This section covers his background, evolving doctrinal statements about Oneness, salvation, baptism, prophecy, accountability, prosperity gospel, and his fivefold ministry affirmation.
Marcus Rogers is a Oneness Pentecostal* who was raised in the United Pentecostal Church International, and until recently was an attendee of a local church. For more info on the doctrine of Oneness and the Biblical case against it, click here. He had no official position in the Army as a chaplain nor as a lay minister, nor does he have any formal training as a pastor or minister in any denomination. He is entirely self-appointed and self-taught.
Marcus Rogers affirms the doctrines of the UPCI church. Here, he likes this summary of UPCI doctrine by Ken Raggio
Marcus loves to talk about Jesus, sin, Satan, trials, attacks, marriage, politics and celebrities, but when it comes to articulating a clear call to the gospel and helping people come to a salvific faith, he is strangely silent about what a person must do to be saved. Below are quotes that affirm he believes the above doctrines outlines by Ken Raggio of the United Pentecostal Church. Here are two videos he posted about salvation. In both he fails to mention that he believes that in addition to works, you must also prove your faith by speaking in tongues and being baptized (in Jesus name-only) Why would he withhold this important information, so important that he thinks you will go to hell if you don’t believe as he does? Why does he never preach on this, except to make a rare comment now and then?
In this video he makes some very clear and bold statements about the gospel according to Marcus. Here are two clips, the whole video is worth watching if you want more affirmation of where he stands
First of two clips Marcus definitively states the gospel as John 3 5
Marcus reiterates, outside John 3 5 all else is secondary.
another video about Marcus view of works salvation
February 9, 2019 Marcus posted this video to explain his views: denial of the trinity, salvation by works (tongues, good works and baptism by Oneness “Jesus only” standards)
Corey Minor corrects Marcus Rogers false doctrine of baptism in Jesus name only
Denial of the Trinity
The problem of Marcus’ denial of the Trinity is that it is a denial of who Christ is, which is clealy taught in the Bible. It’s not enough to believe in just any “Jesus” to be saved. One must believe in the true Jesus of the Bible, who is coexistent, co- equal and co-eternal with God the Father. Here is Marcus denying this
11/28/17 Marcus doubles down on Oneness but tries to call it a non-salvific issue. Still affirms the need to speak in tongues and be baptised by the UPC to be saved, but calls for us to not argue just because we disagree, only Pharisees do that.
Revises views of the Trinity June 8, 2018 After a debate with Steven Bancarz about the Trinity, he claims he is now non-denominational, and no longer thinks that Trinitarians are not saved. But he reaffirms that unless they are still practicing works based faith, speaking in tongues, baptized in Jesus’ name they are not saved.
Marcus has not changed his mind about Oneness, he decided (God told him) that the nature and Identity of the Godhead is not a salvific issue
Similar to the “tongues” quote above, he states that he does not need to explain himself because he “knows what he has with God” and God has spoken to him, revealed things to him. His standard “trump card” for Oneness debates is that it takes a “special revelation” from God to understand the doctrine of Oneness. Here is one example:
Self appointed prophet
When your “vision” requires corrective lenses….
Marcus is famous for his almost daily “God told me” revelations Here’s his first failed prophecy. He said Go told him that Lee Stoneking, a leader of the UPCI, would pass on a mantle and double portion to him and anoint him to preach the word. And this would be in spite of Marcus being qualified to be a pastor in the UPCI.
Marcus had his “God told me” vision 3 years ago that Stoneking would give him a “double portion” and pass a “mantle”to him.
When he finally met him this summer, Stoneking did indeed pray, but no portions or mantles were passed. This pic was deleted the next day. This is it:
Stoneking Prayed for him but did not pass a mantle of double portion
Marcus often claims to not be a prophet but here, he equates himself with all the prophets in the Bible.
Marcus states here that he thinks he is a prophet. What does that mean? Watch this video for an idea
There are literally hundreds of his videos on Youtube and Facebook with the word “prophecy” or “Prophetic” or “God showed/told me” in the title. Usually these are about end times and how political events/ new headlines are signs of the rapture to come.
Most of his prophecies are about as specific as this.
Surely he is right-whatever “it”is! Could be anything, so it’s not hard to claim this prophecy fulfilled. He often says things like “God told me something big is gonna happen in the political arena.” Next political headline- could be about literally anything- “I told you guys!!!!!”
