Moses: “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”
Two dreams are like bookends of the last twenty-five years of my life. Twenty-five years ago I dreamed I was atop Luther’s Black Castle home, straightening one tile, putting it into place. I have been guided by that dream since then. I have been like an arrow shot from a bow by a Mighty Marksman. After twenty-five years of hurtling through spiritual space, that arrow is about to hit its target squarely in the center of the bullseye! What is the bullseye? God’s plan and purpose for the Jewish nation. God does nothing unless He reveals His amazing wonders and works to His prophets. He revealed to me, through a dream, that He would restore the Jewish People back into the Fold of Salvation—en masse. This, God’s plan for the Jews, is the tile upon Luther’s Castle of Teaching, which was slightly out of place.
I’m sitting here, right now, early on the morning of March 18, typing out the notes I have been compiling the last week of my life. Yesterday morning I sensed an urgency to put this letter together for my family, but I assumed that sense was just my normal impatient eagerness to do what God wants me to do. I will die believing that if something should be done, it should have been done yesterday. BUT yesterday I bridled my ambition and zeal: “Surely haste in this matter isn’t that important.” BUT when we finished our {terrible} movie last night, Debbie said to me, “Shouldn’t you write a letter about what’s going on in the world?” I said that I had been taking notes about such a letter for about the past week.
Then she told me about a dream she had the night before, which had been troubling her all day. All day she wrestled with wondering if she should tell me to START WRITING this mysterious letter. She didn’t want to be telling me what to do—far be it from Debbie to ever intrude! But her dream was obviously an indication to me that “the King’s business requires haste.” She had dreamed that she had been running and was all sweaty. In the dream she was telling me to hurry up and write faster, faster. She was chilled from stem to stern when I got up and showed her the four pages of notes I had been compiling the last week.
The central thought of what I want to express to my family can best be explained by the metaphor of bronco-buster. Over the course of my life Christ has made me into the tamer of wild horses. I am an expert bronco-buster. How did I obtain such expertise? Christ tamed me! I have the scars and bruises from where He rode me hard to the point of complete exhaustion—that perfect point where the wildness of human strength dissipates and the peaceful strength of grace and heavenly power invigorates. I have been tamed so that the End of the Elect can have a peaceful and smooth ride to Christ. In turn, I have tamed you, my family.
I have ridden the wild, high-kicking horse of my family for twenty-five years. I have the gashes on my head and the bruises on my heart from where I have been taming you. There have been a few times you have bucked me off and I hit the ground so hard that I didn’t know if I would be able to drag myself back into the saddle. But Christ has sustained me, making sure His Arrow continued straight for the bullseye! He has been my chaps and soft ground to land on, otherwise I would have been worn out and broken to pieces—I exaggerate not.
TOGETHER, we have become a beautifully-tamed stallion for Christ. But for what purpose have we gone through this excruciating training? One, singular, purpose. For the Jews! They need to see a beautifully tamed Stallion of Salvation, walking in a majestically orderly manner in the midst of a most disorderly parade. We, as a family, have been trained as a spiritual spectacle to be marveled at by the Jews. They must see us walking orderly, majestically, and courageously in this, the Last Parade of life. We must be a pleasant and reasonable invitation to them to crawl into our safe saddle of Christ and be carried gently to Him.
I am making an extraordinary claim! I’m not going to lie! I have no idea how many times I’ve told myself, “Surely I am nuts! Crazy to believe the things I believe!” But these ideas are at the core of my belief system even though it is surrounded by an intense ocean of fear lest I lead my family, who I love more than life itself, in the wrong way. It’s terrifying to me to think of leading my family toward Christ while I am actually leading you AWAY from Him. TERRIFYING. I examine myself often. I just see no force within me, spiritual or psychological, compelling me to believe such things. All I see inside me is as a baby at rest in the arms of his mother after a feeding. I see, I feel, no desire to stand out—to be wild.
I recently read a scientific article making bold claims about the state of the universe. This scientist made the statement, “Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.” Such evidence helps to alleviate the “I can’t believe it” syndrome. I know how difficult it is for me to believe what I believe: I cannot imagine how you must struggle with it. So allow me to help you by putting into one paragraphical nutshell my evidence of God’s glorious workings and wonders. I do this with a teleological view to the Jews. My arrow is aimed at them; you are just my sights.
