The Path of the Destroyer
A believer thought she had found sound teaching in John Torell, but discovered otherwise when she entered a greater hell than she had ever known, with no hope or deliverance from God. Such are the ways of false religion, which can appear so noble and true, yet are corrupt and ruinous, as Jesus said to its promoters: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outside, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27 MKJV).
We were contacted by a woman in Germany who had been learning under an American pastor. Here is her story, picking up at the point she met him:
We also had the fear (because this is preached again and again) that we would spiritually wax cold without the fellowship with other believers, but this did not happen. My husband was deeply depressed and discouraged for a time, but I was fired up. I searched the internet for spiritual input or fellowship and this is how we got into contact with a pastor from the US who operated a website with some articles and sermons whose content matched what we felt was sound teaching.
So this was our source for spiritual nourishment for a long time and I began to translate this pastor’s material into the German language and under his headship we began to build up a German branch of his website. I did the translations and my husband was the webmaster. This was the tool that God used to pull my husband out of his spiritual depression in which he had sunk after we had proven to be “church-incompatible”….
The same letter further on, regarding her health problems:
So this pastor we associated with said that only sin in my life (John 8:32) could be the reason I was not healed and pointed to the law(s) of God, and there were many. I simply was not able to keep them all and so I ended up beating myself up for my continual failure. This means that added to my physical pain I now also had massive spiritual and soulish pain and I must honestly say that this was the worst torment I’ve ever been in.
She later wrote us of how she had not come into the victory of faith under this man’s leadership:
I also told you of the US Pastor we got in touch with and who gave us all the Do’s and Don’ts and I did heed everything as good as I could for years, but it did not change a thing, neither inwardly nor outwardly.
And how, after a couple years of seeing problems with his teachings, she needed to part ways:
Concerning the US pastor we worked with (by the way he just last Sunday resigned as a pastor – he is 73 years old – and wrote that he wants to concentrate on research and writing articles now, he’s much into exposing the New World Order and the Kaballah, preparing the body of Christ for the coming antichrist regime etc.) I must tell him that I cannot work with him any longer in spreading wrong doctrine and translating his material due to the truth I am beginning to see. But I feel in no way equipped to argue with him and “defend” the things that are beginning to be revealed to me because I’m like a new born babe in this regard and feel too weak for such a “fight”. Or is this wrong? Must I trust that God gives me the right words when I need them? Would it be wise to just inform him about my quitting without going into details concerning the reasons? Could you please give me some advice on this also?
Victor answered:
Concerning the pastor, it’s good and necessary to tell him the truth. He needs to hear it like anyone else does and you needn’t argue with him about it; care for him. What he does with it will be out of your hands; it’s not your job to convince.
If men don’t believe in this world, the words of truth spoken here may well bear fruit in the next, so speak for his sake.
Give us his name and website, and if necessary, we’ll help you. We’d like to see what he does.
Gina replied after writing her pastor to let him know what she was parting ways:
His name is John S. Torell and his website is www.eaec.org
Here you can see his answer to my letter (exactly what I had expected):
Dear Gina,
When I read your letter, I asked Charles to come to my office and shared it with him. He immediately asked me, "Who has been talking to Gina." I told him that I do not know. He insisted that you have either been in contact with someone or you have seen some teaching that has shattered you.
Some time ago I finished Kabballah book number six. I do not know if you received a copy of that or not. This book deals with the Illuminati writers during the 19th century. Most of them were Germans and their writings had a devastating effect on Germany. Friedrich Engels was born into a pietistic German family and made some personal decisions for Christ, and as a young man, he wrote some outstanding Christian documents. But then he met Moses Hess and Karl Marx and in a short time they robbed him of his Christian faith and he was filled with powerful demons as he started to work with Marx to develop communism. Every argument and doubt given in your letter is the same that Engels expressed, almost verbatim.
