Program 270: The Book of Proverbs, Roman Canon Law, and a Jewish Businessman's Letter From Beverly Hills
Tony Alamo devotes program 270, part 168 of his teaching series, to a study of wisdom in the Book of Proverbs, a lengthy warning against what he calls Roman canon law and the Vatican, and listener letters from Tennessee and a Jewish convert in Beverly Hills, read by his co-host Lydia.
Program 270 Opens With a Lesson on Wisdom
Tony Alamo opens the broadcast, identifying himself as World Pastor and naming the day's program: part 168 of his series How to Have God's Life Living in You, program 270, available free by request with shipping included. He turns to the opening verses of the Book of Proverbs, teaching that wisdom, defined as the fear of the Lord, is the book's central theme and the key to living "skillfully" and reaching heaven. He argues that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments, not some partial version of it, and notes that many modern preachers try to soften "fear" into "reverence." His co-host Lydia supplies the word from the studio, and Alamo answers by citing the trembling of the Israelites at Sinai and the angel's instruction to Mary to "fear not," insisting the original word is deliberately harsh. The congregation answers with an audible amen as he sets up the rest of the hour's teaching.
Warnings About Modern Claims and Roman Canon Law
Alamo pivots to what he calls lies spread about Jesus, including claims that Jesus had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, did not die on the cross, or was gay, insisting Jesus is instead the one who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and that only the King James Bible can be trusted against these distortions. He tells listeners their fate rests on choosing between God's word and the voice of Satan, comparing the choice to Eve's decision to believe the serpent over God. He then introduces his recurring theme, Roman canon law, describing it as the true governing law behind American institutions and naming the ACLU as one of what he calls the Vatican's many branches, citing "Reverend Kennedy" in Fort Lauderdale for the claim. He leads the studio in an opening prayer asking the broadcast be anointed for salvation, then performs his own recording of "From Sunday School to Broadway," a song he says was given to him by Frank and Nancy Sinatra's publishing company and songwriter Billy Strange.
A Conversion Story From a Beverly Hills Office
Returning from the song, Alamo tells the story of his own conversion, describing an encounter in an attorney's office in Beverly Hills, where he was among film-industry people negotiating to buy into a singer he managed, when he says the Lord spoke to him audibly, commanding him to stand and tell the room about Jesus Christ's return or "surely die." He recalls that the experience convinced him of heaven and hell despite not believing in God beforehand, and that the Lord corrected his assumption that God's love was unconditional, telling him instead that love means keeping His commandments and that "no liar shall enter the kingdom of heaven." He warns listeners not to fear people, since a human "whose nose is one breath" can only kill the body, while God alone can condemn the soul to hell. Lydia answers "amen" as he closes the teaching and turns toward the day's listener correspondence.
Letters From Cordova and a Federal Agent's Confession
Lydia begins reading listener mail, starting with a letter from a new Christian named Joseph in Cordova, Tennessee, a college freshman living with his parents who asks for literature and audio CDs to distribute despite limited means. Alamo responds that believers cannot win souls "sitting at home watching the TV set." Joseph's letter also requests a CD about what Alamo calls an "evil one world government" posing as U.S. agents, material he says came from a former FBI, BATF, DEA and Secret Service agent named Peeler, who told him federal agents went to Waco to deliberately kill people they knew were not sinners, calling it a "turkey shoot," and had a hand in the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City federal building bombings and Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. Alamo describes a book of Roman canon law in the studio "thicker than the New York phone book" and says the United States now operates under it instead of the Constitution, calling the FBI and federal government "puppets of Rome."
A Jewish Businessman's Letter From Beverly Hills
Lydia then reads a letter from a Jewish business owner in Beverly Hills, originally from Tel Aviv, who called the ministry's witnessing line to say he accepted Christ as the Messiah after reading the tract "Peace in the Middle East." Alamo rejoices that another of what he calls the 144,000 elect Jews of the end times has been reached, and recounts the ministry's expanding newspaper campaign, with recent ads in the Miami Herald and five weeks running in the New York Daily News, and plans to reach San Diego, Houston and Chicago next. The letter continues that the man, identified as Jacob, wants literature and audio in Hebrew so he can translate it himself and send it into Israel, doing the work quietly because his wife, also Jewish, has not yet been saved and does not know. Alamo instructs Lydia to send everything immediately and ties Jacob's story to his teaching that Israel's founding in 1948 fulfills end-times prophecy.
Proverbs, the Catholic Church, and a Closing Prayer
Alamo brings in Sharon to read the opening verses of Proverbs chapter one, teaching that wisdom and instruction give believers "skill" to live and reach heaven, and, in passing, recalls telling reporters he could have healed Terri Schiavo had he been allowed into her room. Sharon then reads a passage from a book of Roman Catholic canon law describing the Church of Christ as "subsisting in the Catholic Church" under the successor of Peter, which Alamo rejects, insisting Peter was a married Jewish apostle, never a pope, whose mother-in-law Jesus healed, and never practiced Mary worship or ritual bells. Running low on time, Alamo leads listeners in a spoken sinner's prayer confessing belief in Jesus as the Son of God. Sharon closes with instructions for requesting program 270 by website, Texarkana, Texas post office box, phone or fax, and Alamo signs off as World Pastor, promising more teaching the next day before performing "Hold My Hand," a song he says Dolly Parton wrote for him, with Porter Wagoner.
