eternal-destinations.blogspot.co.ke/…/tgrm-issues-and-conce…
This is an article written by a brother in Christ.Shared here for your information.
It is especially useful for those of you in Nigeria where these teachings are.
This is the second part.Read part 1 for better understanding.
The Return of Christ
TGRM states the Lord said, “This is why my word says that the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Does not the world see my
wisdom in these mysteries? Therefore, I, hereby announce to the
world that I have returned, to rule and to destroy whatever the idiot
has done all this time . I have come to take back to my kingdom
that which belongs to me. Thus said the Lord Jesus Christ of
Nazareth.”
TGRM states the Lord said, “Satan devised another means of using
a Roman emperor to merge Christianity and the world together in
order to stop my own vision. Since then I allowed him and he
started introducing a lot of things into Christianity through churches
and their founders. I have been warning people but they would not
understand me. So, I have come again by myself to re-establish my
standard.”
TGRM states the Lord said, “No body has the power to kill my own
people again. I am coming like a king to claim what belongs to me.
If a king goes on a long journey that will take him many years away
from his domain, his coming back will be announced so that things
will be put in order before his arrival. Now I am announcing my
return , so that things that are not in order will be put in order.”
“So, my children who obey me and do what I command, I am
coming to reign . As I promised Israel of giving them a land which
was not their own, so I promise to give you a land flowing with milk
and honey. Thus said the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
These statements have three main issues:
1) They state that the Lord has returned by using the expressions,
“I have returned;” “I have come,” and “I have come again.” Then
they contradict those statements by putting it in the future tense
with expressions like “I am coming” and “I am announcing my
return;” So has He come again or is He announcing His return?
Which one?
2) They state that the Lord said, “No body has the power to kill my
own people again.” This means there will be no more martyrs from
this time onward. Yet we know that Christians are still dying for
Christ around the world, and in the Bible we see that martyrdom will
continue until the end, when His angels gather His elect from the
four winds. Jesus Himself said persecution of the saints is one of
the signs of the times before His return. “Then they will deliver you
to tribulation, and will kill you , and you will be hated by all nations
because of My name.” (Mat 24:9). The book of Revelation has
much to say about End Time Saints being killed, and even says it is
the destiny of some to be killed (Rev 13:10). The Lord requires
faithfulness until death (Rev 2:10). Anyone who will not worship the
beast will be killed, including saints (Rev 13:15; cf., 14:11; Rev
20:4). See my articles The Glory of Martyrdom for Christ and The
End Time Saints .
3) They state that Jesus called satan an “idiot”. Yet we find no
place in Scripture where Jesus ever called satan or any demon an
“idiot.” He called the devil “satan” (Mat. 4:10; 12:26; 16:23; Mark
3:23,26; 4:15; 8:33; Luke 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:31). In Revelation,
he is referred to as “the great dragon,” “the serpent of old who is
called the devil and Satan” (Rev 12:9). He is also called “the accuser
of the brethren” (Rev 12:10). Jesus called the demons “unclean
spirits” (Mk 5:8) or simply demons (Mat. 7:22; 10:8; 12:27,28; Mark
16:17; Luke 11:18,19,20; 13:32). And when speaking to His enemies,
the Lord may have called them by names of beasts like fox or viper
(Mat. 12:34; 23:33), but He never called anyone an idiot. In fact, it
says in Jude, “Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming,
defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.
But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and
argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against
him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" But these
men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things
which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these
things they are destroyed.” (Jud 1:8-10)
About the statements that the Lord has already returned, we have
the following Scriptural warnings against such claims:
The apostle Paul said, “Now we request you, brethren, with regard
to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together
to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be
disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to
the effect that the day of the Lord has come . Let no one in any way
deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first,
and the man of lawlessness is revealed , the son of destruction, who
opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of
worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying
himself as being God.” (2Th 2:1-4). Paul warned the Thessalonians
not to believe any spirit or message or letter as if from him to the
effect that the day of the Lord has come. In Paul’s concluding
remarks to that epistle, he states, “If anyone does not obey our
instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not
associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not
regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” (2Th
3:14-15)
The Lord Himself also said, “Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold,
here is the Christ,' or 'There He is,' do not believe him. For false
Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and
wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have
told you in advance. So if they say to you, 'Behold, He is in the
wilderness,' do not go out, or, 'Behold, He is in the inner rooms,' do
not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and
flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Mat
24:23-28). You will know it when the Lord has returned, just as a
flash of lightning in the sky cannot be kept secret from those on the
earth. But when you see a lot of vultures circling in the sky above,
rather than a flash of lightning, that should tell you something. You
may not be able to see what they are all gathering around for, but
you know it is some body that is sick or dead. Beware of anyone
who says the Lord has come back and any group that gathers
around such claims. See Sequence of Signs Preceding the Coming
of Christ and Synching Up the Seven Seals with the Gospels .
