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The Only Guaranteed Way to Escape End-Time Catastrophes

CHAPTER 9

PHILADELPHIANS DO NOT LET ANY MAN TAKE THEIR CROWN

Through Deceptive Teaching


The fifth admonition Jesus gave to those with the Philadelphian attitude is stated in Revelation 3:11, “11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown.  12 Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”

What God’s Church has is what God restored in terms of doctrines and knowledge of God’s way of life through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.  The crown of kingship for the Philadelphians is tied to holding fast to what has been restored to them.  In addition to the crown of kingship, they also qualify for a special reward of being given positions of authority at God’s throne for eternity [pillars in God’s Temple].  They shall go out no more means that they shall not be replaced from these positions of authority.

Under what conditions can one with a Philadelphian attitude allow a man to deprive him of his crown?

Becoming a Laodicean does not automatically lead to a person losing his or her crown.  But it does put the individual on very dangerous ground.  The Great Tribulation is almost upon us.  If a person has become Laodicean in attitude, then he will have to prove his loyalty to God by going through the Great Tribulation and the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) tells us that the chance of successfully resisting all the pressure and persecution from the beast and the false prophet and qualifying to receive one’s crown is about 50%.  Fifty percent chance of making it into God’s kingdom is poor odds.  There is also the possibility of dying before one actually goes through the Great Tribulation.  Most likely Jesus Christ will allow the Laodicean to go through tests and trials to shake him up from his Laodicean attitude before his death.  But if the person dies before going through the Great Tribulation, then the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4:3-20; Luke 8:5-15) tells us that those whose hearts were like stony ground lacking depth of character, and those who let the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches occupy their time and efforts to the detriment of spiritual development will most likely lose their chance for salvation as they did not produce fruit (i.e. God’s holy righteous character) to perfection.  So becoming a Laodicean in attitude does not automatically lead to a person losing his crown, but the chances of losing it are high.

In order for a person to not let any man take his crown, the person must avoid becoming a Laodicean in attitude, or leaving God’s Church altogether.  Leaving God’s Church altogether will without fail deprive the person of his crown and his chance for eternal life.

What are some of the ways in which Philadelphians can lose their crown?

The main causes for the attitude of many members becoming lukewarm or leading them to leave God’s Church altogether include:

1.  Those who have been deceived by the diabolically false teaching of the leaders among the infiltrators or tares.

2.   Because of the splits and what has happened to the Church, many have doubts about what Mr. Armstrong taught.  They no longer believe all that Mr. Armstrong taught.  So they are no longer fired up about doing God’s work.

3.   Others have followed the tares out of the Church because of the friendships they had developed, not realizing that that was the very reason the tares had been planted in the Church by Satan.  Their roots had become intertwined.  So when the tares went out, they pulled the true members also out with them.

4.   Those who have turned bitter against the Church and God because of bitter experiences with some members, ministers, evangelists or other leaders in the Church, who were mainly tares or infiltrators.

5.   Others had problems with authority, wanted to be free to follow their own way and some among them wanted to be in charge.

6.   Still others had joined because they wanted to be on God’s side and expected blessings from Him and trouble-free life.  When they did not receive blessings, they were simply disappointed and left. These did not endure to the end.  Some let the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches allow the word to be choked in them (parable of the sower, seed that fell among thorns).

7.   Others are simply plain lazy and not excited about doing God’s work, even though they were initially thrilled when they heard what reward God was offering them along with eternal life (parable of the sower, the seed that fell on stony ground).

Let’s address each of these causes one by one.

DECEPTIVE TEACHINGS OF CURRENT LEADERS OF THE WCG

Current and former leaders of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) use many deceptive and false arguments to try to throw the faith of some.  God has cautioned the Philadelphian era of His Church that such teachers would be present in large numbers, constituting a parallel Church called the ‘Synagogue of Satan’ in Revelation 3:9, and the ‘Mystery of Iniquity (or lawlessness) in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.   After Mr. Armstrong was taken out of the way by death, this ‘mystery of iniquity’ began working openly.  So what we see pour forth out of these leaders of the WCG has been prophesied more than 1,920 years ago and should not surprise us at all any longer.  One has to deliberately close one’s eyes to not recognize these leaders as belonging to the ‘Synagogue of Satan’ engaged in trying to deceive genuine members of God’s Church as much as they can.

