The testimony of John and Debbie Virshek cont.

After Valerie’s email to me about how she was feeling, I noticed that I felt an immediate connection with her. I knew she was my sister in the Lord and I had never seen her. This was something I never felt with Eric or Maria, and had thought was because I hadn’t met them face to face yet. Well, I couldn’t use that excuse any longer. Valerie told me she was going to pray and seek the Lord about Eric & Maria. She said she recognized the feeling of something not being right, and that the Lord would show her if she sought Him. She said she would contact us when she had an answer. Meanwhile I (D) continued to ask Eric questions. I saw on his website in his teaching called “apostles separation and cleansing” that he said if there were other apostles in the world they would have to come to him (Eric) for cleansing. He compared himself to Moses; that just as God used one man to cleanse the people then, God is going to do the same now. Eric was claiming to be that man, because he said the “church” is in darkness and needs cleansing from a living apostle. I knew this was wrong!!!I also saw something else Eric said about this so-called Enoch that visited him. Eric claims that Enoch is an angel now in heaven, and his name is Metitron. He has 70 eyes and 70 wings.
This was not only wrong, but just plain strange!

Eric still didn’t answer any of my questions with straight forward answers; they were always very wordy.
February 25th: The Lord gave John a dream (dreams & visions #5).

Dream 5: John had a dream that he was in a rock pile, picking through the rocks. The rocks represented truth, and trying to find truth. A lot of rocks looked like truth, but were not. It was frustrating because the rocks were so similar. This dream explains itself, and shows the confusion that we were in.

The emails continued between Debbie and Eric. Now Eric told me I was asking all my questions out of fear and not for the purpose of learning. I told him, “You bet I am asking out of fear, as what I am discovering about you is frightening me.” I was now begging Eric to please answer my questions with simple answers, but he wouldn’t. You see, I didn’t want to believe the worst about him; and he was making me feel like I was confused, and misunderstanding him. He told me that satan was getting into my head and giving me these fears, and that I needed to put scriptures around my house to keep satan out. I did not do this. Even though I was confused (spiritually), I was not confused about what God was showing me about Eric’s false doctrine. In my spiritual confusion, I decided I could not follow Eric & Maria anymore. I told John that I was done, that they were not from Jesus, and I had to stop! John was not yet convinced.
March 1st: Valerie sent us an urgent email. She said that our souls were in great peril, and she wanted to talk to us on the phone. When she called she said we were dealing with “luciferic evil,” and said that Eric’s teachings were “convoluted,” meaning truth covering many lies. She found out that Metitron was part of ancient Jewish mysticism (the 3rd book of Enoch). This was where Eric got his information about Enoch being an angel. At this time I (J) was convinced that Eric was wrong and had deceived us. All I could think about was going over to our friend’s house to warn him about what we were being taught. Right after Valerie’s phone call Debbie and I went to our friend’s house to talk to him (his wife was still in Florida). We told him what we were discovering about Eric, about who and what he was claiming to be, and about what he was teaching. Our friend did not know what to think. After we got home we went online to try and find out about Metitron. What we found was frightening and very evil, and some of what we found was in line with Eric’s “Baptism of Light” teaching.
March 2nd: We emailed Eric with some very specific questions. We asked him to answer us very simply, with yes or no answers. He gave very confusing answers that went around our questions. He accused us again of asking these questions out of fear. I (D) then asked him, “if I decide not to follow you anymore, would I be walking away from God?” He told me that I would be walking away from the “grace and truth” of God. He also said, “What about everything you have learned? How can you deny that God was with you while you were learning from the truth I have shown you?” God was with us the whole time, protecting us and guiding us out!!! They then told us we were not welcome to contact them anymore, and they blocked our emails.
We were out!

