Once And Future Kingdom - Part I

Today, I am starting a two-part series on the Kingdom of God. This series goes hand-in-hand with my post "Just What Do You Mean ... Gospel?". The Kingdom and the Gospel are inseparable, are they not?

I didn't sit down intending to write today's article. What you are reading grew out of a couple introductory paragraphs that were meant to build toward the main topic which we will get to next time. A few paragraphs turned into an entire post. Then I had to split it up.

I want to remind you what the COG splinters believe about the Gospel:

"Notice, Jesus said, 'Believe THE GOSPEL!'
WHAT Gospel? The one He was proclaiming - 'the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.'"
...
"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is NOT man's gospel ABOUT THE PERSON of Christ. It is CHRIST'S Gospel - the Gospel Jesus PREACHED - the Gospel God SENT by Him, and therefore it is also called, in Scripture, the Gospel of God. The Gospel of God is God's GOSPEL - His Message - His Good News which He sent by Jesus."
-Herbert Armstrong, "What Is The True Gospel?", p. 6, 1972

In short, the Gospel God gave is about the future Kingdom of God.
There are some qualities about the Kingdom that the booklet specifies:

• It isn't some condition you feel in your heart.
• You must be resurrected into it, which doesn't occur until Jesus returns.
• It is a single, world-ruling entity.

The Kingdom of God in Armstrongism is all about prophecy and law. It is almost entirely a situation in the future. Perhaps the not-so-distant future for us, but undeniably the far distant future to those people alive when Jesus preached about it two millennia ago. It was as far from them in their future as Abraham was in their past - but they didn't know that because they didn't know when it would be. I came up with a purposefully absurd phrase that exaggerates the claims in order to illustrate the issue: "Good News, everyone! I will be back in a few thousand years with more of the same." News like that would not seem so very good. Least of all to Jews in the diaspora.

So many questions come to mind.
Was there no message for the people of that day, or us for that matter, now, today, immediately, besides, "Keep Sabbath-ing until I get back"? Is the Kingdom of God purely a future item? What of the verses that say the Kingdom is at hand? If it is not entirely in the future, then what is the Kingdom now? Are we in it now or not?

The Gospel goes hand-in-hand with the Kingdom, I do not deny this. I only claim the Kingdom is not the whole Gospel message. But what is the Kingdom? And what is the message for the first century, and by extension for us today? These are the types of things I want to explore in this series.

Today, we will explore some issues and puzzles with the Kingdom of God. Next time, we will get to the message for the first century.

THREE ISSUES AT HAND

Let us explore some issues with the Kingdom of God. There are some contradictions here. Don't brand me an enemy of Christ for using that word just yet. I will give you the end of the story at the start: they are only contradictions if you unquestioningly accept the timing and claims of Armstrongism. That ending probably didn't make it much better for some of you. Well, I think we can clear all of this up. But it won't do any good to clear up a problem if we don't look at it first.

Issue #1: When?

First, was it imminent, or distant?

Jesus said multiple times that the Kingdom was at hand (MAT. 3: 2; 4: 17; 10: 7). And that's just a short list. There are more. Let's look closely at Matthew 4: 17:

(MAT. 4: 17) From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This verse makes it sound like "the Kingdom is at hand" was a regular message of His. If it was, then there could be countless unrecorded times when He said the Kingdom was 'at hand'. It changes things quite a bit if the regular message was not just "the Kingdom of God" but "the Kingdom of God is at hand."

Does "at hand" refer to that time or our future? Do we have to use some odd turn of phrase to make sense of it, such as "a thousand years to God is like a day, so really it was only two days away"? As if you have Ben Kenobi there saying, "It is at hand ...from a certain point of view."

But!

There are other verses that make the Kingdom look far away. According to Herbert Armstrong, there was no Gospel in our Lord's birth, nor His death, nor His person, but only in a the Kingdom that would not come until Jesus returned. "Good news, everyone! I will be back in a few thousand years..." To be fair, it's not like that is entirely baseless. There are in fact several verses that place the Kingdom at His return. I hope you don't mind if I do not go through them here. I will assume we are all already familiar.

Does that mean it is only a thing of the future? Is there no portion at all for us now?

The timing is an issue.

Issue #2: Whose?

Second, to whom does the Kingdom belong - the Father, the Son, or us?

We have several other verses where Jesus says the Kingdom belongs to His Father, for example Matthew 13:43, and 26: 29.

So, the Kingdom belongs to the Father.

But!

In John 18: 36 , Jesus says, "My Kingdom"? He does it again in Luke:

(LUK. 22: 29) And I bestow [present tense] upon you [that's us] a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed [past tense] one upon Me.

I pointed out the verb tense for a reason. Don't ignore those.
Paul also says it in Collosians:

(COL. 1: 13) He [the Father] has delivered [past tense] us from the power of darkness and conveyed [past tense] us into the kingdom of the Son of His love...

So, the Kingdom belongs to Jesus already, past tense. And we are delivered into it already, past tense. So it's His? And we're in it? And it's ours?

According to Armstrongism, the Kingdom isn't His. Not yet, anyway. The Kingdom won't be handed to Him until His second coming. That is because Armstrongism believes Daniel 7: 13-14 shows Jesus receiving the Kingdom from the Father, while verses 11-12 set the time at the end times. Nor are we in it because we have to be resurrected to be in it. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. All of this talk about present tense and past tense is really just poetry that actually mean future tense. But does it?

So, it's the Fathers, and Jesus', and ours? Whose Kingdom is it anyway? Are these all just references to the far future?

Possession is an issue.

Issue #3: Where?

Third, where is this Kingdom anyway, and who are its citizens?

Jesus says the Kingdom is not of this world. Jesus says the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" 45 times in the Gospel of Matthew. That is the entire Gospel according to Herbert, no? That His Kingdom is not here but is going to be coming here. The "coming Kingdom of God". The World Tomorrow.

Jesus says "of heaven" often, but never "of earth" nor "of heaven and earth". The Lord's Prayer does say "Thy Kingdom come" does it not?

Armstrong spent several words explaining how flesh and blood cannot inherit this Kingdom (I COR. 15: 50), and how we must be born again as spirit to participate, which means resurrected (JON. 3: 1-8).

But!

We also have several references to the Kingdom here on earth. Just for two examples:

(MAT. 12: 28b) ...surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
(LUK. 10: 9) And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Near? Upon? Heaven?

This causes people to think, "Well, Jesus has not returned yet, and I believe in soul-sleep (that is a critical factor here, but I won't get into it today), so it must still mean that the message is for the future. Maybe it was only present while Jesus was present."
OK. A reasonable line of thinking given the belief system.
But it doesn't explain how we are delivered into it now, or how it is given to us now, as Luke and Paul clearly wrote. It only explains how it can be here at the second coming. It takes all past and present tense and makes them future. Plus, it actively combats the idea that the church (all the people who repent and believe) are citizens of the Kingdom right now - even while at the very same time maintaining the church are citizens of that Kingdom now. They aren't, but they are.

And if that isn't enough, these three conditions are placed on the Kingdom:

1. Not physical but spirit beings,
2. Who believe and repent,
3. And aren't of this world.

But when Jesus returns at the start of the Millennial period, look at the Kingdom:

1. Physical beings,
2. Who might believe and might have repented,
3. On earth.

How can Herbert Armstrong emphasize that physical beings cannot participate in the Kingdom, then immediately turn right around and say Jesus will bring the Kingdom to physical beings at the start of the Millennial Period? To reiterate: Flesh and blood cannot be in the Kingdom, but flesh and blood will be in the Kingdom. How?
Don't go saying we will find out who was really in it at the end. No, they will all be citizens in it. Despite all the avoiding pork and the Sabbath-ing that are supposedly going to bring universal peace, many will simply throw it all away when they are tempted.

So, is it spirit or flesh? Is it the church or not? Is it on earth or in heaven? Is it in heaven now but here only later on?

Location is a problem.

I PROPOSE A SOLUTION

We have problems in timing, possession, and location. What can the answer to these issues be? I wish to propose to you a solution.

The answer: it's all of the above.

The Kingdom is now and future. The Kingdom is spirit and physical. The Kingdom is the Father's, the Son's, and ours. The Kingdom is in heaven and on earth. There is no either/or. It's both/and. Those aren't contradictions at all. They are all true.

I know you are inherently disappointed with my proposal. You are saying my solution is also contradictory. That's because you are still thinking either/or. It hasn't sunk in yet. The Armstrongist solution to the three issues is prophecy and law. If we kick this can down the road, we can ignore the issues. That's not what I am proposing, though. I am proposing that we ditch the either/or in favor of both/and. One does not need to preclude the other.

Still unconvinced? Hear me out, please. There is a little more to it than just this. I have not given you my entire solution yet. There is a second part. As a bonus, I do honestly think most of you already believe it.

ONCE AND FUTURE KINGDOM

I fully admit and agree that when we look around at the miserable conditions of the "push-button leisure world" of today, we wonder where God could possibly be hiding. I pray for His will to at long last be done on earth as it is in heaven, just like you. But He is here. Like a still, small voice. All Christians believe this.

As a Westerner, I am not huge on both/and reasoning. Westerners are either/or folk. In fact, I personally tend to be a pessimist. Perhaps, when I get in a mood, I am best described as a neither/nor. But in this case it just makes sense, once you fully understand what I'm saying. Emphasis on fully.

The trick here is to let go of Herbert Armstrong's demand that the Gospel is only for some future time, and just let the Gospel also be about who Jesus is and what He accomplished. Precisely as we saw in the post "Just What Do You Mean ... Gospel?" Let the Gospel be the full message that it is.

I know that is a lot to ask.

If Jesus only went around preaching the "far future Kingdom of God" as His Gospel, then why go around regularly preaching the imminent Kingdom of heaven? The Armstrongist version makes it a bait and switch. It isn't! Jesus preached that way because it in fact was imminent. His message was a Kingdom at hand because it was at hand. There is no need to explain it away with things like, "It was at hand only while He was here."