I have told you and your husband that Germany is ruled by some of the most powerful demonic forces in the world and that the demon prince ruling Germany has been the same for centuries. He guided the Illuminati writers, he empowered Adolf Hitler and he ruled with an iron hand over East Germany from 1945-1989. I am sure your work has damaged his kingdom, and it is clear to me that he zeroed in on you, since you are the person responsible for translating Christian material into German, not only mine, but others also.
In the name of Jesus, I ask that you to come to your senses. You are
destroying yourself, your husband and daughter by listening to whoever has been talking to you. You are destroying thousands of German speaking people by abandoning true Biblical doctrine and adhering to doctrines of demons. We will pray for you and my hope is that there is enough of faith left in you that you will to listen to reason. I don’t want you to join the Illuminati writers, Karl Marx, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and all those who abandoned the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and embraced Lucifer.
You have known me for seven years and know that I love and care for you as a sister in Christ. In reading the Bible, one of Satan’s tactics is to divide and conquer. Don’t cut yourself off, please allow me to speak with you so that we can pray over the matter and seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
Remaining in Christ,
Pastor John
Gina asked:
Can you please give me your evaluation of this? Why does he put me in the same category with Marx, Stalin, Hitler etc.? This frightens me…
And sent us another letter:
Hello Victor,
I just wanted to add a new information for you.
Today I received this e-Mail from John Torell:
Dear Gina,
Thank you for taking the time and respond to my last e-mail to you.
I decided to take a few days to pray and seek the Lord before I responded to your e-mail. In the meantime I activated a small but powerful group of people and asked them to start praying for you and your husband.
It is very important that you understand that I never have and never will attack you and put you down. My goal from the very first time you wrote to me has been to help you and your husband in your struggles.
After reading your latest e-mail I came to understand that I have been living in an illusion, since the correspondence and the pictures you sent over the years indicated a happier family and I had no clue that you were struggling with the question if you were saved or not. Even during our intense work on your deliverance, that was never brought to my attention. I thought that your husband had been set free from the demonic forces of suicide and it grieves me that such a strong and talented man as he cannot see how much God loves him and cares for him. I thought that when we asked T. to come and visit and pray with you, that it helped, but apparently that did not do any good either.
Both you and your husband are very gifted in many areas and you have done an outstanding job with the German website. We rejoiced with you when you led the woman to Christ and later went to her hometown to baptize her in water. Despite that both of you are hurting and not having the victory in some areas, you have been able to help many people and I am sure helped them to get saved.
During my entire time in the ministry since 1967 I have been standing on the promise of God as written in John 1:12-13. I in myself I do not have the power to save any person, but I have the strong faith that if I preach and teach the Word of God, he will take over from there and do what he has promised in the Bible.
I can only come to one conclusion and that is that I have failed terrible in presenting the Gospel to you and your husband. You have translated my sermons for seven years and many of my articles, and to my sorrow I see that there was nothing in it that could help you to come to peace and rest in God. All I can say is that I am sorry for failing you and your husband.
It is obvious that I have nothing to offer you and your husband , except grief and sorrow.
I am not going to impose myself on you in the future and I am not judging you. My prayer is still that God shall intervene and minister to you and your husband and I hope that you will find some person that has more skill, insight and power than I have to lead you to the place, where you have peace with God.
I did the best I could and that is all I can do.
May God minister to you and bless you is my prayer.
Yours in Christ despite all things
Pastor John
This was much relief for me that he no longer accuses me. Just wanted to let you know about this latest news, so you have the whole picture.
Victor replied:
Hi Gina,
The Lord is with you to keep you and make you whole for His glory. Believe and be patient.
We marvel at how many assumptions John Torell makes of you and us, particulary in his first letter. You ask:
“Can you please give me your evaluation of this? Why does he put me in the same category with Marx, Stalin, Hitler etc.? This frightens me…”
We have no idea why, and he expects you to take his word for it, giving you no evidence. And he believes he’s a man of God? This man walks by carnal doctrine, not by the faith of the saints and revelation by the Spirit of God.
