Chapter 1

A Farewell Speech

It was a beautiful morning, and as Hanna looked up from her bed, she could see a blaze of sunlight behind the drawn curtains. They were alive! She turned to look at her husband and paused to drink in the expression on his face which always looked so blissful and serene when he was asleep. She reached over to touch his face but stopped herself, knowing that he needed all the rest he could get.

Stan was not a heavy sleeper and always responded to a gentle touch. And whilst she wanted to be held in his tender embrace before they got up, she knew that such might very well lead to love-making and wear him out. So she resisted the temptation and contented herself in simply drinking up the sight. It was only 5.30 a.m. - another hour remained before the alarm clock would set the house in motion and the adventure would begin. Should she try to sleep a while longer? She lay back and tried to doze off but was already too awake.

"What am I thinking?" she said silently, scolding herself for forgetting the great danger they might possibly in, reached out for her Bible, and opened up in the Book of Isaiah:

"Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord (Yahweh) Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread, and He will be a sanctuary" (Isaiah 8:12-13).

She remembered what Stan had once said in a Sabbath meeting in Kadesh-Naphtali:

"The man or woman who fears Yahweh will fear nothing and no-one else. Therefore we should fear no man, however evil, nor seemingly desperate the circumstances. It is Yahweh who holds everything and everyone in His hands. Nothing happens without His permission.

"The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, says the Scripture. And what is wisdom? Wisdom is Hochmah, or Sophia, the Holy Spirit. To fear Yahweh is to receive the beginning of an anointing of the Ruach haQodesh. As we fear Yahweh - hold Him in deep respect, love and awe - the Holy Spirit begins to minister to us. Our right mind and heart are vindicated by Yahweh's presence within us.

"So if you are ever afraid, turn to the Framer of Universe, and remember who the God we serve and worship actually is. With Him in our mind's eye, with Him filling our consciousness, our heart is stilled and we are assured that we are resting in His palm. Then the fear of the world disappears because you will at once obtain a true perspective, that of our Heavenly Father, for whom the world is but a particle of dust to be blown where He will.

"To fear the world is a form of atheism because it is to view circumstances through the eyes of man instead of through the eyes of He to whom we have yielded the sovereignty of our lives. So when you fear, ask yourself: 'In whom am I trusting?' And when you remember that it is the Most High God whom we lean upon for our strength and support, the dimension of evil that seems to hover over us suddenly shrinks from a giant shadow to its true size. Evil, because it is ultimately powerless, likes to blow itself up out of all proportions in order to make its intended victim cower. But it is all wind. Yes, there is power in evil from the human point-of-view, but from God's, it is but dust to be trampled under foot."

Her thoughts drifted off into half-sleep until the alarm made her jolt upright. Stan leaned over and began to kiss her and she sank into his arms as they held each other for a while.

"It is time to arise, my love," he said softly, and kissed her again before gently separating himself from her to get washed and dressed. There was scurrying around underneath as Elisa and Salme stirred into action.

Nobody said much at the breakfast table. Stan seemed relaxed and, to her surprise, Hanna did too. Only Elisa and Salme betrayed symptoms of anxiety on their faces. Both women were looking long and hard at Stan, knowing that he would soon leave them alone in a matter of hours, and possibly not see him again for many months. Salme broke the silence.

"Oh, Stan, I wish you didn't have to go," she said with intensity in her voice, and took his hand. "I wish we would come with you."

She could now hardly hold her tears back and reached over to put her arms around him. She began to cry slowly, and then checked herself, remembering that time was short.

"Elisa," said Stan, "I wonder if you would read aloud Isaiah, chapter 55, verses 12 to 15 for us."

Hanna bolted upright. She had been reading from Isaiah as well but hadn't told him.

Elisa began to read slowly and deliberately:

"You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and the hills, the trees of the field - all the world around you - will rejoice. Where once there were thorns, fir trees will grow; where briars grew, the myrtle trees will sprout up. This miracle will make the Lord's (Yahweh's) Name very great and be an everlasting sign" (Isaiah 55:12-15).

