WHAT ABOUT THE MYSTERY FELLOWSHIP?

By David Ben Yakov

Before we begin I would like to bring the reader up to date. When this article was originally posted it was posted as an expose' to reveal the heresy of the "Mystery Fellowship." Nearly a year after this article was posted the founder of the "Mystery Fellowship," (aka The Anti-Church) got wind of this expose' and became quite upset. A series of letters came my way, accusing me of many things and threatening me with retribution. At one point Yeshua came to me and told me that although this document speaks the truth it was in effect getting in His way of bringing correction and hopefully repentance of Guy Malone. Of course, Mr. Malone took this to be a victory for him and told many people that. I felt good however because I listened to Yahweh and obeyed. I also felt good in that Mr. Malone took down the Mystery Fellowship website as a result of the posting of this expose'.

It has been years since I removed this article from the internet. In light of recent events I have felt the prompting of the Ruach Ha Kodesh to repost this article. The actions of Mr. Malone, his wife Nicole and their associate Joe Jordan have bore witness to the reprobate character of all three of these individuals. It is important for people to see the perverted mindset and the fruit thereof of people who are opposed to living by godly principles and who twist and contort scripture for personal gain. Hopefully, anyone who might be considering following the folly of these three individuals will see their true nature and will look elsewhere for the truth. So, with Yahweh's blessing, I again post this article.

Okay, so you're wondering what I'm talking about when I ask the question, "What About The Mystery Fellowship?" Well, let me give you a little bit of background about brought this article into fruition. I had heard about this little brainchild of Guy Malone's a couple of years ago. Originally he had called the The Mystery Fellowship the Anti-Church but I guess that he got so much flack that he thought that a name change would be a good idea. I know that when I first heard of the anti-Church I immediately thought of anti-Christ. After all, any word with anti in front of it usually means the opposite of the word at the tail end of the name; antigravity means opposite of gravity, or a force that repels; antithesis means the exact opposite or reverse. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines "anti" as:

Main Entry: anti-
Pronunciation: "an-"tI, "an-tE also "an-ti before consonsants
Variant(s): or ant- or anth-
Function: prefix
Etymology: anti- from Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin, against, from Greek, from anti; ant- from Middle English, from Latin, against, from Greek, from anti; anth- from Latin, against, from Greek, from anti
1 a : of the same kind but situated opposite, exerting energy in the opposite direction, or pursuing an opposite policy <anticlinal> b : one that is opposite in kind to <anticlimax>
2 a : opposing or hostile to in opinion, sympathy, or practice

So what could anti-church mean but the opposite of the Church or the reverse of it. Yeshua talked about a force that would come against the church and he describes it as thus:

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:15-18

So it is really easy to see what the anti-church really is; it is the gates of hell. The gates of hell are basically this world, it's system and all of its little devices that are hostile to Messiah or His Bride, the Church. Religious representations of that system are humanism, Satanism, witchcraft, all occult practices, just about every cult and all religions except Judaism. If The Mystery Fellowship and their followers want to associate themselves with the "gates of hell," then that is their right under American law, but it is an abomination under God's Law. The Mystery Fellowship goes on to explain his actions in the following text that is found on the main page of www.mysteryfellowship.org . [This link doesn't work anymore. Malone took down the site after all of the controversy, thank you Yahweh!]

A note about our identity crisis / multiple urls: Our group and this site originally began under the name theAntiChurch.org (see "Why The Name AntiChurch?"). As an impetus for understanding why we are not part of the institutional church system, this worked well. It also works well for our "how we're different" articles (501c3, tithing, etc). As an actual identity though, it doesn't work well (it's not like we just sit around bashing other churches in our meetings. We hardly discuss others in fact, and we remain open to fellowship with other believers we disagree with on many of the points raised on this site, and even learning from them).

Our meetings are centered around Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the mystery of the gospel, and so it is from this term that we draw our fellowship's name. However, search engines will "treat us better" (and more people will be reached) if "church" is in the url, so we keep it, as it is a valid "undercurrent" of our identity.

Depending upon the need, this site can be shared using theAntiChurch.org, MysteryFellowship.org, or SpiritualNotReligious.org - which will all bring you to this page. For linking, we prefer that you use theAntiChurch.org  [Mystic Fellowship main page]

But before we go on, we should be fair and let The Mystery Fellowship explain what he means by "anti-church." The following is found on a page dedicated specifically to such an explanation:

“The AntiChurch” is something of a nickname - and of course, an intriguing url!

You might already know some of our "sisters" and "cousins" by different (or perhaps trendier) names, such as "The Open church," "The Simple church," "The Organic church," "The Underground Church," the "Church Without Walls," or just plain "house church" or "early church" movement...

As to the self-imposed label of “anti-church,” we give you the example of “Protestants,” who originally earned their distinctive name from stating that they were "for (pro) the testament of scripture." Protestants claimed to draw their doctrines and practices entirely from the Bible, instead of obeying manmade religious traditions not found in the scriptures, as well as “protesting” the corrupt system that passed for “church” centuries ago. Likewise, “Puritans” and “Separatists” were so called because they first sought to “purify” this system (from within), but eventually realized the effort was futile, and “separated” themselves from the institutional church of their day entirely. These groups finally departed to The New World to practice their religion as they believed right, but in all cases their appellation was based upon their reaction to the present “church system at large” rather than being named after their actual beliefs. Quakers quaked, Baptists baptized, and so on...

Today, we likewise see evidence that a different type of unscriptural government dominates the American church - largely reflecting that of a corporation or business model (at best, but at worst reflecting a Babylonian, Laodicean, apostate and/or antichrist model), rather than the church described in the New Testament - and we likewise have withdrawn ourselves from it (or in some cases, were never a part of it), in order to better know, worship and serve the living God.

So, we are obviously not against church (church is good!) ...just not participants in the modern "church" system, which is today filled with unbiblical errors, beliefs and practices. Most antichurch attendees have come to generally reject the practices of most modern institutional pyramid-style "churches" (corporations actually) and therefore cannot attend them as a matter of conscience. However, we do meet regularly in homes and public places (Acts 2:46, Acts 20:20) to worship Jesus, to encourage one another, to share in meals and God's word, to pray for one another, and to build up and edify the members of Christ's Body. We seek also to serve our neighbors and the needy in a manner keeping with “pure religion” as defined by James 1:27, rather than allotting church offerings and resources to pay extravagant and unscriptural building expenses or salaries to ministers.

