by Bishop David W. Kramer - Originally published in Volume 49, Issue 1 - Summer 2005
The theme for the 2005 Feast of Pentecost and 100th General Assembly of The Church of God was Called to be His Bride. While the Christian kingdom at large may think that this statement is presumptuous for a relatively small church to make, one must realize that the calling is about God and not about man. God does not call a group to be His Bride so that they can brag or feel superior to those around them, He simply has chosen them to fulfill part of His Bible prophecy. The truth is that those that are called to be His Bride must go through the fire and be tested just as pure gold is. God’s Bride body does not have an
easy ride, and they are certainly not exempt from all of life’s trials and temptations.
God’s Bride will be a group of people that love God unconditionally–according to His terms–and who espouses everything that His Word says. The people that God will choose for His Bride will love Him so much that they will consider His every command as their reasonable service.
IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVING GOD
It is certainly by understanding God’s love for us that we as Christians today can reach out to all those around us without prejudice. Any time that our flesh wants to start “rationing” our love (acceptance, tolerance, attitude) toward others, we should remember how God has loved us unconditionally through disobedience, lost tempers, and plain ignorance! God is love and I Corinthians 13 tells us that without love we are nothing.
When we talk about God’s love, we often try and relegate it to a level that we can comprehend and/or define with our finite minds. Thank God that His love is not subject to man’s way of thinking. However, there can be a downside to the way our minds perceive God’s love. Some may think they have to earn His love. Others think they are loved because of what they do or who they are. The truth is that God loves us unconditionally which He proved by sending His only-begotten Son to die a cruel death in our stead.
LOVE FOR GOD EQUALS OBEDIENCE
Loving God is not just a good idea. It is God’s first and greatest commandment to mankind. Matthew 22:37,38, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment.” It’s important that we understand what Jesus is really saying to us in this passage. When He instructs us to love God, He is not telling us to love Him according to what our human mind interprets love as. Jesus is telling us to love God according to His terms.
How does God define our love for Him? God qualifies our love for Him by our obedience to His Word. Whereas we may judge our love for one another based on emotional feelings, occasions and/or events,
God judges our love for Him based on whether or not we obey Him. God’s Bride body will comprise of people that love and are obedient to God and are faithful to His calling regardless of what Satan throws their way. They will let nothing stand in their way to become all that God has destined them to be in His Word.
A BRIEF HISTORY
In order to understand the calling of God that has been given to The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres, it is important to know a little of the history surrounding its inception. We believe this Bride-body calling from God was first given in 1903 when a minister named A. J. Tomlinson gathered together with a small group of people on June 13 in a cabin in Murphy, North Carolina at a place now called Fields of the Wood. Why was this event so special? This is when Brother Tomlinson and the group covenanted together to form a church that accepted the whole Bible, rightly divided, as their only rule of faith, government and discipline. In other words, they agreed to organize a church based on the Bible alone–a church that was free of manmade traditions and had the pattern of God throughout. They agreed that this newly-organized body would be the Church of God of the Bible.
The Church of God recognizes this event as the Arise, Shine of the Last Day’s Church this side of the Dark Ages. Isaiah 60:1,2, “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. [2] For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” God had prophesied that His church would be restored in the Last Days and that His light would once again shine on a people that desired to know Him intimately and to see His glory.
HOLY SPIRIT REVIVAL
It may be difficult for us to understand the gravity of the decision made by Tomlinson and this small band of believers because of the religious freedom and tolerance of our modern-day society. At the turn of the 20th Century, however, churches were primarily void of influence from the Holy Spirit. While the Christian kingdom and a majority of religious organizations today embrace the work and charisms of the Holy Spirit, it was not so in Tomlinson’s day. However, change was on the threshold. In 1896 three men–William Martin, Joe M. Tipton, and Milton McNabb–all from Monroe County, Tennessee, became powerfully stirred about lost souls. They went over into Cherokee County, North Carolina and began a revival meeting at the Shearer Schoolhouse. They were anointed of God and their messages seemed to arouse people everywhere in the mountainous community.