She looked up at Stan, waiting for an explanation.

"This was the promise Yahweh gave to the Jews in captivity in Babylon and what appears to be desolation will be transformed. He promised them a miracle. Out there, there are many enemies of God, who wish to destroy us. I do not know what will happen when we step out of that door, but one thing I do know: the Lord God of Israel will be with us!"

Three faces brightened up. They all knelt in prayer holding hands and praised God for the day that lay before them. Then they arose, sang a song of praise, and gathered the things they needed together for the journey. Stan put on his mackintosh and they walked out of the little house, Elisa locking up behind them. It was 8.30 a.m.

The car stood parked outside the house and seemed to be as it had been the day before. Stan paused, and the girls nearly collided into him as they had been following closely behind huddled up in a little line. One or two people were milling around but everything looked quite normal. He remained standing, not moving. Moments later a car drew up and parked next to them.

"Good morning, Brother Stan!" came the voices of Pastor Kuusberg and his wife Elgi through the open driver's window. Another car pulled up alongside with Karl Eichfeld and his wife and greetings were exchanged.

"We're here to drive you to a little morning meeting we've arranged before delivering you to the railway station," said Andrus. "So load your luggage into the trunk (boot) and we'll be off."

The girls began chatting enthusiastically with the two wives while the men packed the bags in the cars.

Stan turned to Karl. "I wonder if you'd take a quick look under Elisa's car hood (bonnet) ... just to make sure her car is OK?"

"Of course," came the reply, and once in possession of the car keys, was looking around inside.

"Look at this," called Karl about a minute later, pointing inside the engine. "It looks as though someone's been tampering around inside alright. It was a good thing we came to pick you up." Karl was immediately on his mobile calling up one of the Fellowship's members who worked in a garage and came around ten minutes later.

"Our 'friends' have been tampering with your brakes," said the mechanic to a graven-faced Elisa who suddenly realised what might have happened had they driven off in her car. "I'll call the police and let them deal with this," he said, and disappeared to his repair van. "Leave the keys with me and I'll see you get them back this evening."

The four climbed aboard the Pastor's and his counsellor's cars and made their way to a small meeting room which they had hired for a couple of hours. Waiting for Stan were about twenty five members from the Fellowship who were able to get off work.

"We would consider it a privilege and a blessing if you would consent to address us before you leave," asked Pastor Kuusberg. "We'll give you plenty of time before we take you down to the railway station." Stan smiled, thanked him, and stood in front of the little congregation.

"Brethren and sisters, this is indeed a wonderful way to leave you - to share with you some words that are on my heart. You know how quickly events have unfolded here and there are so many things I would have liked to say and do for which there has been no time. So I would like to say my farewells by talking to you about something very sacred - so sacred, in fact, that were you to talk openly about these things to most Christians they would probably try to kill you. This knowledge that I wish to impart to you will mean a heavy responsibility for you to bear, because once the Light of Truth has shone on your hearts, and the Holy Spirit has born witness, then you will not be permitted by the Lord to run away. It is for this reason I want to first ask you whether you are willing to hear what I have to preach?"

He looked around at the congregation and then to Andrus and Karl. Everyone was nodding.

"It is an easy thing to nodd your heads, but it is another thing to agree with your hearts when your carnal nature is challenged by something that repells it. Many of you have had to make major shifts in your thinking since I arrived, not least your Elders. When a life-long belief is dismantled, the feeling is not unlike losing someone dear to you in death. Would you agree with me, Pastor?" asked Stan, looking at Andrus Kuusberg.

Andrus smiled and nodded: "Yes, brother, I must admit that in the space of the last two weeks I have experienced great pain, but that the pain has been more than compensated for by all the blessings God has showered upon us. We have seen the Spirit vindicate your teachings, and that is the most important thing."

Stan smiled. "How many here have experienced great inner wrestlings these past two weeks as cherished beliefs have been swept away?"

About half present raised their hands.

