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"I Will Cut Short Your Strength"

In November 1992, I was moved by the Spirit to write down the message which follows and send it to the leaders of the Worldwide Church of God. God always ‘sends’ prophets to warn before significant happenings. The downfall and break-up of the WCG is the result of the WCG’s failure to heed God’s warnings.

Now, a number of years later, many of the prophetic statements have been fulfilled and others are still being fulfilled. Particularly relevant text (in the light of recent events) is highlighted in bold or capitals. The text which is underlined is explained more fully at the end (pages 27-28).

The Warning of 11th November 1992

“Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house... Why do you scorn My sacrifice and My offering that I prescribed for My dwelling? Why do you honour your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by My people...?’

“Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: ...‘Those who honour Me, I will honour, but those who despise Me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that... you will see distress in My dwelling...”

“I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in My heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before My Anointed One always” (I Sam 2:27-35, NIV).

“And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honour My name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honour Me.

“Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty. “My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.

“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction – because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed My ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law” (Mal 2:1-9, NIV).

“As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord cut him off from the tents of Jacob – even though he brings offerings to the Lord Almighty” (v 12).

“Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.

“ ‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord God of Israel, ‘and I hate a man’s cover- ing himself with violence as well as with his garment,’ says the Lord Almighty.

“So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. You have wearied the Lord with your words.

“ ‘How have we wearied Him?’ you ask. By saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and He is pleased with them’ or ‘Where is the God of justice?’ ” (Mal 2:13-17.)

“Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I reared up children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but... My people do not understand... a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord, they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him...’

“Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness – only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.. The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege...

“When you come to meet with Me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of My courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to Me. New moons, Sabbaths and convocations – I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts My soul hates. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.

“...wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

“...if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.

“FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HAS SPOKEN. “See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her – but now murderers! Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.

“Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel declares, ‘Ah I will get relief from My foes and avenge Myself on my enemies. I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove your impurities... rebels and sinners will be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord will perish.

“You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced... you will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water. The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together, with no-one to quench the fire” (Is 1:2-31. NIV).

“Hear the Word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!” (Is 1:10.)

“...the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No-one calls for justice; no-one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched...

“Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no-one who walks in them will know peace.

“So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead...

“We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away” (Is 59:1-11),

Why?

Because of “rebellion and treachery against the Lord... uttering lies... So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has fallen in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey” (Is 59:13-15).

“The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice ...He was appalled” (vs 15-16).

“According to what they have done, so will He repay wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes... He will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along (vs 18-19).

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place... if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by Myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

“...Though you are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you a desert, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire.

“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshipped and served other gods.’” (Jer 22:3-9.)

“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice... (v 13).

“...your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion” (v17).

“I warned you when you felt secure, but you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your way from your youth; you have not obeyed Me. The wind will drive all your shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness.

“You who live in ‘Lebanon’, who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labour! ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘even if you... were a signet ring on My right hand, I would still pull you off. I will hand you over to those who seek your life... I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there both of you will die...’ ” (Jer 22:21-26.)

“’Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!’ declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend My people: ‘Because you have scattered My flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,’ declares the Lord” (Jer 23:1-2).

“Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and His holy words. The [prophets] follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. ‘Both prophet and priest are godless; even in My Temple I find their wickedness,’ declares the Lord.

“Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,’ declares the Lord.

“...among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no-one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.’

“Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: ‘I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.’

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord says you will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ But which of them has stood in the counsel of the Lord to see or hear His word? Who has listened and heard His word? See the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly” (Jer 23:9-20).

“Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord” (v 24).

“’Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has My word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?’ declares the Lord. ‘Is not My Word like fire,’ declares the Lord, ‘and like a hammer that breaks rock in pieces?” (vs 28-29.)

“..every man’s own word becomes his oracle and so you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God... Although you claim, ‘This is the oracle of the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is the oracle of the Lord.’ Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of My presence along with the city I gave to you and your fathers. I will bring upon you everlasting disgrace – everlasting shame that will not be forgotten” (vs 36-40).