It was a genuine revival awakening such as swept the country over a century ago, and it spread into adjoining counties and nearby states. While many were being so richly blessed of God in the salvation of souls, other people of the area rejected the revival and waxed bold against it. It conflicted with their man-made rituals, creeds and ecclesiasticism. Many erstwhile faithful members were violently persecuted and excommunicated from the very churches they had helped to build. One church alone excommunicated thirty of them at one meeting, accusing them of heresy because they professed to live a clean, holy life.
PERSECUTION ENSUES
Persecution grew more violent among the workers of iniquity and burst into a raging furor when ministers, deacons, stewards and members of churches, a justice of the peace and a sheriff–one hundred and six of them–banded together to crush the revival even at the price of violence. The zealous Christians were driven from the Shearer schoolhouse and the doors were locked against them.
Then a volume of blessings descended upon the humble seekers. It was not altogether sudden. God had been moving them in a strange way for a little while, when a rushing of “mighty wind,” the Holy Ghost and fire swept down among them and several were baptized and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. More than a hundred people were baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire during the series of meetings.
Deeper convictions and the baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire, with evidence of “other tongues” as the Spirit moved among the worshipers were the stimuli that caused severe persecution to flare up anew. The evil forces, stirred to drastic action, set in motion plans to destroy the place of worship. Apprehensive of burning a church intact, they tore down the log church, piled it in a heap and burned it. This was a serious blow to the zealous Christians for it left them without a place to worship. The meetings were finally moved to the home of W. F. Bryant who lived at the foot of Burger Mountain.
THE HOLINESS CHURCH AT CAMP CREEK
On May 15, 1902, a group of people met at the home of W. F. Bryant, in Cherokee County, North Carolina, where Richard G. Spurling, Jr. organized them as The Holiness Church At Camp Creek. Spurling was chosen as the pastor, and W. F. Bryant was set forth by the newly organized church and ordained.
It was at this location that A. J. Tomlinson had been invited to study God’s Word. He had been acquainted with most of the little group for some
time before they had any form of organization, and had preached for them several times. They were a conscientious group and possessed great inspiration and enthusiasm to obey the precepts of the Bible in spite of the spasmodic outbursts of persecution that assailed them. Tomlinson said that he “came with the understanding we were going to search the Bible to see if we could find the Church of God just like David said we would find it.”
Tomlinson spent Friday night, June 12, 1903 at the W. F. Bryant home where he enjoyed great fellowship and hospitality. He sometimes expressed himself as having had a strange sensation that night.
Morning awakened in the hills early Saturday, June 13, 1903, and perhaps there was a pervasive strangeness with the wake of dawn–a day long to be remembered. After prayers and breakfast with the kind family of Bryants an urgency for additional private prayer took hold of Tomlinson, and about eight o’clock he wended his way up the pine-skirted trail to the top of Burger Mountain. He searched out a convenient place for prayer on the mountain top, and on his knees wept and prayed, and prevailed with God. It was there that God revealed to him the light and true vision of the Church of God of the Bible.
Bishop Tomlinson later said of this event: “I came back down the mountain and entered the meeting. Questions were asked, Bible answers were given. They said they took the whole Bible rightly divided as their only rule of faith and practice. I said, ‘Well if you take the whole Bible rightly divided, that makes it the Church of God. Why do you want to call it the Holiness Church at Camp Creek?’ They agreed with me but couldn’t answer my question. Then I said, ‘You have agreed that this that I have said makes it the Church of God, and will you be willing to take it and keep it the Church of God?’ They said they were willing. I then asked if they were willing to take me in with the understanding that it IS the Church of God?’ They said they were willing. So I stood right there in front of the fireplace and Brother Spurling, who has gone to heaven, took the Bible and gave it to me. He handed it to me and said, “Will you take this as the Word of God, believe it and practice it, obey its precepts and walk in the light as God is in the light?’ I thought deeply. I remembered what a time I had on the mountain. I meant business. God meant business...Right here I gave my hand to Brother Spurling...I took the obligation with deep sincerity and extreme sacredness never to be forgotten.”
