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The information
below is a compilation of facts and tidbits that have been gathered
from interviews with family members, personal acquaintances and the
personal writings of several of the earliest 7th seal
advocates. The writer has tried to take an unbiased approach in
putting together this information and has included mostly
information that was collaborated by more than one source; however,
he does not claim to have been infallible in his conclusions. Some
of the individuals in this writing have been dead for over 50 years
and it is very difficult to recreate the environment in which they
may have lived.
It is not the
intent of the writer to cast off on any of the 7th seal
leaders. It is doubtless that every one of them was fully committed
to their individual cause and convictions and felt as if they were
doing the will of God. With that, the following is provided for your
consideration.
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After Walter S. Goodnight began to
advocate the teaching of the 7th seal church age in the early 1930s,
others joined the cause.
In 1936, Goodnight’s book was
updated and additional co-authors contributed to the effort. G. W.
Pendleton and C. S. McAlister joined W S Goodnight in updating his
book, although this time it was self published. The title of this
second 7th seal book is “The Revelation with Gospel
and Prophecy; Including Chart in Connection Complied.”
Little is known about Charles S. “C.
S.” McAlister. He entered the ministry in 1896, one year after the
death of D S Warner. He most likely may have been the oldest leading
minister and advocate of the 7th seal church age in the early years
of the movement. It is certain that by 1930, he would have witnessed
many changes that had taken place within the Anderson movement. In
1922, he was pastoring and doing evangelistic work in Hutchinson,
Kansas. At the time of the publishing of the Church of God’s 50th
Golden Anniversary Jubilee Book in 1931, he was listed as an
evangelist from Gorman, Texas. In 1942 and 1943, he pastored a
congregation in Raymond, California, but by 1945, he had retired from
pastoring. From 1946 - 1950, he was again involved in evangelistic
and ministerial work that was based out of California, but he fully
retired in around 1953. In 1955, he is no longer listed in the
Anderson Yearbook and may have in fact died in that year. His last
known living location was in 1954 where he was a resident at the Cresta Loma Sanitarium, Lemon Grove, California. Until that time, he
had not severed ties with the Church of God (Anderson). Since his
name only appears as a co-author on one single early 7th seal
related books and he apparently stayed in fellowship with the
Anderson parent body until his death, we can only assume that he may
have abandoned the 7th seal teaching or tried to reform the system
from within. The other leaders of the new movement would not have
looked favorably upon a minister who stayed supportively connected
to the Anderson movement and yet embraced the 7th seal message. Such
actions were not compatible with one another.
Garrett William “G. W.” Pendleton, on
the other hand, was very visible and active in advancing the message
of the seventh seal church age. Aside from Goodnight, he was the
most active in spreading the message and, along with W. S. Goodnight,
was at the forefront of the movement.
“Pen”, as he was nick named, was
born in Missouri in 1905. He was saved in 1929 at the age of 24 and
was called to the ministry soon after his conversion. He was
ordained with the Church of God (Anderson) in June 1932. Like
Goodnight, Pendleton also worked in a shoe factory and eventually
became the Foreman.
Pendleton became acquainted with W. S.
Goodnight in 1930 and shortly after, these two brethren, along with
several other brethren, studied the Book of Revelation “every day
for six months”. This relationship resulted in coauthoring two books
on the subject of the 7th seal with Goodnight. Pendleton
had studied the prophetic works of F. G. Smith, H. M. Riggle, S. L.
Speck and Moody and many others, however, upon working with
Goodnight, Pendleton stated that “this time more light and deeper
understanding was made plain.”
Pendleton strongly opposed the
Church of God's cooperation and financial support of the National
Council of Churches, and ultimately broke away from the Church of
God (Anderson), but kept the same core doctrines. In 1943, Pendleton
started publishing his own monthly paper titled ““The Seventh
Trumpet”, which is still in print today. In his writings, he placed
special emphasis on the name “New Testament Church of God”, which he
claimed to be a fulfillment of Revelation 3:12. He published
numerous articles, booklets and tracts, most of which were focused
on the 7th seal message.
For reasons that are uncertain,
Pendleton and his wife divorced. In 1956,
he remarried and his second wife assisted him in the remainder of his
ministry. Pendleton died in August, 1988 at the age of 82.
Pendleton’s divorce and remarriage caused him to be separated from fellowship
with many of the brethren with whom he had been working and for a short time, the message was nearly silenced.
This would be the first of many
splits and schisms
among the advocates of the 7th seal church age.
In 1945, W. S.
