Reconsideration of the Vision

UntoHim · 01-12-2009, 02:17 PM

RECONSIDERATION OF THE VISION

by
The Heavenly Voice Of the Truth Guard
January 29, 1988

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE:

Recently a copy of a pamphlet in Chinese was received and the Lord burdened us to translate it into English. The pamphlet contains many quotations from Watchman Nee's book, RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, which has been translated into English and published by the Living Stream under the title of, THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH LIFE. The Living Stream publication of Nee's book omitted large portions that were in the original Chinese manuscript. Therefore, our quotations from Nee's book will refer to the original Chinese publication.

FOREWORD:
In Watchman Nee's Foreword to his book, RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, he states: "We have one purpose, that is, to do our work completely according to the Bible. We have one desire, that is, to do the work according to God's Word. We believe the Bible is God's Word, the highest standard, the perfect example and full of commandments of authority. We do not want our work to come short in any way from God's full and complete written Word recorded for us in the Bible. We want to repeat with Paul, 'I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God' (Acts 20:27). In seeking to follow the leading of God's Spirit, we never would disregard or deviate from His written Word."

Now in retrospect we see that Watchman Nee has shown in his entire life and work that he never deviated from that heavenly vision of Christ and the Church. For this vision he had a good conscience, unfeigned faith, unchangeable love, vast knowledge and even risked and gave his life for its fulfillment. We can say of him that he fought a good fight, he ran the race and was martyred. Hence there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness.

We thank the Lord that through him this vision was imparted to others by the Lord not only in the orient but throughout the world, and thus many churches were established.

The writer is the least of the brothers to undertake this writing, but through the Lord's mercy and the enlightenment he has received since giving himself to the Lord's Recovery, he must discharge the burden of what he has seen coming into the Lord's Recovery which is not according to the original pattern of God's plan and direction. There has been a turn to the world, sin and organized Christianity. Do we want to become a big tree full of leaven? This abnormal development fills those who have discernment with grief, deep sorrow and an intolerance to let it continue. A so-called teaching has been set forth that for the unity of the believers, there can be no opinion and only one trumpet must be sounded. This was very advantageously used to cover up many lies, darkness and fleshly motives and gains. The Bible's way is not to hide evil doings 9Link to, file, but for the sake of the truth to boldly expose that which is contrary to sound biblical principles. (Gal. 2:11-14; I Cor. 5:1-13; Eph. 5:11-13; Rev. 2:12).
Not to have an opinion and to keep silent cannot be accepted by this writer. To do so would be unfaithful to the moving of the Spirit. The writer must record what he has seen, heard and experienced in the light of God's Word and Nee's original vision in his book. Those who read can come to their own conclusions.

I. THE DAYSTAR CASE
We will refer to the most questionable person in this writing as Mr. X. This Mr. X in his messages hints that he is as the Apostle Paul in this age and the only successor to Watchman Nee. However, his practice contradicts his message and does not match what he states. Daystar is a conspicuous example.

A. THE FACT OF THE PRACTICE OF MR. X
1. To finance his oldest son's business ventures, he utilized the contributions of God's people to invest their money under the guise of the need of the work of the Lord. This was not supported in the Far East because they knew of the unstable and unreliable character of Mr. X's son. Also this would bring the local churches there into financial chaos. To our amazement, the elders of the churches in the United States openly persuaded the believers there to invest and told them they would be "killing two birds with one stone" - giving to the Lord and gaining financially. Even at the Lord's table, announcements and requests were made for this business. Mr. X had special meetings where he used the blackboard to point out the figures of halls to be built and moneys gained by investing in this business.
2. Mr. X arranged to have his eldest son as president of this company. Later the son mentioned to some saints that 2.5 million U. S. dollars disappeared from his hands.
3. Many saints were pressured to give their life savings to this business.
4. At that time the Lord sovereignly intervened in causing an oil crisis which forced large vehicles as motor homes to be unwanted in the market and this forced the business to go bankrupt.
5. Mr. X then asked one of his co-workers, a Mr. M, to persuade the saints, who invested their money to consider the investment as a donation and not seek to be reimbursed. Many were stumbled at this and left the churches, and others who continued to demand reimbursement were ignored by Mr. X.
6. This hindered the expansion of the Lord's Recovery in the States and caused Mr. M to rise to the "top" position among the churches.

B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
1. Although Acts 18 tells us that Paul, Aquilla and Priscilla engaged in tent making for a living, this was a personal matter and did not involve or pressure the churches to participate. In the entire Bible there is no instance of any apostle engaging in any business venture with churches or saints.
2. On the contrary, Nehemiah 13:8-9 tells us that Nehemiah cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber and commanded that the house of God be cleansed.
3. Matt. 21 shows us how the Lord cast out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling.

C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK.
1. Since Brother Nee does not approve of so-called "Faith Mission", he would never involve saints in any business venture to raise funds for the work. He states, "Although the 'Faith Mission' is a corporate way to trust in God, it is better to trust Him as an individual than corporately. In Scripture we see individual faith, but we see no such thing as corporate faith" (Chapter 9). The "Faith Mission" could only affect a coworker's individual faith, but "Daystar" damaged churches and brought saints into serving mammon.
2. "To test who is a false apostle, money is the biggest trial. Whoever is not clear regarding money or shows greediness, must be a false apostle. The Apostle Paul in helping saints in Jerusalem sent two saints with money. How honest and upright he is! Whenever money touches us and our work is influenced by money, then we have the possibility of becoming a false apostle, even though we started out as a true apostle". (Chapter 2) Compare this upright attitude with Mr. X's appointment of his own son as president of the Company. This puts him in a position that invites suspicion.

II. MR. M'S CASE
A. BEHIND THE SCENES OF MR. M'S RISING UP
1. Because Mr. M was able to persuade the saints to forget the loans they made to the Company, thus relieving Mr. X. of reimbursing large sums of borrowed amounts, he was elevated to the high position of what seemed to be Mr. X's successor. On many occasions and meetings, the choice seat next to Mr. X was reserved for Mr. M. It was obvious to all at this time that Mr. M was the intimate companion and comrade of Mr. X.
2. Mr. M's manner of life is exactly the same as Mr. X. He instigated young people to despise their elders on the pretext of dealing with "oldness" in the church. (Only Mr. X himself could never grow old). A deep gap resulted between the young people and the older saints. Mr. M first made Mr. X an idol, then he made himself to be the golden calf. During that period of time only Mr. X and Mr. M appeared in the eyes of the young people. Their ears were deaf to anything an older co-worker or elder had to say. In 1977 a disturbing weekend occurred in Berkeley, California. It was a shameful event and gave the enemy much ground to attack the Lord's Recovery.
3. The confusion and trouble returned to Mr. X who was no longer useful to carry on with Mr. M so he manipulated another co-worker to take the lead to condemn Mr. M's actions. All the blame was put on Mr. M and announcements (sic) were made to the churches that Mr. M was an "evil one who sneaked into the Lord's Recovery without Mr. X's knowledge." So ended the career of Mr. M with Mr. X's ministry.

B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
1. "For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) In selecting man, God looks on man's heart, not on his ability.
2. On the one hand the Bible admonishes young people not to despise their youth and to be ambitious to attain the office of an elder, yet on the other hand, I Peter 5:5 states that younger men are to be subject to elders. In contrast, Mr. X would tell the young people to respect the elderly saints, but not listen to them or follow their ways; they were too old and useless.
3. Acts 20:28 states that the Holy Spirit placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God. Therefore the Apostle in seeking the leading-of the Spirit in appointing elders can only appoint those to lead God's flock who were already appointed by the Spirit Himself. Even greater consideration must be given in the choice of co-workers. Personal preference and family ties must be disregarded. If a seeming wrong choice is made, the Apostle himself must bear the responsibility and not "fire" the worker or give the excuse that he crept in unawares.

C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK
l. Chapter 7 states that a younger co-worker must be subject to the older co-worker.
2. In Chapter 7 he goes on to state that in joining together to work corporately, the fellowship must always be spontaneous because there is always the danger of coming together in an organized way without the prompting of the Spirit which leads to the direction of man rather than heeding the voice of God. Those in "lower" positions might be restricted by those in "higher" positions. Mr. M was a pawn in the hand of Mr X. Neither really sought the guidance of the Spirit but carried on man-made maneuvers until they collapsed in sheer exhaustion, or God in His sovereignty intervened.

III. THE USURPATION OF THE SECOND SON
Upon the departure of Mr M, many opposing books were published. Although they did not state the truth in its entirety, many of their observations regarding Mr. X were accurate and not fabricated from their imaginations. Due to the fact that the points in question were deleted from the written publications of Mr. X's ministry, verifications cannot be made. However, numerous cassettes and videos bear witness to the observations of the so-called opposers. During the lawsuit the saints were warned and pressured to keep silent, and many voluntarily kept silent for the sake of the Lord's Recovery. On some occasions when outsiders sought to interview saints, only special ones were selected who were "safe" to be interviewed.
During the lawsuit, Mr. X conducted himself in a humble even fearful manner. But upon the successful conclusion of the trial, instead of clearing the way for the Recovery to go on, it became the opportunity for the second son to rise up and to bring in a far greater devastation than Mr. M could ever dream of.

A. THE PROGRESS OF THE USURPATION OF THE SECOND SON
1. The second son does not like to attend the church meetings, and also held no proper position in the business world. Yet Mr. X placed him as the manager of his ministry office. For more than ten years the impression he gave to the saints was one of arrogance, loose conduct, abusive language and behaviour (sic). There was no evidence that he could possibly be a regenerated child of God. His explosive temper and erratic emotional behavior caused many difficulties among those who handled the book sales in the local churches. This caused many complaints. But Mr. X stated, "The Ministry Station is my private kitchen, and I have the right to choose my own cooking helper." Mr. X seems to forget that the building of the Ministry Station was donated and built by the saints, and its daily work is mostly accomplished by the free services of the saints. (There are only a few full time compensated employees in the Ministry Station). Even up to this present time the Ministry Station requests each local church to take a turn to send saints to perform all kinds of uncompensated labor. Besides all of the free voluntary help, special offering boxes were placed in the business work areas for the saints to contribute their offerings. If it is a private business why are the saints asked to serve gratis and also give donations. This is certainly robbing God's house for a business.
2. Since the publications are put out by the free labor of the saints and offerings are given, should not the overhead expenses be very low? Yet the actual prices of the publications are much higher than those of other book dealers. What is the reason for this? None other than the profit motive.
3. The second son suggested to Mr. X to have bi-annual trainings where a $50 fee is charged to attend. This fee must be paid whether the training is attended "live" or via video. This mandatory fee is actually called a "donation". What a cloak for practicing godliness as a means of gain. Yet Mr. X mocks theological seminaries and denominations. The trainings have set rules formulated by the second son. A set figure of those who may attend from each church is given. The total amount of that number must be sent in several months before the training. If there are cancellations, no refunds are made. It is most unreasonable to charge a fee for a video training since the church premises are used for the training meetings, and it is specifically stated that these meetings are "not church meetings, but training meetings." The video tapes are rented by the church and the church equipment is used. There is no so-called training teacher yet a fee must be paid. This fee given to the Ministry Station is pure profit for there are no expenses to be deducted, all expenses are all borne by the churches and the saints.
4. Before the second son's rising up, Mr. X did not allow Chinese-speaking meetings to be held in the States in order to avoid division. During that period many new immigrants from the Ear East who were not fluent in English seemed to be cut off from the church life so many were lost to the denominations. Only those who clearly saw the vision faithfully remained in the Lord's Recovery. Later, some saints were burdened to have Chinese-speaking home meetings in addition to the regular meetings of the church. After the Berkeley disturbance, most of the English work among the Caucasians came to a standstill. Then Mr. X suddenly concentrated on Chinese-speaking meetings. He separated the Chinese-speaking meetings from the local churches and called them "ministry meetings". He appointed his second son as the responsible one for the Chinese work. Thus the second son became a spiritual giant even though his status as a Christian was questionable. He sat on his appointed throne and summoned Chinese leading brothers to give service instructions. He stated that he was the only person who had the power to influence Mr. X. Many ambitious leading ones who were seeking for the right and left seats of the throne flattered him and showered him with tea cups. What a deplorable scene. Proverbs 30 says that there are three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not...To us the second son sitting on the throne is a far more incredible thing.
5. Many co-workers and elders often counselled (sic) Mr. X to restrain his second son. Mr. X would not heed any such advice but rather elevated him to be the General Manager of the Ministry Station. He stated that the saints must be one with the ministry and one with the ministry office. He actually personified the office. He stated that he must be followed and equally his son must be followed. The new young leaders informed the churches that everything must first be reported to Mr. X and his second son to have their approval. This was not only outrageous, but these ambitious ones "ganged up" and formed a special party in the churches. This deepened the mistakes of Mr. X just as Eli and Solomon in their latter years. The writer believes that the Lord will also speak to Mr. X saying, "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people." (I Samuel 2:29-30).
6. On the one hand Mr. X says that Mr. M was an evil one who crept into the Lord's Recovery. On the other hand, he elevated the followers of Mr. M and made them to be the followers of his second son. The only change was the general, from Mr. M to the second son. However this "slight" change caused far more damage. It had a greater influence on Mr. X and caused the situation to deteriorate, degenerate and worsen to its lowest level.
7. The rising up of the second son has degraded the church. It is now no longer on the local ground of oneness. It has become a sectarian denomination -- the Company of Mr. X and son. Money, the world and sin have replaced the genuine testimony. The followers of the second son under the guise of the so-called "Ministry" uttered many nonsensical and ridiculous statements as:
a. "Mr. X is our king. The king has the right to give his throne to his own son."
b. "In the Old Testament the Israelites served God in the tabernacle. Actually they were serving Aaron and his two sons. Today Mr. X is our high priest Aaron. Therefore we should serve Mr. X and his two sons."
c. "Although Mary was more spiritual than Joseph, yet the Word of God often came to Joseph first. Then through his mouth, it was passed on to Mary. Likewise our God speaks to the second son (who is not quite spiritual) first, then through his mouth, the Word of God passes on to Mr. X and then to the churches."
d. "One who wants to serve our Lord must establish a good relationship with the second son. Otherwise he has no way to stand firm."
e. "Our need is not only to be one with Mr. X, but to repent and confess to the second son so we can be one with him. This is the prerequisite of having a proper church life to serve the Lord."
f. "We have to learn from the example of the Red Guards in communist China to be the Blue Guards, so we can support and protect Mr. X. We must even learn from Satan who is always one step ahead of God to do the works."

8. The above mentioned words causes one to wonder whether the spirit of politics has entered into some dear saints. Many of the actions of recent years duplicate those of the cultural revolution in mainland China.
a. Mr. X appointed his second son as his successor to take over "the ministry" and to make the Lord's Recovery to be the Company of Mr. X and Son.
b. Mr. X states that what he is doing in Taiwan now is a revolutionary work. He must change the system thoroughly. The followers of the second son announced that the Blue Guards are the battle unit for the "System Reform".
c. The cultural revolution in communist China was to stir up those who by force would get rid of the oldness. The followers of the second son shouted: "Up with 1, 2, 3. Down with 4, 5, 6". That is, up with those in their teens, twenties and thirties, and down with those in their forties, fifties, and sixties. All the co-workers and elders over forty are too old. They need to be replaced with young co-workers and young elders under forty.
d. Due to the faith of the elderly co-workers and elders to Christ and the church, they would never compromise with the world and sin. Therefore, they did not approve of the second son and his followers. That is why they were considered obstacles and they were to be eliminated. In 1985, Mr. X publicly condemned the elderly co-workers and elders. Many times in the meetings held in Taiwan, he said, "we should fire them all." At the same time, Mr. X elevated arrogant young leaders to replace the older ones. He encouraged the young people to get rid of the older saints in all the churches under the slogan of the "New man walks in the new way." The battle was kindled to chase away those who hold different opinions. The result is division, distrust and no peace in the churches today.
e. All kinds of reasons were invented to squeeze money from the churches. An assigned contribution amount was given to each church to be turned into the Ministry Station. In recent years, huge sums from the churches all over the world have been turned in to the Ministry Station with no clear financial statement given to account for these monies (Link to file, LSM Finances)

B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
1. The Bible tells us that in appointing church elders or deacons, they must be a good pattern to the flock (I Peter 5:3). They should be those already appointed by the Holy Spirit who serve in that local church before the apostle's appointment (Acts 20:28). Their manner of life "must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach, not an excessive drinker (Link to, file Philip Accounts), not a striker, but forbearing, not contentious, not fond of money; one who manages well his own household, having his children in subjection with all gravity..." (I Timothy 3:2-13). Such serious consideration should have concerned Mr. X much more in choosing his successor to handle the so-called "the Ministry" work for the Lord's Recovery. Yet, out of his selfish motivation, he appointed his own son whose character contradicts I Timothy 3 in every aspect. This evil one misrepresents the testimony of the Lord's Recovery. He puts all of us in a shameful situation. We cannot understand how such a seemingly spiritual leader as Mr. X could be so blind and numb to this extent.
2. "And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also, go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." (I Kings 22:22-23). The genuine Lord's worker ought to be as the prophet Micaiah who spoke for the Lord boldly without reservation. Yet, today those followers of Mr. X's second son, (formerly the followers of Mr. M) twist the truth with a defiled conscience, just as those false prophets in the time of Micaiah lied to cover up the eyes of the king. These followers are digging the tombs for Mr. X and his son.
3. Mr. X often cited Acts 15:36-41 and said: "Because Barnabas respected his nephew Mark more than the work of the Lord, therefore, from that point on, the Holy Spirit never recorded Barnabas' work." Ironically, Mr. X himself respected his own flesh son more than the testimony of the Lord. Is his son more spiritual and does he have more love for the Lord and His work than Mark?
4. In the past, we have seen the Lord's will and determined to discard anything contrary to His revelation, such as denominations, worldly organizations, the letter of the law, sins, fleshly things, etc. But now, Mr. X and his second son are as dogs returning to their own vomit and treating dung as treasures. This situation parallels the Bible's statement: "for if having escaped the defilements of the world by the full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and having again been entangled in these, they are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it were better for them not to have fully known the way of righteousness, than fully knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb: The dog has turned to its own vomit, and the washed now to wallowing in the mud." (2 Peter 2: 17-22).