So right there in the W. F. Bryant home, at the base of Burger Mountain, Cherokee County, North Carolina, on Saturday, June 13, 1903, the Church of God of the Bible, the continuation of the Early Church as designated in the Scriptures, was declared to be in existence and functioning.
THE CHURCH OF GOD IS BORN
Tomlinson was subsequently appointed as overseer of this new congregation and God began to bless their efforts. Within the next few years the church headquarters was moved to Cleveland, Tennessee and the church continued to grow. Bishop Tomlinson recognized God’s pattern of church leadership and established himself as the anointed leader and subsequently appointed 12 Judges and 70 Elders. Tomlinson said of his appointments, “The twelve to be the immediate counselors to the General Overseer, and the twelve and seventy jointly, with the General Overseer, to compose the official part of the General Assembly....”
As time progressed and the church grew, a division began to surface regarding the authority of the anointed leader. Bishop Tomlinson wrote, “Last year (1922) was an awful year...All of this time I did my work with an aching heart because four men, all of whom I had always considered my best and most to be depended on friends, rose up against me and made it awful hard for me...While I was working and wearing my life away for the Church of God, they were wireworking and planning against me so they could oust me from my positions at the Assembly...”
TOMLINSON BEGINS A REFORMATION
In the 16th Annual Assembly of the Church of God (November 2-8, 1921) the church adopted an official constitution. Article five, Section 1 of the constitution read: “There shall be a supreme judicial body composed of seven of the twelve elders who shall decide all matters which shall properly come before them, whose decision shall be final.” While Bishop Tomlinson initially approved of the constitution, after he had an opportunity to “read, pray and study over it, he saw the danger signs involved in its acceptance. It showed plainly that people were subjected to the Constitution and its pressures, rather than the New Testament as their rule of faith, government and discipline under which covenant they had become members.”
Bishop Tomlinson recognized that the church had stepped away from theocratic government by adopting a constitution that gave final power to the supreme judicial committee. Although Tomlinson attempted to have the Constitution abrogated at the subsequent 17th Annual Assembly (November 1-7, 1922), he failed. It was on November 7, 1922 that Bishop A. J. Tomlinson tendered his resignation as General Overseer. Tomlinson said, “They...took the divine appointment of the General Overseer out of the hands of God and ignored the work of the Holy Ghost...” The Assembly refused to accept Tomlinson’s resignation and he agreed to serve another year.
CHURCH OF GOD OF PROPHECY
In 1923 Bishop Tomlinson began a reformation to restore Biblical order to the church and organized a new church which would later become known as the Church of God of Prophecy. It was in the COGOP that Bishop Tomlinson appointed Bishop Grady R. Kent as “General Secretary of the Markers Association and in the additional office of working at the perfecting of the Church of God.”
After the death of A. J. Tomlinson his son Milton was appointed as General Overseer. M. A. Tomlinson had a reputation as an honorable man, and he sought to keep the church involved in the expansion of its ministry throughout the world. From 1943 to 1948 he led the church as General Overseer with the support of those who promoted theocratic government. While he lacked the charisma of others, he administered the business of the church well and presided over its continued growth. In 1948, however, his lack of strength to manifest leadership of the church in theocratic order manifested itself in his public acceptance of the General Assembly as the highest authority of the church. In essence he accepted in a functional democracy the very system which A. J. Tomlinson had rejected as unscriptural and not in keeping with theocratic government.
THE CHURCH OF GOD AT JERUSALEM ACRES
In 1957 Bishop Grady R. Kent resigned from the Church of God of Prophecy in a quest to again restore the Church of God of the Bible. Bishop Kent began to restore the governmental pattern offices of the church including the anointed leader, the offices of the 12 Apostles, the 70 & 2 Prophets, and the 7 men of wisdom (business overseers).
The Church of God, Jerusalem Acres, has been in existence for some 48 years. It has weathered many crises including an administration that tried to strip it of its calling to be God’s Bride, but God has faithfully steered the church to where it is now. Where is that? A church that embraces its unique calling, a church that identifies its course in Bible prophecies, a church that patterns itself after God’s biblical mandate, a church that is ardently striving to rid itself of any pagan or heathen practices, a church that has promised to follow the Lamb of God wherever He leads us, and a church that loves the truths of God’s Word and pledges to honor those truths regardless of the cost.
