Sam Fife
Encyclopedia
Samuel Drew Fife Jr. was an ex-Baptist preacher who started and became the principal leader of an international non-denominational Charismatic
Christian group known as "The Move
". Fife's followers regard him as a modern-day apostle and prophet.
.
" to avoid denominational connotations.
In fall 1971, believing the Tribulation
and Second Coming of Christ were near, Fife began to preach a message that the end-time saints must go to the wilderness "to the place God had prepared for the woman". Soon after, thousands of his followers left their homes, jobs and security and moved to Canada, Colombia and Alaska to establish communal farms in isolated areas. These "end time farms" were the beginning of a new direction of Fife's ministry.
Fife and three other Americans died on April 26, 1979, when the private airplane he was piloting through heavy fog crashed into a mountainside in Guatemala
1. He is buried in the Guatemalan city of Quetzaltenango
. He had preached a doctrine of immortality, and taught that the aging process had stopped for him and when asked his age, he would simply answer “I AM”. He assured people that he would never die but was in the process of being changed into an incorruptible life.2
, such as the Tabernacle
of Moses, the Feast of Tabernacles
, Gideon
's 300 as well as various verses in the New Testament such as the Manifestation of the sons of God. Fife believed that the time was drawing close for a group of believers to reach a state of sinless perfection, through a process of God's dealings with them, and manifest who God is to the world. That process, he believed, was through the work of the Fivefold ministry. In his booklet The Manifestation of the Sons of God, Fife interpreting Ephesians 4:11–13 states:
In his book One Corporate Man, Sam Fife states:
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
Christian group known as "The Move
The Move: Sam Fife
The Move is the unofficial name of a non-denominational charismatic Christian group that was started by an ex-Baptist preacher named Sam Fife in Florida in the 1960s....
". Fife's followers regard him as a modern-day apostle and prophet.
Early life
Sam Fife was born about 1926 in Miami, Florida, the son of Samuel Drew Fife, Sr., and Maude Iva Cox. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Ministry
Sam Fife graduated from a Southern Baptist seminary in New Orleans in March 1957. He received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit experience there while pastoring Bible Baptist Church. His first church in Miami was called "The Miami Revival Center" and was located in an old frame building on 22nd Street. Following a period of self-admitted deception, in 1963 while attending prayer meetings, Fife felt he had received the true divine revelation and began preaching and starting up new groups all over United States. The network of assemblies came to refer to themselves loosely as "the move of God" or more frequently, "the moveThe Move: Sam Fife
The Move is the unofficial name of a non-denominational charismatic Christian group that was started by an ex-Baptist preacher named Sam Fife in Florida in the 1960s....
" to avoid denominational connotations.
In fall 1971, believing the Tribulation
Tribulation
The Great Tribulation refers to tumultuous events that are described during the "signs of the times", first mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet discourse...
and Second Coming of Christ were near, Fife began to preach a message that the end-time saints must go to the wilderness "to the place God had prepared for the woman". Soon after, thousands of his followers left their homes, jobs and security and moved to Canada, Colombia and Alaska to establish communal farms in isolated areas. These "end time farms" were the beginning of a new direction of Fife's ministry.
Fife and three other Americans died on April 26, 1979, when the private airplane he was piloting through heavy fog crashed into a mountainside in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
1. He is buried in the Guatemalan city of Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango, also commonly known by its indigenous name, Xelajú , or more commonly, Xela , is the second largest city of Guatemala. It is both the capital of Quetzaltenango Department and the municipal seat of Quetzaltenango municipality....
. He had preached a doctrine of immortality, and taught that the aging process had stopped for him and when asked his age, he would simply answer “I AM”. He assured people that he would never die but was in the process of being changed into an incorruptible life.2
Teachings
Espousing a similar hermeneutic to those of Latter Rain Movement proponents George Warnock and Bill Britton, much of Sam Fife's teachings were based upon metaphorical meanings of passages in the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, such as the Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
of Moses, the Feast of Tabernacles
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
, Gideon
Gideon
Gideon was an Israelite judge who appears in the Book of JudgesGideon may also refer to:- Religion :* Gideon , a figure in the Book of Mormon* Gideons International, distributor of copies of the Bible- Media :...
's 300 as well as various verses in the New Testament such as the Manifestation of the sons of God. Fife believed that the time was drawing close for a group of believers to reach a state of sinless perfection, through a process of God's dealings with them, and manifest who God is to the world. That process, he believed, was through the work of the Fivefold ministry. In his booklet The Manifestation of the Sons of God, Fife interpreting Ephesians 4:11–13 states:
"The fact that these ministries were given for the perfecting of the saints makes it clear that these ministries will not pass away until the saints have been perfected...It is also clear that God purposes for the last day saints to come to perfection here and become the manifested sons of God of RomansEpistle to the RomansThe Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
8 who shall deliver the earth from 'the bondage of corruption'."3
In his book One Corporate Man, Sam Fife states:
"Therefore let all men know, that in this dispensation of the fullness of times, God is going to fulfill His purpose to bring together into one, all things that are in Christ, both in the earth and in heaven, and make of all the twos, one new many-membered man, who lives after the order of MelchisedecMelchizedek Priesthood (Christianity)The Melchizedek priesthood is the name of several priesthoods in different religions. Priesthood is generally attributed to Melchizedek as he is the first individual to be given the title Kohen in the bible .-The Biblical Melchizedek:...
. When He has finished preparing this many-membered man, He is going to purge the earth of every other man by His Judgment Day, and there will come in a new age, and a new earth, with a new man living in a new order, where every member is so dead to self that he lives unto the rest of the Body, and that order shall perpetuate eternal life."4
See also
- The MoveThe Move: Sam FifeThe Move is the unofficial name of a non-denominational charismatic Christian group that was started by an ex-Baptist preacher named Sam Fife in Florida in the 1960s....
- Latter Rain (post-World War II movement)
- Fivefold ministry
External links
- http://www.ima.cc/messages.php Sam Fife sermons on the IMA website. A FACTNet message board discussion among ex-members.