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A brief Chronicle of the Modern Pentecostal Movement's Rejection of Kingdom and Covenantal Bible Truth
Foreword
by Pastor Ronald A. Poch
Isaiah begins the masterpiece of biblical prophecy in the 53rd chapter of the book that bears his name with this question, "Who hath believed our report?" Every sincere student of the Bible in the pursuit of truth must of necessity ask questions in order to be fully persuaded that the pathway they are on will not lead them into error, tragic detour, or spiritual confusion. All of God's people desire to have the Holy Spirit remove scales from their eyes to truly see God's marvelous plan and purpose unfold before them both personally and nationally. That has truly been my desire.
There have been doctrines, dogmas, and theological positions that I have held that were passed on to me because of what my denomination or my family believed. These can become strongholds to keep a person from progressing on in Divine revelation. I am not talking about lofty, ethereal, esoteric revelations, but that which is functional and extremely practical. What I mean is; God has a plan that will work; God has a Kingdom that will win.
What I now share with you changed my life in the early 1970's. I had pastored a Baptist church in a college town in northwest Pennsylvania from 1966 1968. Because of a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit I was asked to leave and subsequently invited to become a pastor in the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in America. It was late 1971 that God sent two men into my life that would alter the course and direction that I would take and never again be the same. These choice vessels were Frank Daire and Edward Marks. Frank Daire was director of a ministry called Word Emphasis Crusade and Ed Marks pastored a church in East Lansing, Michigan called Life Tabernacle. Both of these men had been influenced by what was called the "Latter Rain" movement.
The "Latter Rain" movement was birthed in the late 1940's and early 1950's and one of the emphases was the restoration of the five fold ministry of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher according to Ephesians 4:11 14. Both Frank and Ed functioned in an apostolic and prophetic anointing. Much like Isaiah of old, the question they brought to my inquiring mind was the same as Isaiah's "Who hath believed our report?"
When these men crossed my path they didn't know the level of my desperation. I wanted more of God. I didn't need another good book or another tape to listen to. I didn't need another sermon to "wow" the people. These men touched my life, not with psychology, but with the "Spirit of the Living God." They didn't come to me with spiritual arrogance, a know it all attitude, or pompous pride. They came to harmonize the Word of God in my life. They showed me how to embrace the Scriptures and verify the truth and in doing so, deepen my commitment to Jesus Christ. I am so very grateful.
My, oh my, did changes ever come my way. You see, the Bible, God's Word, the Holy Scriptures are the foundation for change. If a sermon only reaches your feelings, your emotions, your thoughts, your mind and intellect, there will be no permanent change. This book that is now before you must touch your will. When the Holy Spirit moves in there will be permanent change. Also remember this; The Holy Spirit really doesn't care about the comfort of your flesh or your carnal nature. In this world there's nothing more dangerous than someone with nothing to lose…pride doesn't mean a thing.
Frank Daire and Ed Marks questioned me in two main areas of my belief system and as I look back with 20/20 hindsight, I see the providential hand of the Mighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in what they declared to me.
The first question dealt with the interior part of me and the second question dealt with exterior issues, which affect us nationally to this very day. As a matter of fact these two doctrines that I came to embrace and cherish could be likened unto twin redheaded step children left outside the door of the church…unloved and unwanted…with the leadership's strong rebuke just go away!
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The first issue they brought to me was about the Godhead and its correlation to water baptism. They encouraged me to look at Matthew 28:19, 20 and then find in the New Testament record where the apostles ever used the Trinitarian formula of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It can't be found! Believe me, I tried and tried. Searched and searched. It's just not there! This I found out later was the big issue in the early days of the "Pentecostal" Movement. In his book, "People of the Spirit," Gary B. McGee gives a brief description of the magnitude of this issue in the early days of the Assemblies of God. "Interest had been growing since 1913 in restoring what some Pentecostals believed to be another apostolic pattern, one that required water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ only (Acts 2:38). But the matter involved much more than just an option from baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19. It represented a serious departure from biblical teachings and historic Christian doctrine. Called the "New Issue," it eventually led to a major division in the General Council in 1916. After the adoption of a strongly worded Trinitarian creedal declaration, those members who embraced "Jesus Name" or "Oneness" teachings walked out of the meeting. Ultimately, 25 percent of the ministers withdrew over the doctrine."
I must tell you that the revelation of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ touched the very heart of me and I submitted in obedience to that Name and I was re baptized according to Acts 2:36 38 and have never been the same and never regretted it, although it cost me my credentials with that denomination. I was disapproved by the organization but certainly hold no resentment or animosity toward them. It was an adventuresome time of life…and still is!
May I share with you this personal illustration? I recall with humor and laughter a time long ago when my wife asked me to feed our son John who was "graduating" from the small size jar of Gerber strained baby food to the larger "junior" size jar. Of course, the junior size was coarser and had lumps in it that the finely strained jar didn't have. I placed my boy in the high chair, tied the bib around his sweet face; spread the plastic tablecloth on the floor and armed myself with a plastic baby spoon. Was I ever in for a big surprise.
Number one mistake: I should have tied the bib on me. Why? Well, when I put the spoonful of the new coarser food in his mouth, it had a new and different texture to it that he didn't like. Not because it didn't taste good. Not because it didn't have nutritional value. Not because it was too hot or too cold. Simply because it was different than what he was used to. What do you think happened?
He scrunched up his face, puffed up his cheeks, shook his face from side to side, and drawing breath from inside those little lungs, his tongue shot out in rapid motion with spitting food in all directions, letting me know he didn't like the change of diet. I coaxed him, pleaded with him, and begged him with the game of "open your mouth, Johnny, here comes the choo choo train into the tunnel." Did it work? No, he was addicted to the familiar. He was demonstrating a truth "I don't like change."
Are you aware that God's people in the modern day church do the same thing? Why sure. If the minister of an average congregation sees a new truth or a deepening revelation and shares it with his people, what can he expect their reaction to be? Eyes widen, countenances change, heads shake from side to side, muscles tighten, arms fold in defiance against the preacher and just like my infant son John, spiritual food is spit in all directions with the unspoken thought of "false doctrine." The sad thing is; it's not false, just different from what they've been used to for years. Maturity is moving on in truth.
The second issue that Frank Daire and Ed Marks shared with me is what I call the "exterior" issue. This "exterior" issue is not a salvation issue but it surely will affect your world view. It will determine your prophetic outlook. This is what the church world refuses to deal with. This is what a popular preacher considers an anathema. Sort of "spiritual arsenic." It will most certainly create division, ostracism, or what I call "spiritual exile." Get out!!
That issue is…"Israel." Christians who perceive "Israel" to be nothing more than a few unbelieving Jews returning to the Middle East as the fulfillment of end time prophecy are closing their minds to one of the most important truths in these last days. The Apostle Paul addressed this ever important question by asking; "Hath God cast away His people?" Paul's emphatic answer was; "God forbid."
Others substitute the church for "Israel" and try to tell us that God has changed His mind, altered His eternal purpose, and broke His covenant with Abraham and now we are "spiritual" Israel. They thus hope that what God failed to do with Israel He will accomplish with the church. A lot of popular television preachers erroneously tell us that Israel is the Jew and the Jew only. This only leads to confusion, consternation, and controversy wedding ceremony that would obligate national Israel to this very day to obey her vows made to her husband or suffer the consequences of her disobedience. Israel’s binding promise was; “All the words which the Lord hath said will be do” Ex. 24:3. The first Pentecost was not just for the purpose so that people could enjoy the visible and audible display of God’s power and glory upon Mt. Sinai. The voice of God trumpeted from Mt. Sinai and made known the calling of Israel as a national entity to be “unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” Ex. 19:6. There Israel received the Law whereby to live and govern its personal and national affairs as a faithful wife unto the Lord.
The antitype of the Old Testament Pentecost found in Acts 2 and following was for the same purpose, but under better terms of the New Covenant. The Lord manifest Himself in visible “cloven tongues like as of fire,” an audible “sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,” and then the people “were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues” Acts. 2:1-4. Is the gift of “tongues” the voice of God to Israel to reveal unto us her calling as “a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” unto God, to place the law into the hearts of the Israelites (Heb. 8:8-13) and to reaffirm her marital relationship with her husband? Referring to Israel, the prophet Isaiah said “with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people” Isa. 28:11. Paul the Apostle applies this prophecy to the gift of tongues in I Corinthians 14:21-22. The prophet Isaiah goes on to say that “the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” Isa. 28:13. This clearly shows that through the Pentecostal gift of the Holy Spirit would be the means of the progressive revelation of truth to National Israel (the drunkards of Ephraim referred to Northern Israel, Isa. 28:1).