We’ve been watching here: http://www.eaec.org/sermons/2009/RLJ-1168.htm, “Biblical Truth Concerning the State of Israel – Part 1: Fighting in the Gaza Strip.” We find not only great error and a false claim of hearing the Voice of the Lord, but enmity with Israel, as well. How do these men, with his kind of doctrine, explain away Romans chapters 9 to 11, with passages such as the following?
Romans 11:25-32 MKJV
(25) For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, lest you should be wise within yourselves; that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations has comes in.
(26) And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, “There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
(27) For this is My covenant with them, when I have taken away their sins.”
(28) Indeed as regards the Gospel, they are enemies for your sakes. But as regards the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
(29) For the free gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
(30) For as you also then disbelieved God, but now have been shown mercy through their disbelief,
(31) even so these also have not believed now, so that through your mercy they may also obtain mercy.
(32) For God has shut up all in unbelief, so that He might show mercy to all.
John’s comparison of Israel’s 2009 war with Gaza, initiated by the Arabs, to the Nazi demolition of the Warsaw ghetto and wholesale slaughter of the Jews, is obscene. That John credits God with this comparison is blasphemous. His presentation is one lie after another, directly opposing the testimony of God in the Holy Scriptures, and we know that He doesn’t contradict Himself or send liars to speak for Him.
We destroy John’s perverse fabrication when addressing another who preaches the same lie, Stephen Jones, in God Keeps His Promises: The Jews in their Land of Israel:
“Jones condemns the Jews for reestablishing Israel (I thought he said they are Edomites! So much confusion!) without first repenting of their unbelief. This is also contrary to the testimony of God to the house of Israel:
‘Then you will know that I am the LORD, because I will bring you to the land of Israel, the land that I promised to give your ancestors. There you will remember the way you lived and everything you did to dishonor yourselves. You will be disgusted by every wrong thing that you did. Then you will know that I am the LORD, because I will deal with you for the sake of My Name. I will not deal with you based on the evil and corrupt things that you have done, nation of Israel, declares the Almighty LORD’ (Ezekiel 20:42-44 GW).
As it is also written:
‘And it shall be in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David, and on the people of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of prayers. And they shall look on Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be bitter over Him, as the bitterness over the first-born. In that day shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem…’ (Zechariah 12:9-11 MKJV).
How is it, Mr. Jones, that Israel, while occupying Jerusalem, comes to a place of repentance regarding the One they have pierced, if as you say, God will not permit them to reoccupy Jerusalem while unrepentant? How is it that God grants them a spirit of grace and prayer, if as you say, He has shut them out from the land and intends to destroy them because of their presumption in existing there? …
The apostle Paul and the prophet Zechariah identify the physical Jews as the recipients of God’s future grace, which reconciles them to Himself through Christ, by His mercy. In this way, Paul boldly and joyfully declares, God brings life from the dead to the whole world:
‘For if their casting away is the reconciling of the world, what is the reception except life from the dead?’ (Romans 11:15 MKJV)
Why do you oppose life from the dead? Because you are dead, a servant of Satan and of the kingdom of darkness, a kingdom you so proudly serve.”
For more on God’s glorious work taking place before our eyes today, read:
Behold, Israel and the Jew!
Raising the Flag and Nation of Israel
Your God Stands for You, Israel
Fools Believe Liars Who Malign Israel
A Word to the Enemies of Israel
John is in carnal religious works. As you’ve hopefully come to understand for yourself, you and your husband have been deceived by this man. The good news is that the Lord has stirred your heart to seek Him and has brought you to hear the truth that you might be made free.
Enough said, at least for now, of John Torell, unless you have questions you feel you need answered. We stand ready to communicate with him at any time, Lord willing, without condemnation but certainly with firm instruction.
One thing we will say: If there’s any occasion for a tug-of-war between him and us over you and your husband, we’re not interested. Either you are fully persuaded the Lord has brought you here to receive His Word from us or you’re not. We won’t try to convince you. But what we intend to do is speak the Truth the Lord gives us for your sake. Our hope and prayer is that you’ll cast all doubts aside and move forward.