"I see that all of you who have raised your hands are men, with the exception of Sister Elgi. That is to be expected. Men are more built up on thoughts than women who are more feeling-based. Men are by nature more sceptical, more questioning, because one of their divine callings is to be protectors of their women. And that is how it should be. Women are more faithful by nature, but also prone to abandon reason and to get carried away by feelings. You need each other - the sisters must learn to be more thought-led and the men to temper their thinking with feelings. With the new order of ministry which has been established amongst you, I hope to see this holy synergism at work amongst you more and more. "The man is not without the woman, and the woman is not without the man", Paul said speaking of marriage (1 Corinthians 11:11), but I hope you will come to understand that this has as much to do with the ministry as it has with matrimony.

"You have all embarked on a spiritual course of great change. You have been challenged as in no other time in your lives. Yahweh has revealed Himself to you in quite a spectacular way. It is good to see miracles amongst you but it is better to be in the process of continuous, gradual change which will make you progressively more Christ-like.

"The way we live our Christianity is shaped very much by the way we view our Heavenly Father and our Lord, Yah'shua - Jesus. Part of the problem with the division of the Church into denominations and sects is that man has chosen to see only what he likes in the Bible, and to ignore what he does not. What he does not like he tries to explain away either by challenging the inspiration of parts of scripture or by twisting its meaning. I once spoke with a Jewish Rabbi and showed him in Isaiah were Yah'shua is actually named as the Messiah. He was so shocked that he was speechless for a while. Then I challenged him, saying that the Word of God proved him to be in error. But do you know what he did? He denied that the Scripture was inspired. I proceeded to show him over a dozen places where Yah'shua is named but still he would not accept the truth. It was painful for him because it meant that he would have to abandon his Judaism and embrace Christianity. It would mean loss of a career as a Rabbi, loss of family, loss of friends. He knew that he would have to sacrifice much. But instead he chose to believe a lie, and deny the truth, in order to hold on to fleshy things.

"So my question to you today is: what will you do when the Word of God challenges deeply cherished things? Some of you have already had to abandon the beliefs of a lifetime. But are you willing to be corrected further? Are you willing to abandon more? Are you willing to lose family members and endure the scorn and riddicule of society for believing in the truths that Yahweh has revealed in His Word? Are you willing to be looked upon as "strange", "peculiar" and as "misfits" in society in order to hold the truth dear to your heart?

"I will not pretend that the Gospel is easy. It isn't. Only the watered-down, diluted, compromising 'gospel' is easy. And yet it isn't that either. For short-term ease the person who pursues that path will earn an eternity of misery. Don't take that path, please. There are few who make it, and the few that do only do so after receiving the thrashing of their lives. It is better to yield all of yourself to the truth now and take the consequences than to yield sovereignty to God piecemeal.

"I wonder how many scriptures you have read in your Bible which have shocked you and which you have hopped over? As New Covenant Christians you cannot do that any longer. The Gospel I preach is one of truth and reality. That is, and always will be, the apostolic witness. So long as one is truly yielded to Christ, the truth is not actually so painful. The question you must therefore daily ask yourself is this: Am I 100 per cent surrendered to my Lord?

"When God acts, change comes suddenly. Everything may be peacefully moving along when, CRASH! the world falls down around you. After Yah'shua was crucified, the Roman province of Judea carried on as normal, as though nothing had happened. Then, suddenly, the Roman armies were upon them, crushing a revolt, leaving the land devastated. The entire Jewish population was expelled and the City of Jerusalem was smashed to the ground - levelled into a great heap of sand and rubble - and the Romans built a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina on top of it. Jerusalem simply disappeared. Was that a disaster for the Jewish people? Well, yes and no is the answer. It was a disaster because it needn't have happened if they had repented and accepted their Messiah, but it was also a blessing because by being driven around the world, Yahweh was blessing the nations of the earth with the seed of Abraham. God works in mysterious ways. That seed, caused by the Jewish diaspora, is without a doubt, amongst many of you here today, along with the seed of the other Israelite tribes."