I (D) went upstairs to pray. Even though I knew Eric was wrong, I was still confused. I was thinking that Eric had made a good point when he told me that God was with me while I was learning his “doctrine.” I was confused; was he or was he not an apostle? I was thinking because of all the things we had been “learning” that God was showing us that Eric was an apostle. As I was praying to the Lord about this, He gave me this word:“I do not give you more of Me to confirm a man, I give you more of Me to confirm Myself.”I wrote this down in my Bible; I knew this was truth! John called our friend and read to him the emails between Eric and us. At first he didn’t see anything wrong with them. We were very concerned about him!
March 4th: We met on Sunday with our friend. He said to us that he felt the Lord told him to read the entire book of 1 John. He also said the Lord told him “to learn more.” He told us that he knew it meant to learn more about Eric & Maria, not to learn more about the false apostle’s doctrine. As we continued discussing this false doctrine, his eyes were being opened and he seemed convinced that these teachings were wrong. He then said, “My family will have nothing to do with this anymore.” He said that when he got home he was going to disable their computer and leave a note on it, so that when his wife got home, she would not be able to contact Eric & Maria.
March 6th: Our friend came home from Florida. We met her at her house shortly after she arrived. We told her all that we had found out about Eric & Maria, and the false doctrine he was teaching. We showed her the scriptures that Eric claimed were about him. We told her what Eric and Maria believed about Enoch being Metitron, and all the emails back and forth, and how they blocked us from contacting them. We discussed these things with her for most of the afternoon. She was bothered by all that we told her, and she said that it didn’t sound very good. She told us that her husband left her a note on the computer telling her that she was not allowed to have any contact with Eric & Maria. We went home rejoicing that our friends were going to get out of this deception also.

March 7th: I (D) had talked to my friend on the phone and her whole attitude had completely changed. She agreed that what we had explained to her about this false doctrine was wrong. She told me that they were going to continue to study under Eric anyway, because of the peace that they had, and because they didn’t want to stop learning. They wanted to finish doing the “elements of the gospel.” She also said that it didn’t matter if some of what he taught was wrong, because the “elements” were so truthful. I was very upset by this, because I thought she was going to come out of this deception with us. She was my best friend. I looked up to her as my sister in the Lord, and I didn’t understand why she was going to continue with this false doctrine. I was devastated! I didn’t know what was right or wrong. Now I was even more confused. At this time, the Lord let me (D) see how far away I was from Him. It was as if there was a big gulf between me and Jesus. I felt like I was drifting away from Him and I didn’t know how to get back. In my almost 7 years of knowing Jesus, I had never experienced this type of spiritual feeling. This feeling frightened me beyond words. I was having a hard time hearing the voice of my shepherd, a strange voice was now there, one I did not know! I had been crying, and crying out to the Lord. I was asking Jesus, “What is happening to me? What is the truth? How did I get to this place I am in?” I asked Him to show me exactly what I had done wrong. My Lord then gave me a scripture in Jeremiah 2:20-22 (dreams & visions #6). I knew this was for me. I knew this was my answer, and it cut right through my heart. I didn’t know what to do with it. I felt like my sin before God was so great. I thought, how could I be restored! I kept this to myself for almost a week, because I didn’t know if Eric was the “noble vine, and seed of highest quality” or if it was Jesus. That night as we were praying the Lord gave John a vision (dreams & visions #7).

Dream 6: The Lord gave Debbie a scripture in the first week of March, 2001: I pleaded with God to show me what was wrong and this is what He said: Jeremiah 2: 20-22. “For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; And you said, ‘ I will not transgress,’ when on every hill and under every green tree you lay down, playing the harlot. 21. Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? 22. For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me,” says the Lord God. I knew this scripture was from the Lord, but was so confused at that time that I didn’t know if the noble vine, and seed of highest quality was Eric or Jesus Christ. NOW I KNOW ONLY JESUS CHRIST IS THE NOBLE VINE AND SEED OF HIGHEST QUALITY!!!! Eric and his false doctrine are the degenerate plant, satan is the alien vine.