Confusion
There is confusion in this movement, and confusion is not of God.
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all
churches of the saints." (1 Cor 14:33, KJV).
For example, TGRM contradicts itself. On the one hand, they
prophesy that it is disobedience to own a car. On the other hand,
they prophesy that the car was made with wisdom, and that those
who say it is useless will suffer for their foolishness, since their
travels will become more difficult. They state that the Lord asked,
"Can an African tell the white man that the wisdom he used in
making a car is useless? If he avoids him, his movement becomes
difficult and he will suffer because of his own foolishness."
Another example that I have already mentioned is the matter of the
Lord having already returned on the one hand, yet on the other
hand He is coming to reign.
Another example is the matter of working for the Lord versus
working with the Lord, as I have also mentioned. On the one hand
they prophesy, "The danger in working for Me is that they will end
up in destruction.” On the other hand they prophesy, "…the matter
is that after working for me, they get their reward in heaven.” This is
confusing. Do people working for the Lord get their reward in
heaven or do they end up in destruction?
Lack of Accountability
TGRM seems to lack accountability. What I mean by that is that
they are primarily issuing directives via prophecy, which nobody is
allowed to challenge or question. Over and again you see prophecy
after prophecy setting forth these new rules, new standards, new
commandments, usually ending with the phrase, “Thus said the
Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”
The TGRM site states, "In True Gospel Revival Movement the Lord
Jesus Christ speaks direct to men and not through his spirit alone.
He speaks through his chosen mouth piece and his ordained
oracle." This is talking about the person who initiated this
movement. It also states that "…nobody ever attempts to doctor or
amend his messages before releasing them to the world, but they
are handed raw to the world ."
This is leading by prophecy, which is dangerous. Many cults have
been created this way. Things may start off seeming to be fairly
innocent with only a few, apparently minor deviations from the
Word, but then it can gradually become more and more obvious
that it is unbiblical. The problem is that by then it is too late,
because you have been completely deceived, and you cannot get
yourself out.
No matter who gives a prophecy, it must always be tested and
judged, not only by the individual who gives it, but also by others.
Yet these TGRM prophecies are being "handed raw to the world"
without anyone being allowed to judge or amend them. Paul said,
“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass
judgment .” (1Co 14:29). He also said, “Do not quench the Spirit; do
not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully;
hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of
evil .” (1Th 5:19-22). In fact, Paul himself, who wrote half the New
Testament, went up to Jerusalem to submit himself to the apostles
there and ensure that his gospel message to the Gentiles was valid.
He wanted to ensure that he had not been running in vain. He said,
“Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to
Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. It was because of
a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel
which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those
who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run,
in vain.” (Gal 2:1-2)
The apostle John warned us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many
false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1Jn 4:1). The Berean
disciples were commended for seeking to find out if Paul’s
messages were Scriptural. It says, “Now these were more noble-
minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with
great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether
these things were so .” (Act 17:11). We must always be free to
examine everything carefully, test it, and pass judgment on every
single prophecy. If anyone puts themselves above that process,
threatening anyone who attempts to do so with hellfire, then that is
dangerous. That person is not accountable to others in the Body of
Christ .
Prophecy is not the only gift and prophets are not the only ones the
Lord uses to prepare the Body for works of service. “And He gave
some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists,
and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints
for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:11-13). There needs
to be these others, such as apostles, evangelists, pastors, and
teachers, in order to maintain accountability and keep the Church
from error. But when a group relies mainly on prophecy to equip the
saints, and defies any challenges to these prophecies, the enemy
can easily get in and bring deception. Please see Judging
Revelations, Visions, and Prophecies , Testing the Spirits of False
Prophets, and Accountable, correctable, and teachable .
The core members of this movement, who are giving these
prophecies, seem to be rather young in the Lord and spiritually
immature. They need to submit to authority and make themselves
accountable to others in the Body of Christ. They must also be
correctable and teachable. But who will correct them or teach them
if all other churches and movements are deemed by prophecy to be
apostate or illegitimate?
Extra-biblical Writings
If these prophecies cannot be challenged, judged, or tested by other
disciples using the Word of God, then that means these messages
are inerrant and become elevated to the level of Scripture. This
means each prophecy posted on the website becomes like another
book of the Bible and holds the same authority as Scripture. Or else
it is regarded as another book that Christians must obey, besides
the Bible. The end result is that such a book or such extra-biblical
writings on the web end up superseding Scripture, because they are
regarded as authoritative and binding upon all Christians, even if
they contradict the Bible. This essentially nullifies the Word of God,
as TGRM is doing with their laws that contradict Scripture. The fact
is that no prophecy or extra-biblical writing carries the same
authority as Scripture, and must either conform to the Word of God
or be ignored.
Also see my articles Scripture Alone and The Bible is the Word of
God .
One Group with All Truth
TGRM states that the Lord "has decided to reveal all truth and
mystery of Heaven through this movement." They also state that
the Lord said He "will reveal all mysteries through this movement."
