PMCC 4th Watch Truth Project - What They Believe

Leadership

Here we will discuss the cultic properties of 4th Watch leadership. Leadership is important to every organization or group. Every organization has a leader or some form of leadership. There is certainly nothing cultic about leadership, nor having a single leader within that leadership; But while having a leader is not cultic by itself, it is perhaps the single most typical characteristic of any cult. In fact, the cult leader is even more common among cults than God. Further more, there are certain characteristics concerning leadership that make it cultic. While many organizations like businesses and charities consist of such characteristics, for significant organizations that promote government or lifestyle, like a congress or church, such characteristics are not appropriate. In fact, these characteristics involving leadership of such an organization are some of the most common ways to help identify it as a cult. Like having a leader itself, not all of these characteristics are necessarily negative, but many are.

First of all, cults characteristically have one main leader. While many organizations do, most legitimate organizations either have a panel of leaders, and/or one leader who is above everyone else but who is still subject to checks and balances from other leaders. In any case, no leader is the sole and/or final authority of the organization. Such legitimate leaders are most often appointed or elected by others, and have term limits, or can be removed from office by the other leaders if necessary. All of this is to help everyone have a voice in the system and to prevent a leader from becoming too powerful, and/or to make the leadership more effective. Further more, leaders of cults often make similar claims that they were chosen or sent by God to lead, and/or that they are the sole authority on the teachings of that god, and/or through him is the only way to achieve some sort of salvation. Additionally, cult leaders often demand complete loyalty and require money for membership but do not pay their members for any services that they might provide to the leader, such as pastoring or promoting his religion.

A leader who shares none of its power with other leaders, and/or is not subject to checks and balances from other leaders, and is the sole and final authority of all decisions, one who is self-appointed, has no term limits, and cannot be removed from office, and someone who claims that they were chosen and sent by God to lead and/or are the sole authority on the teachings of that god, and/or that salvation can only be achieved through him, while demanding money for membership and not paying their members for their services, is the strutcture of your typical cult leader. Almost always, cults are established by the leaders themselves. Also in cults, leadership is typically passed down to family members, most often to a son of the leader.

The PMCC 4th Watch consists of your typical cultic leadership, and it is mostly this leadership which helps to identify the 4th Watch as a cult. The 4th Watch consists of one top leader who does not share his power with anyone else, and is the sole and final authority of the cult. Thus, he is the supreme ruler of the cult and does not have to answer to anyone within it. This leader was not elected by anyone, but is self-appointed. He has no term limits, and cannot be removed from his position; He will remain the leader until his death or until his successor claims that God wants him to take over. Further more, this 4th Watch leader makes the cultic claim that he was chosen and sent by God, to be the leader of all Christians, and that salvation can only be achieved through the teachings of this particular leader and those who the leader approves to teach. According to the 4th Watch, only the leader is qualified to interpret the Bible's true meaning. Additionally, the 4th Watch leader demands money from his members, and does not pay any of his members for any of their services.

The PMCC 4th Watch cult was established by this one leader. When the leader dies, it is most likely that his son will be taking over the cult, as he has already begun to take on major duties, overshadowing his father in many ways, obviously preparing for the day when he will become the new supreme leader of the cult.

As you will learn, the 4th Watch believes in apostleship, that an apostle is necessary to lead the true Christian church. An apostle is a special messenger sent by God. According to the 4th Watch, the cult leader is an apostle and thus the Apostle of the church. Basically, apostle with a small a is like his job within the church, and apostle with a capital A is like his rank. In any case, he's still just a cult leader. There's no such thing as an apostle because there is no God to appoint one.

While the Apostle is the main leader and dictator of the church, having final say on every decision, leadership in the cult is made of many sub-leaders who are appointed by the main leader. These sub-leaders assist the main leader through various duties, such as pastoring, promotion of his religion, and running his churches. In the 4th Watch, the Apostle is the only one qualified to interpret the Bible, and no one will achieve salvation unless they learn the Gospel through this one man. However, learning the Gospel does not have to directly from the leader himself. The leader and sub-leaders can approve others to teach the Gospel to others. Thus, in order to achieve salvation, someone must learn the Gospel through the Apostle or one of his approved teachers. It doesn't matter if you hear or understand the correct meaning of the Bible; if you did not hear it from an approved teacher in the 4th Watch, as interpretted by their leader, you will not achieve salvation; But as long as what you heard somehow derived from the Apostle's teaching, salvation is possible. In the case of the 4th Watch, the most important thing about the Gospel is who you hear it from, not the actual message that the Gospel is relaying. Basically, in order to accept Jesus, you must first accept the cult leader.