You write concerning all your health problems going back to your temporary home in 2002: “I always thought that something demonic was (is?) involved in my health problems. I had deliverance and prayer various times, but to no avail. Can you tell me what you think about it after knowing the details now? Could you possibly pray for my healing?”
Please pay good attention to what we’re about to say here now, not that you shouldn’t be paying attention to all we say. The truth will make you free. As you walk with the Lord, believing and obeying, tending to His concerns, your concerns will be automatically taken care of. Never mind asking Him for what you want or need; He’s more aware of your needs than you are. Just tend to His will and you’ll find your needs being addressed. Believe it. The Scriptures declare these things and we’ve seen them working again and again, not occasionally only, but as the Law of life. The process is inescapable and sure.
You write, “Okay, I did not thank him FOR the ailments because I saw these as ‘works of the devil’ that Jesus came to destroy. I have followed your advice and begun now to thank Him even FOR the ailments although that feels very strange and I really don’t want to keep them….”
Job didn’t hold Satan responsible for his ailments, did he? Job knew that all things were from the Lord. It was the Lord Who assigned Satan to do what was done to Job. In all of this, Job knew Whom he was dealing with, or Who was dealing with him.
Nobody’s asking you to keep your ailments or even want to keep them. All we’re saying is you need to recognize the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all things and thank Him for everything, both good and evil. As Job said to his wife, “Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil, too?”
But as his wife was saying, “Why don’t you curse God and die?” so you’ve been cursing God by rebuking Satan for what God has ultimately been responsible for in your life, as with Job. However, you did it in ignorance, by men’s satanic doctrines, and now you’re here to hear and receive the truth to finally take the road to freedom. Your time of redemption is here. Thank Him for that, Gina.
Seeing the kinds of works you’ve been involved in with John Torell, it’s no wonder you’ve been stalemated in your life. Gina, if you believe, that will now begin to change. Mind you, we’re not dangling carrots here; we’re telling you the truth.
You write, “I have no problem with correction, but I would at least like to know what exactly I am corrected for, so that I can learn and not repeat the same mistake(s). I also do not correct my daughter without letting her know the reason why… but I’m always in the dark, puzzled. This is so utterly frustrating.”
Did the Lord tell Job what his problem or offense was? It wasn’t a matter of what Job did, but about what he was and where he was at. God’s purpose was to bring him higher, out of the exemplary life of his own righteousness. One’s own righteousness brings labor and fear. Listen to Job.
Note that, according to the Law, Saul of Tarsus was blameless (Philippians 3), like Job, yet murderous because of his own righteousness by the Tree of Knowledge. But God had mercy on him because he did it in ignorance, earnestly believing he was doing God service. So with you.
You write, “So obviously it is possible…I really need a revelation of God’s love for me for the bible says that love casts out all fear. Perhaps that is the root of ALL of my problems….”
Love is not as it appears and as we know it; He has demonstrated His love at the cross by the death of His Son, which Love is Eternal and Ever Present, without revocation. When the time comes and the work is done, you’ll know and understand – no problem. He’s faithful and true, and He knows what you need.
You ask, “Can you please tell me what His yoke is and what His burden is?”
The yoke is guidance and control of the Master, the burden is that which He requires of you to carry or pull. Both of these come by simply believing on Him. If you believe and trust Him, you’ll do as He says in all things, which is much easier than “kicking against the goad” and trying to resist the ultimately unresistable.
Gina, give Him thanks. He’s far more than worthy.
Victor
Gina replied:
First I want to comment on a few things from our last correspondence. You wrote:
One thing we will say: If there’s any occasion for a tug-of-war between him and us over you and your husband, we’re not interested. Either you are fully persuaded the Lord has brought you here to receive His Word from us or you’re not. We won’t try to convince you. But what we intend to do is speak the Truth the Lord gives us for your sake. Our hope and prayer is that you’ll cast all doubts aside and move forward.
