Leaving Church and Finding God E-Book

Markus Nann

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 420

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they (followers of Jesus) may have life, and have it to the full (in abundance, fullness). (John 10:10) How can we experience this fullness Jesus spoke about in this life? How can we successfully and permanently prevent or combat this robbery, murder, and destruction by the enemy? How can injured, hopeless and disappointed people find salvation and freedom? The author chose to answer these and other important questions by writing an exciting non-fiction novel rather than a study guide. On the natural level, you will see how our main character, Romana Meier, discovers subconscious religious yokes and false teachings. With the help of God and her new friends, she is set free to experience a powerful, fulfilled life of freedom in Jesus Christ. The book sheds light on why there are so many problems in today's churches and congregations, and what distinguishes these organizations from the original early Christian community of believers. You will also find out how this relates to the flight of wild geese. On the supernatural level, two high-ranking representatives of the satanic realm meet on the way to the Success Conference of their Great Leader of Darkness. Coming from their assigned territorial earthly realm, they exchange ideas and boast about their achievements. Everything seems to go according to plan until they meet an invincible opponent.

Leseprobe

Inhalt

A Rude Awakening

From the Frying Pan into the Fire

An Enjoyable Outing

Pleasant Encounters

The Clergy Calls

The Ultimatum

The Decision

Let There Be Light

Unexpected Events

Living in Freedom

Appendix

Keyword Index

INTRODUCTION

In John 10:10, Jesus Christ says: The thief (Satan) comes only to steal, to kill and destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they (His disciples/followers) may have life and have it to the full (fullness/abundance).

I do not know any Christian believer who does not yearn for this life of abundance that Jesus promised. And yet hardly anyone seems to actually experience such abundance. When asked about possible reasons for this, most people mention two main causes. Some say that the “evil, fallen world” is to blame and that therefore the abundance described by Jesus can only be experienced in heaven. Others see the “lack of faith” of individual Christians, nurturing of hidden sins, bitterness, or unwillingness to be reconciled as the reason.

It is true that the above-mentioned reasons are correct and have negative effects. But after years of research and my own experience, I have come to the conclusion that there is another, very important reason for this circumstance, namely:

The influence of the teachings and works of the Nicolaitans.

Perhaps you have never heard of Nicolaitans. The story of “Romana” can help you to recognize the teachings and works of the Nicolaitans mentioned in the Bible in Revelation, chapter 2, and expose their negative influence.

This book was written with the sole aim of revealing the system and false teachings of today’s Nicolaitans, as well as the destructive effects they have on Christians. I hope it will help readers see that they can get out of this religious prison into the freedom and fullness that Jesus Christ intended for us.

It is definitely not my desire to attack or condemn anyone, but to lead all Christians worldwide into the unity of Jesus Christ, just as he himself prayed to the Father in John 17. Many faithful and devoted Christians unwittingly and with the best intentions support and spread the teachings and promote the works of the Nicolaitans. I myself did this for a long time, until God taught me certain lessons which inspired this book.

As mentioned on the book cover, this book is a ‘non-fiction novel’, i.e. a novel (fiction) based on facts (real events). It takes place on two levels.

On the natural level, you will see how our main character, Romana Meier, discovers unconscious religious yokes and false teachings. With the help of God and her new friends, she is set free to experience a powerful, fulfilled life of freedom in Jesus Christ.

On the supernatural level, two high-ranking representatives of the satanic realm meet on the way to the Success Conference of their Great Leader of Darkness. Coming from their assigned territorial earthly realm, they exchange ideas and boast about their achievements. Everything seems to go according to plan until they meet an invincible opponent.

In chapters 1 to 9, the events taking place in the unseen realm are inserted into the respective chapter. These events contain a great amount of information. If this level of information becomes too much for you to read, feel free to only read the part dealing with the visible realm. This will not cause you to miss the most important key messages of this book, and you can still read the relevant, additional information at a later time if desired.

No matter how you read this exciting non-fiction novel, I pray that as you read it, you will be guided entirely by the Holy Spirit, and that He may lead you into His, rather than my liberating truth.

The conclusions found in this book do not correspond with the general view of modern Christianity. However, Christians searching and reading the Scriptures for themselves are becoming increasingly aware of these conclusions. The largest “denomination” at the moment is that of free Christians, in other words, Christians not involved in any “Nicolaitan system”.

This book provides an opportunity to examine the biblical validity of current Christian church structures. With the Word of God and the Holy Spirit as your guides, you as the reader can decide for yourself and before the Lord how you want to continue to live your Christian life.

1. A Rude Awakening

Romana stood in front of her bathroom mirror and pondered whether to wear the blue necklace her grandma had given her, or rather the turquoise, modern one. She had been looking forward to this evening for some time. She planned to thoroughly enjoy the live musical ‘Cats’ at the local theatre with her two co-workers. The blue one matches better; she told her mirror image with a mischievous wink. She quickly tossed her long and slightly curly blond hair back over her shoulders.

