Dennis On: Dave C Pack's "Clarion Call" and "Time Is Short Brethren - Jesus Is Coming Soon!"

(sorta)

“However, though we do not, even now, know the day or the hour, we do know, from God’s prophecies, that it is today very near! Notice this, in Luke 21:25-32: He had been foretelling the world events, right now beginning, leading to ‘distress of nations’ in world troubles and world wars, ‘with perplexity…men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth’—world troubles such as never before experienced. ‘When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.’

“So all signs show we are in the very last generation of

this present evil world."

Let's not be too coy here.  All the current Churches of God and most Fundamentalist Christians believe that all the references in the New Testament by Jesus , Paul, John or whoever wrote the pseudopigrapha books in the names of these men, believe that "soon", "Time is short", "Of things which must shortly come to pass", "The night is far spent", "The hour now is", "WE shall be changed", "We who are alive", and so on, refers to this day in which WE live. From the first century AD and through out ever century of the church since, this has been so.  It also has been 100% wrong 100% of the time to date and yet lives were lived, plans put on hold, monies given and fear cultivated to keep the machine of the established churches well oiled .  Perfect love casts out fear, which is the opposite of love.  Hate is merely the bi product of fear, but love is not on the table here when it comes to motivating people to "send it in", "pull big triggers" or my all time favorite sermon and quote of the Apostle Joshua C Pack, and I include it here in full because it so unbelievably arrogant it has to be read in whole to get the sense of just how short time must feel to the Apostle.

"If you hold those riches, I'm telling you, you trust in them"

"Go get a big chunk out of your home. And put your money where your mouth is and send it here. And I'm not talking about one, two, three thousand either. How about ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, or one hundred thousand dollars? Go do it."

"Wives, you can be independent in this. You have 1/2 the worth of whatever you have in your house.

I'm officially telling you this...Wives, legally you have the 1/2 the funds. What are you going to do about it?...Husbands...'well, my wife is not in the church'...tell her...'you don't have a voice woman' "

"Go get those assets and get them here"

"Don't sit on vast resources that we can use now"

"We are not a splinter"

"I do not covet your silver or gold...the gold and silver is God's and He will get it someway"

"We do not have the funds...plans...bookstores...We need to redesign our web site...We need many hundreds of thousands of dollars to arrive at God's headquarters soon...the timing is now"

"This is different...ask Him for the faith to liquidate certain assets and give it to the work"

"I'll say it again, we are talking about liquidating existing assets...it all belongs to God and the brethren"

"We have a lot of plans so big going on in this office it would cause just this room to to rock and gyrate if you knew what was going on. We just need a lot of money and we need it post haste...I would give more if I had it"

"Herbert Armstrong wrote an article...'Prepare to greatly reduce your standard of living'...What he wrote by far, is more for us now than it was then... its all going to be taken away from us anyway brethren"

"There will be follow-up sermons. Time to bring in related points"

"Let us know how much you plan to send and when you plan to send it...You must be willing to communicate... If you do need to counsel, please do that...If you are not ready to distribute what you have...you don't believe the flow of prophecy"

"This is announcing the last blast, the clarion call as it were, to finish the work...Whether it is 4,5,7, 9 years to go, God knows...This is liquidating assets...I have the authority to tell you to do it... I have the moral and spiritual, and ecclesiastical authority to tell you to do what I have also done"

"Get it now when it requires faith... when you are dead you don't need it... if you named us in your wills, it can take us months or years to get it"

"The wives in the faith will say give everything you can...We don't have the luxury of waiting years...today, leaving everything in your will simply doesn't work"

"Now you just have a second mortgage... and frankly we flee before most of it ever becomes due"

"...some may think that they want to tap their 401k--maybe you want to let us know that... why would you want to tell us? We are starting to prepare a budget now, the needs are now...it would be nice to know now"

"Think big...Pull big triggers"

"There is only two positions you can take regarding all that I have mentioned, only two, there is no middle ground. You're either going to yield, to submit and to follow, the clarion call that the time is now or you're not. And postponing a decision is deciding not to do it...It's saying I'm going to wait until it gets closer because it is not there yet...Don't say that I'm going to wait until it gets closer, when I can see...The decision is that my treasure stays on earth or I goes to heaven. Period. I will not lay up for times to come or I will. And this is the real test of Laodicea... either hold on to your assets... or give it... God is in this decision, no question. Testing the church's faith"

"We live in the most materialistic age in the history of the world. People trust in physical things. They trust in bank accounts...If you have excess and don't need it, those verses mean you...That's the Laodicean attitude...Put your money where your mouth is...Empty your assets"

"There is only one place He works...Where the...work is...that's where God is working...one elder commented here at headquarters, if people can't be motivated by a clarion call to finish the work such as this, why will those same people somehow believe the internal signal given to the church of the 1335? Why would they believe it?"

