can get to the edge without falling off." Eternity is at stake here!

OUR PURPOSE IS HELPING PEOPLE PARTICIPATE
IN THE GREAT HARVEST OF THE LAMB

Now, a word about coming to Canada. The charge has been made that we are trying to start a "Jonestown" or "Branch Davidian Compound" (a "Waco") up here at Forest Grove; but if you have been reading our material, you should know that is the farthest thing from our mind. What we hope to do is take those who come to Forest Grove, train them up AND SEND THEM OUT all over the world. It's true that some may choose to stay in Forest Grove, but we hope many more will choose to go. In fact, there already is a number of groups beginning to form up to go to Latin America, specifically to Honduras and Mexico. They will be coming first to Forest Grove for training, and then OUT THEY WILL GO.

There is also the very real possibility that some groups will bypass Forest Grove and go out DIRECTLY. That's okay with us. The training at Forest Grove is for your sake, and if you feel you don't need it, well, God bless you. We will still be glad to work with you and support you in any way that we can. I mean that with all of my heart!

THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM

Finally, a word about the "Good News of the Kingdom." The charge has been made that we have somehow or other connected "Coming Out" of Babylon to the "Good News of the Kingdom." That's not at all what we have said. This is what we have said:

"The "Gospel of the Kingdom" JUXTAPOSES the poor of the world over and against the rich, and places God on the side of the poor and against the American New World Order System and the apostate church (i.e., the American church) that has linked itself up with that system. This is "BAD NEWS" for the apostate American church, but "GOOD NEWS" for the rest of the world - and we have been commissioned by God to preach this message to the WHOLE world."

This is the "Good News" that Scofield and other premillinarians have said that the so-called "Tribulation Saints" who are converted to Christ after the Rapture of the church will preach. But since we do not believe that the Rapture of the church will occur before the Tribulation, but only at the end, then obviously, this commission falls to us. [Please see our article on this site (a few articles down from this article) for a detailed discussion on the question of the rapture.]

It's that simple. It's that straightforward - and this "Good News" (i.e., Gospel) of the Kingdom shall be preached to the whole world, and then the end shall come. (Matt. 24:14) We are starting now! We are beginning now! - that's why we are going to Pakistan and India - and on eventually to Korea and Africa. [Yes! - we have brothers in all these places who want us to come, and we are going to come.] We are not being slack in this matter. We did not come to Forest Grove Ranch, as our detractors suggest, to "hunker down" and wait for the end.

Moreover, so long as it is possible, we will have people preaching this Gospel in the United States - AND THE VERY REAL FACT OF THE MATTER IS, AS FAR AS I KNOW, WE ARE JUST ABOUT THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE BEEN DOING SO FOR THE PAST FIVE TO TEN YEARS, far more so than any of our critics have ever done - and ALL of you bear witness to that fact.

The truth is, our message concerning the "Good News of the Kingdom" (including the "Good News of Salvation") has been heard by countless unbelievers - many of them very prominent "lefties" - in the United States. While I don't want to sound flatulent on this point, it is, nonetheless, true that our critics certainly can't teach us anything on that score. Indeed, we are one of the most widely read Christian websites on the world wide web, and I have no doubt that we will continue to be so far into the future, even insofar as the United States is concerned.

WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN "STRAIGHT" WITH YOU

We have always "shot straight with you," and we are doing so now. We are doing so because we love you, and you are very precious to us - and God help us if we fail to be honest with you. The Bible says:

Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:

If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.

God bless you all.

S.R. Shearer
Antipas Ministries

We need your help to spread the word concerning Antipas Ministries and the eschatological viewpoint it represents; WE NEED YOUR HELP BECAUSE WE DO NOT "LINK" WITH OTHER SO-CALLED "CHRISTIAN" WEBSITES which are, for the most part, "in the tank" insofar as their loyalty to the United States is concerned - a loyalty that has made them partners in the BLOODY trail the American military has left in its TERROR-RIDDEN rampage throughout the world, as well as making them partners in the abject poverty that American corporations have imposed on the peoples and nations the American military machine has ravaged - A BLOODY, TERROR-RIDDEN RAMPAGE THAT HAS TO A LARGE DEGREE BEEN CARRIED OUT IN THE NAME OF THE "PRINCE OF PEACE." [Please see our articles, "The Third World as a Model for the New World Order," Inside the American New World Order System" and "The American Empire: The Corporate / Pentagon / CIA / Missionary Archipelago."] YOU CAN HELP BY EMAILING THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS PRESS HERE If you wish to SUBSCRIBE to our website, please feel free to do so; the subscription is free; all you need to do is give us your email address. There is no need for you to give us any other information. Your email address will NEVER be shared with others. PRESS HERE PS Have the courage of your convictions! Contribute to the ministry by making out a check to "Antipas Christian Ministry" and sending it to - Antipas Ministries 1112 Long Rd., #40 Centralia, WA 98531 Or donate through Paypal by clicking the Paypal image below: We DESPERATELY need your continued SACRIFICIAL financial help. Time is short - and we need to be about the Lord's business as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please email us at staff@antipasministries.com.