Dream 7: This is a vision the Lord gave John on the evening of March 7, 2001: I saw a bear in a barrel bear trap. It was sticking its claw out. I was thinking that if someone put their finger under the claw that the whole bear was still behind that claw. Because the bear is in the cage, and you can’t see it, you really don’t know how dangerous it is. It can still tear you apart, piece by piece, with that one claw. Interpretation: We only saw a part of the false teachings, and we know what that part did to us spiritually. What we had not seen was more dangerous than what we had already come in contact with.

March 8th: I (D) was still very confused, and doubting everything. I called my friend again to try and convince her to stop. She told me that I was overreacting, and that Eric’s doctrine was not that bad. I got off the phone very upset. We both went to Eric & Maria’s website and discovered that they had removed specific parts off of “Apostles Separation & Cleansing.” They had taken the part out about Enoch being Metitron, with 70 eyes, and 70 wings. They also changed other parts of their website. We knew that Eric changed these things because we had confronted him about them. There are only 2 reasons for them to remove or change parts of their website.
1. They realized they were in doctrinal error,or
2. They were hiding the parts that people were questioning.
We know that they were hiding things because they never believed that they were in error.
March 10th: I finally told John about the scripture the Lord gave me in Jeremiah 2:20-22, and how I felt that I couldn’t come back to the Lord. John reminded me of the blood of Jesus. John asked me if I had read a little further in Jeremiah. He then read to me from Jeremiah 3:12-13; this was a great comfort to me. I then remembered that Jesus Christ is the noble vine, and not Eric. So I acknowledged my sin to the Lord, of leaving Him to follow another voice. The Lord then reminded me of the very basis of my salvation.I knew Jesus died on the cross for me - this is truthI knew His blood covered all my sins - this is truthI knew that because I believed these truths, that the Holy Spirit was inside me - this is truthI knew He promised He would never leave or forsake me - this is truth THE CONFUSION LEFT!
March 12th: The Lord gave John another dream (dreams & visions #8).

Dream 8: I was in a house, in the only lit corner with a father and his son. It was dark out. Evil was trying to get in the window, and coming out of the shadows trying to get into the light that we were in. We were very afraid. I was not going to let the evil get to us. So to protect us I sat in the corner with the father and son in front of me. Interpretation: Instead of me protecting the father and son, The Father and The Son were protecting me! They had me in the light! The enemy (Eric’s false doctrine) couldn’t enter the light anymore!

March 13th: We went to our friends’ house to try and convince them again about everything that was wrong with Eric’s teachings. We were not successful! They were going to continue! We went home very sad, and not sure what we were going to do next.
March 14th: We were talking about everything that had happened in the past 2 weeks. All the questions we had asked Eric, and all the answers he gave us. We didn’t understand why he got so angry and why it was so wrong to ask questions out of fear. We wondered what we had done that was so bad, that he would block us from communicating with them. We were still confused. Was he or was he not an apostle? Then the Lord spoke words into John’s heart; Jesus loves us, and would never tell us to leave or kick us out because we were asking questions or were afraid. God is love, understanding, and longsuffering towards us. This word from God greatly comforted us and took away the confusion about who Eric claims to be. He is not a true apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord had now delivered us from the hold that this deception had over us, and He put us on the path that has led us to where we are now.
ALL PRAISE, GLORY, AND HONOR TO HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE. Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!

