Elbert Eugene Spriggs Teaching on Child Discipline (or abuse you decide)

These teachings are not meant for public consumption and are not even given to new members until they are deemed "ready" to "receive" them. The following teaching is one of the most horrific examples of why the Twelve Tribes members practiced abusive measures in disciplining their children. The Apostle who supposedly spoke directly from God, tells his followers to beat children until they have blue marks on their bodies. He drives the message home by bragging about the physical and psychological abuse he gave to a two year old who he and his barren wife had taken as their own, even though a court order existed demanding the child be returned to her father. But the leader of the Twelve Tribes has access to great amounts of money and was able to travel the world to avoid the FBI and other authorities who attempted to retrieve the young girl.

Again I will state up front, "These words are from Elbert Eugene Spriggs (Yoneq) and his opinions are not shared by VOICE or any contributors of this site, it's hosts or the majority of mankind"

APPROACH: I do not plan to alter or edit or even comment on the original teaching. The Twelve Tribes consistently criticize those of us in "the world" for misinterpreting or twisting their teachings and beliefs. My approach is simple, expose it to the light of day as it is. The teaching will speak for itself. I will gladly entertain and respond to comments from prospective, current or ex-members as well as concerned family members/friends. Just click on the comment button at the end of the article.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Execution of Justice - Undated

(Letter from Elbert concerning discipline and the seed of Abraham)

David Jones,

The execution of justice is joy for the righteous, but is a terror to the workers of lawlessness. A man who drifts from understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead (Pr 21:15-16).

He who spares his rod hates his son. This is a high standard of justice; many will be terrified at the standard in the last days and will desert that standard. They will drift away from what they have heard. But he who loves his son will be “diligent to discipline him.” The ground which drinks the rain which often falls upon it produces vegetation,but if it yields thorns and thistles it is worthless and ends up being burned.

"Diligent to discipline” and “disciplines diligently” can be kingdoms apart in their meanings. We may be diligent to discipline, but the discipline that we administer may not be with diligence within the standard we have received. The difference is accordingto our hearts (Ex 19:5).

Unless your son has blue wounds, by this standard, you know what kind of a standard is in you — it is the spirit that hates your son. If one is overly concerned about his son receiving blue marks you know that he hates his son and hates the word of God. There is a destructive spirit in him and somehow he can’t detect it. It is like a false shepherd who has a ravenous spirit within, yet he covers it with a mask of meekness and mildness.

Poverty and shame will come upon him who neglects discipline. (That is, the discipline which comes from the hand of the Trainer, the Spirit, through one who is under His control.)

We are the Spirit’s vessel for training the children which He has given to us to raise up for Him and His purpose. The children are not our own possession. If you feel that child is your own possession then you are a hindrance to God and cannot be a disciple. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. A little discipline is not better than none. No, if discipline does not produce the desired “effect or result” we will lose the child (Mt 10:21,37). And the desired result? (Heb 12:11; Isa 32:17). We “train up” — “up” is the desired effect. This is going to require “diligent” discipline and the entire submissiveness of the parents to the Holy Spirit within. Diligent means a constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken (Gen 18:19).

Faith is not doing something you think or feel or imagined the Lord has said to you, or acting on an impulse, but it is obedience to what He has said to you (in your heart and mind). You carry out what the Spirit says in your heart. All the true seed hear from Him, “For I have chosen him in order that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord.” Abraham was singled out by God for His purpose. How could he command his household “after him”? If you think you can be saved by some doctrine and not by obedience, you are not one of the seed. The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Him. We are only saved by hearing the Lord and obeying Him. This begins a life of obedience and this is the life of His seed. The seed of Abraham is of his faith. His faith was that he believed God and obeyed Him. Abraham was singled out to do something, out of all the people on the whole earth at that time (Ex 18:5).

What did God single him out for? Everyone who has heard His voice in their heart and does the same as he, is Abraham’s seed and is singled out for the same purpose he was. Only those are the seed, no one else has heard Him. Do you have a doctrine which says something different? Then you do not know the Lord. Unless you come into understanding it proves that you do not know Him. If you do come into understanding, let us not drift away from it. Why did God single out Abraham from the whole earth? Gen 18:19 — It is written down for our instruction and understanding.

Who is the seed of Abraham except the seed who lives in this word. Yahshua is the word. Abraham had one special purpose and was singled out by God to do this purpose. He was “saved” in order to do what he was “saved” for. What was it? Why was he saved?

He was singled out to command his sons.

Unless Abraham was faithful to this, the promise of God would not have come upon him. But God knew Abraham. Does God know you? Does God save anyone He does not foreknow? Through His seed, God will carry out His promise to Abraham. Is God able to carry this out in you?

The word chosen in Gen 18:19 means in Hebrew known. Whoever is chosen is singled out by God to carry out His purpose — the same purpose Abraham was chosen and singled out for: To charge his sons, so that the Lord can bring to Abraham what has been promised. Because of who Abraham was (known by God), God would not hide from him what He was going to do on earth, nor will He hide it from Abraham’s seed (Mt 10:40-41; Amos 3:7; Dan 9:10-11).

Abraham’s special role in order to fulfill Gen 12:1-3 was to command his sons.

Gen 12:1-3 was the promise. Ga1 3:1-18; 15:6 — In order to do the works of God, one must first believe. Abraham’s seed is contingent upon us in Gen 15:5. Not all Israel is Israel. David was smote in his heart and greatly disciplined by the Lord when he made a count of Israel. The number of the natural descendents is not important, but rather whoever has faith (seed). Circumcision or uncircumcision makes no difference to God. But what does make a difference to Him?