C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK
1. "To discern whether one is an apostle or not, depends upon his calling from God and if he is sent by Him." (Chaper 2)(sic)
"God's workers should not form a centralized mission organization. They may have a kind of association. Nevertheless, it should not be a man-made organized association: it should be a spiritual association. God Himself must be the master in such an association. Nobody should have a certain position or job in this association. Man-made organizations exercise authority to control others through a chairman, committee leader etc. They instruct and outline the work of others. But the biblical association is never organized." (Chapter 9)
Today our difficulty is having one among us who is not called by the Lord, but merely appointed by his foolish father, to occupy a position for which he is not qualified. He unjustly abuses the called ones. The situation is as stated in Galatians 4:29, "But as then he that was born according to flesh persecuted him that was born according to Spirit, so also it is now."
2. "And also money becomes the authority. whoever holds the wallet has the authority. Money controls man. Whoever is financially supported is controlled by the supporter." (Chapter 9)
In the past, full-timers in the Lord's Recovery were absolutely initiated by God's calling to live by faith. Brother Nee states: "The prerequisite of being a full-time co-worker is that he must be able to trust in God." Please pay attention to today's fallen situation. The ones who are truly called of God are regarded as part of the "oldness", but those who merely volunteered and responded emotionally at "highly charged" meetings and were given a number to be a so-called "co-worker" of Mr. X now try to lord it over the saints endeavoring to teach them the "new way". Every local church was strictly commanded to support one fulltimer out of nineteen members. This was according to the calculations of Mr. X and not of faith. The second son has authority over the full-timers. What a shame to the testimony of the Lord's Recovery.

IV. CHECK-LIST OF BEING A TRUE APOSTLE
A. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE BE PUFFED UP?
1. From reading the Epistles of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and Brother Nee's book, we sense the humbleness and meekness of the apostles. They never seek to lord it over the saints, but become patterns of the flock. I Peter 5:5 states that God resists the proud. One who is puffed up imitates the devil (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 26:17).
2. On the contrary, in hit messages, Mr. X always likes to haughtily express his spiritual knowledge, and despises others. For example, he states: "If I don't speak these things to you, you will never know them." He likes to indicate to the saints that he is today's Apostle Paul, the sole spiritual leader.
He especially loves flattering words. No wonder those leaders of the Blue Guards wrote hymns to praise him in the meetings. They gave him titles of: "today's Aaron", "the king of the Church", "President", "the sole and the last Minister", "God-man" etc. Accepting such praise and adoration proves he is in darkness. He never tried to stop or correct these praisers, but accepted their adulations with pleasure. Recently a most shocking new name was invented in Taiwan by those followers. According to them, there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One" -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one. What blasphemy! Here we request that whoever invented such diabolical theology should certainly be stopped from disseminating such false teaching.

B. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE INSULT CO-WORKERS AND ELDERS PUBLICLY?
1. In the Bible we never see any apostle criticizing others except in relation to protecting the truth. There is no apostle in the Bible who publicly insults and looks down on others. 11 Corinthians 12:12 says: "Indeed, the signs of the apostle were wrought among you in all endurance, by signs and wonders and works of power." In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee states: "The most powerful spiritual ability is endurance, endure and forgive with joy." (Chapter 2)
2. But what we have seen and heard from Mr. X is a self-exalted spiritual leader who despises and criticizes co-workers. He openly insults them, defiles them and puts them into situations where they are no longer able to function in the church properly. Mr. X actually rebuked co-workers with the following words:
a.' "Your message (sic) is out-dated, not fitting for this age."
b. "He is doing his own work, not the work of MY ministry."
c. "He is the cancer of the church."
d. "Who told you to come? I hate to see you!"
e. "They are too old, they ought to be fired!"
Should a true apostle be allowed to have such an attitude? Is he worthy to be the leader of a "co-workers' association"? If a co-worker did speak disappointing words, Mr. X should fellowship with him privately to cause him to function more effectively in the future. Such words as, "You are fired" prove that co-workers in Mr. X's eyes are not the co-workers together with God, servants of God, but just his slaves.

C. WHAT IS THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARD MONEY FOR A TRUE APOSTLE?
1. The Bible says: "You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24). RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK also states: "To test who is the false apostle, money is the biggest trial."
2. For his eldest son's benefits, Mr. X planned the "Daystar" and caused many saints to lose their life-savings. His attitude in dealing with the "Daystar" case was not upright. He appointed his own son as the president of the Company, and did not righteously settle the loans made to the Company when it went bankrupt. Even later when the financial situation of the so-called "the Ministry" was improved, he never thought to reimburse the saints who loaned large sums of money. On the contrary, he allowed himself and his sons' families to live luxuriously. He not only is far below the tax collector Zaccheus in Luke 19:8, but worse than unbelievers. The Lord says: "Unless your righteousness surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heaven." (Matthew 5:20)
3. Mr. X encourages his second son to invent many ways to squeeze money from the saints.
4. Lately certain indications were given to the elders of many churches through the chief of the "Blue Guards" that the churches should donate a certain amount monthly to Mr. X to express their thankfulness. Some churches donate a thousand dollars monthly, and some three hundred dollars monthly. This kind of donation coincidentally started in 1987. This proves that it was not spontaneous and voluntary, but coerced by the hints, suggestions and compulsive promptings of his indoctrinated ones.
5. Many new pretexts were created to collect offerings from churches, such as: "Ministry Station in such-and-such location", "full-timers' apartment", "great meeting hall for training"... Eventually this sucked in millions of dollars from churches and caused many churches to fall into a financial crisis. The real use of these offerings was never reported to the churches. It is the mystery of mysteries as to who owns the property and money of "his own kitchen".
6. Many saints live simply and economically in order to save "two small copper coins of the needy widow" for the Lord. On the contrary, the luxurious living situation of Mr. X and his sons is really unbelievable! According to the second son's self boasting, the value of his wrist watch is more than ten thousand dollars. Their household equipment and furniture are of the top quality and brands. Mr. X also has his own private apartments in several locations as Irving, Sttutgart, Germany and Taiwan where it is the job of one full-timer to monitor the temperature of his apartment twenty-four hours a day.
Many indications reveal that he may have formerly been a true apostle, but because of the influence of money, he is walking toward the way of a false apostle. "He is blinded with pride ... supposing godliness to be a means of gain." (I Timothy 6:4-5). Money catches man the most. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, but he was not a betrayer from the very beginning. At first he was one of the twelve disciples chosen by the Lord. But because he was unable to overcome the temptation of the thirty pieces of silver, he fell into an unforgivable situation, even though he repented and returned the silver. Later he hanged himself." (Matthew 27:3-5).

D. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE BLINDLY SPOIL HIS OWN SON, HONOR HIS FLESH SON MORE THAN THE LORD AND THE CHURCHES AND CO-WORKERS, AND DISREGARD THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD?
Nearly every co-worker dealt with or fired by Mr. X was simply because he could not tolerate the evil doings of the second son. Those who would not worship nor flatter the second son, were not only humiliated and insulted by the second son, but also condemned by Mr. X. Mr. X never tried to restrain his own son.

We really cannot fathom why Mr. X has such a weakness as to be threatened by his son, and give in to his unreasonable and unjust demands. We wish he would wake up and not step into the path of old Eli.

E. REGARDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE WORK, IS THE "DAYSTAR" BUSINESS AND SUPPORTING ONE FULL-TIMER BY EVERY NINETEEN MEMBERS THE VISION GIVEN BY BROTHER NEE?
1. Although the Bible says: "Those who announce the gospel live of the gospel" (I Corinthians 9:14). In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee explained: "What is the meaning of those who announce the gospel should live of the gospel? Does it mean to receive a fixed amount from others, or a regular salary from the church? No, when the Apostle Paul uttered these words, he had no thought of a salary. His meaning is that those who labor for God are worthy to accept gifts from other saints. These gifts are not periodic, in fixed amounts, out of duty, or by force. It is the believers' heart moved by God to give for the necessities of life to God's workers. God's workers apparently receive the gifts from man's hand, but actually it is the result of their trusting in God. God answered their prayers, and met their need through the saints. This kind of receiving of gifts is the real meaning of 'living of the gospel'." Furthermore, Brother Nee says: "One thing we ought to remember is that in the Epistles there are some exhortations of giving to needy saints, and of caring for the need of the local elders, but there is no mention that we should offer money to workers for the need of the work" (Chapter 9). On the one hand we feel that we should receive the burden from God to take care of the need of co-workers (in the past years, we did practice this kind of caring), yet on the other hand, in order to avoid the degradation, we agree with what Brother Nee has said: "If anyone cannot trust God, he is not qualified to be a fulltime worker."
2. The Apostle Paul and Brother Nee's attitude is absolutely different to that of today's Mr. X. He openly allocate offerings for the churches, his second son to coerce the co-workers' by grab the wallets of the saints. The results of his wrong leading are;
a. The testimony of the Lord's Recovery is defiled and we are back in the way of denominations.
b. The principle of the Lord's work is reversed that "the ministry should be for the churches, not the churches for the ministry'." This will cause us to be the most stubborn denomination due to the fact of "the ministry's control over the churches" (so-called ministry replaces the position of the Holy Spirit and the Bible).
c. Many full-time co-workers are produced who are not called, but initiated by man, and guaranteed a salary, (of course, there are always a few geniune (sic) workers, but the motivation of the majority is doubtful). We heard that some full-timers bargained with their local church for their amount of support.
d. Many local churches fell into a financial crisis. There were even problems of meeting regular expenses. And yet the Ministry office continues to bill churches monthly, causing many churches to be in debt. We don't know what action the Ministry office will take to have those accounts paid. Perhaps they will force churches to sell their meeting halls, or they will take over the churches' property.
e. Elders of churches who bear the financial burden often beg in the church meetings for more donations. As a result, many become tired and bored. Meetings lack the life supply, but are full of outward burden, and of course, the attendence (sic) becomes less and less.
(REMARKS: The mathematics of Mr. X is illogical and ridiculous. Out of nineteen members of a local church, many are retired, jobless, widows, students, domestic wives, or needy saints who don't have sufficient to meet their own need. Those who have a proper income and have the spiritual burden are not so many. They probably are less than one quarter. Yet Mr. X shouts, "every nineteen members ought to support one full-timer!")

F. TO SET UP THE MINISTRY OFFICE TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE WORK OF THE WHOLE WORLD, IS THIS THE VISION OF BROTHER NEE?
1. From the Bible we see that workers may have their association, but in RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee said: "Their association is not an organized association, but a spiritual association." It means, there is no organization, no names, but only a few workers coordinated together, yet not a fixed entity. Brother Nee continues: "All the apostles united together to manage the entire work. There is no such thing in the Bible. Neither does Bible have a centralized organization formed by workers. Such is the Roman way, not the biblical way. The Bible never shows us that all the apostles unite to be an organization, under a central authority, controlling the work. Although Paul has a group of co-workers, and Peter has another group of his co-workers, they are just a few among the apostles, and not all the apostles joining together to a group. There is a need for workers to be united together, yet workers should fear being united by a man-made organization, which hinders God's servants from the leading of the Spirit, and brings them under the charge of a man, to be man's slaves" (Chapter 7).
2. Can you find "the ministry station" in the Bible? Workers of God, are you sure that you are able to freely work under the guidance (sic) of the Spirit? Who dares to testify from his conscience that he is not under the guidance of Mr. X? Who never encountered difficulty with Mr. X's second son? Those who were truly called were openly put to shame; those who were not, persecuted the former: Does not this situation prove that the Ministry Station is a centralized organization?

G. IS EVERY AGE ONLY ALLOWED TO HAVE ONE SPIRITUAL LEADER?
1. Mr. X often cites Acts 1 to 12 that Peter was the sole leader of that age; after chapter 12, Peter's ministry ceased. That is why from chapter 12 on, only Paul's ministry was recorded. From chapter 13, Paul was the sole leader of the age. And then through his messages, Mr. X describes himself as the heir of the sole leader. He is the Apostle Paul of this age, the last and the sole minister to welcome the coming of the Lord. He actually puts other co-workers' portion and function aside.
a. He describes the Apostle Paul as the architect of the New Testament economy, and then portrays himself as "the sole leader of the ministry of this age. He is the only one who is able to design and give instruction according to the Lord's up-to-date move. He also says that he is the general of the battle unit. He never allows any different opinion. He will punish you if you dare to have another opinion.
b. He gives himself all the credit of establishing local churches through out the whole world. He ignores the work of others. He moves and removes co-workers and elders according to his own plans. He even boasts: "I don't care if anyone regards me as a Pope."
2. In the Old Testament, Christ Himself was not yet on this earth. Therefore, Moses, Joshua, David etc. typified Christ. They were the representative authorities, the sole leaders of their own age.
But in the New Testament, Christ has come. The Lord told us that there is only One (the Lord Himself) Master, and we all are brothers (sic). Brother Nee states: "We ought to know that the Holy Spirit on earth is the Executor of Christ. Today He has no need of another manager. Our difficulty is that we would like to have a person who has a higher position in order to control us. It seems only through him, we could understand the will of God."
For Mr. X to say that Peter's ministry ceased after Acts 12 and was replaced by Paul is a nonsensical twisting of the Bible. In Acts 15 we see that Peter vindicated the truth. The Epistles of Peter were written later than Acts 28. Those two Epistles are so precious. Although the Apostle Peter was martyred several years earlier than Paul, the Apostle John was never off the central message of the New Testament ministry. Neither do we see that any one of the twelve original Apostle (including the Apostle John) were ever under the guidance of the Apostle Paul.
a. The Bible tells us that all the plans of the building up of the church have been designed by Christ before the foundation of the world (Proverb 8:22-31; Ephesians 1:10; 3:9). Nothing is left for apostles (including Paul and Peter) to complete. They are merely "wise master builders" (I Corinthians 3:10). There is no place for Mr. X to carry on supplementary design as Mr. X boasted. To say this is not only a blasphemy to God, but also an insult to the Apostle Paul and Brother Nee.
b. Ephesians 3:11-12 says: "And He gave some apostles... for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ." Brother Nee also mentioned:
"Each one has his own ministry. God raised up different withnesses (sic) in each age, and gave them special new light to do the time-fitting testimony."
As far as we know, God did raise many faithful apostles among us, to go to Europe, South America, Japan, South-east Asia, Taiwan, the United States, and Canada, who established many churches. Even before Mr. X fled to Taiwan from mainland China, the Church in Taipei was already set up by some ordinary workers. Almost every local church in Taiwan was started by ordinary saints, none of them were simply out of Mr. X's labor. The situation is the same in other areas, such as: Brother S labored in Europe, Brothers C, Y, and H worked in Japan, Brother T, and a certain apostle, were often insulted openly by Mr. X as having typical "oldness". They set up the churches in Brazil. Even in the United States, long before Mr. X came to the States, the testimony of the Lord's Recovery was already brought in through the translation of Brother Nee's books. The Lord started the good work among the saints. Paul says; "Not boasting without measure in others' labors" (II Corinthians 10:15). But Mr. X robbed the results of others' labors and counted his coming to the States as the start of the Lord's Recovery in America. Paul told the Corinthians: "If to others I am not an apostle, yet surely I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord" (I Corinthians 9:2). If Mr. X who dwelt only in some locations can be regarded as an apostle, then surely those co-workers who were sent by God to different localities to set up the churches are apostles also. And yet those true apostles became the sacrifices of Mr. X and Son's Company. One by one, they were fired or phased-out under the pretext of "oldness", and this has resulted in today's horrible "Pope" situation.

H. WHAT IS THE SYSTEM REFORM? WHAT IS THE NEW WAY?
1. In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee says: "In God's work, He never leaves any room for us to think. We human beings are afraid of employing unwise servants, but God is afraid of using servants who are too smart. God only needs man to subject to Him and to listen to Him. God doesn't need man's counsel. Paul said. 'Who has been His counselor'? Man likes to be a counselor, but God doesn't like it. God arranged all the works. There is nothing left for us to think."
2. But today among us there is someone who likes to be God's counselor. He invented many new ways in order to gain money, and these new ways also helped to transfer power to his second son.
a. Why has the Lord's Recovery stood still in these recent years in the States? It is due to the following causes: "Daystar case", "Mr. M's rising up". "The usurpation of the second son". "The pride of Mr. X and the counter-attack by Christianity which he criticized excessively".
Our need is to deal with the above-mentioned causes. Mr. X should not condemn other co-workers for their "oldness". In order to cover up his own faults, he learned the way of expansion from some extreme groups in the denominations, and he called it "the New Way". Moreover, in order to elevate his young followers, and to increase the power of his ministry office over the local churches, he initiated "the System Reform" to chase out all the elderly co-workers and elders. The so-called "the New Way" and "the System Reform" are the masks for him to carry out an evil plot.
b. What should we regard as "New"? Is it something that we could not find in the Bible? Does it someone to be God's counselor in order to have some brand new design? Mr. X is an expert to arouse man's soul. He loves to create many new terms to make his sayings special. Actually if we consider the content of the so-called (sic) "New way", there is nothing new in the Bible and in our church life practices such as: "preaching the gospel by doorknocking", "baptising (sic) people", "visiting the saints", "home meetings", "the entire family gathered for Bible reading, singing and enjoying the Lord together", "confessing sins", "group meetings", "experiencing the Lord in the daily living, functioning in the meetings to exhibit Christ", "exercising the spirit, experiencing the salvation of the soul", "offering money, and taking care of the needs of the full-timers" etc.
If we really want to pick up something new in this recent movement, please read the following: "fire the elderly co-workers and elders", "up with 1, 2, 3; down with 4, 5, 6", "older saints and younger elders", "every nineteen members should support one full-timer", "the Ministry Station", "the sole and last minister", "to be God's counselor", "write hymns to praise Mr. X", "the one who doesn't like to attend meetings is in charge of the co-workers", "the king of the church", "pass on the power to the son", "must wear the uniform to knock on doors", "before we go out for door-knocking, we have to deal with our cultural background by standing on chairs and shouting", we must turn left to knock on the next door", "preaching the gospel you are only allowed to read the pamphlet (each pamphlet sold at 50 cents to help make the second son rich)", "no questions and explanations are allowed in door-knocking, you must baptize (sic) a new one in 15 minutes", "in home meetings we are only allowed to read the Life Lessons", "overseas telephone transfer the actual scene of Mr. X's messages (we heard that this pleased Mr. X to the uttermost)", "donate $50 for the training", "functioning in the meetings as a drug addict", "awarded a star medal for baptizing (sic) every ten person", "door-knocking provides the opportunity for God to rearrange His predestination", "graduation ritual of the full-timers training" etc. These are really "new", you cannot even find them in the denominations. Many new terms replaced the old terms. We have no need of such a "New Way"! If our attitude is wrong, then, let us borrow the words from Brother Nee: "If this is our mistake today, we will keep these 'mistakes' forever! May the Lord preserve our 'mistakes' until that day".

