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CONTENTS
Dear Friends
Road to Heaven Paved with Tickets
Heaven passes the Plate
Sublimity family wants to serve faith
Highway to Heaven
Federal Marshals Storm Embassy
Talk Radio KVAN-1480
It is a battle of
jurisdiction. They are afraid that if they let one man out, everybody will go with him -
and they are right.
Paul Revere, Pastor
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FEDERAL MARSHALS INVADE EMBASSY USING
AUTOMATIC WEAPONS TO SERVE WARRANTS FOR ALLEGED TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS. |

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See articles inside. |
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May the Grace and Peace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. During the last two months, millions of people have
heard the Great Message that the Kingdom of Heaven is NOW. Right now, God is moving across
the land using the world's newspapers and radio and television stations as a vehicle to
proclaim His Kingdom. The Embassy of Heaven has been in the news from coast to coast.
We've reprinted some of the stories in this issue.
The publicity began when
our ambassador in Florida, James Kelly, was thrown in jail and the "HEAVEN"
vehicle impounded. The media caught the story and it appeared on TV and newspapers as far
north as Canada.
For the last two months we
have spoken on dozens of radio talk shows. Some call just to mock us. One host asked,
"I'm just curious, since you're from Heaven, what kind of car does God drive?"
Another host from Fort
Meyers, Florida said, "I am fascinated by all of this and I hope you pick up on the
fact that I am not making fun or mocking you." After we talked for 40 minutes, I
offered Him the peace of Christ. He confessed that he was going through some trying times
and asked for our help and prayers.
A couple weeks after James
Kelly was arrested, a Seattle Police Captain ordered the seizure of all "HEAVEN"
plates. This caused an outpouring of TV, radio and newspaper articles debating about
Heaven's authority to issue driver licenses. KATU channel 2 evening news in Portland did a
five-minute spot where the reporter actually put "HEAVEN" plates on her vehicle
and showed off her complimentary "HEAVEN" driver license. Evening Magazine,
a television program originating in Seattle, also did a feature story showing that
"where man's law collides with God's law, the fallout is sure to be great."
Less than two weeks after
these major stories appeared, Marion County Deputies, City of Stayton police and U.S.
Marshals stormed the Embassy of Heaven with automatic weapons. Their cause? To serve
arrest warrants on minor traffic offenses. No one was hurt and no property of any
significance was confiscated. One of our ambassadors, Michael Stevens, was arrested and is
still in custody as of August 26th. The raid focused even more media attention on us.
Through good report and bad report, Christ's Kingdom is being preached.
Our last retreat for the
year is just around the corner. It starts on Thursday afternoon, September 16th and ends
Sunday afternoon, September 19th. We will be showing video clips from TV broadcasts in
Florida, Seattle and Portland and some exciting new revelations on "What is
Caesar." Hope you can be with us.
Paul Revere, Pastor
One of our ambassadors
in Tennessee saw this story while browsing through the National Examiner at a supermarket
checkout line:
A MOTORIST caught hell
when police spotted a license plate from heaven on his car.
James Kelly was charged
with driving a vehicle with an unassigned tag and resisting arrest without violence. He
was jailed and his auto impounded.
The divine driver had to
post $750 bail to get out of jail.
Through it all, Kelly
maintained that he is a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, and that he had documentation to
prove it.
In fact, the 47-year-old
man showed the policeman a vehicle registration card and driver's license - issued by the
Embassy of Heaven Church in Sublimity, Oregon.
The stage for a clash of
earthly and heavenly authority was set when a policeman in Largo, Florida, spotted the
word "HEAVEN" in bold letters above the numbers on the metal license plate of a
1978 Ford.
The officer stopped the
car. But Kelly refused to answer questions, telling the officer: "I answer to a
higher authority." The policeman took a dim view of Kelly's position, so he jailed
him.
Kelly now claims his
rights were violated when he was arrested and jailed. And he has given the city notice he
intends to file a federal lawsuit seeking more than $150,000 in damages.
