Articles for the Benefit of Members and Ex-Members of the WCG

* * *

9
Where is Jesus in the WCG?

In the April 1997 Worldwide News, Charles Fleming claims Jesus is always with the Worldwide Church of God. Is He? Where's the proof? Ask some penetrating questions, and take a closer look. Be honest with the facts. If He is there, there should be evidence!

What about preaching Christ the way Paul did? I never heard him preach about being crucified with Christ, about mortifying the deeds of the flesh like Paul exhorted, about dying to self. He may have made passing allusions to such themes, but never were they central to his message.

Where was Jesus in His preaching?

Sorry to probe. But the man was only a man. I will honour the memory of Jesus, but why do I need to honour the memory of flesh and blood unless he is to be immortalised by God? Our worship is of God, not man.

If you are an 'Armstrong-ite', you will have to excuse my irreverence towards him. But it is important that we get our spiritual focus correct at this time, and not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Getting It?

I sat attentively listening to his 'sermons' on the primeval theme, wondering if I had missed something. Many must have been equally disenchanted - and showed it on their faces - because at one time he stopped in the middle of his discourse and castigated us numbskulls for "not getting it"! The truth was, we WERE getting it! And we had got it long before! It was he who had not got the message! He was treading the same old ground and we needed to move on.

Had he forgotten what he spoke about before? Or didn't he care? Where was his spirituality? Was he not capable of embracing the deep concepts of scripture? Was he only able to rehash themes which were based on easily grasped physical analogies?

Was his 'dementia' the result of a diminished spiritual acumen? If so, why? Was it a facet of demonic deception - the very thing he spoke against so passionately!? (In other churches, of course; not his!)

His malady was more than amnesia. His mind could function quite adequately in other areas. He was quite capable, even in his early nineties, of keeping control of the ship. He never left the helm of the WCG!

What was lacking was something spiritual, not mental. A spiritual blindness had come over him, similar to what happened to king Saul. It beguiles many who hold the reigns of power. Power corrupts.

He was deceived from his position of power. Pride in his achievements had totally eclipsed spiritual reality. He could only look down on his dumb flock as he pontificated over them. Pride had taken hold and pushed out the last vestiges of the humility of Christ.

An influential business acquaintance once strolled around the grounds of one of his campuses in America and was impressed by all he saw. He expressed his admiration for what HWA had achieved. HWA actually agreed with him! He didn't hide his pride.

Armstrong didn't preach Christ to this associate. He didn't say that Jesus had done it through him, and use the opportunity to introduce him to Christ. He didn't say, like he said before his church, that Christ had built it all; that he was only a vehicle.

Oh, he was careful what he said before his congregations. He made sure what he said to them encouraged increased loyalty. He knew what to say and how to say it! Thus, few ever questioned him. Few contested his decisions. Few criticised. They were even trained to think they didn't have such a right!

Got It!

If I had criticised him openly in 1980 for preaching the same old dry message about Adam and Eve in the Garden, I would probably have been thrown out of the church without recourse.

That happened later, thank God! [I mean, thank God I was thrown out; not thank God that it was later.] But at that time I was a loyal lemming. I had no perception of true spiritual depth because it was foreign to my experience. I accepted all the Worldwide taught. Why did I need to question? After all, God had called me into the WCG. He had come into my life and guided me there by providential circumstances. And anyway, the teaching all seemed pretty reasonable and sound. Much was.

Had I perceived the WCG myopia for what it was when I was in the church between 1968 and 1990, I might have said the things I do now. But I didn't see through much of the sham then. I was too enmeshed in the fabric to see what the fabric actually was.

When the only colour you have ever seen in your life is green, you would not know of the existence of reds, blues or yellows. To a large extent your experience limits your understanding.

Light's Full Spectrum of Colour

Until you see a rainbow, you would not know that the spectrum of visible light has seven colours.