At age 35, she did not wish to continue to dress like a twenty-year-old. She would leave that up to her two younger friends. I wonder if they will be on time today. Once again Romana caught herself having motherly feelings for her two co-workers. At the hospital where they worked together as a team of nurses, she kept a watchful eye on the two young women. She actually enjoyed looking after and helping them. Since she was gifted in this area, it was a joy rather than a burden for her.

Romana was quite satisfied with her life. She loved her profession as a nurse, and it allowed her enough free time to actively participate in her church. Next to her job, this volunteer work was important to her. She helped with the 4- to 6-year-old children’s Sunday school, and regularly volunteered to serve in the church cafeteria.

Romana left the bathroom and, as she entered the hallway, looked at her brother’s family photo which she had hung there two weeks ago. The photo showed her brother Daniel, who was two years older than she, his wife Susanne, who was the same age as he, their 7-year-old son Rick, and their 4-year-old daughter Antje. All of them were dressed up in Santa Claus costumes on the photo. They lived in the suburb in a modern and tastefully furnished house.

Her brother was energetic, tall, and physically fit and enjoyed a very successful career as vice director of an IT company, where he was designated to become successor to the company owner. He was a gifted leader who quickly detected when something was wrong in any organization. He had frequently identified such deficiencies when Romana related certain incidents at her church or her work which she couldn’t make sense of.

Thinking about her brother and his family always evoked mixed feelings in Romana.

On the one hand, she very much enjoyed their company and spending time with them. On the other hand, however, it bothered her that her brother openly showed his aversion to her convictions concerning her faith. Contrary to her, Daniel and his family were completely ‘worldly’, and there was no indication whatsoever that this would ever change. This caused Romana quite a bit of frustration. She had repeatedly tried to lead them to Christ, but so far all of her efforts had failed. Her brother would listen without interrupting her while putting on a superior smile which infuriated her and often caused her to lose her train of thought. When she was finished talking, he would present the same points of criticism she had never been able to refute. Sometimes these points of criticism had caused her own faith to waver. Out of frustration, she had given up her efforts to convert her brother and his family about six months ago. This resulted in a definite reduction of tension in their relationship.

“I really have to go now, or else I will be the one arriving late,” she said aloud and interrupted her thoughts about her brother’s family.

She hurriedly put on her shoes and coat, made sure she had her mobile phone, and checked her supply of tissues. She could never watch such romantic performances without shedding some tears.

Satisfied that she was well prepared, she was now ready for an enjoyable evening.

She opened the door of her apartment, ran down the steps, and hurried to the nearby bus stop where the bus was about to take off. She entered the bus slightly out of breath and took a free seat in the back. I made it on time! she thought with relief. She barely sat down when the bus started moving to take her to the theatre.

*

At that same moment, the angel prince of Helvetia1 rose from his throne in the invisible realm. A messenger had just handed him a summons by the Great Leader of Darkness2 to appear at the upcoming Success Conference. He rose from his throne every time the Great Leader of Darkness was mentioned in order to honour him, even without the Great Leader’s actual presence.

Malicious happiness filled him as he remembered the last Success Conference. He clearly recalled every word of the Great Leader’s brilliantly diabolical speech. He had memorized it and repeated it again and again to himself and his underlings. His face was distorted into a wicked grimace as he repeated the speech once more:

“We cannot directly prevent humans to live in fellowship with the ONE (Jesus Christ). We also cannot prevent them from reading their Bibles and from knowing the truth. We cannot even keep them from experiencing a genuine relationship with the ONE and safety in HIM. If they live in connection with HIM, we lose all power over them. Let them gather, let them think that participation in one of these religious programs is service to HIM. Let them keep their lifestyles but steal their time so they will not be able to invest time in their relationship with HIM. That is what I want you to do, you angels of darkness. Distract them from the secure position they have through close fellowship with their redeemer.”

“How shall we do that?” the angels of darkness had shrieked excitedly, willing to follow the Great Leader’s command. He had answered them with a cruel grin and deep malice:

“Keep them busy with the unimportant things of life and find countless possibilities to fill their minds with trivial things! Direct their minds toward greed, to crave things, to buy, buy, buy, to get into debt! Convince wives they must work many long hours. Men should work 6 to 7 days a week, and at least 10 to 12 hours a day, so they can afford a luxurious, empty lifestyle, and will no longer have time for marriage and family! Proceed in the same manner with all single people. They must work so much that they will have no more time for relationships, least of all with the ONE! You must keep parents from spending time with their children. As soon as their families are broken, their homes will no longer provide any protection or refuge from the stress of work. Overstimulate their minds so they cannot hear the voice of the ONE. Bombard them with our kind of music at home, while driving, and while shopping. Lure them into watching hours of TV or other media. Make sure that what they listen to and watch is guiding them towards our goals. Every store, every restaurant must follow this agenda. This will block their minds and spirits and break their fellowship with HIM.

Cover their breakfast tables with magazines and newspapers. Weigh them down with bad news. Outside, flood them with billboards. Stuff their mailboxes with thick catalogues, advertisements for lotteries, and multiple kinds of brochures filled with empty promises. Put skinny and beautiful women on title pages so men will think outer beauty is the essential thing. Let them become dissatisfied with their wives. This will quickly destroy families! Completely fill up their leisure time. They must do things to excess, and return to work exhausted, unfulfilled and unprepared for the week ahead!