Stan looked intently at the congregation and then at the Pastorate.

"You are all Israelites either by blood or by adoption, but do you know what that means? It means not only great blessings but also great responsibilities. Upon your shoulders has been placed the sacred task of being the ambassadors of Christ and His Kingdom. You are here to represent His way of life. But how can you do that if you aren't living His way of life? That is where my ministry comes in, for my calling is to gently point you to what He wants you to do. It is my responsibility - and the responsibility of other leaders who will visit you - to bring you to maturity in your discipleship and witness, by showing you the Path that has been mapped out by our Lord.

"The prophet Isaiah lies heavily on my heart today. He was a visionary, seeing not only the first coming of Christ but the second as well. He also saw the Millennial Zion, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and knew what it would be like to be Israelites in that blessed era when the Messiah rules on earth in power and glory.

"He describes, in the fourth chapter, the survivors of the catastrophe that destroys much of the earth as a "beautiful and glorious branch" whose fruit will be their "pride and glory" (v.2), arises. He says that those who survive into this wonderful millennial world of peace and righteousness will be called "holy". The women, who prostituted themselves to paganism and immorality as described in the previous chapter, will be washed clean. We are told that there will be a strict judgment and a "spirit of fire" (vv.3-4). And do you know what happenes next? Something quite wonderful - a spectacle that has not been seen since the time Israel fled from the land of Egypt. All over Mount Zion and over all the saints there will be a "cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night" (v.5). Try to imagine it - a huge dome covering the land like a cupola, a hemisphere of glowing light by night and smoke by day. The Spirit of God will visibly rest over the whole land, so that everyone living there will know that Yahweh-Elohim, the Lord God of Israel, is with them. But more than that, this supernatural dome will shade the inhabitants from the fierceness of the heat by day like an umbrella and keep out stormy weather and rain (v.6).

"Are you happy with that picture, brothers and sisters?"

The congregation shouted a resounding "Yes!"

"Would you like that world to become your world here and now?"

There was an even louder "Yes" from amongst the sea of smiling, happy faces.

"And are you willing to live the kind of life that Yahweh wants of those who receive these blessings?"

Yet again, there was a resounding roar of voices, crying, "Yes!"

"I am glad," said Stan, "then you must do the works of Abraham as Christ said we must (John 8:39). Who is the God that Abraham served? Yahweh. How did Yahweh refer to Himself? He says, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6; Luke 20:37; Acts 7:32). Yahweh intimately identifies Himself with the three great patriarchs and all they did - the way they conducted their lives. When we speak of the God of Israel as our God, we speak of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He therefore wishes us to look at these three great spiritual fathers and to imitate them in their faithfulness. Have you ever wondered why Yahweh never refers to Himself as the God of Isaiah, or the God of Hezekiah, or the God of Adam? It is not because these men were not great. It is because he wants us to look at Abraham, his son and grandson and to ask ourselves: "How can the God of these men become my God? What is it in their lives that God wishes us to imitate?" And doubtless you will come up with many answers. They were men of faith, and by their faith they were justified - declared righteous. They were men of obedience, even though they had to struggle and made mistakes. They were family men and established the theocratic system that was to be part and parcel of the nation of Israel.

"I am an Israelite, whether by descent, adoption, or both doesn't matter. You are all Israelites, by the same tokens. We are believers in the Messiah of Israel, Yah'shua - Jesus - which makes us Messianic Israelites. Israel is our forefather of whom we are justly proud. It is his God whom we worship and serve. It is his God who sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for our sins. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Yah'shua is our God.

"But our problem is that we have lost a lot of what it is to be an Israelite through centuries of gentile culture. The Sabbath, Israel's festivals, and the government of the family have all been lost through two millennia of Romanisation and Hellenisation. Our cultures - from Los Angeles eastwards to Vladivostok - are all descended from Rome and Greece. They are pagan. That is not to say that there isn't anything good in them - not at all - but it is to say that many important things have disappeared - things which make a person a Messianic Israelite.