Spiritual experience is no different. Jesus describes the light of His coming into our lives in such a way. He addresses Himself to the seven churches in terms of the sevenfold Spirit (Rev 1:4, NIV, margin).

I doubt if you have ever seen Jesus. I mean, He has probably not appeared standing before you. I know of those to whom this has happened. There are many alive today who testify of this remarkable, life-changing experience. [Some of these are recounted in G Scott Sparrow's book, I Am With You Always]. But your experience of Jesus is limited to what you know of Him primarily through the teachings of your church. In a very real way, that also limits what you can know and experience of Him. It limits your experience to that of your teachers. And we are not meant to be limited by any man's experience (Ps 119:99; 1 Jn 2:27), whether church leaders or not!

You will never learn all there is to know about God in one church. Nor will you ever experience all there is to be experienced with Him in one group. The multiplicity of experience is fulfilled as Jesus opens the gate and leads you into different pastures (Jn 10). You'll never get it all in Worldwide, nor in any of its splinter groups for that matter, either.

It ought to be clear to any with spiritual savvy that the plethora of denominations we see all around is an indication of two things:

1) They all have some truth.

2) But they all have some error.

Clearly they don't all have all truth, or there would be no divisions. The division is an indicator of the influence or presence of Satan in all these groups. [Why Church Divisions? explains.] He always presents himself amongst believers, to try and undo what God is doing (Job 1:6). He comes as an angel of light, too (2 Cor 11:14).

Fittingly, you only have to alter two letters in "demon" to make it "denom", as in "denomination". Equally slight alterations to truth make it error!

All truth is only attainable OUTSIDE the boundaries of spiritually-limiting denominations. The Worldwide is among them. It is not the exception, as it once arrogantly claimed.

So, to find all truth, you have to come out. That's what the analogy portrays in John 10. Read it for yourself in verses 3 and 4. You have to come away from the restrictions which man's churches put upon learning, upon worship and upon spiritual experience.

Jesus is the totality of truth. That's where you get it. You don't have to be subservient to the dictates of men in pseudo-spiritual organisations to find Him. Initially, He may use them to start you off, but once you get going, you are best outside their boundaries, away from the compromising influence of kindergarten 'scholarship' and manipulative suggestion.

Jesus in the WCG?

Charles Fleming, writing in the WWN for April 1997 (p. 20), says he is convinced Jesus is in the WCG. He is half right. But he could just as easily have said that Jesus is in the world, too! Paul wrote that Jesus is the source of the power that fills everything and sustains this universe (Eph 4:10; Eph 1:23; Col 1:17). So, He is in the world as well as in the church.

Addressing pagans, Paul even said:

... in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:27).

So I say to you, in the light of this revelation: "So what that 'Jesus is in the church'?!" That does not mean what church leaders would want you to think it means!

Charles Fleming's statements, like Jo Tkach's, are designed to deceive. He may not have deliberately set out to do so, but they deceive the reader into a false sense of security, into a blithe complacency, reassuring disturbed members that Jesus is still with them in the church despite the turmoil they may be seeing around them as a result of all the spurious doctrinal changes.

Deception is rarely conspicuous. Remember, a deceived person doesn't know he is deceived. He thinks he is OK. He doesn't perceive the deception.

I do not mean to disparage all that Charles Fleming wrote. But truth is always intertwined with error where Satan can get his finger in the pie - and human led organisations like the WCG are excellent venues for the devil's evil forays. So there is an urgent need to discern the error and to be circumspect about what you are swallowing from the spoons of your spiritual mentors.

Fleming went on to say this towards the end of his article: "We - corporately and individually - have to face that same simple question Jesus asked Peter. Do we love Him?" (p. 21).

Do you see the error in that statement? It seems innocuous, but it isn't.

How can you corporately love Jesus? A corporation is an impersonal entity, emotionally and spiritually devoid of feeling and expression. In that sense, a corporation is also abstract and intangible. It is an artificial creation of man. No way can a corporation "love" Jesus. A corporation cannot imbibe the Holy Spirit. Individuals can. But, don't forget, where individuals come together to form a church corporation, there are always some present who are of the evil one. They do not love Jesus and they never will.