MY EVIDENCE:
Let me begin with this…I’ve been typing for well over an hour and my mind was getting a bit dull; so I went outside for a short walk to get perked up. As I opened the door, walking into the kitchen from the garage, I noticed the stove clock—654. This number has haunted me for at least twenty-five years. I could not figure out WHY I noticed this number so often. I notice it on the clock MANY times a week, and I notice it out and about OFTEN. I don’t expect this to account for much evidence to you, but to me, it has come to mean HOME. 654 Kinney was my grandparent’s address. This was the place where I felt safe from the trauma of life. 654 is my reminder that I am taking my family HOME.
In 1999 my mother called me to tell me that Martin Luther had been voted the third most important person in the last 1,000 years by the historical scholars. Her hearing this made quite an impression on her because I had been teaching her that the only way to obtain a proper understanding of the Bible was through the writings of Luther. In this day and age of “everyone doing what is right in his own eyes,” this was hard for her to swallow, especially since her other son was a Baptist preacher. She knew that what we both taught was like oil and water—they could NEVER be peacefully combined. Her family had been fractured and broken enough. She didn’t want anymore.
My point with Luther being named such an important person indicates that I have not attached my hope to an insignificant star. I have not found some obscure, insignificant person who has just private importance to me. No! Any reasonable person must admit that Luther is the focal point of at least the last 1,000 years. It took at least 500 years of history to create a need for him, and he is OBVIOUSLY the watershed personage of the last 500 years. He is THE LINE OF DEMARCATION between the darkness of the Roman Catholic Church and the darkness of the Age of Reason. Luther is the star between these two great darknesses, reflecting the Light of Christ across our present world.
It is just an undeniable fact that all Bible-centered religion was united in this man, just as Noah and his family were united in the Ark floating upon the violent waters of the Great Flood. And just like those progenitors of ours left the Ark and the safe and sound teachings of Noah, so everyone has left the safe and sound Ark of Luther and have fallen into the violent waters of Capitalistic Greed and Perverted Democracy. Both of these satanic forces were unleashed during the time of Luther as an attack from Hell against the Truth he taught.
But I, personally, do NOT need such historical evidence! I know what I experienced in my own life. I had given myself to trying to understand the Word of God since I was fifteen—it has been my life. I had given myself to it for twenty-five years before I came across Luther—a jewel, a spiritual guiding star, hidden in plain sight! In his writings I found answers that satisfied me as regards so many questions I had about what the Bible taught. One example: When I was a first-year graduate student at Bob Jones University, I went and purchased all the books on the Ten Commandments I could find. I just didn’t understand how the Ten Commandments fit into the life of the Christian. After reading all those books so many years ago, I still didn’t understand! It wasn’t until I “found” Luther that I understood the purpose of the Law of God.
I am not only trying to create credence to the importance of Luther for the sake of unity in understanding the Word of God. I am also saying that I and my family are the link between the “times of the Gentiles” and the Restoration of the Jews. This is even a greater “extraordinary claim” than the one I’m making about Luther. Here is, what is to me, my extraordinary proof:
(I just got back up to continue this letter. I rested my eyes and mind trying to go to sleep listening to the morbid news on Morning Joe. As I lay down, I got this text from my son, OUT OF THE BLUE, which I view as providentially appropriate: “I’m not saying I thought you might be crazy, but I am relieved to KNOW you aren’t.”)
- My finding that LC-MS Pastors are apathetic to the writings and heart of Luther.
- My family’s acceptance of “my” teaching in this age of eclecticism.
- My being rejected and cast out of the Lutheran community.
- The international flavor of my family, which was completely unintentional to me,
- My STRONG sense God wanted to preserve my wife from seeing our family go through severe tribulation.
- The speed of my being united with Deborah along with the victory of rising above this “scandal” which threatened my leadership.
- Debbie’s family signing on to “my” teaching, which is no less significant than the other in-laws of my family. Christine, Jessica and Nick were completely unchurched and areligious. Brian S. and John were of the Protestant flavor. Brian L. and Kevin were Roman Catholic. Debbie and Tanya were quasi-catholic. Yet they all signed on.
- The Twins being conceived the very week (night?) Debbie and I united.
- My family surviving my “illicit” uniting with Deborah.
- FOUR babies in our blended family being born the SAME WEEK.