In many ways that matter, we are a “regular church” and our general beliefs are orthodox. We draw our teachings and practices from The Holy Bible, but many of our ideas and applications of scriptural truths are very different from - and in fact in blatant opposition to - what people experience in most churches today...What people typically see and believe to be “the church” today is often at best a pale imitation, and at worst a corrupt counterfeit calling itself the church, whose practices are based more on the rules of men and/or the doctrines of devils, than they are on either the Word or the heart of God.

We're not quite as hostile to other Christians as the name "antichurch" or some of the statements on this site might at first imply. We generally consider those attending institutional churches as brethren lost in error or tradition but not usually as enemies. (We understand that they might not return the sentiment however  ;)  We oppose the unscriptural and corrupted system, not the people in it. Sadly, the modern church is as much a part of the world system as those unbelievers who do not attend; perhaps even more so because their true "signed, sworn" and acknowledged "head" or "lord" is earthly government, not Jesus Christ. But as many know, the definition of church (ekklesia in Greek) is "called-out ones." Whether they know it or not, anyone belonging to a 501c3 church via their membership has subtly renounced - or "un-enthroned" Jesus Christ as their Lord, and are still in the world system. (More about 501c3 membership here.) Believers simply cannot belong to both systems - either you are called out of the world's system and serve Christ alone as your head, or you don't.

We do therefore consider the institutional church system and those trapped in it one of many "missions fields," and might occasionally show up there to mingle and discreetly pass out business cards or engage some in conversations (we're kinda tricky like that), hoping to call our lost brethren out of their error. Or as Acts 18:26 puts it, to "expound unto him the way of God more perfectly."

First and foremost, we are believers in Jesus Christ who meet regularly for worship and mutual strengthening. Each local assembly has a more "proper name" designated by its leadership (such as Mystery Fellowship, the first antichurch, meeting in Roswell New Mexico. Visit www.antichurch.net to search for other local assemblies).

Aside from the above, our ongoing work is to present the message and person of God's only begotten Son, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, to a lost world, without the trappings of bringing new believers into the manmade system - or, “out of the frying pan, into the fryer!”  

A History Lesson For The Mystery Fellowship:

I have found nothing in any study that says that the first Protestant believers every called themselves that because they were Pro-Testament. First of all, that would be ludicrous because Testament really means covenant, and there were a lot of covenants in the Bible. Yahweh had covenants with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, The Nation of Israel; what we call the Torah (five books of Moses) plus He founded an New Covenant with all who would believe on Yeshua's Name. So, which "pro-testament," are we talking about folks? Second, The Mystery Fellowship should realize that the only reason the name came into being is because the early Protestants were protestors, which he sort of alludes to as a secondary reason for their ascribed name.

Origin of The Name

The Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, assembled at Speyer in April, 1529, resolved that, according to a decree promulgated at the Diet of Worms (1524), communities in which the new religion was so far established that it could not without great trouble be altered should be free to maintain it, but until the meeting of the council they should introduce no further innovations in religion, and should not forbid the Mass, or hinder Catholics from assisting thereat.

Against this decree, and especially against the last article, the adherents of the new Evangel — the Elector Frederick of Saxony, the Landgrave of Hesse, the Margrave Albert of Brandenburg, the Dukes of Lüneburg, the Prince of Anhalt, together with the deputies of fourteen of the free and imperial cities — entered a solemn protest as unjust and impious. The meaning of the protest was that the dissentients did not intend to tolerate Catholicism within their borders. On that account they were called Protestants.

And if a definition from a religious encyclopedia isn't enough to convince anyone, the following is found in the Merriam Webster dictionary:

Main Entry: ¹prot·es·tant
Pronunciation: 'prä-t&s-t&nt, 2 is also pr&-'tes-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, from Latin protestant-, protestans, present participle of protestari
1 capitalized a : any of a group of German princes and cities presenting a defense of freedom of conscience against an edict of the Diet of Spires in 1529 intended to suppress the Lutheran movement b : a member of any of several church denominations denying the universal authority of the Pope and affirming the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, and the primacy of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth; broadly : a Christian not of a Catholic or Eastern church
2 : one who makes or enters a protest

Were Never A Part of It?

One of the alarming statements that The Mystery Fellowship makes regards those who have either joined or established the Mystery Fellowship. He makes the following statement:

Today, we likewise see evidence that a different type of unscriptural government dominates the American church - largely reflecting that of a corporation or business model (at best, but at worst reflecting a Babylonian, Laodicean, apostate and/or antichrist model), rather than the church described in the New Testament - and we likewise have withdrawn ourselves from it (or in some cases, were never a part of it), in order to better know, worship and serve the living God.

How can anyone in a right frame of mind make such a statement, especially the part where he mentions that some people were never part of what he describes as the "Babylonian, Laodicean, apostate and/or antichrist model." Part of any person's life experience is to be subjected to life's up's and down's; good and bad and a whole slough of other things by living life to its fullest. The same is true with church life; and believe me, I've been down some rough roads in bad or indifferent churches. If a person wasn't a part of church life before they joined the Mystery Fellowship then where were they? What is the litmus test that the person in question is truly seeking God? If that person was a lone tree out in the desert, where did their roots seek water? And while I don't like the fact that I have been in churches that aren't very wholesome, I feel that my being in them for seasons has prepared me to both fight the good fight while in them and to minister to my brothers and sisters. These brothers and sisters knew, just like I did, that things just weren't right and wanted to fight against wrong from inside.

I think that a good analogy for what was mentioned above can be seen in some families where the father is a pastor and he nurtures his kids away from the world, sends them out to private Christian school and doesn't allow them to have interaction with worldly children. While the children will grow up in a great knowledge of Yahweh, they will never have any practical experience with interfacing with anyone not Christian. When graduation day comes and the child graduates from High School they will be released into a world that is for the most part totally alien to them. Just one week in the world and they won't ever want to leave their home again. Now turn that scenario around to illustrate a person who never grew up in a common church environment. This person would view all people who attend any church as apostate. They would see rituals, practices and methods (those not taught to them by their parents) as heretical and possibly tools of the devil, or as The Mystery Fellowship has put it, "we generally consider those attending institutional churches as brethren lost in error or tradition but not usually as enemies." They would be ill equipped to minister to the very people that they see as apostate simply because they had no real practical experience; sort of like the armchair quarterback who sits in front of the television during football season and critiques the players while they sit there grossly overweight, swilling their beer and working toward a massive coronary event.

