A WARNING TO THE SDA CHURCH

THIS IS LOR!

ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS OFFSHOOTS EVER!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

URGENT! READ AND SHARE THIS STUDY WIDELY!

Representatives of this new off-shoot, the "Lord Our Righteousness Church" (formerly called "Life Supports") are traveling all over North America. They have already sent missionaries overseas. Their sole targets are Seventh-day Adventist believers. Wherever they go, the agents of LOR amass the wealth of captured Adventists and train new converts to be additional Lorite group leaders.

You will learn in this study how they are devastating Seventh-day Adventist homes, as they take away with them wives, husbands, and children. Read these brief Information sheets carefully. Any day now, they may come to your local community, and you or several of your loved ones may be next. This is the closest thing to Adventist Moonyism to enter among us. Although it is the sheerest fanaticism, faithful Advent believers are routinely caught in the net during the very first meeting they attend. Captivated, brainwashed, they then submit to orders by men who brazenly call themselves god.

Originally entitled "Life Supports", this organization recently officially adopted the name, "The Church, the Lord Our Righteousness. " Therefore, throughout this study, we will refer to their organization as LOR, and to them as Lorites, since, as you will learn later in this study, they have very little to do with our precious Lord.

After preaching the Word of God to warn the people of the errors of Rome, fanatics began passing through the land, destroying souls as they went. Learning of what was happening, Melanchthon said, "There are indeed extraordinary spirits in these men; but what spirits?" But when Martin Luther heard of it, he said, "I always expected that Satan would send us this plague. " (Great Controversy, 187).

Over the decades, many plagues from Satan have come to the commandment-keeping people of God. He well recognizes the vital importance of overthrowing their faith, for they have the final messages to the world before the Second Advent of Christ.

Each faithful Seventh-day Adventist, who loves God and keeps His commandments, is deeply beloved of God. He has a special work for you in these last days to obey, defend, and proclaim the special truths in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. Never forget this: you are very special, very important to Him! Do not become discouraged, but stay by your post of duty and warn and plead with others to obey the special truths found in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.

But, as I write this, another plague has come to the people of God. Let me explain it to you, and in doing so we will learn many invaluable lessons that can help us not only to resist this one, but also many others that will come later.

Here is a letter we received recently from the West Coast:

Do you have current information regarding Wayne Bent's group who have separated from the church? It is called "life Supports" or "The Lord Our Righteousness:' Some of our grown children became involved. Recently the daughter and her family came out (left LOR! because of the bizarre things they are saying and doing. We had been trying to warn them for more than a year but were unable to get through to them. They Quote the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy a little, but confine it to a narrow track and much to their own interpretations.

We are thankful to have our daughter's family out of the group and now studying to see where the error is. But our son chose instead to leave his family, his business, everything, and just run off. Totally out of character for him. In fact, we have known for many months that they are using mind control on him, as well as on others, and that the weird things he was saying and demanding were because of this. He is mentally sick; just not himself. He doesn't want to talk with us anymore, or for us to phone him "unless we are ready to listen to his message," which we will never be able to hear and accept. We have already read and studied their books and literature. It is a very clever deception; so smooth. We can see more plainly than ever why we have been told that "those only who have fortified their minds with the truth" will be able to withstand the deceptions. We saw one leader trying to use hypnotism at one meeting we attended. Those coming out of "the group" can tell you a whole lot more of what is happening as far as force, control, hypnotism, receiving of messages, etc.

For us, this has been the hardest year of our lives. While we are extremely happy that our daughter and all of her family were able to leave LOR, it has been very difficult to stand aside and see the devastation and heartache in our son's family and know that there is nothing we can do, except pray. We are dealing with superhuman power and it will take God's superhuman power to reach him. So we try to support his wife and children and pray constantly for all of them. Although our son says he is through with us, we are by no means through with him. We will love him and pray for him as long as we live. We will continue to pray for those in the group who are sincerely deceived, and we know some of them personally.