“’...You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the Lord Almighty’ (Jer 25:29).

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Look !Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.’ (v 32.)

“Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery. The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the Lord is destroying their pasture. The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the Lord. Like a lion He will leave His lair, and their land will become desolate because of... the Lord’s fierce anger” (Jer 25:34-38).

“Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and will not bring the disaster He has pronounced against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing” (Jer 26:13-15).

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev 2:7).

“...I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Rev 2:4-5).

“...I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth” (Rev 2:14-16).

“... I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am He who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Rev 2:20-23).

“...I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains, and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” (Rev 3:1-3).

“...These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens, no one can shut; and what He shuts, no one can open” (Rev 3:7).

“...These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of My mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so that you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so that you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so that you can see.

“Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline” (Rev 3:14-19).

“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Rev 1:3).   MBH,  11th November 1992

Comments on Underlined Text

Why do you honour your sons more than Me?

The WCG system is an élitist system which exalts its ministry. Members are expected to honour the leadership by, for example, addressing them as “Mr”. Ministry decisions are to be respected too. It is expected that members obey the ministry. In fact, the respect afforded the WCG ministry is blasphemous. Men take the place of God and receive as much, if not more, respect than Him!

The time is coming when I will cut short your strength.

Because the WCG leaders have despised God, He declares that He will cut short the strength of the church. That is now occurring. A steady and irreversible decline has taken place since 1992. It will continue until the WCG is finished, or until they repent. (The latter is only possible individually, not jointly.)

Many will disagree and object that the WCG leaders do not despise God. After all, they espouse Christ more than ever before. True. But words are cheap. Actions speak much louder.

The actions of the WCG which have incurred God’s wrath involve the desecration of scriptural value. Tkach and his aides have dismantled true foundations of biblical doctrine. As the prophet says to them: you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble.

....people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption. They have forsaken the Lord, they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him.

The religious leaders in Jesus’ day displayed the same humbug as WCG leaders today. They only differ in their emphasis. The Pharisees were legalists; Tkach’s cronies are liberals.

When church leaders hypocritically alter teachings to try to gain pre-eminence, popularity or acclaim for themselves, it is no wonder God describes them as loaded with guilt!

The Daughter of Zion is left like a city under siege.

The WCG, one modern ‘daughter of Zion’, is very much under siege. She has been bombarded by a demonic onslaught, to deprive her of true freedoms in Christ, which can never be received through antinomian heresies. The law of God is protective, not enslaving. Men use it to enslave and pervert its application into legalism. But God uses it to keep you free after He has liberated you through Christ.

Satan has laid siege to the WCG to dispossess her of aspects of truth which were correct, even though the emphasis may have been somewhat wrong.

[See] how the faithful city has become a harlot!

WCG leaders have seduced evangelicals and many mainstream churches by cleverly dismantling their teaching about Sabbath observance. Now, they are ready to switch to Sunday and join with the harlot of Rev 17. They can receive the same punishment, too (18:6).

No-one calls for justice.

Justice has been lacking from leadership dealings with so-called ‘dissident’ members. Truth falls in the street, just as the prophet declared. Expedience rules the day, and the church administration call the tune.

The downtrodden and abused are not sought out and compensated. Leaders don’t care for justice or truth. They care about power and control.

You have scattered My flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done.

This is being fulfilled. WCG leaders have abused, oppressed, exploited and scattered the flock. Should they be surprised that the God of all power will take vengeance upon the hard-hearted infidels who have perpetrated such injustice in the name of religion!?

You distort the words of the living God.

The subtlety of wrong WCG teaching is lost on most members. It is so devious! But God is not mocked. You reap what you sow.

I will surely forget you and cast you out of My presence.

Sin exacts its toll. It cuts you off from God. Beware the WCG leaders. God has now left them!

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