This brief history of the Church of God movements was designed to show us how a group of people can be called of God to be His Bride, and yet through the course of time and events eventually deviate from their original call. Satan’s plan is to stop any move of God, however, he sets his full forces on stopping God’s Bride body in any way that he can.
BEING TRUE TO OUR CALL
Other congregations beside The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres have emerged from the foundational church set forth by A. J. Tomlinson in 1903. There are a number of these congregations that recognize that the original church has deviated from its calling to be the Bride and they have embraced the call as their mandate. One such overseer recently wrote regarding our common Church of God roots, “I predict that we will be hearing increasingly from now that our traditional interpretation of prophecy–particularly in regard to the fall and restoration of the church–is erroneous: that, in fact, the church never fell, but continued in the hearts of believers through the “Dark Ages,” and that this myth of an “invisible church” was present somehow even in the corrupt system of the Rome Church. Further, I predict that we will be inundated in the next few years with suggestions that, since the Bible clearly calls for visible unity among believers, that the present Roman Catholic Church (having now “repented” for all its murders and unbridled concupiscence in history) is actually the true successor of the apostolic church, and that all believers are being called to return to its historic fold: for only the Roman Church (they will insist) can provide in concrete form the historical continuity of the church since the first century.”
We are not the only organization that recognizes the full frontal attack of Satan against God’s Bride Body. The truth is that Satan is promoting his Queen–the Roman Catholic Church–as the true Bride of Christ, just as the scriptures declared he would. Revelation 18:4,7, “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues...[7] How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”
After the death of Pope John Paul II earlier this year, Charisma, the foremost Christian magazine, pictured him on the cover with the heading, Vicar of the Spirit. The word vicar means one serving as a substitute or agent. The word comes from the Latin vicarius meaning ‘substitute.’ The Charisma cover sparked much debate among its readers which was evident in the letters to the editors in the subsequent issues. One reader writes, “Your magazine uses the title “Vicar of the Spirit” for Pope John Paul II. What spirit are you referring to? Certainly, you do not mean the Holy Spirit! I know word meanings change with centuries, but be aware that “vicar” means “vicarious substitute.” In the Catholic Church, the vicar is a substitute for Christ!” Another reader wrote, “Has Charisma gone Catholic? Just about everything in the June issue was about Catholics. I thought you were Pentecostals. The Catholic Church is full of paganism and witchcraft, and the pope is worshiped to some extent. You should get away from all that mess.”
As the children of God, we must be alert and wise to the tricks of the enemy. Under the guise of promoting “Christian unity,” we are now being asked to embrace the Roman Catholic Church as a sister church and we are to disregard all of the flagrant violations of Holy Scripture that she promotes. Satan has always been the master counterfeiter and he will stop at nothing to divert attention from or to diminish in any way God’s prophetic plan. Why? Because he recognizes that the fulfillment of God’s plan means his ultimate demise (Revelation 20:10).
WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT
Who will be the Bride of Christ? The answer is simple: Those who are faithful to fulfill all of the scriptural requirements and who possess an unrelenting love for God and His Word. In Revelation 2:4, Jesus says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” While God has given The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres a great opportunity, we are required to be faithful and to work fervently at winning the race that has been set before us. If not, we will end up like other organizations that have been called of God but have lost track of their calling because they have become impatient with God’s timetable or because they have desired to become part of the mainstream of Christianity. In other words, they have lost sight of their first love.
Ephesians 5:27 tells us that there will be a Bride that has made herself ready for Jesus’ return. She will be without spot, wrinkle or any such thing. She will be holy and without blemish. And, Revelation 19:7 tells us that she will make herself ready. How? By allowing the Word of God to wash her free of any and all imperfections so that she will be perfect for her husband. What a glorious opportunity we have been given. Remember the words of Jesus, “...for many are called, but few chosen” (Matthew 20:16b).