It was at no point even remotely ever any possibility for a tug-of-war between John Torell and you over me (can’t speak for my husband here). Within myself I had somewhat “divorced” from John Torell for more than two years already. I was missing fruitfulness in his own life and ministry, seeing him beg for money all the time and many other things that disturbed me. I simply was not able to exactly put my finger on what was wrong doctrinally. I certainly was brought under heavy bondage (a heavy yoke) under his leading and he had not the answers I was searching for. Even if I still don’t understand the last bit of everything you teach, I certainly have no desire whatsoever to go back.
At this point let me give you a short update on John Torell and our involvement with his ministry. As I told you before we were in charge of his German website which was very extensive. When by getting in contact with you finally some truth began to dawn on me I told my husband AND John Torell that my conscience would not allow me to translate any more material for him and I would quit doing this immediately. Two to three weeks later – learning more and more truth – I also began to feel very bad concerning the continuation of the already existing website (containing hundreds of pages translated by me).
If it had been for me alone, I would have without any hesitation taken the whole website off the internet the same day, but this was not possible because I don’t have the necessary know-how and my husband was the one who did the webmaster job. So I had to try to talk to him, getting him to understand what was going on with me. This was not easy since I was some steps ahead of him and still not well established in the new things I was learning, not able to come up with an answer to some of his objections and his inability to understand English very well was an additional problem, for I did not have the time to translate the huge amount of new material that quick.
But somehow I was successful in at least getting him realize how much it would violate my conscience to continue to contribute to John Torell’s ministry any longer and how much it would torment me to know that lots of my translations are available on the web by which people could get deceived. I told him that knowing the right thing to do and not doing it is sin and that we cannot do that.
I emphazised that being associated with John Torell and his ministry was an “unholy union” and that God cannot bless us when we’re in an unholy union. He did understand everything, but emotionally had a very hard time to let go of “his” website, which has been “his project” over the last six years and in which he had invested thousands of hours. He had not only done the webmaster job, but also communicated with all the people who contacted us via the website and established some close contacts. For him it was somehow “his baby”. I had also invested thousands of hours in this website, but for me it was really like Paul described it in Philippians 3:8 – I counted it but dung and I could not care less what happened to it. So I had it a whole lot easier than my husband, probably because of this “inner divorce” that had taken root in me already two years ago.
So finally I informed John Torell that we would take the German website completely off the web. He was shocked and could not understand it and tried to convince us not to do it, to no avail. Since then he has not corresponded with us again; only his assistent Pastor Charles has contacted me and requested to take over the domain names and my translations. My husband has done everything necessary to hand them the domain names. As for my translations I have sorted them out and plan to hand them over only the ones I still see as true (about false Religions like Mormons, Islam etc., about the origin of Christmas and Easter, about the danger of vaccinations and genetic modified food etc.) Is this okay or do you recommend to not even leave them these? I had no concerns, but maybe I am unaware of something?
On Wednesday March 20th the German website will definitely disappear from the web. (This has happened in the meantime, exactly as was planned!) We informed all the people on our mailing list. Most of them responded being shocked and disappointed and not understanding as I had expected, but to my surprise a few also recommended us for our decision, calling it “wise” and a “demonstration of an inner and outer step to maturity”, adding encouraging words. I would not have needed this, being convinced enough, but nevertheless this was a nice “extra” and I was glad for my husbands sake for this additional “confirmation”; it obviously made him think.
As for John Torell I have learned that the man, who had “inherited” his job as Pastor just in February, has thrown the towel after only three weeks which now has forced John Torell and his church to move out of their facilities because they cannot afford the rent anymore and are in debt to the landlord; they must stop their weekly live broadcast and with the German website now disappearing his whole ministry has pretty much shrunk. In his last letter to me he showed himself shocked and, as he wrote, “came to the conclusion that he had failed terribly in presenting the gospel to us”. And nevertheless he plans to go on doing “business as usual”, writing Kabbalah Book No. 7 etc. as he announces in his latest info on his website. I honestly cannot understand this.