He loves to do this with social/political issues like the transgender/gay rights. He claims he foresaw this would happen when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage rights. While he never specifically said that anything would happen, that calling homosexuality sin would be illegal, he claims he “knew” in 2015 that “this” would happen. In this video, he claims his prophecy came true. Never mind that there were hundreds of Christian leaders who also predicted this trend since day 1 of Obergefell. It is the inevitable implications of what the Supreme Court rulings would affect. It really isn’t prophecy to paraphrase what others have already said, even if they are speculating. He urges us to just look up his 2015 video where he gave this prophecy. If his original videos of this prophecy exist online, they are virtually impossible to find.
Here’s another Prophecy fail. He said God told him to reconcile with his second wife in 2016. In 2107, he said God told him to divorce her to pursue his ministry.
The Colossal Trump Prophecy Train Wreck
In November 2020 Marcus came under intense criticism not only for repeatedly giving a false prophecy the Trump would win the election, but he then tried to backtrack and say he hadn’t really said “god told him” that after all, and deleted several videos. He has continued to repeat the lie that he never said God told him Trump would win, evne though there are manyexposure videos on Youtube that show him saying exactly that. You can read more about that and other false prophecies here.
More examples of prophecy nonsense
Authority of Scripture
Gnosticism is the rule
Marcus goes light on quoting the Bible, often quoting snippets about what “God’s word says”, rarely giving an entire verse with context. He twists Bible verses and takes many of context to suit his current agenda.
One example of this Here he tells us that he can discern who is a Christian and who is not. He quotes 1 John 4 incorrectly to support his gnostic claim.
again, his reference for truth is gnostic revelation, not the Word of God
Here he says that any misunderstanding of his teaching is due to others’ inability to understand him, not with sound reasoning from Scripture but because revelation is needed.
On the flipside of valuing Gnosticism is the devaluing of the study of God’s word. Marcus downplays the importance of the formal study of the Bible. He even often equates it with Phariseeism and a lack of the Holy Spirit
This video he talks about this more
Video by Dreday4 Christ
https://youtu.be/JHpbpuSaZ4Y
Video by Proverbial Life
More misquotes and bad interpretation
Prosperity clarity needed
Though in the past he often said prosperity gospel is false, occasionally he makes posts like these:
Video about 2021 being a year of financial blessing- God told him
In this video, at 22:25 Marcus professes the doctrine of positive confession (word of faith) This is the doctrine all prosperity preachers use, also known as Name it and Claim it.
He also defends the prosperity gospel without using that term, in this video.
More comments he has made:
Tithing
Fivefold Ministry affirmation
(claims the offices of Apostle and prophet are still valid today)
In this video, from January 2022, Jonathan Ferguson gives a blasphemous prophecy over Marcus, that he will not only be an Apostle, he will raise the dead, and hold the “key of David” and that the “government will be on his shoulders” Video is from Revealing Truth
Firehouse Fellowship
Lone itinerant?
During his very early “Facebook famous” days, when he was just launching his video ministry, Rogers had a steady relationship with a church and pastor. While stationed at Fort Eustis in Virginia, prior to his 2015-16 deployment to Korea, Rogers was a regular attended of the Pentecostal Peninsulas Church (PPC) in Newport News, Virginia. After returning to the US and being stationed in Fort Campbell, he would visit Virginia to visit his kids, still living in the area. During these visits, he would attend this church with them. PPC is a UPCI (Oneness) church. Their beliefs are very much in line with the teachings of this denomination. A visit to the website, where you can view their statement of faith and watch their live services, will confirm this. Marcus posted praise on several occassions for the blessings he found in their church and their pastor.
Here is one post from 2013, there have been just a couple since then up until 2016.
Marcus attended this service in Sept 2016. He could be seen in the audience and he posted pictures later with his kids about how blessed he was to be able to raise his kids in this church. The service ended with the pastor inviting anyone who wanted to be baptized to come forward. Several people did and the video shows them being led to the baptismal where they were immersed. Upon arising from the water, they were expected to now be filled with the Holy Ghost and immediately provide proof by speaking in tongues. The final person, a middle aged lady, did not speak in tongues when it was done. The camera kept rolling as she and the pastor stood there, imploring her to let the "Ghost" move her to speak. 5 minutes went by, then 10. Others standing around began to pray for her, and they encouraged her to just "try" to speak in tongues, to repeat Jesus name faster and faster until the "Ghost" took over. This went on for several more minutes. The woman complied with the fake babbling of Jesus name, faster and faster, until at last, they declared her as having authentically having received her "Holy Ghost" experience. This is not unusual in UPCI churches. Speaking in tongues is absolutely necessary for salvation and is expected upon arising from a baptism, and the pressure to have the assurance of true salvation leads to coercive measures. In short, their custom is to not let you out of the water until you speak in tongues. This rather begs the question, did SPC Daifal Ali speak in tongues after his baptism, or did he need to be held there while waiting for the "Ghost" to appear?