I. MR. X SAID: "IF ANYONE DOES NOT FOLLOW MY WAYS. IT MEANS HE DOES NOT RECEIVE ME, THEN HE OUGHT TO BURN MY MESSAGES AND BOOKS OWNED BY HIM." IS IT REASONABLE?
The Bible says: "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, Saying, The Scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses' seat. All things, therefore, whatever they tell you, do and keep; but do not do according to their works. for they say and do not do. And they bind heavy burdens which are hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger" (Matthew 23:14).
The Scribes and the Pharisees seated in Moses' seat, means that what they spoke was according to the books of the law, that is, the Old Testament. As far as they speak the Words of God, they are the truth. The nature of the truth does not change simply because of the speaker's status. So we ought to observe them regardless of who is the speaker. Due to the fact that the speaker's conduct did not match his words, the Lord Jesus told us that we should not do according to their works.
Likewise, if Mr. X's messages are according to the Bible, we have no reason to reject them. because what we are receiving are the Words of God and not the thoughts of man. We have read some spiritual books which were written by the Roman Catholics, for instance, "The Fragrance of Myrrh" by Madame Guyon, but we do not accept the organization and the way of the Roman Catholics. We accept the revelation of "Justification by Faith" from Martin Luther, yet we reject Lutheranism. We got many helps from the Brethren books, but we never became the "Brethren" just because we read their books, and also we would not burn their books. Mr. X's messages are the result of standing on other saints' shoulders, especially on Brother Nee's. And we paid a high price for his many books. We don't see any reason to burn them.
Mr. X's practice and ways contradict his own messages, just like the Scribes and the Pharisees in the ancient times. We do receive their good points, but not their short-comings, especially not their works. If we accept both Mr. X's words and works, this will cause us to worship ham as an idol and result in our being another denomination. It is a sin against our God.

CONCLUSION
Today we have many questions in the Lord's Recovery. In order for us to press on, we need to clarify those questions. According to the writer's understanding, almost every co-worker of his early years, does not agree with the recent works of Mr. X. Does that mean that everyone but him, does not see the heavenly vision? This pamphlet represents the voices of many. What we ask is to clarify these questions which will enable us to press on. We are not judging things according to right or wrong. In that day, we will all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. Only He is our judge. Today we hope that we may keep an undefiled conscience toward God, toward men and toward ourselves.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord's Recovery, please do not read this pamphlet with colored glasses, but with a pure heart. Check with the pure Words in the Bible. Whether you are included in this writing or just a third party, if you have the peace in your conscience, then forget this writing. However, if your conscience bothers you, then that could be the Lord rebuking you through this writing. Please be sure to come back to the Lord and thoroughly deal with all the wrong doings. It is everyone's responsibility to protect the testimony of the Lord's Recovery.

Regarding the financial questions, we hope that the ministry office will put out a detailed statement by a CPA firm, or let IRS or FRANCHISE TAX BOARD examine all financial matters.
The contents of this pamphlet are only for the dear ones in the Lord's Recovery. Please do not show this to outsiders, so that our testimony will not be damaged. You are welcome to copy it and distribute it to others in the Lord's Recovery. May the Lord be with you all. Amen.

January 29, 1988
by THE HEAVENLY VOICE OF THE TRUTH GUARD

Indiana · 01-13-2009, 10:45 PM

This writing UntoHim has posted was obviously a sincere attempt by the author to address very serious concerns during the late 80s turmoil. The excerpt below from John Ingalls' book refers to the writing (its title in blue, further down), as he also describes the tumultuous atmosphere in which the pamphlet was referred to in what was to be John's final elders' conference meeting with Brother Lee.
Conference and Elders’ Meeting in Pasadena - November 1988
see:
http://localchurchdiscussions.com/vB...hread.php?t=47

ps8602 · 01-14-2009, 02:24 PM

UntoHim

I found this article to be very disturbing. As one who has been around the recovery since the 70's I can testify that there are a number of items that are grossly incorrect, whether this is because of rumours and false stories or made up by the author I have no idea.

One example should be sufficient:

The article states:

"Recently a most shocking new name was invented in Taiwan by those followers. According to them, there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One" -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one. What blasphemy! Here we request that whoever invented such diabolical theology should certainly be stopped from disseminating such false teaching."

There is a teaching printed by LSM as follows:

“Because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one with the Body of Christ, we may say that the Triune God is now “the four-in-one God”; these four are the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Body”. (From an the outline of Message 8 used at “The Vision, Experience, and Practice of the All-Inclusive Oneness International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones” - Spring 2008)

The article refers to this teaching and has the reader believe WL taught that ‘there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One."’ He did not say “there is no longer” but rather “we may say that the Triune God is now the 'four-in-one' God.'”

The article then states the teaching is “God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one.” I have never heard, nor is it even within our imagination to believe that those who follow LSM would even consider that WL is ‘one of the four’ as the article gives this impression.

Brothers, I believe that we should fight for the truth in these days, as much as we did 30 years ago, but we should not be silent when things are misquoted, twisted, and falsified. This article, from 1988, was rejected then because of the false attack, and it should also be rejected today. I would give this article no credence, even if some points were accurate.

If we want to have meaningful dialogue concerning the situation then we should be honest and remove this article.

With thanks

Dennis

Hope · 01-14-2009, 02:35 PM

Dear Brother Dennis, PS8602

Unfortunately Paul Hon did teach the four in one. He went over it with me in my home during the summer 1986 training. Later I confronted him in Witness Lee's presence. He did not deny what he had spoken and he was severely rebuked by Witness Lee.

Note the quoted article did not say that WL taught such nonsense but rather "those followers." If you knew Paul Hon, (and I would guess you did) you know what a loose cannon he is.

I had never seen the article until it was posted here. I could only read a little as it is so heavy. I plan to read it carefully later. I fully agree that we all should beware of such inflammatory writings.

Hope, Don Rutledge

Indiana · 01-14-2009, 09:01 PM

This was the account given in John Ingalls' book regarding Paul Hon's speaking in the home of Don Rutledge.

"An account of Brother Lee’s position was given by one of the leading trainers of the FTTT to a group of brothers in Dallas, Texas, in the summer of 1986, in the context of how to be one with the ministry. There are witnesses to confirm it. It goes as follows.

The Father is number one, the Son is number two, the Spirit is number three, and Witness Lee is number four; and then there are those who are with Witness Lee. A brother asked, “And who is number five?” The trainer replied, “It is not yet quite clear who number five is”, but pointing out “You brothers do not have access to Brother Lee. I and another trainer do. We can walk into Brother Lee’s apartment any time and have breakfast with him. The way to know what Brother Lee wants us to do is to be in contact with those who have access to him. They will tell you what he wants you to do.” The hosting brother asked, “Isn’t this a hierarchy?” The trainer replied, “No!” The brother asked, “How then does this differ from what we’ve been condemning?” The trainer answered, “If the elders in a local church would practice in this way to carry out their burden, it would be a hierarchy; but if this is practiced to carry out the ministry’s burden, it is not a hierarchy”.

When Brother Lee heard through us the above speech of his trainer, he took steps to rebuke and correct him. That such nonsense could be spoken by one chosen by Brother Lee to lead his training after all we have passed through and heard from Brother Lee’s ministry is difficult to understand."

Indiana · 01-14-2009, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ps8602

I found this article to be very disturbing. As one who has been around the recovery since the 70's I can testify that there are a number of items that are grossly incorrect, whether this is because of rumours and false stories or made up by the author I have no idea.

The brother who wrote the article was also disturbed, and he had plenty of ground to be – so he responded in this article.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ps8602

If we want to have meaningful dialogue concerning the situation then we should be honest and remove this article.

Let's be honest, but let's not remove the article.

Let's talk about "rumors" "false stories" and something "made up", because this is now something you have claimed. Let's see how much substantiation of your claims can be made.

The leadership was given plenty of opportunity to be forthright and respond to the article. They did not do so. Although the article is inflammatory, it was also a sincere attempt at addressing the real situation and clearing the way for the saints. There are too many important points to just let go. So he said in his concluding word, the following:

Quote:

CONCLUSION
Today we have many questions in the Lord's Recovery. In order for us to press on, we need to clarify those questions. According to the writer's understanding, almost every co-worker of his early years, does not agree with the recent works of Mr. X. Does that mean that everyone but him, does not see the heavenly vision? This pamphlet represents the voices of many. What we ask is to clarify these questions which will enable us to press on. We are not judging things according to right or wrong. In that day, we will all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. Only He is our judge. Today we hope that we may keep an undefiled conscience toward God, toward men and toward ourselves.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord's Recovery, please do not read this pamphlet with colored glasses, but with a pure heart. Check with the pure Words in the Bible. Whether you are included in this writing or just a third party, if you have the peace in your conscience, then forget this writing. However, if your conscience bothers you, then that could be the Lord rebuking you through this writing. Please be sure to come back to the Lord and thoroughly deal with all the wrong doings. It is everyone's responsibility to protect the testimony of the Lord's Recovery.

Regarding the financial questions, we hope that the ministry office will put out a detailed Regarding the financial questions, we hope that the ministry office will put out a detailed statement by a CPA firm, or let IRS or FRANCHISE TAX BOARD examine all financial matters.

This legitimate request regarding financial questions and matters was ignored. The leadership to either deflects or superficially addresses legitimate concerns, and make their requests for you not to make an issue of anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ps8602

As one who has been around the recovery since the 70's I can testify that there are a number of items that are grossly incorrect..

If there are items that are grossly incorrect, can you suggest another one? The first one you thought was obviously wrong, was not wrong.

I have always found this article to be risky to use, but not to the point of not showing it. This article was what the saints got exposed to in those days! And, the article troubled Witness Lee. How much of it can be substantiated? I think we can find something to refute. But we are also going to be left with a substantial amount of truth to deal with.

UntoHim · 01-15-2009, 11:39 AM

I think this "pamphlet" is very relevant to the turmoil and concerns of this period. I have no idea who this "Heavenly voice of the truth guard" is (apparently it was originally written in Chinese) but they were obviously tired of all the abuse, sinful behavior and nonsense coming from "The Office". People can only take so much much...

Frankly, had I gotten to see this pamphlet at the time it was written, I would have left the Local Church much sooner. I had moved from Orange County by then, and I think I finally got a hold of this in the early 90s (about the same time I got a copy of John Ingalls' book and some of the other writings put out at that time.) By then I had heard and seen a lot...and had no doubt that much of what was written was actually true. By then I could no longer swallow hook, line and sinker "The Ministry's" version of these events and concerns.

Anyway, even though I think it is rather harsh and very rough around the edges, in retrospect it is very understandable why these brothers wrote what they did and in the manner they did. I think the issues they address here are worthy of our discussions even today.

Terry · 01-15-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UntoHim

Frankly, had I gotten to see this pamphlet at the time it was written, I would have left the Local Church much sooner. I had moved from Orange County by then, and I think I finally got a hold of this in the early 90s (about the same time I got a copy of John Ingalls' book and some of the other writings put out at that time.) By then I had heard and seen a lot...and had no doubt that much of what was written was actually true. By then I could no longer swallow hook, line and sinker "The Ministry's" version of these events and concerns.

I had first read it while in college. At the time I was rarely meeting. How many have read or heard about it? In later years I resumed meeting on a regular basis for about seven years. My experience had been whatever LSM releases is accurate and whatever is released contradicting LSM is rumor.

Consider even if some of the events in Reconsideration of the Vision is true, there are brothers and sisters meeting in the local churches that will continue to meet because in their mind it's through LSM where the Lord's Present move on the earth is.
As for others such as myself, there's the belief LSM needs to suppress reports (accurate or not) for image, for preventing the next storm, whatever the case is may be.

Terry

Terry · 01-15-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indiana

The Father is number one, the Son is number two, the Spirit is number three, and Witness Lee is number four; and then there are those who are with Witness Lee. A brother asked, “And who is number five?” The trainer replied, “It is not yet quite clear who number five is”, but pointing out “You brothers do not have access to Brother Lee. I and another trainer do. We can walk into Brother Lee’s apartment any time and have breakfast with him. The way to know what Brother Lee wants us to do is to be in contact with those who have access to him. They will tell you what he wants you to do.” The hosting brother asked, “Isn’t this a hierarchy?” The trainer replied, “No!” The brother asked, “How then does this differ from what we’ve been condemning?” The trainer answered, “If the elders in a local church would practice in this way to carry out their burden, it would be a hierarchy; but if this is practiced to carry out the ministry’s burden, it is not a hierarchy”.

This sentence caught my attention.

“If the elders in a local church would practice in this way to carry out their burden, it would be a hierarchy; but if this is practiced to carry out the ministry’s burden, it is not a hierarchy”.

How can this be? Was the trainer expressing his own views or views shared by other trainers? For the trainer to say it is not hierarchy, is he also saying when it comes to the ministry’s burden there is a unrestrained license to do things?

The quote is appropriate for the current time as it was for that time in 1986 One can make points there is intentional and unintentional hierarchy in the local churches. Intentional meaning localities need to line up with the ministry by taking one publication. Unintentional hierarchy meaning certain brothers are respected so highly they become untouchable.

Terry

Indiana · 01-16-2009, 12:37 AM

This post replaces Post #2

I feel The Reconsideration of the Vision is a sincere attempt to address very serious concerns during the late 80s turmoil. An excerpt from John Ingalls' book in the link below refers to this writing, and describes the tumultuous atmosphere in which the pamphlet was referred to, in what became Ingalls' final elders' conference meeting with Brother Lee.

www.twoturmoils.com/ConferenceinPasadena.doc

Indiana · 01-17-2009, 11:38 PM

Dennis (ps8602),

I wonder how you are doing. I hope I didn't drive you away. The nature of the forum is to be honest and open in order to derive truth from discussion.

I might have been too insensitive to you.

Steve I.

Unsure · 08-09-2016, 12:11 AM

Who were "Brothers S, C, Y, H, and T"?

Terry · 08-09-2016, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unsure

Who were "Brothers S, C, Y, H, and T"?

I don't know which passage you're referring to. I haven't read this much since 1990/1991. I remember Mr X and Mr M, but none else.
Maybe it's time to re-read.

Ohio · 08-09-2016, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unsure

Who were "Brothers S, C, Y, H, and T"?

Brother S is John So.

Unsure · 08-09-2016, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry

I don't know which passage you're referring to. I haven't read this much since 1990/1991. I remember Mr X and Mr M, but none else.
Maybe it's time to re-read.

This quote here:

Quote:

The situation is the same in other areas, such as: Brother S labored in Europe, Brothers C, Y, and H worked in Japan, Brother T, and a certain apostle, were often insulted openly by Mr. X as having typical "oldness".

.

aron · 08-10-2016, 07:09 AM

@ Unsure: Brother T, denoted as "a certain apostle" may have been AW Tozer, who WL met with and dismissed as passe, or TA Sparks. WL couldn't work with anyone else, but expected everyone else to be able to work with him. In this he closely followed his mentor WL.

In the official biography, WL noted that WN chafed under elder brothers while still under MEB's tutelage. What WL doesn't note is what happened, after: once WN began to minister, alongside some of these same elder brothers who also labored (one of them procured the original meeting hall for the Shanghai Christian Assembly), he leveraged them away from the work by forcing points of doctrine. Eventually WN was left alone, unchallenged. Then lo and behold he discovered the Deputy God principle, and the requirement of absolute submission.

Terry · 08-12-2016, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reconsideration of the Vision

Regarding the financial questions, we hope that the ministry office will put out a detailed statement by a CPA firm, or let IRS or FRANCHISE TAX BOARD examine all financial matters.
The contents of this pamphlet are only for the dear ones in the Lord's Recovery. Please do not show this to outsiders, so that our testimony will not be damaged. You are welcome to copy it and distribute it to others in the Lord's Recovery. May the Lord be with you all. Amen.

January 29, 1988
by THE HEAVENLY VOICE OF THE TRUTH GUARD

I'm sure some have wondered who is "The Heavenly Voice of the Truth Guard". In my honest opinion it was Chinese speaking brother or brothers most likely from the Church in Rosemead. As this came out following Don Hardy's ousting as elder from the English speaking side in the Church in Rosemead. Following Witness Lee installed an elder from the Church in San Bernardino (Francis Ball). As beloved Francis was in San Bernardino, he did not receive a warm reception in Rosemead. The events that followed in Rosemead I believe was the spark that ignited this document.
I believe elders in the local churches are generally passive and tolerant. They go along with the system and tolerate wrongdoings and injustices only to a certain point when they cannot tolerate any more.

How LSM handles it's finances and it's disclosure appears to be the core issue in Reconsideration of the Vision.
Someone must have taken it to heart "You are welcome to copy it and distribute it to others in the Lord's Recovery" by distributing a copy to my sister when we were in college. That's how I initially read it 1990/1991.

I'm sure the intent of the authors in writing this was to keep it contained within "the recovery". The brothers at Living Stream have had ample opportunity to resolve it in a good way and never have. Instead a brother writes a deceptively misleading book Sacrifice and Sail On. Further rejecting any notion of financial misconduct.
Thus the only recourse is to "shout it from the rooftops".

OBW · 08-12-2016, 03:51 PM

Where do other alleged coworkers of Nee fit into the picture? Anyone actually know? For example, where did Stephen Kuang (sp?) fit into the picture in China? Others? I know Lee effectively ignored their existence in his little histories. And those others were not the same kind of self-serving braggers that Lee was (are at least they appear not to be so).

Terry · 08-12-2016, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBW

Where do other alleged coworkers of Nee fit into the picture? Anyone actually know? For example, where did Stephen Kuang (sp?) fit into the picture in China? Others? I know Lee effectively ignored their existence in his little histories. And those others were not the same kind of self-serving braggers that Lee was (are at least they appear not to be so).

The Leeist point of view probably deduces the analogy, Lee was the modern day Paul and Nee's other co-workers were the modern day Barnabas.
Probably closer to the truth Lee didn't want any peers and Nee's other coworkers didn't see need to emphasize the ground of locality as Lee sought to.

aron · 08-13-2016, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OBW

Where do other alleged coworkers of Nee fit into the picture? Anyone actually know? For example, where did Stephen Kuang (sp?) fit into the picture in China? Others? I know Lee effectively ignored their existence in his little histories. And those others were not the same kind of self-serving braggers that Lee was (are at least they appear not to be so).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angus Kinnear

John Sung and Nee unhappily never quite hit it off, though each held the other in high regard and each reaped where the other had sown. Sung, who lived for only ten years after this, was a whirlwind evangelist who acheieved results through dogmatic statement and emotional appeal. A friend describes him as a 'cocksure and stubborn, constantly off at a tangent, a man whose every opinion was a conviction.' Nee was certaintly the more talented preacher; yet Sung was the one whom God used to sweep multitudes into the kingdom, and the revival that flowed from his preaching spread like a prairie fire. Sung's converts generally stood firm, but he left their care to others. In the words of one ovserver, when he preached 'the sheep woke up and were hungry; and because there was no one to feed them, Watchman's teaching ministry was timely in filling the gap.' But in course of time Sung became outspokenly critical of Nee, while Nee privately expressed mesgivings at Sungs's theological immaturity and failure to provide for the permeanence of his work.- Against the Tide

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sermon Index

Leland Wang - who was a friend of Billy Graham; Graham's father- and mother-in-law were missionaries to China. It was said that Graham's habit of "No Bible, No Breakfast" originates from Wang. A great evangelist in his own right, Wang was one of the first co-workers of Watchman Nee. He was five years older than Nee, the one referred to in Nee's biography, in the incident where Nee learned the lesson of submission.

