Hey Pastor John,

This morning I woke up thinking about what a wonderful holiday weekend we had together.  Jesus has done a wonderful thing joining us together.  All weekend I just kept looking around at all of my brothers and sisters and the joy we all felt together!  I feel like Jesus just filled us up!  Then sitting in our Roman history class I was overwhelmed with gratitude for what Jesus has given you and you are passing to us!”  Look what Jesus has done!  It truly is overwhelming.  It made me think of something you said during the Old Testament class:*

“When God does what He did with me and made His mind that I was going to be where I am, then when He makes up your mind that you’re going to be where I am, there’s a bond there that nothing can break but death!  Nothing but death!’

My heart is saying I do! I do!

Love you,
Michelle

 *  https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_otcourse-1010.html

Some people have read two new sections of the in-progress Iron Kingdom book, one section on Baptism and another on Communion.  I am pleased with the responses I got because they tell me that the folk who read those sections really got something out of them! There is no point in doing anything if God’s children don’t benefit from it! I am passing their replies along to you so that you can know that you can read and be blessed by these things, too.  You CAN!  And if you want a copy, let me know and I will send them to you. Pastor John On the Baptism Section HI, Pastor John, We think this section on Baptism is great!  It is easy to read and understand. We were surprised and amazed how close Robert Barclay’s teachings were to those of Paul’s regarding baptism. The sections that described all the different/strange doctrines that men came up with was very good, like you said, it was like they were in competition to get an entry into the contest for their idea of baptism. So thankful God does not require the 40 steps to receive baptism as listed in The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus! We really liked the sentence on page 90 which stated “for Christ sent the Spirit from heaven to enter into people, not into things. Concerning page 92, Justin #1 who shared Paul’s understanding of the different nature of the two testaments, etc.   This paragraph is great! Thank you for all your hard work and time in putting this together.  It is wonderful and we are so thankful that God brought us out of Christianity and has allowed us to understand and believe this truth that you are working so hard to get out to others. Randell and Doris ============ Hi, Pastor John; This section on Baptism is very clear. I am thankful that you brought some sanity into the reading by using Barclay as an example, as well as your comments to bring the reader back to reality of, “by one Spirit . . .” It was so sad to me that Thelca baptised herself just before she was killed; confused and deceived. Where are they now? Where are these apostate leaders, now, who taught the many forms of baptisms and rituals? Satan has deceived the whole world; he has fooled men by the means of Christianity that he is, “like the most high God’. The same deception he used in the garden of Eden; Their eyes were opened to not be God but, “you shall be as Gods”.  This slander has gone on for centuries and still must be revealed to hearts by the Spirit. I feel the Iron Kingdom book will help those who truly are honest with themselves and want Truth. The slander, lies, & deception of the work of God through Jesus, I’m afraid, will continue to go on until Rev: 18, when Babylon has fallen. Until then, we need truth such as this to remind us how pure and precious of what Jesus gave to us is. It is an honor to know these things and to understand the simplicity of the Gospel.  Like the song says, “Where will I be when that last trumpet sounds?”  Thank you!! Billy M. =========== Thank you, John As I was reading this section on baptism all I could think about was how thankful I am for the truth. When men “try to serve God” all they invent is mass confusion and more confusion for anyone with the desire that God puts in their heart to seek him. Anything that can be done in the flesh is wrong, thank you for teaching us and showing us how to live in the spirit!!  Stuart  ============ John, I think this section on baptism is good.  As others have already said, it reads smoothly and easy to understand. I particularly paid attention to the section called “Adding Sugar to the Water.  Just yesterday morning I was thinking about why would Catholic Christians baptize infants? Unlike many Protestants who are water baptized, infants have no choice in the matter. Therefore, the water must contain some special “power to sanctify”.  I am so grateful that Jesus has opened our eyes to the truth.  Thank you for all your work.  Tom  ============ Wow John, your hard work has certainly paid off!  This section is excellent, and really puts together well the strange ideas that men have taken in, without truth, concerning baptism. The overall thought I had after reading it, was simply one of thankfulness concerning all the confusion we have been spared.  May God get this work into the hands of people who want truth, somehow. We have so much to be thankful for to have been taught good things, and not be a part of the problem concerning baptism.   Thanks again for your labor John. Gary ============ Whew! What a sloggy swamp that is! Your writing really shows and makes the reader feel the clear difference between Paul’s doctrine and the confusing and superstitious doctrine of the apostates. I can’t say that this section was all clear to me- because I struggled through the swampy parts! But I loved the life and simplicity and relief I felt when you told the simple truth of the gospel. Thank you, thank you, for loving, teaching, and putting into words so clearly the simplicity of Christ.  Thank you! Donna N ============ This line in Darren’s song, “It’s Another One”, comes to mind when reading this:  “Men will say that you must be baptized in water, but that won’t satisfy your soul!   That’s not my way!  It’s another one!” I love when you contrast their “theological goobledygook” with the simple truth.  It’s like a breath of fresh air sprinkled throughout the confusion of all the rest. As outrageous as these invented ideas about baptism are, they felt very familiar to how I grew up in the Lutheran church where ritual and ceremony was the thing.  