What's
Inside
Dear Friends
Age of Sodom and Gomorrah
Three Queer Cures
Amish Jailed in Outhouse Tiff
Office of Person
Heaven Road Report
Readers Respond
Sodom and Gomorrah
May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. In the
world today, there is nowhere to flee from ungodly government. The
pilgrims who came across the ocean to America left the mother country
and set up a new country. They had it easier than we do because they
physically left the site of their oppression. For ourselves, we enter
the nation of Heaven, but we don't physically go anywhere because
the Kingdom of Heaven comes not with observance. The Kingdom is within.
Our nation is within.
When we enter the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus Christ as King, we
don't move to another country. We still have enemies in our midst.
The pilgrims sailed away and left their old enemies behind. They were
forced to also part with most of their physical possessions. They
couldn't take England with them. Yet for us, the United States is
still here, even though we enter another nation.
Yes, the pilgrims had an easier time because they physically separated
from England and their worldly possessions. With us, we are surrounded
by the United States and all the enticements the world offers. We
must sort out in our minds what is Godly and what is not. The pilgrims
had the advantage of physically leaving those who sought to oppress
them, but we don't have such an advantage. We are called to do His
work in the midst of our enemies.
This fall, Oregon residents were asked to vote on Measure 9 which,
if passed, would direct the state to set a standard for youth that
recognizes homosexuality, pedophilia, sadism and masochism as abnormal,
wrong, unnatural and perverse. Also, quotas and minority status would
not apply to homosexuals.
This ballot measure was hotly debated and one day I received the
following letter from a lesbian cousin, Jeanine:
Dear Cousin,
Sometimes I wish I could separate myself from politics, too, but Oregon
is about to vote on something (Measure 9) that will have a dramatic
and direct affect on my life.
I'm sending this letter to all of my relatives and you are
no exception. Even if you don't vote, I want you to know some very
important things about me. I think you met Nora when you were at Mom's
house. She and I are life partners. This has caused quite a family
stir (probably stole some of the limelight from you!) I really
don't care about what people think about me as long as they don't
try to make me a criminal.
I think you already know--from rumor, from speculation, or from my
mother--that I am gay. That is to say, my heart has lead me to love
a woman: Nora is a very special and important part of my life.
Nora and I have been in a committed, monogamous relationship for over
eight years. We own a home together, and have melded together many
things, including our cars, our kitties, our dishes, our finances,
our dreams, our friends and our families. My mother loves Nora like
a daughter, and Nora's parents love me (they recently visited us from
Virginia). Nora and I garden together, have friends over for apple
crisps and tuna bakes, vacation together, do volunteer work, save
and spend money, and argue over who has to cook and take out the garbage.
On the surface, we sound like any other couple. But, of course, many
folks don't see us that way.
While my relationship with Nora gives me great joy...it also brings
to me and my family immeasurable pain. My joy comes from being able
to share my life with someone I love and who loves me. The pain comes
from not being able to always share that joy with others (in fact,
having to hide this wonderful part of my life), and the pain of having
to watch you--my mother, siblings, and extended family--struggle with
trying to understand the great contradictions between your love for
me and your own personal religious views and/or cultural upbringing
concerning homosexuality. Believe me, I know what you're going through,
I LIVE with these contradictions on a DAILY basis.
The reason I am having to write all of this to you now is because
a very strong political group (Oregon Citizens Alliance) is attempting
to amend our state constitution to label Nora and myself "abnormal,
unnatural and perverse." I am, of course, referring to State Ballot
Measure 9 which Oregonians are being asked to vote on November
3rd.
I cannot sit here and watch it happen. So I am coming out of my silence--forsaking
all modesty and pride!--to ask you to take this measure very seriously,
AS IF MY LIFE DEPENDED UPON IT!
It very well may.
Already this issue is creating great fear and pain in our lives. Every
day I open the newspaper to read that I am a "militant" trying to
take over the world, a child molester, and an abomination to God.
I am the reason for just about everything that ails this world.
I see the disgust in people's eyes when they talk about "queers."
Nora and I have been called "lezzy!" by teenagers. We've been spat
at, had strangers make obscene gestures and shout, "Faggots go home!"