Nowhere are we commanded in the Bible to stay corporately together. Yet the implication of corporate togetherness lurks beneath the surface of that seemingly harmless, even positive, statement.

As I said, you can love Jesus individually, but a corporation can't. So what is Charles Fleming saying?

What he is really implying is that when everyone in the church toes the line and goes along with what the leadership says, there can be harmony. And we all know that harmony is nice. It is a product of love. So, if we are going along in harmony, not contesting the leadership's decisions, then we must be loving Jesus. That is the implication. It's not the whole truth though. It's specious.

Members of the WCG will not spot this lie. You have to be outside to see it and grasp its evil spiritual significance. But it is an evidence of the underlying deceitful psychology of the need to follow church leaders, which still governs WCG dogma and behaviour.

The problem is: What if the leaders are false? I mean, what if they are being led by Satan? What if they dispose of those who try to promote further truth that Jesus is revealing, labelling them as "dissidents" and getting them expelled so they don't threaten the control of the leader? They will have thrust Jesus outside their church, and thwarted His attempts to awaken them spiritually. Then, because Satan is so wily, what if he gets the church leaders to introduce cosmetic changes to make it look like the church has accepted more of Jesus when it has actually acquiesced to more of Satan?

Jesus will still be "in the church" just as He is in the world. But your submission will be more to Satan than to Christ, regardless of your intentions. Your leaders will have got you deceived - duped by the devil! And you won't know it.

That is what has happened in the WCG. It is "where you are at"! You don't hear much being said in the WCG about Satan's presence! I wonder why? Could it be that he manages to keep well hidden?!

Making Friends With Satan!

OK. I said in the introduction that there should be evidence of Jesus' presence if the claims that Jesus IS in the WCG are to be believed. No one should blindly follow leaders. It doesn't matter how well you know them. They may be your best friends. So was Judas to Jesus. You need spiritual discernment to perceive spiritual reality.

Don't casually assume your church leaders are all good guys. The majority of ministers may well be headed for oblivion (Matt 7:15-23). In this passage of scripture, Jesus adjures you to test the spirits of these people by looking at the spiritual fruits of their lives.

A man who lies for selfish gain is not of God. Yet, Joseph Tkach was an inveterate liar - a deceiver. [This is addressed in articles mentioned at the foot of this article.] He said things for effect. He allowed stories to be circulated about him which painted him in a much glossier light than was true. The purpose of all this deceit was very justifiable - from a Worldwide standpoint. It enhanced unity in the church. It caused members of the WCG to think of Tkach as a really great guy, a man worthy of respect, admiration.... and, worthy of being followed. That was worth all the lies!

"The end justifies the means" has often been the motto of human abuse. "Isn't unity a most laudable end? Isn't unity a good product?"

There's a problem with this reasoning. It is what caused the pope to meet with 130 heads of world religions about a decade ago to pray for peace and unity. With him were religious leaders representing almost every conceivable religion on earth: Buddhism, Snake Charming and Witchcraft, too! The current WCG mentality embraces the same corrupt reasoning which underlies the ecumenical movement. It is making friends with the devil. It is humanly generated, not originated by the Holy Spirit.

And what man does is marked with the number 666. "Faithful" carries the gematria 666 in Greek. To whom are you faithful? To God? Or to men who claim to represent Him? Your only loyalty must be to the One who died to save you. Forget about loyalty to church leaders, to church organisations, to human structures, to human anything! It's the Spirit you need, and the authentication which the Spirit of Jesus provides.

Looking For Evidence of Jesus

So, can we find evidence to demonstrate where Jesus is actively engaged?