"But, the Millennium and peace and holy days in Jerusalem..." I hear someone saying. Yes. I know that is the picture you have in your mind of what the Kingdom is like. Kingdom = paradise. I do not ask you to throw that out. Just set it aside for now, briefly.

No one involved in this discussion claims the Kingdom of Heaven is of Heaven only, and will never be of this world, ever. In Armstrongism that isn't true because it's coming here, to earth, where there are physical people. And it will be like that for 1,000 years. If Jesus is coming to bring the Kingdom to earth (and He is) then it will be of this world at some point (and it will). That's the whole Gospel according to Herbert. We all accept the Kingdom can be in Heaven and here.

But I propose it makes more sense that the Kingdom is here now, since the Holy Spirit is here now, and we are God's Temple now, and we are citizens of the Kingdom now. All of these are here and all of these are now. The church is the body of Christ now (I COR. 12: 27). One body, yet still individuals. It's both! How can we be the body of Christ, yet Christ is not here? He is here! The Son is here and the Spirit is here. Now. Today. Do you think you were called to Christianity because God is away on a far journey and needs you to stand in? He was personally involved in your life to bring you to faith, was He not? So, if the Kingdom is here while He is here, then it is here..
...yet not fully here.

Do you still think what I am proposing makes no sense? I'll tell you what makes no sense, dear reader. Claiming the Kingdom of God can only be here while Christ is here, and yet He is here - in us - while maintaining Christ and the Kingdom are not here because He isn't here. That either/or thinking is what makes no sense.

If God is here now (and He is), because we are His body now (and we are), and the Spirit is in us (and it is), and we are His Temple now (and we are), and we have citizenship in the Kingdom now (which we do), then the Kingdom is at hand right now for us who love Him. It's both!

Your Minister tells you the church is not the Kingdom on earth. Why? Because that's what the Catholics say? Well, they also say to pray. Are we to reject prayer because it's what the Catholics say to do? Catholics also say the Kingdom will be on earth after the final judgment, don't you know? So, are you forced to reject the coming Kingdom now? Luke and Paul and John all say the church is in the Kingdom. If you recall, even Herbert Armstrong said the church is Kingdom "en eutero". Well, that counts!

How many more things do you need to accept before you accept you are part of the Kingdom now? How many times have you said, "My citizenship is in heaven"? Plenty, I'll wager. Probably every time you skip voting. Realize that you already accept what I'm saying. So, what's the issue?

I know some of you are inherently disappointed with my proposal. We both know merely saying "it's both" is unsatisfying because it doesn't answer everything. How can the Kingdom be of this world yet not of this world, here but not here, ours yet not ours, at the first coming yet at the second? How can it be both/and when it seriously looks either/or? It sounds just as conflicting as the things I mentioned earlier. There is another factor in the equation.

NOW, BUT NOT FULLY

To this point, I have only hinted at the second part of my solution. Let's dig into it in earnest.

Do you reject my solution because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom? Are you thinking I am ignoring that verse? Have you forgotten your own beliefs? When Jesus returns, flesh and blood will be in the Kingdom for a thousand years. No?
It says flesh and blood cannot inherit, but it does not say flesh and blood cannot be citizens of. There are plenty of citizens in every Kingdom, but only one is going to inherit it. You accept this, too. The key here is to think of it as a process.

Do you recall your Minister teaching you that there is duality in prophecy? Some things in prophecy are fulfilled twice. Yes, you do. I don't even need to give you an example because you're already trying to think of at least one right now. I propose it's the same thing here.

The Kingdom is here now, but it is only partial at this time. When you were an infant, were you any less yourself than you are now? No. There was so much more to come, but you were still completely you. Same with the Kingdom. It is here, now, and we are citizens now, but not fully here now and not fully ours at this time. A little now, a whole lot more later.

Add "a little now with a lot more later" to the "both/and" and you get the whole solution I am proposing.

We yet live on faith and hope now, but we do have a down payment as insurance.

(II COR. 1: 21) Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

(II COR. 5: 50) Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Many things are promised and are partially realized but are not fully realized at this time. The Kingdom is in stark contrast to this world, as our faith should be. But we who have faith are citizens of the Kingdom that is in heaven now. Your life should be a mini Kingdom, right now. Therefore, the Kingdom is in heaven now and on earth now. Yet, the Kingdom is coming in a more concrete, tangible, complete way in the future. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that when it is fully realized we will be part of it. Yet, not as citizens but as inheritors.

This is precisely the message preached at every Feast of Tabernacles I've ever been to. This is precisely the message behind the word "ambassador". You already believe what I'm saying. I am just presenting it in a different, less contradictory way. All you need to do is give yourself permission to accept the whole Gospel message. It is not just a future Kingdom only, but who He is and what He accomplished - now. That good news is for us! He accomplished those things so we can participate with Him - now. Right now. Today. Only, it's a little now and a lot more later.

It is the once and future kingdom.

This explanation I give you resolves all three contradictions. They are only contradictory in the first place when the Gospel butts heads with Herbert Armstrong's Adventist demands for prophecy.

If the "prophecy and law" view is to be believed, everything that looks like it refers to the here and now is just a message about the there and then. The world tomorrow. There was no immediate good news for the world today, let alone the first century, other than, "When you are resurrected, things will be better ...IF you Sabbath hard enough." That's not very good news. There is no substance to the here and now. The here and now is practically abandoned. Don't vote, don't give to charity, don't try to make a better world or you're fighting against God. The here and now is just metaphoric, or poetic, or something. Despite the deposit of the Holy Spirit, there is no real assurance in that system. Not even for the faithful and repentant. Because we sin, we are all supposed to be surprised when Jesus resurrects us to His Kingdom at His second coming, or else resurrects us to the "second death" later on. "Fantastic news! You have a chance to win!"
I disagree.

The Gospel is about who Jesus is and what He already accomplished, PLUS what He will yet accomplish. It's about assurance in faith and hope now, PLUS a fuller, tangible, in-hand realization of what has been promised in the future. It's about citizenship now, PLUS inheritance in the future. It's here with us now until we are there with it then. It is not perfect now but it will be more perfect in the future.
It's both/and. A little now, a lot later.

And in the far, far future, it will be even more perfect still!

(I COR. 15: 24-28) 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

Utter perfection. Amen!

You see, I have not ignored those verses about "of heaven" or "flesh and blood cannot inherit". I have already said, "Jesus says the phrase 'Kingdom of Heaven' 45 times in the Gospel of Matthew." (And "coming Kingdom of God" zero times.) And some of those say, "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand." I did not ignore or discount this truth. I have not ignored Philippians 3: 20, which says "our citizenship is [present tense] in heaven". I also have not ignored are other verses, like Revelation 1: 9, where John says he is a companion in tribulation and kingdom. He and they were in the kingdom 1,900 years ago. It's now. ...but it's also not now. It's both! Because it's a little bit now and a whole lot more later.

(EPH. 2: 19) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God

CONCLUSION

It is the Son's Kingdom, and our Kingdom, yet it never stops being the Father's Kingdom - at the same time. It's both/and.
If the Son and the Spirit are here, in the church, which is the body of Christ and the Temple of God, then God is here, and where God is there is the Kingdom of God, therefore the Kingdom of God is in heaven and on earth - at the same time. It's both/and.
If the Kingdom was given to the Apostles, and they brought us in, and we yet hope for more to come in the future, then it is now and in the future - at the same time. It's both/and.

Partially at hand now, fully in hand then.
Partially on earth now, fully on earth then.
Partially ours now, fully ours then.

Just like prophecy, the Gospel of the Kingdom of heaven is fulfilled in duality. There is a partial fulfillment followed by a more optimal fulfillment. A type and an antitype.
Is it not the same with the law?
(HEB. 10: 1) For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
The Old Covenant law was a shadow of the fulfillment brought by Christ.
Think of your own Christian walk. You were not the person you are, and you are not the person you will become. It's the same thing.

Is it really so unusual when I say the Kingdom we have now is just a shadow of the better fulfillment Jesus will bring when He returns?

I told you - you already believe this.
All you really need to do is let the Gospel be the Gospel.

But there I go with the future again. I want to force our eyes back from the far future, back from the near future, back from our present, and back onto the people of Jesus' day. We need to go to the past.

But this has been quite a post already. I think we should stop here to give everyone a chance to breathe.

In my next post, let's look more closely at the message Jesus gave to the people of His time so we can see how it did apply straight to them, and to see how the message to them has rippling effects on our lives and our calling today. There is so much more to it. There is real meat to it, right now!

For weeks, I've had this need to explore the message to the first century. I started writing this post before I started writing "What Do You Mean ... Gospel?" and that post and this came from thinking about the next post. When I sat down to write, and even after three weeks of writing and editing, what I was doing is working on Part II of this series. I didn't expect today's post to get so big. All of this was supposed to be a couple paragraphs of intro. This wasn't meant to be a two-parter. I haven't even gotten to the topic I intended to write about!

And, completely by accident, this turned out to be a decent post for this time of year, what with the Feast of Tabernacles and all. Bonus!

See you next time. For now, beloved of God, I leave you with a prayer of blessing. May God bless you and open your heart to a more full, more hopeful, more reassuring understanding of your place in His plan and His love.

Once and Future Kingdom Pat II.

 

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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What the "Holy Day Plan of Salvation" Means for You

Last time, we looked at the someone tenuous origins of the traditional Church of God doctrine that the Hebrew holy days represent God's ongoing, progressive plan of salvation for humanity. I also threatened, or rather, promised to explain why I find this doctrine so troubling.

So what's my problem with the holy day “plan”? Besides that it's just a theory passed off as rock-solid, salvific Bible truth? A theory used by many in the COGs to self-righteously disparage what they call "counterfeit Christianity". Those are issues, for sure. But they're not the biggest one.

The COG's teachings on plan of progressive salvation diminishes the significance of Christ's sacrifice and lures believers back into salvation by works, a fact which groups like the United Church of God and others vehemently deny, yet consistently reinforce in their literature.