Nora and I talk about arming ourselves in self-defense; we talk about
what we would do if a vigilante group came to our house; we talk about
moving out of the state, out of the country; we make mental lists
of people we know we could count on if we had to. Because of this
escalating climate of intolerance, we live in fear. And great sadness.
A spokesperson for the sponsors of Measure 9 recently said on The
Phil Donahue Show that "homosexuality should be re-criminalized...homosexuals should
either repent or go to jail." Some elderly Christian woman told Nora
on the phone that "queers shouldn't have ANY rights." Someone else
said we "should all be killed."
Our Jewish friends say this is exactly how Nazi Germany started out.
Those who participated in the Holocaust were not evil people...they
were people like you and me who were caught up in scary social and
economic times, people just looking for someone to blame. To be a
Jewish lesbian American, now in Oregon, is to wonder if NO place is
safe...to wonder if it CAN and might happen again...
I am telling you this because, unless you are gay, you probably have
no idea how this is affecting our lives. I cannot concentrate on my
work; I have lost my sense of humor; I am paranoid; I break down and
cry at least once a day; I awake in the middle of the night, trying
to figure out how to convince people that I am not a pervert, I am
not a threat to your children, I am not the reason your family is
falling apart and you have no job.
Frequently, I stop myself and ask, "Why are these people who profess
to be 'Christians' deliberately spreading lies and hurtful propaganda?
What in God's name is happening?!! Where will it all end?!!"
You may not be homosexual. You may not know any "openly" homosexual
friends or family (other than me). You may not understand homosexuality.
OKAY. Because this measure is NOT about your personal opinion of homosexuality;
it's about one group's (OCA's) willingness to disregard our United
States Bill of Rights in order to force another less powerful group
to live their personal lives according to Fundamentalist Christian
doctrines...according to someone else's privately held, religious
values. It's about amending our Constitution to legalize discrimination.
When times get tough, people need scapegoats. Today, homosexuals are
that scapegoat. I am the "common enemy" that will help draw people
closer together. After Nora and I are "dealt with," and the problems
are still there, who will be next?
Write if you have anything to share on the subject.
Love, Jeanine
|
Oregon voters defeated Measure 9 in the November election. It
was not in their hearts to stand for what the Bible says about homosexuality.
Jeanine sent the following editorial with her letter:
Daniel E.H. Bryant, Senior Minister
First Christian Church, Eugene, Oregon
While working in Germany from 1978 to 1981, I
had the opportunity to spend a week in Auschwitz with 30 German students.
. . . One of the things I learned through that experience was that
everything Hitler did to the Jews, save the mass exterminations, had
been done by Christian governments for 1600 years prior to the 20th
century. The Holocaust began, not when Jews were rounded up on the
cattle cars bound for Auschwitz, but when the church persuaded western
governments, from the fourth century on down, to pass laws denying
certain basic rights to the Jews. That is why the recent efforts of
the Oregon Citizen's Alliance (OCA) to pass laws limiting the rights
of a certain segment of our population make me very nervous. For me,
it is a religious issue of enormous importance.
From my experience in Auschwitz I learned that as soon
as we devalue or demean the humanity of any segment of the population,
we demean it for all of us. In Auschwitz, it was not only the Jews,
but also homosexuals, gypsies, socialists, communists, physically
and mentally disabled, and other "deviants" from the Aryan race which
were sent to the gas chambers. Until we, like my young German friends,
struggle with how and why such horror could occur, we will have learned
little from the sacrifice of so many.
|
Dear Jeanine,
May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Thank
you for writing about your concerns on Measure 9 and being candid
about your chosen lifestyle.
We enjoy your company and we enjoyed visiting with Nora. We love Nora
and we love you. Ever since we were toddlers, you have held a special
place in my heart.
The words I have to say are not mine. They are the words of our Creator.
I pray that you will examine them with an open heart. While the words
may make you angry, we pray that your anger will turn to sorrow, for
Godly sorrow leads to repentance.
In Romans, Chapter 1, the word of God speaks out against this wicked
and perverse generation:
God has given them up to shameful passions. Their women
have exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, and their men in
turn, giving up natural relations with women, burn with lust for one
another; males behave indecently with males, and are paid in their
own persons the fitting wage of such perversion. |
There is no possible defense for this conduct, according to scripture,
because though they knew God, they refused to honor Him as God or
to render Him thanks. For this reason God has given them up to the
vileness of their own desires. They know well enough the just decree
of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, yet
they do them and approve of those who do such perversions.