Since his family moved away from Virginia, living with him briefly in Kentucky before his second separation/divorce from Lavern, Marcus has seemingly had no real connection to any church or any accountability to any other pastor. He often makes comments that he does in fact, have brothers and even a pastor who hold him accountable, but never ever has he posted a name or pic of any of them. We just need to take his word on it. A young Christian, with no background in ministry/theology/pastoral training, needs supervision and accountability. The Bible makes this clear in 1 Tim 3.
*Update June 2021:
Marcus is now indeed a lone ranger, with no overseer, no elders or deacons in his new church. He no longer ascribes to the UPCI statement of faith and his Oneness beliefs exclude him from Trinitarian fellowship. He has devised his own doctrine. He has decided (God told him) that the issue of affirmation or denial of the Trinity (the identity of the Godhead) is not of primary salvific importance and though he still believes in Oneness, he considers some Trinitarians saved, but ONLY if they speak in tongues as evidence of the Holy Spirit.
He has now appointed himself a pastor in defiance of the Biblical standards stated in Titus and 1 Timothy. He has been holding services in various rental locations. In the fall of 2021, he raised $550,000 in only two months to buy a building.
MORE ON ACCOUNTABILITY, AND LACK THEREOF
In these past 7 years, from South Korea to Ft Campbell to Chicago, Marcus’ ministry has never had any accountability for spiritual or financial matters.
AUGUST 3, 2021
Another non answer about how is he accountable and to whom. Classic Marcus response- Go pray about it. This a phrase he uses a lot to avoid questions. It is an attempt to shut down opposition and shift repsonsibility to another, and insinuates God will clearly back him up. If you don’t agree you just don’t have the right “spirit” to pray effectively. Here he tells us why he thinks he is qualified to teach God’s wordHere he says no one should worry about what he does (regarding the Go fund Me money), he has to answer to God for anything he might do wrong.Here he says he thinks accountability to elders is important. He has never once named any of them. This post was when he was at Ft Campbell.
Firehouse Church status
As of October 2020, Firehouse Fellowship has been registered with the IRS as a 501C3. Marcus Rogers Enterprises, the name he posted for his second corporation, is for profit and registered with the state of Illinois as a BCA corp, with an address at a private home in Glenview Illinois. This means he is able to accept tithes and offerings and offer tax donation receipts. But as of October 2021, he only accepts donations as personal gifts which are not taxable income. More about the purchase of the building here.
Ordination
Here his wife actually says he is ordained, though not by whom.This July 18 2018 Facebook post says he was ordained by a pastor of the small non denominational church in Mississippi that he visited once or twice in the previous year.
Comment by Marcus’ ordaining pastor explaining the criteria by which he considers Marcus qualified.
Doctrinal Statement
Feb 5 2022 Marcus posted this response to a question about his doctrinal statement. Basically he doesn’t have one and sees no need for it.
Other unBiblical Teachings -Just a few of many examples
Soul ties
Divorce
Holy Spirit compared to getting high
Keys to Blessings
Spiritual abortion
Man is responsible for saving others
It’s all about dreams
Marcus does not know the difference between fruit of the spirit and good works
Marcus does not know the difference between fruit of the spirit and good works
Deliverance, New Age and Occult practices
Marcus engages in some very Unbiblical practices. He casts demons out of believers, he practices divination, aura reading and astral projection. You can read more about that here.
More recent updates about his doctrine and beliefs
Today’s video is from the You Tube channel Dreday4Christ. Marcus Rogers says frequently that people who study their Bibles and know theology are Pharisees with no power.
There are no “Lost” books of the Bible. God in His sovereignty has given us the complete canon of Scripture. He makes no mistakes. Believers should not be led to think that books , like the Book of Enoch, were omitted in error.. But Marcus Rogers brushes it the exclusion of some writings as simply a man -centered preference. This is very problematic.
This is just another of the problematic doctrines of Oneness/Modalism promoted by Marcus Rogers. It’s a denial of the co-equal co-eternal identity of the Triune God. You cannot be saved if you are following the wrong God.