Given these accumulated negative circumstances, how can it be that this does not make him think? Would not this be rather a time to withdraw and fast and seek the Lord and evaluate if there possible should be a course correction? But obviously he views this as he always did in the past: because he is such a crucial messenger of God in these end times just close before the tribulation period will come and the antichrist arises, he is number one target for the devil and his demons who do their best to destroy his ministry.
I am sorry for John Torell. He went out of his way to minister to us when we first got into contact with him. I cannot recount how often he has called us by phone to pray for us and comfort us or wiritten long e-Mails or sent materials for free (even before the time I started translating for him) although they always had problems with finances. Short before that I had prayed to God to heal me from the vacuum in me of never having had an earthly father who was able to have a relationship with me and when John came along it seemed as if he was sent by God to meet this need. I have seen him and his wife and his staff doing the same for others since. Everyone who turns to them for help, they do whatever they can, sacrificing time and money in a way that few people do. How tragic it is that he’s not able to see the wrong in his life and ministry!
Victor wrote back:
Hi Gina,
It was good that you included your husband in your decisions and action concerning Torell’s German site. It was only right. Also, God has His timing in everything and seldom does He rush anyone. Consider that He could have intervened years ago, but we must know that even vanity serves His purposes. Nevertheless, what you said here is true: “I told him that knowing the right thing to do and not doing it is sin and that we cannot do that.”
You say, “[My husband] had not only done the webmaster job, but also communicated with all the people who contacted us via the website and established some close contacts.”
I must say that if you still have those names and addresses, it could present a wonderful opportunity to testify of the Lord and how He has been gracious to you. While we are often reluctant to admit our faults and mistakes, I have always found that while those not for the truth might despise you for your weaknesses, those for the truth will rejoice and be encouraged to confess their own faults.
You propose: “As for my translations I have sorted them out and plan to hand them over only the ones I still see as true (about false Religions like Mormons, Islam etc., about the origin of Christmas and Easter, about the danger of vaccinations and genetic modified food etc.) Is this okay or do you recommend to not even leave them these? I had no concerns, but maybe I am unaware of something?”
This can be a hard call, Gina. We all want to see the truth preached everywhere. However, assuming those are truthful and factual articles, he receives a degree of credibility by them for his false doctrines and ways. I think we need to look at it as though you are a waitress serving up a dish. You have suddenly realized the chef has put poison or waste material in the food. What would you do now to have a clean conscience? Would you try to sort out the good and bad, or would you trash the whole thing and start fresh?
That said, perhaps you may wish to give us the English versions and let us see if you can use them as reference materials. However, there’s already plenty on the internet offered on these subjects.
As I read your letter, I see you’ve notified your contacts about closing the site and you report what I said you might receive as reactions. Good! I think that’s great! Follow up as the Lord grants.
You write of John, “But obviously he views this as he always did in the past: because he is such a crucial messenger of God in these end times just close before the tribulation period will come and the antichrist arises, he is number one target for the devil and his demons who do their best to destroy his ministry.”
No demons ever destroyed any of God’s ministries. Who’s in charge of the hosts of Heaven, if not the Lord? Where in the Scriptures does anyone ever find His ministers failing because of Satan’s devices? It doesn’t happen.
As for finances, the moment one sees a ministry either buoyed up because of money or faltering because of lack of funds, you know right away it is a work of men, not of God.
The Lord’s ministry is never without whatever is needed. He provides for what He requires. It has never been otherwise. But those who presume to serve Him when He hasn’t appointed them, and depend on the sheep to provide for them, are all false shepherds, every one of them.
Yes, John may have done you much good along the way, as many do, but the Lord knows the quality of such sacrificial works, weighing the heart. The works in themselves mean nothing to Him.
“And though I give out all my goods to feed the poor, and though I deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, I am profited nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 MKJV).
Gina, I expect you are well aware of these things, but I say them anyway.
Victor Hafichuk