You don't have to be a Christian to recognize that homosexuality is
abnormal behavior. With rare and only temporary exceptions, every
culture and civilization in history have condemned homosexuality as
a perversion. God desires the union of one man and one woman - a commitment
for life. You are not alone in the breach of God's commandment. For
almost everyone today is involved in some form of adulterous relationship.
Even remarriage is adultery because, "Anyone who divorces his wife
and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries
a divorced woman commits adultery" (Luke 16:18).
Your brother Bill is in no better standing before God than you because
he is on his third marriage. However, your mother has committed the
greater sin because she knows the word of God, yet approves of such
perverted relationships. Even though I love you very much, I must
hate the sexual perversions you commit with Nora. Otherwise, I commit
the greater sin.
As to the First Christian pastor who wrote the editorial you sent,
he's nothing but a pimp for the state. He won't tell you the true
word of God. He'll tell you what the state wants you to hear. Though
he clothes himself in the garments of the church, in reality he is
beholden to the state. Indeed, he is a creature of the state since
the First Christian Church is a state corporation. That First Christian
pastor is also in adultery - spiritual adultery, because he is playing
the harlot. He is not being true to the Church's husband, Jesus Christ.
What this harlot pastor didn't tell you is that if you continue in
your relationship with Nora, you will not inherit the kingdom of God,
and that saddens me greatly:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom
of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 |
Jeanine, take pity on your own soul for you will not escape the judgment
of God. Whether you choose to believe the word of God or not, does
not change it. You have a loving Father who is willing to forgive
you and give you a new start if you will go to Him humbly, confess
your sins and sin no more. He is faithful to forgive you.
Our prayers are for you and your family and Nora.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Embassy of Heaven Church
Paul Revere, Pastor
|
Cure one from Deborah Hooser, Manchester, Washington:
The native Americans found a way to avoid homosexual
relationships within their tribes. If it became known that one of
their men had feminine tendencies (was "Winktay"), they would allow
him to do womanly chores and find him a wife who wanted to do manly
things like hunting and fishing.
Cure two from the Old Testament:
The tribes of Israel had another solution for homosexuality
- the stoning pit.
Cure three from the New Testament:
Jesus Christ had a more merciful solution - Repent,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
A MATTER OF RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLE |
SPARTA, WIS. - John
Matousek, the county prosecutor here, hates it.
Wife-beaters and other crumb-bums cop a plea, get probation, pay a
fine and walk away.
Then there are these two wholly straight laced fellows who are so
gentle and pleasant that they smile and shake Matousek's hand after
they do their six days in the county jail. "They're very nice people
and you hate to see bad things happen to them," Matousek says.
But it is almost certain, Matousek says, that he's going to have to
send them back to jail.
Matousek, as well as some other public officials in Wisconsin, are
caught in a web of outhouses, public health and religious freedom.
For more than a year, Monroe County in west-central Wisconsin has
been trying to get its approximately 200 Amish farm families to license
their outdoor toilets.
The Amish have politely declined, and two of their leaders, Clemens
Borntreger and Marvin Yoder, have gone to jail for six days after
refusing to pay fines for having unlicensed privies that don't meet
the county's outhouse code.
The only defense Borntreger, 59, and Yoder, 46, offered was that they
believed their religious liberties were being tread upon and that
all they really wanted was to be left alone to live their lives simply,
as their religious beliefs require.
Yoder said he sees the outhouse issue as a threat to the entire Amish
way of life - one that requires modest dress and a rural life and
that eschews electricity, most mechanized farm equipment and indoor
plumbing, among other things.
"If they take us across the fence on this, something else could come
down the road," Yoder said last week. "If we give in on this we may
as well live our life the way you're living."
Monroe County's outhouse rules have been on the books for years, requiring
screens to keep the flies out, isolating privies from water sources,
providing ventilation, keeping outhouses a certain distance from dwellings
and mandating a minimum amount of floor space "for each seat opening."
Nobody thought much about any of it until Sam Winkler, who is not
Amish, went to trial in July 1991 for having an allegedly substandard,
unlicensed privy at a place he rented to another party.
Winkler told the judge that he didn't see why he should have to have
a privy permit, since none of the Amish in the county had permits
for any of their outhouses.