August 10,
1993/NATIONAL EXAMINER/Page 9
_____________________________________________
During a NEWSWATCH-8 TV
broadcast of this story from Tampa - St. Petersburg, Florida on July 9, 1993, the reporter
said, "While Kelly may answer to a higher authority when it comes to hitting the
road, when it comes to his civil rights, Kelly is appealing to mere mortals. He plans on
filing a federal lawsuit against the city of Largo."
The Anchorwoman concluded,
"Kelly belongs to the Embassy of Heaven Church in Sublimity, Oregon. The church's
pastor says Kelly shouldn't sue because the local and federal authorities have no
jurisdiction in the matter. It belongs to the highest authority."
By Michael A. Barber,
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 21, 1993, Section B, Page 1
Heavens!
License plates purporting
to be from the hereafter have been popping up around town, but Seattle police aren't
exactly getting into the spirit.
In fact, police have been
directed to find the realistic metal plates, complete with numbers, that bear
"Heaven" where a state's name should be, seize the plates and ticket the cars.
A memo yesterday from
Capt. John Moffat, traffic section commander, said a police investigation showed that the
plates come from the Embassy of Heaven Church in Sublimity, Ore. The church claims, Moffat
said, that it has the authority to issue license plates and drivers' licenses.
Church Pastor Paul Revere
said last night that the plates are "absolutely 100 percent valid. This is the
Kingdom of Heaven, Nation of God, and all these documents are done in His authority.
"(Police) cannot
declare that our plates are worthless because they are not representatives of our
government," Revere said.
Revere said he was
contacted by the Washington State Patrol about the plates and promised to send a detective
a copy of heaven's motor vehicle code.
Patrol officers said they
have been seeing the plates for about a year now. On Monday, police removed them from the
front and rear of a car parked in the 400 block of Yesler Way. Police, of course, couldn't
trace the plates, but neither could they find the owner nor trace the vehicle
identification number of the car.
"Baptists, Methodists
and everyone else has to get regular license plates," said a patrol officer who
declined to be named.
What's a problem for
police is that the plates are so realistic. They are metal and have numbers and a small
tab affixed to them that looks like a validation tab.
"It's easier to
detect a vehicle with no plates on it," said Lt. Steve Brown, of the traffic section.
Although the church claims
otherwise, police are sworn to uphold state and local laws and don't recognize heaven's
authority to issue license plates.
Moffat directed his
officers to seize the plates from parked cars and ticket them for having improper or
expired plates - a $24 fine. Moving cars get a $47 fine and seizure of plates.
"The Embassy of
Heaven driver's license is, of course, worthless," Moffat informed his troops.
"Do not engage in debate with the violators. License violations are status matters.
They either have valid plates or not."
Police don't always have
to play devil's advocate, however. When valid plates are used, their heavenly counterparts
can appear as decorative plates, Moffat wrote.
_____________________________________________
Notice in the above
article that the police are being directed not to "engage in debate with the
violators." In several recent stops in the Seattle area, police have heard the gospel
of the Kingdom and have not cited our ambassadors.
The police captain
said, "License violations are status matters. They either have valid plates or
not." What he means is that if you are a state resident, "HEAVEN" plates
are not valid. But if you are a resident of "HEAVEN," then Washington state
plates are not valid. It all boils down to your status.
By Mandy Baucum
The Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, July 22, 1993
Freedom to serve the
kingdom of God is all a Sublimity pastor and his family say they want.
When their Embassy of
Heaven Church began producing license plates without state authorization, they said their
only intent was to declare allegiance to God.
"We are not citizens
of the kingdom of the world. Our citizenship is in heaven," Pastor Paul Revere said.
He said that even his name
was given to him by God.
Revere's wife, Rachel,
said the idea for the license plates originated about five years ago when she and her two
children were witnessing to their faith in Mount Angel and were stopped by police for
having no license plates.
She said she did not have
plates on her car because their church does not accept earthly government.
"We do not vote or
participate in the courts or take money from the government," she said. "We
remain separate."
The police officer told
Rachel Revere that he had to pull over cars without license plates. He asked whether she
could get some kind of identification for her car.
That question prompted the
Embassy church, which circulates a newsletter to about 1,000 members nationwide, to begin
silkscreening the word heaven onto manufactured plates.
