Given all the information we've accumulated and the countless years endured under Pastor Isaac Noriega's dominion, it begs the question: why do people continue to stay? Despite the mounting evidence and widespread discontent, the congregation remains bound to his leadership. Sure, some are tied economically, and others fear losing their families through excommunication, but there’s another factor that’s seldom discussed. It’s another tool Isaac uses to keep the Golden Dawn Tabernacle / Tabernaculo Emanuel congregation in check.
In the last few decades, Isaac has conditioned the church to believe that his ministry has turned a “corner” since 2000, claiming he receives direct revelations from God. While it’s common for pastors to say they’re guided by divine inspiration, Isaac means it quite literally. He asserts that during his sermons, he becomes anointed by God and loses control to the Holy Spirit. This justifies the long services, allows him to divulge confidential information from the pulpit, and instills fear. A whole new generation believes it’s somehow supernatural that his lengthy sermons are delivered by an seemingly weak, tired and aged man. From this position, Isaac claims to be shown “things” while on the platform. Using information gleaned from gossip or informants, he claims that God revealed this knowledge to him, instilling terror in his congregants by presenting himself as all-knowing and all-discerning. Conveniently, he can also claim the anointing isn’t on him when it suits him, such as during meetings when he gets information wrong or is caught in a lie. He can then claim that his natural mind doesn’t remember events, but his spiritual anointing does.
Isaac teaches the congregation to fear his so-called "Anointing of the Lord," often citing verses like "Touch not mine anointed" from Psalms 105:15 to instill fear in their hearts. And indeed, they fear it deeply. This fear compels them to stay, even though they are miserable, disagree with the ministry, and live lives contrary to Isaac's teachings and extreme rules. They feel they must endure the ministry and wait it out until Isaac dies. Isaac exploits this fear to his advantage, using it to justify his actions and maintain control over the church. He uses his claim of being anointed as a means to justify his behavior and absolve himself of any wrongdoing.
Biblical Examination of Anointing
In this article, we examine if the use of this anointing authority is biblical. We found upon an excellent blog article that does an excellent job exploring this topic and we will be quoting part of it below. We encourage you to read this informative blog article in its entirety linked below.
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you…and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. —The Apostle John — 1 John 2:27 [NASB]
You may have heard someone tell you God “anointed” him or her to be your leader. Or, perhaps, someone else pointed to another person and told you that person had a special “anointing” from God’s Spirit to be your teacher, shepherd, or whatever. That may have sounded pretty wonderful at the time, and if so, you undoubtedly began looking up to that individual, idealizing him or her, and marveling over the fact God would bless you so much by bringing such a person into your life.
Hey! — was that a beam of sunlight or did some kind of halo seem to be forming around his head when they called him the “anointed” man of God?
How those early days seemed so heavenly at times!
But after a while, the word “anointed” began to take on a different connotation. Maybe it started when you first heard a sermon on the text “Touch not mine anointed!” (1 Chr. 16:22; Psa. 105:15). Suddenly, to question the anointed leader was to question God!
In the beginning when followers spoke of the leader’s anointing, the stress was on his spiritual gifts; now the stress was on his supposed spiritual authority. How did this subtle shift occur? Was it because you missed something they explained earlier? Or did a new meaning sneak in through the back door?
If you even dared to let yourself entertain that last thought, it was only for a moment. You realized if any other followers had the slightest idea of what you were thinking it could mean big trouble. Were you already starting to question God’s anointed? You decided to “leave it in the Lord’s hands” for the time being, hoping He’d eventually help you better understand it all.
But over weeks and months, this teaching became more frequent, more emphatic, and more burdensome. Didn’t David refuse to oppose the evil King Saul, even though he was out to kill David, because Saul was “the Lord’s anointed” (1 Sam. 24:6)? Therefore, how dare you disagree with your leader or call into question his moral judgments! He’s the anointed of God! Even if you think he’s morally wrong—even if he asks you to do something that goes against your conscience—to go against him is to go against God!