Over the years the main arguments used by the infiltrators to deceive true members are:

a)  Mr. Armstrong taught that Britain and America are the descendants of the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.  This is sometimes referred to the doctrine of British-Israelism.  They say there is no truth to that because there is no evidence for it.  So if Britain and America are not the descendants of Israel, then all of God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have not been kept.  Hence the Bible and God’s promises cannot be relied upon.  This argument has probably caused many members to lose faith in the Bible and God as it has done for millennia before our time.

b)  They claim that all the prophecies that Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong preached about have failed.

c)  They also say that the fulfillment of prophecies is far into the future.  This implies that we are not in the very end of the end time.  This can cause many to become lukewarm to do God’s work.

d)  Mr. Armstrong understood that he fulfilled the role of the prophesied Elijah to come in the end time, as well as an apostle.  The infiltrators say that he wasn’t, and that the work of the entire Church was an Elijah type work.  They thus imply that Mr. Armstrong took titles to himself and that he was not a prophet or apostle of God.

e)  Church of God is not the only true Church.  There are many other Churches that have righteous people to whom God will not deny eternal life.

f)  They also try to attack the doctrines restored to God’s Church, by recycling more than 1, 900 year old arguments, or using a scripture here and there that seemingly contradicts the Church’s doctrine, but leaving out many other scriptures on the subject that prove the doctrine.

Let’s look at each of these arguments used by the ‘Synagogue of Satan’ to refute the truth God restored to His Church through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.

a)  Americans and the British are not Descendants of the Patriarch Joseph

I will not discuss this lie at any length because much has been published by the Churches of God proving that white Americans are mainly descendants of Manasseh the son of the patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob or Israel, and the British are the descendants of Manasseh’s brother Ephraim.  I recommend that the reader read the following five booklets for comprehensive proof:

1.  The United States and Britain in Prophecy; by Herbert W. Armstrong, available from the Philadelphia Church of God at www.pcog.org.
2.  The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy; published by the United Church of God, available at www.ucg.org.
3.  “The Throne of Britain: Its Biblical Origin and Future,” eBook published by the United Church of God, available at its web site www.ucg.org under booklets.
4.  America and Britain in Prophecy, by David C. Pack; published by the Restored Church of God, available at www.rcg.org.
5.  The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy; published by the Living Church of God, available at www.lcg.org.

The proofs provided in these booklets that the American and the British people are in fact the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim respectively, the two sons of Joseph, are as follows.

We can look at the evidence for British Israelism in two ways: 1) From the point of view of Bible prophecy, and 2) From secular history and archaeology.  First let’s look at the evidence from the point of view of Bible prophecy. Again you can get the details in the books and booklets already mentioned.

PROOFS FROM BIBLE PROPHECY

a)  First evidence that the Americans and the British are the descendants of Jacob is the fulfillment of the promises of incredible material blessings to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Judah and David.

First, God promised Jacob in Genesis 35:11, “…a nation and a company of nations shall be from you.”  In the history of mankind there has never been a great nation like America and a company (or Commonwealth) of nations like the British Commonwealth nations of Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand which have come out of the same roots and have been so closely linked together.   Fulfillment of this prophecy in the British and American peoples is not just a mere coincidence.

​Secondly, notice the blessings Jacob pronounced on the descendants of Joseph for the last days (Genesis 49:22-26, New Century Version): “Joseph is like a grapevine that produces much fruit, a healthy vine watered by a spring, whose branches grow over the wall [meaning a colonizing people].  Archers attack him violently and shoot at him angrily, but he aims his bow well.  His arms are made strong.  He gets his power from the mighty God of Jacob and his strength from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

“Your father’s God helps you.  God Almighty blesses you.  He blesses you with rain from above, with water from springs below, with many babies born to your wives, and many young ones born to your animals.  The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains, greater than the good things of the long-lasting hills.  May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph…”

These verses tell us that “in the last days” [we are now living in the last days] Joseph’s descendants will live in a productive, fruitful and well-watered land.  They will be rich in cattle and flocks of animals.  They will have greatly expanded their territory and influence around the world, and will be a colonizing people.