Local and state officials,
however, say the church has no authority to issue license plates or similar legal devices
and documents.
Rachel Revere said that
although church members continue to be cited for using the plates on their cars, they have
no intention of filing lawsuits against police.
"That wouldn't be
loving to our neighbor," she said.
The following feature article, complete
with 5 color pictures, appeared in the Sunday Oregonian, the largest newspaper in the
Northwest, claiming a readership of over 800,000.
The Sunday Oregonian,
July 25, 1993, Northwest Living
MEMBERS OF THE EMBASSY OF
HEAVEN CHURCH FOLLOW 'GOD'S LAW,' NOT THE STATE'S
Repent ye, for the
Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:2
By STEVE WOODWARD of The Oregonian staff
WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN?
ANSWER NO. 1: Drive out
Oregon 22 past Sublimity, a dozen miles east of Salem. You bump along a gravel road,
leaving a plume of gray dust to settle on the patchwork farms and forests that roll like
ocean swells toward the green crest of the Cascades. Then turn left on a dirt driveway
that slopes past a couple of parked RVs and pickups with camper tops into a shady hollow
of land by a stream. There sit a large trampoline, a car, a pickup and a small wooden
building, marked with a sign: "Embassy of Heaven Church. 'Where the spirit of the
Lord is, there is freedom.' II Corinthians 3:17."
There's something else -
the vehicle license plates. They say "Heaven."
WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF
HEAVEN?
ANSWER NO. 2: "It
lies in here," says Pastor Paul Revere, touching his thin, brown-and-white print
shirt where his heart is. "It lies in here."
Welcome to Heaven - or at
least its administrative headquarters.
This is the Embassy of
Heaven Church, a lonely outpost of heaven in the midst of Satan's worldly governments.
Admission is simple:
Renounce your ties with all governments except one - the kingdom of heaven, established on
Earth 2,000 years ago with Jesus Christ as its monarch.
Doing so means you give up
your state driver's license. Stop paying taxes. Quit your corporate job. Give up your
Social Security number. Cancel your bank account. Cash in your insurance policies. Pull
your children out of public schools. Take a new name given by God. Go back to your first
marriage if you have remarried. Disown any church that has incorporated under state laws,
because it has made the state - not God - its lord.
Then prepare to live by a
new set of laws - Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
Congratulations. You are
about to become an ambassador of Heaven, traveling with diplomatic immunity through
foreign nations and spreading the word of God.

Heaven road report
News from those
traveling in Heaven vehicles:
According to a recent
Embassy of Heaven newsletter, Larry was stopped by a state trooper for speeding in
Colorado. He offered the officer his new driver's license from Heaven. The trooper studied
it a while. He asked if it was accepted in Oregon. Larry said yes, in some places. You
should get a Colorado license, the trooper said, and handed Larry a warning ticket.
Later, another state
trooper wasn't so nice. He ticketed Larry tickets for speeding and no valid driver's
license, insurance or seat belts. "I am scheduled for court at the end of the
month," Larry wrote. "It should be fun."
In the beginning
The Embassy of Heaven
Church was born of an idea - that the kingdom of heaven wasn't a fantastic city in the
sky, attainable only after death, but that it was a living government already established
on Earth.
The church's founder and
pastor is Paul Revere, born into the world in 1949 with the name Paul De Revoire.
Revere looks like a
scholar, with his graying beard, his spectacles, his shirt pocket full of pens and a nose
slightly askew from an airplane crash in 1986. He lives on the 34-acre church property
with his wife, Rachel, their two daughters, 13-year-old Brooke and 10-year-old Skye, and
Abraham ("Just 'Abraham'"), a staff member who is working on the church's own
Bible translation.
Many who hear about the
Embassy of Heaven Church conclude that it's one of an estimated 300 Oregon-based cults -
mostly small, largely unorganized religious groups that form in rural areas, out of the
public eye. Jason Chastain, program manager of the Cult Resource Center in Portland, says
the Embassy of Heaven Church displays several traits common to cults: It has a single
leader, it claims a direct pipeline to God, it recruits members, it's secretive about its
membership, and it requires members to think similarly.