Spiritual Authority
The only people who were anointed in the Old Testament were prophets (1 Kgs. 19:16), priests (Ex. 28:41) and kings (1 Sam. 15:1). These three offices symbolically foreshadowed our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the ultimate and final Prophet, Priest and King.
In ancient Israel, the act of anointing (by pouring perfumed oil on the subject’s head) was the standard way of declaring a person to be chosen by God as a prophet, a priest, or a king. It might be helpful to think of the anointing of kings, for instance, as comparable to the kind of coronation ceremony we still occasionally witness in countries that have monarchs. Every culture on earth has some kind of ceremony that effectively installs new leaders in their offices.
When God transitioned His people from the Old Testament to the New, things changed. The nature of anointing changed because Christ’s coming changed the role of human leadership among His people. In the Old Testament, anointing was physical; and the role of human leadership in Israel was to foreshadow the authority of Christ. In the New Testament, anointing is spiritual; and the role of human leadership in the Church is to declare and defer to the authority of Christ.
Therefore, your leader—whoever he or she is—does not have Christ’s authority. Only Christ has Christ’s authority (Mat. 28:18), and He never “delegates” it to anyone. Therefore, your leader cannot exercise Christ’s authority. He or she can only call upon you to submit to Christ’s authority.
Does this mean there is no such thing as church discipline? Of course not, but that’s a discussion for another time.
Yes, it’s true many Christians talk about “anointings” today. They talk about everything from anointed leaders (for example, over local churches), to anointed TV preachers, to anointed singers, to anointed puppet ministries. They mean well. They’re simply trying to honor those whom they believe are truly gifted and called by God to their ministries, so I would never condemn them for this practice. I just wish they’d find a more appropriate word. The New Testament doesn’t support this use of “anointed,” and it plays straight into the hands of those who teach we must obey “anointed” human leaders the same way we obey Christ. Once the word becomes commonplace among a group of Christians, all cult leaders, false shepherds, and other spiritual abusers have to do is string together a few Old Testament verses to create massive confusion and enslave God’s children. We’ve seen this time and time again.
In sharp contrast to that authoritarianism, notice the only time the New Testament uses the word “anointed” — other than in reference to Christ — is when it discusses the anointing shared by all believers (2 Cor. 1:21-22; 1 Jn. 2:20-28). The New Testament teaches there is no special class of “anointed” Christians. Instead, it teaches all believers receive a spiritual anointing from the Christ of Scripture that remains in us, reminding us to stick close to Him—not to some human leader (1 Jn. 2:27); and, thus, He will be our source of security and stability (2 Cor. 1:21-22).
All believers have the Holy Spirit’s anointing (1 Jn. 2:20-28). Therefore, just because someone is a “Christian leader,” it doesn’t automatically follow the “leader” has more of God’s Spirit than any other run-of-the-mill Christian. This being the case, true Christian leaders will not ask believers to do anything that violates their consciences (Ac. 5:29). True Christian leaders will not order others around like their own personal servants, but will serve them instead (Mk. 10:45). And true Christian leaders will not make accusations against other believers that cannot be proven in keeping with Scripture (Mat. 18:15-17). Under these criteria, does your former (or even current!) leader sound like a true Christian leader?
Just remember: Church leaders are appointed according to scriptural qualifications (Tit. 1:5), not anointed. This means believers don’t need any special “anointing” beyond what they already have as Christians to serve in church leadership. However, it also means leadership appointments are as fallible as those who do the appointing. There is no such thing in the Bible as “appointment for life” or “once an elder, always an elder.” So, if an appointed leader is subject to recall, how much more suspect are the credentials of a self-appointed leader? Such “leadership” is more than merely worthless—it’s downright dangerous!
Christ has come, and He remains with us each day even though He’s ascended into heaven (Mat. 28:20). The anointing He received is far superior to anything ever had by anyone else (Heb. 1:9; Psa. 45:7).