“The sacrifice of Christ constitutes that important first basic step in God's majestic plan of salvation,” wrote the late John Ross Schroeder in a July 2010 article on the Holy Day plan. “Nonetheless, an subsequent passage in Ephesians shows other essential steps.”




I turned to the passage Schroeder referenced – Ephesians 1:9-10. I don't see any other “essential steps” Christians must take. Let's look at the whole passage, in context. This time, I'm turning to the ESV, because this passage is convoluted, even to me, in the NKJV. I'll emphasize verses 9 and 10 for you.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Hmmm. I don't really see any evidence of Christ's sacrifice being the first step in a progressive salvation plan here. The only thing I really see that rings a bell is the word “plan.” Basically, in this passage, we have God revealing His Son at the appointed time in history, opening our minds to the fact that Jesus was God's Son, redeeming us and forgiving our sins through the shedding of His blood, and eventually setting right the fallen world.

This passage bears almost no resemblance to the COG narrative of this plan, which goes something like this:

1. Jesus died for your sins on Passover. (so far so good).
2. We then put sin out of our lives, which is pictured by the Days of Unleavened Bread. (hmmm.)
3. We receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Wait. How did we put sin out of our lives without the Holy Spirit?)
4. Jesus Christ returns at the Feast of Trumpets. (debatable, but it's a possibility)
5. Those who have successfully completed these “essential steps” celebrate their millenial reign during the Feast of Tabernacles (where they have achieved divinity, despite what Isaiah 43:10 says).
6. Satan is put away on the Day of Atonement (wasn't Jesus our Atonement? 1 John 2:2)
7. Humans who never had a chance to learn about God's plan will receive another chance to accept God's way at the Great White Throne Judgement on the Last Great Day (despite 2 Thessalonians 1:8, which tells us Jesus will judge both those who don't know God and didn't follow the gospel at His return).

But I'll admit, UCG leaves the salvific significance component of our works vague. But competing sister splinter COGWA does not. Consider what Jeremy Lallier, a full-time writer for COGWA's Discern magazine, recently wrote on his private Sabbath Thoughts blog for the Feast of Trumpets:

“As Christians, that trumpet will be the moment that defines us for eternity. As our Lord and Savior descends through the skies and voices from the heaven proclaim Him King of kings and Lord of lords, we'll either rise up to meet Him... or we won't. Those are the possibilities. There isn't a third option.”

Wow! You have my attention! That paragraph alone made me sit up two inches straighter in my chair.

“What kind of life did you live? What kind of choices did you have to make along the way? What did you value, and what did you let go of? What did you have to overcome? What aspects of your character changed – and what stayed the same?”

Hmm....

“How did those changes happen? What habits did you develop or break that helped lead to them? Who influenced you – and who did you have to step away from so they'd stop influencing you? What sacrifices did you have to get used to making, and what things were so important you vowed to never let go of them?"'

I'm starting to notice a trend here - a whole lot of "you, you, you" and not a whole lot of "God, God, God." But let's hear him out.

“Keep stepping backward from your future until you get to the present, then connect the dots.

Well, at least he isn't pulling out a sticker chart. Yet.

“Using the tools we've been given, we chart our way to the finish line, plotting out a life that leads to hearing, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Woops. I spoke too soon. I stand corrected.

“This isn't just a thought exercise. Your destiny hangs in the balance. If you want to make sure it's a good one, now's the time to reverse engineer it.”

All right. I've had enough. It's intellectually dishonest, at best, to claim to teach that salvation is a free gift, but then state that we are responsible for plotting our own destiny to a heavenly crown. If we make our own destiny, then we have reason to boast, which directly contradicts scripture:

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt.  - Romans 4:1-4

I'm glad you brought up Abraham, our COGWA friend would probably say, at this point, in our imaginary debate. Doesn't the Bible tell us that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac in James 2:21.

Why yes, it does. But is that the whole story? Let's look at the passage rather than a single verse.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see, then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. -  James 2:21-24

Abraham's true faith was confirmed when he attempted to sacrifice Isaac upon the altar in Genesis 22. But his faith was accounted to him for righteousness – God justified him – much earlier, in Genesis 15, even according to James. His decision in Genesis 22 was evidence of what happened in Genesis 15.

And what kind of life did Abraham live? What kind of choices did he make along the way? What aspects of his character changed, and what stayed the same? Let's see. Abraham made some good choices. He left Ur. He rescued Lot, and then let him have his pick of the land. He attempted to sacrifice his son when God told him to do so. He also lied about his wife to try to save his skin. Twice. Once was even after God “counted him righteous.” He doubted God. He fathered a child with Hagar.

If we plotted and charted Abraham's life, what kind of picture would we see? Someone who secured his own destiny through grit and determination? Or a sinner who, like Paul, warred against his nature throughout his life and relied upon the grace and mercy of his Creator? What about YOUR life?

There are many reasons that Christians should live godly lives:

1. We are bondservants of the Lord purchased with His blood.

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. - 1 Corinthians 6:20

2. Since we have died to sin and have been raised  with Christ, we are living sacrifices.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. - Romans 12:1

3. We are representatives of God's kingdom.

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given s the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed us to the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. - 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

4. To witness against those who mock us.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 
- 1 Peter 3:15-16

5. To turn others to God

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
- Matthew 5:14-16

There are these reasons, and many more. But noticeably absent is the goal of securing our entrance into God's Kingdom through an elaborate, metaphysical game of connect-the-dots. We can neither obtain nor maintain that destiny.

This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?   - Galatians 3:2-3

We can't reverse engineer, connect the dots or force out enough fruit to sell for a ticket into God's kingdom. Thankfully, the ticket is free and the fruit is a by-product, or evidence that we are connected to the True Vine. With that assurance, we can rest in Christ, knowing that He is the author and finisher of our faith.

A holy day plan that reveals an ongoing “plan of salvation” sounds tidy, inspiring, even desirable. On paper. But in real life, a checklist of “essential steps” means that you must achieve in order to progress to the next step. And if you don't achieve enough by the time the last step comes, then you fail.

Whether it's a progressive holy day plan, Lallier's subtle “we'll either rise up and meet Him... or we won't” or Herbert Armstrong's deity, who aborts Christians who don't grow enough, the message and theology are the same. Thankfully, they're not true. Thanks be God for His indescribable gift!

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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Brexit - Were the COG Prophets Right?

One day after the Brexit vote, various Armstrongist leaders, prophets, and talking heads are publishing mostly pre-written statements about the future implications of Britain leaving the EU. For a good idea on what they're already saying, read Banned by HWA article "Was He Right?" Years ago, it was foretold that Britain would leave the EU, then Germany would rise and enslave us all. All of Armstrongism watched the Brexit with great anticipation, hoping after decades of worrisome prophetic failure that finally they can hold their heads high and say with confidence, "We were right!" It's a much needed boost of confidence for an ailing system.

But we have to ask - were they right?

Let's briefly review some of the details that are being left out in all this rush to proclaim victory over the mapping out of the end times.

Don't forget for one moment that Armstrongism comes out of Ellen G. White's Seventh Day Adventist movement, and that was born in the prophetic failures of William Miller. A long and storied past of false prophecy is in the DNA of Armstongism.

Herbert Armstrong, “the founder, Pastor General, and spiritual and temporal leader” of the Church of God on earth had barely just incorporated the Radio Church of God (later the Worldwide Church of God) when he began publishing his false prophecies that Christ would return in 1936. He did it again in World War II. And again in the early 1970s. Then Christ was to return in the 1980's. Then by the end of the 20th century. But he never once even hinted that he might be wrong. Instead, he claimed no association with being a prophet at all. Those exceedingly detailed claims spoken under the authority of God were all just educated guesses, in effect. Then he tried to bury the past. People were told to burn the old material which contained the errors. All then proceeded as normal with new predictions. "All Systems Go!"

This pattern of false prophecy and cover-up continues to this very day under the guidance of Herbert Armstrong's many "one true" successors. A fabulous example is Ron Weinland's spectacular failure with "2008: God's Final Witness." In summary, we were all supposed to begin dying in 2008. "But wait," you say, "It's 2016." Correct. I don't want to ruin the end of the book for you, but [SPOILER ALERT] Ron got the predictions right from God and transmitted them to us all accurately, but God was lying in order to fool Satan. [END SPOILER] Well, if you can't blame God who can you blame?
He's still at it even now. For a great deal more, I highly recommend you read our friend Mike's blog about the False Prophet Ron Weinland.

Don't be so surprised by this. Armstrongism has a very long history of prophesying something that never comes to pass, moving the goal posts, then proceeding forward as if they were right all along. We've written about it more than once before (eg. Herbert W Armstrong's Doctrine and Fruit, An Inconvenient Plain Truth, All Systems Are Go, or read our Categories page for many more). The story ends the same every time with wait and see. And tithe.

Why dredge up this ugly past? Because in order to properly understand the current clucking about Brexit, you absolutely must know there's a lot more to it - decades more - than just Britain leaving the EU. If you don't know your history, you won't know that Britain leaving the EU isn't even what was supposed to happen in the first place.

If we all recall, in the original version of prophecy there was no EU. It was the early 1930s and no one ever dreamed that an EU was even possible. In the original version, a ten nation group from somewhere in the old Holy Roman Empire was simply going to run amok then Jesus would return. Next, Mussolini was going to become the Beast. Then Hitler was to be the Beast. Then Hitler supposedly went into hiding and would re-emerge as the Beast. There was no EU. There was no Brentrance let alone a Brexit.

In the 1960s it began to become clear that the new European trade agreements were more than just a series of trade agreements. It didn't take a prophet to see that the point was political unity to prevent World War III. What was the reliable prophecy from that time? Britain was never supposed to join in the first place. They might float around the edges, but since this political union was to be the Beast we couldn't have "Ephriam" join in. (For those of you who are somehow unaware, Herbert Armstrong was deeply involved in British Israelism aka. Anglo Israelism. In Armstrongism, England is the modern identity of the ancient Israelite tribe of Ephraim.)