On the other hand, the
bookish Revere doesn't have the hypnotic personality of a Jim Jones or David Koresh.
Members don't live together as a community but are scattered throughout the country.
Unlike the militant, anti-tax Posse Comitatus, the church preaches love of God and
neighbor. Unlike churches in the so-called Latter Reign Movement, which believes that
Armageddon is approaching, the Embassy of Heaven says heaven already has arrived.
Revere himself says he
deplores cults. "I'm appalled by what happened at Waco," he says, referring to
the recent siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Texas, which led to the deaths of more
than 80 members of the religious sect.
By and large, Embassy of
Heaven's members join not because they are drawn to Revere, but because they agree with
the message that church and state must be entirely separate - an age-old view that found
voice a century ago in A.T. Jones, a preacher whose writings were reissued by the church
under the title "Christian Patriotism."
Revere's interpretation of
the Bible doesn't impress some theologians.
"The theology is
nuts, and it's nothing new," says Gerry Breshears, a professor of theology at Western
Conservative Baptist Seminary in Portland and current president of the national
Evangelical Theological Society. Breshears says the New Testament contains numerous
passages that make it clear that Christians should respect earthly governments as well as
God.
Heaven road report
John, Steward of Jesus,
sits in the Reno County Jail in Hutchinson, Kan., awaiting trial on charges of illegal
display of a license plate, no driver's license and no liability insurance.
He has been there since
June 30, awaiting trial.
Kansas authorities know
him by his previous identity, [Person C], 51, of Hutchinson.
It's his second arrest
on the same charges.
(Note: John was tried and
released after serving 28 days in jail.)
Holy bureaucracy
The kingdom of Heaven is a
sovereign government, says Revere, and like other sovereign governments, it requires a
bureaucracy.
Embassy of Heaven's
bureaucracy dwells on transportation: driver's licenses, vehicle plates, vehicle
registrations, certificates of title.
Revere won't say how many
Heaven vehicles ply the nation's highways. But in Seattle, it's apparently too many. A
Seattle police commander last week ordered traffic cops to seize Heaven plates and issue
tickets.
The Embassy of Heaven
Church has a 70-page guide for Heaven drivers on how to establish residency in Heaven and
how to obtain Heaven documents. Moreover, the church also offers a "Heaven Vehicle
Code" with rules of the road, code of conduct and disciplinary actions for wayward
drivers, all supported by biblical citations.
That approach doesn't go
over well with licensing agencies around the country.
"The law is very
straightforward," says Mike Unger, driver licensing manager for the Oregon Department
of Motor Vehicles. "We consider driving a privilege. In order to drive on the roads
in the state of Oregon, you need to have an Oregon driver's license." (We don't
drive on the "roads in the state of Oregon." We drive on the "highways in
the Kingdom of Heaven." P.R.)
For a dozen years, until
1984, Revere was a state employee, a computer systems analyst for the Oregon Department of
Transportation - a fact he does not willingly talk about. He says his life as
Paul De Revoire,
before he became Paul Revere in 1985, is a closed book.
"Paul is probably the
closest person to a genius I've ever worked with," says Loyd Henion, who now heads
the department's future technology unit. "He was the most brilliant programmer the
state of Oregon ever had."
One of Paul De
Revoire's most
notable accomplishments: a program that computed how much each car and truck contributed
to the wear-and-tear on Oregon highways. The program reduced four months of manual labor
to, in essence, a one-button operation. It's still in use today.
The calculation is used to
determine how much gasoline tax drivers should pay - one of the few taxes, incidentally,
that Embassy of Heaven members don't mind paying. Their philosophy: If you use the
service, pay for it.
Revere grew disenchanted
with government, he and others say, because government had stopped being a servant of the
people and become a lord, compelling its subjects to do things against their will.
"The state, as a
government, is for unbelievers," Revere says, "and does not represent the
kingdom of Heaven."
Revere had been raised a
Protestant. His wife, Rachel - she changed her name from Rachel De Revoire - had been Roman
Catholic. Both rejected their religions because they saw hypocrisy in the churches. They
became atheists.