The Holy Spirit was definitely poured out as promised (Joel 2:28-29) upon the House of Israel in the early 1900's in Topeka, Kansas and Los Angeles, CA, which was only a down payment of which followed for the next fifty plus years. Has the modern Pentecostal movement, as a whole, seen the cloven tongues, felt the rushing wind, enjoyed the manifestation of God’s power in miracles, yet never heard the real voice of God? What revelation of profound truth has proceeded from the experience of the Spirit’s outpouring in the 20th Century? Has the Pentecostal movement received yet consumed the Baptism of the Holy Spirit upon its own lust and ‘used’ it for selfish reasons? Has the Holy Spirit and the gifts thereof been ‘used’ by men to further their ministerial reputations, build denominations and to distinguish one group of saints as being ‘advanced’ above all other saints, yet at the same time being deaf and sometimes despising the voice of God in the progressive revelation of truth?
In the Old Testament the Feast of Trumpets followed the Feast of Pentecost, but the modern Pentecostal movement refuses to move to the Feast of Trumpets so that it can hear the voice of God in unveiling of truth. Among the various reasons for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it was to; 1) “let all the house of Israel know” Acts 2:36. This was a reaffirmation of the covenantal and marital relationship with National Israel for; “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” Rom. 11:1-2. Another reason was to proclaim that 2) “God hath made that same Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ” Acts. 2:36. Through the power of anointed preaching by men with hearing ears tuned to the voice of God, the Holy Spirit makes known who Jesus really is. The purpose is to reveal that Jesus is “all in all” and that “in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead [deity] bodily” Col. 2:19. Jesus promised that when the Comforter was given to His followers “he shall testify of me” John 15:26.
To the spiritually keen observer it’s blatantly clear that during the second half of the 20th century the modern Pentecostal movement was hijacked by religious alien interests. It is now being ‘used’ by the Zionist lobby, religious show business celebrities, prosperity seekers, prophets for profit, Hollywood-minded social competitors and the jet-set politically correct cultural reformers. Instead of progressing in truth the movement as a whole is regressing. The Bible standards that the Pentecostal preachers of yesteryear advocated, the present-day preachers now disdain. Sin that was once condemned is now condoned. Within the ranks of modern ‘Pentecost’ and Christendom at large it is now necessary to Christianize Christians.
• Apostolic Christianity started in Jerusalem as an experience with God. It resulted in a Divine relationship.
• It became an idea and philosophy in Greek culture for debate.
• Then it became an organization in Rome for control.
• It now appears to have become a financial enterprise in America for gain.
Has the modern Pentecostal movement grieved the Spirit of Grace whereby it was once sealed? Has it prostituted the gifts of God that were once the earmark of a genuine spiritual outpouring? Would the awful possibility spoken by our Lord Jesus apply to modern ‘Pentecost’? He said; “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness” Matt. 6:23. Modern ‘Pentecost’ needs a revival of Spirit and Truth. It needs to heed the many truths that men of God have been proclaiming for over a hundred years. One truth is the correct identification of the House of Israel and the House of Judah as being the Anglo-Saxon Germanic and related peoples. It needs to accept the Biblical fact of true Israel’s marital and covenantal relationship with her Husband/Redeemer Jesus Christ and to recognize the moral and judicial law of God as the governmental constitution of the Kingdom that the Holy Spirit came to restore. The true Christian Israel nations as the offspring of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-2) has been a blessing to all the families of the earth, yet fails to recognize their calling. In their ignorance, most ‘spirit-filled’ Christians instead deny their covenantal relationship with their genealogical Israelite ancestors and gives it away to an unbelieving Christ-rejecting people.
Within the very heart of the traditional Pentecostal movement the Lord has sent many anointed messengers proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, yet most of them have been misunderstood, rejected and even excommunicated from fellowship. Some have been well-known, others less known and some unknown, but they continued to cry out as a voice in the wilderness of religious confusion. The ministers listed in this brochure all believed, proclaimed and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and opened their ears to the understanding of the Anglo-Israel truth that would transform not only Christendom, but western civilization, yet their message goes unheeded by the church at large. Among these were great men of faith, soul-winners, pastors, missionaries, apostles, prophets, Bible scholars, all having made a great contribution to the Body of Christ. Many of them had very unusual conversion experiences to Christ and received supernatural confirmations in their acceptance of the truth of the Anglo-Israel message of Scripture. The ministries of these men of God impacted multiplied tens of thousands of people for Jesus Christ and Biblical truth. The Pentecostal ministers listed here by no means includes all those that believed and taught the Gospel of the Kingdom. If the truth be known there were hundreds who believed, but left no written record of any of their doctrinal beliefs.
The following Pentecostal ministers are not included in this brochure, because their testimonies have been written in previous brochures that can be ordered from this ministry. (Order by name and number)
Fred F. Bosworth – Prominent Healing Evangelist # 41
George Jeffreys – One of Britain’s greatest Evangelists # 43
Charles O. Benham – Evangelist, author and publisher # 48
George R. Hawtin – ‘Father’ of the Latter Rain Movement # 57
John A. Dowie – ‘Grandfather’of modern Healing ministry # 58
Frank Sandford – Bible School founder, pastor, publisher # 62
John Lovell – Pastor, author, publisher # 64
Also see: Revival Insights # 65
Controversy in Zion # 51
If there is one group among the Body of Christ that should understand, appreciate and accept their Biblical heritage, it should be the Pentecostals. They are the ones who have seen the visible manifestation of God’s power for over one hundred years. Instead, the gift of the Holy Spirit has been institutionalized and the people forced to strictly conform to religious protocol, thus restricting the saints from receiving any fresh truth by divine revelation. There are promises in God’s Word concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which definitely applies to and in turn identifies the recipients thereof as being the true House of Israel. Isa. 28:11-12; I Cor. 14:21-22; Isa. 44:1-3; Isa. 59:20-21; Joel 2:28-29
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience available today to every Christian believer according to Acts 2:38-39. I personally affirm my belief due to my own experience when only 17 years old.
Does not history record that spiritual revivals have primarily began among the western European people and they in turn took the message to other people, thus fulfilling one of the identifying marks of the children of Abraham? The Lord said unto Abram, “and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Again, “and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” Gen. 12:13; 22:18. Our Lord has been faithful to His promises. Our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ has come to Zion, sent unto us the Holy Spirit, placed His law in our hearts and His Word in our mouths. Praise the Lord, the lost sheep of Israel have been found.
CHARLES FOX PARHAM
Whenever the history of the latter-day spiritual outpouring is studied, Charles F. Parham is most likely always considered as being the father of the modern Pentecostal movement.
Charles Parham was born in Muscatine, Iowa on June 4, 1879, into a family of prominent English ancestry. When he was twelve years old his mother died while the family was living in Cheney, Kansas. As his mother was dying and saying her goodbyes to the family, she turned to him and said, ”Charlie, be good.” There in the presence of God and his dying mother, he vowed that he would meet her in heaven. Ever since the age of nine years old he had felt a divine call to the ministry and a strong attraction to Christian evangelism.
At the age of six months, Parham was taken with a fever that left him an invalid. He suffered for five years with dreadful spasms and enlargement of the forehead. As a young teenager, he was converted to Christ in a Congregational Church and enrolled in Southwestern Kansas College at sixteen. After a time of spiritual laxity, backsliding and then rebellion against entering the ministry, he was stricken with rheumatic fever. He was given up to die by his friends and physician. For several months he suffered while the words kept ringing in his ears; “Will you preach?” Finally, he began to repent and pray in desperation. Then every joint in his body loosened and every organ in his body was healed except his ankles. After renewing his vow to God to preach the Gospel, Parham experienced total healing. He records; “Then one night, while praying, under a tree, to which I had crawled on the old college campus, God instantly sent the virtue of healing like a mighty electric current through my body and my ankles were made whole, like the man at the beautiful gate in the Temple.”
Parham pastored a Methodist church for two years from 1893-1895 before joining the Holiness movement and opening the Bethel Healing Home in Topeka, Kansas in 1898. He began to publish his bi-monthly Holiness paper, The Apostolic Faith.
After some time of further research into the Holiness movement and earnestly seeking for a greater personal manifestation of spiritual power, Parham returned to Topeka in September 1900. Here he opened a Bible school in an old mansion, where he encouraged the students to seek for a greater spiritual experience as recorded in the Book of Acts. One of the students, Agnes Ozman received the expected blessing and spoke in ‘tongues’ as a sign of its reception. This greatly encouraged Parham and the rest of the student body and within a few days he and about half of the students testified as to receiving the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” A similar revival experience occurred in Galena, Kansas in 1903. From there, Parham went to Houston, Texas and held a ten-week training session which fanned the flames of the Pentecostal message throughout Texas. Soon afterward, the outpouring in Los Angeles, California occurred and quickly spread throughout the country. Among all the early leaders of the modern Pentecostal movement, Charles F. Parham is credited with formulating classical Pentecostal theology and is recognized as being its principle pioneer and founder.