The instead of…!  Only the truth brought relief to my searching heart, and I pray someone is going to read this and feel that same relief.   I think it all flowed very well. Thank you for the many hours of hard work you have put into this.  I can’t even begin to imagine how you are trudging through this swamp of confusion, but it’s been very eye opening and necessary and worthwhile. Lee Ann ============ After reading these pages I feel so thankful (again) to have been able to respond to Jesus’s call to come out of the divisions of Christianity! These pages really give good examples of how through the years self-appointed men have laid out their own foundation of doctrines to be followed by the Church, declaring them to be true, and how through their own self-appointed authority, they gave their consent to deny the Truth Paul taught by the Spirit. They paved the way for subsequent Christian sects to choose whichever rituals appealed to their brand of Christianity, no matter how contradictory they were to Paul’s teachings or to each other’s. The authority these men believed they had over God’s people to keep them under subjection to their doctrines really comes through in your writing. Those invisible chains (lies) of their traditions and ceremonies bind up the hearts of God’s people, but the one Baptism Paul preached always points to Jesus who sets his people free.  I love coming across quotes from Paul, Barnabas #1 and Justin #1 when they say what the Spirit is saying to believers. It is like finding safe and solid ground to stand on in the middle of that Christian confusion. The Truth brings relief and frees up the heart of anyone who longs for a real relationship with Jesus. The simplicity of Christ preached by Paul is healing and beautiful. Thank  you for sending this out,  Bess  ============ On the Communion Section Hi, When reading through this section on Communion we found ourselves say “that is crazy how could anyone believe that”, then we remembered that we did believe and took part in the Eucharist for many years until God’s mercy opened our eyes to the truth of communion in the Spirit.  Whew, now we can look back and only ask “how could we have believed those lies”. Thank you for your hard work and labor of love in writing this book. Randell and Doris  ============ Just like the section on Baptism, it’s something to see, especially through centuries of examples, how foolish this is. But, anything we still do not know about God is just as dark. The difference is what we did with the Truth after it was revealed. Thank the Lord for whomever he has used to reveal Truth. Taste and see that the LORD is good.  Billy  ============ I really like the way you prepared the reader’s thinking with the spiritual thoughts and truths at the beginning, then proceeding with the confusing carnal minded thoughts.  Keeping the reader’s mind on spiritual thoughts all along the way through the mucky confusion of the intellectual misguided leaders of Christianity,  GO MAN GO!  PS. Just a thought, it would have been nice if you could have added what your daddy said to the young lady in the meeting about the bread and wine and water Jesus said about it! Jimmy T ============ John, This section on communion is very good. I found it easy to read and understand for the most part.  Thanks for all your work.  Tom  ============ Suzi here. Your work & the writings on Baptism & Communion remind me of how grateful I am that Jesus chose to show me the way out of church religion, and showed me the truth. As time goes on, I realize how that is a miracle that my life was spared of church confusion. I’m ever grateful to you for all your work for us.  ============ This is a real education in Christianity.  I had the similar  thought as Jimmy after reading what Jesus told disciples flesh has no profit the words I speak are spirit and life the flesh profits nothing. Just Thinking>>> Do I know  Christianity was never of God?  I think so, but I have learned that is not the same as knowing.  It does bring back memory of getting caught up in the spirit, seeing a Christian Church and thinking it was no different than a Moslem Mosque. Thanks For All The hard Work Wendell ============ Everything you are sending is almost unbelievable!  I say “almost” because there are such similarities in these chapters with what I grew up practicing in the Lutheran Church!   Unfortunately, the guys at the Lutheran Church must have read some of these wacky scholars and liked their ideas enough to put them into practice. The section titled “Cyril” with his instructions on the proper way to take the Eucharist made me laugh out loud!  Then, I had the thought that I could be burned alive at the stakes for making fun of such a somber subject!  I’m still smiling, just thinking about it.  I can just hear you now, “You can’t make this stuff up!”  Honestly, much of this chapter struck me as funny.   My favorite section was the entire last half of page 106, that begins,  “Wherever there is ceremony, there has always been, and will always be, strife.” Those last two paragraphs on p 106 are truth!   I whole-heartedly agree with everyone else who has responded that they feel thankful to be out of all that confusion!  It’s Jesus loving us to show us the truth about these things, and to give us a heart to believe it! Lee Ann ============ It is astonishing to read about these ceremonies that Churchmen have come up with through the centuries in the name of Jesus! What control they have held over people by labeling those who disagreed with their ceremonies as heretics when men dared hold on to what Jesus had taught them. I am so thankful for these godly men who held fast to the truth they received from Jesus, and that Jesus has let you find them so we can be encouraged by them! He still has his 7000 hidden! It is really humbling to think of what these men suffered as they held onto the gospel Jesus revealed to Paul. And it makes me grateful we live in a time (at least for now) where we can worship in Spirit and truth without fear of retribution from those in power in the church. We know things will change. Thank you for all the work you are putting into The Iron Kingdom. Maybe down the road some sincere folks will come across your writings and hear that echo in their hearts about the truth and be encouraged to hold on to what they have received from Jesus. Bess