- The success of Nick and Tanya’s marriage at the Perkins restaurant.
- John marrying Jessica. No! Did you hear me—John marrying Jess!!!
- God instructing me to give my wealth away.
- The Family-wide embracing of my dire predictions.
- Debbie’s AVERSION to Trump.
- My having no psychological need for any of this.
- My INTENSE DESIRE TO GO HOME.
- The intense emotional experience I had that evening as I ate the food prepared by Rena Magun while I was touring Israel with Rabbi David. I had a deep sense that these people would protect my family.
- MY GRANDCHILDREN. They have been given to me as my army. I was inclined to prepare them as such and they have been led to be committed to “my” teaching.
- My weird life. I was withheld from experiencing all the things a man deeply wants in life. I was specially prepared from the womb to be the heart of God.
At least to me, this is extraordinary proof that this, your family, is unique. I hope this uniqueness compels you to see the loving hand of God among us. He has chosen us and prepared us—for reasons of His own—for a very specific purpose. The purpose? To be a Light of True Faith and Religion for the Jews who are about to be restored to Salvation’s Tree. I pray God’s appointment and choosing of your family touches your heart and moves you to say, “Here I am Lord, use me for Your glory and for Your purposes. Thank You for the honor of being able to serve You! Help me, please, be faithful and true to this calling.”
If you pray this prayer from your heart, much of the answer to being faithful and true to your calling is to follow me. God has trained you for over twenty years to LISTEN TO ME. I’m not at all ashamed to say this because I know why I say it. One may think I say it out of megalomania, but I know I say it in the spirit of the Apostle Paul, who said, “Follow me because I am following Christ.” And Christ, Himself, said, “He who LISTENS to you is also hearing Me.” God is NOT going to use you except under my leadership. God deeply wants to use you and, in a sense, He needs you, but your being used by the God of Heaven, the Creator of the universe, the God of gods and the King of kings, is absolutely dependent on you submitting to my leadership. (I’m in no way leaving Debbie out of this leadership role. Her leadership is absolutely vital in guiding us through the pragmatics of our journey. Without her our journey will be much rougher and dramatic.)
I have stressed to my family for MANY years the importance of listening to and following me—now Debbie. It has been my fear that some in my family, whom I deeply love and care for, will, in a crisis, treat me like Lot’s sons-in-law treated him just hours before Sodom was destroyed—like a drunken man. A stupid man. And they did so to their own temporal and eternal peril. I do not want this for ANYONE in my family. It is my responsibility to guide you safely through our calling. And to do this I must be SHAMELESS in begging and expecting you to follow me. You know, it is said by psychologists, “If just one person tells you your face is on fire, maybe you could ignore it. But if two people tell you your face is on fire, you might want to check in the mirror!” Well, I must modify that a bit to, “If I tell you your face is on fire, you don’t have time to check the mirror because you’re about to burn up!”
I also understand the fickleness of human nature. One of the most amazing stories in the Bible illustrating human fickleness and foolishness is the story of David when he had to run from King Saul. David who, though running from the “king”, was the true king though he was not sitting on the throne—YET. While he ran from Saul many good men who had been pushed to the margins because of Saul’s wickedness, came to David. David led them through some perilous times. They loved David and appreciated his leadership very much. But while they were following David in the wilderness, they had a setback. Their home base, their city Ziklag, was attacked while they were following David. They came home one day to find their wealth and their wives GONE. Their city had been raided! Upon hearing this news, these men, the same men who loved David because he gave them HOPE, talked of stoning David.
I tell you this story as a warning. Am I afraid of you not following me because it will hurt my ego? No. I am afraid for YOU. I am telling you in absolutely no uncertain terms, if you do not follow me in this physical world, you have approximately zero chance of being with Christ in the fast-approaching spiritual world. And even IF you can kick up your heels against me and still end up in Bliss, you will have caused unnecessary reproach on the name of Christ. The Jews need to see our family “horse” walking orderly along our parade route. ORDERLY.
Corona is child’s play compared to what we will be going through. This is just a primer, a warm up, the ABCs and the 1-2-3s of our future education. We must use Corona is a wake-up call to teach us how to handle and conduct ourselves in a REAL crisis. We must learn how to manage resources, deal with stress, etc. Corona is NOTHING, yet. I just saw where this could be mutating to become more violent. It will have to become much more violent to be “biblical.”