As early as 1899 or before, Parham had recognized and was teaching the truth of the Christian Anglo-Israel message of the Bible. He earnestly contended for this truth until his death on January 29, 1929.
The following entries are excerpts or references to articles from various issues of The Apostolic Faith, which was edited by Charles Parham for over thirty years. In each article, written by him or another author, shows his commitment to the truth that the Anglo-Saxon and related peoples are the descendants of the ancient people of God, known as Israel.
THE KAISER’S LONG PEDIGREE
[London Chronicle] “Among the curiosities of the New Palace, Potsdam, which has been the scene of a fire, is a genealogical tree showing the name of King David engrossed at the root of it, with that of the Kaiser at the top, the descent being traced through his mother’s family.
According to this genealogy the reigning house of Great Britain is descended from David through the eldest daughter of Zedekiah, who fled to Ireland in charge of the Prophet Jeremiah, and eventually married Heremon, King of Ulster.”
The Apostolic Faith June 1913
LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL FOUND IN BRITAIN
“At the last session of the British Israel Association in this city, quotations were made from an address by the Hon. H.H. Stevens, and M.P. before the Forum of the First Congregational Church in Vancouver. Mr. Stevens said in part:
Christianity was brought to the Britains from Rome, but to the contrary, the Romans owed everything to the early Britains who established Christianity in their midst. The earliest Christian church outside of Jerusalem was established at Glastonbury, Somersetshire, England. And from there the new religion spread all over Europe.
Christianity was brought to the early Britains direct from Jerusalem by apostles of Christ shortly after the passion, and as early as 165 A.D. had become the National religion of the country. The general impression that Christianity had first been introduced into Britain by Augustine about 595 to 610 A.D. was entirely erroneous, as three British Bishops attended the Council of Arles A.D. 314.”
The Emperor Constantine who first supplanted the Crescent with the Cross at the head of his armies, was the son of a Roman General who had married a British Princess, and it was from his mother he learned Christianity. When King Caradoo, the ruling Sovereign of all the British tribes, was defeated after forty pitched battles and taken prisoner to Rome, his daughter Claudius accompanied him and established the first Christian church in Rome. Her brother Linus (both of whom are mentioned by Paul in II Timothy 4 and 21) was appointed the first Bishop of Rome by the Apostle Paul.”
Charles F. Parham, October 1925
A PLEASURABLE MEETING
While in California we had the great pleasure of meeting Bishop J.H. Allen in his home in Pasadena. We had known him for 35 years and from him many years ago had obtained the foundation truths of many things we are preaching today. Especially the wonderful message of Anglo-Israel. And any one wishing to get the most profound works on that subject printed today should write him for his book Judah’s Scepter and Israel’s Birthright, a book of over 300 pages, costing only $3.00. Though very aged and not fully recovered from a dislocated hip, he gave us some wonderful things relating to his visit to the world’s Anglo-Israel Congress held in London last year as he was one of the leading speakers and the day he preached several of the Royal Family were present, then he told of a day spent in the Royal Library of the Kings Palace and while there said to the Librarian, “I understand that you have here a copy of the Kings pedigree back to Adam, Dr. Anderson and W.H. Milner, World renown genealogists attest as authentic and genuine and undisputably correct and that my friend Chas. F. Parham in America obtained a copy of it from the Librarian under the reign of Queen Victoria.” He said, “yes, but we do not show it to very many.” Then Brother Allen said that from a drawer well secreted by many papers covering it they drew a massive scroll 17 feet long and 5 feet across, bound in Gold and Scarlet and there my friend and daughter poured over the sacred document that means so much to all who believe that we are the true descendants of the lost tribes of Israel and that the Kings of the earth today are the blood descendants of David, King of the Jews [Judahites].
Then he told us of the visit to Westminster Abbey where he was allowed to lay his hand on the stone of Scone under the Coronation Chair. The stone that is said to have been the one Joshua said this stone has heard all the words of our covenant with the Lord and which Jeremiah brought to Ireland and on which all the Kings of Judah were crowned and all the Kings of Scotland and all the Kings of England since James brought the stone from Scotland. God be praised for the long life of usefulness of our dear Bishop.
Charles F. Parham, April 1926
THE TRIBE OF JUDAH
It is very strange indeed that scholars who recorded the Aryan immigration into western Europe never put two and two together and discovered that the cradle of the Aryan race was the exact country where previously the ten lost tribes of Israel were colonized. While passing through Northern Greece, historians of that day frequently wrote of them, noted their peculiarities. It was said by one historian that they believed in the immortality of the soul and one God, which the Greeks did not; also that in primitive times they had received their law and regulations from one Ike Moxes (Moses) who spent many days in the mountains and returned with the same. Pushing their way westward into what is now Germany, many were captured and sold on the slave market of Rome. When Caesar inquired who these beautiful creatures were when they told him, he said, “They should be called angels;” a term which has ever followed them.
During their migration, they were known by different names, according to the country through which they were passing. Such terms as Isuki, Sacae, Sacea, Suncea, Saxones, and many others, until it terminated in Saxons: their land was called Saxony. Thus coupled with Caesar’s title, they became Anglo-Saxons! The word Saxon being a derivation of ISAAC’S SONS; fulfilling the prophecy. “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” (Gen. 21:12). The Saxon conquest of Great Britain (and today coupled with the United States) of nearly all the world proves the Scriptures; they were to be the “head and not the tail of nation.”
England is called the Lion because she possesses the sceptre of David and her ruling power is seed royal of Judah. The Lion is a figure of kingship, Christ, the King, is often referred to as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Ephraim to be a company of nations, England.
Manasseh was to be the gathering of nations, United States.
Now, if the reader will carefully read Jacob’s blessing upon his children, for the last days, and all the prophecies concerning Israel in the Old Testament, realizing they pertain to the above named nations, the Old Testament will become a new book to you of vital import and interest.
Charles F. Parham, Sept. 1926
WHAT WE SAW AT WINDSOR CASTLE
The author of this article, Bishop J .H. Allen, relates the account of his visit to London in 1920 to address “The First World Congress of Believers in the Identity of the Saxons and Anglo-Saxons with the one time lost or unidentified House of Israel. . .” He goes on to describe what he saw at Windsor Castle. He saw the genealogical chart of the Royal Family of Great Britain, once owned by Queen Victoria, which proves their literal descent from King David.
November 1926
JUDAH’S SCEPTER AND JOSEPH’S BIRTHRIGHT
In the May 1927 issue of The Apostolic Faith there appeared a promotional ad for Bishop J. H. Allen’s book “Judah’s Sceptre and Joseph’s Birthright.” It was made available from the author at Pasadena, California address for the price of $2.00 postpaid.
WATCH THE 153 GREAT FISHES
This was another article by Bishop J. H. Allen concerning the British Royal Family as being descended from the House of David. It appeared in the May 1927 issue of The Apostolic Faith.
Another article printed in The Apostolic Faith magazine of March 22, 1899 was entitled “Queen Victoria’s Descent from Adam.” This article showed the genealogical Family to the royal dynasty of King David. This article is reprinted in tract #54 and is available from Truth in History Ministries.
GEORGE WILLIAM SOUTHWICK
George Southwick was born on December 1, 1918 in Lakeland, Florida. When only a small boy, he and his family moved to Burbank, California where he was raised and graduated from Burbank High School in 1936. He then attended L.I.F.E. Bible School which was founded and directed by the famous Aimee Semple McPherson. While there, he not only was taught by Sister McPherson, but also heard other well-known ministers and Bible teachers such as Frank C. Thompson of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, Luke Rader of the Minneapolis River Lake Gospel Tabernacle, Adolph P. Gouthey and many more. Not long after graduation he received ministerial ordination with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. He was later ordained in the Assemblies of God, the Apostolic Holiness and the Whosoever Will Fellowship.
After George Southwick’s marriage to Leona Rasmussen on March 1, 1942, he held pastorates in the Upper Michigan District and Adams, Wisconsin. While pastoring in Michigan during an evening service, the Lord manifested Himself in a visible ball of fire that rolled across the floor.