So, why be afraid of those who can’t harm your soul (Mat. 10:28)? Why waste another minute of your life wondering if you rebelled against God by having a difference of opinion with someone who can’t tell his own random thoughts from Scripture? Why worry about anointings that don’t exist, claimed by people whose cruelty renders their Christian testimonies suspect? Many of their kind will wake up one day to realize that blowing all that hot air during their lives was a rehearsal for their eternal occupations.
Those who cling to “anointings” and “anointed leaders” are unwittingly clinging to mere shadows of Christ and losing sight of the substance of His Person. Instead of looking straight into His eyes, beholding Him, and honoring Him, they’re crawling around in a vain effort to grasp His shadow, usually without even realizing that that’s what they’re doing. They certainly don’t appreciate how much of Christ they’re missing. And He’s not at all happy about it.
Conclusion
The blog post provides a thorough critique of the unbiblical nature of Pastor Isaac Noriega's use of the anointing position. It raises important questions about the validity and evidence of Isaac's claimed anointing. His sermons, which he claims as proof of his anointing, consist entirely of selectively chosen Bible verses and quotes from William Branham, lasting for two hours. Additionally, his so-called "discernment" often involves presenting gossip from informants as divine revelations. There's nothing genuinely anointed about this practice.
Over the past 24 years, the narrative of anointing has become deeply embedded in the church’s culture. Many congregants at GDT have voiced criticism of Pastor Isaac Noriega's actions, expressing frustration over his poor treatment of others and general disagreement with his ministry. However, they tend to overlook these issues, believing that when he receives the anointing during preaching, it is God speaking through him, which they feel justifies both him and his ministry.
When asked why they stay, many members admit they dislike or hate Isaac but feel they cannot deny his anointing when he’s behind the pulpit. This misplaced belief is where the false hope of Golden Dawn Tabernacle lies. They express a strategy of waiting for his death, hoping for positive changes under Matthew’s leadership. This sad state of affairs conveniently allows Isaac to retain power and control. We hope this facade ends soon, and that the congregants realize Isaac does not speak for God but is merely a deeply flawed man wielding undue power. It’s sad and wrong for some in the congregation to live in anticipation of someone's death. Isaac has outlived and buried many of our families and friends and continues to hold his strong position at GDT. If anyone has an anointing, it’s the resilient congregants who endure long services and enforced attendance. We hope they will stand against the abuse and suffering they've endured for so long and realize the freedom they can have when they no longer live under the rule and fear of one man.
We conclude with this question for our readers: Even if Isaac Noriega truly had an anointing from God, can God not regret and reject that anointing, just as He did with King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:26?
Do you have any information you'd like to share about this topic? Feel free to comment below, or you can contact us directly at our Contact Us page or via our social media accounts below.
Archived Comments#
16 comment(s) imported from the original site:
Pues si — June 2, 2024#
How come the anointing doesn’t work to tell him when his deacons sin. It failed when the ex Bible study teacher was caught stealing from the HOA.
