THE PROCLAMATION

Chapter Eleven

THE PROCLAMATION

The Proclamation was written by Brother Robert Pruitt as the Lord had moved on him at some point previous to the Solemn Assembly. He stated that He felt it would be needed at some point in time but not necessarily at the Solemn Assembly. But the Lord had other plans and moved on him to read it to the Solemn Assembly on the night he was anointed to be the General Overseer. It was accepted unanimously by the delegates of the Solemn Assembly.

We are gathered in this Solemn Assembly at the command of the Head of the Church, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and at the urging of the Holy Ghost. In obedience to this command we have come here to seek the face of God by fasting, prayer, worship and whatever the Spirit will direct, to find the perfect will of God and to do it. As a group we meet in no other name than the Church of the Living God.

For the past several years, and especially the last three years, we have observed and witnessed a letting down on the divine standards and practices which have been incumbent upon the Church Christ set in order on Mount Hattin with His twelve apostles as the first members, and after the apostasy of the Dark Ages was found by and revealed to A. J. Tomlinson and others who met with him after he had prayed and sought God on the top of Burger Mountain, which is now a part of what is known as Fields of the Wood, in Cherokee County, North Carolina. It is widely believed and embraced by many, especially in the Church of God of Prophecy, both present and former members, that the revelation and vision which those received in the early days of the twentieth century and testified to and took the covenant of membership was the true Church which Christ set in order and was identified by both the witness of the Holy Ghost and overwhelming scriptural affirmation. And Whereas, the true Church continued under the name ‘’The Church of God,” then “The Church of God over which A. J. Tomlinson is General Overseer,” and then later “The Church of God over which A. J. Tomlinson was and M. A. Tomlinson is the General Overseer,” and still later “The Church of God of Prophecy.” And Whereas, at a meeting of the presbytery of the Church of God of Prophecy called by the General Overseer, M. A. Tomlinson, in May of 1990 to seek administrative assistance until the General Assembly, there were those of the presbytery who insisted that he step aside from the office of the General Overseer, because until he did so the presbytery could not go ahead to select a new General Overseer. Disregarding the principle and practice of unanimous consent, which is normally practiced in business matters in the Church, as selection was made with a vote of 48 for and 33 against, with some of the 33 never submitting to the selection. Five of the Overseers abstained from voting. Nevertheless, one was selected in this manner to be the new General Overseer. This was a clear and definite departure from the theocracy of God, the Church, and at the 1990 General Assembly the installation of the newly selected General Overseer appeared to many to be more the operation of the Questions and Subjects Committee than that of the General Assembly as a body. Many who felt that the General Overseer was selected by the Holy Ghost now are convinced that his leadership has so displeased the Lord as to disqualify him for office. And Whereas, at the General Assembly of 1991 there was another departure from the theocracy when the present General Overseer made a statement contradicting the 26th teaching of the 29 prominent teachings of the Church when he stated that members could be taken into the Church with wedding bands, opening the way to a wholesale disregard for the teaching by the Church against the wearing of gold for ornament. Also, in the General Assembly of 1991, although more or less sweeping powers were given to the General Overseer in good faith to cut back on the headquarters staff and to combine auxiliaries, extensive powers were taken not only to cut out and combine certain auxiliaries, but to create new ones such as the Center for Biblical Leadership which replaces Bible Training Institute and Tomlinson College, without General Assembly approval, betraying the trust and responsibility the General Assembly had placed into the hands of the administration in good faith. Also, in the General Assembly of 1992 another infraction was made against the theocracy when the General Overseer allowed the Questions and Subjects Committee to present a so-called “informational only report” which reflected the will of the General Overseer and the Committee to the neglect of the multitude of counselors, thus making the Committee and the General Overseer the highest tribunal of authority under God rather than the General Assembly. In addition to the above, the present administration of the Church of God of Prophecy has shown a great insensitivity to the Holy Ghost message which called for this Solemn Assembly. Little regard was shown for the message and great pressure was put upon some of those involved in the purveyance of it to alter and deny its validity.

The above mentioned departures from theocratic operation in the Church are only a few of the more open and blatant ones that have occurred in the present administration of the Church of God of Prophecy.