Yeshua never shunned the religious service of His day. Even as a child He was found in the Temple, doing "his Father's business:

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? Luke 2:49

Now because He was anointed of God, He could have perceived that the men in that Temple were vile and wicked. He could have said, "no, they practice the Babylon, anti-torah tradition," but He didn't. He got into the trenches and fought against tradition and that worldly order. He constantly warned the disciples about the bad parts of tradition, mainly the actions of the Pharisee's and how the Law was being corrupted. But at the same time, Yeshua did attend service, and quite regularly as we shall now see. He went to the synagogue in Nazareth and opened the scroll and read from it and then preached to the people.

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Luke 4:16

Now wait a minute here! Yeshua, the Son of God, the personification of God and our living example of what we are supposed to be; He went into a religious building, sat with hypocrites and the lost and he even dared to have fellowship with them? What was he thinking? Man, after reading this should I reconsider what I think of Yeshua; should I respect Him less? And oh no, the scripture in Luke says that it was His custom to do such a thing. That meant that Yeshua went to Shul every Shabbat. So what was a Synagogue like during Yeshua's time? Well, they were in buildings that were their own entity, much like today's 501c3 apostate and antichrist churches, as defined by The Mystery Fellowship. They were under the authority of the Pharisees and the Chief Priests in Jerusalem. They used congregants money to keep the place in order. They paid a temple tax to the high priests in Jerusalem. Gee, does that sound like the organized church in our modern times? It should because those are all of the things that The Mystery Fellowship is opposed to. But Yeshua still went to Shul every Shabbat.

Why would Yeshua do such a thing? Well, perhaps He knew that certain traditions are beneficial to spiritual welfare and growth. Perhaps He knew that Yahweh wants us to dwell together in unity:

A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. Psalm 133

No doubt that He (Yeshua) knew that Yahweh likes to receive praise and worship. We're commanded to praise Yahweh with instruments, as seen in the Psalms. We're told that Yahweh actually inhabits the praises of His people:

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Psalm 22:3

How many restaurants or libraries do you know of that will let a person bring in a small band, sing worship songs and get spiritual. How long do you think that those sort of places would tolerate loud corporate prayer or a group of people praying or singing in the spirit. They might allow you to finish one service before they asked you to leave and never come back again. Any sort of service is not complete and should not even be attempted without first starting with praise and worship as it sets the whole tone for the service. Since Yahweh does inhabit the praises of His people then worship is like an invitation for Him to be present during a service; sort of a telegram. And what better way to be in His presence then by inviting Him in company of two or more through adoration.

This sort of praise and worship works much better when a group of believers meets in a corporate setting. And although The Mystery Fellowship uses the word corporation as in a business term, another definition of the word is, "a unified body of believers." Just look it up in any dictionary.

So how could anyone who has never tasted (either good or bad) the blessing of in incorporated body of believers ever sit in an authoritative place where they could judge those who have. Simply put, they truly can't. Now I don't know of any church affiliations that the founders of The Mystery Fellowship have had in the past. But I qualify my question above with his own words, that some of the people who associate with his fellowship [sic] have had no prior church experience. The Mystery Fellowship says that his movement doesn't sit around and talk about the evil in other churches. I have to doubt that this statement holds water very well. I say that because his whole Mystery Fellowship, or anti-Church is built on the premise that all other churches are in error and that his (and a select few) are the only ones that seem to know the truth. Can we say cult here?

Where an apostate church is concerned, there are two types of Christian warriors that can be found in it. There is the fighter who will stay in the church and try (through prayer, supplication and prophecy) to effect change. They show up at church before the service starts and they pray for the service. They lift up the pastor in prayer and they meet with other like minded people to do the same. Martin Luther, the famous Protestant reformer tried to do just that. Many like The Mystery Fellowship claim Luther as their example for starting new churches. But what they fail to acknowledge is that Luther spent a great amount of time trying to effect change of Roman Catholicism from within. It was not until he was excommunicated and banned from the Catholic religion that he decided to start his new band of believers. That is the mark of a real man of God; one who stays on the front line and fights the good fight.

The other sort of fighter (in the loosest sense of the word) is the coward who rattles the sword. They sit afar off and point out the flaws of their former companions in arms. They rattle their sabres and pretend to really care, but in reality they just want to bring people to their side by the use of disinformation, scripture twisting, accusations and yes, sometimes intimidation. They send spies out into the camp of their brethren to spread disinformation and confusion; a sort of spiritual espionage. In their mind they are deluded to think that they have best intentions to help their friends, but their thoughts are usually the imaginations of a megalomaniac personality trait; a person with a mania for great or grandiose performance.

Scripture constantly relates stories of people who stayed the course and were blessed for their faithfulness. It also tells stories of people who didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh; those who ran off when things got hot. It takes a lot of guts to stay in a church when things aren't going so well. When a person is the subject of ridicule and hate because they stand for righteousness they are blessed. It is extremely easy to just up and run when times get hard and too it's easy to sit in the bleachers trying to direct the war from far off. But it is oh so hard to stay the course. Read in the first few chapters of Revelation where Yeshua promises certain blessings to those who stick with a church and overcome the wickedness. Below are the lyrics to a great Keith Green song that basically talks about staying the course instead of running to the hills when a church goes sour.

Run To The End Of The Highway:
Keith Green

Well you can run to the end of the highway
and not find what you're looking for,
Moving won't make your troubles disappear.
And you can search to the end of the highway
and come back no better than before.
To find yourself you've got to start right here.

Well I came running when I got the news that you were leaving.
Oh, I've gotta talk some sense to you, cause I'm your friend.
You say you want to hit the road cause life is so deceiving.
Do you think it's different at the other end?

So you can run to the end of the highway
and not find what you're looking for.
Moving won't make your troubles disappear.
And you can search to the end of the highway
and come back no better than before.
To find yourself you've got to start right here.

Oh I came running when I got the news that you were crying.
Oh my friend has life been so unkind to you?
You say you want to find a place where people are not lying.
If you find a place like that I'll go there too.

Puritans and Separatists:

The Mystery Fellowship goes into a diatribe talking about how certain groups in history became fed up with their parent sect and separated themselves from their parent entity. He sites as two examples Puritans and Separatists. He is correct in using these two entities as an example. But what The Mystery Fellowship doesn't do is explain the church structure of those sects. They built buildings much like their mother church. They had pastors and elders over their congregations. They had choirs and worshipped as a corporate body. They didn't decide to meet out in the woods, or maybe in a local cave in order to protest the mother church. They could have met in houses, like Malone suggests, but they decided that corporate meeting places were more the dictate of what Yahweh would have them do. And had The Mystery Fellowship been alive at the time of these two sects, and had mentioned something like an anti-church, they would probably been labeled a heretics and locked in the stocks until they repented of their ways.