In the nearly 3,700 years since these promises were made, we have little evidence that any nations have received blessings anywhere near those promised.  No other nation can claim the national prominence and superpower status that was promised to the descendants of Joseph in “the last days.” However, two candidates fulfill all aspects of these prophecies in our time: The United States of America, the promised and prophesied single great nation on earth, and the British Commonwealth of Nations, the promised and prophesied company of nations.

In their two centuries of national prominence and superpower status in the world [the 19th and 20th centuries], they have controlled more than two-thirds, nearly three-fourths of the agricultural, mineral and natural resources of the world.  Can you imagine that?  Only two peoples with a world population of around 4% controlling around 70% of the world’s wealth!  And there have never been a colonizing people like the British in man’s history.

b)  The second fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the descendants of Jacob is the additional incredible promised blessing that they would possess the gates of their enemies. The correct translation of the verses is the plural “gates” and not the singular “gate.” This is stated in Genesis 22:17; “17…and your descendants shall possess the gate [gates] of their enemies.”  The promise was repeated by Rebekah’s father and brother when she left the family to become Isaac’s wife in Genesis 24:60: “60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: "Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them."

There have never been any peoples like the British and the American peoples in the entire history of mankind who have possessed nearly every major strategic gate, or narrow sea or land passage, or strategic island or area around the world, except for the Strait of Bosporus [which has been possessed by the Turks who are descendants of Esau, the son of Rebekah and grandson of Abraham].  Outcome of the Second World War hinged on the possession of these strategic gates.  Most of the world’s commerce also passes through these gates.  The gates in their possession included the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Rock of Gibraltar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malta, the Khyber Pass, the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, the Falkland Islands and many other strategic islands around the world.

Can the American and British people be the possessors of every major sea and land gate around the world and not be the people to whom this blessing was promised?  There is no other nation on earth in the history of mankind which has fulfilled this prophecy?  How can then the American and the British people not be the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim who received this promised blessing?

c)  Third fulfillment of prophecy is God’s promise that all nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham and Jacob’s descendants.  This is stated in Genesis 22:18.  This verse that reads: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” has a dual meaning.  God was promising that through Christ as the seed of Abraham He would make salvation available to all of humanity. Secondly, the entire world would also benefit materially from the abundant material blessings God would bestow on Abraham’s descendants.  They have been the engines that have driven the world’s economy for the 19th and 20th centuries through the industrial revolution.  Thus the promises to be a blessing to all nations were both material and spiritual.

Besides all of humanity being saved through Abraham’s descendant Jesus Christ, descendants of Abraham and Jacob brought spiritual blessings to humanity in another major way.  The British and Foreign Bible Society, headquartered in London, was responsible for the Bible being translated into virtually every language and making it available for the first time to all peoples on earth.  Thus God’s word and knowledge of the truth was made available to all of humanity through the descendants of Israel and Joseph, the British and American peoples.  No other people come even close to making the knowledge of God’s word available to humanity as do the British and American peoples.  Can they be the only ones to fulfill this major Bible prophecy, and not be the descendants of Abraham and Jacob who were prophesied to fulfill the prophecy?

d)  Fourth fulfillment of prophecy was that not all aspects of the promises were to go to Joseph’s descendants.  Judah received the scepter [ruler’s staff] promise, as stated in Genesis 49:10: “the scepter shall not depart from Judah.”  This promise and prophecy pointed both to the dynasty of King David of the tribe of Judah and to Jesus Christ as the Messiah, also of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of David.

Did God fulfill this promise to Judah?

​King David of ancient Israel was a descendent of Judah.  When he wanted to build a house for God, God sent a message to him through the prophet Nathan, containing an astounding promise in 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NKJV): “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”

Did God establish David’s throne forever?  If God kept His promise, then a ruler of the House of David should be ruling on a throne even today.