I don't know how many are in this group back on the East Coast, but over 200 of them met near where our son lives (or did live before he walked off) at Hat Creek, CA, this summer for their camp-meeting. That is another whole story. But it is a sad story of using religion to take advantage of men, women and children and get them to forsake their families. There is much said in Adventist Home, Testimonies to Ministers, and the Testimonies about the roll of the father and the mother and the treatment they are to give to unbelieving spouses. But they do not read any of this. They pick a few short Quotes and carry them to the extreme. They take what could otherwise be part of the truth and then take it to such extremes that it becomes a lie. We've never seen anything quite like it before, although we have seen and known other groups and people in them and people who have left them. But Mrs. White obviously met all this before, for her writings describe just such fanatical movements and their 'beliefs.'

When they read "true church" in the Spirit of Prophecy, they apply it to themselves alone, saying that everything else in the books is only about them. When they read "the church" in the books to the people, they say it is "Babylon" and the SDA church, and a lot of other strange interpretations.

I fear God's people are not nearly as in earnest about finishing the work, as the devil and his people are in doing theirs' "-Letter from the West Coast.

Enclosed with this letter was a Xerox of a page from 2 Selected Messages (68-69). One of the underlined sentences said this: "The Lord has not spoken by any messenger who calls the church that keeps the commandments of God, Babylon." That is a clear statement and it is applicable to every era of human history. All those whose lives can be described by the words of Revelation 14:12 are His people, and we are thankful for this. But such a statement should be no cause for presumption: Each of us should beware of imagining that we are on the Lord's side, when we are knowingly disobeying His laws! May our heavenly Father help each of His Advent people to remain true to Him to the very end.

This new splinter group focuses its attention on Seventh-day Adventists, both those who are members of the denomination, and those who, for one reason or another, have separated from it. Every Adventist needs an understanding of (1) how the lorites capture men and women in one brief study session, (2) what happens to the captured ones thereafter and to the broken homes they leave behind, (3) the basic errors of LOR, and (4) Bible-Spirit of Prophecy replies to those errors. You will find all of this information in this complete study, Part One of which you are now reading.

As mentioned earlier, the official name they have now given to their group is "The Church, the Lord Our Righteousness. .. As we mentioned in a box on page one of this study, since their beliefs and practices have nothing to do with the hallowed concept of Christ our Righteousness mentioned in Jeremiah 23:6 and 33:16, we will in this study refer to their blasphemous organization simply as LOR, and to the people in it as Lorites. You will quickly learn that they take people away from the shelter of Christ's righteousness, rather than bringing them to it.

At the heart of this present fanaticism is a claim of instantaneous stoppage of sin and temptation. And this is done by the pronouncement of an earthly priest and god who proclaims it of the captivated individual in the very first meeting. It is not the result of personal renunciation of sin, choosing of obedience, or living an obedient life on the part of that individual.

The truth is that never in this life are we to think that we have reached a certain point at which we need no longer cry to God for help and be on guard against Satan. Yes, we are well aware of the Spirit of Prophecy statements about overcoming sin. You will find many of them in two special Bible-Spirit of Prophecy compilations of ours: You Can Overcome Sin (1C-1) and The Center of the Crisis (1C-2). It is true that we are now to resist and overcome temptation and sin in our lives, but this is an overcoming on our part that is done only by a moment-by-moment connection with Christ and humble reliance upon His empowering grace. It is not an instantaneous act done for us by a human mediator! More on this later.

HOW TO AVOID ENTRAPMENT BY THE LOR

The agents of the LOR have generally Identified themselves when they hold meetings, either as "life Supports" or as "the Lord Our Righteousness Church." But because they are becoming so obnoxious in their claims and pressure tactics, and as word gradually spreads about the disastrous results of meeting with them, they are not always now identifying their organization when they come to hold their studies. So what can YOU do to protect yourself from these agents of Satan?