And it appears that another history lesson is in order. In The Mystery Fellowship's treatise they seem to allude to a notion that the Puritans and Separatists just sort of got fed up one day and decided to start a new religion. Again, as in the case of Martin Luther, they tried to effect change from within, while still members of their mother churches. As is usually the case, these people were ostracized from their fellowships. They lost jobs, fame and any power that they had because of their purer faith. Some were tortured and some put to death for their belief. So, it wasn't as if they wrote a letter to their Reverend one day to tell him that they were not satisfied with the church and that they were going to split the church and start a new one. They left under compulsion, in many cases being excommunicated, being told never to come back.

I've had personal experience with this sort of thing. Years ago I was attending a fellowship in a town in Northern California. Some of us had noticed that the pastor had turned bad; some of our group even having had personal knowledge and experience with some of his offences. We approached the pastor and were dismissed as being troublemakers. We approached the church board and were told that we were evil. We approached the regional overseer and presented him hard evidence, testimonies and many other things, only to have him throw everything in the garbage right in front of the eyes of some of us. The end result was that most of us were given letters of excommunication and told to never come back. It was only then that we decided to move on to other churches. Oh, and as an aside to that, let me say that Yahweh warned all of us not to talk bitterly about the prior fellowship, but to pray for the pastor, and the people who still attended there.

You see, it's better to pray and let Yahweh do his work. When we sit around and talk and gossip about things like what happened above we hinder Yahweh from doing what He has to do. I feel that our bitterness actually enables the demonic principality causing all the trouble and gives him a certain greater strength. I'm not going to say that our group didn't mock that pastor in private nor am I going to say that I wasn't upset about the way that the situation went. But, I will say that when we finally gave everything to Yahweh then things started to happen. Sadly, during the next few years the pastor's family started to disintegrate. His daughter rebelled, having premarital sex and if memory serves me correct, she was pregnant before she finished high school. His son rebelled and was a father before he finished high school. His wife got cancer a few years later and died. A few years after the pastor had left the church one of the women that he had an extramarital affair with came forward and it became knowledge to the church board and finally to the church. He had to come back to local church and apologize. Whether he did confess and ask for forgiveness was because he really did yield to conviction; or if he just felt he had to because of the notoriety, is between him and Yahweh. But the thing is that just as Yahweh said, the secret things will be made known.
 

Let's Have a Definition Please:

It is important, especially when the intent is to slam any person or organizational body, that the persons or organizations be defined in detail. In his dissertation, he says:

We generally consider those attending institutional churches as brethren lost in error or tradition but not usually as enemies.

There are many types of churches out there to choose from. There is the Roman Catholic Church; the mainline Protestant churches; Pentecostal Churches, Charismatic churches and the list goes on and on and on. Each of the churches above has had its shining time in history. The mainline Protestant churches arose in succession after succession as people saw that the church was lacking something that the Holy Spirit was trying to accomplish. Each time, a remnant came out of their mother church to form a new body of believers. That is the way that the Holy Spirit does things; he works through renewal and revival. Since it seems that The Mystery Fellowship has a problem with any church that uses 501c3 status, he must be referring to every church in America that uses the tax exemption given to them by the Internal Revenue Service when they subscribe to this status.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't fully agree with anyone being under a secular governmental authority. I really don't like the idea of a 501c3 and personally don't use it for my ministry, although I could if I chose to. I don't like the fact that a church is banned from political activity because of the 501c3. But, if we were to take things a step farther, what about driver's licenses? What about wedding licenses? What about professional licenses for doctors, lawyers and I don't know, do they have one for Indian Chiefs? All of these things put one under the authority of a secular governmental authority. I mean, if we're going to talk tough about the 501c3, then let's chuck all of the licenses above go for the gusto. I've personally talked with at least three pastors about their stance on the 501c3. All of them have voiced that they will use it while it benefits the body of Messiah. All of them too said that when the 501c3 dictates that they can't preach the Word of God, that they will disband the church and start teaching in homes and other places.

Something like this came up in Yeshua's time. There was an instance where Yeshua was put to the test to see if he was a rebel against Rome. The story goes thusly:

Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. Matthew 22:15-22

It is interesting to note that the word for "marvelled" at the end of the scripture is defined in the Greek as meaning "to be wondered at, to be had in admiration." Those men came to trick (remember that word) Yeshua, to make him stumble over His own words, but they walked away amazed and held Him in high esteem. So if The Mystery Fellowship's assertion is correct, then by Yeshua stating that all worldly things are under a worldly authority; he was lost in error or tradition. Yeshua knew that as long as we are in this world, we are subject to its stupid little rules and regulations. It doesn't mean that we don't get out of bed in the morning because we'll be submitting ourselves to some governmental authority. It means that we walk in His kingdom and in the power of His might every day.

The Apostle Paul got caught up in a situation where he had to use his status as a Roman citizen to save his life:

The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. Acts 22:24-29

Being a citizen of Rome in the First Century was not like being a citizen of any free country on Earth today. At that time, Rome was not the Republic that it has been in prior times. It was more like a dictatorship with a puppet senate. Therefore anyone calling themselves a Roman pledged themselves to the Roman State and ultimately to the Emperor, known as Caesar, who also claimed to be a god. Now there was nothing that could have stopped Paul from renouncing his Roman citizenship. Once he was redeemed by Yeshua he could have done so. But for some reason (it probably never crossed his mind) he didn't renounce it. Now if The Mystery Fellowship's assertion is correct, then Paul was lost to error or tradition. If you continue to read the story about Paul's trial you'll see that his Roman citizenship was basically a "get out of jail free" card. It is also because he was a Roman citizen, that the captain feared Paul's status and when Paul's nephew told the captain about the Jew's plan to murder Paul on the journey to court, the captain made plans to save his life by taking another route to court. Another thing to consider is that Paul's Roman Citizenship probably made it easier for him to travel. It's quite possible that if Paul wasn't a Roman, his trips to all of the churches in Asia, Greece and Rome would have been severely hindered, if they were allowed to happen at all.

So the sum total of all of this isn't to fault anyone for their status, but it is to show that Yahweh can use a person's status for His own personal glory. At this particular time in American history, the 501c3 is more of a blessing than it is a curse. It enables churches to afford things that they would not be able to afford if they had to pay taxes on everything. I'm sure that when the government becomes so vile that they start to put more demands on churches because of that 501c3 status, righteous people will drop the 501c3 like a hot potato. Those who still choose to keep that status will then truly be in The Mystery Fellowship's definition of being lost in error or tradition. A fellowship of believers shouldn't be judged by their name or their 501c3 status. They should be judged by the quality of their character and by the fruit that they produce. Amen!