What We Learned From This experience

From the beginning of our deception with the "apostle Eric", (his website's are: www.second8thweek.com "University", www.second8thweek.org "Perfect Faith Through Apostles", www.researchoncults.org), and up to the present time the Lord has taught us many things. The things He has taught us were not meant just for us, He wants us to share them with you.
1. Stay in the Bible. There are no answers to any of life’s questions or problems outside of the Word of God. If you are jumping from book to book, speaker to speaker, church to church, prophecy to prophecy, if you are looking to anyone or anything else for answers, besides Jesus and the Word of God, you will be deceived. We want to say that it’s ok to read Christian books, listen to speakers, visit other churches etc... do so with discernment, and never rely more on man than on God. Do not believe or accept everything anyone tells you about God. We are not saying this to cause you to be paranoid, just to be cautious. Ask yourself this question: If all I had was my Bible, and the Holy Spirit inside me, would that be enough for me to have a relationship with God? If your answer is yes, Praise the Lord. If your answer is no, you need to come back to your “First Love, Jesus Christ.”
2. If you are born again you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. He will warn you immediately of anything not from God. It is very important to know the voice of God, and how He speaks to us individually, and corporately. Again, stay in the Word. Example: In our testimony when we said “another warning from the Holy Spirit we ignored,” we did not realize at the time that the Holy Spirit was warning us. We were not discerning the voice of the Lord because of the deception that we were in. We were reading and studying more of Eric’s false teachings than we were our Bible. We were out of the will of God. In His mercy He continued to warn us. So when you get a “check” in your spirit and you’re discerning that something is not right, pay attention. Stop and seek the Lord. Ask Him to show you what is wrong. Sometimes He will show right away. Sometimes He just wants you to stop and listen to Him. The Lord wants us to obey HIM, not to follow your friends or family to a place where the Lord does not want you. There is safety in numbers. If you have questions about a teaching, a speaker, a book, etc... ask your Pastor, ask the Elders, ask your brothers and sisters in the Lord. That is how the Body of Christ works. Above all, everything and everyone that you associate yourself with spiritually must line up with the Word of God!!!
3. If you are dry, discontented, discouraged, lukewarm, or hurt by the church etc., instead of blaming the church, or people in the church for how you are feeling, look at yourself. Are you reading your Bible everyday? Are you praying everyday? Are you worshipping the Lord everyday? Have you submitted yourself to Jesus? Please do not start looking in other places. Seek the Lord, and stay in the Word. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” God WILL answer you, and fill your heart with Himself as you wait on Him. Think of the word wait as serving. So when you wait on the Lord you are serving the Lord and others. No matter how much you don’t want to go to church, you need to go. Pray and read your Bible, don't stop doing these things. The Lord may want you to learn something, and He will not keep you there forever. You WILL come out on the other side. With this said, you need to ask yourself these questions: If the Lord never answered another one of my prayers, would He still be worthy of my praise and worship? Was His death on the cross for my sins enough for me?
4. Beware of anyone who says they have some new revelation about God. Do not listen to them. There is no new revelation from God outside of His Word. He does reveal Himself to us through His word. But what the Lord reveals to me from His Word, may not be for you, and vice versa. Know the Word so you can discern what people are teaching or saying about God.
5. Do not forsake the fellowship of the Body of Christ. If you are being told that you do not need to be in church, or that the church is wrong. This is error! If you are isolated from the “Body” you are easy pickings for the devil. The Bible tells us we need to be in church. The Bible uses the word church some 114 times, and 96 references are clearly to the local church. Here are some names and titles given to the church:
A. The Israel of God (Gal 6:16)
B. The Pillar and Ground of Truth (1Tim 3:15)
C. The Family of God (Eph 3:14-15)
D. The Body of Christ (Eph 1:20-23)
E. The Bride of Christ (Eph 5: 28-32) (Rev 19:6-9)
F. The House of the Lord (Heb 3:1-4)
G. The Temple of God (Eph 2:21-22)
6. If someone tells you that only “they” can interpret the “mystery of the Bible” and the Holy Spirit does not teach us, only “they” can teach us, this is in clear contradiction of Scripture. The Holy Spirit was sent as our comforter, and leader into all truth. He is our personal teacher of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit confirms only Jesus Christ, never another person, no matter who they claim to be. Read the book of John, chapter 14.
7. There is a movement now in the church that says, God is restoring the 5 fold ministry, with apostles and prophets leading. This teaching is in error. The five fold ministry has never stopped operating. The people who are promoting this are setting themselves up as self appointed apostles and prophets to rule the church. We are all to submit one to another, not some type of pyramid system. (Eph 4:11-13)