Yes, there is authentic evidence where Jesus is at work. But you won't see it in the Worldwide. Jesus is being subtly denied there. Of course, the leaders spout admirable sounding words, but they are said for effect. They sound good. They are convincing to the uninitiated, to the undiscerning, to the unspiritual. They fool the foolish and many who are still in kindergarten.

The evidence I am talking about is not doctrinal shifts towards majority viewpoints. It's not clever words in politically motivated speeches. It's not overtures to the evangelical fraternity. It's not becoming a member of the US National Association of Evangelicals. It's not anything which is done in the flesh. It's what is seen in the Spirit.

MIRACLES are one evidence. Miracles that are only done by Jesus - healings in His name, restoration of sight to blind eyes, hearing to deaf ears, speech to mute tongues, AIDS cured, cancer healed - in fact, miracles of healing of every conceivable malady under the sun! Even raising the dead! These are the very real testimonies of the working of God's power today amongst believers. They happen all the time when the gospel is preached around the world and God comes into receptive lives.

When the gospel was preached by the early disciples, evidence followed. Jesus promised it:

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:17,18, NKJV).

And Jesus backed up His Word:

And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them... (verse 2a).

What was the evidence of Jesus working with them? Here it is:

... confirming the Word through the accompanying signs (verse 20b).

The first disciples were effective witnesses of Jesus' word because of the POWER that came upon them as Jesus had promised (Acts 1:8). They were ready to receive it, unlike the complacent, arrogant WCG today. They are not ready for anything - least of all God's judgement which is coming upon them! The early disciples were effective witnesses of Jesus' presence. WCG folks have been made an effective clone of their human leaders. That's all. There's precious little effective witness of Christ coming from their quarters! Where's the power? Why is it not there?

It is a power that comes as a result of having the right faith. It is only to those who believe - notice that. It doesn't come to doubters, to sit-at-homers, to mere churchgoers. It comes to those who actively serve God and are prepared to follow the lead of His Spirit in humble trust.

Don't kid yourself - if you are a WCG member - that this sort of faith is in the WCG. It just isn't! It has been destroyed - what little there ever was. That is why you don't see the evidence in signs and wonders.

Oh, there may be the occasional healing. Of course, there always is where individuals are genuinely seeking God out of pure motives of the heart - even in dark dungeons of deception! God is gracious. But He doesn't grace His presence in a corporate fashion where a corporate body is being led astray wholesale by false ministers at the helm.

Forget it! He doesn't show up when deceitful men hold power over others for less than honourable reasons! He works with individuals who are open to His coming in their personal lives.

Reinhard Bonnke's Vision

Just compare the lack of miraculous evidence in the WCG with a ministry like Reinhard Bonnke's. Reinhard is a German evangelist who was called as a boy and anointed by Jesus to preach to Black Africa (as well as in other regions of the world).

When Reinhard was 10, a woman stood up and prophesied in a church meeting that she had seen a vision that Africa would be saved, and that God was calling a particular man to that commission. She pointed to Reinhard and stated that this 10-year-old boy was the one God had called. [For more details, see at the end of this article.]

Jesus has confirmed Reinhard's ministry through the signs that have followed him for the last 31 years. Reinhard grasped this vision of a blood-washed Africa. That is now history. Reinhard's 31 years of toil on the African continent have netted millions for the Kingdom of God! The testimonies of healing must run into millions too, if they could be counted.

Here's just a sample from a report of his most recent evangelistic trip to India:

...prayer was given for those who were sick. After this prayer, a wave of excitement was felt across the great crowd as many people began to shout and rejoice over their healing. Scores pressed forward to the platform to testify and demonstrate what God had done. The crowd roared its praise to God as each testimony was given.

Many cripples were able to stand up and walk as the power of God fell upon them. One particular young woman testified that her leg had been crushed in an accident and the shattered bone was now held together with metal screws and external braces. She was able to walk without pain. The video team went with her the next day to see her doctor and returned with the following story.

The doctor who had taken the original x-ray photographs of her leg, could now find no evidence at all in subsequent x-rays that the leg had ever been broken. What a wonderful Lord we serve!