In addition to all of the 501c3 subject, Malone states or quotes that monies taken out for individual income taxes for employees of 501c3 organizations are used to fund abortions. Well, that might be true, but the taxes of everyone who pays taxes (including this author) are used for abortions too. The money is also used to give aid to Palestinians and ultimately ends up in terrorist's hands. That money also goes into the procurement of textbooks that teach our children evolution and now even the homosexual lifestyle. That tax money is used for many evil things. I think that the Mystery Fellowship would use their time better if they were to lobby the government against how the money is spent, rather than sin against their brothers by calling them apostate. And again, we have to echo the words of Yeshua, who said that "Render unto Caesar the things of Caesar, and render unto Yahweh, the things of Yahweh." Tax money does (as it did in Yeshua's time) fall into the category of Caesar's things.

Infiltration In It's Finest Form:

I'll start out this section by relating to you a story that personally happened to me. Last year I joined a group called MUFON, which stands for Mutual UFO Network. I joined with the idea that I could learn more about the UFO phenomena from a scientific standpoint. After a while I started to get the idea of using my membership to infiltrate this organization for the glory of Messiah. What happened next really humbled me. The very same day that I got the idea of covertly going to the meetings, I heard Yahweh rebuke me for even thinking that thought. He told me that I could go to the meetings, but I could only tell them about my thoughts if they asked me. This is called coming in the front door. It is an honest man's way of talking about a subject. It does not involve deception or deceit. It also shows people that there is some fidelity in my message and that I don't play games.

The other way to do things is called infiltration. Infiltration is a favorite tool of those involved in the occult. It is the express goal of some witches and Satanists to go into Christian fellowships, posing as Christians in order to draw people out of fellowship with Messiah. The person that is targeted is called "the mark" meaning that they are marked as being the easiest to lure away. The mark is engaged in conversation and over a period of time the mark is convinced that they're not getting what they're supposed to get where they are currently fellowshipping. So, it took me by surprise when I read the following in The Mystery Fellowship's dissertation:

We do therefore consider the institutional church system and those trapped in it one of many "missions fields," and might occasionally show up there to mingle and discreetly pass out business cards or engage some in conversations (we're kinda tricky like that), hoping to call our lost brethren out of their error.

Again we have no direct definition of which churches The Mystery Fellowship considers lost. One has to assume that since it hasn't carefully defined what the institutional church system is, it is referring to any church that has a 501c3 status. That includes all Spirit Filled, Bible believing churches too. So if a church is the most holy, Spirit filled Bible preaching church and it has the best worship service on the planet, it is apostate by The Mystery Fellowship's standards if it chooses to use a 501c3 status. I for one feel privileged to be "trapped" in my current fellowship. If you're ever in the Sacramento area and want to be "trapped" with me, then look me up.

The Mystery Fellowship pulls out yet another word from its bag of magic tricks. It pridefully says that it and its minions are "tricky" when it comes to infiltrating churches. Tricks are another tool of the enemy. Eve was tricked into believing that she could become "like God." Tricks have no place in the Kingdom of God. I like the Merriam Webster definition of "trick" because it so aptly describes the act of infiltration:

Main Entry: ¹trick
Pronunciation: 'trik
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English trikke, from Anglo-French *trik, from trikier to deceive, cheat, from Vulgar Latin *triccare, alteration of Latin tricari to behave evasively, shuffle, from tricae complications, trifles
1 a : a crafty procedure or practice meant to deceive or defraud b : a mischievous act : PRANK c : an indiscreet or childish action d : a deceptive, dexterous, or ingenious feat
 

So by his own words, the founder of The Mystery Fellowship and his followers evasively practice deceit to gain new converts. This is not the way that a believer in Messiah Yeshua is supposed to act. True followers proclaim their message in the open. Yeshua, Paul, Peter and all of the people in the book of Acts openly proclaimed their message. Never is it written that anyone in ministry in the New Covenant mingled discreetly in a crowd to steal away converts. The enemy does things covertly, the anointed shout it from the rooftops.

The Makings of A Cult?

When one thinks about any cult, what is the first thing that comes to mind. The first thing that comes to mind is that the cult believes that they, and those who are likeminded, have the only true message and that all others are wrong. Thinking that they have the only correct message and they have to evangelize those who they see as being in error. The Mystery Fellowship has made it quite plain by its written words that it feels that all institutionalized churches are wrong. It feels that It has the only answers to correct this wrongdoing.

Another mark of a cult is that they use lies and deception to lure away those who have no faith or those who are weak in their faith. Sometimes they plant themselves inside a thriving church and look for marks to pull out. They can disguise themselves so well that they can fool someone not trained to see their facade. They find people who have had bad experiences in church and they sympathize with them, gaining their trust and then finally sticking in the dagger of deceit. In this instance, carrots are dangled in front of the perspective horse. The carrots take on the look of "no tithes, no government control, a friendly family atmosphere, no conventional service and so on. All of these things are picked up by people with itching ears who fall for the bait. Don't take my word for it, but read the website www.mysteryfellowship.org and see for yourself. [Note: this site was taken down, the link leads nowhere anymore]

Rat Poison:

Humans have always looked for a better mousetrap. In the 20th century one was finally found and it is still in use today. There are certain chemicals that build up in the body over time and when introduced in small amounts they cause a horrible death. What they do is they cause the body over time to start to break down. In the case of rat poison, the formula is basically 99 percent good food and 1 percent poison. The rat or mouse eats the food thinking that it has gotten away with stealing the morsel. Over the course of a few days and a few meals, the poison builds up causing the blood to thin to such an extent that the littlest cut or abrasion will cause the animal to bleed to death. In vermin, it causes internal bleeding; a slow and agonizing death. I hate rats, but I hate this form of death even more.

So, how does this equate with the mystery fellowship website? Well, when you look at it, it looks quite appealing. It's basically 98 percent truth with 2 percent lies incorporated into it. The truth in the website is all of the basic Christian doctrine, but the lies are that your church is probably the church of mystery Babylon if it operates under a 501c3. Another lie is that if you participate in such a church, you're lost to tradition and error, even if is the most Godly and Spirit filled church in the world. The third poison is that if you leave your church and join them, you will be wise and know the truth because you sure don't know it now.

