Eunice Tay Testimonial

Elijah Chacko began to deteriorate spiritually and deviate from the truth. This happened stealthily but steadily. He began to emphasize a lot on his special ministry. It was around the year 1999 that Elijah Chacko started to introduce the idea that he is the specially anointed one, anointed for a particular ministry, being the second Elijah prophesied in Malachi 4:5. He interpreted this final chapter of Malachi as having a four-fold interpretation: it being historical, messianic, gospelic and eschatalogical. He revealed himself to be the eschatalogical Elijah and said that he is the personal fulfilment of that verse (Mal 4:5) and also that he is that Elias sent to restore all things (Matt 17:11). Over the years, there were innumerable references made to the special identity of Elijah Chacko; as published in The Jerusalem Times, 3 January 2018, his identity was clearly highlighted by Shema Gao:

‘The greatest blessing in this convocation is the renewal of my understanding of pastor’s anointed ministry. Prior to today’s message, I was still murky about the ministry of pastor although I heard his preaching and the mission reports. It is very important to understand pastor’s identity. Hearing pastor’s message today, my heart was stirred up… When pastor brought out Malachi 4, I was enlightened. Malachi 3 is about John the Baptist. However, Malachi 4 is not so much about John the Baptist. In Matthew 17, it is said that Elias has come. But pastor turned to Malachi 4:5 to show us that this Elias comes before the dreadful day of the Lord with reference to the second coming of Christ. The characteristic of this Elias is found in Malachi 4:4 ‘Remember ye the law of Moses…’ …Pastor restores the role of the moral law in our lives and emphasises on the law to be practically applied in my life… It is through pastor’s preaching that the light of the truth shines on me. In the Old Testament, Elias fought against the false prophets but pastor in our days, not only fights against the false prophets in Christendom at large but also the spirit of the false prophet within me. This is truly restoring all things… Pastor imparted the spirit of the Puritans to the sisters. They are very clear concerning the doctrines and serious in their lives and yet they do not presume they are saved; they strive for their salvation… God raised up pastor. I finally understood who pastor is. Then I understood his preaching from Revelation. This caused me to understand that the second coming of Christ is near… Now I understand why in the book of Galatians, Paul has to spend 2 chapters to speak about his office. Only when I understand the special calling of pastor, then I can take heed to his message.’

He also used Isaiah 8:18 to claim that the “I and the children whom the LORD hath given me” refers eschatologically to himself and those within his ministry, who are signs and wonders in our times. Each time Elijah Chacko preached about the ministry of Paul the Apostle, he would emphasize how mightily Paul was used by God as an apostle to preach this Gospel to the Gentiles and how he alone among the apostles could expound precisely the doctrine of justification by faith. Ultimately, Elijah Chacko would conclude that like Paul, he has been granted unique light in our times to expound this doctrine of justification by faith. He openly directed people to himself, not to Jesus Christ. We were mesmerized and believed that these things were true. But they were in fact lies! They totally contradict the doctrines of the Bible and the interpretation of the Reformers and Puritans. His ministry put us under the bondage of fear. It is openly taught that should anyone leave his ministry they cannot be saved. This school of lies tied us down: we dared not leave his ministry for fear of perdition – even though we knew of his immoral living and the oppressive hold he had upon us.

When Elijah Chacko’s illicit relationship with Damaris Koh was discovered by Tabitha (my sister), he had to cover up his sin, for he had long been married to Deborah. He quickly convened a meeting with a number of elders: Zephaniah Soh, Phinehas David Yeoh, Abraham Chia, Rhoda Soh, Zipporah Lee, Magdalene Lau, Phoebe Job, Job Samyrajoo, Jeshaiah Lim and myself to discuss about this matter. Joel Chia was excluded from this meeting. I believe Elijah Chacko feared that Joel would expose his immorality. Elijah Chacko said that it was Damaris who was interested in him. Damaris had earlier divorced her husband Simon Eio in 1995, in accordance with Elijah’s instructions. Rhoda suggested that the sisters needed someone ‘spiritual’ like Damaris to take care of them. So in the end, Damaris was excused and provision was indirectly made for her to continue her illicit relationship with Elijah Chacko. Those elders who were present at the meeting consented without any opposition. No one dared to stand up against this adulterous affair. In this respect, I too was complicit and would like to seek God for His forgiveness. At that time, I did not stand up against this wickedness but condoned Elijah Chacko’s sinful and immoral affair.