Don’t let them enjoy nature! That could make them think about the ONE and HIS miracles! Instead, send them to amusement parks, sports events, concerts, and movies. They must be continually busy, busy, busy!

When they meet for spiritual fellowship, make sure they engage in gossip and empty talk, so that they go home with a guilty conscience and bad feelings. When they are involved in missionary work, keep them so busy with their mission that they have no time to receive power and strength from the ONE. They will work in their own strength and lose their health and their families. It will work! It will definitely work!”3

It was a perfect meeting. The angels of darkness went wholeheartedly to their task to introduce this new normality of hurried urgency and full agendas to humanity, especially to Christians.

The angel prince of Helvetia was very successful in implementing this strategy. He had surpassed the goal set by the Great Leader of Darkness at the recent conference.

He had even gained favour with the mighty spirit Mammon4 and was now able to use the powerful medium of material wealth to secure control over the economy, then over politics and the media, and finally the population.

With the aid of his dark angels, also known as demons, he destroyed more and more humans in his territory through stress, burnout, and exhaustion. He brought some of them to the point of self-destruction and suicide. In addition, many people now suffered increasingly from unemployment. The number of people affected by his strategy was rapidly growing. It even began to have powerful effects on those humans officially belonging to the ONE.

His chief delight was that people failed to recognize his scheme and lost their awareness of his presence. This made it easier for him to lead them into bondage.

Of course, his great accomplishments did not go unnoticed by the dark kingdom, and his reward was that he was given the task to train numerous comrades from other nations. Thus, his system spread into many more countries, which facilitated the fast expansion of darkness among the earth’s population.

Diabolically pleased, he watched people from his high seat above the banking centre. Oh yes, he had entirely fulfilled the goal of the Great Leader. Indeed, he had surpassed his expectations in a very short amount of time. He was already looking forward to the next conference at the headquarters of the Great Leader of Darkness.

*

Romana was perplexed about people, and somehow even about God. Just last night she had enthusiastically told her co-workers how wonderful her church was. And now this! After that talk with her pastor, Martin Kimm, she felt almost like a criminal. She still couldn’t understand those accusations that she betrayed her church and didn’t submit.

No, she thought, that simply cannot be true. I have properly communicated my absence from Sunday school, as well as from the cafeteria.

She sat down under a cherry tree on her favourite park bench. The tree was in full bloom and a feast for the eyes. Romana was still too upset to enjoy the warm sunshine and the lovely fragrance of spring. She didn’t notice the beauty of the park or the awesome view of the Alps on the horizon. Poor Lorena, she thought and sighed. Lorena had recently moved into town after her divorce. She was experiencing a severe life crisis. Romana felt that she should care for her new acquaintance and show her Christian love. Romana’s friendliness really ministered to Lorena and helped her to slowly but surely come through the crisis. She gained a new hopeful outlook on life and began to open her heart to God. Yes, Romana could indeed help her. Lorena wanted to learn more about God and the Christian faith.

And now this! Such accusations! And coming from her beloved fellow Christians, whom she had blindly trusted up to now and would have vouched for unreservedly.

“Hello Romana!” A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. Romana looked up and saw Lorena coming toward her. Before she could decide what to say, Lorena greeted her with exuberant joy.

“Hello Romana,” she said again. “I have great news. I was able to talk to my supervisor and change my work schedule at ‘Home Care’ next month. Now I will be able to come to church with you three times! Isn’t that great?”

“Oh..., yes..., that is great,” Romana answered with a slightly pained expression and without any real excitement.

“What’s wrong?” Lorena asked concerned.

“Well, today after the service, my pastor confronted me. He said the he and the elders were seriously concerned about my behaviour. They felt I had been unreliable and rebellious.”

“I don’t understand! You have been so involved and always helped so much.”

“That’s what I thought too. But apparently they don’t think so.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” Romana said sadly. “I was too shocked to ask. I stood there feeling devastated, thinking I must be having a bad dream.” “Like a rude awakening?”

“Exactly, that is how it felt.”

“Do you know what I think? The whole thing must be a misunderstanding. I’m sure you can clear that up in a calm talk with the pastor.” Lorena gently placed her arm on Romana’s shoulder.

“Why don’t you come with me to my place? I have to pick Damaris up from day care. Afterwards we can eat something together,” Lorena suggested.

“Invitation accepted,” Romana answered, feeling a little better.

Upon their arrival at the day care, Damaris greeted them joyfully. After saying goodbye to the day care staff, they headed to Lorena’s apartment. Lorena and her 5-year-old daughter lived in a modern apartment only two blocks away from where Romana lived. The bright and tastefully furnished rooms were flooded with midday sunlight and provided a pleasant atmosphere.

Lorena went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, while Damaris showed Romana her room. The furniture was practical and pretty, including some brightly coloured floor cushions fitting for children and adults to sit on. Romana sat down and watched Damaris select toys and dolls for them to play with. She liked playing with the cute little girl and began to forget her troubles and problems.