Clandestine Meeting Places:

If you've found the previous sections interesting, then buckle up and hold on. I turns out that the Mystery Fellowship isn't open to just anyone at any time. But let's look at what is written on the website and then look at this clandestine fellowship:

S.A.S.E stands for "Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope."

As you enter and/or leave your first antichurch meeting, you will be offered the opportunity to receive a stamped blank envelope. If you would like to attend another meeting with us, simply fill it out with your address and you will be sent printed details about next week's meeting location and our "bulletin" for that week. (Note that the mailing addresses of neither visitors nor regular members are ever kept on file.)

Our regular attendees usually bring their own SASE, which may or may not include a financial offering inside as well. The SASE system is designed in part to make the distinction between who is leaving a financial offering and who is not virtually indistinguishable to all attendees, removing the assumed "pressure" to give financially, and to better allow us all to obey the Biblical command to let our giving be done in secret. We ask that nobody ever visibly places cash or checks in the envelopes - those wishing to make financial offerings may plan ahead, mail it during the week, or if you are prompted to donate spontaneously, please excuse yourself to a restroom to either place cash in your envelope or fill out a check. The SASEs we hand out also include a piece of paper, upon which you may designate your offering and/or fill out comments and prayer requests.

The SASE system is also designed in part to "persecution-proof" our meetings, by keeping the location more or less secret, except by invitation, as well as from being "crashed" by trouble-makers (see last paragraph). If a real need ever arises in our society to "go underground," we are prepared via the SASE system and by simply developing real relationships with our immediate brethren by which we can keep in touch.

Our weekly change of meeting locations keeps our fellowship(s) fluid and flexible (and perhaps somewhere between interesting and exciting!), and the SASE system keeps everyone up to date on the locations, as well as the expressed needs and news we'd like to share. The SASE system also allows us to operate without incurring administrative costs of bulk mailing, as regular attendees bear the responsibility and expense, one stamp at a time. Regular attendees who miss a meeting needn't worry, as a friend will simply call you, or you can call them for next week's meeting info if you need to. We try to mail all SASEs back to attendees on Monday, but accidents happen (both in the mail and in our midst), so if you do not receive your SASE and meeting info by Thursday or Friday, feel free to contact us.

Trouble-makers, false brethren, divisive men, and those who teach and practice falsehood or continue in unrepentant sin (see 1 Cor 5:11) may eventually be uninvited as well, by the mutual decision of the entire church and after being approached and/or warned repeatedly about the error of their ways. Generally, such action would be a last resort - those who genuinely wish to learn and grow in Christ and edify the Body needn't worry about such discipline, but occasionally a group may have to exercise the option not to mail an invitation to return to especially troublesome persons.

Where will the hypocrisy ever end? Persecution proof? Ask the true believers in the former Soviet Union, or the current believers in China if anything can be persecution proof. The Mystery Fellowship likes to equate its movement to the First Century Church, or a likeness thereof. Look at the history of the church during that time; persecution was rife! Yet another history lesson for The Mystery Fellowship; persecution makes the church grow; and makes it grow like a wildfire out of control. Now I'm not one who will go out of his way to be persecuted, but when it is Yahweh's timing for me to get my head lopped off, I'll go with gladness. After all, it will be my last time to witness for Yeshua. I mean, what can they do to punish me for witnessing; kill me? It's always been my experience when I run into people who are getting ready for "the coming" persecution, in a fearful sort of manner, like The Mystery Fellowship seems to be doing, is that that they are not inwardly ready for persecution. Perhaps this sort of person isn't walking like they know they should walk with Yeshua. Perhaps they don't want to walk that walk; only Yahweh knows the heart. I just throw those things out in speculation, knowing that at one time I would have used such a thing as preparing for persecution because my heart was not right way in the past. Maybe it's time for repentance and renewal for people who are currently that way.

We see that the SASE system is meant to keep the meetings secret so that the services can't be crashed by "troublemakers." If this whole situation wasn't as serious as it is, I would be laughing about that statement. That very statement is being made by the very one who talked about infiltrating into churches that he has classified as "in error" and as "Babylonian, apostate, Laodicean, et.al. That statement being made by a man who bragged about being tricky (using deception and deceit) to draw people out of their fellowships. You read this stuff and you can understand how Yeshua illustrated to us how we could know a person by the fruit they produce. It's okay for The Mystery Fellowship and its adherents to lure people out of their churches, but when it comes to the possibility of such an action being used against them, it's an attack by people who might crash his church and cause trouble. I guess that what I've always believed to be true is yet again borne out. A deceiver will always let you know his true nature by showing you his or her cards. That premise hasn't failed me yet.

And finally, we see the wheel has turned around a full circuit. We find out what sort of people will be asked to leave The Mystery Fellowship's. They will disfellowship troublemakers (like people who discreetly hand out business cards at churches), divisive men (like people who label all people not like themselves as in error and apostate), those who practice falsehood (wanting and abduction experience so as to preach to fallen angels) [see DR sitemap], and those who continue in unrepentant sin (Yahweh knows and I don't pretend to). Sounds like the Mystery Fellowship should probably disband or seriously consider getting new leadership and a new purpose.

All Are Welcome, And They Mean All:

You know, in my short 27 years of serving Yeshua Ha Mashiach I've run into all sorts of believers. I feel like I've had a rich life having met believers from all flavors of Yahweh's house of culinary delights. I've also had the chance to get to know a lot of unbelievers of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. And I ashamedly admit to you that I dated a couple of unbelievers with the mistaken belief that I could lead them to Yahweh. In neither case did that plan pan out and both are unbelievers to this day as far as I know. It seems that there will always be a brother or sister who, when they see that I might be forging a friendship with an unbeliever, will come up to me and quote scriptures about how we're not to have fellowship with darkness, or that we shouldn't be unequally yoked. I proclaim that for the most part they are right, especially when it comes to romantic or financial interests and even more especially when it comes to spiritual matters. Christianity does not mesh with any other faith on earth, with maybe the exception of Judaism. The sad thing today is that the practices of so many eastern religions are encroaching into the Christian arena.

