The opening part of “The Remarkable Replacement Army” consists of a prophecy that the Institutional Church (which has been, in effect, the ‘Army of the Lord’, on Earth, for many centuries) will disintegrate in the days ahead, but will gradually be replaced by a new-style ‘Army of the Lord’ that will be much more ‘unstructured’, and yet surprisingly effective in carrying out the purposes of God.

The prophecy is illustrated by a true story, from the pages of History, about a King who – when his traditionally-regimented army was no longer able to defend his country from a powerful enemy that threatened to destroy everything he stood for – set up a much less formal army that, with amazing success, took the place of his original army.

This booklet was written as long ago as 1996, a couple of years after Stan and Mavis left the Institutional Church. For well over a decade, there was quite a brisk demand for it, and even now enquiries about it keep coming in, and “lulu.com” continue to distribute copies by sale and download. Its emphasis was on encouragement, from the Scriptures, for committed and enthusiastic Christians who were no longer connected to the “Organised Church” – with some answers for those who might feel critical of them. (The key issue was: What are Christ’s COMMANDS, and what are merely Christian CUSTOMS?)

To some extent it foreshadowed “The Remarkable Replacement Army”. but it also contains quite a lot of separate material, e.g. on Leadership and Worship.

The prophecy urges Christians not to despair about the many negative aspects that are current in the worldwide Church, because the King of Kings is in the process of ‘re-vamping’ His ‘Army’. One strand of the message is that, sooner or later, a great many earnest followers of the Lord will find themselves adopting an alternative (but very biblical) lifestyle, through which to continue their Christian service.

In spite of its title, the book does not major on military matters. Many of the people who feature in the ‘parable-style’ story are, in fact, civilians. Even so, because one of the key metaphors used for Christians in the New Testament is ‘Soldiers of Christ’, the Army Allegory proves to be amazingly apt for explaining the lifestyle to which the author believes we are being called in the days ahead.

This prophecy itself, and also some evidence that the prophecy ought to be taken very seriously indeed, occupies the first third of the book. The remaining two-thirds consists of biblical encouragements and challenges for those who accept the prophecy. The author asks himself the question: “If the future does indeed unfold as I have prophesied, what would the Bible have to say to Christians in such a situation?” There is a wealth of New-Testament-based guidance for Christian living in the changing conditions of the 21st Century.

A SELECTION OF POSITIVE AND AFFIRMING COMMENTS RECEIVED

Custom and Command

This booklet was written as long ago as 1996, a couple of years after Stan and Mavis left the Institutional Church. For well over a decade, there was quite a brisk demand for it, and even now enquiries about it keep coming in, and “lulu.com” continue to distribute copies by sale and download. Its emphasis was on encouragement, from the Scriptures, for committed and enthusiastic Christians who were no longer connected to the “Organised Church” – with some answers for those who might feel critical of them. (The key issue was: What are Christ’s COMMANDS, and what are merely Christian CUSTOMS?)

To some extent it foreshadowed “The Remarkable Replacement Army”. but it also contains quite a lot of separate material, e.g. on Leadership and Worship.