Leland Wang was senior to WN in MEB's school, as mentioned in WL's biography (p.19), and who WN apparently removed from ministry in Shanghai Christian Assembly, before WN completed taking over. Wang went on to become a prominent independent Christian evangelist, and always respected WN's memory, even though they couldn't work together.

What's interesting is that one biography of WN says that Leland Wang wanted to associate with denominations but WN split with him over that. But wasn't that the same reason WN was expelled from the Brethren fellowship - for associating with denominational believers? It seems every turn of the narrative moves toward WN being sole locus of control. And it doesn't seem coincidental.

http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/n/ni-tuosheng.php

And the same pattern continued with WL. After every tumult, when the smoke cleared, WL's hands were even tighter on the reins.

Ohio · 08-13-2016, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aron

And the same pattern continued with WL. After every tumult, when the smoke cleared, WL's hands were even tighter on the reins.

Very true.

Back in the mid-80's there was nearly no theological differences among the LC leadership around the globe. Lee had just finished the Acts Training to conclude his Life Study of the New Testament. His conferences were compiled into that thick maroon book titled God's New Testament Economy. He relocated to Taipei supposedly to restore that aging church he once "founded." His first move was to side-swipe any and all of those well-respected leaders with stature, and promote younger, yet more zealous, brothers. Lee did that both at LSM (trainers) and in the LC's (elders.) Lee claimed he had the right to this, as he also had the right to choose his own "cook."

Thus, where no doctrinal issues existed, Lee created generational conflicts. In classic Lee fashion, he could then blame ensuing problems on oldness and "senioritis," the supposed love for position and power inherent in all leaders, except, of course, for Lee himself. The battlefield and the rules for engagement were thus established, all centered around Lee himself, so he deftly switched the news story to the "burden to evangelize the whole earth by Y2K."

Now we had skirmishes around the globe between those who merely loved Christ and the church and those who were absolute for the ministry. Subtle, but effective, changes now tightened Lee's reigns over the movement. He was now in absolute control, supported by an army of radicals (aka Gideon and his army, the 300 "Spartans") returning from the FTTT ready and willing to wreak havoc on any opposition, with his own unprincipled son Philip as the "Enforcer in Chief."

Overcomer · 06-03-2018, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry

I had first read it while in college. At the time I was rarely meeting. How many have read or heard about it? In later years I resumed meeting on a regular basis for about seven years. My experience had been whatever LSM releases is accurate and whatever is released contradicting LSM is rumor.

Consider even if some of the events in Reconsideration of the Vision is true, there are brothers and sisters meeting in the local churches that will continue to meet because in their mind it's through LSM where the Lord's Present move on the earth is.
As for others such as myself, there's the belief LSM needs to suppress reports (accurate or not) for image, for preventing the next storm, whatever the case is may be.

Terry

I have tried to find a copy of "Reconsideration of the Vision" but have been unsuccessful. Any suggestions? Thank you.

UntoHim · 06-03-2018, 01:01 PM

Actually, the opening post of this thread is an unabridged version of:

Reconsideration of The Vision
Please note that Witness Lee is referred to as "Mr X", Max Rapoport is referred to as "Mr. M" and Phillip Lee is referred to as "the second son".

-

Terry · 07-26-2019, 07:17 PM

Bringing this back up for our newer members and lurkers to read.

aron · 07-27-2019, 05:26 AM

It's hard to imagine any Christian group could have come up with "Up with 1,2,3! Down with 4,5,6!" and "The Father is One, the Son is Two, the Spirit is Three, and Brother Lee is Four" as it's organising themes. I mean, is this real? Is this a joke? Or are they serious? Unfortunately it seems they were, and are, serious.

Today the handlers of the Vision realise how bad it all looks, thus they work hard on the appearance stuff. Have recruiters go on campus with a KJV instead of a RecV. Don't mention Brother Lee. Etc.

So on top of cult-like themes you have deceptive recruiting.

UntoHim · 03-02-2020, 07:17 AM

This is a pamphlet that was circulated among the Local Churches at the height of the turmoil in America and Canada in the mid-late 1980s. This is an English translation of the original, which was written in Chinese

Please note that Witness Lee is referred to as "Mr X",
Max Rapoport, former lead Co-Worker, is referred to as "Mr. M"
and Phillip Lee, Witness Lee's son, is referred to as "the second son".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECONSIDERATION OF THE VISION
by
The Heavenly Voice Of the Truth Guard
January 29, 1988

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE:

Recently a copy of a pamphlet in Chinese was received and the Lord burdened us to translate it into English. The pamphlet contains many quotations from Watchman Nee's book, RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, which has been translated into English and published by the Living Stream under the title of, THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH LIFE. The Living Stream publication of Nee's book omitted large portions that were in the original Chinese manuscript. Therefore, our quotations from Nee's book will refer to the original Chinese publication.

FOREWORD:
In Watchman Nee's Foreword to his book, RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, he states: "We have one purpose, that is, to do our work completely according to the Bible. We have one desire, that is, to do the work according to God's Word. We believe the Bible is God's Word, the highest standard, the perfect example and full of commandments of authority. We do not want our work to come short in any way from God's full and complete written Word recorded for us in the Bible. We want to repeat with Paul, 'I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God' (Acts 20:27). In seeking to follow the leading of God's Spirit, we never would disregard or deviate from His written Word."

Now in retrospect we see that Watchman Nee has shown in his entire life and work that he never deviated from that heavenly vision of Christ and the Church. For this vision he had a good conscience, unfeigned faith, unchangeable love, vast knowledge and even risked and gave his life for its fulfillment. We can say of him that he fought a good fight, he ran the race and was martyred. Hence there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness.

We thank the Lord that through him this vision was imparted to others by the Lord not only in the orient but throughout the world, and thus many churches were established.

The writer is the least of the brothers to undertake this writing, but through the Lord's mercy and the enlightenment he has received since giving himself to the Lord's Recovery, he must discharge the burden of what he has seen coming into the Lord's Recovery which is not according to the original pattern of God's plan and direction. There has been a turn to the world, sin and organized Christianity. Do we want to become a big tree full of leaven? This abnormal development fills those who have discernment with grief, deep sorrow and an intolerance to let it continue. A so-called teaching has been set forth that for the unity of the believers, there can be no opinion and only one trumpet must be sounded. This was very advantageously used to cover up many lies, darkness and fleshly motives and gains. The Bible's way is not to hide evil doings 9Link to, file, but for the sake of the truth to boldly expose that which is contrary to sound biblical principles. (Gal. 2:11-14; I Cor. 5:1-13; Eph. 5:11-13; Rev. 2:12).
Not to have an opinion and to keep silent cannot be accepted by this writer. To do so would be unfaithful to the moving of the Spirit. The writer must record what he has seen, heard and experienced in the light of God's Word and Nee's original vision in his book. Those who read can come to their own conclusions.

I. THE DAYSTAR CASE
We will refer to the most questionable person in this writing as Mr. X. This Mr. X in his messages hints that he is as the Apostle Paul in this age and the only successor to Watchman Nee. However, his practice contradicts his message and does not match what he states. Daystar is a conspicuous example.

A. THE FACT OF THE PRACTICE OF MR. X
1. To finance his oldest son's business ventures, he utilized the contributions of God's people to invest their money under the guise of the need of the work of the Lord. This was not supported in the Far East because they knew of the unstable and unreliable character of Mr. X's son. Also this would bring the local churches there into financial chaos. To our amazement, the elders of the churches in the United States openly persuaded the believers there to invest and told them they would be "killing two birds with one stone" - giving to the Lord and gaining financially. Even at the Lord's table, announcements and requests were made for this business. Mr. X had special meetings where he used the blackboard to point out the figures of halls to be built and moneys gained by investing in this business.
2. Mr. X arranged to have his eldest son as president of this company. Later the son mentioned to some saints that 2.5 million U. S. dollars disappeared from his hands.
3. Many saints were pressured to give their life savings to this business.
4. At that time the Lord sovereignly intervened in causing an oil crisis which forced large vehicles as motor homes to be unwanted in the market and this forced the business to go bankrupt.
5. Mr. X then asked one of his co-workers, a Mr. M, to persuade the saints, who invested their money to consider the investment as a donation and not seek to be reimbursed. Many were stumbled at this and left the churches, and others who continued to demand reimbursement were ignored by Mr. X.
6. This hindered the expansion of the Lord's Recovery in the States and caused Mr. M to rise to the "top" position among the churches.

B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
1. Although Acts 18 tells us that Paul, Aquilla and Priscilla engaged in tent making for a living, this was a personal matter and did not involve or pressure the churches to participate. In the entire Bible there is no instance of any apostle engaging in any business venture with churches or saints.
2. On the contrary, Nehemiah 13:8-9 tells us that Nehemiah cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber and commanded that the house of God be cleansed.
3. Matt. 21 shows us how the Lord cast out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling.

C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK.
1. Since Brother Nee does not approve of so-called "Faith Mission", he would never involve saints in any business venture to raise funds for the work. He states, "Although the 'Faith Mission' is a corporate way to trust in God, it is better to trust Him as an individual than corporately. In Scripture we see individual faith, but we see no such thing as corporate faith" (Chapter 9). The "Faith Mission" could only affect a coworker's individual faith, but "Daystar" damaged churches and brought saints into serving mammon.
2. "To test who is a false apostle, money is the biggest trial. Whoever is not clear regarding money or shows greediness, must be a false apostle. The Apostle Paul in helping saints in Jerusalem sent two saints with money. How honest and upright he is! Whenever money touches us and our work is influenced by money, then we have the possibility of becoming a false apostle, even though we started out as a true apostle". (Chapter 2) Compare this upright attitude with Mr. X's appointment of his own son as president of the Company. This puts him in a position that invites suspicion.

II. MR. M'S CASE
A. BEHIND THE SCENES OF MR. M'S RISING UP
1. Because Mr. M was able to persuade the saints to forget the loans they made to the Company, thus relieving Mr. X. of reimbursing large sums of borrowed amounts, he was elevated to the high position of what seemed to be Mr. X's successor. On many occasions and meetings, the choice seat next to Mr. X was reserved for Mr. M. It was obvious to all at this time that Mr. M was the intimate companion and comrade of Mr. X.
2. Mr. M's manner of life is exactly the same as Mr. X. He instigated young people to despise their elders on the pretext of dealing with "oldness" in the church. (Only Mr. X himself could never grow old). A deep gap resulted between the young people and the older saints. Mr. M first made Mr. X an idol, then he made himself to be the golden calf. During that period of time only Mr. X and Mr. M appeared in the eyes of the young people. Their ears were deaf to anything an older co-worker or elder had to say. In 1977 a disturbing weekend occurred in Berkeley, California. It was a shameful event and gave the enemy much ground to attack the Lord's Recovery.
3. The confusion and trouble returned to Mr. X who was no longer useful to carry on with Mr. M so he manipulated another co-worker to take the lead to condemn Mr. M's actions. All the blame was put on Mr. M and announcements (sic) were made to the churches that Mr. M was an "evil one who sneaked into the Lord's Recovery without Mr. X's knowledge." So ended the career of Mr. M with Mr. X's ministry.

B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
1. "For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) In selecting man, God looks on man's heart, not on his ability.
2. On the one hand the Bible admonishes young people not to despise their youth and to be ambitious to attain the office of an elder, yet on the other hand, I Peter 5:5 states that younger men are to be subject to elders. In contrast, Mr. X would tell the young people to respect the elderly saints, but not listen to them or follow their ways; they were too old and useless.
3. Acts 20:28 states that the Holy Spirit placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God. Therefore the Apostle in seeking the leading-of the Spirit in appointing elders can only appoint those to lead God's flock who were already appointed by the Spirit Himself. Even greater consideration must be given in the choice of co-workers. Personal preference and family ties must be disregarded. If a seeming wrong choice is made, the Apostle himself must bear the responsibility and not "fire" the worker or give the excuse that he crept in unawares.

C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK
l. Chapter 7 states that a younger co-worker must be subject to the older co-worker.
2. In Chapter 7 he goes on to state that in joining together to work corporately, the fellowship must always be spontaneous because there is always the danger of coming together in an organized way without the prompting of the Spirit which leads to the direction of man rather than heeding the voice of God. Those in "lower" positions might be restricted by those in "higher" positions. Mr. M was a pawn in the hand of Mr X. Neither really sought the guidance of the Spirit but carried on man-made maneuvers until they collapsed in sheer exhaustion, or God in His sovereignty intervened.

III. THE USURPATION OF THE SECOND SON
Upon the departure of Mr M, many opposing books were published. Although they did not state the truth in its entirety, many of their observations regarding Mr. X were accurate and not fabricated from their imaginations. Due to the fact that the points in question were deleted from the written publications of Mr. X's ministry, verifications cannot be made. However, numerous cassettes and videos bear witness to the observations of the so-called opposers. During the lawsuit the saints were warned and pressured to keep silent, and many voluntarily kept silent for the sake of the Lord's Recovery. On some occasions when outsiders sought to interview saints, only special ones were selected who were "safe" to be interviewed.
During the lawsuit, Mr. X conducted himself in a humble even fearful manner. But upon the successful conclusion of the trial, instead of clearing the way for the Recovery to go on, it became the opportunity for the second son to rise up and to bring in a far greater devastation than Mr. M could ever dream of.

A. THE PROGRESS OF THE USURPATION OF THE SECOND SON
1. The second son does not like to attend the church meetings, and also held no proper position in the business world. Yet Mr. X placed him as the manager of his ministry office. For more than ten years the impression he gave to the saints was one of arrogance, loose conduct, abusive language and behaviour (sic). There was no evidence that he could possibly be a regenerated child of God. His explosive temper and erratic emotional behavior caused many difficulties among those who handled the book sales in the local churches. This caused many complaints. But Mr. X stated, "The Ministry Station is my private kitchen, and I have the right to choose my own cooking helper." Mr. X seems to forget that the building of the Ministry Station was donated and built by the saints, and its daily work is mostly accomplished by the free services of the saints. (There are only a few full time compensated employees in the Ministry Station). Even up to this present time the Ministry Station requests each local church to take a turn to send saints to perform all kinds of uncompensated labor. Besides all of the free voluntary help, special offering boxes were placed in the business work areas for the saints to contribute their offerings. If it is a private business why are the saints asked to serve gratis and also give donations. This is certainly robbing God's house for a business.
2. Since the publications are put out by the free labor of the saints and offerings are given, should not the overhead expenses be very low? Yet the actual prices of the publications are much higher than those of other book dealers. What is the reason for this? None other than the profit motive.
3. The second son suggested to Mr. X to have bi-annual trainings where a $50 fee is charged to attend. This fee must be paid whether the training is attended "live" or via video. This mandatory fee is actually called a "donation". What a cloak for practicing godliness as a means of gain. Yet Mr. X mocks theological seminaries and denominations. The trainings have set rules formulated by the second son. A set figure of those who may attend from each church is given. The total amount of that number must be sent in several months before the training. If there are cancellations, no refunds are made. It is most unreasonable to charge a fee for a video training since the church premises are used for the training meetings, and it is specifically stated that these meetings are "not church meetings, but training meetings." The video tapes are rented by the church and the church equipment is used. There is no so-called training teacher yet a fee must be paid. This fee given to the Ministry Station is pure profit for there are no expenses to be deducted, all expenses are all borne by the churches and the saints.
4. Before the second son's rising up, Mr. X did not allow Chinese-speaking meetings to be held in the States in order to avoid division. During that period many new immigrants from the Ear East who were not fluent in English seemed to be cut off from the church life so many were lost to the denominations. Only those who clearly saw the vision faithfully remained in the Lord's Recovery. Later, some saints were burdened to have Chinese-speaking home meetings in addition to the regular meetings of the church. After the Berkeley disturbance, most of the English work among the Caucasians came to a standstill. Then Mr. X suddenly concentrated on Chinese-speaking meetings. He separated the Chinese-speaking meetings from the local churches and called them "ministry meetings". He appointed his second son as the responsible one for the Chinese work. Thus the second son became a spiritual giant even though his status as a Christian was questionable. He sat on his appointed throne and summoned Chinese leading brothers to give service instructions. He stated that he was the only person who had the power to influence Mr. X. Many ambitious leading ones who were seeking for the right and left seats of the throne flattered him and showered him with tea cups. What a deplorable scene. Proverbs 30 says that there are three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not...To us the second son sitting on the throne is a far more incredible thing.
5. Many co-workers and elders often counselled (sic) Mr. X to restrain his second son. Mr. X would not heed any such advice but rather elevated him to be the General Manager of the Ministry Station. He stated that the saints must be one with the ministry and one with the ministry office. He actually personified the office. He stated that he must be followed and equally his son must be followed. The new young leaders informed the churches that everything must first be reported to Mr. X and his second son to have their approval. This was not only outrageous, but these ambitious ones "ganged up" and formed a special party in the churches. This deepened the mistakes of Mr. X just as Eli and Solomon in their latter years. The writer believes that the Lord will also speak to Mr. X saying, "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people." (I Samuel 2:29-30).
6. On the one hand Mr. X says that Mr. M was an evil one who crept into the Lord's Recovery. On the other hand, he elevated the followers of Mr. M and made them to be the followers of his second son. The only change was the general, from Mr. M to the second son. However this "slight" change caused far more damage. It had a greater influence on Mr. X and caused the situation to deteriorate, degenerate and worsen to its lowest level.
7. The rising up of the second son has degraded the church. It is now no longer on the local ground of oneness. It has become a sectarian denomination -- the Company of Mr. X and son. Money, the world and sin have replaced the genuine testimony. The followers of the second son under the guise of the so-called "Ministry" uttered many nonsensical and ridiculous statements as:
a. "Mr. X is our king. The king has the right to give his throne to his own son."
b. "In the Old Testament the Israelites served God in the tabernacle. Actually they were serving Aaron and his two sons. Today Mr. X is our high priest Aaron. Therefore we should serve Mr. X and his two sons."
c. "Although Mary was more spiritual than Joseph, yet the Word of God often came to Joseph first. Then through his mouth, it was passed on to Mary. Likewise our God speaks to the second son (who is not quite spiritual) first, then through his mouth, the Word of God passes on to Mr. X and then to the churches."
d. "One who wants to serve our Lord must establish a good relationship with the second son. Otherwise he has no way to stand firm."
e. "Our need is not only to be one with Mr. X, but to repent and confess to the second son so we can be one with him. This is the prerequisite of having a proper church life to serve the Lord."
f. "We have to learn from the example of the Red Guards in communist China to be the Blue Guards, so we can support and protect Mr. X. We must even learn from Satan who is always one step ahead of God to do the works."