We affirm that Christ's church is NOT divided (Matthew 12:25; 1 Cor 1:13) and that the New Testament clearly prohibits sects and denominations. We therefore meet only in the name of Jesus Christ, and identify ourselves only as Christians, or as "believers in" or "followers of" Jesus Christ. We affirm that those who call themselves by a denomination are sectarian and in error (read 1 Cor 1:10-31). While individual attendees may come from a "Catholic," "Jewish," "Baptist," "Lutheran," "Charismatic," "Non-Denominational denomination," "Pagan" or other background, we believe it is to Christ's glory that all come to drop such labels as they learn to meet in Christ's name and under His headship alone, rather than under the name of a man-made divisive title. [From Statement of Faith - Mystery Fellowship]

Looking at the statement directly above might make someone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. After all, we all want there to be a oneness within the Body of Messiah. It was nice of The Mystery Fellowship to include people from all of the denominations that he's classified as apostate. After all, all of those names are really just labels and true spirit filled believers are just known as Messiah's Church. There are born again Catholics, Messianic Jews, Spirit filled Lutherans and Baptists and nondenominationalists. But what about Pagans? What is a pagan anyway? Let's look at the definition.

The definition for pagan is as follows:

Main Entry: pa·gan
Pronunciation: 'pA-g&n
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin paganus, from Latin, civilian, country dweller, from pagus country district; akin to Latin pangere to fix
1 : HEATHEN 1; especially : a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome)
2 : one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person

So by definition we can see that pagans are diametrically opposed to the tenants of Biblical Christianity. Now there is no problem if a pagan visits a church if they want to learn more about Yahweh and if they are being led there by the Ruach Ha Kodesh. It is an honor to have such people visit a church. But, as a regular attendee, meaning that they are an active part of the fellowship it should not be allowed. Again I hear those words about light not having fellowship with darkness:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Okay, I've read it through several times and it still says that as long as a person drops their title, no matter what religious affiliation they are, they are welcomed to fellowship with The Mystery Fellowship. It is tragic to see that the words "Spirit filled," "Born Again," or other such words or phrases that denote that a person has a personal relationship with Yahweh are not mentioned. The The Mystery Fellowship has all but bastardized anyone who attends a church that operates under a 501c3. He calls them apostate, Laodicean and other offensive words, yet he's willing to let pagans into his church just as long as they don't call themselves pagans. What about wiccans, Satanists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, fertility cults and a myriad of other false religions; are they welcomed too? The The Mystery Fellowship has equated people and churches that have 501c3 status as being part of the Whore of Babylon, the one world church of the last days, but itself has started a fellowship that takes the main tenant of the Whore of Babylon (uniting all religions) and makes it a dogma for its fellowship.

Is There No One In Charge?

Another bold statement is made by The Mystery Fellowship. According to them, the following is acceptable:

We believe the visible division of “clergy” and “laity” was done away with at the cross, and we thus affirm the "priesthood of all believers" (1 Tim 2:5; 1 Peter 2:5.9) - that every individual is both able and responsible to seek direction firstly from God for his/her life (although "wise counsel" is normative - Proverbs 12:15; 19:20; 24:6), AND able to minister to others as God's word and Spirit spring forth from him/her in church meetings (1 Cor 14:26). There is, therefore, no one person who is indispensable to our worship, meetings, fellowship, government and/or missionary service except Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit. From: Who's In Charge Here Page

I want to know when the clergy was done away with at the cross. Where is the evidence. The high priesthood was done away with because Yeshua is now our high priest. The throne of David is fulfilled in the person of Yeshua, so there is no need for a throne in Jerusalem. The sacrifice was done away with because Yeshua is our sacrifice. But I'm pretty sure that there is some sort of scriptural church government that is acceptable to the Lord. Let's look and see what Yahweh's Word says; are there any people appointed to be clear cut leaders?

For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre... Titus 1:7

And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. 1 Timothy 3:10

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Ephesians 4:11-12

So just from doing a simple Bible study we find that there are some who are set above the others; not in some sort of heirarchy, but because some are versed more than others in the Word of Yahweh and some have more practical experience. If established in a proper setting and by proper precepts there is nothing wrong with having some people in authority over others. We read earlier about how The Mystery Fellowship plans on keeping a close eye on the congregants and removing those who are deemed to be troublemakers. We read that the church in corporate will decide this, but who is going to present it to the church, but one or two people who know what the problem is. These people automatically fall into the office of a deacon or a bishop because they are designate, due to the fact that the church trusted them to do the job. They have some sort of experience in such matters and can present it to the body, or the laity. And with all of this happening, you have automatically made a clergy. Most people want others to be over them because it produces a feeling of security. If these one or two individuals pull off the expulsion or correction of the offending individual successfully then the laity will demand that these two individuals hold the office of bishop or deacon. Whenever a problem arises these two people will be called upon yet again to fix the problem.

The Mystery Fellowship is correct in asserting that all true believers in Messiah are priests. It is also true that although as born again believers, we are new in the Spirit, but we still wear this old body, the flesh that hinders us day in and day out. And we have to be honest when we think about our lives and the lives of other believers. Imagine if you will, a church that has no pastor, no one really in charge; it's pretty horrifying. I've had the pleasure of visiting and attending a variety of different churches, of most denominations; both Spirit filled and not Spirit filled. I can say with a most assured opinion that people in any church, if not held in accountability will run amok, and although they have the best of intentions, and each person feels that they are hearing from Yahweh, the body of believers would tear apart at the seams. People tend to be like sheep, and the Bible even uses this analogy when talking about us. Sheep are basically dumb animals. One can wander off and fall into a ditch, and having been rescued from that fate will fall into the same hole a day later. That is why sheep need a shepherd. The shepherd watches over the flock, guarding them against their stupidity and harm that can come from predator animals. Saying that a fellowship of believers are all equal and that they don't need a clergy over them is like saying that a flock of sheep doesn't need a shepherd, it's a foolish notion. And that is why the scripture in Ephesians, chapter four talks about some being ordained as pastors. Pastors are shepherds and shepherds are pastors, it is the same meaning for the same word. This is an office of ordination given by Yahweh and again proves that a clergy is needed to keep order and provide for the common welfare of the sheep.

Now let us look at a scripture in the book of 1st Timothy:

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 1 Timothy 4:14

Now, what is this strange word that we see at the end of the scripture above. Well, the word presbytery in the original Greek language is presbuterion {pres-boo-ter'-ee-on} and it means a body of elders, presbytery, senate, council; of the elders of any body (assembly) of Christians. Again we have a clergy proclaimed to us in the New Covenant.

So we see that time and time again in New Covenant scripture, that there is supposed to be some sort of clergy, or perhaps "headship" is a better word, in the fellowship of Messiah Yeshua. If it was good enough for the Apostle Paul, and the First Century Church, then should not only be fine, but also acceptable for all believers throughout history. Without leaders and structure, only chaos can prevail. Sure, we're still priests because of Yahweh Yeshua, but even priests have to have a semblance of order. So, let's not write off headship positions in the Fellowship of Messiah. The Mystery Fellowship is free to do as it wishes, but I can assuredly say that chaos and a bitter disbanding will be in their future if they do things the way that they say they are doing.