The judge agreed, let Winkler off, and ordered the county to begin
enforcing its outhouse law uniformly, letting the chips fall where
they might.
Negotiations
About six months later, Wesley Bangsberg, the Monroe County sanitarian,
cited Yoder and Borntreger for having outhouses without permits. Bangsberg
acted only after conducting months of futile negotiations in which
the county tried to persuade the two men to comply with the privy
ordinance.
Bangsberg said he singled out Yoder and Borntreger because they were
religious and community leaders of the many Amish families in the
county. "Eventually it came to the point where they weren't going
to get permits and we were going to enforce the ordinance," Bangsberg
said.
At one point, Yoder and Borntreger sent a "Dear friends" letter to
county officials, seeking to explain their position. Included was
biblical justification for the reluctance of the Amish to join with
mainstream society.
It was a verse from Corinthians:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"
Yoder and Borntreger were arrested and tried in July. They went to
jail for six days in August, being segregated from the usual collection
of misfits in the county jail and being spared, in deference to the
Amish tradition of plain clothing, the bright orange jumpsuits that
other county inmates must wear.
Now the two have been cited once again for having unlicensed outhouses,
as have two other Amish farmers in the county. Bangsberg says he has
five additional complaints from county residents about Amishmen who
don't have permits for their outhouses.
Matousek, the county attorney, says he has given Yoder and Borntreger
the names and telephone numbers of state legislators who might find
some accommodation for the Amish in the enforcement of privy rules,
which the state promulgates and requires the counties to enforce.
Matousek also has tried to line up Yoder and Borntreger with the American
Civil Liberties Union, so they might at least have a lawyer to plead
their case when they end up in court the next time.
Don't Stand a Chance
But nothing has worked out. The Wisconsin branch of the ACLU has declined
to get involved, saying the Amish probably don't stand a chance because
of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1990 that greatly diminished the
ability of individuals to escape the enforcement of state laws because
of religious convictions.
The ACLU did, however, invite the Amish to lobby Congress for a law
to reinstate the old requirement that government prove a "compelling
state interest" before enforcing laws that ran counter to an individual's
sincerely held religious belief.
Scott Froehlke, an aide to an area state senator, says he's been trying
for six weeks to figure a way around the dilemma. "They spent five
nights in jail," Froehlke said. "These are gentle, decent people who
don't deserve that fate."
But it would be hard to make an argument in the Legislature to exempt
any group from state requirements that have a genuine public health
purpose, Froehlke said.
"Only Option"
"I guess our only option, if state legislators can't find an exemption
for the Amish, is to follow through with the prosecution of the case,"
Matousek said, "I don't see any way around it, and to protect the
citizens of Monroe county, we'll have to do it.
"We're going to have to start prosecuting the Amish and everybody
else for these violations."
Matousek said many and perhaps most of the Amish outhouses would comply
with the county privy ordinance, if only their owners would apply
for the $40 outhouse permits. But other privies on Amish farms may
present genuine environmental hazards because they are located close
to waterways, Matousek said.
"It's a power struggle between the state's health interest and their
religious freedom," Matousek said. "The two are not compatible."
For nearly two decades, the law of the United States regarding religious
freedom was based on another attempt by the state of Wisconsin to
impose its laws on a group of defiant Amish people.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Wisconsin's attempt to force
Amish children to attend school until they were 16 years old. The
case arose in Green County in southern Wisconsin, pitting the state's
mandatory attendance law against the Amish custom of ending a child's
education at the eighth grade.
(A similar controversy erupted in Iowa in the 1960's. It was settled
when the state exempted Amish children from the compulsory attendance
law.)
The Supreme Court reversed its "compelling state interest" rule two
years ago in an Oregon case in which two American Indians, fired from
their jobs as drug counselors for using peyote, appealed after being
denied unemployment benefits.
The two men maintained that peyote, a cactus that yields an illegal
stimulant drug, was part of their native religious ceremony.
- Larry Fruhling DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER, November
8, 1992
|
Pastor Revere comments:
The Amish are bringing up secondary issues when they argue that they
just want to be left alone to live their lives simply. The primary
issue is that the Amish belong to God, not the state. Notice in the
article that the county is claiming them as one of theirs. They should
be telling county officials, "We are of the nation of Heaven. We are
not citizens of the county. We are citizens of Heaven. This is God's
land and what we do on God's property is none of your business. You
have enough to do with county residents without bothering the nation
of Heaven."