8. The above mentioned words causes one to wonder whether the spirit of politics has entered into some dear saints. Many of the actions of recent years duplicate those of the cultural revolution in mainland China.
a. Mr. X appointed his second son as his successor to take over "the ministry" and to make the Lord's Recovery to be the Company of Mr. X and Son.
b. Mr. X states that what he is doing in Taiwan now is a revolutionary work. He must change the system thoroughly. The followers of the second son announced that the Blue Guards are the battle unit for the "System Reform".
c. The cultural revolution in communist China was to stir up those who by force would get rid of the oldness. The followers of the second son shouted: "Up with 1, 2, 3. Down with 4, 5, 6". That is, up with those in their teens, twenties and thirties, and down with those in their forties, fifties, and sixties. All the co-workers and elders over forty are too old. They need to be replaced with young co-workers and young elders under forty.
d. Due to the faith of the elderly co-workers and elders to Christ and the church, they would never compromise with the world and sin. Therefore, they did not approve of the second son and his followers. That is why they were considered obstacles and they were to be eliminated. In 1985, Mr. X publicly condemned the elderly co-workers and elders. Many times in the meetings held in Taiwan, he said, "we should fire them all." At the same time, Mr. X elevated arrogant young leaders to replace the older ones. He encouraged the young people to get rid of the older saints in all the churches under the slogan of the "New man walks in the new way." The battle was kindled to chase away those who hold different opinions. The result is division, distrust and no peace in the churches today.
e. All kinds of reasons were invented to squeeze money from the churches. An assigned contribution amount was given to each church to be turned into the Ministry Station. In recent years, huge sums from the churches all over the world have been turned in to the Ministry Station with no clear financial statement given to account for these monies (Link to file, LSM Finances)

B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE
1. The Bible tells us that in appointing church elders or deacons, they must be a good pattern to the flock (I Peter 5:3). They should be those already appointed by the Holy Spirit who serve in that local church before the apostle's appointment (Acts 20:28). Their manner of life "must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach, not an excessive drinker (Link to, file Philip Accounts), not a striker, but forbearing, not contentious, not fond of money; one who manages well his own household, having his children in subjection with all gravity..." (I Timothy 3:2-13). Such serious consideration should have concerned Mr. X much more in choosing his successor to handle the so-called "the Ministry" work for the Lord's Recovery. Yet, out of his selfish motivation, he appointed his own son whose character contradicts I Timothy 3 in every aspect. This evil one misrepresents the testimony of the Lord's Recovery. He puts all of us in a shameful situation. We cannot understand how such a seemingly spiritual leader as Mr. X could be so blind and numb to this extent.
2. "And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also, go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." (I Kings 22:22-23). The genuine Lord's worker ought to be as the prophet Micaiah who spoke for the Lord boldly without reservation. Yet, today those followers of Mr. X's second son, (formerly the followers of Mr. M) twist the truth with a defiled conscience, just as those false prophets in the time of Micaiah lied to cover up the eyes of the king. These followers are digging the tombs for Mr. X and his son.
3. Mr. X often cited Acts 15:36-41 and said: "Because Barnabas respected his nephew Mark more than the work of the Lord, therefore, from that point on, the Holy Spirit never recorded Barnabas' work." Ironically, Mr. X himself respected his own flesh son more than the testimony of the Lord. Is his son more spiritual and does he have more love for the Lord and His work than Mark?
4. In the past, we have seen the Lord's will and determined to discard anything contrary to His revelation, such as denominations, worldly organizations, the letter of the law, sins, fleshly things, etc. But now, Mr. X and his second son are as dogs returning to their own vomit and treating dung as treasures. This situation parallels the Bible's statement: "for if having escaped the defilements of the world by the full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and having again been entangled in these, they are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it were better for them not to have fully known the way of righteousness, than fully knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb: The dog has turned to its own vomit, and the washed now to wallowing in the mud." (2 Peter 2: 17-22).

C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK
1. "To discern whether one is an apostle or not, depends upon his calling from God and if he is sent by Him." (Chaper 2)(sic)
"God's workers should not form a centralized mission organization. They may have a kind of association. Nevertheless, it should not be a man-made organized association: it should be a spiritual association. God Himself must be the master in such an association. Nobody should have a certain position or job in this association. Man-made organizations exercise authority to control others through a chairman, committee leader etc. They instruct and outline the work of others. But the biblical association is never organized." (Chapter 9)
Today our difficulty is having one among us who is not called by the Lord, but merely appointed by his foolish father, to occupy a position for which he is not qualified. He unjustly abuses the called ones. The situation is as stated in Galatians 4:29, "But as then he that was born according to flesh persecuted him that was born according to Spirit, so also it is now."
2. "And also money becomes the authority. whoever holds the wallet has the authority. Money controls man. Whoever is financially supported is controlled by the supporter." (Chapter 9)
In the past, full-timers in the Lord's Recovery were absolutely initiated by God's calling to live by faith. Brother Nee states: "The prerequisite of being a full-time co-worker is that he must be able to trust in God." Please pay attention to today's fallen situation. The ones who are truly called of God are regarded as part of the "oldness", but those who merely volunteered and responded emotionally at "highly charged" meetings and were given a number to be a so-called "co-worker" of Mr. X now try to lord it over the saints endeavoring to teach them the "new way". Every local church was strictly commanded to support one fulltimer out of nineteen members. This was according to the calculations of Mr. X and not of faith. The second son has authority over the full-timers. What a shame to the testimony of the Lord's Recovery.

IV. CHECK-LIST OF BEING A TRUE APOSTLE
A. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE BE PUFFED UP?
1. From reading the Epistles of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and Brother Nee's book, we sense the humbleness and meekness of the apostles. They never seek to lord it over the saints, but become patterns of the flock. I Peter 5:5 states that God resists the proud. One who is puffed up imitates the devil (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 26:17).
2. On the contrary, in hit messages, Mr. X always likes to haughtily express his spiritual knowledge, and despises others. For example, he states: "If I don't speak these things to you, you will never know them." He likes to indicate to the saints that he is today's Apostle Paul, the sole spiritual leader.
He especially loves flattering words. No wonder those leaders of the Blue Guards wrote hymns to praise him in the meetings. They gave him titles of: "today's Aaron", "the king of the Church", "President", "the sole and the last Minister", "God-man" etc. Accepting such praise and adoration proves he is in darkness. He never tried to stop or correct these praisers, but accepted their adulations with pleasure. Recently a most shocking new name was invented in Taiwan by those followers. According to them, there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One" -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one. What blasphemy! Here we request that whoever invented such diabolical theology should certainly be stopped from disseminating such false teaching.

B. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE INSULT CO-WORKERS AND ELDERS PUBLICLY?
1. In the Bible we never see any apostle criticizing others except in relation to protecting the truth. There is no apostle in the Bible who publicly insults and looks down on others. 11 Corinthians 12:12 says: "Indeed, the signs of the apostle were wrought among you in all endurance, by signs and wonders and works of power." In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee states: "The most powerful spiritual ability is endurance, endure and forgive with joy." (Chapter 2)
2. But what we have seen and heard from Mr. X is a self-exalted spiritual leader who despises and criticizes co-workers. He openly insults them, defiles them and puts them into situations where they are no longer able to function in the church properly. Mr. X actually rebuked co-workers with the following words:
a.' "Your message (sic) is out-dated, not fitting for this age."
b. "He is doing his own work, not the work of MY ministry."
c. "He is the cancer of the church."
d. "Who told you to come? I hate to see you!"
e. "They are too old, they ought to be fired!"
Should a true apostle be allowed to have such an attitude? Is he worthy to be the leader of a "co-workers' association"? If a co-worker did speak disappointing words, Mr. X should fellowship with him privately to cause him to function more effectively in the future. Such words as, "You are fired" prove that co-workers in Mr. X's eyes are not the co-workers together with God, servants of God, but just his slaves.

C. WHAT IS THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARD MONEY FOR A TRUE APOSTLE?
1. The Bible says: "You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24). RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK also states: "To test who is the false apostle, money is the biggest trial."
2. For his eldest son's benefits, Mr. X planned the "Daystar" and caused many saints to lose their life-savings. His attitude in dealing with the "Daystar" case was not upright. He appointed his own son as the president of the Company, and did not righteously settle the loans made to the Company when it went bankrupt. Even later when the financial situation of the so-called "the Ministry" was improved, he never thought to reimburse the saints who loaned large sums of money. On the contrary, he allowed himself and his sons' families to live luxuriously. He not only is far below the tax collector Zaccheus in Luke 19:8, but worse than unbelievers. The Lord says: "Unless your righteousness surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heaven." (Matthew 5:20)
3. Mr. X encourages his second son to invent many ways to squeeze money from the saints.
4. Lately certain indications were given to the elders of many churches through the chief of the "Blue Guards" that the churches should donate a certain amount monthly to Mr. X to express their thankfulness. Some churches donate a thousand dollars monthly, and some three hundred dollars monthly. This kind of donation coincidentally started in 1987. This proves that it was not spontaneous and voluntary, but coerced by the hints, suggestions and compulsive promptings of his indoctrinated ones.
5. Many new pretexts were created to collect offerings from churches, such as: "Ministry Station in such-and-such location", "full-timers' apartment", "great meeting hall for training"... Eventually this sucked in millions of dollars from churches and caused many churches to fall into a financial crisis. The real use of these offerings was never reported to the churches. It is the mystery of mysteries as to who owns the property and money of "his own kitchen".
6. Many saints live simply and economically in order to save "two small copper coins of the needy widow" for the Lord. On the contrary, the luxurious living situation of Mr. X and his sons is really unbelievable! According to the second son's self boasting, the value of his wrist watch is more than ten thousand dollars. Their household equipment and furniture are of the top quality and brands. Mr. X also has his own private apartments in several locations as Irving, Sttutgart, Germany and Taiwan where it is the job of one full-timer to monitor the temperature of his apartment twenty-four hours a day.
Many indications reveal that he may have formerly been a true apostle, but because of the influence of money, he is walking toward the way of a false apostle. "He is blinded with pride ... supposing godliness to be a means of gain." (I Timothy 6:4-5). Money catches man the most. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, but he was not a betrayer from the very beginning. At first he was one of the twelve disciples chosen by the Lord. But because he was unable to overcome the temptation of the thirty pieces of silver, he fell into an unforgivable situation, even though he repented and returned the silver. Later he hanged himself." (Matthew 27:3-5).

D. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE BLINDLY SPOIL HIS OWN SON, HONOR HIS FLESH SON MORE THAN THE LORD AND THE CHURCHES AND CO-WORKERS, AND DISREGARD THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD?
Nearly every co-worker dealt with or fired by Mr. X was simply because he could not tolerate the evil doings of the second son. Those who would not worship nor flatter the second son, were not only humiliated and insulted by the second son, but also condemned by Mr. X. Mr. X never tried to restrain his own son.

We really cannot fathom why Mr. X has such a weakness as to be threatened by his son, and give in to his unreasonable and unjust demands. We wish he would wake up and not step into the path of old Eli.

E. REGARDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE WORK, IS THE "DAYSTAR" BUSINESS AND SUPPORTING ONE FULL-TIMER BY EVERY NINETEEN MEMBERS THE VISION GIVEN BY BROTHER NEE?
1. Although the Bible says: "Those who announce the gospel live of the gospel" (I Corinthians 9:14). In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee explained: "What is the meaning of those who announce the gospel should live of the gospel? Does it mean to receive a fixed amount from others, or a regular salary from the church? No, when the Apostle Paul uttered these words, he had no thought of a salary. His meaning is that those who labor for God are worthy to accept gifts from other saints. These gifts are not periodic, in fixed amounts, out of duty, or by force. It is the believers' heart moved by God to give for the necessities of life to God's workers. God's workers apparently receive the gifts from man's hand, but actually it is the result of their trusting in God. God answered their prayers, and met their need through the saints. This kind of receiving of gifts is the real meaning of 'living of the gospel'." Furthermore, Brother Nee says: "One thing we ought to remember is that in the Epistles there are some exhortations of giving to needy saints, and of caring for the need of the local elders, but there is no mention that we should offer money to workers for the need of the work" (Chapter 9). On the one hand we feel that we should receive the burden from God to take care of the need of co-workers (in the past years, we did practice this kind of caring), yet on the other hand, in order to avoid the degradation, we agree with what Brother Nee has said: "If anyone cannot trust God, he is not qualified to be a fulltime worker."
2. The Apostle Paul and Brother Nee's attitude is absolutely different to that of today's Mr. X. He openly allocate offerings for the churches, his second son to coerce the co-workers' by grab the wallets of the saints. The results of his wrong leading are;
a. The testimony of the Lord's Recovery is defiled and we are back in the way of denominations.
b. The principle of the Lord's work is reversed that "the ministry should be for the churches, not the churches for the ministry'." This will cause us to be the most stubborn denomination due to the fact of "the ministry's control over the churches" (so-called ministry replaces the position of the Holy Spirit and the Bible).
c. Many full-time co-workers are produced who are not called, but initiated by man, and guaranteed a salary, (of course, there are always a few geniune (sic) workers, but the motivation of the majority is doubtful). We heard that some full-timers bargained with their local church for their amount of support.
d. Many local churches fell into a financial crisis. There were even problems of meeting regular expenses. And yet the Ministry office continues to bill churches monthly, causing many churches to be in debt. We don't know what action the Ministry office will take to have those accounts paid. Perhaps they will force churches to sell their meeting halls, or they will take over the churches' property.
e. Elders of churches who bear the financial burden often beg in the church meetings for more donations. As a result, many become tired and bored. Meetings lack the life supply, but are full of outward burden, and of course, the attendence (sic) becomes less and less.
(REMARKS: The mathematics of Mr. X is illogical and ridiculous. Out of nineteen members of a local church, many are retired, jobless, widows, students, domestic wives, or needy saints who don't have sufficient to meet their own need. Those who have a proper income and have the spiritual burden are not so many. They probably are less than one quarter. Yet Mr. X shouts, "every nineteen members ought to support one full-timer!")

F. TO SET UP THE MINISTRY OFFICE TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE WORK OF THE WHOLE WORLD, IS THIS THE VISION OF BROTHER NEE?
1. From the Bible we see that workers may have their association, but in RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee said: "Their association is not an organized association, but a spiritual association." It means, there is no organization, no names, but only a few workers coordinated together, yet not a fixed entity. Brother Nee continues: "All the apostles united together to manage the entire work. There is no such thing in the Bible. Neither does Bible have a centralized organization formed by workers. Such is the Roman way, not the biblical way. The Bible never shows us that all the apostles unite to be an organization, under a central authority, controlling the work. Although Paul has a group of co-workers, and Peter has another group of his co-workers, they are just a few among the apostles, and not all the apostles joining together to a group. There is a need for workers to be united together, yet workers should fear being united by a man-made organization, which hinders God's servants from the leading of the Spirit, and brings them under the charge of a man, to be man's slaves" (Chapter 7).
2. Can you find "the ministry station" in the Bible? Workers of God, are you sure that you are able to freely work under the guidance (sic) of the Spirit? Who dares to testify from his conscience that he is not under the guidance of Mr. X? Who never encountered difficulty with Mr. X's second son? Those who were truly called were openly put to shame; those who were not, persecuted the former: Does not this situation prove that the Ministry Station is a centralized organization?

G. IS EVERY AGE ONLY ALLOWED TO HAVE ONE SPIRITUAL LEADER?
1. Mr. X often cites Acts 1 to 12 that Peter was the sole leader of that age; after chapter 12, Peter's ministry ceased. That is why from chapter 12 on, only Paul's ministry was recorded. From chapter 13, Paul was the sole leader of the age. And then through his messages, Mr. X describes himself as the heir of the sole leader. He is the Apostle Paul of this age, the last and the sole minister to welcome the coming of the Lord. He actually puts other co-workers' portion and function aside.
a. He describes the Apostle Paul as the architect of the New Testament economy, and then portrays himself as "the sole leader of the ministry of this age. He is the only one who is able to design and give instruction according to the Lord's up-to-date move. He also says that he is the general of the battle unit. He never allows any different opinion. He will punish you if you dare to have another opinion.
b. He gives himself all the credit of establishing local churches through out the whole world. He ignores the work of others. He moves and removes co-workers and elders according to his own plans. He even boasts: "I don't care if anyone regards me as a Pope."
2. In the Old Testament, Christ Himself was not yet on this earth. Therefore, Moses, Joshua, David etc. typified Christ. They were the representative authorities, the sole leaders of their own age.
But in the New Testament, Christ has come. The Lord told us that there is only One (the Lord Himself) Master, and we all are brothers (sic). Brother Nee states: "We ought to know that the Holy Spirit on earth is the Executor of Christ. Today He has no need of another manager. Our difficulty is that we would like to have a person who has a higher position in order to control us. It seems only through him, we could understand the will of God."
For Mr. X to say that Peter's ministry ceased after Acts 12 and was replaced by Paul is a nonsensical twisting of the Bible. In Acts 15 we see that Peter vindicated the truth. The Epistles of Peter were written later than Acts 28. Those two Epistles are so precious. Although the Apostle Peter was martyred several years earlier than Paul, the Apostle John was never off the central message of the New Testament ministry. Neither do we see that any one of the twelve original Apostle (including the Apostle John) were ever under the guidance of the Apostle Paul.
a. The Bible tells us that all the plans of the building up of the church have been designed by Christ before the foundation of the world (Proverb 8:22-31; Ephesians 1:10; 3:9). Nothing is left for apostles (including Paul and Peter) to complete. They are merely "wise master builders" (I Corinthians 3:10). There is no place for Mr. X to carry on supplementary design as Mr. X boasted. To say this is not only a blasphemy to God, but also an insult to the Apostle Paul and Brother Nee.
b. Ephesians 3:11-12 says: "And He gave some apostles... for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ." Brother Nee also mentioned:
"Each one has his own ministry. God raised up different withnesses (sic) in each age, and gave them special new light to do the time-fitting testimony."
As far as we know, God did raise many faithful apostles among us, to go to Europe, South America, Japan, South-east Asia, Taiwan, the United States, and Canada, who established many churches. Even before Mr. X fled to Taiwan from mainland China, the Church in Taipei was already set up by some ordinary workers. Almost every local church in Taiwan was started by ordinary saints, none of them were simply out of Mr. X's labor. The situation is the same in other areas, such as: Brother S labored in Europe, Brothers C, Y, and H worked in Japan, Brother T, and a certain apostle, were often insulted openly by Mr. X as having typical "oldness". They set up the churches in Brazil. Even in the United States, long before Mr. X came to the States, the testimony of the Lord's Recovery was already brought in through the translation of Brother Nee's books. The Lord started the good work among the saints. Paul says; "Not boasting without measure in others' labors" (II Corinthians 10:15). But Mr. X robbed the results of others' labors and counted his coming to the States as the start of the Lord's Recovery in America. Paul told the Corinthians: "If to others I am not an apostle, yet surely I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord" (I Corinthians 9:2). If Mr. X who dwelt only in some locations can be regarded as an apostle, then surely those co-workers who were sent by God to different localities to set up the churches are apostles also. And yet those true apostles became the sacrifices of Mr. X and Son's Company. One by one, they were fired or phased-out under the pretext of "oldness", and this has resulted in today's horrible "Pope" situation.

