Arnold Murray
Arnold Murray (born
1929 in
Oklahoma) is a
non-denominational Christian Bible teacher/
televangelist. He is the
Pastor of the
Shepherd's Chapel in
Gravette, Arkansas.
Shepherd's Chapel broadcasts (since 1985) are carried by
satellite to over 225 independent
television stations in the United States and Canada, often in late night or early morning hours. The organization also offers programming 24-hours each day to C-band home satellite dish owners throughout the western hemisphere, as well as short-wave radio broadcasts, which reach around the world.
Broadcasts originate from a very spartan studio: an unadorned blue curtain behind Murray as he preaches while seated at his desk, which is topped only with 2 figurines of a
bald eagle and occasionally a small bouquet of flowers. A fringed
American flag stands behind his chair. His daily program consists of thirty minutes of Bible study, and thirty additional minutes of questions via mail. Mr. Murray also provides weekly updates on current events, for his followers, if they call his "Current Event" line at 479-787-5556
Born in
Oklahoma in
1929,
Arnold Murray is a former
Marine who fought at the
Chosin Reservoir during the
Korean war. He began his ministry in
California being ordained by Oliver Kenneth Goff, Roy E. Gillaspie, and John Alvin Lovell, who were representatives of the "Soldiers of the Cross," headquartered in
Englewood, Colorado. Shepherd's Chapel is registered as a non-profit under the "Soldiers of the Cross" name, in Arkansas. Verified at Arkansas Secretary of State Site: http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/corps/search_all.php(Select "All Types"; Name: "Soldiers of the Cross"; RA: "Arnold B. Murray"; RA City: "Gravette"; RA State: "Arkansas" and search).
His wife, Anna, is dead. He has 2 sons, Dennis and David who both participate in the ministry with their father.
In 1978 Murray copyrighted his interpretation of the King James Bible, called the "Shepherd's Bible" (Registration # TX-42-142). This was in the form of booklets, quoting scripture along with his explanation following it, similar like he teaches now, only in written form). Murray has not authored any books since and does not give testimonies about what God has done in his life. Despite numerous attempts by various ministries asking Murray for biographical information, Murray keeps his life private.
Mr. Murray claims to hold a doctorate, but refuses to identify the college which issued this doctorate, or the institution where he received his undergraduate degree. He states that he believes that degrees do not advance ones status or favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Murray does not solicit donations, except for stating "If we've helped you, help us keep coming to you" at the end of each program. He is not a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountablity). Shepherd's Chapel has no Board of Directors or Elders.
Recently, Murray's son Dennis Murray has taken over some of the reins of
Shepherd's Chapel, since his father is advancing in age. It is Dennis Murray's voice that welcomes viewers during the opening of each program.
Arnold Murray teaches using a
chapter by chapter, verse by verse approach, utilizing the
King James Version, Companion Bible and The
Strong's Concordance almost exclusively. He tells his listeners that they should not take his word for it but check what he says for themselves.
Murray has come under some scrutiny for his political and spiritual views, which he terms
right-wing. He states that he disagrees with
racist views, and instead teaches that all races are equal and equally loved by God. He often uses the terms "tribes". When he refers to a "tribe of
Cain", for example, his wording is, typical of religious language, ambiguous as to whether it means "murderers all belong to Cain's tribe", or "such a tribe, descended from Cain, is predispositioned to murder." He is a proponent of
British Israelism, among other unorthodox views.
He gained a certain level of notoriety for retrieving a
9mm handgun out of his briefcase in response to a
heckler who shouted "
blasphemy" at him while recording a program, and tried to rush towards the desk that Murray sits behind during the taping of his program. Murray's response was to say "take this nine millimeter to that boy!".
God
* In mentioning God the Father, Murray often refers to him as both "The Father," and "Our Father." He refers to Jesus as "Jesus" and "Yeshua". He refers to the Holy Ghost as the Holy Spirit.
* Murray teaches that Jesus Christ, also called Immanuel - meaning God with us, is our Lord and Savior, and there is no way to the Father except through the Son.
Human Origins
* Murray teaches that all the races were created on the sixth day of creation based on the scripture of Gen 1:26 and
Adam and Eve were created after the seventh day. Traditional
Christianity teaches that all people were descended from one man and one woman who were created on the sixth day.
* Murray teaches that God first created man in a spiritual body, there was a rebellion led by Satan, then God placed those souls into flesh bodies, born innocent on Earth and to die once in the flesh, finally returning to God in spirit for judgement. He also says that the "elect" are those who sided with God during the rebellion of
Satan.
* Murray teaches the doctrine of the "
serpent seed" (God, speaking to Satan, Gen 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." ), which is the belief that
Satan beguiled
Eve, and that
Cain was the offspring of the union.
Resurrection
*Pastor Murray teaches that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose again, and that He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Eschatology
Murray teaches there are two tribulations. The sixth trump tribulation
Rapture is the Anti-christ, effectively pretending to be Christ, and deceiving many, convincing them to "fly away" with him before the seventh trump. He teaches that the seventh trump tribulation is God's wrath. According to Murray, those who think the first ones taken from the field in the first tribulation
Rapture are those deceived and are mistakenly worshiping the Anti-christ thinking he is Jesus which therefore would describe them as those having "the mark of the beast" mentioned in Revelation 13.
* Using Strong's Concordance, he distinguishes between the terms
Sheol,
keber,
Gehenna,
Hades,
Tartarus, and the lake of fire, while some Christians do not understand the terms or infer them to mean the same thing (viz.,
Hell). He teaches that the
Lake of Fire is an
annihilation of the soul; that souls judged wicked cease to exist (blotted out) at the end of the millennium testing. (He bases this on Ezekiel 28 and other passages.)
Other Teachings
* Teaches that there is a separation of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 (See
Gap creationism). He sites the mistranslation of the word ×"×™×" in Gen 1:2, which incorrectly translated as "was", should have been translated (according to Strong's Concordance) correctly as "became", thus reading : "Gen 1:2 And the earth became without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep" He supports this teaching by citing other scriptures in the Bible.
* Teaches that there were 8 Adamic souls on Noah's Ark, and 2 (male/female) of every flesh including human flesh. Traditional Christianity only considers that there were 8: Noah, his wife, Noah's 3 sons (Shem, Ham and Japheth) and their wives. Murray teaches that that possibly 2 of the other souls on the ark would include Kenites.
* He teaches that the Bible supports the
Death Penalty for those accused of murder and rape.
* He teaches that the
Rapture of the righteous before Satan's tribulation at the sixth trump is a false doctrine, and that those who believe it will be deceived by Satan during that tribulation.
* Murray rejects the use of the term "reverend" for himself, claiming that only
God is entitled to this term.
* Teaches that the single instance where "Easter" appears in the bible is mistranslated, and that the original word is pascal and should correctly translated as "Passover". He states that Easter, refers to the goddess
Ishtar and is a fertility rite ceremony. He declares that Webster's Dictionary documents this.
*
Shepherd's Chapel website*
Murray responses to criticisms*
The stated purpose of this site is to refute the alleged lies spoken against Pastor Arnold Murray.*
CARM.org website page on Murray*
Arnold Murray allegedly predicted that the Antichrist would appear before 1981.*
A place to discuss the validity of Shepherd's Chapel doctrine.