That changed about a dozen
years ago. They read a passage in the book of Matthew that detailed the trials of Jesus in
the Roman courts. "For the first time, I had been able to see the Scriptures for what
they were really saying," Revere says. That is, the government of Jesus was a
separate entity from the government of people.
He began writing a
newsletter on the difference between godly and worldly governments. He signed it with a
pen name, Paul Revere. He began a speaking circuit, stopping at private homes from
Portland to Medford to address groups of 10 to 20 families. He took Paul Revere as his
God-given name.
Heaven road report
Ambassador James L.
Kelly was arrested June 4 by Largo, Fla., police for resisting arrest. He had been cited
that afternoon for not carrying a proper driver's license, unlawful alteration of a
license plate, driving uninsured and failure to have a vehicle registration. His car was
impounded, and he spent a night in jail.
Kelly's defense: He
answers to a higher authority.
But Kelly made one
unforgivable mistake, Revere says. He threatened to sue over the arrest. Such a threat
acknowledges the jurisdiction of the state, Revere says. Kelly, the pastor adds, should
have kept his head and heart firmly planted in the kingdom of Heaven.
Dueling governments
The first clash between
Revere and government authorities came in 1985, when a Clackamas County sheriff's deputy
cited him on several driving-related charges, including failure to display a proper
driver's license, driving uninsured and driving with expired license plates.
Revere's view of the
matter: He did not need a license or plates or insurance. After all, he was not a resident
of the state of Oregon. He was, by now, a resident of Heaven. So he never showed up for
his court hearing.
Over the next three years,
Revere was arrested several times - once when he showed up at the Washington County Jail
to preach to a prisoner - on charges stemming from the original traffic violations. The
already gaunt, 135-pound pastor fasted and prayed during his jail stints, once going 16
days on water alone.
In 1987, Revere took
another dramatic step: He issued a "proclamation of land use," declaring that
the church property "has been removed from the ownership and control of the world and
the rulers of men." Then he stopped paying property taxes.
Marion County did not
acknowledge the proclamation but simply continued to send property tax bills. The county
intends to begin foreclosure proceedings on the property next July if the church fails to
pay off overdue property taxes. The church currently owes more than $7,500.
The church's defense is
the same as in all other cases: The county has no jurisdiction over residents of Heaven.
As far as the federal
government goes, the Reveres have not filed an income tax return for several years. The
Internal Revenue Service wrote in 1989, asking about their Form 1040. Revere responded
that they weren't required to file. Just recently, the IRS wrote again, but the letter
sits unopened at the church because it is addressed to Paul De Revoire - and
Paul De Revoire, Revere
says, is dead. (The letter was sent back, unopened. P.R.)
The Reveres instead look
to the future. They dream of building a domed sanctuary 60 feet in diameter in the woods,
but that depends on the growth in church membership and finances.
The family and the church
now live on donations from church members and sales of brochures on topics ranging from
changing your name to educating your children at home. The church houses a kitchen - where
members make their own bread from wheat berries -printing facilities, two personal
computers and a VCR for showing movies such as "The Ten Commandments" and
"Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" ("Be excellent to everyone").
Also on the property are a small hydroelectric plant that generates all of the church's
electrical power, a platform for lectures and performances, and the first of several small
bunkhouses for retreat participants.
Revere is evasive about
the number of members in the Embassy of Heaven Church. He says Saturday and Sunday sermons
can draw as many as 50 persons. He told the Tampa Tribune earlier this month that the
church has about a dozen members in Florida.
In 1988, he told the
Hillsboro Argus that his mailing list contained about 1,000 names. Today, he says, his
readers number in the thousands, but he won't specify the number who actually get the
mailing.
Not everyone who wants to
join is welcome, however. Revere tries to discourage people who want to join only to
escape paying their tax obligations to the state and federal governments, labeling them
hypocrites.
"What we preach is a
full separation," Revere says, "We don't just pick and choose. It's either all
or nothing."