This was one of many miraculous visitations in his spiritual walk with the Lord that brought him from “Glory to Glory” throughout his ministerial life of service to the body of Christ. He later held pastorates in Oregon and California. Convinced that a life of learning is not lost and a love of books, he possessed a personal library of over 12,000 volumes. In February 1999 Logos Theological Seminary of Jacksonville, Florida conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree.
During his life of eighty-seven years, Pastor Southwick had the privilege of considering among his friends such men of God as: Fred Vogel, William Booth-Clibborn, Dr. Claud Phileo, A.E. Mitchell, Gordon Lindsay and Thomas A. Lindsay.
When just a small boy it was evident that the hand of the Lord was upon young George’s life. He was converted to Christ at an early age and soon recognized a spiritual call upon his heart for a life of service in the vineyard of the Lord. He was greatly stirred in his spirit when at the age of ten his mother took him to hear the great Welsh Revivalist, Stephen Jeffreys. There he heard the first hand report of the story of the miraculous vision of the face of the “Man of Sorrows” on the wall of the Island Place Mission in 1914 in Llanelly, Wales. According to his frequent testimony, he related that early in his life many visitors would stop by the home of his parents. Often the topic of conversation would be the identity and location of the ‘Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.’ Not understanding the significance of this information, he pondered this subject and hid it away in his heart for many years.
Later on as a pastor, he began to earnestly seek the Lord concerning this subject. He diligently sought the Lord through prayer and study of the Scriptures for ten years before making a public mention of this subject. He became thoroughly convinced of the validity of this truth yet was hesitant to teach it for fear of the consequences from his fellow ministers. That fear was suddenly removed one day by a supernatural experience that he had while sharing this truth with another couple. He and his wife were sitting in the front seat of their car sharing the Anglo-Israel message with the couple in the back seat, when suddenly he felt the finger of God come through the top of the car and touch him on the top of his head. He felt the Spirit of God go throughout his body removing his fear to preach this message and confirming the validity of the Anglo-Israel truth. From then on he boldly proclaimed this great Gospel of the Kingdom throughout the nation in conferences and by means of a tape ministry. In 1975, Pastor Southwick and his wife founded The Bible Educator Ministry, through which he produced a publication called The Kingdom Treasure and hundreds of sermon tapes. He was a favorite conference speaker and was well loved by all who knew him. He passed away on January 21, 2006.
THOMAS A. LINDSAY
Even as a youth Thomas Lindsay was spiritually inclined and had a heart toward God. He experienced a real Christian conversion at the age of twenty-two and never wavered in his faith from that time on. In about 1905 he moved to Zion City, Illinois after hearing of the success of Dr. John Alexander Dowie. There he met his wife, Effie Munn and started raising his family. While living in Zion, the Lindsays acquired a genuine lasting faith in the promises of God when seeing the healing power of the Lord manifested in the ministry of Dr. Dowie. As a former resident of Zion City, who learned much from Dr. Dowie, it is no surprise that Thomas A. Lindsay, the father of well-known Gordon Lindsay was a believer in the Anglo-Israel message. In fact he was an executive member of the Anglo-Saxon Federation of Oregon after leaving Illinois. While living in Portland, the Lindsay’s attended the church of Pastor John G. Lake.
In their senior years, Thomas Lindsay and his wife spent time in Dallas, Texas with their son Gordon. I was told that while there they often visited First Covenant Church to enjoy the sermons on the Anglo-Israel message given by Dr. John A. Lovell. Mrs. Lindsay passed away early in 1957 while Thomas Lindsay passed away at the age of 88 years old in late 1961.
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“Unless the Prophets faithless be – and the Seer’s words be vain
Wher’er is found Jehovah’s throne – Prince David’s line shall reign”
GORDON LINDSAY
One of the ‘household names’ of the traditional Pentecostal and Charismatic movements is Gordon Lindsay. He was born in 1906 while his parents were living in Zion City, Illinois. His parents had moved there to attend the Christian Catholic Church and be participants in the Christian community founded by John Alexander Dowie. Dowie was also a strong believer in the Anglo-Israel message. (See our brochure # 58.) Later his family moved to Portland, Oregon. At the age of eighteen, Gordon was converted to Christ under the ministry of Charles F. Parham (see our brochure # 54) while attending a church pastored by John G. Lake, a former resident of Zion city, Illinois. Before marriage to his wife, Freda, he joined the evangelistic ministry of Brother Lake, traveling throughout California and the southern United States. Lindsay began his pastoral ministry in small churches in California and Ashland, Oregon.
In 1947, Lindsay joined the ministry of William Branham to function as the campaign manager to promote and report on the meetings. This was when he first published his well known Voice of Healing Magazine. He later published World Wide Revival and Christ for the Nations magazines. He became one of the most prominent men involved in the divine healing movement of the 1940's and 50's, organizing conventions of healing evangelists, serving as counsel for many of them and reporting the results of their meetings. His death in 1973 was a big loss to not only his family and friends, but to all the Pentecostal & Charismatic church world.
It is very obvious that Gordon Lindsay at one time was an advocate of the Anglo-Israel message. In 1940, his articles on the study of Biblical Chronological Timelines were printed in The Anglo-Saxon World published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The printed purpose of the magazine was stated as: “The contents of the magazine are dedicated to the more rapid teaching of the Anglo-Saxon identity with Israel and the bringing in of the Kingdom of God on earth.” (Feb. 1, 1940). In the body of his article entitled, “The Wonders of Bible Chronology” Lindsay wrote:
“ In connection with the subject about to be discussed, it will no doubt be of interest to the reader to understand that while the writer has long been convinced of the truth of the British Israel Identity, it was not until the amazing system of cycles of Bible chronology was discovered, that he was able to realize the tremendous importance this fact played in the Divine Scheme of the destiny of the nations. About two years after the completion of this chronology, its further consideration brought amazement to the writer when he discovered, that interwoven into the chronology was an astounding system of cycles, the mathematical ingenuity of which, was almost beyond belief. But more astonishing still, was the fact that these cycles were so ordered that they show every event of Bible and world history has been timed. Thus the significance of these events can be understood in their relation to one another. These cycles also point unmistakably to the fact that the identity of Britain and the United States of America is to be found in Israel.”
In his March 1940 article entitled, “The Thirteen Cycles of the United States” Lindsay writes the following: “Let us for a moment briefly consider the nation of the United States, as it appears in prophecy. The fact that Israel was to develop into great and independent nations in the last days, is clear from the study of Genesis 48:16-19, and 49:1. In these Scriptures Jacob foretells her destiny in the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh.
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. . .He (Manasseh) also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
“That such a destiny has never been fulfilled in the dispersed Jews is obvious. That it has been fulfilled in Britain and in America as Ephraim and Manasseh is just as apparent. Both have grown to be a “great people” in the “midst of the earth.” America has become a great nation. The British Empire, has become a Company of Nations. The lack of space in Britain, made it necessary for the ever increasing population to migrate and colonize other lands. The breaking away of the first colonies (the original thirteen states of America) was foreseen by the prophet in Isaiah 49:20.
The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, the place is too straight for me; give place to me that I may dwell.
“Britain lost the United States, in the Revolutionary War. This, as we have seen, as in the Divine plan.”
In the April 1940 article entitled, Cycles of the “Sign Woman” Israel, Lindsay writes in the author’s introductory note: “The writer has suspended, for the present, his active ministry, that he might give his entire attention to the preparation for publication of the amazing series of discoveries that prove beyond contradiction, the identity of Israel as the Anglo-Saxon nations.” In the body of the article he wrote the following under the subtitle;
Israel-the Sun Clothed Woman
“In our article this month, we shall consider the prophecy of the sun-clothed woman of Rev. 12. As the chapter heading in the Scofield Reference Bible shows, there is general unanimity among prophetic scholars that this woman is a symbol of Israel. We shall not take space therefore, to prove this prophetic truth, which ordinarily is accepted, except that we might call attention to the fact that the symbols used are strongly Israelitish, and that the Man Child who evidently represents Christ, came of the seed of Israel.
“Bible scholars in interpreting this prophecy, concur in the teaching thus:
he Sign Woman is Israel, and the Man Child to whom she gave birth, is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. After fulfilling His earthly Ministry, Sufferings, and Death, the Man Child ascended to heaven. Satan, balked in his malevolent schemes to present the fulfillment of God’s redemptive Plan in Christ, turned in frustrated fury upon Israel with the avowed purpose of affecting her destruction. But, as the prophecy reveals, the Lord protected the Woman and appointed to her a place of refuge, which is spoken of as “the wilderness.” There she is preserved for a period of 1260 days, or a “time and times and half a time.” At this point prophetic interpretation diverges; those who fail to see the British-Israel identity, are forced to the conclusion that this Flight of the Woman, refers to the Jews escaping from Palestine during the final troublous times o f this age. There are a number of obvious reasons why such an interpretation cannot be true. One of these is the plain statement of Rev. 12:17, which declares that the Woman and at least a “Remnant of her seed–keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” How could such a description refer to the Jews, who to this day as a people, stubbornly reject the Messiahship of Christ?
