Hello,
I will keep this as brief as possible.
My in laws live on a large chunk of land in a tiny NE Texas area. They are almost cult-like in their religious beliefs and while we have yet to identify which church they belong to, their lives revolve around their belief that the end is coming. They have purchased thousands of dollars of emergency rations and buried two containers approx 20 feet underground which are completely furnished and ready for a 3 year stay. This is only the beginning but the remainder of the details are just fodder and not relevant.
My brother in law (who does not share these beliefs), his wife, and their 3 young children (8, 5, and 1) live within a 2 hour drive of the parents. My husband, son, and I live on the West Coast so I am not concerned for us. However, I am getting very concerned for my BIL. On Thanksgiving, the parents went to visit. They invited the 8 year old boy to spend the night "camping" at their motel, which he loves to do. Once at the motel, the in laws told the boy that he was not saved, Jesus was not in his heart nor the hearts of his parents, and that he had to be saved right then and there. They stripped him naked, dressed him in Grandpa's pajamas, and then baptized him in the tub of the motel. They told him not to tell his parents because they were not saved and didn't understand.
As you can guess, this has been very confusing for the little boy. He kept it to himself for over a week but finally told his mother. This caused extremely ugly phone conversations to the parents who were told they are no longer welcome and could never be alone with any of the kids again.
All of which I agree completely. But.
BUT.
Now the world ends on Friday and the family has told the parents they aren't doing anything. I am genuinely concerned that the parents may take more serious actions to "protect" their grandchildren in the days leading up to 12/21.
Are there any "calls" from religious groups to take "action" this week? How do I best advise my brother in law here? I told them to keep window shades closed at night and if the parents come a-calling, not to answer the door but call the police immediately. They balk at that but at the same time, we know that the parents recently purchased what they refer to as "protective munitions".
Is it commonplace for those who have gone to such great lengths preparing for the end of time to attempt to cause harm to their families? Or to steal the kids? I worry about a Josh-Powell scenario and I worry that they may feel compelled to "save" these kids.
I'm not kidding about any of this. Last year, they believed that when their 15 year old dog died, that was the waving of the checkered flag to the 4 Horsemen to begin their ride. The dog's still alive, I think. But they are really out there and they do not belong to one specific church. If they did, I'd feel better because I could check in on those teachings.
But I can't. And I worry.