Hi Pastor John,

Just one more thing before I go to bed.  Tonight I was listening to our OT cds.  You read: Deuteronomy 17:

14.When you come into the land that Jehovah your God is giving you and have possessed it and settled in it, then you will say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me.’

15.You must set over you a king whom Jehovah your God will choose; you will set one from among your brothers as king over you. You may not appoint over you a foreigner, one who is not your brother.

Here it is again, God is telling the people what they are going to do, hundreds of years before.  You said, He loved them so much he was telling them they were going to sin against Him but do it this way, do it like this so you don’t go too far.  Oh Pastor John, that broke my heart. God really loves His people.  The mercy He was showing them, knowing how they were going to sin against Him.  

I’m amazed how going through the Old Testament has really helped me see how good God really is.  You can see through is curses and his blessings, everything was for the good of His people.  He loved them so much.

Thank you for teaching this, Pastor John.  I feel so blessed to have the chance to learn these things.  It has touched me deeply.  I look forward to each lesson!

Michelle

* https://www.goingtojesus.com/gtj_otcourse-1010.html

Pastor John,

I was listening to an Old Testament cd tonight from your class*.  This is so good I had to share:

Lessons from Deuteronomy 14

“God has blessings for us that we can only obtain if we obey Him.  There are blessings that you want but you can’t have unless you honor God.  No matter how much any of us has missed God in the past, there is still a best that we can have if we obey God!  We can say to Jesus, from this point, I never have to do wrong again!  There is something out there that you want that you can have if we start now.  God, nobody but you!  Not my way, but your way!  It takes courage and the love of God.  That’s how you love people, you obey God!

There is healing, there is health, there is spiritual strength, there is understanding- it’s all just waiting out there for whoever will take the path to get to it!  And it won’t be denied anybody who takes that path!  Everybody who takes the path of obedience to God, diligent obedience to His commandments, gets those blessings!  And nobody can stop you because it’s God!  It’s God waiting there to take you in His arms and give you the best for the rest of your life, if you take that path!  It’s a simple path, you just obey God!  Put into practice the word of God that comes to you without respect of persons and without fear of people.  If you can overcome those who know what you like for breakfast, those who know your shoe size, you can overcome the world.  Jesus did!”

Whew, this is so good I can just feel it stirring in my soul!   I want that, Pastor John!  I want those blessings for us!

Mmmmm, this is wonderful!

Thank you, Pastor John!

Michelle

* https://www.goingtojesus.com/gtj_otcourse-1010.html

Hey Pastor John,

I had to tell you about all these wonderful things I have been feeling.

First, Jesus has been giving me some sweet testimonies, helping me find things, sending me things I need and letting me know he’s here taking care of me!  The encouragement that Jesus has let me feel, it is overwhelming. Between what he has been doing for me and listening to the OT cd’s* and hearing the wonderful testimonies from Tim and Bess, Sandy, Jimmy…I feel like I am overflowing!  There’s been so much! The other day I was taking a shower and I was talking to Jesus and had the thought, if you stop looking at your circumstances you’ll start seeing Jesus!  I know this is true!  This is my gold nugget in my pocket!