We must look, for the fulfillment of this prophecy, to a nation of which at least a portion of the people believes in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“British-Israel believers identify the Flight of the Woman to be that of the Lost Tribes of Israel, who, escaping Gentile domination, migrated to Britain the “Appointed Place.” (2 Sam. 7:10.) There, surrounded by seas and protected from Continental attack, they renew their strength and finally achieve their destiny as a mighty nation.”
It was after his rise to prominence in the healing revival movement that Lindsay abandoned his earlier belief in the Anglo-Israel message. In my twenty-five plus years of friendship with Pastor Southwick, he related the following story to me several times. When Pastor Southwick was living in Portland, Oregon, his friend Tom Lindsay would come by the pear packing plant where he was a manager and they would have long and pleasant visits together. Tom clearly said: “George, my son Gordon knows the Anglo-Israel message, but he refuses to preach it.”
JOHN GRAHAM LAKE
As a young man, John G. Lake (born 1870) was converted to Christ and was ordained into the ministry at the age of twenty-one by the Methodist Church. In 1898, his wife, sister, son and a friend were miraculously healed under the ministry of John A. Dowie. Lake later became a deacon in Dr. Dowie’s church in Zion City, Illinois. He was a very progressive and successful businessman, working in newspaper publishing, real estate and the insurance industry. Feeling a personal call to the ministry, Lake began to hold meetings in the evenings, while seeking for the Pentecostal experience of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. After receiving this experience in 1907, he felt a missionary call to South Africa. The Lord honored Lake’s ministry while in Africa with hundreds of verifiable miracles of healing and divine provision for his family.
After the death of his wife in 1908, he continued his African ministry, but returned to the states in 1912. He settled in Spokane, Washington where he opened a “healing home” and thousands gave testimony of physical healing by the power of God. Concerning Lake’s commitment to the Anglo-Israel truth, Herb Frizzell, in the draft of his unpublished book, records the following. “From personal sources I am told that Rev. John G. Lake became a believer in the [Christian Israel] message in the latter part of his ministry. Mrs. Ione E. Eaton, . . . asserted to me personally that Dr. Lake definitely believed the message. This was ascertained after talking to various people who knew him personally. Ione Eaton told me that Dr. Lake use to come to their house and bounce her on his knee when she was a child. She says that Lake was a wonderful man of God, and he even baptized her when she was a child. Some derided him for believing in the message and, in fact, their memory of this was burned into their minds by the fact that they thought that dear old Dr. Lake has “gotten off the rails into error” and should have been corrected.
ALEXANDER SCHIFFNER
After pastoring in the city of Spokane, Washington for over forty years, he was know n as the senior pastor of the city. Alexander Schiffner was born on March 24, 1900 in Walla Walla, Washington to German immigrant parents who arrived in the United States two years before his birth. His parents had agreed that if the first child born to them in this country was a boy they would dedicate him to the Lord for the work of the ministry. As an infant he was baptized in the Lutheran Church and was confirmed at the age of twelve in the German Congregational Church.
After completing his public education in Umapine, Oregon, he first worked on a ranch, then joined in partnership in a dry-cleaning and laundry plant. In 1917 he married Wadie Opal Alexander and soon moved to Los Angeles, California. There he worked in the dry-cleaning business and even purchased his own plants in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He became a very successful businessman even during the depression, living a life of ease yet extremely unhappy.
His younger brother Adolph was earnestly praying for Alexander’s conversion to Christ and kept asking him to attend a Bible College. One day Alexander took the Bible his father had given him as a wedding gift and threw it on the floor and said to his wife and brother, “I’m going to prove that there is nothing to this Bible, it’s a book of fairy tales written for the superstitious and for children.” On their first day of attendance at a Baptist Bible College in Los Angeles on September 19, 1933, the Spirit of God began to deal with his heart. As their instructor, Rev. A.E. Mitchell asked the class, “Why are you here?” Alexander’s heart was gripped with conviction. With class dismissed, the instructor asked each student to kneel at their seat and pray. Dr. Schiffner later recorded; “It seemed as if a big ball of fire hit me on the top of the head and went down through my body to the soles of my feet, and I started to cry. I was a successful businessman who was unsentimental and unemotional and hadn’t cried since my childhood. I heard some chains drop with a clank to the cement floor below. I don’t know how long I was on my knees, but after I rose from praying, I rubbed my eyes in order to see more clearly, for it seemed as if I was walking in a great light. I asked Adolph, ‘who dropped those chains while I was praying?”
Not long after his conversion while giving his testimony in a street meeting, he was introduced to a group of “Full Gospel” or “Pentecostal” saints. After a three day and two night season of fasting and prayer, he was alone when the Holy Spirit came upon him. He worshiped in tongues for more than two hours and finally heard the clear voice of God saying, “preach, preach, preach.” While in a vision he saw a sea of hands reaching out of the pit beseeching for help. Not long afterwards he enrolled in L.I.F.E. Bible School founded by Aimee Semple McPherson. In September 1935, he, his wife and two children moved to Spokane and started a church affiliated with the Foursquare Gospel denomination.
While returning home on the train to Spokane from a convention, he experienced a supernatural visitation from an angel of the Lord. The angel said, “Fear not, my son, I have come to minister unto thee. I have poured my grace and my truth into your lips. Go forth and speak my word without fear or favor.” On April 25, 1942, while in Bible study preparing for Sunday service, the Lord revealed to Dr. Schiffner the Anglo-Israel message from the 48th and 49th chapters of Genesis. Two months after he received this revelation he went to Portland to visit the Foursquare leadership. Dr. Schiffner writes, “He informed me that the Founder-President of the organization and other pastors, including himself, had studied the message of the Israel Identity but that the board and the headquarters officials had ruled that although the doctrine of Anglo-Israelism had Scriptural verification, they decided by majority vote that it was not yet time for the message to be proclaimed.”
In time, Dr. Schiffner bought the old wooden tabernacle from the widow of John G. Lake which had been built for the Billy Sunday crusades. From this humble beginning Bethel Temple was built with both radio and television outreach Ministries. The monthly magazine Prophetic Herald was published for over forty years dealing with religious, economic and political issues. In over 44 years of ministry, Dr. Schiffner wrote scores of brochures and booklets and was active in the Lord’s work until the day of his death.
FRANK M. MAULDEN
Among the few details known about the early life of Frank Maulden is that he was born on August 7, 1897 and spent his early years in West Texas. As a young man he was converted to Christ and grew up under the influence of a Godly grandmother. A childhood experience where the Lord protected his grandmother from a crazy man greatly strengthened his faith in the reality of the power of God. An extremely mad man threatened to kill his grandmother with a gun. She said; “you can’t harm me because I serve the Lord Jesus.” When the man tried to pull the trigger his hand froze and then he suddenly fled.
In his early ministry Frank Maulden preached for the Assemblies of God in West Texas. Soon he met his wife Alma to whom he was married for sixty years. She passed away in 1986. After moving to the Northwest, he was affiliated with a Oneness Pentecostal Church and served as a district official in Yakima, Washington. In the 1930's, he and his wife moved to Idaho and pastored a ‘Oneness’ Church in twin falls and founded a church in Meridian which he pastored from 1953 to 1980. Frank Maulden remained faithful to the divine revelation of the Anglo-Israel truth in spite of his dismissal from the denomination. Pastor Maulden was highly respected and loved by his fellow ministers and laymen and remained faithful to his Lord until the day of his death on January 22, 1988 at the age of ninety-one years.
MAXIE A.X. CLARK
It is believed that Max Clark was born around 1892 and most likely in the western part of the United States. Not much is known of his early life, but it is suspected that he attended some of the meetings at the Azusa street outpouring between 1906 and 1911. Max Clark was definitely Pentecostal in his theology, experience and fellowship as clearly evident in his publication articles and his book entitled The Pentecostal Movement-Forty Years of Power, Probation and Progress. In 1913 he was ordained with the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World in Portland, Oregon. He was later ordained with the Assemblies of God in 1920, but his credentials were dropped in December 1924. Most likely from this point on he remained as an independent in his religious affiliations.
For many years he was the editor of The National Christian Journal and The Pentecostal Journal which dealt with issues of prophecy, history, theology, homiletics and current events. Articles in these magazines included prominent Pentecostal authors such as Evangelist Zelma Argue and M. Leslie Crosson of the Sixth Street Assembly of God Church in Sacramento, California.