For the astounding evidence that God has kept His promise, as He keeps all His promises, for Titus 1:2 tells us:”…God…cannot lie…” you can read in Mr. Armstrong’s book “The United States and Britain in Prophecy” how incredibly intricate prophecies were fulfilled when the kingdom of Judah was taken over by the Babylonians and David’s throne was planted by the prophet Jeremiah first in Ireland through the marriage of a daughter of Zedekiah the king of Judah to the son of the king in Ireland.  The throne was then overturned and set up in Scotland and then finally in England.  Yes, Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain is a descendent of King David.  God has kept His scepter promise to Judah and King David in unbroken dynasty throughout the centuries to our day.

Until recently the world believed that only the world’s Jews are the descendants of Israel.  But now the world knows that the Jews are descendants of only the tribe of Judah, with some from the tribes of Benjamin and Levi mixed in. They were part of the southern Kingdom or ‘House of Judah.’  Descendants of the other ten tribes live in America, Britain, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Scandinavian and Benelux countries.  They all were part of the northern Kingdom or ‘House of Israel.’

Here is a brief description of only some of the incredible prophecies fulfilled about the British and American peoples:

1)  The Northern Kingdom would be lost from world view was prophesied.

The reason was that in Exodus 31:12-17 God instructed Moses that His Sabbaths were to be a sign between Him and Israel forever.  A sign is something that identifies.  The Sabbath is a perpetual reminder of God as the Creator and who His people are.  As long as Israel kept the Sabbath, they maintained their identity.  That is why the Jews have maintained their identity as “God’s people” throughout their history.  But king Jeroboam of the northern Kingdom of Israel abandoned God’s Sabbaths.  When they lost the identifying sign, they became lost to history as God’s people.

In addition, in Deuteronomy 32:26, God warned Israelites through Moses: “…I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men.” Isaiah 8:17 says: “And I will wait upon the Lord, that hides His face from the House of Jacob [whose other name was Israel].”

2)  House of Israel would lose its language, which was Hebrew.  This was prophesied in Isaiah 28:11 where God says He will speak to this people of Israel “11 …with…   another tongue.”  They now speak English, French, Dutch and the other north European languages.

3)  House of Israel would lose its national name.  Isaiah 62:2 states: “2…You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name.”   While this prophecy will apply also when Jesus Christ returns, it has a dual fulfillment as most prophecies do; with an earlier and a latter fulfillment.  It has been fulfilled already in that Israelites are known by different names today such as the British, Americans, French, Swiss, Dutch, Scandinavians, Belgians etc.  The Jews are still known as Jews today.

4)  Birthright blessings of national prosperity would be withheld 2,520 Years.  After Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, the blessings on his descendants had become unconditional promises from God.  But when ancient Israel was set up as a nation, the nation refused to keep God’s laws.  As a result ancient Israel did not receive the promise of great material wealth.

God had warned Israel in Leviticus 26:18 that He will punish them seven times for their sins if they did not keep His commandments.  In prophecy, a time refers to one year.  So seven times would be seven years.  With 360 days in a year, seven years then would equal 2,520 days.  But another principle of prophecy is a day being equivalent to one year in fulfillment of prophecy, as given in Numbers 13 and 14 when ancient Israelites were punished for forty years from entering the Promised Land, for the forty days they went and spied it out, but refused to go in and possess it.  Therefore, seven years or 2,520 days of withholding the birthright blessings would in prophecy equal 2,520 years of withholding the birthright.

The ten-tribed kingdom of Israel was carried into captivity by the Assyrians in 722-721 B.C.  Then 2,520 years after that would bring us to the year 1800-1801 A.D.  When the seven times duration or 2,520 years of punishment of withholding the birthright ended in 1800-1801 A.D., God began to confer the unconditionally promised blessings on the descendants of Joseph, USA and British Commonwealth nations as well as the nations of northwestern Europe.

5)  Prophecies concerning David’s Throne. The story of how God kept His promise to David that his dynasty will continue unbroken till the return of the Messiah is an incredibly fascinating one.  These prophecies are explained in detail in Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s book “United States and Britain in Prophecy.”

i)  Descendants of David to rule over the House of Israel not Judah 

After the reign of David’s son Solomon over Israel, David’s descendants ruled over only the House of Judah (the Jews) and not the House of Israel till King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried Judah captive.  But God prophesied in Jeremiah 33:14: "…thus says the Eternal: David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel."