On the Saturday evening, before Reinhard Bonnke had even prayed for the sick, a woman leapt out of her wheelchair and led the crowd in a dance of praise before the Lord!

(For a fuller report, contact CfaN address below.)

This evangelistic event in Pune, India, was only one of hundreds in the life of this man of God. 120,000 is a huge crowd of people, but a small number in Reinhard's experience in Africa. But nevertheless, "The days in Pune, from the 19th through 23rd November 1997, were days filled with the glory and power of God. It is quite fair to say that in all the long history of this place, such a move of God has never been seen. Even the CfaN team looked back on the week's meetings with a sense of awe and wonder, giving thanks to the Lord for His great demonstration of salvation and healing." (CfaN Telegram, 5th Jan 1998.)

I am not suggesting you go follow Reinhard Bonnke and join 'his church'. He doesn't have a church for you to join. He is an evangelist, performing an apostolic ministry. Churches are raised up as a result of his preaching. I am merely pointing out that there are apostles, prophets and evangelists in the body of Christ whom He is using. They are individuals who are following the lead of His Spirit to do what Jesus has called them to do. That is the most effective way God can do His work.

The work of God is not limited to a corporate entity or to several corporate entities. The work of God is a work of the Spirit, leaving behind it miraculous signs and wonders as evidence of God's power.

When Jesus commanded the first twelve, and later the eleven and 120 (Acts 1:15) and a further 500 (1 Cor 15:6) after His resurrection, to go into all the world and preach the gospel for a witness, He intended them to realise He would back them up with divine power.

He didn't give them a command that was toothless. He promised that He would be with them always (Matt 28:20). And He has given that same promise of companionship and power to us (Jn 14:12).

But it is not automatic. It is predicated upon faith. The Worldwide has rejected that faith. It has thrown out the faith of Jesus to accept a counterfeit without power.

James wrote about the fact that true faith is evidenced by obedience and action. Jesus didn't promise to be with those who take Him on their lips but who don't take Him into their lives. When He said, "Lo, I am with you always," He had also just said: "Go and make disciples.... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (Matt 28:19,20).

The leaders of the WCG are not doing that, so the power is not present. They have a form of godliness but deny His power! Friend, be warned!

Jesus is not in the Worldwide Church of God in the way WCG leaders would like to believe. They are themselves deceived, and... don't forget.... a deceived person doesn't realise it!

Malcolm B Heap

Further Information

The booklet Why Church Divisions? is available from PO Box 29, Aylesbury, HP17 8TL, UK.

Concerning J Tkach's ability to deceive and lie: The evidence is documented in Ambassador Report, issues AR41-43, available from PO Box 60068, Pasadena, CA 91116, USA. They are also repeated in The Corrupt Leaders of The WCG available in written form for a small donation from PO Box 29, Aylesbury, HP17 8TL, UK.

When ordering written materials from us, or any other source mentioned, please remember to send a donation to cover costs. Thank you. "The workman is worthy of his hire" (Matt 10:10).

A video containing the evidence of Jesus' call on Reinhard Bonnke's life can be obtained from PO Box 29, Aylesbury, HP17 8TL, UK. Please send a donation to offset our costs, and request V51. Thank you.

You can also read of his miraculous exploits in a book about Reinhard Bonnke's life and evangelism, entitled Reinhard Bonnke authored by Colin Whittaker. It is obtainable for £10.00 (in the UK), £12.00 other countries) from the following address. Videos about his work are also available from: Christ for all Nations, 250 Coombs Rd, Halesowen, W Midlands, B62 8AA, UK. Tel 0044 (0) 121 602 2000, or   0044 (0) 121 559 2894. Fax 0044 (0) 121 602 7003. Web Site: http://www.cfan.org. E-mail in the UK: info@uk.cfan.org. (E-mail addresses of other countries worldwide are available from the CFaN web site.)