David Alcantar — June 2, 2024#
Well…I feel I can say and have right in this conversation …so when I was like 14…I had an experience with God that literally changed my life.. We were going to peary greens church at that time …Jerry Zamarano started a Spanish work…it was across the street from a grocery store named grande market ..the building used to be a butcher shop… Reggie Lopez…rip..was Jerry’s brother in law and a Deacon…he was a new convert and had really nice blue colored Malibu with these big wide tires in the rear..the rear was lifted..that was the style at the time . My dad was the song leader and kinda a co pastor with Jerry Zamarano… sometimes Jerry would take trips some where and my dad would be in control of the services.. On those occasions he would ask Issac to preach.. I remember my dad going to Issac house to get books from him After awhile Isaac started his church..at the school house.. One day my dad came to me and asked for my opinion..I was maybe 15 .at the tome.. He wanted to go Issac church and he asked for my opinion.. I told him I thought we should go to Isaac church because I felt he had a greater understanding and mission.. As time went by ..I was 18.. getting ready to get married at 19. Which I don’t regret..My wife was and is the bomb.. Issac approached me and said once you get married I want you to be a trustee.. So I got elected to to the trustee board..it was kinda of a disaster of a board as the older trustee were not doing their job . Skipping alo of things here I eventually became the head trustee… We did a lot of good things… But during this time Isaac really changed… He was always good at manipulating people but he got to a higher level where he felt the church should be on demand for him.. He likes to control things.. So as he gets familiar with anything..let’s say sound.. building…or whatever he thinks he knows more then you do.. He likes to say that he could outwork any body… In reality He is the most lazy person I have known.. Even at the school house he never one time helped move a chair
He is always in a bad mood because you are bothering him.. He told me himself he did like manual labor because his hands felt dirty.. I have done a lot for him and the church.no one can deny that.. But I am disappointed to see where he is at today..there is a lot more I could say but I just to this day am disappointed
Crusader 101 — June 2, 2024#
Thank you for speaking @David Alcántar. I am a witness of how much work you did at GD. It is voices like yours that need to be speaking about this. Because you were there behind the scenes from the beginning. Thank you again.
Shalom — June 5, 2024#
Esta pregunta me surgía en mi mente : QUE CLASE DE UNCION ES ESTA?…que puede maltratar a la gente, sembrar discordia entre los hnos, mentir tan facilmente, tener a toda su familia con privilegios, hablar Mal de las personas y poner en enemistad a miembros de familias uno contra otros, amar tanto el dinero, ODIAR OTRA IGLESIAS Y SUBAJARLAS, maltratar a los hombres que trabajan para el, quitarles sus casas a las viudas y alejarlas de sus familias, esclavisandolas y manteniendolas humilladas, y miles de cosas mas, la respuesta es obvia… No es la uncion que Nuestro Señor Jesucristo tenia, ni los Santos apostoles… Y la congregation lo sabe muy bien, poreso murmuran unos con otros de su pastor, pero el temor y la oprecion en la que viven les a robado el valor comun de salvar a sus familias de esta moustrocidad. La uncion de mentiras , odio, discordia, enemistad esta en toda la Iglesia. El fruto de Todo estoy es la muerte espiritual, ahunke se dicen que viven , estan muertos, Como se puede recoger un fruto de vida , con una semilla de mentira y discrepancia… Calman sus conciencias con su forma de vestir, y menospreciando al que no es como ellos o no esta con ellos, y en esa falsedad equiboca, viven y pienza que estan bien con Dios. A Isaac ya no le importa el pueblo, le importa su dinero y sus personas para usarlos para su reino, y aprobechar sus talentos para beneficio de el y su familia, y se los puedes comprobar en sus caras y no hacer nada, Dios pedirá cuantas de esta situacion. Nomas Les quedan dos cosas, trabajar y trabajar y rendir todo a isaac.
Saved By Grace — June 7, 2024#
Maybe at one point in the early 80s for a very short time there was a spirit of God in this place. Once Gracie died he was never the same (For the worse). As his sermons became scolding sessions and similar to an abusive husband who chastises and belittles to the point of self doubt and then after the beat down.. he would build us up. As the one and only church with the blood on the mantle. Those who went back to Tucson Tabernacle (roughly 5-6 families) were considered falling into sin. This is about the time he started “taking from the blood” and strict shunning of not only those who left but married couples who had parents and siblings who never even attended Tabernaculo Emmanuel had to be cut off as well. All in all IMO I feel that Isaac’s character, rules and pet peeves destroyed so many families by making everything an us against every other message church. It became all about outward appearances in a cookie cutter world environment where we all looked and dressed the same. We showed our loyalty to Isaac rather than to God, how early we came to church, how long our dresses were etc . which created what we have now which is parents worrying about how nice a car they can get, fancy furniture all while hiding smartphones and vacations. Similar to which Jesus preached about in the old covenant ways…where it’s all about us Goldendawners showing up on Sunday and sacrificing in public to have our sins forgiven all while forgetting about having a relationship with Jesus. Do you know that the very reason Jesus came was to destroy the temple and call out the hypocrisy of the people and the serpent Pharisees.This is not an attack on the people of golden Dawn because I realize you have been deceived by caiaphas your high priest.