Descendants of David were prophesied to rule over the House of Israel and not the Jews.  After Judah’s captivity, David’s descendants have never ruled as kings over the Jews, but have ruled over descendants of the House of Israel, in Britain.

ii)  Prophet Jeremiah transplants David’s Throne 

Jeremiah’s commission from God is stated in Jeremiah 1:10 (NKJV), “10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To ROOT OUT and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To BUILD AND TO PLANT."Jeremiah prophesied about the end of Judah’s kingdom during the reign of the last kings of Judah.  He was thus used to “root out” David’s throne from Judah and to BUILD and to PLANT it in the Kingdom of Israel.  And that throne had to be planted within a generation according to God’s promise to David, or in Jeremiah’s lifetime.

After most of Judah was carried captive to Babylon, the remnant of Judah decided to go to Egypt for protection even though Jeremiah warned them not to do so.  This is recorded in Jeremiah 43:5-7 “ [And so Johanan] “took all the remnant of Judah…even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters…and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah [Jeremiah’s scribe, or secretary]. So they came to the land of Egypt.”

Here we see that the only “remnant” left for Jeremiah’s mission of transplanting the throne of David was the king’s daughters.  The fascinating story of how Jeremiah did this is told in Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s book “United States and Britain in Prophecy” and an electronic booklet titled “The Throne of Britain: Its Biblical Origin and Future” published by the United Church of God, available at its web site www.ucg.org under booklets.

Briefly the story is this.  King David was a descendant of Judah’s son Pharez.  But Pharez had a twin brother Zarah.  When King Nebuchadnezzar had besieged Judah, a son of the king of the Zarah line of Judah who reigned in Ireland was visiting Jerusalem.  This prince was acquainted with Tea-Tephi, one of King Zedekiah’s daughters.  Shortly after the fall of Jerusalem he married her.  From Egypt, Jeremiah took this royal party to Ireland where the prince ascended the throne of Ireland over a part of the descendants of Israel.  Thus a daughter of the Pharez line of Judah was grafted into the Zarah line of Judah in Ireland.  This is how Jeremiah fulfilled the second part of his commission about David’s throne: TO BUILD AND TO PLANT.

iii)  Daughter to be used to transplant David’s Throne was prophesied.

The fact that a daughter would be used to transplant David’s throne was also prophesied, in addition to many other detailed prophecies.

The truth of PLANTING and the REBUILDING of David’s throne was revealed in prophecy given in a “riddle and a parable” through the prophet Ezekiel.

First Ezekiel is told to speak a riddle, and then a parable.  The riddle is found in Ezekiel 17 verses 3 to 10. Then beginning in verse 11, the Eternal explains its meaning.  A great eagle came to Lebanon and took the highest branch of the cedar.  This is explained to represent King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon who came to Jerusalem and took captive the king of Judah.  The cropping off of the cedar’s young twigs and carrying them to a land of traffic is explained to picture the captivity of the king’s sons.  “He took also of the seed of the land” means Nebuchadnezzar took also of the people, and the mighty of the land of Judah.  He “set it as a willow tree.  And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature” means the Jews were given a covenant whereby, although they were ruled over by the Chaldeans, they might live in peace and grow.  The other “great eagle” is explained to represent Pharaoh of Egypt.

Thus the riddle covers the first half of Jeremiah’s commission.  Now notice what is revealed concerning the second part – the PLANTING of David’s throne!  It comes in the parable, verses 22-24: “Thus says the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar.”  From God’s own explanation we have learned that the cedar tree represents the nation of Judah; its highest branch is Judah’s king.  The riddle told us Nebuchadnezzar took the highest branch – the king.  The parable now tells us God – not Nebuchadnezzar, but God – will take of the highest branch.  Not the branch, but of the branch – of Zedekiah’s children. But Nebuchadnezzar took, and killed, all his sons.God, through his prophet Jeremiah, is now going to take of this highest branch and “SET IT (verse 22). “I will crop off from the top of his young twigs A TENDER ONE, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent,” continues the Almighty.  The twigs of this highest branch represent the children of King Zedekiah!  Certainly a young tender twig, then, represents a DAUGHTER!”…and will PLANT it.”  Symbolic language could not be more plainer in saying that this young Jewish princess is to become the royal seed for PLANTING again of David’s throne?  Where? “…upon an high mountain and eminent,” says the Eternal! A “mountain” in symbol always represents a NATION.

