Tell your members to be prepared for persecution, and then tell them to act in a manner that provokes persecution. What happens next isn't real persecution but a self-fulfilling prophecy, as practiced by the Philadelphia Church of God.

A little over a year ago a mother in Germany – a member of the Philadelphia Church of God – wrote her daughter the following letter. The mom lives about 300 yards from her daughter and worships on the same days as her mom:

My beloved daughter,

Are you willing to listen to me for half an hour while I tell you something on God's behalf?

According to God's time we are in the last five minutes of the final hour. The tribulation will start soon. When I was young, I asked God to show me His true church. I read the Bible a lot and knew that the church had to exist somewhere. God heard my request and I was allowed to find the true church of God. It was wonderful and you were thrilled, too. You took the Bible Correspondence Course when you were only 10 years old.

After H. W. Armstrong's death that church was destroyed by its false new leadership and divided. Members were confused and ministers tried to build their own churches and draw members after themselves – including the "Vereinte Kirche Gottes" [UCG-Germany]. There can be only one church that is guided by Jesus Christ – the small flock.

My beloved daughter, ask God daily to be guided by His holy spirit, because God will bring everyone who repents to His church and lead them to the place of safety. I will pray to God every day on my knees, asking that you and your husband can understand this. I have to tell you all this so you will never accuse me of not having warned you. All those terrible things will come to pass that God predicted in His word.

You have given me so much and I thank you again from my heart. I enjoyed tending your garden, it was so wonderful to eat lunch at your table. But I can't do that any longer. I have been exhorted to follow God's instruction. Effective immediately, we – the members of the Philadelphia church – are not allowed to have contact with former members of the true church who were baptized prior to 1990, until they become part of the Philadelphia church. That includes our own baptized children.

I will obey God as Abraham did when he was supposed to sacrifice his son. It a trial ordered by God. This is God's love! This is the last warning! I hope to see you again in the Kingdom of God.

Well, the non-member husband of the lady who wrote this letter put up with her behavior for about a year. I had known him for over 25 years, and he had always been tolerant of his wife’s beliefs. But this was too much. He moved out a couple of months ago. His wife sees this as persecution. It is – self-inflicted persecution.

Can anyone show a scripture from the Bible that condones the mother's actions toward her daughter?