H. WHAT IS THE SYSTEM REFORM? WHAT IS THE NEW WAY?
1. In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee says: "In God's work, He never leaves any room for us to think. We human beings are afraid of employing unwise servants, but God is afraid of using servants who are too smart. God only needs man to subject to Him and to listen to Him. God doesn't need man's counsel. Paul said. 'Who has been His counselor'? Man likes to be a counselor, but God doesn't like it. God arranged all the works. There is nothing left for us to think."
2. But today among us there is someone who likes to be God's counselor. He invented many new ways in order to gain money, and these new ways also helped to transfer power to his second son.
a. Why has the Lord's Recovery stood still in these recent years in the States? It is due to the following causes: "Daystar case", "Mr. M's rising up". "The usurpation of the second son". "The pride of Mr. X and the counter-attack by Christianity which he criticized excessively".
Our need is to deal with the above-mentioned causes. Mr. X should not condemn other co-workers for their "oldness". In order to cover up his own faults, he learned the way of expansion from some extreme groups in the denominations, and he called it "the New Way". Moreover, in order to elevate his young followers, and to increase the power of his ministry office over the local churches, he initiated "the System Reform" to chase out all the elderly co-workers and elders. The so-called "the New Way" and "the System Reform" are the masks for him to carry out an evil plot.
b. What should we regard as "New"? Is it something that we could not find in the Bible? Does it someone to be God's counselor in order to have some brand new design? Mr. X is an expert to arouse man's soul. He loves to create many new terms to make his sayings special. Actually if we consider the content of the so-called (sic) "New way", there is nothing new in the Bible and in our church life practices such as: "preaching the gospel by doorknocking", "baptising (sic) people", "visiting the saints", "home meetings", "the entire family gathered for Bible reading, singing and enjoying the Lord together", "confessing sins", "group meetings", "experiencing the Lord in the daily living, functioning in the meetings to exhibit Christ", "exercising the spirit, experiencing the salvation of the soul", "offering money, and taking care of the needs of the full-timers" etc.
If we really want to pick up something new in this recent movement, please read the following: "fire the elderly co-workers and elders", "up with 1, 2, 3; down with 4, 5, 6", "older saints and younger elders", "every nineteen members should support one full-timer", "the Ministry Station", "the sole and last minister", "to be God's counselor", "write hymns to praise Mr. X", "the one who doesn't like to attend meetings is in charge of the co-workers", "the king of the church", "pass on the power to the son", "must wear the uniform to knock on doors", "before we go out for door-knocking, we have to deal with our cultural background by standing on chairs and shouting", we must turn left to knock on the next door", "preaching the gospel you are only allowed to read the pamphlet (each pamphlet sold at 50 cents to help make the second son rich)", "no questions and explanations are allowed in door-knocking, you must baptize (sic) a new one in 15 minutes", "in home meetings we are only allowed to read the Life Lessons", "overseas telephone transfer the actual scene of Mr. X's messages (we heard that this pleased Mr. X to the uttermost)", "donate $50 for the training", "functioning in the meetings as a drug addict", "awarded a star medal for baptizing (sic) every ten person", "door-knocking provides the opportunity for God to rearrange His predestination", "graduation ritual of the full-timers training" etc. These are really "new", you cannot even find them in the denominations. Many new terms replaced the old terms. We have no need of such a "New Way"! If our attitude is wrong, then, let us borrow the words from Brother Nee: "If this is our mistake today, we will keep these 'mistakes' forever! May the Lord preserve our 'mistakes' until that day".

I. MR. X SAID: "IF ANYONE DOES NOT FOLLOW MY WAYS. IT MEANS HE DOES NOT RECEIVE ME, THEN HE OUGHT TO BURN MY MESSAGES AND BOOKS OWNED BY HIM." IS IT REASONABLE?
The Bible says: "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, Saying, The Scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses' seat. All things, therefore, whatever they tell you, do and keep; but do not do according to their works. for they say and do not do. And they bind heavy burdens which are hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger" (Matthew 23:14).
The Scribes and the Pharisees seated in Moses' seat, means that what they spoke was according to the books of the law, that is, the Old Testament. As far as they speak the Words of God, they are the truth. The nature of the truth does not change simply because of the speaker's status. So we ought to observe them regardless of who is the speaker. Due to the fact that the speaker's conduct did not match his words, the Lord Jesus told us that we should not do according to their works.
Likewise, if Mr. X's messages are according to the Bible, we have no reason to reject them. because what we are receiving are the Words of God and not the thoughts of man. We have read some spiritual books which were written by the Roman Catholics, for instance, "The Fragrance of Myrrh" by Madame Guyon, but we do not accept the organization and the way of the Roman Catholics. We accept the revelation of "Justification by Faith" from Martin Luther, yet we reject Lutheranism. We got many helps from the Brethren books, but we never became the "Brethren" just because we read their books, and also we would not burn their books. Mr. X's messages are the result of standing on other saints' shoulders, especially on Brother Nee's. And we paid a high price for his many books. We don't see any reason to burn them.
Mr. X's practice and ways contradict his own messages, just like the Scribes and the Pharisees in the ancient times. We do receive their good points, but not their short-comings, especially not their works. If we accept both Mr. X's words and works, this will cause us to worship him as an idol and result in our being another denomination. It is a sin against our God.

CONCLUSION
Today we have many questions in the Lord's Recovery. In order for us to press on, we need to clarify those questions. According to the writer's understanding, almost every co-worker of his early years, does not agree with the recent works of Mr. X. Does that mean that everyone but him, does not see the heavenly vision? This pamphlet represents the voices of many. What we ask is to clarify these questions which will enable us to press on. We are not judging things according to right or wrong. In that day, we will all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. Only He is our judge. Today we hope that we may keep an undefiled conscience toward God, toward men and toward ourselves.

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord's Recovery, please do not read this pamphlet with colored glasses, but with a pure heart. Check with the pure Words in the Bible. Whether you are included in this writing or just a third party, if you have the peace in your conscience, then forget this writing. However, if your conscience bothers you, then that could be the Lord rebuking you through this writing. Please be sure to come back to the Lord and thoroughly deal with all the wrong doings. It is everyone's responsibility to protect the testimony of the Lord's Recovery.

Regarding the financial questions, we hope that the ministry office will put out a detailed statement by a CPA firm, or let IRS or FRANCHISE TAX BOARD examine all financial matters.
The contents of this pamphlet are only for the dear ones in the Lord's Recovery. Please do not show this to outsiders, so that our testimony will not be damaged. You are welcome to copy it and distribute it to others in the Lord's Recovery. May the Lord be with you all. Amen.