Ten days after this
article was published, the Embassy of Heaven was invaded by Federal Marshals, City of
Stayton Police, and Marion County Deputies:
Church Sanctuary violated to serve arrest
warrants for minor traffic offenses.
A dozen Marion County
patrol cars, plus several unmarked vehicles carrying Federal Marshals armed with automatic
weapons, converged upon the Embassy of Heaven to serve two arrest warrants for alleged
minor traffic offenses. One church member was arrested shortly after police arrived. Close
to 30 officers and a dog joined in the ensuing 3-hour search of the Church buildings and
surrounding woods for the other suspect. No more arrests were made at the Church, which is
located in the Cascade Mountain foothills, about 20 miles east of Salem, Oregon.
The raid began about 12:15
p.m. on August 4, 1993, as police vehicles sped down the narrow winding road to the
Embassy of Heaven sanctuary. The
two children of Pastor Paul Revere were playing outside one of the buildings. They looked
up to see a great cloud of dust as the first patrol vehicle slid to a stop, narrowly
missing the playing children.
"We were concerned
about their high speed around a blind corner. Not only could the children have been hurt,
but there might have been a huge explosion," said Pastor Paul Revere. "Later
that same day a gasoline truck delivered gas to the Church. If the gasoline truck had been
filling the tanks, there is no way the police could have stopped in time."
Several church officials greeted the officers when
they arrived, telling them they were violating the sanctuary of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
federal marshals, ignoring the Church officials, filed out of the vehicles with black
automatic weapons drawn. Finally several of the Church members spontaneously fell to their
knees and pleaded, "Father, your sanctuary is being violated. Please forgive them,
for they know not what they do."
The raid has historical
significance in two ways:
1) It is the first time to
our knowledge that automatic weapons were used in the serving of arrest warrants for
alleged minor traffic offenses; and
2) The Embassy of Heaven,
a sanctuary of our Lord Jesus Christ, was violated at gunpoint.
Shortly after the police arrived, one of
the Church members, who knew he would probably be taken into custody, offered his hand in
friendship to the marshals. "I am Michael Stevens, an ambassador of the Lord Jesus
Christ. How can I help you today?" He was immediately handcuffed and put in the back
of a police vehicle. He did not resist in any way. "It was not as if they came in and
searched for him. He freely offered himself as a witness for the Kingdom of Heaven,"
said Pastor Revere.
The marshals apparently
had a warrant for his arrest stemming from a recent visit to Fort Lewis Army base where
Stevens and a fellow evangelist were given traffic citations by military police. Stevens
was merely a passenger in a "HEAVEN" licensed vehicle. At the incident, military
police tried to demand that Stevens give information to them, but he declined. "As a
guest in a car, he had no obligation to talk with these people, under anybody's rules. Yet
he was given several citations for failing to provide them with the information they
wanted," said Pastor Revere.
Federal marshals, assisted
by a dog, searched the Church and outbuildings, as well as the surrounding woods, but were
unsuccessful in turning up any sign of the other Church ambassador who was also wanted for
alleged traffic offenses at Fort Lewis. (See page 6 of Jul-Aug 1993 Newsletter, #934)
While federal marshals
beat the brush, Church members formed a choir and sang praises. "We rejoiced that we
have been counted worthy to be persecuted for our allegiance to Jesus Christ," said
Abraham, a member of the Church.
Federal marshals admitted they treated the raid
more like a felony search because they did not know the nature of the Church. They were
also allegedly looking for another Church member, Frank Carrico, who was accused of raping
his daughter. However, federal marshals had no warrant to search for Carrico.
Pastor Revere would not
say whether Carrico was at the Church. "To reveal that information would be a
violation of sanctuary," said Revere. He did say Carrico was an easy-going, quiet man
who taught Revere's daughter, Brooke, how to do back flips on the trampoline.
Violence could easily have been avoided
Rachel Revere, wife of
Pastor Revere, said she feared for the children who live at the church - not because the
alleged rapist might be near, but because of the police violence.
"The police said,
'You should keep your children away from Frank Carrico. He's a dangerous rapist.' But the
only real danger came from the police."
Rachel Revere said the
violence could easily have been avoided if Embassy officials would have been given an
opportunity to talk with federal agents prior to the incident.
