ISSN: 2710-4028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54208/0008 115
The Old Church and The New Church
The first official Mo Letter, dated August 1969, is an
esoteric prophecy titled “The Old Church And The
New Church,” wherein Berg cryptically referred to a
sexual affair with one of his young followers.23
1
However,
most members in the early years thought it was simply
about the Children of God rejecting the church system.
They did not fully understand the sexual innuendos,
double entendres, and hidden meanings coded in the
prophecy until years later when they learned the whole
story behind Berg’s relationship with Zerby:
My infant Church...obeying My slightest
bidding, attending to My least will and caring
diligently for these little ones that come of her—
My Revolutionary Children…Therefore shall
the old vestures be removed and she shall be
clothed in a new garment and a new look and
all things shall become new and old things shall
pass away and I will have a new bride who will
love Me and obey Me and do My will…For who
is My mother and who are My brethren and who
are My sisters? They that do the will of My
Father. Not they that wear the garments of
the relatives and who bear relationship in name
only, but love Me not, neither obey Me, nor
honour Me…They claim to be Mine—My wife,
My Church—but the relationship is in name
only…Therefore is this hypocrisy and not a
marriage. This is pretense and not love….
Therefore, shall they say unto thee, ‘Whence
cometh this one? And who is she and wherefore
dost thou love her and why is this one in thy
house?’ and I shall say unto them, ‘This is
the Bride of Mine affliction. This is
the darling of My Tribulation”…Therefore
do I delight in her and do highly honour
her and do give her a place above all the
maidens.24
In retrospect, Berg was describing and attempting to
justify his conjugal relationship with his much younger
follower.
When Berg took Zerby as his de facto wife, he was
still legally married to his first. Jane Berg, known as
23 David Berg, “MLA: Letters from Mo,” ExFamily.org, Accessed
January 14, 2025, http://www.exfamily.org/pubs/ml/mlA.html.
24 “MLA: Letters from Mo.”
Mother Eve in the group, objected to her husband’s
adultery and bigamy.25Atleastoneoftheirfourchildren,
1 Deborah, questioned his new marital arrangement.26
However, Berg insisted his relationship with Zerby
was God’s will, so he used the prophecy to justify that
relationship, condemn Jane and Deborah for their
disobedient resistance, and prevent their dissension
from spreading to others who resisted his sexual
promiscuity.
In the prophecy’s double metaphor, the old church
represented the Christian church system and Berg’s
old wife, Jane, while the new church represented the
Children of God and his new bride, Zerby. Although
the prophecy did not refer to Jane and Deborah by
name, they knew exactly what the metaphors and coded
language meant. It was obvious to them that they were
the intended target of Berg’s wrathful criticisms, which
warned them and others not to doubt or question the
so-called prophet’s sexual activity.
In that purported prophecy, subtitled “A prophecy
of God,” Berg usurped God’’s voice to justify his
questionable beliefs and behaviour. It is the first
documented example of Berg equating his words
to God’s word. He believed that God spoke directly
through him and told his followers that his sermons
and letters were the very “Voice of God Himself” and
required reading for at least two hours daily.27 From
then on, Berg’s prophecies featured prominently in the
Mo Letters, conveniently sanctifying his increasingly
extreme and extra-biblical beliefs and doctrines. He
eventually began to relax the rules around marriage
and sexuality by publishing his boundary-breaking
beliefs in a series of letters.
One Wife
In 1969 and 1970, Berg wrote two letters that are
essentially basic sex education for married couples.
“Scriptural, Revolutionary Love-Making” is based
25 XFamily. “Jane Miller Berg.” Accesses January 14, 2025. https://
www.xfamily.org/index.php/Jane_Miller_Berg
26 Deborah Davis (born Linda Berg) is the eldest daughter of David
Berg and Jane Miller. Deborah discusses the events surrounding her father’s
affair with Karen Zerby and the prophecy he used to justify it in chapters four
and five of her book, The Children of God: The Inside Story. The book is free
to read at: http://www.exfamily.org/art/exmem/debdavis/debdavis00.shtml
27 David Berg, “The Laws of Moses,” ExFamily.org, accessed January
15, 2025. http://www.exfamily.org/pubs/ml/b4/ml0155.shtml
The Old Church and The New Church
The first official Mo Letter, dated August 1969, is an
esoteric prophecy titled “The Old Church And The
New Church,” wherein Berg cryptically referred to a
sexual affair with one of his young followers.23
1
However,
most members in the early years thought it was simply
about the Children of God rejecting the church system.