As I am writing on this, a telephone call just came in from a mother on the West Coast who lost a son to the LOR. She relates that they use hypnotism to their meetings. I inquired how they do this, and was told that, having been unsuccessful in their appeal for you to accept "the gift," they will stand there and stare at you. As they do this, they may be silently communicating with their devils. I was told that the pressure is intense on those receiving this treatment. What should you do in order to avoid capture? Hopefully, if you can but learn how to avoid it, you may be able to successfully urge your friends and loved ones to avoid it also. Here are several worthwhile suggestions:

1- You are now reading part of a major expose of LOR. Study this entire tract series carefully, and then share it with others who need it. This will be those in your home, your relatives, those in your local church, other Adventists you know who live elsewhere. Send copies to pastors, conference and union leaders. Send copies overseas to missionaries. They need it too, for LOR is headed their way also.

2- These LOR meetings are always held in non-Adventist denominationally owned buildings. We recognize that many worthwhile studies are being given in private homes,-but since LOR only uses such facilities, you had better be very careful which private meetings you henceforth attend! This is no unimportant matter! A mistake here can mean the ruin of your life, your home, the life of a loved one dear to you. If you do not know the person who will be conducting the meeting, perhaps you had better not attend it. It is as simple as that.

3-lf you arrive at a meeting-and then learn it is a LOR meeting, you should LEAVE-walk out the door as soon as you learn the fact! And, if possible, take your loved ones with you. This cannot be overemphasized. Do not think that those people deserve even the customary courtesy of your hearing them out." Get up and go toward the door; open it and leave, taking your loved ones with you.

4- The moment you realize it is a LOR meeting, begin praying earnestly that you will safely get out of there, and that you will be able to get others out. Before leaving, speak up and give a warning to all who are there. God expects this of you. Do not leave them unwarned!

5-You may still be confronted by a LOR agent. A loved one may bring him to your home, or some other unexpected eventuality may occur. The events of life are never predictable. If this happens, order him to leave or try to leave yourself, taking your children and loved ones with you. Pray to God all through the experience.

6-You may have gone to a meeting with your spouse, and then he or she doesn't see the need to immediately depart. So you think you should perhaps remain through that meeting, praying earnestly, refusing to consider any of his suggestions, and determining you will never give the authority that belongs to God's Word into the hands of a man. (Better yet, plan ahead: make sure your loves ones read this tract series BEFORE such a meeting occurs) lf, for some reason, you must talk with him; remember that he cannot take control of your will without your surrendering it. It may appear that people were captivated without desiring it, but this is not true. No one can snatch a trusting soul out of the hand of Christ; never! You have placed yourself as a little child in God's hands. You did not initiate this contact and you plan to a conclude it as soon as possible. But while there, you intend to speak up and stand for the right and tell others so: He cannot overpower you unless you begin liking that which he has to offer, or unless you start becoming intrigued by it. But remember that to merely TARRY in his presence and listen to him is extremely dangerous, for you may start becoming intrigued with the sense of hidden, superhuman power that obviously accompanies him. It is a law of advertising to first catch their attention, then their interest, and then you have them. And that law works for devils as well as for Madison Avenue.

7-What did Ellen White do when confronted by Satanic agents? First, she did not try to have confrontations with them. Second, when it happened anyway, she resolutely stood her ground and denounced them in the name of the Lord. She did not try on such occasions to be gentle and meek-mannered. She prayed earnestly and asked God to send "that second angel" that was promised to her when-ever she might be in danger of mesmerists. That angel is promised to you also, for you are just as precious to your heavenly Father as was Ellen White. She was never presumptuous, and never sought to place herself in situations from which God would have to extricate her in order to save her from harm by devils. Do not go onto devil territory, but if you find yourself there, stand earnestly for the Lord, for Jesus, and for the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. Show to all your present loyalty; let everyone know which side you are on. Give your testimony and then get out of there!

8-Never, NEVER, remain in a place and talk to people who will not let you quote the Word of God! To sidestep God's Word as the authority in a religious conversation is to be liable to Satan's enchanted entrapment. He can and does take over minds!