"This is the Laodicean age...Be careful that you don't tell us how to spend your assets... It belongs to God.. You don't tell God or His servants how to spend it"

"Your faith is being tested. Think about that"

"We will all fast on November 17th...I have to...ask you for a very special financial sacrifice for God's work"

"The purposes of the fast...(a). To fast for God's intervention...(b).Fast for personal faith and courage to follow what I am asking you to do...(c). Fast for personal strength...(d)...Fast for faith and courage in others with more than you to give...Go get a big chunk out of your house...their assets, IRAs, and pension funds...(e). Ask God to move specific properties...that they have told us they want to sell. Pray that these properties move...that is part of what this fast is about"

David C Pack-The Clarion Call-November 3, 2007

Whew...let me catch my breath....ok....   It must have been an effective sermon and I am sure honest and sincere folk gave until it hurt because after all, "time is short and we have Christ's work to do,"  That was 6 years ago.  I suspect most can only do this dramatic time is short giving once in their whole lifetime and they you are tapped out.  You also now are so invested you have to stick it out to see what happened i would suspect.  

An inside source assures me that some in high places that the Apostle Pack, at one time, did resist the idea of building a campus and all that goes with it ala HWA format and types. Kinda like those Bible Theme Parks maybe but duplicating the "template" as it is called, of HWA and his vision of empire and work.  The feeling was that if monies were spent on such physical and permanent facilities it could be misconstrued as 'My Lord delays his coming."

Well..those days are obviously over.  Decisions have been made about just how short time is after all and there are buildings to be built and HWA templates to be replicated.  (I assume there will be some templates yet to be replicated that will not be all that pleasant, but I spare you.).  How easily COG empire builders slip form "My Lord delays his coming " to "Blessed is he who is found so doing."

Now slap me if I am wrong but...

Matthew 24:

43 rBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night sthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be tready, for uthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is vthe faithful and wwise servant,3 whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 xBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

...has much more to do with not letting a thief break into your home and being ready for the return of the Son of Man than building dining halls, auditoriums, houses and campuses for God and getting hold of a $25,000 Steuben knick knack for your office.  Maybe it is just me.  I can tell you that Christ University was not the next thing on this "time is short" group of folk 2000 years ago. 

On the other hand, rumor is that the Apostle Joshua Pack believes his own work will be short.  Three to six, five to nine, and this was a few years ago, years at most.  Some say he thinks 2016ish.  I have my doubts.

Looks to me like "time is short" really does mean "No problem, my Lord delays His coming and it is ok!"

"Brethren...God does not see as a man sees.  One day with God is as a thousand years silly.  His ways aren't YOUR ways.  In fact, there is a way that SEEEEEMs right to YOU...but it is going to kill  you if I don't predict your death first.  Besides, I saw Field of Dreams and if you build it, Haggai said they would come."

"The structure represents an achievement in design, construction and technology, and is unique in the region. Its four levels contain a mix of elegance, modernity and technological innovation. Four beautiful chandeliers hang in the building’s signature north and south towers on the second and third floors. Throughout the structure, 605 very long window panes allow natural light to brighten interior offices and meeting spaces. Natural light spectrum fluorescent fixtures provide a vibrant work environment for the interior offices as well. Befitting the quality of the God we serve, the nearly 300,000 square feet of wall space is lined with over four miles of cherry and oak wood trim. To allow for maximum connectivity within and between multiple departments, 10 miles of Category 6 data cable and three miles of fiber optic cable were also laid throughout the building. Our meeting hall has been finished, with new chandeliers installed last night.