Then, last night we watched this documentary on Israel.  It was very interesting.  There were scenes right after the holocaust when they opened the prison doors and told the Jewish people they were free.  The people were just wandering around, not knowing what to do or where to go.  They no longer had homes and most had no idea if their families were even alive.  As it went on it showed the history of the Jewish people until they were given their land in Palestine. Those people really went through some horrible things and still are.  But as I was watching I kept thinking about Jesus and what the people were screaming in Matthew 27:25 “And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’”  It was sad and heartbreaking, but to know it was God really did something to me.  I could feel the fear of God in my heart, but also faith rose up – faith in God’s curses and his blessings.  Everything that God has said was going to happen has happened.  He is in charge of it all.  I could see God’s hand in every bit of it, whether it was a “good” thing for the Jewish people or a “bad” thing, it was all God!  Just taking all that in last night I went to bed feeling like Jesus had touched my heart with a little more faith and with that faith came rest.  That sweet rest from Jesus.  It felt good.

All day I’ve felt like my cup is running over!  I want to hold on to these wonderful feelings.

Michelle

* https://www.goingtojesus.com/gtj_otcourse-1010.html

Pastor John,

I finished reading the Iron Kingdom chapter 1.  I love it!  It gets better every time I read it!

I was one of the people who thought I would have a hard time reading and understanding it.  There are many parts quoting the theologians that do go over my head, but what I love the most is what I feel when I read it.  When I’m reading I can feel the confusion and frustration, especially the section “The Swamp”.  But I love that you always circle back to the truth, and with it you can feel the relief.  I pray that there is a child of God out there that reads this and feels the relief that only the truth brings. 

So many times while reading, I had to stop and thank Jesus for what we have been given, to understand the abomination that Christianity really is.  We have so many testimonies among us of hearing that still small voice and feeling afraid, thinking we were crazy or questioning what we were hearing because it goes against what is taught as the norm in this world.  What relief to know that we are hearing from our Father!  

I love this: “The Faith of Christ changes men; men do not change it.  Nor can it ever perish, for it is in the spirit, which is life itself! Amen!  Spirit is life!”

Thank you, Pastor John, for teaching us, encouraging us and loving the truth!  What you pass on to us is so valuable, it is our life!

Michelle

I just read the Iron Kingdom forward, and I can’t tell you how much I loved it!  I love how you begin by simply stating your beliefs, and also stating simply that Jesus has filled you with his spirit and taught you, and you are his servant.  I imagine most believers who read the first paragraph will say “Amen”.

Then, there is the second paragraph that is equally wonderful, but I imagine it will only be by the grace of God that your reader will make it past the first sentence of this paragraph you wrote:

I also believe that the religious system known as Christianity is an abomination to both God and Jesus. I believe that, to date, Christianity is Satan’s crowning achievement, that by it, he has successfully divided and confused the body of Christ, and that he reigns over the flock of God through Christian ministers, though they do not realize it. And I believe that in order for God’s people to attain to the unity and purity that Jesus prayed they would enjoy, they must come out of Christianity. 

The second paragraph is written in faithfulness to the revelation given to you, and faithfulness to the One who filled you with his spirit and taught you!  I love it so much!  My prayer is that reading that will echo what the spirit is already saying to sincere children of God, and reading this book will give them the courage they need to come out of her! I pray that some sincere child of God will read the second paragraph and say, “Amen!”  Oh Jesus!  Let it be so!

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this chapter!

Good night,

Lee Ann

Reading more of the first chapter of your Iron Kingdom book is giving me a clearer understanding of at least one reason Christianity began.  Since its inception, Christianity has been a hiding place for any backslidden saint who didn’t want to obey the will of God.  Who chose to live in sin.  Simply put, Christianity is a hiding place for sin!  It doesn’t matter your lifestyle, Christianity welcomes you with open arms!  Think about some of Christianity’s most seductive little catch-phrases, all designed to justify the sinner:

Come join the church of your choice
You gotta love everybody unconditionally
Once saved; always saved
Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven
The blood of Christ covers a multitude of sins
Take it on faith; Don’t go by your feelings
It’s by grace that we are saved, not by works
Stand on the word
God loves everyone
Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior
Bloom where you’re planted
The Bible is the Word of God
John 3:16 (For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life)

I looked up Christian slogans and found a few that are not as common, but were notable:

The church is the safest place on earth
Keep quiet and let it be handled by a Christian
Live today as a Christian, or burn tomorrow in hell
Follow Christianity to cleanse your sins
To be like Christ is to be a Christian
Christianity is the only true religion 

In all my search of Christian sayings or slogans, I can tell you what I didn’t find:

“You must be born again with the evidence of speaking in other tongues”. 