Elijah Chacko is a stroke patient and has weakness on his left side. After my husband and I were married, Jeshaiah was asked to forsake his job and go down to Johor Bahru to take care of Elijah Chacko. A few brothers were tasked to massage him daily. Though they themselves were deprived of sleep, they would massage him for four to five hours successively. At times they had to bathe, clean and wait upon him hand and foot. They were not paid for this work. Rather, it was a service that Elijah Chacko demanded of them. In the year 2005, May 3, Elijah Chacko invited me to his study and told me in confidence that my husband Jeshaiah had molested him whilst tending to his personal care. There were no witnesses. Jeshaiah and I lived as husband and wife. I did not believe at all that Jeshaiah was attracted to men. Everything I had believed about Elijah Chacko began to fall apart like tenpins. I had trusted Elijah Chacko so much. How could he slander my husband in such a manner? If my husband had molested him, then why was it that Elijah Chacko continued to ask Jeshaiah to massage him? If Jeshaiah was beset by such sin, then why was it that Elijah Chacko continued to bring Jeshaiah along with him to the Philippines, India and Malaysia to personally care for him? Moreover, there were times when Elijah Chacko was avoidably alone with Jeshaiah. Among the brothers, there were none who had ever complained of my husband behaving inappropriately towards them. It had been Elijah Chacko’s tactic to insinuate and defame anyone whom he viewed as a threat.

From then on, my days became dark. Prior to this event, Elijah Chacko had greatly trusted me as I had helped him by being a tale bearer, reporting on the evils of others. I had been in his good book. We were specifically taught to act like Joseph in the Bible, who brought an evil report of his brothers to his father. Moreover, we were being taught of the need of the preparatory work of the law – that the application of the law (beating the children with a rod; slapping the adults; punching their faces; publicly humiliating people by asking them to stand on the table or chair; fiercely scolding people and even swearing and using vulgarities to demean them) is good for our souls. I had also gone around insulting others and making hurtful insinuations against them and had been praised for this by Elijah Chacko!

Elijah Chacko purposefully spoke of the sins of others to humiliate them, and have an upper hand over them at the pulpit. It was not the work of the Holy Spirit but rather a manipulative and calculated exposure of the personal sins of everyone except himself. Thus, when I lost my trust in Elijah Chacko and doubted his ministry; when I stopped reporting others to him; when I stopped praying for him (and for this was being called into question by the elder sisters), I was marginalized and put aside.

 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?… but with force and cruelty have ye ruled them (Ezekiel 34:2-4).”

Elijah Chacko started to humiliate me by hurling abusive language at me in public. Punitive measures were taken e.g. he made an example of me by making me stand on my chair during meetings when he realized that I doubted his ministry. Another time, he slapped me twice across my face, saying that I had no right to enter his kitchen in John Bunyan house, whereas in time past, I had ready access. Did the Lord Jesus Christ or Paul the apostle slap peoples’ faces? The expression on Chacko’s face at that time was filled with hatred, anger and animosity – as if he wished to devour me. He also phoned me up at my workplace to hurl abusive language at me.

“For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon ANGRY, …no STRIKER… (Titus 1:7)”

Elijah Chacko used carnal and fleshly methods to instill fear into our hearts. But he dressed it up in spiritual terms. Under his nurture, it was the fear of man and not the fear of God which was implanted into me. I believe many in the church were filled with craven fear towards him. Everything that Elijah Chacko said had to be done and nothing else.

We were under regimental control and micro-managed – the food that we ate, the clothing that we wore, the career that we should engage in, the schools that we should attend, the subjects that we should study, our vacation plans — many things required his approval. We were not at liberty to speak up against anything we knew in our consciences to be evil, unfair and unjust. We could not do anything without his approval. But his own children could say or do anything they like! But Elijah Chacko himself could visit his own parents regularly and openly eat his mother’s food.

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:9.)”

Elijah made a strict rule that all ladies, young and old, must wear heel-length skirts. If they did not, they were barred from public worship. But his eldest daughter Ruth Mary attended wearing much shorter skirts and low-necked blouses, whilst his second daughter Hannah Grace could wear jeans and cut her hair short like a tomboy. Elijah Chacko would scold and harshly reprove others should they wear jeans or short skirts. Yet he bypassed and tolerated the sins of his own children. Elijah’s children could criticize and scold anybody they liked – even the aunts or uncles who had raised them. Yet they were guarded from like criticism. Wasn’t this a double standard that Elijah Chacko held in the house of God?

We could not visit our own parents without Elijah Chacko’s prior approval. He would say that we were too fleshly – only concerned with our earthly parents and not our true spiritual family i.e. The Westminster Tradition. We hardly met up with our parents once a year. Even the times that we met up with them, we were constantly mindful of the clock, careful not to spend too much time with our own families. We were discouraged even from talking to our siblings who were in the same church congregation!

There was one time, while I was checking Matthew Henry’s Commentary on certain verses in the Bible, I was surprised to learn that the explanation therein was very similar to Elijah Chacko’s. Elijah Chacko always claimed that he never read any commentaries for the understanding of the Scriptures but that it was the Holy Spirit who revealed these truths to him. So I asked myself how it was that Elijah Chacko’s interpretation of those verses was virtually the same as those in Matthew Henry’s Commentary. I secretly disclosed this to a sister, and at the next meeting, Elijah Chacko gave me a terrible blasting from the pulpit, asking how I could think that he received his exposition from a commentary. After this, I cowered with fear and dared not search any more commentaries to gain an understanding of the Bible verses.