From the first major departure from the theocracy in May of 1990 by the selection of the new General Overseer, it is understood that from that point the theocracy ceased to function and has not been in operation since that time. The organization has continued to exist, but the theocracy has been abandoned. Those of the present administration of the Church of God of Prophecy, and those who have embraced these infractions under this administration have clearly departed from the divinely revealed principles of theocracy and are no longer the true Church. They have relinquished their rights and privileges to the divine Church of God by their heresies and apostasy, And Therefore, those who are holding to the doctrines and principles of the Church of God of Prophecy prior to the presbytery meeting of 1990, and who still embrace them, are the true Church. By the grace of God and by the infallible distinctions of the Scriptures we declare that we have not departed from the divine revelation of God through His Word and by His Spirit, and that unworthy and insignificant as we are as individuals, we, by divine decree, are the Body of Christ, the Church of the living God with Jesus Christ as the Head! And We have not denied the faith nor the covenant we made to become a member of God’s Church, the Body of Christ. We have been a faithful part of the body, And Therefore, those who are willing to stand together as the true Church of God, under the official name “The Church of God,” holding to the doctrines and principles of The Church of God of Prophecy as stated prior to the presbytery meeting of May, 1990 are asked to renew their covenant of membership as stated: “Will you sincerely promise in the presence of God and these witnesses that you will accept this Bible as the Word of God-believe and practice its teachings rightly divided-the New Testament as your rule of faith and practice, government and discipline, and walk in the light to the best of your knowledge and ability?”

Your answer in the affirmative to this covenant question constitutes a perpetual and everlasting covenant commitment to Christ and the Church, the Body of Christ, which is the unique and exclusive Body which was organized and commissioned on Mt. Hattin with the twelve apostles as the first members.

If you are already a member of this Body, the Church, having become a part of it by taking the above covenant administered by a duly authorized minister of the Church, you may renew this covenant, distinguishing the true Church from the apostate Church which has abandoned and rejected the theocracy.

The renewing of the covenant will constitute a beginning of the reorganization of the true Church under God and the theocracy. The membership of the reorganized Church will grow as renewals of the covenant are made in the local churches as duly authorized ministers administer it. Ministers who renew the covenant will be recognized and authorized on the basis and rank of their present ministry. Ministers and members who have been revoked or disfellowshipped because of the present disruption and division in the Church may be restored to their pre-disruption standing by appealing in person or in writing to the nearest local church authorized to receive members into the reorganized Church.

In the case of ministers, the local church conference of the reorganized Church will forward the recommendation for restoration to the General Headquarters which will be established at this Solemn Assembly as the Lord directs. Ministers being re-licensed will be asked to answer in the affirmative to a general questionnaire concerning doctrinal and theocratic aspects of the Church and its operation. Heresy will be dealt with swiftly and resolutely according to the Biblical definition and discipline. Heretics will be rejected.

If the Lord so ordains, a leader will be chosen at this meeting to serve until one can be confirmed and installed at a General Assembly approximately a year from this date. The membership of the reorganized Church throughout the world will constitute the General Assembly of The Church of God.”

The Proclamation made reference to a general questionnaire which all ministers being re-licensed must answer in the affirmative. That questionnaire is presented here:

(The following questionnaire is not intended to be a creedal statement, but rather to address areas of concern as to the Scriptural identity of The Church of God.)

1. The King James Version and Antigua Version De Casiodoro De Reina of the Bible up to 1909 A.D. should be the authority for our Bible teaching.

2. I believe in the whole Bible rightly divided and that the Bible Truths are all based on the Scriptures.

3. Our Advice to Members is based on sound biblical principles.

4. The Scriptural study entitled The Body of Christ has firm biblical basis.

5. One enters the Kingdom of God by being born again.

6. After becoming a kingdom saint, the ONLY way one becomes a member of the Body of Christ is by taking the covenant administered by a proper authority of The Church of God.

7. The same church which Jesus Christ organized arose out of the Dark Ages June 13, 1903 in Fields of The Wood in fulfillment of the “Arise, Shine” prophecy in Isaiah 60:1.

8. The All Nations Flag is the ensign given by God in fulfillment of prophecy and not merely a man-made cultural symbol born out of a traditional system.

9. Biblical identifying features make The Church of God the exclusive body of Christ as she follows the biblical principles of theocracy.