“In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it,” answers the Eternal.  David’s throne now is to be planted in Israel, after being thrown down from Judah.  After this Hebrew princess is “planted” on the throne, now in Israel, lost from view – that throne is to BEAR FRUIT.  She is to marry, have children, and her sons are to continue David’s dynasty!

Israel had already been independent in Ireland for four centuries.  Israel in Ireland already had a kingly line onto which Zedekiah’s daughter was grafted.  The Irish Israelites were an ancient colony and had not gone into Assyrian captivity.

iv) Healing of ‘breach’ between the Pharez and Zarah lines prophesied.  

The Bible mentions a mysterious ‘breach’ that occurred in the days of Judah (Genesis 38:28-30). Judah was the father of twin sons.  The firstborn was royal seed, for through him the scepter promise was to be carried down.  It seems the midwife knew twins were about to be born.  It is recorded that just before birth one of the twins ‘put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, ‘This came out first’.  But the child drew back his hand and the other was actually born first.”

The midwife exclaimed, “How have you broken forth? This breach be upon you: therefore his name was called Pharez,” meaning “breach”.  The other twin was named Zarah.

This strange occurrence was recorded in Bible history because this breach was to be healed between the sons or their descendants at some future time?

History shows the descendants of Zarah became wanderers, later migrating to Ireland.  But meanwhile, the Pharez-David-Zedekiah line possessed the scepter (rulership) – was HIGH – exalted.  The Zarah line, feeling it rightfully should possess the scepter, and some day would, was low, abased – so far as royal power was concerned.

Now consider another prophecy given in Ezekiel 21:25-26 (KJV) “And you, profane wicked prince of Israel [Zedekiah], whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus says the Lord God; remove the diadem, and take off the crown [from Judah, as did happen, through the first half of Jeremiah’s commission]; this [the crown] shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.”

“Remove the diadem, and take off the crown,” means that the crown was removed from king Zedekiah of David’s dynasty. “This shall not be the same,” means that the diadem is not to cease, but a change is to take place. “Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high,” means that King Zedekiah of Judah, who is high is to be abased.  He is to lose that crown. House of Judah has been “high” while the House of Israel has been “low” – these many years without a king (Hosea 3:4).  The Pharez line has been “high”; the Zarah line “low.”

This prophecy thus points to the breach between the Pharez and Zarah lines of the Jews (descendants of Judah) being healed with the Zarah line possessing the scepter over the House of Israel through marriage with the Pharez line.

v)  David’s throne was prophesied to be overturned three times

Ezekiel the prophet continues his prophecy of Ezekiel 21 in verse 27: “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more [overturned], until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.”  The diadem and the throne were to be overturned. Not once, but three times.  It was to be overturned by abasing Zedekiah, the house of Judah and the Pharez line, and exalting the house of Israel, and one of the Zarah line!  The first of the three overturns was performed as the first half of Jeremiah’s commission, by rooting out the throne of David from Jerusalem.

“And it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him,” means that the throne would be no more overturned after the third overturn, and will be given to Jesus Christ, whose it is by right.

The prince and husband of the Jewish princess Tea-tephi ascended the throne of his father. The son of this king and the Jewish Princess continued on the throne of Ireland and this same dynasty continued unbroken through all the kings of Ireland.  It was then overturned the second time and transplanted in Scotland, from where it was overturned the third time and moved to London, England, where this same dynasty continues today in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Thus the three overturns of the throne prophesied in Ezekiel 21:25-27 have been fulfilled.

vi)  Ephraim settled exactly where prophesied to settle. 

If God kept His promise to David, the throne of David was to be planted ‘in the mountain of the height of Israel’ (Ezekiel 17:22-23: “I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it).  We should find it in the leading nation of the descendants of Ephraim, the birthright holders. The precise location where Ephraim was to settle was also prophesied in the Bible.