9-As mentioned elsewhere in this study, in all of his interviews with earlier victims of the Lorites or their loved ones, the present writer has noticed that no one ever succumbed to these agents of Satan as long as they held solidly to the fact that Scripture-the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy-are the only spiritual authority, and far above any supposed authority that men might claim in matters of faith and conscience. As long as they looked first to Scripture, as long as they kept earnestly praying to God, pleading for help, and anxiously searching His Word for guidance-THEY WERE PRESERVED! But when they made the decision, under immense Lorite pressure-to yield their judgment to one of Wayne Bent's agents,-then they were swept away, and immediately no longer had any desire to read Scripture or to pray to God. At that point, they were no longer Christians, although they may have thought they were.

10-And why were those people caught? They kept dallying with Satan's agents and kept toying with the confusing ideas they presented. When in doubt, flee to God! Run away from those who are obviously trying to confuse you.

11a-Afterward, go to God's holy Word and read and read and read, praying as earnestly as you read. Fill your mind anew with the eternal truths of Scripture. It is always safe to do this.

What should you read? Such books as Steps to Christ, Mount of Blessing, Desire of Ages, Christ's Object Lessons, and Great Controversy are what you need. Prayerfully, open at random here and there in the Testimonies, and read wherever you open. Then turn at random to other locations and read. You will obtain the "big picture" of God's grace and His plan for your life from all this reading. The answer is not necessarily to be found on one page or two of what you read. Study and soak in the Word. Look up topics in the 3- Volume Index. Do less reading in other things for a time, and avoid the radio, etc. Be thinking about what you have read. Keep praying for help for yourself and those you love.

11b-Sometimes we wonder who in life we CAN trust! It will be those who themselves stand solidly for the Word of God, whose lives are clean, and who do not toy with error,-AND who are anxious that you go directly to God for guidance as to what you should do! But even they are not to be trusted when they come to you with totally new concepts that you have never found in all your earlier reading of Scripture. Brush aside all their logic - and ask for the statements from Inspiration. You should be able to see the correctness of each detail of any "new light" message in the quotations themselves, with no comments appended. When men have to explain the Word, then they are probably mixing it up.

12-Beware of those who would, in spiritual matters, have you do what they want - without wanting you to confirm it for yourself in God's Written Word in your own prayer room. Those who do not want you to have religious liberty to make your own decisions are either ignorant or despots. If they are ignorant, you do not need them for a spiritual guide; if a despot, then you dare not have them for your counselor. Either way, they are dangerous. As a rule, humble Christians who urge you to search God's Word for yourself, lest you be misled - are the safest.

13- Cling to God and to His Inspired Writings, the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. All men will fail you, but God never will. Therefore you dare not take yourself out of His hands. Seek for unity with others in the church; do not try to be a problem. Instead, try to be part of the solution. But you must speak up when there is sin in the camp, otherwise you are being neutral in a religious crisis. And God needs champions that will defend His standards and teachings. The cowards, men-pleasers, and time-servers are of little help to Him in such emergencies, and emergencies is what the church of God is daily encountering at this time in history. You have no idea of the weighty problems our church on all levels is dealing with every day: apostasies, scandals, swindles, immorality of every type, major losses, manifold compromises by associates. Our leaders need your prayers that they may stand true to our Bible-Spirit of Prophecy beliefs. In a later tract we will provide you with many important statements from the Spirit of Prophecy that will greatly help you help others in resisting the LOR.

THE LORD OF REBELLION

Since the beginning of history there have been two churches. One is under the command of the Creator, the God of heaven. It is characterized by careful obedience to His Scriptural truths on the part of His subjects who in full freedom of choice give Him their worship and loyalty. Genuine justification and sanctification are theirs through the Lord our Righteousness.

There is also a second church; it was started by Satan long ages ago, and is the church of the lord of Rebellion. That organization, the church of the LOR, is characterized by "lords many and gods many," rebellion against the authority of the true God and His Written Word, and the calling of sin righteousness and of righteousness sin. Its followers are deluded into thinking that they are the masters of the universe, when, in reality, they are but programmed slaves of the devil.

CONTINUE PART 2