Many elements of the campus are now coming together, with more trees, gardens, and sod being installed each week. Exterior work outside the Hall of Administration on the eastern side is also taking shape. The developing landscape has approximately 4.5 miles of pipeline buried beneath the surface to irrigate the rolling grounds. God has blessed us with water from our own spring that will enable us to maintain the green turf and sustain many towering trees, lush plants and flowers through the hot summer months without the enormous cost of water this many acres and plants would require. This has turned into a tremendous blessing considering the possible water restrictions that may be imposed in the future. We have developed a saying that, “The Garden of Eden is open for business again.” We are pleased to announce that there will be a public area where city residents may enjoy spectacular flower gardens and specially decorated grounds." God's Work Advances Again

And of course, this is just the beginning of the end time permanent and incredibly expensive template for the time is short  and the hour now is Restored Church of God.  It certainly is a twist on being found so doing.  Jesus did know he meant miles of cherry wood and excellent trees planted to grow for decades and awestruck the brethren, who of course, are paying somehow for all of this.  Maybe it's done with equity loans?

Don't forget....

"This is announcing the last blast, the clarion call as it were, to finish the work...Whether it is 4,5,7, 9 years to go, God knows...This is liquidating assets...I have the authority to tell you to do it... I have the moral and spiritual, and ecclesiastical authority to tell you to do what I have also done"

"Get it now when it requires faith... when you are dead you don't need it... if you named us in your wills, it can take us months or years to get it"

"The wives in the faith will say give everything you can...We don't have the luxury of waiting years...today, leaving everything in your will simply doesn't work"

One of my favorites... 

"Now you just have a second mortgage... and frankly we flee before most of it ever becomes due"

"...some may think that they want to tap their 401k--maybe you want to let us know that... why would you want to tell us? We are starting to prepare a budget now, the needs are now...it would be nice to know now"

Sigh...Now personally, I don't care what Dave Pack does, thinks, believes about himself or his place in the Universe, but I do care about double talk in religion.  In Apostle Joshua's right hand we have "time is short" and "and frankly WE flee before most of it ever comes due, which sounds illegal to me, but what do I know and in his left hand we have, well yet a third Ambassador Campus with all the trimmings under the guise of being found "so doing."

I guess RCG members must be totally brain dead by now.  Let's take a look at the "My Lord delays his coming" concept with my own meager contribution to reality included.