The sponsorship for these magazines was widespread according to the long list of commercial ads. The readership of these journals must have been very high and widespread throughout the Pentecostal, Fundamental and evangelical world as indicated by the letters to the editor. The responses were from Bible Schools, civil government officials, denominational officials such as J. Roswell Flower of the Assemblies of God and Howard A. Goss of the United Pentecostal Church. Among his many friends and subscribers were prominent Anglo-Israel pastors such as John A. Lovell and Dr. Alexander Schiffner.
Max Clark was a strong believer in the Anglo-Israel message of Scripture as proven by the many articles in his magazines. The article The Five Sons of Judah by Schiffner and Clark’s article Abraham’s Posterity – A study in Racial Origins shows the Anglo-Saxon people as fulfilling the promises that were prophesied as belonging to the sons of Joseph. These fulfillments have been and are primarily taking place in Great Britain and the United States. It is believed that he passed away sometime in the 1960's.
THEODORE FITCH
Little is known of the early life of Theodore Fitch, but one thing is certain and that was his life-time commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was born on December 1, 1893 in northern Iowa and he made his home for many years in Council Bluffs.
As a young man he owned the Iowa Paint Factory. He was financially successful in this business, especially during the Great Depression due to large government purchases for their WPA projects. After he was converted to Christ, possibly in the Foursquare Church, he opened a city Union Mission for the homeless and derelicts. He would feed 150 men twice a day sponsored by his paint factory.
Theodore Fitch had a tremendous and glorious conversion to Jesus Christ somewhere around 1930. He then began to seek the Lord for a Pentecostal infilling of the Spirit and during this time he experienced a vision of Jesus in full life-like color. In this vision he heard a voice saying to him, “Jesus is God.” After this supernatural vision, he then began to fellowship with the ‘Oneness’ churches. With this spiritual zeal he entered the ministry, doing evangelistic work in churches and on the radio and remained active for over sixty years until his death on December 21, 1991. He was a strong believer in the Pentecostal message and experience which is evident by his many books on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and related subjects.
During his ministry he had many friends and associates and was known to accommodate in his home many ministers for weeks and even months in addition to his family of ten children. After the vision experience, Theodore Fitch accepted Jesus as the Great Physician for himself and his family. He believed in living a life of faith. When his son Jimmy was nine years old, he contracted a sleeping sickness with double pneumonia. A doctor visited the home and offered his services free of charge, but Fitch refused saying Jesus was the healer. After being asleep for three weeks and given up to die, a friend was impressed to visit the Fitch Family. He prayed for the boy and he was instantly healed. The boy woke up and said that he was hungry.
Theodore Fitch established Bible Truths Restored ministry with a mailing list of 50,000 names and published seventy-five different books with a worldwide outreach. Based upon the many books that he wrote upon the subject it is evident that he was a strong advocate of the Anglo-Israel message of Scripture. He was always a happy and vivacious person and expressed the joy of the Lord in his life and preaching. Just before he died he told his son that it was time for him to go. After his normal breakfast he went back to bed, simply closed his eyes and peacefully died.
GORDON MAGEE
Very little is known of the early life of Gordon Magee except that he was born in Plymouth, England on May 19, 1920. He was converted to Christ and called into the ministry as a young man and found ministry opportunities in Belfast, Northern Ireland. After receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, his ministry was particularly fruitful in pioneering the revelation message of the Oneness of the Godhead. He was also instrumental in establishing with other ministers the Churches of God in Ireland and their official magazine, Standard of Truth. Under his anointed ministry thousands were brought to the knowledge that the Anglo-Saxon people were the literal descendants of ancient Israel. By 1952 Gordon Magee was living and ministering in Toronto, Canada. He later moved to the United States and after extensive ministry established a church in Houston, Texas. During his long ministry of many years he wrote and published articles and booklets including his widely circulated treatise, Is Jesus in the Godhead or is the Godhead in Jesus?
WILLIAM OLIVER HUTCHINSON
W. O. Hutchinson was one of the founders of the Apostolic Faith Church, which was the First Pentecostal movement in Great Britain. He also established Emmanuel Mission Hall in Winton, Bournemouth, England. After receiving the Baptism in the Spirit in the Church of England Vicarage at Sunderland in 1908, Stanley H. Frodsham assisted Hutchinson in the founding of Mission Hall. Frodsham later emigrated to the United States and became editor for 28 years of the Assemblies of God official organ, The Pentecostal Evangel. Hutchinson first published Showers of Blessings periodical in January 1910, which increased to a circulation of 10,000. This publication contained the teaching and reports of the activities of the many Pentecostal congregations in Great Britain connected with the Apostolic Faith Church. It is believed that Hutchinson adopted the name of his movement from Charles F. Parham’s paper, Apostolic Faith.
During the early years of the Pentecostal movement in Great Britain, Hutchinson ministered with many men such as Smith Wigglesworth and Cecil H. Polhill, who later became very prominent in the Pentecostal movement. Hutchinson was the first minister in the modern Pentecostal movement to be publicly recognized as Chief Apostle, which position he held until his death. In his book “The Origins of the Apostolic Church in Great Britain, James E. Worsfold gives the following account of the life and ministry of W.O. Hutchinson.
“The first Pentecostal church building in Great Britain, Emmanuel Mission Hall, was opened on 5 November 1909. It owed its origins to the ministry of William Oliver Hutchinson. By 1909, Hutchinson’s influence was already such that one of the guest speakers at the opening services was no less a person than Cecil Polhill, one of the famed Cambridge Seven.
“In this writer’s view, Hutchinson is most definitely the father of the twentieth century apostolic-type of Pentecostal movements in Great Britain. The Apostolic Faith Church, Bournemouth, the Apostolic Church, Penygroes, and the United Apostolic Faith Church, London all owe their introduction to the apostolic ministry to this valiant pioneer preacher who believed that God would restore the New Testament ministries and offices of apostle and prophet.
Hutchinson was born of Primitive Methodist parents at Blackhill, County Durham, on 11 January 1864. His father was a merchant tailor and local preacher. He began his working life as a shepherd and, while terrified during a violent thunderstorm high up in the hills, he vowed to serve God faithfully if He would only spare his life. Later, after receiving what he felt was Divine guidance, Hutchinson enlisted and became a Grenadier Guardsman, rising to the rank of sergeant. When evangelists Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey held services in London, young Hutchinson was greatly blessed as he witnessed scenes of revival. In mid 1888, while listening to the celebrated preacher, Charles H. Spurgeon, in the London Metropolitan Tabernacle, he heard the Holy Spirit speaking to him when the preacher said” “Awake, thou that sleepest – you! Sitting behind that pillar” (as Hutchinson actually was). This was a great moment of awakening in Hutchinson’s life and he was fully determined to confess Christ before his fellow soldiers. This he did kneeling in prayer at his bedside in the barracks at Aldershot. That very night his outright testimony was such that not a few soldiers were ultimately converted to Christ. In December that year he married Miss Ada Cooper. Theirs was to be a strong and loving union for forty years.
“In March 1900 Hutchinson was sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War where he was twice preserved from death. When his health broke down he was invalided home to spend a period in the Netley Military Hospital, returning to civilian life in 1903. He was then employed as an inspector for the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, under the direction of Benjamin Waugh. During evenings and weekends he continued his evangelistic ministry, which bore much fruit, as a Methodist lay preacher. It was at this time that he accepted that the Biblical authority to baptize was a command to immerse. He responded, was duly baptized in water and thereafter supported the Baptist Church.
Reader Harris, QC, of the Pentecostal League, was conducting meetings in Bournemouth at the time and through his teaching Hutchinson entered into the experience known as a “clean heart” before God. He mistook this encounter with God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Later, he came to see that the baptism of the Spirit should be accompanied by “speaking with other tongues”. He declined an offer made by the local Baptist Church to be an assistant pastor with a weekly stipend, preferring to wait for the time when he would step out into the ministry and live by faith, believing that God would meet his financial needs by freewill offerings.
“In 1906 Hutchinson visited South Wales and was deeply stirred by the continuing revival scenes. He received a spiritual vision of three balls of fire, one above the other, increasing in size upwards over his head. The Holy Spirit spoke within him, saying that the first ball was about the gift of tongues. Hutchinson now began to seek God for a baptism of fire like the disciples received on the day of Pentecost.