Every time Elijah Chacko ordered food for us, he would jack up the price in order to pocket some money for himself. If the food cost RM8, we would have to pay RM10 or more to cover the so-called ‘extra costs’. But ultimately, I believe it was his covetousness to get as much money as he could from the people of God. On his birthdays, he has expressed a desire for specific gifts, wishing for such things as a car, a yacht and even a plane. When he asks for these things, he knows that his ‘mighty men’ will move heaven and earth to oblige him. Brethren in his ministry have often combined to buy him birthday presents, probably the most expensive example being a Mercedes-Benz c180 Kompressor (costing over SDG100,000). He had also been gifted a Toyota Camry in previous years. It would not have entered the mind of any other brother to ask for such a gift.

“A bishop then must be…not greedy of filthy lucre; not covetous… (1 Timothy 3:3)”

Elijah Chacko had clearly stated in front of the sisters at one meeting that all the money in the church belonged to him; that “it is my money because it is my gospel that is being preached.”

The children in the church were being badly abused by Elijah Chacko. I personally witnessed him splashing water into the mouths of children (a form of waterboarding) till I thought one of them would choke to death. Others would be forced to eat very hot chilis. Still other children were beaten by Elijah Chacko until their backs were bloody.

Husbands and wives are separated from each other and from their children. They serve Elijah Chacko like slaves, day and night.

The missionary pastors are usually abroad for mission work for three to six months at a time, sometimes twice a year. Throughout this time, they must leave behind their wives and children. When the missionary pastors return from their trips, they are hardly ever at home to take care of their family and children. I can vouch for this as my own husband was a missionary pastor. Every time he returned from an overseas mission trip, he would be called away to be with Elijah Chacko, to massage him and perform all his menial tasks. I barely saw my husband’s face at home.

I recollected Esther Yeoh once complaining about how upset and disgusted she was that her father Phinehas David, a missionary, was hardly at home. He would barely have settled back in his own home before he would receive a phone call and be called away again. I could somewhat sympathize with Esther as I have a husband cum missionary pastor who is also rarely at home. The missionary pastors had to be in John Bunyan House to walk the dogs, do the gardening, cut the grass and maintain the house. But their own families were left unattended; their children were fatherless, directionless and lonely. If they do not put their families last, they are branded and marginalized. The brethren were squeezed to the last ounce of their energy, so that daily they were exhausted, having been without proper sleep or recreation. Once when I met my husband in John Bunyan house (the Malaysian headquarters for The Westminster Tradition) I could see that he was spent in serving Elijah Chacko – his whole countenance looked zombie-like. All their time was spent serving Elijah Chacko and not Christ. It was spent at the expense of their own souls. They did not have time to read the Bible or to sit still and meditate – or even to perform their daily chores at home. All their time was consumed by Elijah Chacko. He would accuse us from the pulpit of not spending enough time reading the Bible, yet he would not allow us sufficient time to do it! Our time was eaten up in serving him day and night. We sisters would have to travel to John Bunyan House (for the Singapore based sisters this involved crossing the busy causeway between Singapore and Malaysia – it could take 1-3 hours to clear the jam) to sweep the lawns clear of leaves, wash and walk the dogs, wash the patio and launder the clothes of those residing there. Daily!

Elijah Chacko is a lover of the cable TV. He watches one program after another without a break. If you have stayed in John Bunyan House as I did, have doubtless witnessed how he is glued to the television. It would be on throughout the night, screening movie after movie. If you did not join Elijah watching television, you would be mocked and sarcastically ridiculed as one who was ‘highly spiritual’. Elijah Chacko has been addicted to watching movies – Bollywood flicks are his favourite. Though he preached against such things, he was himself a victim of his own lust.

The brethren who took care of the animals (e.g. peacock, chickens, love birds, fish, rabbits, squirrels, 4 dogs) in John Bunyan house were in a situation resembling that of Jacob whilst serving under Laban (if not worse). As Jacob had to pay Laban for any animal that escaped or fell sick, so did we likewise. If there were any animals which died under our care, we would have to report it and would also bear the financial consequences.

“If a man deliver unto his neighbor an ass or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep; and it die, or be hurt or driven away; no man seeing it: then shall an oath be between them both that he had not put his hand unto his neighbor’s goods and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. (Exodus 22:10-11)”

Had it not been for the great mercies and lovingkindness of God, I would have broken down mentally and physically under this emotional torment these many years. I remembered I was under severe distresses and mental depression, and I used to break down in tears for no seeming reason. All these oppressions affected my physical health and brought about gastric sickness.  More importantly, my faith was almost destroyed by all these oppressions, suppressions and evils of man. I could not sleep and had frequent nightmares. At one point I’m convinced I would have gone mad if not for the Word of God which the Lord comforted me with a verse from His Word: “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not (Luke 22:32).” This verse upheld and strengthened me. Thank God for granting me a companion of faith in the form of a sister who encouraged me to hold on to the Word of God for my support and refuge.

I announce my official separation from the false prophet Elijah Thomas Chacko, a hireling and cult leader who does not care for the sheep but only for himself.

I give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest Who intercedes on our behalves, that He had prayed for me and all those who love Him. I give thanks to my Lord Jesus Christ for setting me free.

Eunice Tay

28th October, in the year of our Lord 2018