They did not fully understand the sexual innuendos,
double entendres, and hidden meanings coded in the
prophecy until years later when they learned the whole
story behind Berg’s relationship with Zerby:
My infant Church...obeying My slightest
bidding, attending to My least will and caring
diligently for these little ones that come of her—
My Revolutionary Children…Therefore shall
the old vestures be removed and she shall be
clothed in a new garment and a new look and
all things shall become new and old things shall
pass away and I will have a new bride who will
love Me and obey Me and do My will…For who
is My mother and who are My brethren and who
are My sisters? They that do the will of My
Father. Not they that wear the garments of
the relatives and who bear relationship in name
only, but love Me not, neither obey Me, nor
honour Me…They claim to be Mine—My wife,
My Church—but the relationship is in name
only…Therefore is this hypocrisy and not a
marriage. This is pretense and not love….
Therefore, shall they say unto thee, ‘Whence
cometh this one? And who is she and wherefore
dost thou love her and why is this one in thy
house?’ and I shall say unto them, ‘This is
the Bride of Mine affliction. This is
the darling of My Tribulation”…Therefore
do I delight in her and do highly honour
her and do give her a place above all the
maidens.24
In retrospect, Berg was describing and attempting to
justify his conjugal relationship with his much younger
follower.
When Berg took Zerby as his de facto wife, he was
still legally married to his first. Jane Berg, known as
23 David Berg, “MLA: Letters from Mo,” ExFamily.org, Accessed
January 14, 2025, http://www.exfamily.org/pubs/ml/mlA.html.
24 “MLA: Letters from Mo.”
Mother Eve in the group, objected to her husband’s
adultery and bigamy.25Atleastoneoftheirfourchildren,
1 Deborah, questioned his new marital arrangement.26
However, Berg insisted his relationship with Zerby
was God’s will, so he used the prophecy to justify that
relationship, condemn Jane and Deborah for their
disobedient resistance, and prevent their dissension
from spreading to others who resisted his sexual
promiscuity.
In the prophecy’s double metaphor, the old church
represented the Christian church system and Berg’s
old wife, Jane, while the new church represented the
Children of God and his new bride, Zerby. Although
the prophecy did not refer to Jane and Deborah by
name, they knew exactly what the metaphors and coded
language meant. It was obvious to them that they were
the intended target of Berg’s wrathful criticisms, which
warned them and others not to doubt or question the
so-called prophet’s sexual activity.
In that purported prophecy, subtitled “A prophecy
of God,” Berg usurped God’’s voice to justify his
questionable beliefs and behaviour. It is the first
documented example of Berg equating his words
to God’s word. He believed that God spoke directly
through him and told his followers that his sermons
and letters were the very “Voice of God Himself” and
required reading for at least two hours daily.27 From
then on, Berg’s prophecies featured prominently in the
Mo Letters, conveniently sanctifying his increasingly
extreme and extra-biblical beliefs and doctrines. He
eventually began to relax the rules around marriage
and sexuality by publishing his boundary-breaking
beliefs in a series of letters.
One Wife
In 1969 and 1970, Berg wrote two letters that are
essentially basic sex education for married couples.
“Scriptural, Revolutionary Love-Making” is based
25 XFamily. “Jane Miller Berg.” Accesses January 14, 2025. https://
www.xfamily.org/index.php/Jane_Miller_Berg
26 Deborah Davis (born Linda Berg) is the eldest daughter of David
Berg and Jane Miller. Deborah discusses the events surrounding her father’s
affair with Karen Zerby and the prophecy he used to justify it in chapters four
and five of her book, The Children of God: The Inside Story. The book is free
to read at: http://www.exfamily.org/art/exmem/debdavis/debdavis00.shtml
27 David Berg, “The Laws of Moses,” ExFamily.org, accessed January
15, 2025. http://www.exfamily.org/pubs/ml/b4/ml0155.shtml