Soon lunch was ready, and they enjoyed a delicious meal of risotto and a fresh seasonal salad. For dessert Lorena served some wonderful homemade tiramisu. Aromatic South American coffee for the two ladies, and apple cider for Damaris completed the lovely meal.

1 Helvetia, Latin name for Switzerland

2 Great Leader of Darkness: Satan, also called Devil.

3 Source: https://www.navigators.org/satans-agenda/.

4 Spirit of mammon (demon) the term Mammon borrowed from Aramaic נָא ֹמוָמmāmōnā, an emphatic form of the word māmōn wealth, profit. It has been suggested that the Aramaic word māmōn was a loanword from Mishnaic Hebrew ן וממ(mamôn) meaning money wealth, or possessions; although it may also have meant "that in which one trusts" (Source: Wikipedia)

2. From the Frying Pan into the Fire

Romana sat on her favourite park bench and was so deeply in thought that she did not notice that someone was standing in front of her.

After Romana showed no reaction, the woman cleared her throat. “Hello Romana!” At last Romana looked up and recognized her new co-worker Simona. Simona had not been working at the hospital long enough to have worked the same shift as Romana. They had only met briefly at a monthly meeting when all new employees were introduced.

Simona was a petite woman with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. Her clothes could be described as slightly conservative. Somehow the style seemed perfect for her and enhanced her attractive looks. Her whole appearance was very pleasant.

“I found this set of keys by the fountain over there. Does it belong to you by any chance?” Simona asked with her clear warm voice while pointing to the fountain at the park entrance.

Romana immediately recognized her keys. On the one hand she was thankful to Simona, but on the other hand she was embarrassed and a little irritated because she would have preferred to be alone at the moment. In her present condition she really didn’t want to meet anyone, especially not a co-worker.

“Yes, those are mine,” she answered briefly and with a slightly bitter undertone.

“Well, in that case, I am happy to return them to you.” Simona’s voice was still soft and warm. She looked directly into Romana’s eyes. Romana was somehow annoyed by her manner.

“Thank you,” she said a little flippant and, placing the keys into her purse, turned away from Simona. She purposely busied herself, hoping not to have to talk to Simona any longer.

“You are welcome. Have a nice day!” Simona answered pleasantly and began to continue her way to the lake.

“You too. Thank you. Sorry, I am a bit confused today!” Romana blurted out after a short pause. She was surprised and aggravated at the same time to have revealed more about herself to Simona than she had planned.

“I hope I am not the reason that you are confused,” Simona answered and turned toward Romana again.

“No, you are not the reason,” Romana reassured her quickly. “It is, well…” She pressed her lips together and frantically tried to think of something to say. She couldn’t very well say nothing now. She had already said too much for that. But she also didn’t want to tell the whole story. She felt her heart beating faster and found herself blushing.

Simona, who had noticed this, asked Romana directly: “Would you like to talk about it?”

“I’m not sure,” Romana answered but found herself continuing. “I had a pretty bad evening yesterday and couldn’t sleep well. I am glad that I am off work today and can recover a little here in the park.”

“What was so bad last night?” Simona inquired.

“I normally meet once a week with friends to spend time and share about some things,” Romana began.

“Are you a Christian?” Simona asked frankly while looking intensely into Romana’s eyes.

“What makes you think that?” Romana asked slightly embarrassed. “The way you talk and try to find the right words to make me understand without getting specific. I know that kind of talk, especially from us Christians.”

“Us Christians? Does that mean that you are also a Christian?” “You guessed it. I am.” Simona laughed heartily and looked like a child caught in some kind of mischief.

“But now back to you. What was it that happened last night and still bothers you today?”

“We were having our regular homegroup meeting. During that meeting I was confronted with accusations, and in a way and manner I would have never expected,” Romana told her.

“One thing at a time,” Simona said emphatically and sat down next to Romana.

“Without additional guests and when everyone participates, we are usually a group of ten people. Last night, everyone was present, and we had no guests. Our meeting took place at the Meiser’s house. Hans Meiser is one of the elders5 in our church. It seemed to me as if Hans and his wife Hilde greeted me with an unusually cold expression. I didn't pay much attention to it because I thought maybe they just had a difficult day. After the welcome, we normally begin with a short spiritual input. Then we sing some praise songs. But yesterday it was very different. Hans opened the meeting by saying that he had an important conversation with our pastor, and that he was given the task of helping a member of his homegroup to get back on the right track. The others looked at each other in dismay and with questioning glances. After a short silence, he announced that the church leadership was very disappointed that I had been neglecting the church,” Romana finished with a heavy sigh.

“Have you done that?” Simona asked.

“I'm not sure anymore. Until last Sunday, I would have answered with a certain no. But last Sunday after the church service, our pastor, Martin Kimm, approached me and told me that I had neglected the church and had not properly submitted. I was shocked and speechless. After a reassuring conversation with a new friend who thought the whole thing must be a misunderstanding, I hoped until last night I could clear things up again on the coming Sunday.”

