Pastor Isaac Noriega has been known to cause significant internal conflicts within the Golden Dawn Tabernacle/Tabernaculo Emanuel church, leading to many rifts among congregants and their loved ones. The issue of family separation caused by this culture is explored in our article Separating Families article. In recent interviews with former members who were present at the church's founding and witnessed its early history, they shared their perspectives on the origins of these family divisions.
Synopsis
- In the 1970s, the Golden Dawn Tabernacle/Tabernaculo Emanuel church was established by conducting services in a local school. As the number of congregants increased, the church eventually constructed its first church building.
- In 1986, a camping and fishing trip to the Arizona White Mountains taken by several families led to a significant change in the church's culture, as Issac sought to gain control over the congregation. This event caused a toxic shift within the church.
- An investigation was conducted by a church deacon, who was sent to look into why certain families were absent from the Wednesday church service. The deacon attempted to enforce a rule mandating attendance at all services.
- Isaac became enraged when the families resisted his rules and instead chose to leave the church rather than comply with these petty and ridiculous regulations. This group of families included Associate Pastor Danny Ramirez, Church Elder and Interpreter.
How the church started
Pastor Isaac Noriega started the Golden Dawn Tabernacle/Tabernaculo Emanuel church in the mid-1970s in Tucson, Arizona. Before starting the church, Isaac and a group of individuals formerly from the Apostolic church would gather to listen to sermons by William Branham on tapes. Isaac and part of this group were also members of Tucson Tabernacle at the time. Around this time, the late Pastor Pearry Green and Jerry Samorano established a Spanish speaking message sister church to Tucson Tabernacle, led by Jerry Samorano. Isaac was a member of Tucson Tabernacle at the time that this occurred. As his small tape gatherings grew, he began holding his own church services in a school auditorium in direct competition Pearry Green and Jerry Samorano's Spanish speaking church. As a result, Isaac began to attract attendees from that Spanish speaking church to his services, with the crowds growing large enough that the congregation eventually built a church building located at 301 E Los Reales, Tucson, Arizona. Many of the original members of the church came from the Apostolic church, and Tucson Tabernacle, including Isaac Noriega and his family.
Isaac had a sickness (unclear on which illness) in his youth and almost did not survive. During a hospital stay, he claimed to have had a supernatural experience with the "Pillar of Fire" or an angel, and took this as a sign of vindication for his calling to become a pastor.
How the separations started - all over a camping and fishing trip
A number of families in the church enjoyed going on camping and fishing excursions to the Arizona White Mountains. They typically would depart on Thursdays and return on Saturdays, with some church elders and a deacon also joining these trips. These outings were always cherished opportunities for fellowship and spiritual connection, with one of the church elders occasionally leading a small prayer or service during these trips. Typically, four to five large families participated in these outings. In 1986, a group of families took one of these camping and fishing trips for a full week, departing on a Monday and returning the following Saturday, thus missing the Wednesday church service that week.
As previously stated in our article "Church Rules," attendance at all services is mandatory. A former church member recalls that upon returning home from their camping trip on that Saturday night, the phone immediately rang. It was a deacon from the church, demanding an explanation for their absence from the Wednesday service ("their post of duty"). The church member explained that they were on a camping trip, and it became apparent that Pastor Isaac Noriega was extremely upset about the families' absence from the service and had turned to the deacons for enforcement. The deacon told the families that what they did was wrong and that they should not miss church services again. However, the families disagreed and felt that they had the right to take a wholesome and enjoyable trip with their loved ones.
The families' resistance to the church's demand further angered Isaac, and as a result, he publicly denounced and ostracized them from the pulpit. The families then realized that this was an attempt to control them, and in response, they decided to leave the church and began attending a different local church. This included founding church member, associate pastor, interpreter, and elder, Danny Ramirez (shown in above photos).
Interestingly, Isaac Noriega would occasionally miss Wednesday church services, claiming that he was spending the week in Mt. Lemmon for prayer and spiritual reflection. However, in the 1980s, he began expressing his dissatisfaction with being a pastor of the church, which is something he still says to this day. Rumors began to circulate that he was considering starting a new church in Albuquerque, New Mexico and there were reports suggesting that he was actually in Albuquerque during the weeks he said he was in Mt. Lemmon.
Things went downhill after Gracie died
Former members of the church who joined in 1976 and left in 1987 stated that the church's atmosphere began to change for the worse after the death of Isaac Noriega's daughter, Grace (Gracie). Her passing seemed to make him more rigid and unforgiving towards those who did not meet his expectations. Former members reported that they initially felt the presence of God in the church, but that it dissipated after Gracie's death.
After several families left the church due to the disagreement over the camping and fishing trip, one former member who had a close friendship with Isaac Noriega, reported that Isaac suddenly ended their friendship because he continued to maintain contact with those families. Isaac did not provide a reason for ending their friendship, but it was clearly related to his disapproval of the former member's ongoing relationships with those families who had joined another church.
Summary
The origins of these separations within the church stem from a manipulative and controlling attitude demonstrated by Pastor Isaac Noriega. He was furious that several families had chosen to prioritize a wholesome family camping trip over adhering to his rules, and as a result, began to isolate and shun those families who refused to submit to his legalistic regulations. This eventually led to Isaac creating a toxic church culture that forbids fellowship with anyone who does not follow the church rules or does not attend the Golden Dawn Tabernacle / Tabernaculo Emanuel.
Ultimately the church promotes the idea that one's identity should be solely linked to the church, resulting in the neglect of relationships and connections outside of the congregation. Members are expected to prioritize "their duty" as part of the church or face severe consequences for not regularly attending services, leading to the suppression of their individual identities.
The scripture that Pastor Isaac Noriega uses to compel church service attendance is Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." However, the families who went on the camping trip, were indeed assembling together, just not to Isaac's standards. He uses this verse very selectively, to mean mandatory church service attendance, but not assembling by other means, such as a family gathering or assembling at a different church he does not want to fellowship with.
A former member described the dynamics of gaining Isaac's approval by stating "You have to hate the ones he hates, and you have to love the ones he loves." This statement reflects the unfortunate reality that in order to be part of Isaac's inner circle in the church, one must conform to his opinions and standards.
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2 comment(s) imported from the original site:
Anonymous — February 11, 2023
It’s funny how Isaac can decide if he wants to leave the church that it’s ok. I’ve heard something similar from a first hand account of someone in the church that Isaac was going to leave the church and take his family somewhere else. But this person told Isaac he shouldn’t leave and if he left God will take it out on Lucy. So knowing how sick Lucy was Isaac decided to stay.
How is it ok for Isaac to leave the church or house is it ok for people to leave other churches and come to Golden Dawn? Isaac doesn’t go to those pastors and ask them about the people who have left those churches. He just accepts them into Golden Dawn. But darest anyone try to leave Golden Dawn because you will be condemned to hell. Hmm very questionable don’t you people of GD think?
David — April 22, 2024
I was present when the decision to build the the church was made..I was 14,,yrs or close…the meeting was at Isaac house on sixth ave…I built the arches you see in front of the house today..I also had a vote in to what the name of the church was gonna be..I didn’t vote ..Isaac asked me what my vote was..He was a different man back then
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