Mase: The Divorce Is On And We've Been Separated For 2 Years

Rapper/pastor Mase put the word out his divorce is off and his marriage -- which has become the backbone of his empire -- is rock solid again.  Problem is ... IT'S NOT TRUE.

We have learned ... the divorce is FULL STEAM AHEAD.  We broke the story ... Mase filed for divorce back in January and it looked really nasty.  He was asking for full custody of the 2 kids he had with wife Twyla.  But weeks later he dropped the divorce case.

We have done some digging ... and found the day after Mase filed in Atlanta ... Twyla filed for legal separation in San Diego.  Mase filed his response by amping things up ... asking for a full-blown divorce.

What's more in Mase's San Diego legal docs ... he claims they've been separated since MAY, 2012.  That means for 2 years Mase and Twyla engaged in a giant charade, sermonizing and selling books about marriage while they weren't really together.

The divorce is not only on ... it's super nasty.  They're both asking for physical custody of the kids.  She also wants spousal and child support and he's trying to shut that down.