The Day of the Lord   2 Peter 3:1-17 1Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.                                                 3Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come,(In reality, scoffers are simply people both 2000 years ago and now who notice that the words "short" and "now is" did and do not actually mean the same thing to them as they meant to those who proclaimed it. It is a different kind of short and soon.  scoffing and following their own evil desires.(Of course, their motive, as mine, is pure evil. It is not a sincere noticing of double talk or the mixing of short and long term ideas. It is just them and me being evil.  4They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”  5But they deliberately (See...once again, the noticing and saying is not sincere.  It is deliberate scoffing and rebellion and the forgetting is deliberate.) forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  6By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.  7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.(Ok, that's fine, but you're off topic.  We're talking about you saying the scoffing is because many notice that your soon and shortly don't mean the same thing evidently as mine or theirs. )  8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.(Ohhhhh that's it!  See I was right. Days and years are different now. Why did you not mention this when you first said "soon" and "shortly" years ago?  I think you just made this up to explain the scoffers observations but maybe I am wrong.    9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (Gotcha...I don't understand delay, slow or where and when is this going happen? stuff.  So while it appears slow and delayed. It is not because the problem is in their, my, our understanding.  This is where  you get bombed with "my ways aren't your ways", "the wisdom of man is foolishness with God" and "there is a way that seems right...but...).  10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. (Now you didn't tell me this a few years ago.  The coming was going to be obvious with trumpets and in the clouds and now it is a thief in the night and unexpected.  You keep changing the rules on me and you wonder why they, we, I  notice it.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.a  11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives  12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.b That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.  14So then, dear friends, since you ( Oh whew...you still mean us 2000 years ago...Great!)  are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.  15Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  16He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (Oh..so now Paul is a bit to blame too for being hard to understand.  First time you mentioned this to us.  What your saying is that Paul tends to exaggerate and he does this in all his letters?  Why didn't you tell us that. We took him at face value.)  17Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.  18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (  Ok, will do.  But honestly, can I be honest here or are you going to call me a scoffer again who just likes to be evil?  My Lord still delayed his coming in human terms and those are the only terms humans understand.  It is like being accused of using "human reasoning" and then asking the accuser what kind of reasoning does he use?  Human reasoning is all we have unless one claims special powers and contact with the gods.  Oh ...they do..I forgot.  Personally I don't find many growing in grace in the world of the Apostle Joshua C Pack.  I certainly don't find them growing in knowledge.  That would involve study papers, input, reading and thinking outside the booklet box and we know that is not permitted and never will be.  So growing in knowledge is OUT!  I believe I have made my point at least.  I can see pouring resources into booklets and radio if one has a message, real or imagined.  Especially if time is short and love compels one to reach as many as possible and as quickly as possible before it is too late and the night is far spent.  But I don't believe for a minute the Apostle Joshua C Pack believes time is all that short or you'd not be seeing this foolishness of recreating yet a third time the Ambassador College Campus.  According to the current behind the scenes , go find those sermon tapes and get them back, schedule, 2016 ish is not all that far away.  Two sides of one mouth comes to mind here.  Carrot and stick also comes to mind along with just around the corner, just out of sight and just over the next hill.                                                         The scoffers in the times of the early church 2000 years ago were correct in noticing that, after all Paul and John had said, how they said it and the clear implication that they meant it meant their time, those people and that work of God, were wrong.  Paul even left the scene rather cynically saying that "oh well, I fought a good faith, I kept the faith..therefore there is laid up for ME, (which is typical Paul), a crown of righteousness...oh ok...and not just me but you too...gotta go."  Ruined relationships, lost resources on which to actually live, lost properties, angry children at parents who gave it all away and sent too much in too often leaves it's scars.  Recall Paul told people not to marry and to that it was much better to stay single as he was.  Of course he never heard any Jesus taught the opposite even thinking time was short for humanity too.  The Apostle Joshua C Pack is indeed recreating the HWA Ambassador College and Campus Template.  May I remind you the original is being torn down even as I write.  The Second Campus in Edmond is falling on hard times and the third is rising on the backs of the zealots who will probably repeat yet a third time the history of "My Lord Delays his coming."    The Apostle Joshua's work is calculated to last as long as he does.  It will be a comfy life but full of more drama to come. I think the Apostle thrives on drama as long as you spell his name correctly.  And then it end in the back of a debris truck or taken over by a business or a church that believes the exact opposite of it all.  There will be nothing new under this sun. And brethren, speaking of things that must shortly come to pass, are soon to come and sending in all one has because we need "big triggers pulled" and not to worry, "we flee before it ever comes due," is double speak.    It is a subconscious belief that my lord does delay his coming and tricksters  have buildings to build and an empire to establish.  It is a theological disconnect and those seeking security and safety have for the past 2000 years gotten burned but good putting up with it.  Amen and Aaaaaaamen as they say around here.

contact Dennis at: denniscdiehl@AOL.com

Christian Domestic Discipline: COG Leaders Seen Nodding In Approval

Word has it that Rod Meredith is shaking his head in approval at the latest "christian" legalistic nonsense being promoted out there.  Just what might be the latest new "understanding" sweeping the church?  Christian Domestic Discipline!  Or in Church of God speak, "Wife Spanking."

Get out the hair brush boys, it's going to be wild night!

There is a web site up and two books out on the topic of Christian men disciplining their wives by spanking them.  Rod Meredith boldly proclaimed several years ago that he routinely spanked his wife when she disobey him.  That is why to this day when many people speak of Meredith he is called "Spanky."

This leads to physical discipline to lovingly keep the wife accountable to her master’s God given authority. After these marriage relationships have been living with the husband as head and the wife in subjection to his authority, the wife always desires greatly to have this type of relationship with her husband, feeling that the husband is showing practical love when he corrects her with physical and painful discipline for sinful habits or other various things. She wants to be in subjection and so obeying means allowing discipline in any way her master/husband determines is necessary.