"We
are a peaceful group," she said. "In the past, we have always worked with the
police. But they roared in here with machine guns and were scaring the children. They
reverted to being barbarians and used violence as the only way to settle the matter."
While the marshals were
searching one room, they saw a bush move outside and yelled, "Get your hands
up." Then they leaped out of a window, with their automatic weapons drawn. But they
were only chasing a bird that had alighted on a branch.
"The federal marshals
were ready to shoot anything that moved. Skye Revere, one of the children who was
watching, was petrified that her cats would be killed," said Rachel Revere.
"They came looking
for a rapist and in the process they raped the sanctuary of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
said Pastor Revere.
One of the newspaper
reporters was held off from entering the Church grounds for over three hours. She said
that when she first approached the Church, a deputy sheriff slowly pulled his gun out of
his holster and aimed it at her, telling her to stay away. She said it was one of the most
frightening experiences of her life.
Power of Christ stronger than their weapons
Rachel Revere said, "We forgive all those
involved in the raid and we will not retaliate. Our weapon is the word of God, not weapons
made with human hands. We love our enemies and do good to those who hate us."
"We felt the presence
and power of Jesus Christ, which to us was far stronger than all their fancy
weapons," said Abraham.
Church members, concerned
that the police officers might be hot and thirsty, offered them lemonade and watermelon.
Though some of the officers brandished automatic weapons, Church members still felt bound
to treat them as they would like to be treated.
"They weren't really
interested in the refreshments, but when we brought out our books and pamphlets, they came
running out of the woods to get copies," said Rachel Revere.
The arrest warrants were
strictly for people, not property. However, police did seize a few incidental items. They
also towed the Church's white Subaru, which was retrieved the following day.
When one Church member
noticed a federal marshal searching through a pile of papers on a desk he remarked,
"How small a person are you looking for? Do you think he is hiding in those
papers?"
Pastor Revere told law
enforcement, "The next time you are seeking someone who has aligned himself with the
Embassy of Heaven or sought refuge in our sanctuary, please remember that God has
established the Embassy as a holy place of refuge and protection. Those who flee to the
Embassy are immune from arrest because they are in a sacred sanctuary under God's
jurisdiction, not man's. As an alternative to using guns and a show of force upon those at
the Embassy, we ask that law enforcement give us a telephone call and we will attempt to
help. We desire to live peacefully among you, while remaining holy."
The Church has recently
received widespread publicity for their "HEAVEN" driver licenses, vehicle
certificates of title, registrations and license plates, issued out of the authority of
the Kingdom of Heaven. "We are Christ's ambassadors, sent to the Kingdoms of the
world, to urge men and women everywhere to turn back to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is
now," said Pastor Revere. "We will go to hell if we participate in the state
sovereignty. We have only one Sovereign, Jesus Christ."
As of August 26th, the one
man arrested during the raid, Michael Stevens, has been moved to three jails and remains
in Federal custody. Since August 4th, Michael has been on a water fast. Michael prays that
through his suffering, others may enter the Kingdom of Heaven. When he is dragged before
the magistrates, he says his Kingdom is not of their world and remains steadfast in not
accepting state-appointed counsel or making any agreements with them. He continues to ask
to be returned to his Embassy.
The Church has several
hundred members nationwide and puts out a bi-monthly newsletter. For those interested in
establishing citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven and participating in their
"HEAVEN" licensing program, they offer a 70-page book entitled, Licensed by
Heaven, available for a $5.00 donation from: Embassy of Heaven, P. O. Box 77,
Sublimity, Oregon 97385.