The prophet Amos wrote in Amos 9:8-9 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom [house of Israel – Judah had not yet sinned], and I will destroy it [the kingdom, or government, not the people] from off the face of the earth…For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”

This prophecy says that the ten-tribed house of Israel (not Judah) was to be sifted among the nations, losing their identity.  It was during this time that the children of the house of Israel were to “abide many days without a king” (Hosea 3:4).  Although many of them were still scattered among various nations in the first century A.D., a portion of them had become established in a definite location of their own by Jeremiah’s time – 140 years after their original captivity.

In prophecy, the holders of the birthright are distinguished from Judah (the Jews) by various names: “Ephraim,” “Joseph,” “Jacob,” “Rachel” (Joseph’s mother), “Samaria” (their former capital), “Israel.”

According to Hosea 12:1: “Ephraim…follows after the east wind.”  An “east wind” travels west.  Ephraim must have gone west from ancient Assyria.  When the Eternal swore to David that He would perpetuate his throne, He said: “I will set his hand [scepter] also in the sea” (Psalm 89:25).  The throne is to be “set” or planted “in the sea.”

Through Jeremiah the Eternal said: “Backsliding Israel has justified herself more than treacherous Judah.  Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return you backsliding Israel, says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:11-12).  So in these last days, messengers are to go “toward the NORTH (of Jerusalem where Jeremiah prophesied) in order to locate lost Israel and proclaim the warning message.  So the location, we now find, is toward the north, also west, and in the sea.

In Jeremiah 31:10, the message is to be declared “in the isles afar off” and is to be shouted in “the CHIEF OF THE NATIONS” (verse 7).  So, finally, today, as in Jeremiah’s day, the house of Israel is in the isles, which are “in the sea,” the chief of the nations, northwest of Jerusalem, a coast-dwelling, and, therefore sea-dominant people.  Certainly there can be no mistaking that identity.

Take a map of Europe.  Draw a line due NORTHWEST of Jerusalem across the continent of Europe, until you come to the sea, and then to the islands in the sea! This line takes you directly to the British Isles!  So prophecy shows us where the prominent nation from the northern ten tribes can be located in our days.

For fascinating and much more thrilling than fiction details on Jeremiah’s “planting” and the present location of “lost” Israel and David’s throne, please read the United Church of God eBooklet titled “The Throne of Britain: Its Biblical Origin and Future” and Mr. Armstrong book "The United States and Britain in Prophecy".

6)  Prophecies concerning wanderings of the House of Israel

i)  Tribe of Dan prophesied to leave clues about wanderings of the House of Israel

The Israelites were prophesied to leave highway signs or waymarks along the trail they traveled from the land of ancient Israel after being deported by the Assyrians.  Speaking to Ephraim, the ancestor of the British people, God through the prophet Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 31:20-21: “20 Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord. 21 "Set up signposts, make landmarks; set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went.”

In Genesis 49:17, the patriarch Jacob blessing his sons prophesied what would befall them.  He said about his son Dan: “Dan shall be a servant by the way.”  Another translation of the original Hebrew can also be “Dan shall be a serpent’s trail.”  It is a very significant fact that the tribe of Dan named every place they went after their father Dan.  It started way back when they had just settled in their land.  Joshua 19:47 records: “…the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it…and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.”

Judges 18:11-12 records that the Danites took Kirjath-jearim and “called that place Mahaneh-dan unto this day.”  Then the same company of 600 armed Danites captured Laish and “called the name of the city DAN, after the name of Dan their father (verse 29).   This shows how the Danites left their “serpent’s trail” by the way as signposts by which they can be traced.

Remember that in the Hebrew the vowels are not preserved.  So for Dan, if we leave the vowel a out, the Danites could be identified with names that could be spelled as “Dn”, meaning Den, Din, Don, or Dun in addition to Dan.

During the time of ancient Israel, the tribe of Dan occupied two different areas in the Holy Land.  One part lived on the seacoast, and the other colony occupied the northernmost area.  That is why Israel’s boundary is listed in the Bible as from Dan to Beersheba.

When the Assyrians defeated Israel, the seacoast Danites sailed away in their ships to Ireland.   Irish history shows that the new settlers in Ireland were the “Tuatha de Dananns”, which translates to “Tribe of Dan.”  They left their sign posts in names such as Dans-Laugh, Dan-Sower, Dun-dalk, Dun-drum, Don-egal Bay, Don-egal City, Dun-gloe, Din-gle and Dunsmor.