The discipline of a master/husband is not based on hitting with fists or fighting in general and in fact is potentially to help avoid improper male aggression and abusiveness of that sort. Instead, the husband has the right to thoughtfully use Biblical chastising to help correct his wife, arguing that it cannot be abuse since God gives merit to human leaders using discipline in the outwork of authority. If authority is to exist at all, the DD (persons using domestic discipline) reasoning goes, it must have consequences to be genuine and not merely a sham. Keep in mind that this is all in the context of a Christian Marriage. Domestic Discipline in a Christian Marriage

 Available on Amazon

It also carries a sexual component that is sure to strike the fancy of a few of the leaders of the Churches of God since several already practice it..

Christian Domestic Discipline is only a fancy name for what has been practiced since Adam and Eve left the garden... the practice of a loving husband having the authority to spank his erring wife to maintain order in his marriage and home.It was used during Jesus' time, it was used throughout the middle ages, it was socially accepted up until the 1950's in the United States, and it lives today in thousands of homes who are connected only by their lifestyle and the internet.Why do I think this fits in here? Because 99% of couples in a Christian Domestic Discipline marriage report having FABULOUS sex lives.

God created man and women with certain tendencies from the very beginning... the man to lead and  the woman to follow. The man was given dominion over all the other creatures on the earth so he was created to be a leader.The woman was created to be man's helper and companion, so she was given certain traits to make her well suited for these purposes. We don't know how long they lived in the Garden in perfect harmony with these tendencies, but we do know they were perfectly happy.

Then came the Fall. Part of the curse was that Eve would no longer easily follow her husband, but rather would want to control him. And Adam would no longer lead effortlessly but would have to enforce his rule. We as men and women are STILL happiest in the roles we were created for, but our sin nature causes us to struggle to stay in those roles. Christian Domestic Discipline helps us to return to the roles we were created to love so that we can be content and happy.  In Response to Sexuality In Marriage

So what is the appeal of Christian Grey, the hero in Fifty Shades of Grey?

As a woman, I feel qualified to tell you.

Christian Grey has "the edge".

What is "the edge" you ask?

The Edge is that little sense of danger that exists around a man that makes him hopelessly attractive to women... that teeny tiny thrill that runs down her spine when she realizes she is not tagging along with a tame kitty-cat, but instead treading softly around a wild lion.

Christian Grey has that edge.  Why?  Because he is not afraid to lead in the relationship, and he is not afraid to enforce his lead, if need be, by physical discipline.

Most women would be terrified if a man were as rough with her as Christian is with Anastasia in "Fifty Shades".  That kind of roughness should only exist in fantasy.  However, a little discipline from her man will only make a woman love him more than he'll ever realize.  It's just part of her nature.

Just another good reason to look into Christian Domestic Discipline. The Edge

Escape From The Iron-Fisted Worldwide Church of God Cult into The Power and Freedom of Jesus Christ!

The following was sent to me by a reader here concerning a story by a former COG member who escaped the clutches of Armstrongism, legalism and the Hebrew Roots Movement - of which Armstrongism played a major part in, and moved into grace.  Grace is a much hated word in the more legalistic splinter groups of Armstrongism.  It is a concept that is maligned and denigrated as much as they do Jesus.

Their sites claims:

Joyfully Growing In Grace engages in an examination of beliefs found in the Hebrew Roots Movement, Messianic Judaism, and Netzarim streams of thought and related sects.

The term “Messianic” is generally understood to describe Jews who have come to believe in Yeshua/Jesus as their Messiah. Jews who are believers in Jesus/Yeshua typically call themselves Jewish/Hebrew Christians or simply, Christians. 

Many Christians meet folks who say they are ‘Messianic’ and assume that those folks are Jewish Christians. Most aren’t Jewish at all, but are Gentile Christians who have chosen to pursue Torah observance and have adopted the Messianic term, calling themselves Messianic Christians, adherents to Messianic Judaism, or simply, Messianics. Some will even try to avoid that label and say that they are followers of "The Way".

These Gentiles (and to be fair, some Messianic Jews) preach Torah observance/pursuance for Christians, persuading many believers that the Christianity of the Bible is a false religion and that we must return to the faith of the first century sect of Judaism that they say Yeshua (Jesus Christ) embraced. According to them, once you become aware that you should be 'keeping' the edicts and regulations of Mosaic Covenant Law, if you do not, you are then in willful disobedience to God.

It has been my observation that Christians who adopt the label of Messianic identify more with the tenets of Judaism than they do with the tenets of Christianity. Many reject the label of Christian altogether and some eventually even convert to Judaism. 

