Misguided: The Soundtrack To My Life

Chapter Six – The Endtime ProphetMusic featured in this chapter:The Prophet’s Song – QueenI thought it was important to include in my memoir David Berg’s origin myth in which he declares himself the final endtime prophet before the second-coming of Jesus, which he prophesied would be in 1993. It helps readers understand the influence he had on tens of thousands of followers around the world, and gives context to my own story. After just a few months of indoctrination, I fully believed Berg was the endtime prophet, and I believed his predictions of a specific timeline of end of the world events.I had now finished my first three months of basic training, studying the Bible, memorizing the set-card scriptures and reading Mo Letters that prepared us for the next stage of indoctrination. After that test period, new members were ready for a deeper dive into the group’s dogma, which included learning Mo’s real name, David Berg. We were permitted to read a series of letters that revealed he was God’s final end-time prophet. Study sessions now focused on Berg’s origin story, his doomsday warning message for a wicked world, and a timeline of specific biblical end-time events that Berg predicted would culminate with Christ’s return in 1993....It wasn’t just Berg’s radical Christian message, but his autocratic control of the Children of God through a chain of command that made them different from the Jesus People Army, some of whom rejected the merger of the two groups because of his leadership role. Berg believed he was the final end-time prophet, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that refer to a king named David living in the last days before the second coming of Christ....To convince his followers that certain scriptures refer specifically to him as the last true prophet before the Second Coming, Berg created an origin story ......Within fours years of founding the Children of God, Berg declared that he was personally named in the Bible as the prophet-king who would lead God’s people in the end-time, that his word was God’s word, and that Jesus was coming back in 1993. After six months of indoctrination I believed him. I hadn’t learned to think critically about claims like that, and it was even harder to doubt or question them when the information presented to me was supported by the moral authority of the Bible, a holy book I believed was absolutely true, like many do. My indoctrination ensured I didn’t doubt the Bible, or Berg....I quickly learned to squelch my doubts and bury them in the back of my mind. No longer thinking for myself, but conditioned to groupthink, Berg’s end-time prophecies convinced me Jesus was coming back in 1993. That belief kept me committed to his doomsday mission.Jesus told his disciples the end would only come after the gospel was preached to the entire world. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14) I would soon flee the impending destruction of America and become a missionary spreading Berg’s end-time message in Asia, eagerly waiting for Jesus to return.The Prophet’s Song – Queen“Oh-oh, people of the Earth Listen to the warning,” the seer, he said Beware the storm that gathers here Listen to the wise man “Oh-oh, people of the Earth Listen to the warning,” the prophet, he said For soon, the cold of night will fall Summoned by your own hand Oh-oh, children of the land Quicken to the new life, take my hand Oh-oh, children of the land Love is still the answer, take my hand The vision fades, a voice I hear “Listen to the madman” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit perrybulwer344598.substack.com