“And what happened next?” Simona asked.

“Hans explained how important it was that all of us made serving the church the highest priority because the kingdom of God is built through it. It is not for us to decide when to be available and when not.”

“Wow! What did you say then?”

“I replied that I did not neglect my ministry but had felt led to help someone instead. As a result, I was accused of not being properly submitted to the leadership, and of having a rebellious spirit. He said, they are ordained as leaders by God, and therefore I must submit to them.”

“What was the reason you decided not to serve as they expected?”

“I reduced some of my time spent at church and turned down some requests for additional duties because I wanted to help a new friend. Because of that, I am now being accused of showing too little commitment to the church and weakening it,” Romana said downcast.

“How do you see the whole matter?” Simona wanted to know.

“I don't understand it. I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore. I don't know what to do,” Romana replied, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Well, I can’t say that I understand everything that happened, but I think the basic problem lies elsewhere.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“In my opinion, you behaved as you should and according to your understanding of how to be a good Christian.”

“I thought so too. Each Sunday we are told how important it is to practically demonstrate our Christian faith in our everyday lives and by our behaviour,” Romana agreed.

“I think that what the leadership of your church means by that and what you understood that to mean, are two different things,” Simona said.

“What do you mean?”

“It is quite simple,” Simona explained. “Imagine, two football fields with different dimensions and boundaries. You are playing on your field and are completely convinced that you are playing correctly and within the limits of the field. You are playing fair and according to appropriate rules. Suddenly, the referee confronts you. In our example that would be people from your church leadership team. They give you a yellow card and tell you to immediately stop playing outside the boundaries of the field. They feel you are breaking the rules, and that you should observe the restrictions set by them. I think this is what happened in your case. You were completely convinced that you behaved correctly as a Christian. Therefore, you started to take action without first asking the leadership for permission. Motivated by Christian love, you have taken care of your new friend and helped her. From your point of view, you were playing correctly on the field and did the right thing. From their point of view, however, you were outside of the field with your behaviour, because their playing field is limited to your church. This had to lead to conflict. Since no clear boundaries had been communicated, you are no longer sure what is correct and permissible, and at what times and in which places things are allowed. It seems to you that you could never get it right. Especially not if you use resources that you have previously made available to your church.”

“Maybe you're right. But why couldn't they explain this to me the way you just did? I can understand your arguments, and the example of the different-sized playing fields helped me. What hurt me the most was the way Hans confronted me and accused me in front of the whole group without me being in the least prepared for it.”

“I can understand that well. I can only guess why this happened the way it did. I think they assumed that you see the boundaries of the field the same way they do, and they can’t accept that you can't understand and see that. And secondly, I think they just can't help it,” Simona said, looking at her watch.

“Oh, how time flies,” she said, slightly startled. “I have to leave soon, because I work late shift today. If you want, we can still pray together and meet again tomorrow.”

“Yes, very much,” Romana replied through tears.

They prayed together, and Simona prayed for Romana, that she might find peace despite her situation and recognize the will of God. Simona then left to go to work.

Romana stayed in the park for a while trying to let the wonderful view and spring air soothe the upheaval in her heart. She finally went home a little more at peace.

*

At the summons of the Great Leader of Darkness, the angel prince of Helvetia, set out at once for the Success Conference. On his way, he met the mighty demon Angstius. Going along, they got into a lively conversation about all the things they had achieved since their last face-to-face meeting. This had been at the time when the ANCIENT and the ONE6 had inflicted a severe defeat on them, and initially they had feared that this meant the end of their dominion on earth.

“Hail, Angstius, you mighty spirit of fear!”

“Hail to you also, angel prince of Helvetia, you mighty ruler over the land of money worship!”

“How long ago is it since we last talked?” Angstius asked his demonic companion.

“No, no, no! Please don’t remind me of that event!”

“What is the matter? What event are you talking about?”

“Is it possible that you don’t remember this?” the angel prince of Helvetia asked. His face had become pale and rigid with horror.

“It was when the ONE died on the cross of Calvary. Then, in the temple of the ANCIENT, the curtain tore apart from top to bottom. The earth shook and mountains split apart. Some graves opened, and those who had done the will of the ANCIENT rose up and went into the city and appeared to many. The ONE had completely stripped us, taken away our power, and thereby humiliated us before all heavenly beings. We had to march in HIS parade, we lost our terrible power and we...” 7

“No, no, no! Stop it immediately!” Angstius shouted with a frightened expression.

After a brief silence, the face of the angelic prince of Helvetia darkened again to its normal colour, and he began to speak.

“Yes, at the time we thought this meant definite defeat. But our diabolical Great Leader of Darkness led us step by step back to our positions, and since then we have greatly expanded our power and influence on earth over those souls.”

“And how cleverly he accomplished it!” Angstius said with a vicious grin. “The ONE had made the greatest mistake once in Paradise, when He gave our power into the hands of His own8. He didn't seem to realise that they couldn't handle it.”

“Yes, exactly. This made it easy for us to recover our diminished power. We simply had to seize it. It was still in the same place as before our disempowerment.”