Escape From The Iron-Fisted Worldwide Church of God Cult into The Power and Freedom of Jesus Christ! 

by Mark Smith

The following is my testimonial of 18 long years in the Worldwide Church of God (HRM) Cult founded by Herbert W. Armstrong.  For more information on the founder and this cult, simply do some research on Google for more details and the history of the WCG cult.  [Exit and Support Network is a great resource. - jgig]

My father heard the founder’s convincing message in 1964 when I was 3 years old and converted wholeheartedly – my mother went along out of love for my father.  From the age of 3 years old to 21, I was indoctrinated in following and observing all of the old covenant teachings of the Torah/Mosaic law, the holy days and feast days, the Sabbath, plus extra biblical doctrine the founder imposed on us as further bondages and heavy burdens.  As children, we were not allowed to participate in the regular holiday celebrations at school, enjoy birthdays or participate in sports that typically scheduled games on the Sabbath.

While growing up, my father worked hard to support my brothers, sister and I with very little left over after paying income taxes and multiple tithes to the CULT.  For years, my mother would cook simple meals and shop at thrift stores, grow gardens and sew clothes for us to make it - and my father made good money - but gave much of it to support the cult’s “iron-fisted” control to OBEY and PAY!

There was 99 percent law mixed with their exclusive (we have the truth) spin within their doctrine claiming to being the ONLY one with the TRUTH while the rest of the world is lost.  The other 1 percent was teaching on the work of Jesus Christ and His suffering on the cross for our sins which was quickly diminished and perverted by the other 99 percent false doctrine.

Several magazines, books and correspondence courses were the means of being brainwashed and indoctrinated into their (“The”) way of spiritual growth, including fear based manipulation woven into the writings to compel followers into adhering to all the teachings of the founder.  There was the Plain Truth and Good News magazines to pitch to the followers and also to reach out to potential converts on a worldwide scale consisting of modern events, news, prophecy and God’s kingdom to come.

Problem was, there was NO emphasis about salvation in Jesus Christ.

Scripture they used to support the doctrines found in their publications were (TYPICAL OF A CULT) used out of context – and can be clearly discerned and recognized once you DO know the truth that reveals the errant false teachings!  Sin and scandals were common among members including leadership as well as the founder which demonstrated to me that their moral benchmark for godly living was skewed by legalism – NOT having the Holy Spirit moving through TRULY converted people demonstrating the power of the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ.

Their basis for conversion was the required reading of two NON biblical books written by the founder and then water baptism.  Keeping the Torah’s dietary laws and paying first, second and third tithes filled the cult’s vaults and fueled the propagation of their doctrine worldwide as well as funding a luxurious lifestyle for the founder.  The pastors, deacons and so-called evangelists, did NOT reach people with the “true love of God” but infused control and manipulation that came from the very top – the founder.

The works-based righteousness that I and others tried to walk-in produced the fruit of SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS and a pious, pride-filled life.  Looking back at the fruit of people’s lives, it was clear that the Spirit-filled life of love, joy, peace, patience – etc… was null or void of the fruit that IS evident in a converted person demonstrating the love for God and others.

Falling away or leaving the cult equaled a one-way ticket to the eternal lake of fire.  Powerful, manipulative preaching kept (me) the followers/members in fear and awe that their teaching was OF GOD and somehow anointed.  Once you were a member, you were ensured of salvation within the chosen group of God’s elect, or FACE THE LAKE OF FIRE!!

The real kicker is… their version of the Gospel was what they call the “Good News” – the kingdom of God during the 1000 year millennium to come and that we would all be small gods occupying our own planets - kind of like what the Mormons believe.  Yes, the kingdom of God will be an awesome time, but the cult’s primary focus and doctrine of the kingdom is front and center OVER and above the gospel of Jesus Christ our Savior first… AND His kingdom to come!

Truth is, I don’t remember hearing TRUE solid and sound evangelism about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that would be centered on His redemptive work and the gift of salvation and eternal life through Him!

I left the cult in 1983 after suffering serious emotional and mental anguish about whether I should continue to live under that cults heavy hand or leave since my heart was no longer in remaining as a member.  Fact is I WAS FED UP, and even though I felt that I was condemned at the same time for leaving, I left out of feeling a need to save and salvage my sanity!