The Amish are correct that we are not to be yoked with unbelievers,
but they fail to apply this scripture properly. They allow the courts
to pull them in and let state-licensed lawyers build a defense for
them. Since the Amish are not going to change their ways, regardless
of the decisions of the courts, they should not even appeal to the
courts. If God has commanded them to do what they are doing, they
have all the authority they need.
A person commits the offense of failure to carry
a license if the person . . . (ORS 807.570) |
A person commits the offense of failure to register
a vehicle if the person . . . (ORS 803.300) |
A person commits the offense of driving uninsured
if the person . . . (ORS 806.010) |
Only "persons" commit these state-created crimes. How does someone
become a "person" and subject to state statutes? You become
a state-generated "person" by taking up residency with the state
and stepping into the office of "person." You have to hold an
office within their government in order for them to regulate you.
First comes the office, then comes the control.
The most common office held in the state is the office of "person."
It is an office most people fill without even knowing it. The state
generated this office as a way to control people. They can't control
you just because you're a human being. God beat them to it. God created
you and by right of creation, He controls you. The way the state gets
around God's control is by creating an office, such as "person,"
and then claiming that you are filling that office.
It is the nature of law, that what one creates, one controls. Law
is the force that binds a creature to its creator. God created us
and we are subject to His laws, whether or not we acknowledge Him
as our Creator. Scripture tells us there is only one Lawgiver and
Judge (James 4:12). But legislators, in mischief, think that they
can play God and make laws, too. They create whole bodies of laws
- motor vehicle code, building code, compulsory education laws. And
then they create supporting institutions to administer these regulations.
Within these organizations are hundreds of state-generated offices
from janitor to governor. But these organizations can't function properly
because they need subjects to regulate. The legislature obtains these
subjects by creating an office that nobody even realizes is a state
office. They create the office of "person."
Through the state-generated office of "person," the state
gains its authority to regulate, control and judge you. What they've
done is apply the principle, "what one creates, one controls."
The state creates the offices of police officer, prosecutor, judge
and, the most popular office of all, "person." Anyone filling
one of these offices is subject to regulation by their creator, the
state.
A look at Webster's dictionary reveals the origin of the word, "person."
It literally means "the mask an actor wears."
The legislature creates the office of "person" which is a mask.
They don't create real people, only God can do that. But they create
the office of "person," which is a mask, and then they persuade
a flesh and blood human being to put on the mask. Now the legislature
controls the mask and the actor behind the mask.
Resident = Office Holder
All state residents hold an office in the state government. Not everyone
who is a resident holds the office of "person." Some residents
hold the office of judge. Some residents are police officers. Some
are administrators. The reason all state residents hold an office
is so the state can control everything. It wants to create
every single office so that all areas of life are under the control
of the state. Each office has prescribed duties and responsibilities.
And all these offices are regulated by the state.
"Person" is a subset of resident. Judge is a subset of resident.
Legislator and police officer are subsets of resident. If you hold
any office in the state, you are a resident and subject to legislative
decrees.
Yes, they are always ready to say we are free men. But they never
tell us that the offices are not free. They say, "all men are free."
That is a true statement. What they don't say is that holding a state
office brings free men into slavery to the state. They are ever ready
to bring us into the office of "person," and once we are filling
that office, we cease to be free men. We are regulated creatures,
created by the legislature. We hear about "free men" all the time,
but we never hear about "free persons."
Ambassadors not subject to state charges
If you build your house on an office created by men, it will be built
on sand. The office is changed and manipulated to conform to the whims
of man. When you hold the office of "person" created by the
legislature, your office isn't fixed. Your duties and responsibilities
are ever changing. Each legislative session binds a "person"
to more burdens and requirements.
To establish a proper foundation, you want to hold an office that
is built upon Christ, our Rock. In the office of ambassador of the
Lord Jesus Christ, your office is fixed. You know what Jesus Christ
expects from you. Christ doesn't change that office. The requirement
is simple, live in righteousness. Love God and do to others
what you would like done to you. Because that office is unchanging,
the foundation is like a rock and the burdens are light.