January 29, 1988
by THE HEAVENLY VOICE OF THE TRUTH GUARD

UntoHim · 03-03-2020, 09:00 AM

Readers should keep in mind that this was not the first time, or in the first place, that Witness Lee & Sons embezzled from Local Church members. There is a documented history of financial malfeasance going back to the 1950s in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, long before Witness, Timothy and Phillip Lee absconded to our fair American shores. And if we take Dr. Lily Hsu's testimony into account - My Unforgettable Memories: Watchman Nee and Shanghai Local Church- we can see that the roots of this kind of deception and financial malfeasance go back to the very beginnings of the movement in Mainland China.
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01-12-2009, 02:17 PM	#1
UntoHim Grateful Servant Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,134	Reconsideration of the Vision RECONSIDERATION OF THE VISION by The Heavenly Voice Of the Truth Guard January 29, 1988 TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE: Recently a copy of a pamphlet in Chinese was received and the Lord burdened us to translate it into English. The pamphlet contains many quotations from Watchman Nee's book, RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, which has been translated into English and published by the Living Stream under the title of, THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH LIFE. The Living Stream publication of Nee's book omitted large portions that were in the original Chinese manuscript. Therefore, our quotations from Nee's book will refer to the original Chinese publication. FOREWORD: In Watchman Nee's Foreword to his book, RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, he states: "We have one purpose, that is, to do our work completely according to the Bible. We have one desire, that is, to do the work according to God's Word. We believe the Bible is God's Word, the highest standard, the perfect example and full of commandments of authority. We do not want our work to come short in any way from God's full and complete written Word recorded for us in the Bible. We want to repeat with Paul, 'I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God' (Acts 20:27). In seeking to follow the leading of God's Spirit, we never would disregard or deviate from His written Word." Now in retrospect we see that Watchman Nee has shown in his entire life and work that he never deviated from that heavenly vision of Christ and the Church. For this vision he had a good conscience, unfeigned faith, unchangeable love, vast knowledge and even risked and gave his life for its fulfillment. We can say of him that he fought a good fight, he ran the race and was martyred. Hence there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness. We thank the Lord that through him this vision was imparted to others by the Lord not only in the orient but throughout the world, and thus many churches were established. The writer is the least of the brothers to undertake this writing, but through the Lord's mercy and the enlightenment he has received since giving himself to the Lord's Recovery, he must discharge the burden of what he has seen coming into the Lord's Recovery which is not according to the original pattern of God's plan and direction. There has been a turn to the world, sin and organized Christianity. Do we want to become a big tree full of leaven? This abnormal development fills those who have discernment with grief, deep sorrow and an intolerance to let it continue. A so-called teaching has been set forth that for the unity of the believers, there can be no opinion and only one trumpet must be sounded. This was very advantageously used to cover up many lies, darkness and fleshly motives and gains. The Bible's way is not to hide evil doings 9Link to, file, but for the sake of the truth to boldly expose that which is contrary to sound biblical principles. (Gal. 2:11-14; I Cor. 5:1-13; Eph. 5:11-13; Rev. 2:12). Not to have an opinion and to keep silent cannot be accepted by this writer. To do so would be unfaithful to the moving of the Spirit. The writer must record what he has seen, heard and experienced in the light of God's Word and Nee's original vision in his book. Those who read can come to their own conclusions. I. THE DAYSTAR CASE We will refer to the most questionable person in this writing as Mr. X. This Mr. X in his messages hints that he is as the Apostle Paul in this age and the only successor to Watchman Nee. However, his practice contradicts his message and does not match what he states. Daystar is a conspicuous example. A. THE FACT OF THE PRACTICE OF MR. X 1. To finance his oldest son's business ventures, he utilized the contributions of God's people to invest their money under the guise of the need of the work of the Lord. This was not supported in the Far East because they knew of the unstable and unreliable character of Mr. X's son. Also this would bring the local churches there into financial chaos. To our amazement, the elders of the churches in the United States openly persuaded the believers there to invest and told them they would be "killing two birds with one stone" - giving to the Lord and gaining financially. Even at the Lord's table, announcements and requests were made for this business. Mr. X had special meetings where he used the blackboard to point out the figures of halls to be built and moneys gained by investing in this business. 2. Mr. X arranged to have his eldest son as president of this company. Later the son mentioned to some saints that 2.5 million U. S. dollars disappeared from his hands. 3. Many saints were pressured to give their life savings to this business. 4. At that time the Lord sovereignly intervened in causing an oil crisis which forced large vehicles as motor homes to be unwanted in the market and this forced the business to go bankrupt. 5. Mr. X then asked one of his co-workers, a Mr. M, to persuade the saints, who invested their money to consider the investment as a donation and not seek to be reimbursed. Many were stumbled at this and left the churches, and others who continued to demand reimbursement were ignored by Mr. X. 6. This hindered the expansion of the Lord's Recovery in the States and caused Mr. M to rise to the "top" position among the churches. B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE 1. Although Acts 18 tells us that Paul, Aquilla and Priscilla engaged in tent making for a living, this was a personal matter and did not involve or pressure the churches to participate. In the entire Bible there is no instance of any apostle engaging in any business venture with churches or saints. 2. On the contrary, Nehemiah 13:8-9 tells us that Nehemiah cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber and commanded that the house of God be cleansed. 3. Matt. 21 shows us how the Lord cast out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling. C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK. 1. Since Brother Nee does not approve of so-called "Faith Mission", he would never involve saints in any business venture to raise funds for the work. He states, "Although the 'Faith Mission' is a corporate way to trust in God, it is better to trust Him as an individual than corporately. In Scripture we see individual faith, but we see no such thing as corporate faith" (Chapter 9). The "Faith Mission" could only affect a coworker's individual faith, but "Daystar" damaged churches and brought saints into serving mammon. 2. "To test who is a false apostle, money is the biggest trial. Whoever is not clear regarding money or shows greediness, must be a false apostle. The Apostle Paul in helping saints in Jerusalem sent two saints with money. How honest and upright he is! Whenever money touches us and our work is influenced by money, then we have the possibility of becoming a false apostle, even though we started out as a true apostle". (Chapter 2) Compare this upright attitude with Mr. X's appointment of his own son as president of the Company. This puts him in a position that invites suspicion. II. MR. M'S CASE A. BEHIND THE SCENES OF MR. M'S RISING UP 1. Because Mr. M was able to persuade the saints to forget the loans they made to the Company, thus relieving Mr. X. of reimbursing large sums of borrowed amounts, he was elevated to the high position of what seemed to be Mr. X's successor. On many occasions and meetings, the choice seat next to Mr. X was reserved for Mr. M. It was obvious to all at this time that Mr. M was the intimate companion and comrade of Mr. X. 2. Mr. M's manner of life is exactly the same as Mr. X. He instigated young people to despise their elders on the pretext of dealing with "oldness" in the church. (Only Mr. X himself could never grow old). A deep gap resulted between the young people and the older saints. Mr. M first made Mr. X an idol, then he made himself to be the golden calf. During that period of time only Mr. X and Mr. M appeared in the eyes of the young people. Their ears were deaf to anything an older co-worker or elder had to say. In 1977 a disturbing weekend occurred in Berkeley, California. It was a shameful event and gave the enemy much ground to attack the Lord's Recovery. 3. The confusion and trouble returned to Mr. X who was no longer useful to carry on with Mr. M so he manipulated another co-worker to take the lead to condemn Mr. M's actions. All the blame was put on Mr. M and announcements (sic) were made to the churches that Mr. M was an "evil one who sneaked into the Lord's Recovery without Mr. X's knowledge." So ended the career of Mr. M with Mr. X's ministry. B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE 1. "For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7) In selecting man, God looks on man's heart, not on his ability. 2. On the one hand the Bible admonishes young people not to despise their youth and to be ambitious to attain the office of an elder, yet on the other hand, I Peter 5:5 states that younger men are to be subject to elders. In contrast, Mr. X would tell the young people to respect the elderly saints, but not listen to them or follow their ways; they were too old and useless. 3. Acts 20:28 states that the Holy Spirit placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God. Therefore the Apostle in seeking the leading-of the Spirit in appointing elders can only appoint those to lead God's flock who were already appointed by the Spirit Himself. Even greater consideration must be given in the choice of co-workers. Personal preference and family ties must be disregarded. If a seeming wrong choice is made, the Apostle himself must bear the responsibility and not "fire" the worker or give the excuse that he crept in unawares. C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK l. Chapter 7 states that a younger co-worker must be subject to the older co-worker. 2. In Chapter 7 he goes on to state that in joining together to work corporately, the fellowship must always be spontaneous because there is always the danger of coming together in an organized way without the prompting of the Spirit which leads to the direction of man rather than heeding the voice of God. Those in "lower" positions might be restricted by those in "higher" positions. Mr. M was a pawn in the hand of Mr X. Neither really sought the guidance of the Spirit but carried on man-made maneuvers until they collapsed in sheer exhaustion, or God in His sovereignty intervened. III. THE USURPATION OF THE SECOND SON Upon the departure of Mr M, many opposing books were published. Although they did not state the truth in its entirety, many of their observations regarding Mr. X were accurate and not fabricated from their imaginations. Due to the fact that the points in question were deleted from the written publications of Mr. X's ministry, verifications cannot be made. However, numerous cassettes and videos bear witness to the observations of the so-called opposers. During the lawsuit the saints were warned and pressured to keep silent, and many voluntarily kept silent for the sake of the Lord's Recovery. On some occasions when outsiders sought to interview saints, only special ones were selected who were "safe" to be interviewed. During the lawsuit, Mr. X conducted himself in a humble even fearful manner. But upon the successful conclusion of the trial, instead of clearing the way for the Recovery to go on, it became the opportunity for the second son to rise up and to bring in a far greater devastation than Mr. M could ever dream of. A. THE PROGRESS OF THE USURPATION OF THE SECOND SON 1. The second son does not like to attend the church meetings, and also held no proper position in the business world. Yet Mr. X placed him as the manager of his ministry office. For more than ten years the impression he gave to the saints was one of arrogance, loose conduct, abusive language and behaviour (sic). There was no evidence that he could possibly be a regenerated child of God. His explosive temper and erratic emotional behavior caused many difficulties among those who handled the book sales in the local churches. This caused many complaints. But Mr. X stated, "The Ministry Station is my private kitchen, and I have the right to choose my own cooking helper." Mr. X seems to forget that the building of the Ministry Station was donated and built by the saints, and its daily work is mostly accomplished by the free services of the saints. (There are only a few full time compensated employees in the Ministry Station). Even up to this present time the Ministry Station requests each local church to take a turn to send saints to perform all kinds of uncompensated labor. Besides all of the free voluntary help, special offering boxes were placed in the business work areas for the saints to contribute their offerings. If it is a private business why are the saints asked to serve gratis and also give donations. This is certainly robbing God's house for a business. 2. Since the publications are put out by the free labor of the saints and offerings are given, should not the overhead expenses be very low? Yet the actual prices of the publications are much higher than those of other book dealers. What is the reason for this? None other than the profit motive. 3. The second son suggested to Mr. X to have bi-annual trainings where a $50 fee is charged to attend. This fee must be paid whether the training is attended "live" or via video. This mandatory fee is actually called a "donation". What a cloak for practicing godliness as a means of gain. Yet Mr. X mocks theological seminaries and denominations. The trainings have set rules formulated by the second son. A set figure of those who may attend from each church is given. The total amount of that number must be sent in several months before the training. If there are cancellations, no refunds are made. It is most unreasonable to charge a fee for a video training since the church premises are used for the training meetings, and it is specifically stated that these meetings are "not church meetings, but training meetings." The video tapes are rented by the church and the church equipment is used. There is no so-called training teacher yet a fee must be paid. This fee given to the Ministry Station is pure profit for there are no expenses to be deducted, all expenses are all borne by the churches and the saints. 4. Before the second son's rising up, Mr. X did not allow Chinese-speaking meetings to be held in the States in order to avoid division. During that period many new immigrants from the Ear East who were not fluent in English seemed to be cut off from the church life so many were lost to the denominations. Only those who clearly saw the vision faithfully remained in the Lord's Recovery. Later, some saints were burdened to have Chinese-speaking home meetings in addition to the regular meetings of the church. After the Berkeley disturbance, most of the English work among the Caucasians came to a standstill. Then Mr. X suddenly concentrated on Chinese-speaking meetings. He separated the Chinese-speaking meetings from the local churches and called them "ministry meetings". He appointed his second son as the responsible one for the Chinese work. Thus the second son became a spiritual giant even though his status as a Christian was questionable. He sat on his appointed throne and summoned Chinese leading brothers to give service instructions. He stated that he was the only person who had the power to influence Mr. X. Many ambitious leading ones who were seeking for the right and left seats of the throne flattered him and showered him with tea cups. What a deplorable scene. Proverbs 30 says that there are three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not...To us the second son sitting on the throne is a far more incredible thing. 5. Many co-workers and elders often counselled (sic) Mr. X to restrain his second son. Mr. X would not heed any such advice but rather elevated him to be the General Manager of the Ministry Station. He stated that the saints must be one with the ministry and one with the ministry office. He actually personified the office. He stated that he must be followed and equally his son must be followed. The new young leaders informed the churches that everything must first be reported to Mr. X and his second son to have their approval. This was not only outrageous, but these ambitious ones "ganged up" and formed a special party in the churches. This deepened the mistakes of Mr. X just as Eli and Solomon in their latter years. The writer believes that the Lord will also speak to Mr. X saying, "Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people." (I Samuel 2:29-30). 6. On the one hand Mr. X says that Mr. M was an evil one who crept into the Lord's Recovery. On the other hand, he elevated the followers of Mr. M and made them to be the followers of his second son. The only change was the general, from Mr. M to the second son. However this "slight" change caused far more damage. It had a greater influence on Mr. X and caused the situation to deteriorate, degenerate and worsen to its lowest level. 7. The rising up of the second son has degraded the church. It is now no longer on the local ground of oneness. It has become a sectarian denomination -- the Company of Mr. X and son. Money, the world and sin have replaced the genuine testimony. The followers of the second son under the guise of the so-called "Ministry" uttered many nonsensical and ridiculous statements as: a. "Mr. X is our king. The king has the right to give his throne to his own son." b. "In the Old Testament the Israelites served God in the tabernacle. Actually they were serving Aaron and his two sons. Today Mr. X is our high priest Aaron. Therefore we should serve Mr. X and his two sons." c. "Although Mary was more spiritual than Joseph, yet the Word of God often came to Joseph first. Then through his mouth, it was passed on to Mary. Likewise our God speaks to the second son (who is not quite spiritual) first, then through his mouth, the Word of God passes on to Mr. X and then to the churches." d. "One who wants to serve our Lord must establish a good relationship with the second son. Otherwise he has no way to stand firm." e. "Our need is not only to be one with Mr. X, but to repent and confess to the second son so we can be one with him. This is the prerequisite of having a proper church life to serve the Lord." f. "We have to learn from the example of the Red Guards in communist China to be the Blue Guards, so we can support and protect Mr. X. We must even learn from Satan who is always one step ahead of God to do the works." 8. The above mentioned words causes one to wonder whether the spirit of politics has entered into some dear saints. Many of the actions of recent years duplicate those of the cultural revolution in mainland China. a. Mr. X appointed his second son as his successor to take over "the ministry" and to make the Lord's Recovery to be the Company of Mr. X and Son. b. Mr. X states that what he is doing in Taiwan now is a revolutionary work. He must change the system thoroughly. The followers of the second son announced that the Blue Guards are the battle unit for the "System Reform". c. The cultural revolution in communist China was to stir up those who by force would get rid of the oldness. The followers of the second son shouted: "Up with 1, 2, 3. Down with 4, 5, 6". That is, up with those in their teens, twenties and thirties, and down with those in their forties, fifties, and sixties. All the co-workers and elders over forty are too old. They need to be replaced with young co-workers and young elders under forty. d. Due to the faith of the elderly co-workers and elders to Christ and the church, they would never compromise with the world and sin. Therefore, they did not approve of the second son and his followers. That is why they were considered obstacles and they were to be eliminated. In 1985, Mr. X publicly condemned the elderly co-workers and elders. Many times in the meetings held in Taiwan, he said, "we should fire them all." At the same time, Mr. X elevated arrogant young leaders to replace the older ones. He encouraged the young people to get rid of the older saints in all the churches under the slogan of the "New man walks in the new way." The battle was kindled to chase away those who hold different opinions. The result is division, distrust and no peace in the churches today. e. All kinds of reasons were invented to squeeze money from the churches. An assigned contribution amount was given to each church to be turned into the Ministry Station. In recent years, huge sums from the churches all over the world have been turned in to the Ministry Station with no clear financial statement given to account for these monies (Link to file, LSM Finances) B. THE TEACHING OF THE BIBLE 1. The Bible tells us that in appointing church elders or deacons, they must be a good pattern to the flock (I Peter 5:3). They should be those already appointed by the Holy Spirit who serve in that local church before the apostle's appointment (Acts 20:28). Their manner of life "must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, of a sober mind, orderly, hospitable, apt to teach, not an excessive drinker (Link to, file Philip Accounts), not a striker, but forbearing, not contentious, not fond of money; one who manages well his own household, having his children in subjection with all gravity..." (I Timothy 3:2-13). Such serious consideration should have concerned Mr. X much more in choosing his successor to handle the so-called "the Ministry" work for the Lord's Recovery. Yet, out of his selfish motivation, he appointed his own son whose character contradicts I Timothy 3 in every aspect. This evil one misrepresents the testimony of the Lord's Recovery. He puts all of us in a shameful situation. We cannot understand how such a seemingly spiritual leader as Mr. X could be so blind and numb to this extent. 2. "And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also, go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." (I Kings 22:22-23). The genuine Lord's worker ought to be as the prophet Micaiah who spoke for the Lord boldly without reservation. Yet, today those followers of Mr. X's second son, (formerly the followers of Mr. M) twist the truth with a defiled conscience, just as those false prophets in the time of Micaiah lied to cover up the eyes of the king. These followers are digging the tombs for Mr. X and his son. 3. Mr. X often cited Acts 15:36-41 and said: "Because Barnabas respected his nephew Mark more than the work of the Lord, therefore, from that point on, the Holy Spirit never recorded Barnabas' work." Ironically, Mr. X himself respected his own flesh son more than the testimony of the Lord. Is his son more spiritual and does he have more love for the Lord and His work than Mark? 4. In the past, we have seen the Lord's will and determined to discard anything contrary to His revelation, such as denominations, worldly organizations, the letter of the law, sins, fleshly things, etc. But now, Mr. X and his second son are as dogs returning to their own vomit and treating dung as treasures. This situation parallels the Bible's statement: "for if having escaped the defilements of the world by the full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and having again been entangled in these, they are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it were better for them not to have fully known the way of righteousness, than fully knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb: The dog has turned to its own vomit, and the washed now to wallowing in the mud." (2 Peter 2: 17-22). C. BROTHER NEE'S VISION IN RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK 1. "To discern whether one is an apostle or not, depends upon his calling from God and if he is sent by Him." (Chaper 2)(sic) "God's workers should not form a centralized mission organization. They may have a kind of association. Nevertheless, it should not be a man-made organized association: it should be a spiritual association. God Himself must be the master in such an association. Nobody should have a certain position or job in this association. Man-made organizations exercise authority to control others through a chairman, committee leader etc. They instruct and outline the work of others. But the biblical association is never organized." (Chapter 9) Today our difficulty is having one among us who is not called by the Lord, but merely appointed by his foolish father, to occupy a position for which he is not qualified. He unjustly abuses the called ones. The situation is as stated in Galatians 4:29, "But as then he that was born according to flesh persecuted him that was born according to Spirit, so also it is now." 2. "And also money becomes the authority. whoever holds the wallet has the authority. Money controls man. Whoever is financially supported is controlled by the supporter." (Chapter 9) In the past, full-timers in the Lord's Recovery were absolutely initiated by God's calling to live by faith. Brother Nee states: "The prerequisite of being a full-time co-worker is that he must be able to trust in God." Please pay attention to today's fallen situation. The ones who are truly called of God are regarded as part of the "oldness", but those who merely volunteered and responded emotionally at "highly charged" meetings and were given a number to be a so-called "co-worker" of Mr. X now try to lord it over the saints endeavoring to teach them the "new way". Every local church was strictly commanded to support one fulltimer out of nineteen members. This was according to the calculations of Mr. X and not of faith. The second son has authority over the full-timers. What a shame to the testimony of the Lord's Recovery. IV. CHECK-LIST OF BEING A TRUE APOSTLE A. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE BE PUFFED UP? 1. From reading the Epistles of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and Brother Nee's book, we sense the humbleness and meekness of the apostles. They never seek to lord it over the saints, but become patterns of the flock. I Peter 5:5 states that God resists the proud. One who is puffed up imitates the devil (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 26:17). 2. On the contrary, in hit messages, Mr. X always likes to haughtily express his spiritual knowledge, and despises others. For example, he states: "If I don't speak these things to you, you will never know them." He likes to indicate to the saints that he is today's Apostle Paul, the sole spiritual leader. He especially loves flattering words. No wonder those leaders of the Blue Guards wrote hymns to praise him in the meetings. They gave him titles of: "today's Aaron", "the king of the Church", "President", "the sole and the last Minister", "God-man" etc. Accepting such praise and adoration proves he is in darkness. He never tried to stop or correct these praisers, but accepted their adulations with pleasure. Recently a most shocking new name was invented in Taiwan by those followers. According to them, there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One" -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one. What blasphemy! Here we request that whoever invented such diabolical theology should certainly be stopped from disseminating such false teaching. B. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE INSULT CO-WORKERS AND ELDERS PUBLICLY? 1. In the Bible we never see any apostle criticizing others except in relation to protecting the truth. There is no apostle in the Bible who publicly insults and looks down on others. 11 Corinthians 12:12 says: "Indeed, the signs of the apostle were wrought among you in all endurance, by signs and wonders and works of power." In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee states: "The most powerful spiritual ability is endurance, endure and forgive with joy." (Chapter 2) 2. But what we have seen and heard from Mr. X is a self-exalted spiritual leader who despises and criticizes co-workers. He openly insults them, defiles them and puts them into situations where they are no longer able to function in the church properly. Mr. X actually rebuked co-workers with the following words: a.' "Your message (sic) is out-dated, not fitting for this age." b. "He is doing his own work, not the work of MY ministry." c. "He is the cancer of the church." d. "Who told you to come? I hate to see you!" e. "They are too old, they ought to be fired!" Should a true apostle be allowed to have such an attitude? Is he worthy to be the leader of a "co-workers' association"? If a co-worker did speak disappointing words, Mr. X should fellowship with him privately to cause him to function more effectively in the future. Such words as, "You are fired" prove that co-workers in Mr. X's eyes are not the co-workers together with God, servants of God, but just his slaves. C. WHAT IS THE PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARD MONEY FOR A TRUE APOSTLE? 1. The Bible says: "You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24). RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK also states: "To test who is the false apostle, money is the biggest trial." 2. For his eldest son's benefits, Mr. X planned the "Daystar" and caused many saints to lose their life-savings. His attitude in dealing with the "Daystar" case was not upright. He appointed his own son as the president of the Company, and did not righteously settle the loans made to the Company when it went bankrupt. Even later when the financial situation of the so-called "the Ministry" was improved, he never thought to reimburse the saints who loaned large sums of money. On the contrary, he allowed himself and his sons' families to live luxuriously. He not only is far below the tax collector Zaccheus in Luke 19:8, but worse than unbelievers. The Lord says: "Unless your righteousness surpass that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heaven." (Matthew 5:20) 3. Mr. X encourages his second son to invent many ways to squeeze money from the saints. 4. Lately certain indications were given to the elders of many churches through the chief of the "Blue Guards" that the churches should donate a certain amount monthly to Mr. X to express their thankfulness. Some churches donate a thousand dollars monthly, and some three hundred dollars monthly. This kind of donation coincidentally started in 1987. This proves that it was not spontaneous and voluntary, but coerced by the hints, suggestions and compulsive promptings of his indoctrinated ones. 5. Many new pretexts were created to collect offerings from churches, such as: "Ministry Station in such-and-such location", "full-timers' apartment", "great meeting hall for training"... Eventually this sucked in millions of dollars from churches and caused many churches to fall into a financial crisis. The real use of these offerings was never reported to the churches. It is the mystery of mysteries as to who owns the property and money of "his own kitchen". 6. Many saints live simply and economically in order to save "two small copper coins of the needy widow" for the Lord. On the contrary, the luxurious living situation of Mr. X and his sons is really unbelievable! According to the second son's self boasting, the value of his wrist watch is more than ten thousand dollars. Their household equipment and furniture are of the top quality and brands. Mr. X also has his own private apartments in several locations as Irving, Sttutgart, Germany and Taiwan where it is the job of one full-timer to monitor the temperature of his apartment twenty-four hours a day. Many indications reveal that he may have formerly been a true apostle, but because of the influence of money, he is walking toward the way of a false apostle. "He is blinded with pride ... supposing godliness to be a means of gain." (I Timothy 6:4-5). Money catches man the most. Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, but he was not a betrayer from the very beginning. At first he was one of the twelve disciples chosen by the Lord. But because he was unable to overcome the temptation of the thirty pieces of silver, he fell into an unforgivable situation, even though he repented and returned the silver. Later he hanged himself." (Matthew 27:3-5). D. SHOULD A TRUE APOSTLE BLINDLY SPOIL HIS OWN SON, HONOR HIS FLESH SON MORE THAN THE LORD AND THE CHURCHES AND CO-WORKERS, AND DISREGARD THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD? Nearly every co-worker dealt with or fired by Mr. X was simply because he could not tolerate the evil doings of the second son. Those who would not worship nor flatter the second son, were not only humiliated and insulted by the second son, but also condemned by Mr. X. Mr. X never tried to restrain his own son. We really cannot fathom why Mr. X has such a weakness as to be threatened by his son, and give in to his unreasonable and unjust demands. We wish he would wake up and not step into the path of old Eli. E. REGARDING FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE WORK, IS THE "DAYSTAR" BUSINESS AND SUPPORTING ONE FULL-TIMER BY EVERY NINETEEN MEMBERS THE VISION GIVEN BY BROTHER NEE? 1. Although the Bible says: "Those who announce the gospel live of the gospel" (I Corinthians 9:14). In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee explained: "What is the meaning of those who announce the gospel should live of the gospel? Does it mean to receive a fixed amount from others, or a regular salary from the church? No, when the Apostle Paul uttered these words, he had no thought of a salary. His meaning is that those who labor for God are worthy to accept gifts from other saints. These gifts are not periodic, in fixed amounts, out of duty, or by force. It is the believers' heart moved by God to give for the necessities of life to God's workers. God's workers apparently receive the gifts from man's hand, but actually it is the result of their trusting in God. God answered their prayers, and met their need through the saints. This kind of receiving of gifts is the real meaning of 'living of the gospel'." Furthermore, Brother Nee says: "One thing we ought to remember is that in the Epistles there are some exhortations of giving to needy saints, and of caring for the need of the local elders, but there is no mention that we should offer money to workers for the need of the work" (Chapter 9). On the one hand we feel that we should receive the burden from God to take care of the need of co-workers (in the past years, we did practice this kind of caring), yet on the other hand, in order to avoid the degradation, we agree with what Brother Nee has said: "If anyone cannot trust God, he is not qualified to be a fulltime worker." 2. The Apostle Paul and Brother Nee's attitude is absolutely different to that of today's Mr. X. He openly allocate offerings for the churches, his second son to coerce the co-workers' by grab the wallets of the saints. The results of his wrong leading are; a. The testimony of the Lord's Recovery is defiled and we are back in the way of denominations. b. The principle of the Lord's work is reversed that "the ministry should be for the churches, not the churches for the ministry'." This will cause us to be the most stubborn denomination due to the fact of "the ministry's control over the churches" (so-called ministry replaces the position of the Holy Spirit and the Bible). c. Many full-time co-workers are produced who are not called, but initiated by man, and guaranteed a salary, (of course, there are always a few geniune (sic) workers, but the motivation of the majority is doubtful). We heard that some full-timers bargained with their local church for their amount of support. d. Many local churches fell into a financial crisis. There were even problems of meeting regular expenses. And yet the Ministry office continues to bill churches monthly, causing many churches to be in debt. We don't know what action the Ministry office will take to have those accounts paid. Perhaps they will force churches to sell their meeting halls, or they will take over the churches' property. e. Elders of churches who bear the financial burden often beg in the church meetings for more donations. As a result, many become tired and bored. Meetings lack the life supply, but are full of outward burden, and of course, the attendence (sic) becomes less and less. (REMARKS: The mathematics of Mr. X is illogical and ridiculous. Out of nineteen members of a local church, many are retired, jobless, widows, students, domestic wives, or needy saints who don't have sufficient to meet their own need. Those who have a proper income and have the spiritual burden are not so many. They probably are less than one quarter. Yet Mr. X shouts, "every nineteen members ought to support one full-timer!") F. TO SET UP THE MINISTRY OFFICE TO TAKE CHARGE OF THE WORK OF THE WHOLE WORLD, IS THIS THE VISION OF BROTHER NEE? 1. From the Bible we see that workers may have their association, but in RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee said: "Their association is not an organized association, but a spiritual association." It means, there is no organization, no names, but only a few workers coordinated together, yet not a fixed entity. Brother Nee continues: "All the apostles united together to manage the entire work. There is no such thing in the Bible. Neither does Bible have a centralized organization formed by workers. Such is the Roman way, not the biblical way. The Bible never shows us that all the apostles unite to be an organization, under a central authority, controlling the work. Although Paul has a group of co-workers, and Peter has another group of his co-workers, they are just a few among the apostles, and not all the apostles joining together to a group. There is a need for workers to be united together, yet workers should fear being united by a man-made organization, which hinders God's servants from the leading of the Spirit, and brings them under the charge of a man, to be man's slaves" (Chapter 7). 2. Can you find "the ministry station" in the Bible? Workers of God, are you sure that you are able to freely work under the guidance (sic) of the Spirit? Who dares to testify from his conscience that he is not under the guidance of Mr. X? Who never encountered difficulty with Mr. X's second son? Those who were truly called were openly put to shame; those who were not, persecuted the former: Does not this situation prove that the Ministry Station is a centralized organization? G. IS EVERY AGE ONLY ALLOWED TO HAVE ONE SPIRITUAL LEADER? 1. Mr. X often cites Acts 1 to 12 that Peter was the sole leader of that age; after chapter 12, Peter's ministry ceased. That is why from chapter 12 on, only Paul's ministry was recorded. From chapter 13, Paul was the sole leader of the age. And then through his messages, Mr. X describes himself as the heir of the sole leader. He is the Apostle Paul of this age, the last and the sole minister to welcome the coming of the Lord. He actually puts other co-workers' portion and function aside. a. He describes the Apostle Paul as the architect of the New Testament economy, and then portrays himself as "the sole leader of the ministry of this age. He is the only one who is able to design and give instruction according to the Lord's up-to-date move. He also says that he is the general of the battle unit. He never allows any different opinion. He will punish you if you dare to have another opinion. b. He gives himself all the credit of establishing local churches through out the whole world. He ignores the work of others. He moves and removes co-workers and elders according to his own plans. He even boasts: "I don't care if anyone regards me as a Pope." 2. In the Old Testament, Christ Himself was not yet on this earth. Therefore, Moses, Joshua, David etc. typified Christ. They were the representative authorities, the sole leaders of their own age. But in the New Testament, Christ has come. The Lord told us that there is only One (the Lord Himself) Master, and we all are brothers (sic). Brother Nee states: "We ought to know that the Holy Spirit on earth is the Executor of Christ. Today He has no need of another manager. Our difficulty is that we would like to have a person who has a higher position in order to control us. It seems only through him, we could understand the will of God." For Mr. X to say that Peter's ministry ceased after Acts 12 and was replaced by Paul is a nonsensical twisting of the Bible. In Acts 15 we see that Peter vindicated the truth. The Epistles of Peter were written later than Acts 28. Those two Epistles are so precious. Although the Apostle Peter was martyred several years earlier than Paul, the Apostle John was never off the central message of the New Testament ministry. Neither do we see that any one of the twelve original Apostle (including the Apostle John) were ever under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. a. The Bible tells us that all the plans of the building up of the church have been designed by Christ before the foundation of the world (Proverb 8:22-31; Ephesians 1:10; 3:9). Nothing is left for apostles (including Paul and Peter) to complete. They are merely "wise master builders" (I Corinthians 3:10). There is no place for Mr. X to carry on supplementary design as Mr. X boasted. To say this is not only a blasphemy to God, but also an insult to the Apostle Paul and Brother Nee. b. Ephesians 3:11-12 says: "And He gave some apostles... for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ." Brother Nee also mentioned: "Each one has his own ministry. God raised up different withnesses (sic) in each age, and gave them special new light to do the time-fitting testimony." As far as we know, God did raise many faithful apostles among us, to go to Europe, South America, Japan, South-east Asia, Taiwan, the United States, and Canada, who established many churches. Even before Mr. X fled to Taiwan from mainland China, the Church in Taipei was already set up by some ordinary workers. Almost every local church in Taiwan was started by ordinary saints, none of them were simply out of Mr. X's labor. The situation is the same in other areas, such as: Brother S labored in Europe, Brothers C, Y, and H worked in Japan, Brother T, and a certain apostle, were often insulted openly by Mr. X as having typical "oldness". They set up the churches in Brazil. Even in the United States, long before Mr. X came to the States, the testimony of the Lord's Recovery was already brought in through the translation of Brother Nee's books. The Lord started the good work among the saints. Paul says; "Not boasting without measure in others' labors" (II Corinthians 10:15). But Mr. X robbed the results of others' labors and counted his coming to the States as the start of the Lord's Recovery in America. Paul told the Corinthians: "If to others I am not an apostle, yet surely I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord" (I Corinthians 9:2). If Mr. X who dwelt only in some locations can be regarded as an apostle, then surely those co-workers who were sent by God to different localities to set up the churches are apostles also. And yet those true apostles became the sacrifices of Mr. X and Son's Company. One by one, they were fired or phased-out under the pretext of "oldness", and this has resulted in today's horrible "Pope" situation. H. WHAT IS THE SYSTEM REFORM? WHAT IS THE NEW WAY? 1. In his RECONSIDERATION OF THE WORK, Brother Nee says: "In God's work, He never leaves any room for us to think. We human beings are afraid of employing unwise servants, but God is afraid of using servants who are too smart. God only needs man to subject to Him and to listen to Him. God doesn't need man's counsel. Paul said. 'Who has been His counselor'? Man likes to be a counselor, but God doesn't like it. God arranged all the works. There is nothing left for us to think." 2. But today among us there is someone who likes to be God's counselor. He invented many new ways in order to gain money, and these new ways also helped to transfer power to his second son. a. Why has the Lord's Recovery stood still in these recent years in the States? It is due to the following causes: "Daystar case", "Mr. M's rising up". "The usurpation of the second son". "The pride of Mr. X and the counter-attack by Christianity which he criticized excessively". Our need is to deal with the above-mentioned causes. Mr. X should not condemn other co-workers for their "oldness". In order to cover up his own faults, he learned the way of expansion from some extreme groups in the denominations, and he called it "the New Way". Moreover, in order to elevate his young followers, and to increase the power of his ministry office over the local churches, he initiated "the System Reform" to chase out all the elderly co-workers and elders. The so-called "the New Way" and "the System Reform" are the masks for him to carry out an evil plot. b. What should we regard as "New"? Is it something that we could not find in the Bible? Does it someone to be God's counselor in order to have some brand new design? Mr. X is an expert to arouse man's soul. He loves to create many new terms to make his sayings special. Actually if we consider the content of the so-called (sic) "New way", there is nothing new in the Bible and in our church life practices such as: "preaching the gospel by doorknocking", "baptising (sic) people", "visiting the saints", "home meetings", "the entire family gathered for Bible reading, singing and enjoying the Lord together", "confessing sins", "group meetings", "experiencing the Lord in the daily living, functioning in the meetings to exhibit Christ", "exercising the spirit, experiencing the salvation of the soul", "offering money, and taking care of the needs of the full-timers" etc. If we really want to pick up something new in this recent movement, please read the following: "fire the elderly co-workers and elders", "up with 1, 2, 3; down with 4, 5, 6", "older saints and younger elders", "every nineteen members should support one full-timer", "the Ministry Station", "the sole and last minister", "to be God's counselor", "write hymns to praise Mr. X", "the one who doesn't like to attend meetings is in charge of the co-workers", "the king of the church", "pass on the power to the son", "must wear the uniform to knock on doors", "before we go out for door-knocking, we have to deal with our cultural background by standing on chairs and shouting", we must turn left to knock on the next door", "preaching the gospel you are only allowed to read the pamphlet (each pamphlet sold at 50 cents to help make the second son rich)", "no questions and explanations are allowed in door-knocking, you must baptize (sic) a new one in 15 minutes", "in home meetings we are only allowed to read the Life Lessons", "overseas telephone transfer the actual scene of Mr. X's messages (we heard that this pleased Mr. X to the uttermost)", "donate $50 for the training", "functioning in the meetings as a drug addict", "awarded a star medal for baptizing (sic) every ten person", "door-knocking provides the opportunity for God to rearrange His predestination", "graduation ritual of the full-timers training" etc. These are really "new", you cannot even find them in the denominations. Many new terms replaced the old terms. We have no need of such a "New Way"! If our attitude is wrong, then, let us borrow the words from Brother Nee: "If this is our mistake today, we will keep these 'mistakes' forever! May the Lord preserve our 'mistakes' until that day". I. MR. X SAID: "IF ANYONE DOES NOT FOLLOW MY WAYS. IT MEANS HE DOES NOT RECEIVE ME, THEN HE OUGHT TO BURN MY MESSAGES AND BOOKS OWNED BY HIM." IS IT REASONABLE? The Bible says: "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, Saying, The Scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in Moses' seat. All things, therefore, whatever they tell you, do and keep; but do not do according to their works. for they say and do not do. And they bind heavy burdens which are hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with their finger" (Matthew 23:14). The Scribes and the Pharisees seated in Moses' seat, means that what they spoke was according to the books of the law, that is, the Old Testament. As far as they speak the Words of God, they are the truth. The nature of the truth does not change simply because of the speaker's status. So we ought to observe them regardless of who is the speaker. Due to the fact that the speaker's conduct did not match his words, the Lord Jesus told us that we should not do according to their works. Likewise, if Mr. X's messages are according to the Bible, we have no reason to reject them. because what we are receiving are the Words of God and not the thoughts of man. We have read some spiritual books which were written by the Roman Catholics, for instance, "The Fragrance of Myrrh" by Madame Guyon, but we do not accept the organization and the way of the Roman Catholics. We accept the revelation of "Justification by Faith" from Martin Luther, yet we reject Lutheranism. We got many helps from the Brethren books, but we never became the "Brethren" just because we read their books, and also we would not burn their books. Mr. X's messages are the result of standing on other saints' shoulders, especially on Brother Nee's. And we paid a high price for his many books. We don't see any reason to burn them. Mr. X's practice and ways contradict his own messages, just like the Scribes and the Pharisees in the ancient times. We do receive their good points, but not their short-comings, especially not their works. If we accept both Mr. X's words and works, this will cause us to worship ham as an idol and result in our being another denomination. It is a sin against our God. CONCLUSION Today we have many questions in the Lord's Recovery. In order for us to press on, we need to clarify those questions. According to the writer's understanding, almost every co-worker of his early years, does not agree with the recent works of Mr. X. Does that mean that everyone but him, does not see the heavenly vision? This pamphlet represents the voices of many. What we ask is to clarify these questions which will enable us to press on. We are not judging things according to right or wrong. In that day, we will all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. Only He is our judge. Today we hope that we may keep an undefiled conscience toward God, toward men and toward ourselves. Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord's Recovery, please do not read this pamphlet with colored glasses, but with a pure heart. Check with the pure Words in the Bible. Whether you are included in this writing or just a third party, if you have the peace in your conscience, then forget this writing. However, if your conscience bothers you, then that could be the Lord rebuking you through this writing. Please be sure to come back to the Lord and thoroughly deal with all the wrong doings. It is everyone's responsibility to protect the testimony of the Lord's Recovery. Regarding the financial questions, we hope that the ministry office will put out a detailed statement by a CPA firm, or let IRS or FRANCHISE TAX BOARD examine all financial matters. The contents of this pamphlet are only for the dear ones in the Lord's Recovery. Please do not show this to outsiders, so that our testimony will not be damaged. You are welcome to copy it and distribute it to others in the Lord's Recovery. May the Lord be with you all. Amen. January 29, 1988 by THE HEAVENLY VOICE OF THE TRUTH GUARD __________________ Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21)