“In 1908, responding to an invitation, he attended the first international Pentecostal convention called by Alexander Boddy at Whitsuntide in Sunderland. During one of these services, while kneeling before the Lord, Hutchinson was baptized in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave him utterance. Some ten years later Kent White gave more detail to this event. He states that Hutchinson was “pleading the Blood” for over two hours. Then, after hands were laid on him, he received the remarkable Baptism of the Spirit. Returning to Bournemouth, Hutchinson held a prayer meeting at his home where like-minded believers began seeking God. The first person he laid his hands on received the baptism of the Spirit and spoke in tongues. Several others had a similar experience.
“Hutchinson now sensed that God was at work in a special way and that he could no longer fully serve Him in the Baptist Church. He accepted the challenge to step out and commenced to conduct public meetings, preaching the Pentecostal message. Signs began to follow his ministry with many brought to Christ, baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. Others received miraculous healings. Hutchinson’s faith increased and in his heart was born a desire for a building where the work of God could be consolidated and a centre established from which the ministry could extend to other places.”
W. O. Hutchinson was a strong believer in the Covenantal promises given to ancient Israel as being fulfilled in the Anglo-Saxon people of today. In the June 1922 issue of “What We Believe and Teach” he wrote the following statement::
“That God’s Kingdom coming on earth has to do with the revealing of His chosen people Israel and that the blessing of Ephraim (Gen. 48:19) rest upon the British Empire and its throne through whom all nations shall be blessed. That America carries Manasseh’s blessing.”
In his book, Worsfold gives the following account which reinforces the idea of the Anglo-Israel belief among the many members of the Apostolic Faith Church.
“At the fourteenth International Convention of the Apostolic Faith Church, Bournemouth, 1922, the newspapers reported that the following speakers were present: W.O. Hutchinson, Chief Overseer, J. Hutchinson-Dennis, Deputy, A. Murdoch, Chief Overseer (Scotland), W. P. Roberts and T. Bowen (Wales), James Brooke, Chief Overseer (South Africa and Rhodesia), George Dennis, Chief Overseer (East African Territory), J. Jack (Canada), J.G. Hutchinson, Assistant and J. Hume (Scotland) and W. Bovett, (England).
The reports went on to say:
‘The Union Jack hangs from the rostrum, national anthems such as “God Save the King’ and ‘God Bless the Prince of Wales’ were sung heartily. The Apostolic Faith Church claims the throne of Britain has a Divine setting and that the Empire is the company of nations with Ephraim which will, with America, secure the peace of the world. Pastor Hutchinson declared that King George was the King of Israel and that the Prince of Wales was the Prince in Israel...”
Worsfold gives the following statement of Hutchinson’s death and the eulogy which was given at his funeral service.
“ During the mid-1920's as a result of the strenuous life he maintained as leader of the Apostolic Faith Church, Hutchinson suffered a break-down in health. At the end of February 1928, at his residence, “Beulah”, Hutchinson passed on to his eternal reward. He was sixty-four years old. The funeral service on 2 March at the church was presided over by a colleague, J.A. Jones, a minister from Southall, London. A large congregation attended, deeply-felt tributes were given, and many floral gifts were telegraphed from all over Great Britain, and from as far away as South Africa. In his eulogy, Jones said that William Hutchinson “. . . was a member of the British Israel World Federation and was a confident believer that the Anglo-Saxon races were the inheritors of the promises given through the prophets in the Bible to God’s people, Israel, and some few years ago under the auspices of the above-named body addressed a large representative gathering in the Central Hall, Westminster, London.”
P. JAMES BROOKE
The life and ministry of Pastor James Brooke is another mighty witness to the Pentecostal experience and the restoration of the Apostolic gifts to the body of Christ in the twentieth century. Born in the early 1880's, he was converted to Christ at an early age and held fellowship with the Baptist church. In 1905 he and Edith Hopkins were married and shared fifty years together until his passing in 1960. James Brooke became an elder and lay-preacher with the Baptist Chapel in North East London and also served with the London City Mission. In 1910, he became the pastor of the Baptist Church, Cardigan Road, Bournemouth, England.
In his personal testimony contained in his book (c. 1943), “Light On the Baptism of the Holy Spirit”, he gave the following account. “Thirty-two years ago, while ministering at a Baptist Church in South of England, a yearning came into my soul for a closer walk with God. I longed for a fuller knowledge of His Word and a deeper experience of the power of God. Much prayer for this soul-hunger to be satisfied was made on my part to God our heavenly Father.
“During a vacation spent in London, I saw a notice of a meeting to be held. The subject of the address was to be “The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” With a friend I attended this meeting, and after the address, in response to the invitation, we went forward and knelt at the penitent form, desiring to have the wonderful experience of being baptized with the Holy Spirit.
“I went out after the meeting closed, telling the Lord that on His Word I believed that I had received. But the yearning remained; yes, an hunger of soul that could not be told was still mine. It seemed as though my soul would be torn asunder in the battle that raged within me.
“After three weeks of battling in the heavenlies, that is, in the spiritual realm, I realized there was a breaking down of the powers of darkness that hindered my receiving the Pentecostal blessing. . .One day, after having spent two hours in prayer, I said to a friend who was praying with me, “I cannot pray any longer, there is no more strength in me.” “Just five minutes more,” he replied.
“Those ‘five minutes more’ lengthened out into over two hours. But it was in the first five minutes of that time that the Holy Spirit came flooding into my soul with glory, and speaking through me in ‘other tongues’ as the Spirit gave utterance. Such praise in song, both in the language of the ‘new tongue’ and in mine own, broke forth from my lips, and in such beauty and power that I had never had nor thought could have been possible for me to utter.”
Within a few weeks his wife had received the same glorious experience. Before long Pastor Brooke’s ministry in the Baptist Church was terminated. He then moved his family to Swansea, South Wales in 1911 where he became the pastor of Bellvue Chapel. In Mrs. Brooke’s account of their year or so stay there she said, “Tremendous days, I’ve never seen the like of it. Every meeting was like a convention meeting. Crowds packed the church, and miracles and healings were taking place all the time.”
One day while praying in his study, the Lord spoke to him and said, “Prepare thyself for distant shores.” In February 1912, Pastor Brooke and his family set sail for South Africa where they labored for ten years in pastoral and missionary work. After returning to England in 1922, he built a church in the coastal town of Westcliff-On-Sea, Essex in obedience to the voice of the Lord. Up to this time, he had been one of the senior ministers of the Apostolic Faith Church. At this point Pastor Brooke with other ministers founded the United Apostolic Faith Church with headquarters in London. They would serve churches and missionary works in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and elsewhere. Not long before his passing, he resigned as pastor of the local assembly at Tower Hall and Gospel Centre in London. He retained his responsibilities as General Overseer of the U.A.F.C. and editor of the Pentecostal Times monthly publication.
In his many years as General Overseer of the U.A.F.C. he travelled to South Africa to help establish churches and strengthen gospel mission centers. In 1946 and 1948, he went to Canada to help establish a church in the Toronto area. During his fifty years of ministry he wrote at least four small books, “Light on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit,” Light on Speaking in Other Tongues,” The Prophetical Voice” and “Israel in the Last Days.” In his description of the latter named book he wrote, “Great Britain and the U.S.A. identified as modern Israel. A much-discussed subject. The author describes how he came to a knowledge of this truth.”
He held to the Anglo-Israel point of view for the vast majority of his ministerial years. After his passing, his elder son Percy became the editor of the Pentecostal Times publication. In the Sept/Oct 1986 edition, Editor Percy J. Brooke re-affirmed the Anglo-Israel belief of the U.A.F.C. following Holiness preacher Maynard G. James’ article “Are the Jews all Israel?” James was a staunch believer in this prophetic point of view as recorded in his biography, “A Man on Fire” by his son Paul James.
H.A. MAXWELL WHYTE
When recounting the rich history of the Canadian branch of the United Apostolic Faith Church, the life and ministry of Maxwell Whyte is most prominent. He was associated with the U.A.F.C. for many years of his ministry. In May 1978, he resigned from a 31 year pastorate of the church located at Scarborough, Ontario. He was succeeded by his son, Stephen Whyte. While pastoring in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, he fellowshipped various Pentecostal brethren, who also attended his resignation celebration. It was held on the premises of the Christian Full Gospel television program, 100 Huntley Street.
After retiring from the Scarborough Assembly, Pastor and Mrs. Whyte went on an evangelistic tour of Southern Africa. He was greatly used of the Lord in the ministry of divine healing and deliverance from demonic oppression. While at Bethel Bible College in Johannesburg, the Lord confirmed His Word when a five year old girl took off her leg brace and ran to her astonished mother. The local pastor’s wife who was suffering from severe back complications was healed and was able to remove her brace. Maxwell Whyte ministered in Pretoria, Verceniging, Boksburg, Durban and other cities including Cape Town where many were saved, baptized in the Holy Spirit and divinely healed. One outstanding meeting was held in the Assemblies of God Church in Pietermaritzburg in cooperation with other pastors where much was accomplished for the Lord’s work in this united effort.
