Within the Mystery of the Kingdom of God, it cannot be complete without some understanding of the Mystery of Iniquity. My eyes were opened at this and my experiences challenged my understanding and belief. Place after place that I visited in search of the called and chosen of God, led me to truths and interactions on levels that I did not know existed. It was both a blessing and a curse. It was a miracle that I could tell the difference between one and the other.

My first real eye-opening event was an invitation by a Nun in the Roman Catholic church and required me to enter into a Cathedral to seek her out. I was extremely apprehensive to say the least. I spent some time outside before entering, praying for guidance and safety. I gathered whatever courage I had and stepped into the Cathedral. Instantly, I felt the Holy Spirit of God and he said to me, yes, I am here too. I fully expected it to be black according to my childhood experiences. From the time I entered until the time I left, the Holy Spirit was powerfully present. I am not just talking about the Spirit in ME. The Spirit was in the place, itself.

I met with the young nun, barely looking like she had come out of High School. She was a humble person to a fault and we had a wonderful visit together. She was very open to the truth and loved God in ways we rarely see. Though I never went to a place that negatively impacted the church she so much loved, I made sure that she would have the opportunity to see the truth as it is IN CHRIST. I came to a MASSIVE realization that God has HIS people in every place, specifically so that they would have an opportunity to recognize HIM when He visited them; and remove all excuses if they decided to reject Him. We prayed to Him in the Spirit, and there was no doubt in my mind that God had touched this young woman. I left her material so she could OBJECTIVELY see the truth. She made it clear that her objective in meeting with me was to know the whole truth of God, His Kingdom, and her role in it. I will never forget the experience.

This happened time and time again. I have sat at meal with Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Pentecostals, and many other denominations, and I can only say that the experience was the same. Though there were huge differences in our belief structure, the Holy Spirit was present in every case in very powerful ways. The Lord blessed us all with understanding that could be accomplished in no other way than by a face-to-face, heart-to-heart communication. Even in antagonistic situations, the Lord used this to impress the heart in amazing ways. I especially recall a time meeting with a staunch Baptist who was DEATH on SDA's. Every attempt I made to break through this AWFUL confrontation, met with hatred and vitriol I had never seen before. I was at a loss as to what to say or do. I didn't have to FEEL so powerless. God knew EXACTLY what to say, and He said it straight from the Throne in Heaven. The man first thought that I was JW and held nothing but contempt. He then thought I was Mormon and his contempt was just as great. Upon discovering that I was SDA, if looks could kill, I would be dead. It was at this very point that God said: "Obviously you are looking upon us (myself and one other with me) as scum and Satan's spawn. WHY are you not reaching out to us with God's love to lead us to the truth?" I have never seen a person fall apart, his whole body shaking and sobbing with remorse and pain. For obvious reasons, I was not surprised. The person with me was SHOCKED. The lesson was for him just as much as it was for the man. I consoled the man with God's love and we had wonderful fellowship together. I will never forget that experience either.

This has happened with Eastern religionists as well. I can't even BEGIN to tell you of the experience with SUFISTS, a brand of Islam called "whirling dervishes". Talk about an antagonistic environment. Even as they were whirling around and "working up the spirit", I was fellowshipping with one man and was able to get through to him in spite of the confusing activity. I've had experiences with other Islamists as well. God breaks down ALL those walls if we can just believe it.

Of course, I see much of that kind of hatred and vitriol, here. There is atheism and agnosticism here, but I have had wonderful experiences with them too--sometimes even moreso than with professed Christians. Well-read atheists are some of the most profound people I have met. They were not ignorant of the Law and the Testimony, but they had frankly never met anyone who met up to that expectation. They wanted the truth just as much as anyone else. All they needed was a GLIMPSE of it, and everything changes. The Holy Spirit can say in FIVE WORDS what we cannot accomplish in our own strength with a hundred.

Iniquity abounds and the heart grows cold because of it. We are so bothered by it that in a flash, we can go from personable to demonic. So many threads here go from personable to antagonistic, and it robs us of understanding, sympathy, and TOLERANCE. Some grit their teeth and try to maintain a balanced spirit, but the mystery of iniquity gets to their "old man" and they fall back to a "survival place" to stand their ground. It's unfortunate but necessary for those who are weak. For the moment they forget that "when they are weak, they can be strong in Christ.

This testimony is getting book length so I will cut it short. I could go on for hours--not as a testimony for what "I" can do, but for what HE can do if we just let Him.