Who Is Calling Who, To Come Out?

Well, now we come to a part that I took particular interest in. There is a page on the site that explains the "anti-church," name and why they use it and such. On that page is found the following scripture:

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."  revelation 18:6

So, who is making this proclamation here? Well, it is Yahweh crying aloud for the true saints to come out of the one world Babylon Mystery Church that will exist during the Tribulation period that is illustrated in The Revelation. Notice when the time frame is; future, not now. Notice who is doing the calling; it is Yahweh, not the leadership of The Mystery Fellowship. In essence, what the leadership of The Mystery Fellowship is doing is they are equating today's church structure with the Whore of Babylon. They are saying that any church with a 501c3 or any church that has any sort of governmental structure; such as pastors, elders, bishops (all sanctioned scripturally) is the same as the evil entity that Yahweh Himself will destroy at a future date. While there might be some churches that might possibly mirror that future entity, I have no doubt that the majority of Spirit Filled churches in contemporary times are far from resembling anything that the future evil monstrosity will be. So, The Mystery Fellowship, in acting as an agent of The Most High, is in error calling people out of an entity that still does not exist. And, you'll notice that the voice doing the calling out is none other than Yahweh. He hasn't appointed a human agent to do the call. I truly believe that the call mentioned above will come from the Ruach Ha Kodesh, who will speak corporately to each heart concerned when the time is right.

Yet another scripture that The Mystery Fellowship uses is one that every cult uses to call people out of Christian fellowship. It is found in 2 Corinthians, chapter six:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

As with every scripture, one has to take into account the context of the whole scripture, meaning the verses both before and after the scripture in question. A simple view of the whole picture shows that Paul is telling the Church in Corinth to not fellowship with pagans; those who worshipped idols and sacrificed to demons. Second Corinthians was written because false teachers who claimed to be apostles had infiltrated (there's that word again) the Corinthian church with the goal of discrediting Paul’s ministry and apostleship. This letter was written with the purpose of refuting these intruders. The unbelievers mentioned in the scripture were those intruders who were leading people astray. It's interesting that these false teachers had "infiltrated" the church in Corinth. Maybe it's not coincidental that both these leaders and some in The Mystery Fellowship share the same clandestine tactics. Food for thought anyway.

So What's The Mystery:

The world is intrigued with mysteries anymore. Half of the television shows that one can watch deal with mysteries. If it's not some occult mystery, it is some sort of crime drama or maybe a show about medical mysteries. Mysteries are a big money maker for the whole entertainment industry, why; because they know people crave to know hidden and secret things. The whole focus of those who study and practice the occult is one of trying to figure out mysteries and hidden things. A simple thesaurus search of the word "occult" yields the following result: secret, mysterious, clandestine, covert, obscure, cryptic and mystifying. A search of the Merriam Webster online dictionary yielded the following result for the word "mystery."

mys·ter·y¹
n. pl. mys·ter·ies

1. One that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma: How he got in is a mystery.
2. One whose identity is unknown and who arouses curiosity: The woman in the photograph is a mystery.
3. A mysterious character or quality: a landscape with mystery and charm.
4. A work of fiction, a drama, or a film dealing with a puzzling crime.
5. The skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group and are regarded as the special province of initiates. Often used in the plural: the mysteries of Freemasonry; the mysteries of cooking game.
6. A religious truth that is incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through divine revelation.
7. 1. An incident from the life of Jesus, especially the Incarnation, Passion, Crucifixion, or Resurrection, of particular importance for redemption.
   2. One of the 15 incidents from the lives of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary, such as the Annunciation or the Ascension, serving in Roman Catholicism as the subject of meditation during recitation of the rosary.
8. 1. also Mystery One of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
   2. mysteries The consecrated elements of the Eucharist.
9. 1. A religious cult practicing secret rites to which only initiates are admitted.
   2. A secret rite of such a cult.

Quite a long definition huh? In one of their dissertations about their fellowship, The Mystery Fellowship used definitions of a couple of Christian denominations, saying that the Baptists are called by their name because their focus was baptism; and the Quakers got their name because they quaked. True assertions that I have no quarrel with because history bears them out. But why would a person call their group of believers "The Mystery Fellowship?" Well, perhaps it's because the word "mystery" is to most people like a salt lick is to a cow; they'll always congregate around it and aside from its food, it is the basic focus of attention.

Imagine being a congregant with the Mystery Fellowship. You're in a mixed crowd or people, most heathen or pagan but a few Christians too. You all start talking and when they ask you what you do, you tell them that you go to the Mystery Fellowship. Well, knowing that people like a good mystery you know that most of the heathen and maybe even a couple of the Christians will have their ears perked. Then you tell them that the tenant for your fellowship is that all other churches are evil and living under deception, and you're called out of all of that. The heathen will identify with you because most of them have had a bad experience in a church or have been wronged by a person calling themselves a Christian. They'll want to come and see what you're all about. A few Christians who aren't satisfied with their fellowship (for whatever reason) will come to visit too. So basically, the name "The Mystery Fellowship" is a good marketing ploy. I know the person who started The Mystery Fellowship and he's great at marketing; a real schmoozer.

But in all fairness, we have to look at one reason why "The Mystery Fellowship" claims that it exists. When one goes to the site they are greeted with several scriptures:

...And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ...
Ephesians 3:9

...But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world... 1 Corinthians 2:7

...according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began...Romans 16:25

...the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints : To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery ... Colossians 1:26

...Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself... Ephesians 1:9

  ...That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge... Colossians 2:2-3

...And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God... Mark 4:11

...This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.... Ephesians 5:32

So in this instance, the Old Testament is sort of like a mystery novel. In each novel little clues are given here and there and if one is astute enough they can pretty well figure things out before the novel ends. The ancients were given certain clues. For instance, Abraham prophetically tells Isaac that Yahweh will provide the Lamb for the sacrifice, pointing to Yeshua's sacrifice on the cross. Satan is told prophetically in Genesis that Messiah will crush (Satan's) head. There are many inferences in the prophets alluding to the coming of Messiah. Below is an example of just two:

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; Isaiah 42:1-6

And:

And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Isaiah 49:6

Yeshua and His Church were a mystery to the elders of Israel. Had they known their scripture, and looked at all of the hints, they would have understood that Yeshua was the Messiah. Yeshua even addressed this when he lamented over the then future destruction of Jerusalem:

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Luke 19:41-44