Amen!  I love the simplicity of the truth!  I love that our hiding place is in the shadow of his wings!  I want to stay hidden in Him!

Lee Ann

       

Pastor John,

These are some of the good thoughts that have been rolling through my heart lately. They aren’t in any particular order but as they came up, I wrote them down. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing about your work on The Iron Kingdom as well as listening to The Law series. The music and testimonies have been beautiful to my heart, too. All the feelings and thoughts just filled me up with thankfulness.

Love, Bess

-there is a right way to treat each person who is in our lives

-God is a God of relationships

-Jesus shows us through the Spirit how to live as the head and not the tail

-I love living under the authority of Jesus and PJ

-I love how all the things PJ taught us by way of the Spirit are meant to enable us to keep the standard of holiness and to live in the liberty Jesus purchased for us

– I love how this little body values each other and the testimonies and blessings from Jesus as he knits our hearts together. We need each other

-I love the thankfulness I feel towards PJ for being willing to dig in with Jesus so that we can learn God’s heart

-it is amazing how The Iron Kingdom information PJ has been putting together goes hand in hand with The Law Series.  Through slander, the false prophets controlled what God’s OT people believed, just like Xty got control over believers through slander

-I love The Law and how Jesus has put it on the inside of us now.  We have learned that Xty puts no value on learning The Law, therefore they cannot value the Holy Ghost

-the false prophets always downplayed the significance of The Law, and God’s faithful prophets always pleaded with God’s people to realize their need for it before it was too late. It’s the same today with Xty devaluing the hG and God’s faithful men telling His children to love it b/c it is life, their resting place and refuge.

-tongues are the sign of where the holy Ghost is. God’s people don’t know this

-God’s people are ashamed of the Holy Ghost b/c of slander, but we have been blessed to love it and value it and stay hidden in it. It saves us from our own opinions and our own carnal nature.

-the faithful who declared the goodness of The Law to those who did not value it put their lives at risk. That is like the Iron Kingdom.

-I love what we are learning as a body about the Iron Kingdom – to have an understanding that Xty never was from God and it’s full of men’s opinions – it is that straw man that God gave PJ a vision of as a young man

-the Spirit brings God’s Law into our heart by the power of the Holy Ghost

-Jesus has allowed us to understand and love that there is only one way to worship him – by the Spirit – and any other way is wrong and unacceptable

-it is worth everything to have found my place and to live in it and love it

-we are happy because Jesus filled us with his holy Spirit and his wisdom

==========

Amen, Bess!  Thank you.

jdc

Good morning. 

The past few days, I have been pulling up YouTube and these Tsunami videos have been coming up.  Being the weather person that I am, I started watching a few of them.  The ones that kept coming up were of the tsunami in March 2011 in Japan. It was overwhelming the amount of destruction and damage caused by it.  It was a nightmarish experience I’m sure.

All throughout the videos, you can hear the warnings.  They are in Japanese, but the words are written across the screen, and the alarms, the man talking, over and over again.

As I watched, I noticed time and time again, people not heeding the warnings.  Curious to take a look or not thinking much about it, “we’ve had these before” attitude.  Some people went down to the water and others carried on like business as usual (you could see cars going back and forth and crossing the bridges).  The videos show people running at the last minute, or trying to drive away, and even being pulled out putting others in danger.  They had no idea their lives were going to change that instant. That night some of the survivors were standing on rooftops with the only light being the fire on the water.

This morning when I woke up, I just kept hearing over and over: “heed the warnings.”  The Spirit is talking all the time.  It made me pray to be in tune with what the Spirit is doing and to stay ready for whatever the Spirit says for us to do, and pay attention to where it comes from.

Pretty sobering thoughts.  I feel like I’ve been “waiting” in my spirit lately.  It really is true that things are going to change. Lord help us be ready when it comes.

Glad to be feeling better.  And hope to see you soon.

Amy B.