Angstius screamed ecstatically: “It's just diabogenial9 how our Great Leader of Darkness did this! Another highlight of his plan was the strategy of twisting words and corrupting their true meaning. In this way we were able to bring people more and more into captivity, which is in our favour.”

“How exactly do you mean that?” the angelic prince of Helvetia inquired with ghastly agitation in his voice.

“Well, it’s quite simple!” replied Angstius. “For example, we have succeeded in ensuring that the term ‘heart’ used in the Book of the ANCIENT10 is no longer understood to be the mind and clear thinking, but rather to be only about emotions. As a result, people act much more based on their emotions instead of their minds. Since we can manipulate people's emotions much easier than their minds, this is to our advantage.”

“Exactly!” the angelic prince of Helvetia agreed. “We were also able to change other terms in our favour. For example, we have replaced the term 'abortion' with the word ‘termination'. Within a legal time period, a child is not considered to be a person, but simply a lump of cells, although everyone knows that a child is a person from the moment of procreation and already looks like one after only a few weeks. It no longer bothers people to kill an unborn human in the womb, because they now see this as an easy, sensible and good solution. They choose to believe that only an unwanted clump of cells is removed.”

“Exactly,” Angstius replied. “This has allowed us to destroy an important stronghold of the ANCIENT. Humans are clearly willing to murder without scruples. We only had to adjust the name to ‘late termination’ for it to agree with their conscience. We also came up with an innocent-sounding term for killing the elderly and the sick, by calling it ‘euthanasia’ or ‘medically assisted suicide’. They now believe and loudly proclaim that they are benefactors, but they are simply murdering people under our control. They are dreadfully stupid, ha ha...”

“Fantastic!” the angelic prince of Helvetia shouted with evil satisfaction. “They murder and violate the commandments of the ANCIENT without even being aware of it. Indeed, they are boosting our power with these blood sacrifices, which are being offered in ever greater numbers on the altar of humanism. This bloodshed greatly strengthens our dark legions. With this additional force, we can close access to heaven even more firmly, so that the state of humanity will continue to deteriorate.”

“And best of all is that they blame the ANCIENT and the ONE!” Angstius replied wickedly.

“Another very important milestone was the integration of festivals described in the book of the ANCIENT into our own feasts. Now they celebrate these as the most important festivals of the year, and even think they are worshipping and pleasing the ANCIENT and the ONE. The feasts contain many rituals and symbols that serve the worship of the Great Leader of Darkness. They love to spend much time and money on these demonic rituals, which plays into our hands!”

“What kind of celebrations for example?” Angstius inquired.

“We have succeeded in moving the commemoration of the birth of the ONE to the date of our celebration of the winter solstice, called Christmas11. This is a very important bonus for us, because instead of the birth of the ONE, now the feast of the invincible sun god is celebrated worldwide and honours him.”

“How viciously clever!” Angstius was thrilled. “In this way, humanity is actually celebrating our Great Leader of Darkness, called Satan, Lucifer, Seducer, and Deceiver in the ANCIENT’s book.”

“Exactly!” replied the angelic prince of Helvetia. “The vast majority of people have no idea that our forces are extremely active during those days. Satan worshippers and witches honour December 25. It is one of our most exciting holidays. They celebrate and observe rituals throughout the night and offer sacrifices. We have managed to achieve the highest rate of suicides and human casualties of the year at Christmas, a fact that might alert people to research the true origin of Christmas if they cared enough to check. The second big festival we were able to change is Easter. Here, we cleverly transformed the original Passover feast into Easter, the feast of devotion to the Queen of Heaven, Astarte or Ishtar. On Easter, Astarte was revered as the Queen of Heaven by much of humanity even before the incarnation of the ONE. Now, His followers actually perform the rituals for Astarte.”12

“Yes, you are absolutely right,” Angstius replied with devilish glee. “Back then it was much more difficult for us to persuade people. It took nearly 230 years after the death of the ONE. His followers initially strongly rejected our interpretations, and they had great influence worldwide.”

“Indeed! Today, we are much more efficient,” the angel prince of Helvetia agreed enthusiastically. “There were also situations where we had to react quickly because we were caught on the wrong foot. I am thinking of carnival. In the Middle Ages, some Franciscan monks had tried to convince people to turn back to the path of the ANCIENT and the ONE by portraying the ugliness of sin by way of this fool’s play.13 Lucky for us, it backfired, and instead of being put off, people actually loved it and understood it as encouragement for immoral behaviour.”

“Yes indeed, in this case we were very lucky,” Angstius remarked. “I was personally involved in this matter at the time. Our Great Leader of Darkness quickly came up with the right strategy. He instructed us to resort to the festivities of the Babylonian fertility rites and thereby cause people to enjoy the darkness. This is very helpful because today, more and more carnival14 festivities and carnival events are actually held in places dedicated to the ANCIENT and the ONE. Thus, they celebrate our Great Leader of Darkness and worship him unwittingly as God through their actions.”