01-14-2009, 02:24 PM	#3
ps8602 Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision UntoHim I found this article to be very disturbing. As one who has been around the recovery since the 70's I can testify that there are a number of items that are grossly incorrect, whether this is because of rumours and false stories or made up by the author I have no idea. One example should be sufficient: The article states: "Recently a most shocking new name was invented in Taiwan by those followers. According to them, there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One" -- God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one. What blasphemy! Here we request that whoever invented such diabolical theology should certainly be stopped from disseminating such false teaching." There is a teaching printed by LSM as follows: “Because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one with the Body of Christ, we may say that the Triune God is now “the four-in-one God”; these four are the Father, the Son, the Spirit, and the Body”. (From an the outline of Message 8 used at “The Vision, Experience, and Practice of the All-Inclusive Oneness International Training for Elders and Responsible Ones” - Spring 2008) The article refers to this teaching and has the reader believe WL taught that ‘there in now no longer Three-in-One, but "Four-in-One."’ He did not say “there is no longer” but rather “we may say that the Triune God is now the 'four-in-one' God.'” The article then states the teaching is “God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and the God-man Mr. X are one.” I have never heard, nor is it even within our imagination to believe that those who follow LSM would even consider that WL is ‘one of the four’ as the article gives this impression. Brothers, I believe that we should fight for the truth in these days, as much as we did 30 years ago, but we should not be silent when things are misquoted, twisted, and falsified. This article, from 1988, was rejected then because of the false attack, and it should also be rejected today. I would give this article no credence, even if some points were accurate. If we want to have meaningful dialogue concerning the situation then we should be honest and remove this article. With thanks Dennis

01-14-2009, 02:35 PM	#4
Hope Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Durham, North Carolina Posts: 313	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Dear Brother Dennis, PS8602 Unfortunately Paul Hon did teach the four in one. He went over it with me in my home during the summer 1986 training. Later I confronted him in Witness Lee's presence. He did not deny what he had spoken and he was severely rebuked by Witness Lee. Note the quoted article did not say that WL taught such nonsense but rather "those followers." If you knew Paul Hon, (and I would guess you did) you know what a loose cannon he is. I had never seen the article until it was posted here. I could only read a little as it is so heavy. I plan to read it carefully later. I fully agree that we all should beware of such inflammatory writings. Hope, Don Rutledge

01-14-2009, 09:01 PM	#5
Indiana Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 658	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision This was the account given in John Ingalls' book regarding Paul Hon's speaking in the home of Don Rutledge. "An account of Brother Lee’s position was given by one of the leading trainers of the FTTT to a group of brothers in Dallas, Texas, in the summer of 1986, in the context of how to be one with the ministry. There are witnesses to confirm it. It goes as follows. The Father is number one, the Son is number two, the Spirit is number three, and Witness Lee is number four; and then there are those who are with Witness Lee. A brother asked, “And who is number five?” The trainer replied, “It is not yet quite clear who number five is”, but pointing out “You brothers do not have access to Brother Lee. I and another trainer do. We can walk into Brother Lee’s apartment any time and have breakfast with him. The way to know what Brother Lee wants us to do is to be in contact with those who have access to him. They will tell you what he wants you to do.” The hosting brother asked, “Isn’t this a hierarchy?” The trainer replied, “No!” The brother asked, “How then does this differ from what we’ve been condemning?” The trainer answered, “If the elders in a local church would practice in this way to carry out their burden, it would be a hierarchy; but if this is practiced to carry out the ministry’s burden, it is not a hierarchy”. When Brother Lee heard through us the above speech of his trainer, he took steps to rebuke and correct him. That such nonsense could be spoken by one chosen by Brother Lee to lead his training after all we have passed through and heard from Brother Lee’s ministry is difficult to understand."

01-15-2009, 11:39 AM	#7
UntoHim Grateful Servant Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,134	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision I think this "pamphlet" is very relevant to the turmoil and concerns of this period. I have no idea who this "Heavenly voice of the truth guard" is (apparently it was originally written in Chinese) but they were obviously tired of all the abuse, sinful behavior and nonsense coming from "The Office". People can only take so much much... Frankly, had I gotten to see this pamphlet at the time it was written, I would have left the Local Church much sooner. I had moved from Orange County by then, and I think I finally got a hold of this in the early 90s (about the same time I got a copy of John Ingalls' book and some of the other writings put out at that time.) By then I had heard and seen a lot...and had no doubt that much of what was written was actually true. By then I could no longer swallow hook, line and sinker "The Ministry's" version of these events and concerns. Anyway, even though I think it is rather harsh and very rough around the edges, in retrospect it is very understandable why these brothers wrote what they did and in the manner they did. I think the issues they address here are worthy of our discussions even today. __________________ Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21)

01-13-2009, 10:45 PM	#2
Indiana Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 658	Re: The pamphlet ignored This writing UntoHim has posted was obviously a sincere attempt by the author to address very serious concerns during the late 80s turmoil. The excerpt below from John Ingalls' book refers to the writing (its title in blue, further down), as he also describes the tumultuous atmosphere in which the pamphlet was referred to in what was to be John's final elders' conference meeting with Brother Lee. Conference and Elders’ Meeting in Pasadena - November 1988 see: http://localchurchdiscussions.com/vB...hread.php?t=47 Last edited by Indiana; 01-14-2009 at 04:37 AM.

01-16-2009, 12:37 AM	#10
Indiana Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 658	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision This post replaces Post #2 I feel The Reconsideration of the Vision is a sincere attempt to address very serious concerns during the late 80s turmoil. An excerpt from John Ingalls' book in the link below refers to this writing, and describes the tumultuous atmosphere in which the pamphlet was referred to, in what became Ingalls' final elders' conference meeting with Brother Lee. www.twoturmoils.com/ConferenceinPasadena.doc Last edited by Indiana; 01-16-2009 at 01:08 AM.

01-17-2009, 11:38 PM	#11
Indiana Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 658	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Dennis (ps8602), I wonder how you are doing. I hope I didn't drive you away. The nature of the forum is to be honest and open in order to derive truth from discussion. I might have been too insensitive to you. Steve I.

08-09-2016, 12:11 AM	#12
Unsure Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 38	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Who were "Brothers S, C, Y, H, and T"?

08-10-2016, 07:09 AM	#16
aron Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Natal Transvaal Posts: 5,185	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision @ Unsure: Brother T, denoted as "a certain apostle" may have been AW Tozer, who WL met with and dismissed as passe, or TA Sparks. WL couldn't work with anyone else, but expected everyone else to be able to work with him. In this he closely followed his mentor WL. In the official biography, WL noted that WN chafed under elder brothers while still under MEB's tutelage. What WL doesn't note is what happened, after: once WN began to minister, alongside some of these same elder brothers who also labored (one of them procured the original meeting hall for the Shanghai Christian Assembly), he leveraged them away from the work by forcing points of doctrine. Eventually WN was left alone, unchallenged. Then lo and behold he discovered the Deputy God principle, and the requirement of absolute submission. __________________ "Freedom is free. It's slavery that's so horribly expensive" - Colonel Templeton, ret., of the 12th Scottish Highlanders, the 'Black Fusiliers'

08-12-2016, 03:51 PM	#18
OBW Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: DFW area Posts: 4,214	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Where do other alleged coworkers of Nee fit into the picture? Anyone actually know? For example, where did Stephen Kuang (sp?) fit into the picture in China? Others? I know Lee effectively ignored their existence in his little histories. And those others were not the same kind of self-serving braggers that Lee was (are at least they appear not to be so). __________________ Mike I once thought I was. . . . but I may have been mistaken — Edge (with apologies)

06-03-2018, 01:01 PM	#23
UntoHim Grateful Servant Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,134	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Actually, the opening post of this thread is an unabridged version of: Reconsideration of The Vision Please note that Witness Lee is referred to as "Mr X", Max Rapoport is referred to as "Mr. M" and Phillip Lee is referred to as "the second son". - __________________ Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21)

07-26-2019, 07:17 PM	#24
Terry Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Renton, Washington Posts: 3,373	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Bringing this back up for our newer members and lurkers to read. __________________ "Even a neutral has a right to take account of facts, even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or close his conscience."- Franklin D. Roosevelt

07-27-2019, 05:26 AM	#25
aron Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Natal Transvaal Posts: 5,185	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision It's hard to imagine any Christian group could have come up with "Up with 1,2,3! Down with 4,5,6!" and "The Father is One, the Son is Two, the Spirit is Three, and Brother Lee is Four" as it's organising themes. I mean, is this real? Is this a joke? Or are they serious? Unfortunately it seems they were, and are, serious. Today the handlers of the Vision realise how bad it all looks, thus they work hard on the appearance stuff. Have recruiters go on campus with a KJV instead of a RecV. Don't mention Brother Lee. Etc. So on top of cult-like themes you have deceptive recruiting. __________________ "Freedom is free. It's slavery that's so horribly expensive" - Colonel Templeton, ret., of the 12th Scottish Highlanders, the 'Black Fusiliers'

03-03-2020, 09:00 AM	#27
UntoHim Grateful Servant Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,134	Re: Reconsideration of the Vision Readers should keep in mind that this was not the first time, or in the first place, that Witness Lee & Sons embezzled from Local Church members. There is a documented history of financial malfeasance going back to the 1950s in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, long before Witness, Timothy and Phillip Lee absconded to our fair American shores. And if we take Dr. Lily Hsu's testimony into account - My Unforgettable Memories: Watchman Nee and Shanghai Local Church- we can see that the roots of this kind of deception and financial malfeasance go back to the very beginnings of the movement in Mainland China. - __________________ Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:21)

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