Those are the exact words from their website. That also presents a
problem, since it is unbiblical.
The apostle Paul said, "We know in part and we prophesy in
part ." (1 Cor 13:9). That means none of us have the whole, but only
the part. None of us, except the Lord, have all knowledge. The Lord
does not reveal all mysteries to one individual or group, but only
some. That is the way a healthy body functions. Otherwise one part
of the body could say to another part, "I don't need you." As we all
function together in unity, each one doing their part, then we receive
the fullness of all that the Lord reveals to the Church. As the whole
body is fitted and held together in Christ "by what every joint
supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part ,"
then He causes the growth of the body (Eph 4:16).
As the apostle John said, "But you have an anointing from the Holy
One, and you all know . I have not written to you because you do
not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie
is of the truth." (1Jn 2:20-21). Every true disciple has an anointing
from the Spirit of grace, and by this unction we all know the truth,
as well as discern the lies.
If the Lord gave all knowledge to one individual or group, and
everyone looked solely to them for guidance, then the enemy could
easily deceive billions of people at once, simply by deceiving that
single individual or movement. So if the enemy has already
deceived the founder of TGRM and introduced error into this
movement, as I have proven in this article, then the potential for
mass deception not only exists, but is already happening at some
level internationally!
Condition for TGRM Membership
The ten rules that all TGRM members must obey are listed on the
home page of their website, which are basically like the new, Ten
Commandments. Of course, as usual, they claim these rules were
set by Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
The ninth rule states: "Membership is by believing every bit of these
messages of our Lord Jesus Christ and joining in our fellowships
and programmes to both do and teach others nothing but this
truth ." They said you can do nor teach nothing but what they claim
is "truth." So if you are a part of that organization, you must do and
teach others only what they teach, including all the heresies I have
highlighted above, and others I have not yet discovered. In other
words, you are not allowed to teach others anything else, except
what TGRM dictates. This essentially means you are not allowed to
teach anything found in the Bible that they do not teach.
And their tenth commandment states, "membership of this
movement is one of the unavoidable conditions for seeing God at
last." This means that their ninth rule that I just mentioned is a
condition for salvation, along with all their other conditions.
If you are a member of TGRM, I call upon you to repent, because in
order to be a member of it, you must do and teach everything they
say. That requires that you embrace doctrines that I have just
proven to be false, according to the Word of God. And you will have
to teach others that they will burn in hell, unless they embrace these
false teachings.
Mind Control
In case you did not already reach this conclusion yourself, the
practices of TGRM resemble the mind control techniques commonly
used by cults to control their members. If you would like to educate
yourself about that, please see the article by Cult Watch entitled
" How Cults Work ."
Similarities to Armstrongism
Based on what I have seen thus far of TGRM, it is similar in many
ways to Armstrongism , which refers to the beliefs of a cult formed
by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1934 that eventually came to be known
as the Worldwide Church of God. According to Wikipedia, he taught
that "God had restored the full Gospel message of the Kingdom of
God…to the Church through him (Armstrong) by opening his mind
to the plain truth of scripture. He taught that all other churches
calling themselves 'Christian' were not merely apostate, but actually
counterfeits…" His worldwide church was supposedly the one
group with all truth. He taught that Christians must observe the
dietary laws of Moses, celebration of high Sabbaths, and annual
Jewish festivals. He claimed that these and other teachings of his
were the true gospel restored. Therefore, I think that the True
Gospel Revival Movement Worldwide bears many resemblances to
the Worldwide Church of God.
Putting it All Together
I tried to keep an open mind about the True Gospel Revival
Movement (TGRM), and was willing to believe they were genuinely
from the Lord. However, my conscience is bound to the Word of
God, and it is neither wise nor safe to go against conscience. We
must prove all things from the Word and confirm that they are truly
so.
As I have examined the Scriptures to see if these things are so that
TGRM is claiming, I have found numerous issues, including the
following: claims of world domination, sole possession of all truth
and revelation of all mysteries, Christian currency, property
ownership, cessation of martyrdom, salvation by membership in a
movement, lack of accountability, confusion, claims that Christ has
already come back, working for the Lord vs. working with Him,
husbands being little gods, the authority of the only begotten Son
of God during His earthly ministry, satan being referred to as an
idiot as well as a son of God, King-James-Version-only, and
observing the Law of Moses, including dietary laws.
Therefore, I would caution anyone who is considering joining this
movement, or who is listening to its prophecies. According to the
Word of God that I have just presented to you, some of their
teachings are doctrines of demons. Please do not be deceived by
them. You have been warned. And I have warned you not via my
own prophecy or opinion, but via the Word of God, which is our sole
rule of faith.
"I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead
you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him
remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as
His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is
real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him." (1Jn
2:26-27, NIV)
Write a Reply or Comment
You should Sign Up account to post comment.
or