Richard — June 15, 2024#
Today, my wife and I had a couples therapy session (we do this from time to time). She was talking about how her own mother limited her almost her entire life. The mother’s fears, insecurities, jealousy in everything, that need to control.
My wife is a good woman, affectionate, loving, simple, she likes to cook and take care of the house. She is pro-patriarchy, not a feminist, she was raised that way.
She finds it very hard to trust herself, and that’s exactly what we want to strengthen, her self-confidence, because that has limited her all her life in every way, getting good jobs, studying, learning new things, putting in the effort to learn and face challenges, leaving the nest.
Her mother’s character was and is very dominant, lots of fears, insecurities, a lot of jealousy, and no one knows how to set boundaries. When you set boundaries, she becomes like a beast, she doesn’t accept limits. She doesn’t accept that she also makes mistakes.
My wife’s father is a dominated, tamed man, he doesn’t talk much. He is a good man, hardworking, faithful. I admire him in several aspects but in that part of being a dominated man, I don’t admire him. He should speak up when it’s necessary to speak, but many times when he should talk, he stays silent. He’s afraid.
And this is quite a normal and traditional family. A typical Argentine neighborhood family from the 80s and 90s.
Well, add to that the Bible and Branham’s messages, money, power within a community, believing themselves to be the voice of God and everyone has to comply and stay silent because questioning is like questioning God.
Where so many years under that dominance and regime and indoctrination shaped the personality of almost everyone. Where everything is functional for it to continue being that way.
Where you don’t have much possibility within the community to think, opine, and be different.
Where your own parents deliver you to be faithful to the system that the leader needs.
And when you grow up and form your own family, you deliver your children to that system too because it’s what you’re used to, it’s the example you had, and you don’t know anything else.
That’s when a lot of self-confidence, a lot of personal willpower, a lot of faith is needed to leave behind the traditions and beliefs that were transmitted to us, all those fears that were instilled and surely transmitted by our own parents.
And yes, and above all, to know and experience unconditional love, to feel unconditional love. That love that loves simply for who you are, not for what you do or don’t do or have.
That makes your self-confidence strong, very strong.
I remember when I was around 35-40 years old, I decided to seek help for my stuttering. All my adolescence and youth, stuttering ruined my life, ruined my social life, corroded my self-esteem, and my confidence in myself.
Strangely, my relatives, parents, friends, church brothers, no one had ever recommended that I seek help on that matter. They knew that Richard, so shy, faithful, quiet, and they accepted that Richard.
But I needed a change in my life, because life was quite adverse and difficult for me.
So I sought specialized therapy for my speech problem and found a group of specialized professionals.
In my first sessions, the therapist recommended strengthening my self-esteem and confidence in myself. The therapist said: we need to strengthen your self-esteem and your confidence in yourself…
As I said before, strangely, I had never heard those words from any relative, friend, or church brother.
So I set out to strengthen those things, it took time and a lot of willpower. Going to places I didn’t go before, group trips, therapy, group therapy, seeking information about it, daring to try new things, meeting new people.
Over time, I got to know myself more and more, understanding more and more how the world and things work. Because when you get the taste of finding answers and understanding, you want more of that, because understanding, accepting, talking about it gives you a lot of confidence and understanding.
Everything changed for me, I lost friends, gained others, set limits on things that hurt me, dared to do other things.
It was a before and after…
You’re probably wondering: what does all this have to do with the topic of whether the “anointing” of a man is biblical or not.