Goodnight, J. F. Lawson, and G. W. Pendleton updated the Goodnight’s
original books, “Chart Explanation of the Revelation” and
“The Revelation with Gospel and Prophecy; Including Chart in
Connection Complied”, and published their new book under the
title “The Revelation with Gospel and Prophecy; Past, Present and
Future”. The new name added to the list of authors was that of
J. F. Lawson.
James Franklin
“J. F.” Lawson was born in
1887 and died in 1957. At the time of his death, he was just shy of
70 years old. He entered the ministry in 1916 at the age of 29.
Lawson witnessed many changes that had taken place within the Church
of God movement and he was very alarmed. Ultimately, he left the
movement.
J. F. Lawson was a strong advocate of
the doctrine of divine healing. He had been ill, but he felt that
the Lord showed him that he could be healed if he would take his
stand and come out of the parent Anderson body. When he left the
movement, it was reported that he did indeed receive healing. An
associate of his said that he was renounced by his immediate family
when he chose to came out of the Church of God (Anderson) movement
and that they felt he had left the church. After this, they no
longer supported him or his ministry efforts.
Details of his ministry are very
stretchy at best, but he pastored a congregation of the Church of
God in Jefferson City, Missouri in 1931. By 1942, he was pastoring in the
Northeast part of the country, particularly in Salem and Milton-Freewater,
Oregon. By 1946, he had entered the evangelistic field. Before his
death, he also pastored a congregation in Phillipsburg, Kansas,
which is very close to Moore, OK where many of his writings were
published. He wrote several booklets on prophetic subjects. His
writings include, The Reformation, The Seven Churches of
Asia, The Three Temples, The Church that Jesus built,
and What is Babylon? While his last book was being printed
up, he died of cancer.
Even after G. W. Pendleton remarried, he continued to be a strong
advocate of the 7th seal message. However, most of his
associates in the ministry disassociated themselves from him.
Apparently, Lawson was one of these brethren and at the time of his
death in 1957, he was said to have had incriminating papers against
Pendleton on his person.
In 1955, a new 7th seal
book was published that was a revision of the previous book written
by W. S. Goodnight, J. F. Lawson, G. W. Pendleton. The title of this revised book was the same as
the former, “The Revelation With Gospel and Prophecy” only
this time the authors were listed as J. F. Lawson, P. D. Turnbow,
and D. W. Rogers. An estate had been left for the furtherance of the
gospel and these three brethren were named as executors. It was
through this inheritance that the book was published. Clearly, Lawson was the
primary contributor and the other brethren were his assistants.
David W. Rogers lived in Bristow,
Oklahoma. He was not called to be a church leader, but rather he was
a faithful helper. Roger’s role in this new book was not so much as
a prophetic writer, but rather as a recorder. A quiet soft spoken
man, he never pastored a church or even preached much, however, he
did apparently teach a Sunday school class. He was known as a humble
man of faith and was often called for prayer by those in need.
Rogers’ wife had several health
issues. After her death, Rogers dedicated himself to work for God
by traveling with P. D. Turnbow and holding revivals.
Paul David “P. D.” Turnbow was born
in Creek County Oklahoma in 1912. He married Ruth in 1932. He was
saved when he was in his mid 30’s . Turnbow was called to preach
within the first year of his conversion and preached his first
message at the Church of God in Moore, Oklahoma. During Turnbow’s
ministry he only pastored the Church of God in Moore, Oklahoma. It
was here that a small publishing house was established and where
many of the early 7th seal literature was published.
Turnbow became a close associate of
Emerson A. “E. A.” Wilson, pastor of the God’s Acres Church of God
in Newark, Ohio. They shared many thoughts regarding the 7th
seal message. This friendship was to be a key one in the further
advancement of the 7th seal message. E. A. Wilson was the
evangelist at the Moore, Oklahoma campmeeting for many years.
According to one of E. A. Wilson’s sons, Turnbow may have in fact
given E. A. Wilson his first revelation chart.
Turnbow
suffered many things in his life to promote the church and the 7th
seal message. His wife, Ruth, was unsaved and often opposed him in
his efforts. Ultimately, Ruth divorced Turnbow.
Turnbow resigned as pastor in 1967 and when he could no longer
physically take care of himself, he was admitted to a nursing home
in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He lived there four years, before he died in
June, 1973. At the end of his ministry he suffered several stokes
and had a nervous breakdown. A personal acquaintance of his said
that he “almost over night became a tottering old man that walked
around taking in little of what was happening around him.”
Such were the lives and events
surrounding the earliest advocates of the new 7th seal
message. Dedication, triumphs, hardships, personal sacrifices, and
even scandal characterized the lives of those with the new message
for the church.
But the best was yet to come….
Entering the scene was Emerson A.
Wilson.
In
our next article, we will take a close look at the life and
influence of E. A. Wilson on the 7th seal message.
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