"You have all rejoiced with me at the picture Isaiah painted of the millennial Zion, of the supernatural canopy of God's presence over the land, and the fruitfulness of the people. But are you willing to live the Israelite way? Remember, this vision of Isaiah was of the earthly paradise we have all so much longed for, and is itself a reflection of the heavenly life."

Hanna, Elisa and Salme glanced at one another, knowing what Stan was going to say next, and were wondering anxiously how the people would react. They were glad that he was broaching the topic before he left so as not to create complications later but were afraid it might turn many away from the Gospel.

"The prophet Isaiah said, speaking of this paradise: "In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, 'We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace'" (Isaiah 3:1-2). After the destruction caused by Christ's intervention upon His return so many men will be killed that there will be a surplus of women - seven times as many women as men. And what will those women ask? They will ask to have the shame of being single removed from them, for they will feel naked and incomplete without a husband. So what will they do? They will ask the survivors - the faithful men of Israel - to take them as plural wives, to give them a canopy over their heads so that the glory of Israel may be theirs, so that they may be safe."

There was a look of shock around the room.

"I wonder how many Christian men will do as their fathers Abraham and Jacob and take several godly women as wives? What would you do if, suddenly, your Fellowship had a ratio of seven women to one man? Would you tell the surplus women: 'Go and find husbands amongst the unbelievers?' Would you tell them to become unequally yoked to pagans, as Paul warned against? (2 Corinthians 6:14) Or would you command them to grit their teeth and remain single while you enjoy your own wives and children? And you wives, would you share your husbands with them, as Jacob was shared between Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah, or as Abraham was shared between Sarah, Hagar, Keturah and others?

"Whether we like it or not, a time is coming when women believers will greatly outnumber men believers and will need loving, godly husbands to take care of them. Isaac was a monogamist but Abraham and Jacob were polygamists. This means that in the millennial Zion there will be large polygamous families just as there were in days of old. Not everyone will be called to be polygamous, just as Isaac was not. But the majority - at least two thirds - will."

The congregation looked nervously at one another.

"I see the joy has passed from the countenances of some of your faces, as perhaps for the first time, one of the great cultural mountains that divide the gentile world from the Israelite one becomes visible to you. It is not for me to say if this Fellowship is to practice plural marriage - it may be that none of you are, some of you are, or all of you are. That is none of my business. And certainly nobody will ever be compelled to do so. It is God who calls people to live this way, not men and women, and then only with their consent. But it is my business to challenge you to look into your souls and to honestly ask yourselves: Do I really want to be an Israelite? Am I willing to make the sacrifices to do so? And am I willing to trust the Lord God of Israel - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - to lead me in the right path? And am I willing to trust the Lord my God to enable me to overcome my cultural prejudices and to believe that he can make me happy living as the ancients did, should I ever be called to increase the size of my family?

"There are many deep feelings involved for those of us who were born and raised in a gentile monogamy-only culture. I can well remember the problems many of our people have had giving up Christmas and Easter celebrations, or abstaining from alcohol, or abstaining from sex during menstruation. You would be amazed at the verbal abuse I have received from so-called Christians when I have told them what God's Word teaches about pure sexuality! Yet these same Christians claim to be Bible-believers.

"We must in future be very careful about the claims we make to the world. Are we really Bible-believers as we claim we are? Or do we in truth only accept those parts which our carnal natures give us permission to accept? The carnal nature is a terrible slave-driver, a wicked oppressor of our souls, and Yahweh wants us to confront it and deal with it for what it really is - a piece of Satan's real estate within our very bodies.

"I wished to broach this subject of patriarchal marriage before leaving Estonia because in my considerable experience as an pre-apostle, evangelist and pastor, a Christian able to face this practice honestly will go far in overcoming the flesh. Your new Pastress, Elisa Reifman, will explain more of these things to you after I have gone, as my time is almost up.

"But before I go, I have one more explosive issue to place in your laps. The first will have come as a shock mostly to the women here, but the second is going to be a struggle for the men. If you can overcome your fears of these two biblical principles which must be practiced in the Millennial Zion, then you will have made great spiritual progress indeed.

