Q. If the Patriarch of your church goes astray, can he remain as leader and lead the people astray?

The Mormons say that their president will never lead them astray. New Covenant Christians say that if the Church Patriarch goes astray he will not be allowed to lead. The New Covenant Church of God has various checks and balances to make sure that if its Patriarch should ever apostatise that he will be released immediately. He would probably release himself.

The Holy Order is led by a Patriarchate, which is a quorum of 12 Patriarchs. Although the Presiding Patriarch has the authority to appoint a successor, that successor must be sustained by a unanimous vote of the remainder of the Patriarchate otherwise he cannot hold office. Similarly, if the Patriarchate unanimously votes to remove the Presiding Patriarch, then he must obey and be released.

The Patriarchate is itself governed by the Word of God and judges by that Word. If the Presiding Patriarch breaks certain covenants he is automatically released and can never serve again. Other covenants, of a less serious nature, require that he repents completely or be released permanently or temporarily.

The Holy Order is governed by a strict code called the ZIONIC LAW. Every office of the Priesthood is governed by that Law, from the least member to the highest officer. There is no immunity from the Law for any Priesthood office. The Presiding Patriarch, like every other officer, is governed by the Law governing the whole membership, the Law governing his Priesthood Order, and the Law governing his office. And the higher the office, the stricter is the Law. So if the Patriarch breaks a commandment which for an ordinary member has little or no consequence, for the Patriarch it can mean excommunication. In the New Covenant we have a maxim: the higher you go, the more responsibility you have, the greater your blessings if you are true, and the greater your punishment if you are not.

The Patriarch Moses was banned from living to see Israel enter the Promised Land because he failed to give God credit for a miracle. The rest of Israel, who lived far less righteously than their leader, did enter Canaan because they were under less strenuous covenants.

This Church lives by revelation -- each individual and the Body as a whole lives close to the Holy Spirit, and therefore enjoys the blessings of grace for righteousness and experiences the harshness of judgment for sin. What one member experiences, all experience, in many respects. We are a closely knit body of believers -- close to our God, and close to each other. It is a family relationship. It is like a pyramid made of four equilateral triangles of identical area. If the capstone is destroyed, the pyramid simply changes position by 120 degrees so that a corner that was on the ground becomes the new capstone, while the former capstone returns to the ground where it can be repaired or discarded, as necessary.

So if the Patriarch of the Church goes astray he will not stay in his position very long. If God does not topple him personally then the Patriarchate will because they are obliged to.

This page was created on 2 May 1998 Last updated on 2 May 1998

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