The 4th Watch will claim of course, that the true leader of the church is Jesus Christ, who is their god, maintaining that this one true church was established by God himself, and that no one, not even the 4th Watch leader are above God. While this is certainly what they might say, this is not actually the case. First of all, the 4th Watch cult is not the church as described in the Bible. The structure and difference in rules are not compliant with what the Bible teaches. It is the leader's religion. It is this person's structure and rules and it is this person that is in control of every aspect of the religion. In fact, the words of the leader come before the words of the Bible. The more you study the cult, the more you will learn that God has little to do with the church. God is merely a tool that the leader uses to build an organization to scam the public. Using God and Christianity is already a proven way to build an organization where persons are foolish enough to give you their money, and is thus more effective than completely making up a different religion. Although the PMCC 4th Watch is the cult leader's own religion, it is merely a modification of Christianity.

The cult leader who calls himself the Apostle, which his 4th Watch members see as an apostle sent by God, is a man named Arsenio T. Ferriol, a fundamentalist Pentecostal Christian, and native of the Philippines. 4th Watchers truly believe that he is God's Sent One and true apostle. They praise him and they glorify him. They truly believe that without him, they would be doomed for Hell. You can learn more about this man in a piece about the cult leader personally in the membership area, which you can see here.

Here is the information about the Apostle from the 4th Watch website:


	The Pentecostal Missionary CHURCH of CHRIST (4TH Watch) begun when Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol, then a pastor, received God's special calling in his life to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. God has never failed to demonstrate to him that he has been called to be an apostle. In 1972, the Pentecostal Missionary CHURCH of CHRIST (4TH Watch) was founded and registered in the Philippines. From a handful of faithful believers under his anointed leadership, the PMCC (4th Watch) grew and increased both in stature and membership in the Philippines and across the globe. As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol received a revelation that clearly defines where we are now in God's timetable prior to the second coming of Christ on earth. This is the doctrine that clearly sets apart the PMCC (4th Watch) from the rest of today's backslidden faith of many Protestant groups. But this is not the only defining mark of the church. Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol has also espoused the significance of the perfection of the saints, the complete operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church, the work of global evangelization as well as other essential doctrines and practices of the early apostolic church.

The 4th Watch's Word website, the site for their magazine, also provides a clear explanation for the church's leader:


	Apostolic Mission is the mission given by God to His apostles. Carrying this mission and vision from God, the apostle leads the church in authoritatively and correctly fulfilling God's will. Without the proper person leading them, no group or person will be recognized by God. God's will can only be followed through the leadership and guidance of His Sent Ones.

And here are a few words from the cult leader's own mouth:


	Faith without work is dead. But even if people has work if they are not it the true faith their work is still in vain. For a work to be acceptable before God, the person needs to be in the true faith.


	God has given gifts to the church...namely, firstly...Apostle.

And here are some quotes from the Apostle's cult members that talk about his holiness:


	We are thankful to God for He has called a true living apostle in our time that we might share in his ministry...


	It is not enough that we believe what we are taught, we must also believe who teaches it...


	a very happy birthday to our beloved Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol!!!what would our life be if not for u'r ministry that led us to be a part of His true church.truly u'r birth was a manifestation of God's enduring love,thru you we obtain the gift of being in the true church and received true salvation.PTL!!!


	As believers in the true church of the Lord, we have a leader whose life and ministry is worthy of our celebration and emulation. He is our shepherd, our leader, our brother, our apostle...

And if that wasn't enough for you, we have another snippet from their website which talks about him here:

Medicine is bitter and taking it is hard for a child, and especially for a parent. When we were children, we too abhorred taking our medicine, they were bitter and they made us feel sleepy. But despite how we protested against taking our medicine, our parents still made us take them. Why? Because they were good for us.

Christ did the same thing when He came to us in the form of man. He was here to heal us of our ignorance so we will know the truth which is needed in receiving the right faith.

And the word of God which is brought by His living apostle is the prescription remedy for our wrong faith.

Sometimes, however, the words of God become bitter. Not because they are bitter in themselves but because we do not readily accept them as the truth that Doctor Jesus prescribes, the words of God become hard for us to believe.

Despite this, God's teachings through His apostle continue. Like a loving parent, He continues to teach us even though we might not like what we are getting at first, because He knows what is best for us.

You can read an outstanding article on refuting Arsenio Ferriol's apostleship and church here.

This piece was to inform you about the role of the 4th Watch leader. To learn more about this leader personally, you can go here.