"The Acts of the Apostles records:

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:41-47).

"This, my friends, is, as Luke tells us, the "apostolic doctrine". And what was that apostolic doctrine? They repented, were baptised, and received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. They regularly ate together and prayed together. Many wonders and signs were performed. They spent much time together and had all things in common, selling their surplus goods and sharing their wealth equally.

"Up until now you have followed the practice of the freewill offering in your fellowship, and this is good. And I believe there were even plans to introduce tithing, which is also good. But it is also the Lord's will that you learn the ultimate in sharing, which is, having equality of wealth between you. This is going to be tough for the men. But like plural marriage, it will not be imposed on you. It has to be of your own free will.

"The apostolic teaching of this Messianic Community is that only those who are called into Priesthood offices - the Elders and Deacons and their families - shall be expected to tithe. And those who wish to have all things common shall be encouraged to move together in collectives - in their own homes but on common land. These things I shall tell you about next time I, or another leader, visits you. This is the way all of us who are patriarchs live. Many New Covenant Christians have joined together to form communities where all things are held in common and it is in such places that we encourage, though do not expect, plural marriage. But those who do not feel called to this, or feel unprepared, may continue living as they are.

"You have, my friends, seen the signs of this apostolic work in action. The fact that I am still speaking to you in Estonian, even though I don't understand a word of it, is one such sign. But even if the Lord had not demonstrated such signs, the truth of His Word remains.

"This is the apostolic doctrine. Anything that denies it is not apostolic, but is of some other doctrine. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so. Why do I believe in what the Bible tells me? Because God is its author, and Yah'shua endorsed it - every word of it. He said:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18).

"Christ came to bring the Law to completion, and that completion - for those who will accept it - includes plural marriage for those called into it, and the united order of all things in common. That is the ultimate Gospel - the complete Gospel - the perfect family and the perfect community in Christ the Lord.

"May I in conclusion, beloved brethren and sisters, exhort you to remain true. Yahweh, in His goodness and mercy, has given you all many powerful signs to show you that He is alive and that He had commenced the restoration of His end-time apostolic work in the Body of Christ. I want to thank you all for your hospitality and kindness to me. May Yahweh richly bless you all and keep you in His tender care until once again, I fervently hope, we shall meet again. Amen"

The room was full of stunned people. The three women were as surprised as the congregation at how he dished out the Gospel meat. But that was Stan, always telling things the way they really were and letting people choose whether to believe or not. Pastor Kuusberg stood up, clearly in some shock, and was at first quite speechless.

"Thank you Brother Królewiec for telling us things straight. What you have said is hard for us - very, very hard. You have challenged us to the very roots of our faith. The Queen of Sheba came to King Solomon to test him with hard questions but nothing was too hard for him (1 Kings 10:1,3). You have come with hard answers before we have even opened our mouths with questions. The Bible also says that nothing is too hard for God (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17,27), and it also tells us that the Lord never asks us to anything we cannot manage. I firmly believe that.

"We are going to have to spend some time studying the things you have taught us, and I hope Sister Reifman will help us as it is obvious you have taught her much about these things during your stay."

He went on to thank Stan for ministering to them and then the conregation prayed for their safe return to Sweden.

It was 10.50 a.m. and the train was due to leave in forty minutes' time. They had completely forgotten about the satanists and now they were suddenly confronted with some difficult choices. Should they proceed to the railway station or not?

"Have you decided what you are going to do?" asked Elisa concerned, as she held Stan's arm. Individual members of the congregation shook Stan's hand as they left, some smiling, others looking like death warmed up. He knew he had sown two very tough seeds indeed that morning.

"We go to the railway station," insisted Stan. "And we go in the strength of the Lord God of Israel, trusting Him for His protection."

They clambered aboard the two cars. Andrus' and Karl's wives were very quiet, visibly shaken by what they had heard Stan preach. There would doubtless be much fierce debate between husbands and wives, leaving Elisa with a major job on her hands. Andrus would look to her to clear up the débris of confusion caused by Stan's bombshell in the weeks to come.