“Oh Yes!” the angelic prince of Helvetia exclaimed. “We were able to use our many years of experience with religion15. Through religion we can bind people to systems. Even people who came into freedom through the message of the ONE can be bound again through this. Thus, they are no longer dangerous to us and our intentions. They would have the power to change the world if they actually took the authority given to them by the ONE, but they are so blinded by religion that they think their objective is to make it to heaven by acting nicely.”

“That's so true!” Angstius scornfully roared. “I was present at the launch and worked on the training team. Our task was to deceive people through the catechism system. We succeeded quite easily because people did not care to remember the origin of the word catechism, which actually means ‘sounding from above, resounding, idolizing, enchanting’. We caused them to believe it means ‘teaching’, and they gladly accepted our false interpretation. Now they think they are teaching, when they are actually seducing people.”

“A very important and useful tool,” the angel prince of Helvetia replied with a triumphant expression. “We have managed to turn the message of the ANCIENT and the ONE into a science by which everything can be questioned and reinterpreted. The revelation of the ANCIENT is no longer the supreme guideline but rather the myopic human intellect.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Angstius asked.

“Well, that's quite clear,” the angel prince of Helvetia explained triumphantly. “Theology! We were able to persuade the followers of the ANCIENT and the ONE to no longer use the context of the message to understand the BOOK (Bible), but instead to rely on the understanding of clerics who fragment, mystify, and interpret the message. Furthermore, we prevented people from understanding the BOOK even more by dividing theology into different streams of thought. Now there is liberal theology, historical critical theology, Roman Catholic theology, Protestant Reformed theology according to various reformers, feminist theology, and so on, instead of the unified message of the ANCIENT. It is vital that we can continue to control various theologies and play them off against each other. For example, we are currently working successfully to reinterpret or rewrite certain passages in the book of the ANCIENT. I am thinking here of the Council of the EKD16, which is helping us in this regard. They plan to rewrite Isaiah 7:14 by 2015, so that it is no longer about a virgin giving birth to the ONE, but simply a ‘young woman’.17

This is important so that the status of divinity will become available for our ingenious Great Leader of Darkness. If people no longer believe that the ONE was begotten by the ANCIENT, but by a human, His divinity cannot be maintained. We can then present the ONE as a normal human being, as we have already done successfully in esoteric practices and other religions for a long time. This will expand our power and influence on humanity immensely.”

“Yes, our strategy is working exactly as planned,” Angstius remarked with satisfaction. “Since the Age of Enlightenment, we have been able to convince most people that life originated out of nothing and simply evolved, and that there was no Creator. Due to the Big Bang Theory and the Theory of Evolution currently taught in all public schools, most people today believe that they are nothing more than an evolved animal. These evolutionists often represent our views better and more passionate than we could ourselves. They appear as experts in the media and are applauded by large audiences from politics, business, culture, and general society. They communicate our lies so well that most people don’t question them. The few who still adhere to the teaching of the ANCIENT and the ONE in this matter are effectively marginalized, isolated, and silenced. All this is done under the cover of tolerance and scientific rationalisation.”

The two could hardly stop boasting about all their amazing accomplishments, which they had achieved since their last meeting. In the course of their conversation, they reached the first outpost to hell. In order to pass this, they had to perform a pollution ritual in the swamp of lies.

*

The next morning, Romana sat comfortably on her favourite park bench, where she had talked to Simona the day before. She closed her eyes and listened to the joyful song of a blackbird. Around this time there were not many people in the park, so one could enjoy the peaceful sounds of nature. It must have been so beautiful, glorious, and peaceful in Paradise, she thought with joy and contentment. It was another lovely spring day. Flowers bloomed, and the gentle breeze coming from the lake was pleasant. The grass was still moist from the morning dew, and the flowers and the tender leaves on the cherry tree shone and glistened with the radiant light of the morning sun. Romana soaked up this beautiful atmosphere. She let her gaze wander through the park and across the lake and saw a few boats.

These people are very privileged. If I had a boat, I would love to go out on the lake today too.

She took a sip from her café latte and ate the chocolate croissant she had bought at the small but excellent bakery at the park entrance.

She enjoyed her time alone in the park but was also looking forward to meeting Simona here today. When the bells of the nearby cathedral struck 10 a.m., she saw Simona approaching.

“Hello Romana!” Simona greeted her cheerfully.

“Hi Simona,” she replied, pleased to be able to talk to someone again who seemed to understand her. “How was your late shift?”

“Oh, okay. No new patients were admitted, so everything was pretty quiet and uneventful. And what was your day like?”

“Pretty good under the circumstances. Talking to you and praying together with you helped me a lot. I still can’t understand the whole matter. What hurts me the most is the personal attack on me, and that I was accused of not submitting and of having a rebellious spirit,” Romana confessed.

“I understand that this must have hurt you. Did they even ask why you acted the way you did?”

“No. I did not hear from the pastor or homegroup leader again so far.”

“That sounds familiar. This seems to be the standard procedure in many Christian organizations, almost like an unwritten law. A verdict is quickly passed without asking the accused about the motive for his or her actions. Most of the time, the process continues in such a way that, if you try to resolve the matter factually, you will become a problem yourself. When you object, it often results in the leadership telling you that you are the problem. There may be accusations such as: ‘We see a bitter root in you’, or ‘we sense a spirit of rebellion working in you’, etc.,” Simona explained.