1 Cor 7:19 — Obedience to Him in our hearts makes the difference, not the external letter, not to the Bible — His commandments are in our hearts. Paul did not want anyone to do anything except by faith: hearing God in your heart and obeying out of true faith, not out of feigned obedience, legalistically.

What did Abraham’s faith consist of? What was the substance of his confession? What is the substance of your baptismal confession? It will be the same as Abrahams! (Rom 4:17 - 5:5). Abraham was not justified by the works of the Law, but because he believed God. Rom 3:28 - 4:2 — For if Abraham was justified by the works of the Law he would have something to boast about. But Abraham believed God, and God foreknew him. This was before the Law was given and Abraham loved God and was God’s friend. So, no one can command his own children unless he is in Messiah in the Church, in that seed. Within the body of Messiah even if an individual, on his own part lacks ability, stamina, fortitude, and even personal diligence, this is compensated for in Messiah. They are in Messiah’s Body — lets say, His compassionate, loving, helpful, concerned and caring Body. As Hannah so vividly described in her letter to Marsha, “What a wonderful relief, what a rest, what a salvation — God loves me, He cares for me, I am in Him, I can discern His Body, I am worthy to have communion; by His grace, I am saved.” AMEN.

Ga1 3:6,16 — Even so, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness; now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “and to his seeds” as referring to many, but rather one. “And to his seed.” That is the Messiah. The seed is all those included in the Messiah by FAITH. Ga1 3:26-27 — Heirs in “fulfillment” of the promise. We receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (verse 14). Faith is responding to the voice of the Lord in obedience — we are saved by this faith.

This is a quote from Hannah’s letter to Marsha
:
Marsha, I just want to say I love you and Elbert very much. You have truly been a friend to me. More than that, I gave up my parents, but the Lord gave me more parents, better ones, in you. I hope you understand what I mean. You’ve truly comforted me and helped me when I needed it. I guess it’s not been only you, but the whole body. So much now, I see my great need to depend on my brothers and sisters for everything — raising my children especially. I’m just thankful I’m here, safe in the Father’s hands.”

Mk 10:29-30 — This is the seed that I am talking about.

Tell Hannah that Hephzibah is like Paul and says: “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the brand marks of Yahshua.” They are blue and she is receiving her discipline. She is growing up to be that last generation, being prepared, even in her nervous system, to be in that hour of supreme demand.

Love,
Elbert

Patricia, thank you for your letter about Sweden. You are an overcomer. God knows you.

We awoke this morning hearing Annette’s lovely voice. What a wonderful family I have. We are heirs in fulfillment of the promise: All one in the Messiah. An heir is one who receives the promise. A real heir carries out — succeeds — the one in fulfilling what was promised (1 Jn 2:6). Succeeds means to attain a desired objective (Heb 11:39-40).

"What are we to do,” they ask, “to carry out the things that God requires?” “That you should believe in Him whom He has sent” (Jn 6:28-29).

The reason Isaac was so willing to let his father sacrifice him was because he had been raised his whole life knowing that he did not belong to himself, but belonged to his father, and he was not living for himself, but living for his father. Hephzibah is coming to understand that she is living for her father and belongs to him. The other day she was having great difficulty being obedient to his command: not to suck her thumb in bed. Elbert asked her to stick out her thumb because he was going to cut it off. He took a huge pair of scissors and came toward her. She was terrified, but (after receiving her discipline) she willingly stuck out her thumb to be cut off rather than let it cause her to stumble in her obedience to her father. Elbert didn’t actually cut it off, but he wants Hephzibah to understand that it is better to have your hand cut off now rather than later. He wants her to be saved.

It is absolutely necessary to raise our children to know that they do not belong to themselves, but to their father. How else can they believe that they don’t belong to themselves except by training them as our Heavenly Father trains us to believe this. We only “regain our true life” if we lose our false and criminal life. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses it for My sake shall find it. Abraham received back the promise only after he had killed his only son the only son who could bring about the promise. Abraham had faith to surrender his only heir. Abraham was tested. He endured under trial to see whether he would obey (Heb 11:17-19; Gen 22:1; Jms 1:12). Abraham obeyed by faith for he heard God say, “Abraham, take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go sacrifice him.”

The error of “the local church” and many churches is in allowing doctrine to substitute for obedience. We can do as they say, but not as they do, for they do not truly discern the Body of Messiah though they have much wonderful doctrine. Without seeing Gen 18:19, the Body of Messiah doesn’t make sense.

There is no way to bring about the promise without obedience to the Spirit of God, not the outward word. “Pray reading” of the word is not obedience to the word. It only makes you feel good. But who is making God feel good? This only comes through the faith of his children. Faith is obeying God in your heart, not doing good things, not making Good choices about what to buy, etc. in your work. Faith is laying down your life for your brother, not getting him a good job in the world and expecting him to give some of his money to the church as an expression of his faith. This is feigned obedience, not true faith that pleases God. Nothing pleases God except the exact faith of Abraham. That is the faith Yahshua had (Gal 3:16). He became the sacrifice (Rom 12:1).

All the overcomers of Hebrews 11 had that same faith. They all had faith until they died, they endured to the end, yet they died without receiving the promise (verse 39). Everything they had faith for has come upon us. They wait for us. Yahshua also waits, He is one of them.

Return to Home Page