When you are pulled over by the police, roll down your window, reach
out your hand and say, "Peace to you. You are speaking to the office
of ambassador of Jesus Christ for the nation of Heaven. What can I
do to help you?"
Now the office of policeman is talking to the office of ambassador
of Jesus Christ. We know the police officer cannot cite an officer
of the nation of Heaven because the state can only regulate what they
create. And the state doesn't create offices for Heaven. It's important
to lay the foundation, right from the start. Let the officer know
you represent the nation of Heaven. Remain in the office of ambassador.
Do not leave it. Do not be persuaded to put on the mask of "person."
Why aren't we subject to the state's charges? Because of the concept
of office. The state is prosecuting a particular office known as "person."
If you are not holding the state-generated office of "person,"
state statutes do not apply. For the state to control someone, they
have to create the office. Then they must find a warm-blooded creature
to fill that office. They want us to fill that role.
There are many ways we can accept the role of "person." One
is by receiving state benefits. Another is by asking permission from
the state. One of the subtlest ways of accepting the role of "person,"
is to answer the questions of bureaucrats. When a state bureaucrat
knocks on your door and wants to know why your children aren't registered
in school, or a police officer pulls you over and starts asking questions,
you fill the office of "person" if you start answering their
questions.
No, we are not a "person." When we confess our ambassadorship
and they haul us to court anyway, our response to the judge is simple:
I have no need to answer you in this matter. It is
none of your business whether I understand my rights or whether I
understand your charges. And it is none of your business whether I
want counsel. The reason it is none of your business is because I
am not one being regulated by the state. I do not hold a position
or office where I am amenable to the legislature. The legislature
does not dictate what I do. As an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I am in an office created by Heaven and am answerable to God. God
created my office. Therefore, I am to render back to God that which
is His. |
No matter what happens, if we remain faithful to our office, Christ
will be glorified. The judge knows that as long as he remains in his
office, he is backed by the whole power of the state, its lawyers,
police and prisons. It is the same for an ambassador of Jesus Christ.
As long as we do not depart from Christ's office, all the authority,
power, and might of Heaven stands behind us.
The state did not create the office of ambassador for the nation of
Heaven. Therefore, they do not regulate and control those in that
office. They cannot ascribe penalties for breach of that particular
office. The reason they have no authority over the office is because
they didn't create it.
Today, we need to remember the office that God has created for us,
conform our lives to that office, and confess our office before men.
When challenged, simply remind them that they do not regulate an office
of God and that their statutes only apply to those in state-created
offices.
Audio
Program "Office of Person."
News from those traveling in Heaven vehicles.
|
Daniel Boone, who has been experiencing an intense year of police
encounters, was recently released from jail. Daniel says he was locked
up for 22 days on a false arrest and false charges. All the charges
were dropped, thanks to God Almighty and Him alone. Daniel says, "It
seems that the forces of antichrist are set against those who truly
want to live a New Testament life."
Over the years that Daniel has been traveling as an ambassador of
Jesus Christ, he has been jailed several times. Yet the forces of
darkness have never succeeded in giving Daniel a trial - his convictions
are too strong. He continues proclaiming to the court that he is an
ambassador of Jesus Christ and he won't leave that office.
When the state imprisons Daniel, they try to force him into the state-generated
office of "person." As long as Daniel continues claiming his office
of ambassador under the nation of Heaven, the state lacks jurisdiction.
The state needs someone filling the office of "person" in order to
continue prosecuting.
A few weeks in jail puts intense pressure upon most "persons." Jail
means the loss of job opportunities, separation from loved ones, and
the piling up of debts. Daniel, however, takes a positive view of
going to jail. He sees God moving his ministry from the streets of
Gilroy to inside the county jail. Not only does he see the jail ministry
as an opportunity to preach to the inmates, but also as a way to proclaim
the good news of Christ's government to the police, jailers and lawyers
he encounters.
Daniel was given such an opportunity when the state attempted to arraign
him. He was brought in chains before a crowded courtroom. The issue
of counsel came up and Daniel told the court Jesus Christ was His
counsel and he needed no other. Then Daniel said he felt the overwhelming
presence and power of Jesus. He turned to the audience and began preaching
the salvation message - telling the audience that men could not save
them - only Jesus Christ could save them. The silence was deafening.