But the most important thing we must learn from Corona is to TRUST THE LORD. It is going to take a truly HOLY BOLDNESS to get through what we must plow through. Human strength and hope will NOT suffice. The only way through what lies ahead of us is TRUST—IN THE LORD. Please allow me to share some verses with you to engender an even deeper faith and trust in the Lord. I know you have faith because you believe the simple truth about Baptism and Communion. But this faith shall be tested and refined by fire. Your main and primary attitude must be that of Job’s when he said, “When I come through the fire of God’s testing I will come forth as pure gold.” I doubt any man, other than Christ, has ever been tested to the degree Job was tested. We should listen to his advice!
Isaiah, the prophet, quotes God as saying (43:1-2), “I am the God who formed you; fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the deep waters, I will be with you; and through the rushing rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the blazing fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Why? BECAUSE I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD!”
Peter states that the testing of our faith is a most precious thing. But I want you to have a proper perspective on what you are about to go through. I can best explain this by quoting some verses from Hosea (5:15-6:1): “I (God) will return to My place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.” YOU are going through this not only because ALL who have true faith are tested to make their faith stronger and purer, but YOU are going through this, in part, because of the Jews’ stubbornness.
The distress which has descended upon the world is beginning to devour us not just as a punishment on an unbelieving world, WHICH DESERVES EVERYTHING COMING ITS WAY FOR ITS CALLOUS UNBELIEF AND FOR ITS EXTREME SELFISH FOOLISHNESS, but also to bring the Jew back to Christ. This misery will continue until the Jews, en masse, say, “Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down, and he will bind us up.”
God is killing two birds with one stone! With this coming distress He is driving the unbelieving Gentiles into Hell and driving the future-believing Jews into Heaven. And THIS is where YOU come in. And THIS is THE REASON for my ministry. The Jews MUST humble themselves to the writings of Martin Luther. This is the reason for the website I created more than twenty years ago—www.askluther.com. And when they have humbled themselves to the teachings of Christ, they must see YOU walking according to these teachings. Capish?
I am quite aware that most of you, probably all of you, do not feel up to such a daunting task. If you truly think about it you must feel overwhelmed and afraid. You feel too weak for such a herculean task. That’s okay! God will inhabit your weakness and fear. But you must live and aspire to what the prophet Joel said (3:10), “Let the weak say, ‘I AM A WARRIOR!’” YOU, my beloved family, MUST consider yourselves invincible and mighty warriors for Christ! YOU ARE WARRIORS whether you realize it or not! Put your helmet on—faith in Communion—and strap your sword on—the Word of God—and stand firm ready to chop off heads, so to speak. YOU ARE A WARRIOR!
To encourage you, God has made me a living, breathing object lesson for you to prove to you His goodness! What do I mean? God has induced me to be EXCEEDINGLY GENEROUS toward you. EXCEEDINGLY. I have even jeopardized my future and financial health for you. I have risked not having enough money to live out my life, for you. Why? Because God wanted me to be an inspiration to you, to indicate to you, that He is good! He is FAR MORE GENEROUS than I am! My generosity was meant by Him to encourage you to trust in HIS GENEROSITY as you plow your way through His mission and war. He will provide for us. He will be good to us even in the worst of times! HE WILL. GOD IS TRULY GOOD.
Let me try to wrap this up. Debbie is upset this is taking so long; she prayed for a letter; she dreamed about a letter—not a book! I want to encourage you by one other means. I desire that you develop a true spiritual vision. You know, just seeing God provide for you as you experience a humanly impossible situation is one thing. But I want your spiritual eyes to be opened to see the REALITY of our situation. Daniel put it best (12:3): “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”
This is an enticement to see things from an eternal perspective. You know, the Christian does not serve God for reward, but God uses rewards as a small incentive to follow Him. This is akin to a father telling his young boy, “If you get an A in math I will buy you a new bike.” Is the new bike going to be the primary incentive for the boy to get an A in math. No! A bad boy can be incentivized to do almost NOTHING. Fact is, the father is mostly relying on the good training the boy has received. The new bike is just a small piece of the whole dynamic. In like manner, God works His good training in our spirits, but He also encourages us with other enticements. He offers us crowns and future cities to rule; He offers us Heaven; and He offers us many other good things. But these promises are just small aids to help us along our journey.