But by the mid-1970's Britain did join. Emergency! It was now necessary that the only people on earth who knew what the future would be like should change their story yet again. In the new version, Britain was going to leave the EU and then the end would come.

This is where we find ourselves today. This is what all the crowing is about. So "We were right!" ...after several attempts. One thing right, out of Lord knows how many wrong things. But are the COG prophets right? We at ABD are not impressed.

The issue isn't just in the past. Going forward is an issue as well. A few additional details come to mind and they are rather important.

• After Brexit there will still be 27 EU nations. One down, 17 left to go to hit that correct ten-nation Beast power. Technically speaking it's really eleven nations, because ten nations are supposed to ally themselves under Germany. 10 + 1 = 11. 16 nations left to go.
• The Beast power can't just include Germany, it has to be formed by Germany and dominated by Germany. In other words the whole EU needs to be dissolved and a new ten-nation combine needs to be formed. To put it another way: Britain left the EU -- so what?
• These ten nations can't just be ten random nations surrounding Germany. They have to be mainly nations that are not on the list of British Isreal nations of western and northern Europe (the Beast isn't Israelite). For example France can't be a partner with Germany as France is the modern identity of the ancient Israelite tribe of Reuben. Or Denmark can't be a partner because Demnark is the modern identity of the ancient Israelite tribe of Dan. (Something we're not even supposed to be able to find out until the very end.) To put it another way: the entire EU -- so what?
• The Beast power can't just be Germany in the lead, either. It has to be a singular ultra-charismatic human being who leads Germany who leads the ten other nations.
• This Beast king must be closely partnered with the Pope and at least pretend to be Catholic himself and convert the majority of the world to Catholicism. In an increasingly secular post-Protestant Europe where Catholicism in particular is not very popular and waves of Muslim immigrants arrive daily, this point is going to be particularly difficult to pull off.
• This whole mess is supposed to happen quickly and it's only supposed to happen at the end. It's supposed to take the world by surprise, not drag out over several decades (or centuries as the case is). And then the end shall come.
• The ten nations under Germany in association with Vatican City are supposed to enslave Britain, Australia, and the entire North American continent - and then still have enough military wherewithal to turn and attack Russia while a 200 million strong Chinese army marauds its way across the Middle East. I'm no military tactician myself, but as it stands the entire EU doesn't seem capable to conquer even one of these things let alone all of them.

We could go on and on this way. The point is Britain leaving the EU isn't the whole story, and getting lucky on a small fraction of the story (after several iterations) isn't the same as being prophetically accurate.

If this were a math problem, would the teacher grade them correct? No. If a prophet from another religion got only this much right, would we say they were sent by God? No. In what other area of life would anyone with this track record still hold any credibility at all? The only place that comes to my mind is in the U.S. Federal Government. <--- FAR cry from God there. This reminds me of a movie quote that goes like this, "60% of the time, it works every time." Only instead of 60% it's somewhere closer to 2%. And I'm being generous. Does "2% of the time, we're right every time," make sense to you? Because it doesn't to me. One certainly cannot claim "we were right therefore we're God's one true church" and at the same time expect us all to ignore all the overwhelming majority of the time when they weren't. And we are supposed to base our current and future plans, hopes, and dreams on this??

Will Brexit have powerful and far-reaching implications for the world? Yes. That much is inevitable. And I'm not saying that as any form of prophecy. I'm saying that because history proves it's unavoidable. Could it lead to war? It might; it might not. Lots of lesser things have. Lots of greater things have not. Should you worry about it? No. All of this entire mess regarding false prophecy is born in fear and worry. Armstrongists tend to dislike the world and they would rather it finally just go away. They obsess over bad news because it feeds their desperate hope that the end is nigh, even at the door.

But don't be like that. Love your neighbor as yourself. And don't fear. Just trust! Not in COG false prophets, nor us here, but in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Believe in Jesus and love your neighbor. That's your work as a Christian.

There is much more we here at ABD have said and could yet say on this topic. But does what we have seen make Herbert Armstrong or any of the other COG prophets right? When you consider the context and the changes and the details, the answer is a resounding NO!

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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What's Written Between the Lines in LCG's "Tomorrow's World"?

Man, LCG. You got me again. I don’t know how you do it. Maybe it’s the attractive mushroom cloud on the cover of your magazine. Maybe I have mommy guilt because I’ve let my emergency canned food supply dwindle. Either way, when the November-December issue of the Living Church of God’s Tomorrow’s World arrived in the mail this week, I couldn’t resist turning to the issue’s featured story, “Are You Ready for Christ’s Return?”

The thing I enjoyed most about this article was that it never actually mentioned how to be ready for Christ’s return. Instead, the author, Richard Ames, detailed the terrifying events that will lead up to the Battle of Armageddon - in between heart-warming pictures of fiery oil wells and abandoned gas masks lying in piles of rubble.

Now, I don’t mean to imply I think there’s a way to be physically prepared for the Second Coming. Bottled water, food rations, whatever – it isn’t going to cut it. But I would assume there would be some spiritual admonition given here, like “start keeping the Sabbath,” “Throw out your Christmas decorations” or even something vague like “Get right with God.” But there was none of that. It didn’t even mention contacting LCG.  Ames totally missed the point.

Unless that wasn’t the point.

Once again, I’m inclined to believe that this article is largely intended to scare LCG’s disgruntled membership into staying with the embattled organization. Sure, it might frighten a few anxious newcomers into Rod Meredith’s cold, clammy embrace. But with no mention of the Sabbath, Holy Days or other standard COG doctrines, my guess is it’s intended for folks who already agree on these points.

When you consider that, just pages earlier in the magazine, Meredith warns that “within the next several years, a genuine ‘spirit’ war will break out,” after which Satan will finally be cast into the bottomless pit, we can almost certainly conclude the target audience is LCG members who are ready to jump ship. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “several” as more than two - but not very many more - which seems to undermine Meredith’s longstanding teaching that Christians cement their  salvation through a lifetime of obedience.  Are we to believe a human who joins LCG this year could prove him or herself trustworthy “not to become another Satan,” as the COGs teach, in just a few short years? Hardly. Fresh fish don’t seem to be his target.

Honestly, I struggled to find a true “action point” that would get me “ready” for Christ’s return. Ames warned that that our world will experience increasingly severe weather extremes “unless we wholeheartedly return to God.” Can’t do much more than I’m already doing with that one, although I’m sure Ames would disagree.  Still, I can’t do anything about the rest of humanity. What else? I should “wake up and heed what is happening around the world.” Check. “Be spiritually alert for signs of Jesus Christ’s second coming.” “Look forward to His return with confidence, hope and faith.” Besides that? Have a satchel packed for Petra? Buy extra can openers? A portable water filter? Anything?

And this is why I suspect this is article is intended more to control than to inform. It’s certainly in line with LCG’s track record and modus operandi: Don't look around. Don't ask questions. Don't prayerfully consider why God has led you to this blog. If it doesn't come out of Charlotte, it's heresy. 

Ames did have ONE helpful recommendations - to check up on LCG and all preachers by reading my Bible. Luckily, my “false Christian” preacher recently gave a message on the end times. That makes my job easy. Ok, Richard. Let’s see how my pastor is misleading me and the rest of his flock about Christ’s return. These are quotes directly from the sermon transcript:

“It (the Day of the Lord) will include what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation.  That's a seven-year period during which the anti-Christ will rule the earth as a self-proclaimed god.  And during the second half of those seven years, God will begin to pour out His wrath upon the earth.  That's part of the Day of the Lord.  The Day of the Lord also  includes the coming of Jesus Christ.  He'll come to the earth, and He'll rule on a throne in Jerusalem, and for a thousand years, Jesus Christ will rule the earth.  The Bible talks about that, not only in the book of Revelation, but also in Isaiah and other places in the Old Testament.” (Revelation 11:2; 13:5, Daniel 8:19, Daniel 12:7, Revelation 6, Revelation 8, Revelation 16, Revelation 20)

(Note: The COGs dispute that the Tribulation will be 7 years but agree that the destructive phase, when God pours out His wrath, will be a period of about 3-1/2 years)

“Now, you drive up to a railroad crossing, and as you drive up to that railroad crossing, the crossbars come down, the bells begin to ring, the lights are flashing, and you see the train coming  down the line.  When the train comes and crosses in front of your car, when you see that engine coming, there is something that you know for certain.  Now, think about this: When you see the engine coming, there's one thing you know for certain.  Here's what it is: Eventually, the last car on that train will pass by.  Would you agree with me on that?  If you see the engine, eventually, you're going to see the last car.  Now, it may come in five cars, or it may be 10 cars down the line, or it could be 100 cars down the line.  You don't know how long that train's going to be.  But eventually, the last train is going to come.  It's coming.  The Bible says the Day of the Lord comes.  It is coming.  It is certain.  It may come in 10 years.  It may come in 100 years.  It may come in 1,000 years.  It may come in 10,000 years.  I believe it's coming very soon, very shortly, but it is coming.  Time on earth is running out.  The Day of the Lord is coming.  The end of time is coming." (Matthew 24:32-33; 36)

“Do you know something?  The Bible shows us that the people who ridicule us or scoff at us or make fun of us because we believe that Jesus is coming and that judgment is coming and that the end is coming, those people themselves, and their mockery, is a sign that judgment is coming.  Look in your Bible over in 2 Peter, chapter 3.  I want you to see what the Bible has to say.  The Bible says that one of the signs of the end times is that people will mock those who believe that the end times are coming.  Isn't that something?  Look in 2 Peter, chapter 3, beginning in verse 3.  This is a picture of the world today.” (2 Peter 3:3)

Wow. That guy has some nerve. What twisting of God's Word. What distortions of scripture. I guess everyone outside LCG, certainly everyone outside the COGs, is totally deceived about Christ's return. I guess he's also deceived when he reads the following: 

(2 Peter 3:9)  “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Now wait a minute. Why would Jesus delaying His coming keep anyone from perishing? And how is this whole “perishing” thing necessarily a bad thing, eternally speaking? Why would He be concerned whether as many people as possible come to repentance before He returns? Wouldn’t they just come up in the second resurrection and get their chance to repent and accept God’s way? Out of all the Armstrongist teachings I was raised with, this is the one I desperately want to be true.  But the more I study, the more I come across stuff like this: 

(Hebrews 9:27) And as it is appointed for men to die once, then after this the judgment.