The judge asked him to sit down for awhile, then called him back again.
Daniel said the Holy Spirit took over the courtroom. The audience
became excited and some called out "release him, release him!" The
judge apparently wanted to release him, but the district attorney
would not dismiss the case. Daniel was taken before other judges and
over and over he used the courtroom to call people to Jesus.
Daniel was put on an observation floor for several days because he
would not sign their papers and because he claimed that some things
were not the state's business to evaluate. Finally, the psychologist
said they could not hold him any longer. No matter how much they disagreed
with Daniel, they had to admit that he was of a sound mind.
After 22 days in jail, Daniel was released without even being arraigned
and all charges were dropped. Glory to God.
Daniel comments, "Some people believe that I was set up because they
don't like people driving unless the state approves of it. I believe
that God had a mission for me and a learning experience so that I
could share it with others who will most assuredly encounter the nature
of antichrist in this world."
Dear Pastor Paul:
I greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, may His
peace be with you.
Your hospitality and
Christian fellowship extended to Ron and I during
our too short visit was truly appreciated and I wish to thank you
for it. I received much enlightenment on matters that somehow I had
failed to have understanding of, even though I had knowledge in part.
The Spirit bears witness to me in all that you profess and I feel
it necessary to let you know this. I will have much to do and I wish
to confirm to you the commitment I made which is, to me, a sort of
re-dedication to my Savior, Jesus Christ.
All the "silver bullets" and the "oak stakes" are garbage, as are
the Affidavits of Revocation etc., they are childish. I knew this
instinctively in part, which is why I included the statement that
the Creator God was my Lawgiver in my affidavit. I have always maintained
that the bottom line is to stand firm that I am a subject of Jesus
Christ and not the state. This, however, will not work for a lone
individual to any benefit or furthering of the gospel except to maybe
become an unknown martyr rotting in jail. As a group with courage
and conviction, proclaiming our citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven,
and having established an Embassy, we have visible authority and power
that must be recognized.
It is possible to have an entire automobile gathered together in your
shop. Completely disassembled, it is just a pile of parts serving
no purpose other than cluttering up the garage. When the parts are
all assembled in their proper place, you have a single and very useful
piece of equipment. It is, however, not of much use without the battery
and gasoline. In like manner, Christians gathered together discussing
their crops and the latest news, are only parts of, NOTHING. When
assembled together in like mind with like purpose, filled with the
Spirit (gasoline), motivated by the power of God (battery), those
same Christians are a force irresistible that the world cannot stand
against. Possibly this is what you are being used for, the end-time
church that will survive in the wilderness.
Because I wish to be properly prepared and to present myself as a
conduit of Jesus Christ the very best I am able, it will take a little
time for me to become educated. For this reason, I am going to listen
to your tapes and fully understand your instructions, as well as the
concept and purpose of what I am doing before going forth visibly.
I have read "Christian Patriotism" and your "Licensed by Heaven" and
am better prepared to deal with the Canaanite law enforcers. Also,
I believe myself to be much better prepared than the average person
to defend myself in their courts using their so-called laws. The objective
however, at least in my mind, is to slay them with the "sword of truth"
and thus possibly retrieve them from the dead.
Having now had a little time to absorb your information, to better
understand your position, it is certainly easy to see why certain
patriots say some of your positions need to be modified before becoming
acceptable for their use. They are totally bound into the "system"
of state through their "legal" operations "at law" and are thus outside
of the Kingdom.
As I told you, the Lord has placed a message in my heart for His people
at this time of the end. I feel as though I am now coming out of the
waiting room so to speak, about to be ministered to in preparation
to get back to work. We all have a place in the body and we all have
a specific use. I feel fortunate to know what I have ahead of me and
am certain that the Lord lets me know to fortify me with courage and
determination.
In any event, I will be in touch, though I do not know just when.
I try to stay loose and do what I feel led to do by the Spirit. If
it feels right, I go ahead and if not, I stand still. I have much
to do now to absorb what I have been introduced to through our meeting.
I know this to be of our Lord and I praise Him for it. It has been
a long time since I have been fed by another. Pray for me, brother,
that I stand steadfast and faithful in all things.
I thank our Lord for brethren like you and pray that He continue to
bless you abundantly.
In Christian love,
Joe Schaffer
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