Before leaving though, I asked for counseling with my (cult) pastor, who then proceeded to bash me loudly and harshly about being emotional and showed zero compassion and love.  That was all I needed to make my final beeline for the exit door out of that cult once and for all in 1983.

However, my mother went along with it all those years from 1964 until she was fed up and then divorced my father in 1988.  Six years later, in 1994, my father committed suicide due to a complete breakdown from guilt and failure of losing a marriage, and felt like he failed his children, including feeling he was a failure in that cult as a deacon.  His death was extremely heart-breaking to us all… however we felt compassion on our dear dad who was caught in the destructive teachings of a cult.
I don’t remember any of us (my siblings and myself) condemning our father for our childhood… that’s because we know our dad did the best that he thought he could.

My brothers and sister came out of it shortly after I did.  I guess you could say I paved the way to coming out of the cult after many lost years under mind control and manipulation.  My mother drank herself to death in 2009.  My younger sister is not a believer, my younger brother moves all around the country as a vagabond, and my other brother who was a year and half younger is now gone; he died in 2006 from cancer.

I pray for my two remaining siblings that the Lord would reveal to them His Gospel having mercy and grace on them as He did with me.

Several years later, the Lord brought the gospel to me through coworkers and others in the public (thank God for people not afraid to share Christ), yet I vowed never to listen to any man again, but wanted to hear from GOD and GOD only what the truth was.  In August of 1996, I was searching for something to listen to on the radio and heard a man preaching and can’t remember who it was since it was a Christian station with many different teachers and ministers.  I broke my vow to not listen to any man and knew that I just had to keep listening to a new message (the gospel) that spoke to my heart.

Little did I know it was the Holy Spirit drawing me to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, our salvation and the forgiveness of sins that weighed so heavy on me!

After strong conviction from the Holy Spirit regarding my past and present sins, I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and experienced the NEW BIRTH, and started reading the New Testament learning about OUR SAVIOR, about faith, mercy, grace, redemption, sanctification, justification, fruit of the Spirit, love fulfilling the law, Christian living, eternal life to come, Revelation and the Kingdom of God, the message of the Old Testament and the Messianic line along with prophecies of Jesus and so much more!

Now fast forward to the present at 51 years old…

I praise God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for His glorious love, mercy and grace upon those of us who receive Him and his Word by faith, revealing the wonderful promises to come – from everlasting to everlasting!

Unfortunately, there are several men online that have persevered [known as 'splinter groups' - info available at link provided above] and are pitching the teachings of the cult I grew up in.  THEY ARE MISSING the mark big time leading people into bondage.

As the days are growing more troublesome globally, the Lord has laid it on my heart to reach the lost with the (TRUE) message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I thank God for the TRUE warriors in the faith that are battling against and exposing the lies of false prophets and teachers that are everywhere.

Even though I would love to battle solely against cults and false teaching, I can do MORE damage against the evil one and false teaching by SOLELY focusing on preaching the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ which the evil one hates more than anything!

If you are reading this testimony about my life in a Hebrew Roots/Messianic-type cult and don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior… repent and turn to Him, calling out to Him in His name “LORD and Savior Jesus Christ” and believe that He died for our (your) sins, was buried and rose from the dead three days later.

If you’d like someone to pray with you about receiving Jesus Christ, contact the author of this site, or feel free to comment on this testimony.

After receiving Jesus Christ by faith, you will receive the gift and promise of the Holy Spirit and He will reveal to you the truth in His Holy Scriptures about the Godhead – who our Father in heaven is, who His Son Jesus Christ is, who the Holy Spirit is and MORE.  Read the New Testament books to learn about Jesus Christ… the gospel of John is a great place to start and read the other gospel books about Jesus.  Read the rest of the New Testament to understand the wonderful truths of Him and His Word.

I believe the Old Testament is best understood after you receive Christ as your Savior where you will become a new creation in Christ through the regeneration power of the Holy Spirit that will open up your spiritual eyes of understanding for His Word and the entire biblical message of God’s salvation plan for humanity.

Thank you Lord GOD of heaven and earth for this website and your glorious Truth and promises.

Love in Christ our Lord,

Mark Smith
If you want to contact Mark check out the website for his address.