My pastor makes his reason for speaking on this topic clear - he cares about your eternal destiny:

“Why would God choose to warn us about the Day of the Lord?  Why would He choose to warn us about judgment? Does He do it to scare us?  Does he do it to frighten us?  Does He do it because He has a bad intent toward us?  No.  He warns us against the Day of the Lord, and He warns us against His judgment, because He does not want you to experience judgment and condemnation at the Day of the Lord."

You can nitpick him on the rapture (a theory on which I'm undecided) or scoff at him because he thinks unbelievers will go to hell immediately after they die (a theory which gains more credibility the more I look at it) rather than rising in a second resurrection. But in this discussion, my pastor, Ames and Meredith are all in agreement that the saints will rise; that Christ will return; that there will be a real Armageddon; and that there is a real hell. They're mostly in disagreement about the timing.  

You can write off my pastor and others like him in the "so-called" Christian world as deceived loons because they disagree with the COGs about timing. But at least they are forthcoming about their motivations for preaching about the end times: they hope you will avoid the judgment and repent, place your full faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice for salvation and then grow to be more like Him in the time you have. What is Richard Ames' reason for publishing his article? It's not to get anyone ready for Christ's return. It's not to implore them to leave "false" Christianity. So what is it? You can be sure they're not just spending their dwindling tithe dollars for the fun of it.

If you are happy in LCG, stay. If you believe it is God’s true church and you see the fruit of the Spirit there (Galatians 5:22-23), then stay. If you admire your leaders, aspire to be like them and desire the kinds of outcomes in your life that their conduct has produced in theirs, (Hebrews 13:7), then stay.  But don’t stay because Rod Meredith and Richard Ames tell you that anything outside LCG is Sodom and Gomorrah. Because they hint that the end is imminent, and that you just have to endure the miserable environment they’ve created a couple more years. Or risk the Lake of Fire. 

Don’t let Rod and his henchmen bully you. You are more than a tithe check. You are more than a backside in a chair, or a number LCG gets to claim in the ongoing COG grudge match for the most members. You are a human being. Jesus loved you enough to die a brutal death for you on the cross. And He still loves you that much today. Any message about the judgment or the terrifying times to come must be rooted in that love. That love is the reason the Lord gave us those sobering passages of Scripture in the first place. To reassure those who are His that He is still in control, no matter what unfolds on earth. To plead with those who are not yet His to turn to Him while they still can. Any message about Armageddon that is not grounded in God's love for you is nothing more than an attempt to scare you, manipulate you and control you.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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Bible Prophecy – God's Agenda and Your Part in It – is again free

My book "Bible Prophecy – God's Agenda and Your Part in It" is currently free on Amazon for five days, from July 9, 2014 to July 13, 2014.

This book began as an article on ABD but kept getting bigger to where it made more sense to put it on Amazon as a unit. This meant I couldn't use my pen name, in case the "Glen Paul Erickson" instead of 'Luc" on the cover pic is confusing.

2Tim 4:8 says: "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." This makes it clear that we aren't to forget about the coming of Christ as is so often the case.

The Jewish people ended their Passover Seder (and said among themselves at other occasions) “next year in Jerusalem.” This was a hope built on a promise. And though it seemed like it would never happen, it did. The Jewish nation was reborn, however impossible the world said it was. Interestingly, they never let the hope interfere with their normal activities and responsibilities. Those who believe in Jesus as Lord and messiah have a similar promise: Luk 21:28 “When these things” (Jesus had been describing) “begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."  Christians, to the largest extent, seem not to consider this important. Not that I blame them. I told my wife's eldest daughter about what my book was about and she said that she and her family were no longer interested in such things. She was kept informed about the whole Ron Weinland charade of prophet-hood and was told to expect the Lord with urgent appeals for her recognition of the man as legitimate. Now she doesn't want to hear such “nonsense.”

      

I wrote an article at the time to make the point that such deception, as Weinland was trying to lure people into, had just the above described effect. I compared it to the dropping of loads of aluminum foil by the allies during WW2 to confuse German radar. The Christian's radars have indeed been confused. The season has arrived for the bride to gather her maidens and become vigilant for the arrival of the bridegroom. The deceivers have won a victory. Many like Ron Weinland have won a victory for the enemy, rather intended or not. Some no longer say: next year with Christ, and a relative few appear interested in prophecy. It has, to so large an extent, become the sphere of the mentally ill and paranoid; at least this is how popular media presents people who pursue such interests.

I never bought what Ron Weinland was selling because of having studied and pondered the prophetic writings for 40 years. Because I didn't arrive at my eschatological conclusions based on any accepted line of reasoning, most of which have been highly influenced by the paradigm of the reformation period which sought to demonize the Catholic Church.  I do see things differently. For example: I see the prophecy of twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings as specifying the exact date of the Jewish regaining of the Temple mount in 1967 because the word translated 'reconsicrated' in Dan 8:14  merely means to make something right; (He said to me, "It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated."). The word translated 'reconsecrated' is H6663  tsadaq  tsaw-dak'a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense). The word sanctuary actually means holy place: H6944  qodesh  ko'-desh from H6942; sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity. Out of 168 times the word is used in scripture, it only refers to the “sanctuary' 4 times; 98 time it simply means “holiness,” 

The timeline of 2,300 evenings and mornings begins in 333 BC when Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, and if the symbolic increment of time is intended to mean years, all we have to do to test this is to do some addition and see if the results are biblically significant. So add 1967 to 333 (1967 + 333 = 1967), and the result is the year the Jews regained the Holy Mount. Something was made right at the holy place, but not completely. The book I offer has this and numerous other observations with more background and detail to make the case. The book ends with a look at the Jewish marriage customs as they relate to the words of Jesus and the resurrected body, which is the “Your Part in It” aspect the books title refers to.

Amazon won’t allow me to make the book free with the exception of a few days every 90 days, but I set the price at the lowest possible. I extend my thanks to those who purchased the book as that paid Amazon for their services. Graphics from the book don’t show up well on small screens so have been posted here http://bp-ga.blogspot.com/

Remember the words of Paul 2Ti 4:8 “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

 


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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11
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Victims Of Alarm Fatigue?

Just a reminder. The book, which began here on ABD as an article, is available today (Saturday 3-1-14)  through Wednesday the 5th for FREE on Amazon in the Kindle format. I earnestly desire that we should not be dulled by alarm-fatigue, for this is what the enemy wants. Yes, prophecy is for stimulating belief, but also for encouraging one another—" and all the more as you see the Day approaching" -Hebrews 10:25. Apathy has hit the church and we need to resist it. False prophets have made the idea of Jesus' soon return seem tiresome. I want people to see the possibility that all the prophecies proceeding the return have in fact been fulfilled. Brothers and sisters in all nations; are you more focused on the things of the world, or are you one who has put your hand to the Gospel plow and will not turn and look back? We can focus on the past of being in a COG and their emphases on the return of Jesus and be repelled by this mind set or do as Paul advised, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead," Phil 3:13.
 

Don't you see that this is an effective method that Satan has employed? Everything you learned wasn't a lie. There was some truth which the devil may convince you to throw out with the proverbial bathwater. Our job is to filter out the poison and keep what remains. If we now make our temporal existence the most important thing and not Jesus, He says we are not worthy of Him. God's time piece is Israel. My nation (USA) has a government that continues to stab Israel in the back. This is prophecy being fulfilled as there will be no one to stand with Israel! The way is being prepared for the final battle. You who make Jesus the first priority have a date with destiny. We can't know the day or hour, but we are told that we can know the season. And if we aren't dissuaded by the false alarms sounded by the enemy to dull our senses then we will be like the virgins who kept their lamps full and waited for the bridegrooms arrival. Be awake; be alert;  believe Him first and foremost and be the ones who cross over from death to life. Let us focus our eyes on Jesus and not on some man or on distractions. There is no one that stands between you and God but Jesus Himself. Again, the link to the book is Bible Prophecy - God's Agenda And Your Part In It

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11
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Bible Prophecy - God's Agenda And Your Part In It

I was the second writer on ABD coming on board not long after its April of 2008 beginning. Seeker had made 18 posts before I contributed a two part debunking of Armstrongs United States and Britain in Prophecy the following May. To get traction we tried to post every other day, and it was quite a grind. Later xHWA joined us and took up more than his share of the load, for which we were thankful. Now, we have other great writers which bless us with their thoughtful work; and so it continues.

When we started ABD we all used pseudonyms instead of our real names largely to protect our family members who were still in Armstrongist splinter groups (among other reasons). I chose Luc as mine. ABD became so popular in its niche that if I Googled Lucian Roske, it would pop up instantly. If I Googled my real name I wouldn't have anything. I did an article series on prophecy sometime later in 2008 in which I outlined conclusions to my own  studies. I didn't portray them as anything other than my own view back then, and I won't now. I say this because  I used those posts as the core of what became a book. Because of this I removed the posts. My main objective was, and is, to stimulate thought outside prescripted views, and to let the Bible speak for its self. Since what became the book appeared in its incipient form on ABD, I thought it appropriate to make known here its availability in the Kindle format. Naturally my real name is on the cover pic. So in some ways, this is an introduction. When I'm not Luc, I am Glen Paul Erickson.

When I read books, I like them in either paper or in the Kindle format. So I put the book on Amazon and gave it the minimum price. I would have made the book free if Amazon allowed it. It can be done, but it takes time. Amazon does allow a book to be free five days out of ninety. My book is scheduled to be free on Saturday March 1, 2014 to Wednesday March 5, 2014. The link is: Bible Prophecy - God's Agenda And Your Part In It

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11
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An Inconvenient Plain Truth

I have some truth for you ...some plain truth.