10. In the event that these principles are disregarded, a unified effort in support of theocracy should be expected from within this body.

11. In fulfillment of Scripture (John 17:21; 10:16) there shall be a corporate gathering of all God’s sheep to One Fold before the Rapture.

12. For the safety of God’s sheep, the biblical principle of Titus 3:10 (A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject) should be followed by all those in responsible positions.

The Counseling Committee drafted this questionnaire. Those serving on this committee were: Alvin Brantley, Chairman, Philip A. Wagar, E. Roger Ammons, David F. Risch, Ray D. Dupre, Herman D. Ard, and Eddie H. Griffith.

CONCLUSION

A. J. Tomlinson, the first General Overseer of The Church of God, in his Annual Address to the fourteenth Assembly in 1919 had the following to say about prophecy being fulfilled; “To think that God has raised us up, and placed us in His great plan, is almost too good to be true. I can think of Abraham, and Moses, and Elijah, and the apostles being in His wonderful plan, with perfect composure. I take this as a matter of fact and pass it by without much concern, but when I acknowledge that we, here and now, are just as truly fulfilling our part of God’s great drama, my heart swells with great emotion.

“What more can we say than has been said? What more can we do than others have already done? But they had their day and now this is our day We have doubtless entered the last scene of the last act of this stupendous drama, and now playing our part in it. Angels are our spectators; devils are our opposers; but this part has to be enacted as well as any other…”

Brother Tomlinson realized what many people today seem to overlook. That is, that God has a program to be played out on the stage of life and He has chosen the cast of characters to fulfill a pre-ordained role in His great drama. The prophet Amos said: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). The apostle Peter said: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed…” (1 Peter 1:19). God has not left us in the dark when it comes to understanding His program or His dealings with the sons of men. He has ordained a prophetical program to guide His servants as they yield to His will.

The Church of God is very precious to the heart of God. It was ordained before the foundation of the world.

The Son of God gave His life’s blood to purchase her. He promised to return for her and take her unto Himself to be forever with Him. We, the Church, will rule and reign with Him forever. As dear as the Church is to the heart of God, it would be unthinkable that He would fail to enlighten her of her unique role through prophetic utterances. This He has done and the Holy Ghost has revealed the mystery and fulfillment of the prophetical utterances about the Church to her at the proper time.

According to the prophet Amos, all that God does, He foretells in His prophetic Word. He foretold of the birth of His Son in detail including the slaughter of innocent children by the wicked king Herod, and His sojourn into and return from Egypt. His death was prophesied in detail right down to the soldiers gambling for His raiment. Concerning the Church; it’s establishment was prophesied along with it’s going into the apostasy of the Dark Ages. It’s “arise shine” was also prophesied along with her glorious triumph of leaving the earth victorious in the Rapture. Why then would God be silent of the events between the “arise shine” and the rapture? The truth is that He was not silent. The two disruptions were foretold in Scripture. See Isaiah 49:20, 21 and Zechariah 13:8, 9 for just a couple of references. God has not left us without a prophetic witness concerning the events surrounding the disruption of 1993. The glorious and powerful Solemn Assembly was foretold in the second chapter of Joel, verses 15-17, and in the third chapter of Zephaniah, verses 18-20. The Holy Ghost bore witness to these things. Likewise, the raising up and work of the “Concerned” was prophesied in the third chapter of Malachi.

Just as the identity of Christ was proven by the fulfillment of all the prophecies concerning Him, the identity of The Church of God will also be known by all the prophecies concerning her. The apostle Peter said, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy…” The fulfillment of prophecy has identified and will continue to identify who The Church of God of the Bible really is. We do not have to doubt when we look into the sure Word of God. When we do this, and realize as Brother A. J. Tomlinson did, that God is using us to fulfill His divine Word, it will cause our hearts to swell with great emotion, also. The realization of it should cause us to fear the Name of the Lord and walk before Him in obedience and humility. Those who do not believe can put their questions and misgivings to rest when they see and understand that God has indeed performed these things and that this that has happened was not the results of a few disgruntled people. It was rather the Spirit of God driving us to this end. Our prayers are that each one who hears or reads of the things spoken of in this book will feel the assurance in their hearts and find the peace that comes with trusting God’s faithful and eternal Word.