When you know yourself, accept yourself, accept your strengths and weaknesses, work on them, have confidence in yourself, love yourself, feel and experience unconditional love, you’re not going to get hooked on the speech of “anointed” and “enlightened” who promise you heaven in exchange for your submission and loyalty. You’re not going to give up your freedom and conscience because you know who you are, how human beings are, and you value yourself.
Golden Dawn — June 15, 2024#
GDT demanda cada parte de la vida de la Gente, y a cambió te ofrece palabras intimidates disfrasadas con La Palabras. Mi pregunta era porque dice tener esa uncion que constantemente hace declaraciones para imponer sus ideas dictadoras terminandolas con esto de “ASI DICE EL SEÑOR”??? Como reclamar tal autoridad y nunca se pudo dar cuenta del adultero que se estaba cometiendo por meses y meses, incluyendo abortos, de parte de una hna casada, y un joven soltero? Hna que hasta el dia de hoy es una de las favoritas y protegida de Isaac,…. Que clase de uncion es esa???? 🤔
You are what you see — June 21, 2024#
2 dogs come out of a room, 1 dog is growling and barking aggressively the other dog is wagging its tail happily and yipping joyfully, what was in the room that made each dog react so differently? MIRRORS. The angry dog saw 100 angry aggressive dogs looking back at him. The other dog saw 100 happy joyful dogs looking back at him. Isaac sees what he is. Angry upset grumpy unhappy miserable people all around him, when he’s actually looking into his own mirror. No one likes him, everyone talks about him, he’s being persecuted , people give him dirty looks, everyone hates him.. etc etc his list goes on and on about how no one likes him, maybe the truth is he doesn’t like himself, he can’t hide who he is and I hope every time he looks on the mirror he’s reminded of the truth of who he is, Ishmael Noriega is just a miserable old man and just because he’s miserable doesn’t mean we have to be unhappy as well, God have us this 1 life to live, we all have numbered days we should be living for Gods honor and Gods glory, happy and free in Gods Precious Word, daily edifying ourselves in his presence, living and thriving for the kingdom of Heaven.
Nueva generacion — June 21, 2024#
Que DIOS tenga piedad de todos los niños de esta Iglesia, reprimidos, oprimidos, dañados de sus mentes,… Dios mio JESUCRISTO ESCUCHA NUESTRA PLEGARIA… TE LO SUPLICO.
Saved By Grace — July 2, 2024#
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance…It is the illusion of knowledge. Stephen Hawking I never forget how it was drilled into me from birth in GD that we had that golden ticket because of our leader Isaac. Looking back I was delusional to find comfort in following rules and regulations.
CONGRATS — July 2, 2024#
Congratulations to the once a month organ player 🥳 WOW she managed to get someone before the BIG 40! It didn’t matter if he was ugly, short and acted like a woman she went for it!! True love? Nahhhh desperation 🤭 congratulations to the cowboy as well, you managed to marry the woman who almost got engaged/married like 10 times! Just remember these words partner “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”
Saved By Grace — July 2, 2024#
GD checks pretty much every box to qualify it as an oppressive cult. I’m actually not sure which boxes it doesn’t check. That being said..Everyone is a victim of Isaac and his inner circle. I’m saddened to see this girl made fun of. But I’ve come to realize when it comes to setting people free from cults.. I don’t think there’s a template everyone needs to feel the flames.. May God open her eyes as well.
Lawyer nun — July 3, 2024#
This comment comes from the lawyer nun. She’s the only one who would care. Maybe her day is coming soon also. She is jealous and loves to hate. This is typical cult behavior.
Real talk — July 3, 2024#
“Let’s be honest, I don’t think the lawyer nun needs to be supported like crazy does. So I don’t see any jealousy there but yeah I agree leave the woman alone. Let her enjoy her married life with her handsome husband”
Anonymous — July 6, 2024#
Lawyer nun friends to the rescue!!!
Lawyer nun — July 6, 2024#
Lawyer nun still in love with “p… s…” 😂