Herbert Armstrong.
Now, there's a name many of you have never heard before. Many of you have no idea who he was. Before there was a Gerald Flurry or a Rod Meredith, there was Herbert Armstrong. He is the "the founder, Pastor General, and spiritual and temporal leader of  the ... Worldwide Church of God". He is the reason why there are Church of God groups today. I want to help you to know more about him in order that you can know more about your own Church of God organization.

Herbert Armstrong's primary publication - the flagship magazine of the Worldwide Church of God - was "The Plain Truth". This was the face of the entire church in print. The articles are by various authors but everything that went out in the Plain Truth was officially approved and officially representative of the church.

Know this! These articles didn't just go out to the world in the name of Herbert Armstrong or the Worldwide Church of God - it was said, repeatedly, that they went out in the name and authority of Jesus Christ and God Almighty!

For today's post, I've read nearly every Plain Truth magazine throughout the 1950's and I've brought you some quotes straight from the magazines. The 1950's should be more than enough. They are representative of the previous years and the years since, all the way up to today!

I ask you to read these quotes for yourself. Keep in mind every one of them are from the 1950's. Compare what was being said then to what is being said now. The modern leaders of the Church of God groups are all students of this material, and in Rod Meredith's case he authored some of it. While you read, ask yourself what would you think about these quotes if some completely other church group had written them - the Plymouth Brethren, for example.

FRESHNESS DATING

Here are over 60 time-specific quotes from The Plain Truth magazine in the 1950's:

"It will take a few years for all this to develop to a point where this Nazi-Fascist rebirth of the ROMAN EMPIRE will be ready to STRIKE with the most tremendous power ever conceived by man. But it’s already developing - and FAST! Much more rapidly than people know! Most certainly it is easily possible the thing will be fully developed and ready to strike in SEVEN years! Yes, TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON US, FAST, AND WE’RE TOO SOUND ASLEEP TO REALIZE IT!"
-Plain Truth March 1950, p.5

"ONE THIRD of our people will die from starvation, malnutrition, and epidemics of disease in the greatest national tragedy ever to hit the world up to that time! And this is not a fanciful fairy story - this is PROPHESIED, and CERTAIN - and in the next FEW YEARS!"
-Plain Truth March 1950, p.5

"Only ONE THIRD - a bare 50 million out of our 150 million population - will be LEFT ALIVE! Two thirds of the people YOU know - of YOUR FRIENDS, acquaintances, relatives, members of your family - will be killed!"
-Plain Truth March 1950, p.6

"The fact that nearly all the prophecies refer directly to the END-TIME events of this 20th Century, A.D."
-Plain Truth October 1951, p.14

"But this I DO know. SOMEWHERE there lives, and breathes and walks, TODAY, the very man who is to rise up as the LEADER Of this UNITED STATES OF EUROPE. The IDENTITY of the individual is not revealed, but it IS definitely prophesied that such a man is living, and PLANNING, under cover, AT THIS VERY MOMENT."
-Plain Truth June 1952, p.2

"For it is those of this very present generation who shall be worshiping this “Beast” or his “Image,” or shall have received his “mark,” that will suffer the unspeakable tortures of the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES!"
-Plain Truth June 1952, p.5

"The time is at hand! The plagues of Gods WRATH will be poured out..."
-Plain Truth June 1952, p.5

"Every sign tells us these things will happen, plunging the world into the most frantic, frenzied state of anguish ever known, WITHIN A MATTER OF A FEW YEARS!"
-Plain Truth June 1952, p.5

"But now, once in the END of this age, just before God takes all power and authority and rule away from mortal man forever, God’s last and final intervention in the affairs of THIS WORLD IS occurring before your very eyes!"
--Plain Truth June 1953, pp.1-2

"This same DUAL PRINCIPLE runs all thru prophecy! First, a former, or preliminary fulfillment which is merely the type or forerunner of a second, the final climactic fulfillment occurring, usually, during this CRISIS AT THE CLOSE we already have entered!"
-Plain Truth July 1953, p.4

"’These days are more terrible than most realize. The time is ominous, storm clouds are brewing above and below the horizon. Within less than a quarter of a century this world will be plunging to destruction in order that men might know once and for all time that rhe Creator RULES and that His laws alone bring peace and happiness."
-Plain Truth Nov. 1953, p.13

"John was projected into the period of OUR present, and the immediate future. ... Ezekiel was not actually taken to Jerusalem, but the SPIRIT lifted him up and carried him IN VISION to Jerusalem. In like manner, John, IN SPIRIT, was carried to see IN VISION the events of the DAY OF THE LORD - the events ALREADY, now, beginning to take place on earth - the events YOU AND I SHALL LIVE TO ACTUALLY SEE! This vision is VITAL! The theme, or subject, of the prophecy is NOT the Middle Ages - it is the teeming, chaotic PRESENT - this very time you and I are just now starting to LIVE THRU! GOD HELP US, then, to UNDERSTAND! And so the very purpose of this Book is to show US of this generation NOW LIVING, the coming world-shaking events of the DAY OF THE LORD - the time of GOD’S JUDGMENTS at this age - END leading up to, and climaxing in, THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST, and the happy, peaceful WORLD TOMORROW!"
-Plain Truth Aug.-Sep. 1954, p.6

"John appears to be taken up to heaven, to the very throne of God. There, projected some 1900 years into the future - into our PRESENT LIVING GENERATION - he sees, in VISION, the events already occurring, and those SOON TO TAKE PLACE, on the earth."
-Plain Truth Oct. 1954, p.3

"But in verse 14, Jesus interrupted to tell them WHEN the end shall come - AFTER THE VERY EVENT NOW TAKING PLACE - YES, ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE THIS MINUTE. [quotes Mat. 24: 14]. ... And THAT’S the world event of THIS VERY HOUR! THIS HOUR is THIS SCRIPTURE FULFILLED IN YOUR EARS! He that hath an ear to hear, LET HIM HEAR! ... so here we have THREE successive world-shaking events to come-first, and, now, NEXT to occur in a very few years, THE GREAT TRIBULATION."
-Plain Truth Oct. 1954, p.15

"We are now in the very WORLD-CRISIS at the CLOSE of the allotted duration of man’s rule over his fellows."
-Plain Truth Nov-Dec. 1954, pp.15-16

"[Title] A Prophecy for Today!" "This last resurrection - the TENTH - has, of necessity, to be in OUR TIME, and YET IN THE FUTURE ... There you have it! The TEN Dictatorships forming the UNITED EUROPEAN EMPIRE - a resurrected ROMAN EMPIRE - which the United States and the British governments are now bending every effort to bring about! But this United Europe will not cleave together long - IT COULDN’T! The prophecy reveals its very SHORT duration - 'must continue a SHORT SPACE,' - 'receive power as kings ONE HOUR with the Beast.' WHEN it, therefore, arises, THE SECOND COMING WORLD will be very NEAR. And today we SEE this very thing BEING FORMED. It may take a very few more years. But it is ON ITS WAY - conditions are shaping to this end far more rapidly than anyone seems to realize - yes, IT’S LATER THAN YOU THINK! These things are already BEGINNING to come to pass!"
-Plain Truth Nov-Dec. 1954, p.16

"Weather Bureau experts are frankly frightened about America‘s future. They KNOW that within 20 years this nation will be toppled from its dizzy economic heights by the worst drought in history! Here are the FACTS and what prophecy says WILL HAPPEN!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1955, p.1

"Prophecy proves it [great drought] will happen - before 1975! Here are the FACTS."
-Plain Truth Jan. 1955, p.1

"WE CAN understand it [prophecy - specifically Revelation], because JESUS CHRIST is the Revelator! HE is the interpreter! And we have found HIS interpretation, which is TRUE! Yes, we CAN know where world affairs today are LEADING. We CAN know what’s GOING to happen during the next 5, 10, and 20 years!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1955, p.3

"WORLD WAR IS HERE - NOW!"
-Plain Truth Feb.-Mar. 1955, p.1

"Here is an amazing prophecy, which few understand, yet which explains the real meaning behind Russia’s struggle for world dominion. It explains what‘s going to happen to our nation IN THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS!"
-Plain Truth Sep. 1955, p.1

"He has revealed that there remains only the one more 19-year cycle (of which we are well into the 4th year already) - after which it will be Too LATE!!! It’s far later than we think!"
-Plain Truth Apr. 1956, p.2

"What happens by the middle of the 1960s ... This SEVEN YEARS of national trouble takes us - if the dates which appear so definitely indicated by these prophecies are correct - from 1965 to 1972! Many of you will remember that over three years ago we told you of the strong indication that the last half of this - Gods-work of spreading the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all the world would probably end in 1972!"
-Plain Truth Apr. 1956, p.22

"Notice what God says is going to happen to our people in about ten years from now!" [Goes on to describe severe drought, war, Communism, economic collapse, slavery...]
-Plain Truth Apr. 1956, p.23

"WOULD you say that it is an amazing thing if 2600 years ago there were men who could look down into the future and foretell what is going to happen to Egypt? - and to all major nations in the next 15 or 20 years in this last half of the 20th century? You would say that that is impossible, I suppose. But Is It? Such men did exist! Such prophecies were made."
-Plain Truth May 1956, p.1

"To understand the time, the place, and all the facts of the prophecy of Ezekiel 38, we need to begin at the 1st chapter of Ezekiel’s prophecy and read the book clear through. ... [goes on to speak about British-Israelism] ... Ezekiel’s Message is for our day - and it is, therefore, a message for America and Britain, NOW! ... No such destruction and captivity has ever yet come to the House of Israel since this was written! Therefore it is still in the future - IN OUR TIME! It is a warning to Britain and America - NOW!"
-Plain Truth July 1956, pp.3-4

"Coming to chapter 6, the local scene of the vision shifts to the mountainous land of Palestine - but the MESSAGE is for AMERICA AND BRITAIN, today!"
-Plain Truth July 1956, p. 4

"If YOU would rather hear God’s Truth in place of the soothing cries of 'Peace, Peace' (Jer. 6: 14), write in immediately for Mr. Armstrong’s AMAZING booklet, '1975 in Prophecy!' This startling booklet is profusely illustrated with pictures-actually showing you a step-by-step account of what God says IS GOING TO HAPPEN within the next 10, 15 to 25 years!"
-Plain Truth Sept. 1956, p. 14

"No matter WHAT the immediate and temporary outcome of the present Suez Canal crisis, Britain and America will not have control of it when this amalgamated European power rises up-and it will occur inside of 15 or 16 more years - perhaps sooner."
-Plain Truth Sept. 1956, p. 20

"The Nazi underground is now plotting a war that shall end AT ARMAGEDDON! It is the START of the final WORLD WAR! It is NOW being prepared UNDERCOVER! Do you really REALIZE it? IT IS STARTING NOW! This war now secretly being prepared will Only END with the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST! Are you ready for that event? It is now NEAR - EVEN AT THE DOORS! Now is the time to GET READY, for Jesus said, 'BE ye also READY!' REPENT! BELIEVE! PRAY!"
-Plain Truth Oct. 1956, p. 18 [article title: "The SUEZ Crisis In Prophecy!"]