They arrived at the railway station with twenty minutes to spare.

"I will be in contact with you very soon," Andrus assured Stan as they stood on the platform as the train rolled up. "There is so much to be done. And now, today, you have sown a storm that may be hard to control." His eyes looked pained. "I only pray that what you have done is right. We shall, in any case, need much grace. I just hope the storm does not become a tempest that destroys us."

Stan felt pain in his heart and grimmaced. He loathed preaching what he called his "twin sifting doctrines", plural marriage and the united order, because they always created so much strife. He looked Andrus deep into the eyes:

"This morning was painful for me, brother, because I know what it is you must shoulder," said Stan. "The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not for the faint-hearted. The Saviour said:

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law" (Luke 12:51-53).

"It is amazing how quickly modern ministers forget these words. But be assured, my brother, that it is not we who bring this division, but Yahweh Himself. It is by this means that He will separate the sheep from the goats. You will know, in a very short time, my friend, who are to be the future leaders of your Fellowship. The way of finding out will not be pleasant, and it will hurt you to see those who have witnessed so many miracles denying the truth because they will not trust the Lord. You will soon know those who you can count on to be loyal and those who you cannot."

Andrus and Karl hugged Stan but their wives stood a little back, already fighting inside against what they had heard, though they politely shook his and Hanna's hand. And then, just as they were about to part, Andrus came and whispered into Stan's ear, and asked:

"Exactly how many wives do you have?"

Stan smiled and whispered back, "It is better for now that you do not know," and on that note the two men parted.

The Kuusbergs and Eichfelds stood back and talked among themselves to give Stan and Hanna time to be with Elisa and Salme. The anguish at impending separation was all too clear on the two women's faces.

"I'm going to miss you so much," whispered Elisa as she hugged Stan tightly. "Please don't leave us here for long!" She went and hugged Hanna. "I love you Hanna, and I cannot wait to be your sister-wife," she said reassuringly. Hanna smiled and shed a tear.

Salme embraced Stan: "Take care, take care, my love ... and God bless you and give you a safe journey," she said, struggling to keep the tears back. "We're going to miss you so very much."

"Take care of one another," pleaded Stan to them both, "and promise to write to us every week."

"We promise!" cried Elisa, as the whistle blew and the couple stepped on board the train as it slowly edged its way out of the station, metal grinding against metal as the train wound its way onto the main track to Tallinn.

Elisa drew a white handkerchief to her face as she finally broke down crying whilst the train disappeared over the horizon. Salme comforted her. The Eichmans had left, Karl's wife having already quarrelled with him over what Stan had preached half an hour before.

"You'll never get me living that principle," she had snapped at him and had stormed off to the car in high dudgeon. Karl cursed under this breath: "Why did Stan have to talk about that??" and dragged his feet reluctantly back to his car, loathing to meet the icy look in his wife's face. "It was all so perfect until this morning," he grumbled to himself, "and now he has ruined it all. What will become of us? He may have ruined our marriage too!"

Karl's wife refused to speak to him as they drove off. After a few minutes she snapped at him: "Don't you get any ideas about finding another woman or I'll leave you faster than you can say kuulilennuteetunneliluuk" ('the hatch a bullet flies out of when exiting a tunnel', an Estonian palindrome) and folded her arms indignantly.

Karl groaned. What could he say? "Look," he said, "I have no plans to marry any other women. Stan said that not everyone was called into this principle ..."

She glared at him: "I don't care what Stan said, I don't believe a word of it!"

"But it's in the Bible!" spluttered Karl.

"I don't care if it's in the Bible, I want nothing to do with it! And that's that."

Karl sighed and drove his wife home before leaving for the office very depressed indeed. "Why did that Pole have to come and disturb our tranquility?" he growled to himself. "It's alright for him, he's dropped the hot potato and run off back to Sweden to leave us to clean up the mess."

Andrus Kuusberg had not fared much better ...