Host |
Hi Paul Revere! Good, good,
I was hoping we could talk to you. You weren't in a rock 'n roll band in the '60's were
you? |
Paul |
No I wasn't, but we were
raided. |
Host |
Paul Revere was raided,
that's really funny. We're talking about the people that broke into your church, for next
to nothing. |
Host |
I've had a good number of
calls on the KVAN command central number and people have a lot of questions for you. Why
did the U.S. Marshals go into your church, arms drawn, guns drawn, automatic weapons? |
Paul |
They came in to serve
arrest warrants on two individuals for the cause of minor traffic offenses. |
Paul |
No, only the sanctuary was
raped. |
Host |
Yes, what we heard on the
TV, Paul, was that Federal Marshals were after some rapist and they went to this
"cult" to find the rapist. |
Paul |
Ha, ha - yes, I wonder
which one was the "cult," the ones who came slamming in here with automatic
weapons, or the people who are just living here quietly and peacefully. |
Host |
You know God is
unconstitutional in this country. The only thing worse than God is trying to be Godly. We
are commanded to be Christ-like by the scriptures but every time we try to do that, or
abide by the commandments Christ gives us, people figure us to be some terrorist
organization. |
|
So witnessing is now illegal. God is
unconstitutional, you can't even mention the big 'G' in schools any more. With all this
going on, and U.S. Marshals busting in through the doors of a church, do you see a
prophecy coming true here? |
Paul |
Well, here is what we
preach. We preach that the Kingdom of Heaven is now. The Kingdom of Heaven is a government
and the Kingdom of Heaven should be in place in every man's heart, instead of the kingdoms
of this world. |
Host |
That is why you provide
Heaven driver's licenses and license plates and all of this. |
Paul |
That's right. Because we
preach the Kingdom of Heaven as the government of God. |
Host |
Have you filed for a
semi-autonomous state? |
Paul |
Well, you don't file for
it, you just simply declare it. This is a nation of God, separate and independent from the
kingdoms of this world. And we are only responding to the Great Commission as declared in
the Holy Bible that we are to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven now. |
Host |
How many guys were there in
black with automatic weapons, how many Marshals? |
Paul |
There were about 30 of
them. The Marshals were in black, but they were actually wearing T-shirts and shorts. |
Host |
Shorts? Oh no, you were
invaded by Club-Med! |
|
Now these 30 people walked in and said,
"the only thing we could find was this one guy who is wanted on a minor traffic
violation up in Seattle." That's got to be sad. How did they leave you? Did they say,
"Well, sorry for the inconvenience," or "We'll be watching you, Padre."
What did they say? |
Paul |
The U.S. Marshals didn't
have a whole lot to say. The Marion County deputies were apologetic. They said they didn't
really want to come here but because of their job, they had to come. |
Host |
Well, you know that didn't
work for the Nazis at Nuremburg, I don't know why it should work for Marion County. How
long are we going to let people say, "I was just doing my job," and let them get
away with atrocities? |
|
An important question - Are there weapons at
the Church? |
Paul |
Yes, we have the word of
God and we use it all the time. |
Host |
Okay, good. So basically
what I am getting at is there is no excuse to bring in automatic weapons. You guys have
never communicated a threat to your community. |
Paul |
We have always held a very
peaceful stance. We even have a friend who is a Marion County sergeant who has been out to
the Embassy a number of times and partaken of our food. |
Host |
So U.S. Marshals had no
cause or reason to do anything that they did. What are your grievance procedures from this
point? I assume you have a grievance. |
Paul |
Oh yes, we have already
done that. We sent letters to those involved and we forgave them for their trespassing. |
Host |
And that's it? What about
litigation? Aren't you supposed to sue them? |
Paul |
Scripture says,
"Vengeance is mine," saith the Lord. So we will put it in His hands. |
Host |
You're going to be kind to
your enemies and heap hot coals on their heads. |
Host |
So you have just basically
written letters forgiving them. Everything you have told me so far has been Godly and
scriptural. |
Paul |
Just because some people do
wickedness, it does not give us license to do wickedness in return. |
Host |
So you are turning the
other cheek as it were. |
Paul |
Yes, it is mandatory that
we turn the other cheek. |
We are inviting all
seekers of the Kingdom to join us for Heaven's last retreat before winter. This retreat
begins on Thursday afternoon and ends Sunday afternoon. Simple, wholesome meals and
campsites are provided. Donations will be appreciated.
September 16 - 19
Mark your calendars and
plan for fellowship with us in the woods. For further information, write for our
"RETREAT BROCHURE."
|