So here, Daniel is saying: “Because you believed and trusted in the simple Word of God as regards Baptism and Communion, you are wise. And because of this wisdom you have been GIVEN because you assented to His will in the matter of the salvation of your soul, you will shine as brightly and beautifully as the purest blue sky you have ever seen! BUT, if you work to turn others to the truth you have found, you will shine like brilliant stars in that same beautiful sky! FOREVER.”
For nearly twenty-five years my message has been consistent: “We are living in the time when Christ said, “Will there be faith on the earth when I return?” This question of His requires the resounding answer, ‘NO!’ We are living at a time just as Noah lived in. This is a time when true faith boiled down to just one, single family. One, single family was the fountain of faith for the New World after the Flood. In like manner, we are that single, Noah-like family, from which faith will be passed along to the Jews.”
And how will this faith be passed along? The same way I have passed it onto you. It is the same message I received from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, which message means precious little to them in these last days. The Message: THIS IS MY BODY; THIS IS MY BLOOD; GIVEN TO YOU FOR THE REMISSION AND FORGIVENESS OF YOUR, YOUR, YOUR SINS! BELIEVE THIS AND BE SAVED! BELIEVE IT IN THE SIMPLEST OF WAYS AND BE SAVED. BELIEVE IT WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT ADDING WORKS TO IT AND WATCH THIS BELIEF CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Christ is using YOU to build His Church! Nothing can stop the building of His Church. Even if you quit Him, He will continue to build His Church. He will simply find another to take your place. But I know you will not quit Him. Besides, you should be honored that you are being used by the God of the universe, the God Who created you, and the God who died for you, to do great and mighty things in the last of Last Times. I am excited! My whole life, and particularly the last twenty-five years of my life, has been in preparation for this very moment.
Almost twenty-five years ago, while in my spa on Indian Forest Drive, I breathed out a prayer: “COME LORD JESUS.” There is absolutely no doubt that the prayers of all true Christians who have prayed this prayer since the Apostle John first prayed it 2,000 years ago, are bouncing off me and being redirected en masse heavenward. All those prayers have taken refuge in me, and I, in turn, have sent them to Heaven as supporting evidence for my prayer. I have known all along that it is my prayer for His return, in particular, that will precipitate His Coming.
The stress of some of the womenfolk of our family is growing high. Just be calm and know that you have been called to this time of trouble. You will be provided for. AND remember that for twenty years now I have warned you that what we are going to go through will be terrifying to our flesh. Did Noah and his family make it? Were they terrified as they felt and heard the earth break apart into the continents, the mountains whirl up from beneath them causing giant waves they had to ride out? Of course they were. Can you imagine how busy Noah was calming and comforting his family? Do you think that maybe he said something like, “If you guys don’t quit bitching I’m going to open that little window and push you out of it myself!” Am I a better man than Noah? Am I as patient as Noah?
Just remember the facts: In the will of God, you are INVINCIBLE! You cannot be harmed—not even one single {gray} hair on your head! Of course, we should not act foolishly just because we are under the protection and provision of God. But we must in faith know, believe and practice the truth that no matter how many are destroyed on our left and on our right, we will be preserved (Psalm 91:7). And we are COMMANDED to “NOT BE AFRAID OF SUDDEN TERROR OR OF THE RUIN OF THE WICKED, WHEN IT COMES, FOR THE LORD WILL BE YOUR CONFIDENCE AND WILL KEEP YOUR FOOT FROM BEING CAUGHT.”
Also, it is VERY IMPORTANT to me that you not pray for these people. Do not even feel sorry for them! Your attitude should be the same as God’s attitude is toward them. Are you better than God? Are you a better Christian than Christ? Here is what God’s attitude toward them is: “Because you have ignored the truth about baptism and communion and you have paid no attention to the Ten Commandments, I also will LAUGH at your calamity and misery; I will mock you when terror strikes you. I will laugh at you and mock you when terror strikes you like a storm and when your trouble and calamity come upon you like a tornado. When people who I have been beyond patient with pray to me, I will not answer them. When they look for me diligently they will not find Me. Because they hated Truth and did not choose to live respectfully before me, I shall show them great disrespect and contempt!” (Proverbs 1:27)
I love you all. It has been and is my great delight, the crowning achievement of my life, to have prepared you for our Journey.