"The Prophecy for OUR DAY ... And notice, this coming martyrdom will be like the previous one - only 1000 times more terrible in intensity. Christians living today are to be martyred 'as their brethren were' in past ages.... This coining horrifying tribulation is now being plotted in secret, underground, by a fascist [Hitler and his Nazis hold up in a secret compound in Antarctica] Babylonish religious [Roman Catholic] political system ...
-Plain Truth Nov. 1956, pp.5-6

"For many years, the Plain Truth magazine has been bringing you the actual prophesied events scheduled to happen within the next 10, 15 or 25 years."
-Plain Truth Feb. 1957, p.14

"If you haven’t yet read Mr. Armstrong’s amazing point-by-point summary of prophetic events from now until 1975 - write in immediately for the booklet '1975 in Prophecy.' We’ll send it to you by return mail."
-Plain Truth Feb. 1957, p.14

"In less than 40 years all nations are going to live in a Utopia! They will be forced to learn the ways of peace. A Utopia of God’s making - not man’s - is fast approaching."
-Plain Truth Mar. 1957, p. 3

"Notice that this whole abominable system is to culminate in a great False Prophet who is to be manifest in OUR TIME - before Christ’s second coming and is to be destroyed by Christ when He returns. This diabolical individual is living TODAY!"
-Plain Truth Mar. 1957, p. 15

"For You - for your family and loved ones - the really significant point in this is that these men and many of their counterparts in Germany and France are NOW beginning to build the very power which God says will ultimately destroy our people! And they are basing it on the same principles and describing it in almost the EXACT way that The PLAIN TRUTH has been warning you to watch for over the past twenty years! Prophecy is future REALITY! It is NOW taking place before your very eyes!"
-Plain Truth Apr. 1957, pp. 7-8

"[Speaking of Ezekiel chapter 5] No such destruction and captivity has ever yet come to the House of Israel since this was written! Therefore it is still in the future - IN OUR TIME! It is a warning to Britain and America - NOW! ...  Coming to chapter 6 [of Ezekiel], the local scene of the vision shifts to the mountainous land of Palestine - but the MESSAGE is for AMERICA AND BRITAIN, today!"
-Plain Truth June 1957, p. 4

"WHETHER YOU want to believe it or not, you are CERTAIN to be affected by the rapid fulfillment of Bible prophecy!"
-Plain Truth Aug. 1957, p.3

"Here is something DEFINITE! Here is something you can TEST and PROVE! ... God is going to use this power to PUNISH us for our sins and our rebellion against His laws! This is DEFINITE. Most of you will live to SEE it come to pass!"
-Plain Truth Aug. 1957, p.4

"After 1965, we are destined to run into increasing trouble with the Gentile nations. America and Britain will begin to suffer from trade embargoes imposed by the brown and oriental races, and by the coming German-dominated United States of Europe” or “European Empire” - whatever it will be called. We will begin to experience the pangs of starvation and of scarcity of goods! ... Finally, when we are weakened from drought, hunger, disease and riots within our borders - and our economy crippled by foreign trade embargoes - the revived “beast” power in central Europe will attack us! Fully one third of our people will perish in the hydrogen bomb attack."
-Plain Truth Aug. 1957, p.6

"But meantime, these prophecies are REAL! They are DEFINITE and SPECIFIC. They WILL COME TO PASS! ... You can KNOW! You can be SURE! You are NOW BEING WARNED!"
-Plain Truth Aug. 1957, p.6

"In former articles in the Plain Truth magazine, we have shown you what the Almighty God says is SURE to happen to OUR NATION within the next few years. We have made those articles specific - definite, actually NAMING the nations which will be involved, and showing from the scriptures what your Creator says will happen. Here is another specific occurrence that you are going to SEE happen! [Describes wars never again being won by military might, rather there will be trade wars.]
-Plain Truth Oct. 1957, p.4

"World War III Is Already Begun! Believe it or not, the next world war is already being fought - and America and the British Commonwealth of Nations are rapidly LOSING that war! ... There is at this moment a tremendous world-wide struggle going on for domination of WORLD TRADE - and we are LOSING OUT, EVERYWHERE!"
-Plain Truth Oct. 1957, p.4

"Germany, after becoming REUNITED with Eastern Germany, and finally united with a group of NINE OTHER NATIONS in Europe, is destined by the sure, un-breakable, unchangeable Word of God to CONQUER THE UNITED STATES AND THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS!"
-Plain Truth Oct. 1957, p.5

"Methods of warfare have changed. Most people, however, are not really aware of HOW these changes will affect THEIR LIVES in the next few years. It has suddenly become possible for madmen in seats of great power to speak the word that might plunge this fear-filled world into a great, awe-inspiring HYDROGEN BOMB WAR! Frightened scientists and world leaders WELL KNOW such a war could mean the frightful END OF ALL HUMAN LIFE! This is REAL! THIS IS YOUR LIFE!"
In what way could we possibly be besieged? IN A TRADE WAR!
-Plain Truth Dec. 1957, p.19

"Trade War Here Now !"
-Plain Truth Dec. 1957, p.20

"Two years ago, Mr. Herman Hoeh showed in this magazine how God’s word prophesied DISEASE EPIDEMICS would strike the United States in TWO SHORT YEARS! THOSE EPIDEMICS ARE BEGINNING NOW! And they will grow MUCH WORSE! God prophesies that finally, within the next fifteen years, fully ONE THIRD of our whole population will die of dis- ease and famine! While we are so weakened-with a monstrous problem of dead and dying in our lands, we will “call” upon our “hired lovers” such as Germany."
-Plain Truth Dec. 1957, p.23

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE LONG TO WAIT, NOW, TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE BIBLE SPEAKS WITH AUTHORITY! For your Bible foretells all about today’s chaotic scientific world bent on the destruction of WHOLE NATIONS! It tells what is SOON GOING TO HAPPEN! You won’t have long to wait-then you’ll KNOW - yes, and most of you will come to know too late!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1958, p.4

"SLAVE LABOR CAMPS are coming back! America is heedlessly plunging toward the greatest national humiliation of her history! It’s time you faced the cold FACTS of prophecy - it’s time you KNEW the truth about YOUR OWN FUTURE!"
-Plain Truth June 1958, p.1

"Now turn to Ezekiel 25. Here is another prophecy for our day. Here is a prophecy revealing what is going to be the fate of the Allied intervention in Jordan and the Lebanon. This is a prophecy to be fulfilled in the early 1970’s. This prophecy has never been fulfilled before! ... My sanctuary, [a temple or sanctuary is yet to be built by the Jews in Jerusalem!) when it was profaned [which shall happen in less than 14 years from now]..."
-Plain Truth Oct. 1958, p.4

"Jesus said certain specific things HAD TO HAPPEN prior to the “end of the age.” Read it! This is a prophecy for NOW! ... In the pages of The PLAIN TRUTH, and over The World Tomorrow broadcast, you have been reading and hearing forewarnings of these very occurrences that are NOW BEGINNING TO MAKE THE NATIONS’ HEADLINES! It’s time to wake up, and realize WHO is causing it to happen!"
-Plain Truth Nov. 1958, p.4

"Jesus Christ Himself had foretold this event! [The first broadcast of the World Tomorrow radio show]... What really occurred that Sunday morning precisely at 10 o’clock was a momentous event. It was the fulfilling of a definite corner-stone prophecy of Jesus. More than that, it was the initial, start-off event of the fulfilling of some 90% of all the prophecies in the Bible! And approximately a third of the whole Bible is prophecy!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1959, p.3

"For years, The World Tomorrow broadcast and The Plain Truth magazine have been shouting this message - revealing from the prophecies in your Bible the coming UNITED EUROPE now being formed. But first Germany must PULL OUT of NATO, and she must have an understanding with Russia!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1959, p.8

"YOU LIVE IN THE PROPHESIED 'TIME OF THE END!' The end of all man’s allotted 6,000 years is at hand! And it's MUCH CLOSER THAN YOU THINK!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1959, p.8

"Prophesied for OUR TIME! ... This [speculation about reunited Germany spearheading a European 'Beast Power'] is conclusive PROOF the prophecy is for OUR TIME - the time just prior to the return of Jesus Christ. ... Almost unnoticed by the world that CRISIS IS ALMOST UPON US! ... As already reported in the pages of The Plain Truth, a vast TRADE WAR is underway."
-Plain Truth Jan. 1959, p.9

"Jesus promises protection from the colossus that is rising to bathe the world in blood. A time of GREAT TRIBULATION is just ahead - and may well come within 13 years!"
-Plain Truth Jan. 1959, p.14 .. [Why 13 years? 1972!]

