SURGEON AND BUTCHER

WHY WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL OF EXTREME PROPHECIES AND WILD EXPECTATIONS

Today in the Celestial Church of Christ it is very common to hear people come up with what they heard Papa say. Some repeat what they believe he said as if it was doctrine. Let us not forget that even the prophet himself never claimed infallibility at any time. He was a very humble and God-fearing man. He never ever claimed equality with God. He revered God all his life and always looked unto God for guidance.

Therefore, it is important to scrutinize every word he said with scriptures (St. Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:2). That is the only way we can protect the dignity of the prophet and the integrity of the Celestial Church of Christ.

I have heard people say that “Papa said nobody can question his successor, because he would have so much power.” This type of talk cannot stand the scrutiny of scriptures. Let me explain why. God the creator of heaven and earth is challenged day and night by the devil. Moses the greatest deliverer faced several oppositions, Jesus Christ the Messiah was challenged by the Scribes and Pharisees daily. The Bible describes Satan as the sworn accuser of the brethren. Be it known that as long as we have the devil in this world,  every believer, successor or not is under attack. Nobody is exempt from demonic opposition.

Are they suggesting that Papa’s successor will be more powerful than  God? Hmmmm.

That is why I suggest that our most trusted source of information concerning the Mantle-Empowered Successor to the Founder is the 1980 CCC Constitution and Papa’s expressed will on Live Television. All other predictions and assertions must be treated with extreme caution. We must be weary of prophetic hallucinations and wild and unreasonable expectations.

Someone even said that as far back as the mid seventies Papa said they showed him his successor and he was a tall black man in his forties then. If the person was 40years old in 1975 that means today he will be approximately 84 years old. Hmmm. Think about this.

Some even went as far as predicting the specific miracles that Papa’s successor will perform. Remember that prophecies are subject to confirmations. People can say all they want to say. When everything settles down the taste of the pudding will be in eating the pudding. By their fruits we shall know them. The responsibility of proof and results should rest on the prophet. That is why scripture stated clearly that one of the best ways to validate a true prophet is the fulfillment of their predictions. In consideration of these, it will be unwise and not in line with scripture to  hold Papa’s Mantle Empowered Successor accountable for fulfilling all flesh-and-Satanic-induced prophecy. Therefore, every strange and too-good-to-be-true-prophecy must be scrutinized for the truth and accuracy.

To be honest we should stay away from things like that and allow God to do what be alone can do. Let us not use unsolicited prophecies as a doctrine to manipulate the plans of God.

A colleague of mine says in trying to figure out the truth we must remember

these components:

Message: If the message is wrong everything else will be wrong.

Interpretation: If the interpretation is wrong, everything else will be wrong.

Sender: If the message is correct but the sender delivers it wrongly, that will also be a problem.

Receiver: If the message is correct but the receiver decodes wrongly, that could also be a problem.

Application: If the message, sender, interpretation and receiver are all faulty then the application will also be faulty.

With this background we should be cautious how we talk about Papa said this, Papa said that. Knowing fully well that any of the channels of communication could be easily tainted. Again our security and safety in these matters must rest on proper scrutiny and enlightened understanding of scripture as written in the Bible.

People have different perceptions. They see differently, they hear differently, they think differently, they feel differently, they act differently and  they understand differently depending on their training and mental capacity.

God is not the author of confusion. The only way to avoid confusion to a large extent,  is to stay with God’s word, interpret correctly and in context by following those who are trained and equipped to excel in such areas.

When the surgeon performs surgery, there is precision to remove the problem but when a butcher uses the knife it is to kill and eat. The difference is that the surgeon is trained to remove the problem. The goal of the butcher is different. Unfortunately, today we have many people in the Church who are using God’s word as a butcher not as a surgeon.