“Until now I never had to deal with such a situation,” Romana replied.

“Have you ever done anything before that has kept you from investing as much time or resources in your church as expected?”

“No. never. I know how important it is that we are active in the church and that it must be our first priority.”

“Yes, then of course I understand very well that you have never experienced anything like this before.”

“Wait! Now I remember that there was a similar situation once,” Romana said. “I wanted to sign up for a creative Bible school a few years ago. Then I was told by the leadership of the church that they didn’t think this was right for me. I should rather give my energies and resources to my local church instead of wasting them elsewhere. After all, it takes all the members to keep a church functioning. They said, such extraordinary activities weakened the church, and that it was always difficult when people came back from an external school. These people would then bring a lot of unrest to the church by introducing their own new ideas. The leadership would usually have to invest a lot of time, strength, and patience in order to properly reintegrate these brothers and sisters into the church,” Romana remembered.

“Very interesting. What was it like for you then?” Simona wanted to know.

“Of course, I was very disappointed. I struggled to accept it because I am a creative person and would have liked very much to attend this school. I discussed it with my spiritual parents, the Meisers. They helped me to get over the disappointment and see the positive aspects of not attending this Bible school.”

“What did you do then?”

“I submitted to their decision and didn’t attend the Bible school. I had already seen what happened when people who had attended programs or schools outside of our church returned and tried to implement some of their ideas. It usually caused uncomfortable arguments and divisions. Of course, I didn't want anything like that,” Romana said.

“Clearly, nobody wants this,” Simona agreed. “But now back to your current problem. This seems to me to be a little different.”

“Yes, I thought so too. But I'm not quite sure anymore. Maybe they are right, and I should just submit.”

“That would be an option. So how do you want to go on? Speaking of going. We could take a short walk, for example down to the lake.”

“Good idea. Let's go,” Romana replied.

They made their way down the hill to the shore. The sun was already much higher in the sky by now, and it had become noticeably warmer. When they arrived at the lake, quite a few boats were being prepared. However, at the moment they were not taking much notice of this. Romana was still thinking about how to respond but found no conclusive answer.

“You asked how I wanted to proceed. I really don't know,” Romana continued the conversation. “I can't touch God’s anointed.”

“Which anointed do you mean? And what do you mean by touching?” asked Simona.

“Well, of course, our church leader, Pastor Kimm. I cannot speak badly about him or tell him that I do not agree with him. It's like blasphemy,” Romana gravely replied.

“What do you mean by anointed?” Simona asked.

“We are taught that the church leadership is set in and also anointed by God for their ministry. To criticize or to contradict them would be like blasphemy,” Romana explained.

“So that's how you see it,” Simona said. “Now I know what you mean. But where did that concept come from?”

“That's what we are always taught in our church, directly and indirectly.”

“Yes, I am familiar with this. But where does this teaching come from?” Simona insisted.

“I suppose they have this doctrine from the Bible. I've never thought about it. For me, it has always been logical and clear that this doctrine must be correct. I had no problems with it, because God leads His church by giving His visions to the leadership, and especially to the pastor. Don’t you agree?” Romana wondered.

“I see it very differently today,” Simona admitted. “When I first became a believer, I was taught this and believed it as well. However, our group wanted to get to the bottom of the matter, and we made surprising discoveries. Do you have your Bible with you?”

“No, why?”

“Because I think that such an important dogma18 should be found in the Bible, and secondly, we should never leave the house unarmed.”

“What do you mean by dogma and unarmed?” Romana was baffled.

“Quite simply that in most churches this doctrine about church leaders being ‘God’s anointed’ is proclaimed as a dogma, that is, as absolute truth. Especially members of the clergy19 with weak leadership skills zealously defend this dogma. You also need to know that the counterpart of the clergy is the ‘laity’, or some say, ‘the people’. Secondly, we read in the Word of God that the Scriptures are our sword of the Spirit20,” Simona answered.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a male voice coming from the boat harbour. “Hello sister dear, what are you doing here?”

The two women stopped and looked in the direction the voice came from.

Romana saw a sporty looking man, strong and tall, waving to them from a beautiful sailing yacht.

“Hello brother dear!” Simona replied, waving to the man and walking towards the harbour. Romana went along, and when they arrived at the sailing yacht, Simona climbed up the stairs to greet her brother. When Romana stopped at the bottom of the bridge, Simona gestured for her to come on deck as well. Romana followed her invitation, and Simona introduced her to her brother Peter.

“Nice to meet you, Romana.” Peter smiled kindly and shook her hand.

“Thank you,” Romana replied, smiling back at him.

“May I offer you something to drink?” Peter asked the two women.

“I don't know,” Romana replied, looking inquiringly at Simona. She actually wanted to continue her conversation with Simona and didn't feel comfortable to do so in Peter's presence.

“We're thirsty and could use a sip of water,” Simona replied. “But, we're in the middle of a very personal conversation right now.”