"Here, Daniel saw four great BEASTS. And again, nearly all of the commentaries, the Bible reference books, are agreed on the historical fulfillment of this chapter. But almost NO-ONE, it seems, understands the PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE FOR OUR DAY, NOW!"
-Plain Truth Apr. 1959, p.5

"The six nation “Euromart,” or the “common market” now in effect in Europe, already comprises the bulk of the nations included in the “ten toes” of Daniel 2, and the “ten horns” of Revelation 17! So far, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy have bound themselves together into a single unit for economic cooperation. FOUR MORE ARE TO FOLLOW!"
-Plain Truth Apr. 1959, p.17

"Mr. Armstrong reports from Germany the world‘s greatest miracle of our time. It was prophesied. It spells DOOM for U.S.A. in ten to fifteen years - unless we HEED!"
-Plain Truth Aug. 1959, p.3

"And yet, about 90% of all of the prophecies in the Bible pertain to events that are yet to happen in the next 10 to 20 years from now, believe it or not!"
-Plain Truth Aug. 1959, p.3

Compare what you've just read to what God says in Deuteronomy 18: 20-22.

PROPHECIES OR PREDICTIONS??

What is a prophet? Is he not one sent from God with a message?
What is the difference between a prophecy and a prediction? Is it not that one claims to be sent from God? A prediction comes from men; a prophecy is revealed by God.
Which are these?

"I do not speak to you by authority of men, or any politically organized church of men - but in the name, and by the AUTHORITY of JESUS CHRIST, the living HEAD of the TRUE CHURCH OF GOD!"
-Plain Truth July 1953, p.6 (bold mine)

"The most startling book of this generation is Mr. Armstrong’s forthcoming book ['The United States and Britain in Prophecy"] revealing tremendous prophecies closed and sealed until now!"
-Plain Truth June 1954, p.1 (bold mine)

"And the time has come for The Eternal - the Creator - RULER of the universe - to reveal to us exactly HOW world events, from here, are going to work out the tremendous CLIMAX of that divine PURPOSE! The whole earth is now shaking with convulsions, preparatory to the mightiest happenings of earths history! We are now in the very CRISIS AT THE CLOSE of this present evil and unhappy world!"
-Plain Truth Aug.-Sep. 1954, p.1 (bold mine)

"But today we live in the dynamic, exciting, terrible “time of the END” - the world-crisis at the CLOSE of the Age! The prophecies and mysteries of God, sealed until now, are today REVEALED to those whom God has chosen to carry His last Message to the world as a witness! Jesus Christ, Head of His Church, is the REVEALER! Christ has opened these mysteries to His servants! The time has come for God’s servants to open up to YOU-to lay bare before your startled eyes-these tremendous prophecies of the Book of REVELATION!"
-Plain Truth Aug.-Sep. 1954, p.2 (bold mine)

"THERE’S the key to this riddle! The Lion of the Tribe of Judah - the ROOT of David - is JESUS CHRIST! No MAN can interpret this momentous prophecy - but Jesus Christ - God the SON - here standing BEFORE the throne of God the Father - here standing at the very RIGHT HAND of God - is able to open these seals, and to REVEAL to us the meaning. JESUS CHRIST is the Revelator! ... Jesus Christ is the Revelator who alone can open up the MEANING of this greatest of all prophecies, pertaining to WORLD EVENTS TODAY, and the tremendous world-happenings of these immediate years JUST AHEAD!"
-Plain Truth Aug.-Sep. 1954, p.7 (bold mine)

"If I am to bring you the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, I certainly cannot bring you the popular INTERPRETATIONS you have been hearing from MEN - from the great religious leaders of THIS WORLD."
-Plain Truth Oct. 1954, p.15

"But we’ve seen that the one MASTER-KEY to this tremendous prophecy is the fact that JESUS CHRIST IS THE SOLE REVELATOR - the SOLE INTERPRETER!"
-Plain Truth Nov-Dec. 1954, p.3 (bold mine)

"We were very plainly told that NO MAN can understand, or REVEAL the meaning of this prophecy. .. But NO MAN can interpret this Book of Revelation. JESUS CHRIST is the Revelator. The Apostle John was not the Revelator. No modern religious leader is the revelator. This is the Revelation of JESUS CHRIST, and we must accept HIS revelation - HIS interpretation - or fail to understand! THAT’S the master key of this mysterious PROPHECY."
-Plain Truth Nov-Dec. 1954, p.4 (bold mine)

The authority, the message, the understanding, the interpretation, the revelation -- none of it supposedly came from any man at all. It came straight to you, through the Plain Truth, directly from the throne of the Almighty God. This was key! The master key! We were warned, "Accept HIS revelation ... or fail to understand!"
Definitely not predictions.

'YOU HAVE SAID IT'

Is there any way to test if it really is a prophecy? Is there any way to prove if it really is from God?
Don't take my word for it; read it for yourself!

"Scripture is full of warnings about false ministers and false prophets. The world is filled with such men and organizations today. Out of this Babylon of confusion God must somewhere have His work TODAY. How do you recognize it? Here is the test Jeremiah was inspired to give: 'The prophet that prophesieth of peace, when the word of that prophet shall come to pass, THEN SHALL THE PROPHET BE KNOWN THAT THE LORD HATH TRULY SENT HIM' (Jer. 28: 9). That is how you can know who is preaching the truth today - when what he says comes to pass."
-Plain Truth Dec. 1956, p.3

"But who today understands what the prophets foretold? Why, only the ministers today whose word comes to pass! - those who are appointed and guided by God to preach the truth! Those whose utterances do not come to pass have not spoken the prophecies truly. We give you here the record of what we have been proclaiming for the past 2 years - a message which no other voices, to our knowledge, have been proclaiming.... But what we have been warning you about is happening! - precisely as we have stated.... This is how you can know that our work is not of men but of God!"
-Plain Truth Dec. 1956, p.3

"WHERE ARE God’s true prophets today! In this age of world chaos and sudden death, you had better rid your mind of preconceived ideas and prejudice and honestly seek to find out! Listen! This work has been warning America of definite and tremendous events to come for many years! ... They use the words “may," “could,” or “might.” They are afraid to be definite and specific! The truth of the matter is that they DARE NOT be specific about the future because they just DO NOT KNOW what the Bible says is going to happen! But on “The World Tomorrow” broadcast and in this magazine we have dared to unlock the Bible prophecies and apply them to specific nations and events that are NOW being affected. Do you grasp the SIGNIFICANCE of this?"
-Plain Truth Aug. 1957, p.3 (bold mine)

Out of their own mouths! By their own words!

Gerald Flurry says, "He was right!"

Was he? Did these things come to pass just as they said? Were they accurate? Did those people really understand? Were they inspired by God? Were they "true prophets"? If these were written by the Branch Davidians, would you accept them?
The word "prophets" was used; dates were set; divine inspiration was claimed; fulfillment was guaranteed -- on God's authority. They called Herbert Armstrong "Elijah"; the greatest of the prophets!
No. It never came to pass. By their own criteria they are not true.

Anything that they were supposedly "right" about was only partial, since they added circumstances and conditions that never came to be. For example, they claimed that Germany would reunite, leave NATO, make a pact with Russia, unite with nine other European nations under the leadership of the Pope, start a trade war with the United States and the British Commonwealth then destroy them with hydrogen bombs and enslave any survivors, then turn to conquer Palestine, then turn to fight a nuclear war with Russia and China, and finally come to an end in the Second Coming of Christ - all by the end of the 20th century (actually 1972). They cannot then claim "He was right" just because Germany reunited and joined the E.U.! Every other condition, which were every bit as important as these two, failed to materialize. What in fact came to pass was not what they said would come to pass!
...Just like today, when new predictions are made and never come to fruition.

Where is Ron Weinland? In prison for tax evasion. What of his predictions from his book "2008: God's Final Witness"? Failed. Twice! And he's going for a THIRD try!! Yet calls himself "the spokesman of the Two Witnesses", and an even better "Elijah" than Armstrong!
What about Rod Meredith? Some of the above Plain Truth quotes are from Rod Meredith. And he calls himself "God's Annointed"!
What about Dave Pack's prophecies of COG splinters all reuniting by the Feast of Tabernacles 2013? Failed. And because they failed he calls himself a "true Apostle" and "Joshua" [implying Armstrong was "Moses"]!
What about Gerald Flurry? Read our article "Flurry's Follies". Gerald Flurry idolizes Herbert Armstrong perhaps more than anyone else does, and calls himself the "Elisha" because Herbert Armstrong was called "Elijah"!
I haven't the space nor time to go over the remaining hundreds of other splinter-group leaders, but I suspect you will find more of the same. The apple never falls far from the tree.

They are doing the same things today, giving the same messages today, that have failed and failed ever since Adventism was invented in the 1830's. They keep hoping you'll give them more time [what they really hope you'll give them is more money] - by Pentecost; just 1 more year; just 3 to 4 more years; just 5 to 10 more years; just 25 more years.

CONCLUSION

Well, there you have a pretty good introduction to who Herbert Armstrong was.

Is any of this news to you? It was news to me! Why were people told to burn this material? Why was it hidden? Why was it even so much as glossed over? If these things were so "true", so Divinely inspired and revealed by Jesus, why not proclaim these exact same words loudly even today? When does a truth revealed "by AUTHORITY of JESUS CHRIST, the living HEAD of the TRUE CHURCH OF GOD" become an inconvenient truth? Is this how truth conducts itself?
Ask yourself .. what kind of true system comes from a line of false prophets? (The Worldwide Church of God is a descendant of the Adventist movement of William Miller and Ellen G. White. We have several posts on this, including: "True History of the True Church".)  What kind of "true" system produces so many false prophets? What kind of "true" system hides and changes its past? How is that even possible for a "true" church?

God's beloved and desperately sought after children, trust me, I know you just want to please God with your whole heart, but I wonder something....
How much longer are you going to tolerate false prophets and false apostles? How much longer will you fear them? How much longer will you prop them up while they heap titles and honors upon themselves? How much longer are you going to look the other way while they make excuses for themselves? How much longer are you going to let them make a living off of you?



(JER. 5: 31) The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?
(JER. 14: 14) And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart."
(EZE. 22: 18) Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken.
(MAT. 7: 15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
(MAT. 24: 11) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; ) Acts 17:11
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