In his life and ministry Maxwell Whyte was a strong believer in the power of the blood of Jesus as the Christian’s authority over all the power of the enemy. He wrote several books on the blood of Jesus and deliverance from demonic power which are still available through Whitaker House Publishers. They include Demons and Deliverance, The Kiss of Satan, Dominion Over Demons, A Manual of Exorcism and The Power of the Blood.
Maxwell Whyte also wrote a book entitled, “Spiritual Aspects of the Kingdom of God,” in which he clearly sets forth his commitment to the truth of the Anglo-Israel message of Scripture. The following quote is from the first chapter entitled, The Bride of the Lamb.
“It is the purpose of this article to SHOW FROM THE SCRIPTURES and the real identity of the Bride of Christ, for if we take the Word of God to mean exactly what it says - - and we do not spiritualize its obvious meaning, especially in its historical setting- -surely we shall arrive at the truth.
In the 19th chapter of Exodus, we have recorded the marriage of Jehovah to His bride, the Israel peoples whom He created to be His help-meet on earth, even as He had created a help-meet for Adam by taking one of his ribs from which He created Eve. From out of mankind, God took Abraham and from him He formed the nation of Israel - - HIS WIFE.
It is not our purpose now to study the sorry behavior of this FAITHLESS wife. But we do know that this Kingdom of God became split into the northern and southern houses of Israel, each with its own king. Sometimes, they even engaged in fratricidal wars, and in spite of the warnings of the prophets, they went further and further away into spiritual adultery until Jehovah was forced to cast them off and write them A BILL OF DIVORCE (Isaiah 50:1). From 741 to 580 B.C. the northern house was taken captive into Assyria and the southern house into Babylon.
Many assume that because God cast off His people so utterly, that this was the end of the story, and that the RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LORD AND HIS WIFE WAS FINISHED. We feel sure that the following Scriptures will show how false is this assumption.
The first ten verses, of the 54th chapter of Isaiah deal with the restoration of God’s people. They are especially addressed to northern Israel, who at the time of this prophecy were in dispersion (712 B.C.), while Judah was still in Palestine.
Thus, in verse 1, we read that northern Israel is counselled to sing because of her promised restoration, FOR MORE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE DESOLATE (northern Israel) THAN THE CHILDREN OF THE MARRIED WIFE. (Judah still not cast off.)
She was to be encouraged to enlarge her tents or dwelling places, so that her seed might inherit the Gentiles. She was to fear, because the shame of her youth and the reproach of her widowhood would be forgotten.
Northern Israel fulfilled this by becoming the nation and company of nations (Great Britain and Dominions) and a great people (U.S.A.) as promised to Jacob (Genesis 35:11 and 48:19). Jehovah reassured her by saying, “For thy maker is thy Husband, the Lord of hosts is His Name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called “(Verse 5).Now, in Luke 1:68, we read that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of Israel, and, in Isaiah 53:8, the prophet foretold that Jesus died for the transgressions of HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL. So, we see Jehovah, THE HUSBAND OF ISRAEL, is none other than Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of Israel!”
The Ministry of Maxwell Whyte was not limited to his church in Scarborough, but extended to various churches throughout North America. As a guest, he ministered at the Lake Hamilton Bible Camp in Arkansas, directed by Pastor Glen Miller. Pastor Miller was affiliated with the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International from its inception and was a personal friend with its founder, Demos Shakarian. Pastor Miller is also a believer in the Anglo-Israel truth. His testimony is found in a recent Campground publication, “Voices From His Excellent Glory.” In the article “That’s Truth! That’s Truth! That’s Truth! He tells how the Anglo-Israel truth was divinely revealed to him by the voice of God while standing in Westminster Abbey in London. In this article, which is subtitled, “The So-Called Lost Ten Tribes of Israel-Thirteen”, he gives the account of this supernatural revelation. He writes:
“I have always from my youth, heard about the ten (10) lost tribes and I have heard some say that they are the gypsies.
“However, an unusual happening in Westminster Abbey in London, England, when I was with the Full Gospel Business Men’s airlift of some 750 men, that has since launched me to study the facts. In November of 1965, while a tour guide was telling us the history of of the coronation chair and the stone under it which is Jacob’s pillar or the stone of Scone, GOD spoke to me audibly. He said, “THAT’S TRUTH - THAT’S TRUTH - THAT’S TRUTH’, three times over my left shoulder, in a very loud voice, which no one else seemed to hear. It felt like all the hair on my body was standing on end.
“This caused me to ponder, and begin studying what, “THAT’S TRUTH” is.”
EDWARD OASTLER STEWARD
“Four Outstanding Evangelical Christian Leaders of the 20th Century” by Robert A. Balaicius
Edward Oastler Steward was born in Soham, a small rural town of Cambridgeshire, England in 1903 to Jane Oastler and Thomas William Steward. He was raised with his five sisters and three brothers (he was born sixth) in the village of Exning (near Newmarket, West Suffolk). Later in 1915 the family relocated to Swaythling, Southampton, where they continued in the Protestant faith, but as Plymouth Brethren.
At the age of 18, he began evangelical preaching. In 1926 at the age of 23 he joined the Elim Foursquare Gospel Church, which grew out of Principal George Jeffrey’s Revival Campaign in Southampton. From then Steward took numerous preaching engagements and then married in 1928. In 1929 and 1930 he studied and graduated from Elim Bible College in London and was ordained a minister and for the next 20 years was a minister of various churches and saw numerous souls converted and many people miraculously healed.
In 1940, after deep research, personal study and soul-searching, he became firmly convinced of the Christian-Israel message. During the war he served as an Honorary Chaplain, Captain of a Fire-fighting Unit, and Shelter Warden. He also served on the board of Governors of the Paletine Schools (Blackpool) for two years.
In 1945 he was the founder-member with George Jeffreys (and others) of the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship; he was appointed a member of the
first Advisory Council and for several years he was a member of the Coordinating Council. In 1946 he held evangelistic meetings in churches in France, which experienced many conversions and healings (especially in Nice). He also arranged and participated in George Jeffrey’s Revival Campaign in Nice. In 1947 he attended the first World Conference of Pentecostal Churches in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1948 he spent seven weeks in Stockholm, Sweden and preached at many churches, preaching to over 3,000 people at the Filadelphia Church alone.
In 1950 he became a full-time lecturer for the British-Israel World Federation. He traveled over 300,000 miles delivering over 2,800 messages throughout Great Britain, Ireland, and the Channel Islands before retiring in 1969.
The foregoing testimonies of these Pentecostal Spirit filled men of God are further evidence of the widespread belief and acceptance of the Anglo-Israel message. By the simple fact that a pastor, evangelist or minister believed a certain truth and was widely accepted, clearly indicates that multiplied hundreds or thousands of laymen also believed that same truth in their areas of fellowship.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
The first recorded sermons ever preached by John the Baptist and Jesus were exactly the same. “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matt. 3:1; 4:17. All the parables spoken by our Lord in Matthew 13 are concerning the restoration of the mighty Kingdom of Israel that had once existed in Old Testament times. This Kingdom had consisted of a people that were the physical descendants of the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel.
During the times of the dispersions and captivities as recorded in the Old Testament, this family/kingdom was scattered, ruined and ‘lost’! The New Testament word ‘lost’ as used by our Lord in Matthew 10:6; 15:24; 18:11 does not mean ‘no longer in existence’ or ‘impossible to be found,’ but ‘put away in punishment until the time of restoration.’ Jesus stated that His mission was to go to the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ This statement gave purpose and direction for the earthly ministry of our Lord and the continuing ministry of His disciples.
After following the Lord for over three years and hearing Him teach, His disciples knew well what He taught concerning the restoration of the Kingdom. One burning question which must be answered before their Master departed from them was: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6. The disciples knew that this was one of the reasons for Israel’s Husband/Redeemer coming to Zion. Even the Apostle James referred to this restoration in Acts 15:16 when he said, “After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:”
This restoration was and is to take place through the coming and work of the Holy Spirit. For the last one hundred years the Holy Spirit through many chosen vessels has identified the true family of Jacob/Israel and proclaimed the national message of the Kingdom, yet God’s people have refused to hear. They have even despised the messengers.
It is time for the ‘seventh angel company’ to proclaim; “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” Rev. 11:15. Jesus is coming again to sit upon “the throne of His father David: and to reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end” Luke 1:32-33.
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