The northern colony of Danites, however, was captured by the Assyrians along with the other nine tribes.  They settled and later traveled from the land just west of the Black Sea and northwest of the Caspian Sea.  They left their “serpent’s trail” in names of rivers such as the Danube, Dneiper, Dniester and the Don in Europe.  From there they migrated further west, finally settling in Denmark, which means “Dan’s mark.”  So the tribe of Dan has left a “serpent’s trail” as prophesied by Dan’s father Jacob, in his blessing of Dan.  This enables us to piece together the wanderings of the northern ten tribes of Israel after their captivity and deportation at the hands of the Assyrians.

ii)  Part of Israel were to take their name from Isaac, the father of Israel.

God promised that Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, would leave the track of his name on history.  Genesis 21:12 states: "In Isaac your seed shall be called."  Ancient written Hebrew didn't include vowels, so the written letters for Isaac were the SC or SK sound.

After the Assyrian captivity, those Israelites migrating north around the Black Sea to Europe were called Scythians.  Initially, the eastern branch between Persia and China were called the Sakka or Saka. Later in Europe they became Sacesones (sons of Saka) and finally Saxons —settling in England and later America.  The SK/SC sound is found yet today among descendant nations of some of the tribes: Scotland, Scotia, Scandinavia, etc.

PROOFS OF IDENTITY OF ISRAEL FROM SECULAR HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY

Besides Bible prophecy, we can also prove from secular history, archaeology and other means that the British and American peoples are in fact the descendants of Israel and Joseph.  Let us look at this evidence.

Name Tracks 

​King Omri ruled the house of Israel in the early 800s B.C., about 160 years before the fall of the northern kingdom (1 Kings 16).  The Assyrians used his name to refer to the whole nation.  In the Assyrian language Omri was called Ghomri or Khumri, and in London we find a historical record of the house of Israel under subjugation to Assyria.  The famous Black Obelisk, prominently displayed in the British Museum [the author has seen this Black Obelisk with his own eyes], includes a pictorial record of King Jehu of Israel paying homage to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser.  The inscription translates as: "The tribute of Jehu son of Khumri." And the Assyrians referred to the land of Israel as mat bit-Khumri —"land of the house of Omri."Variations of Omri as a national name can be tracked initially as Ghomri or Khumri in Assyrian clay tablets, then Gamir, Gamera or Gamira, Cimmeri or Kimmeroi, as Cimmerians across Europe, and finally as the Cymry or people of Wales in Britain today.  The Cimmerians were later called Celts and Gauls in northwestern Europe by the Greeks and Romans.  Remember, these linguistic transformations took place over hundreds of years and hundreds of miles.

Anne Kristensen, a respected Danish linguistic scholar, reached the conclusion that the Cimmerians (who later became known as the Celts) can positively be identified as the deported Israelites.

Dr. Kristensen writes: "There is scarcely reason, any longer, to doubt the exciting and verily astonishing assertion propounded by the students of the Ten Tribes that the Israelites deported from Bit Humria, of the House of 'Omri, are identical with the Gimirraja of the Assyrian sources.  Everything indicates that Israelite deportees did not vanish from the picture but that, abroad, under new conditions, they continued to leave their mark on history" (Who Were the Cimmerians, and Where Did They Come From?: Sargon II, the Cimmerians, and Rusa I, translated from the Danish by Jorgen Laessoe, The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, No. 57, 1988, pp. 126-127).

It is also not a coincidence that those of Britain call themselves “British.”  This name comes from the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word b’rith means “covenant” and the Hebrew word ish means “man.” Combine the two words (“British”) and the meaning would appear to be obvious—“Covenant man.”  It is through the British people—colonizing around the world—that God fulfilled His covenant promise to Abraham.

Emblem or Ensign Tracks

For our second key, let’s look at emblem or ensign trail.  Throughout history, ensigns have differentiated between families, clans, tribes, countries and nations.  These identifying emblems or symbols, often displayed on flags, heraldry shields or clothing, generally featured animals, humans, weapons and other items. They identified friend from foe during battle or routine interactions.  Scripture and historical accounts record the emblems used by each of the tribes of Israel, and evidence additional proofs of the identity of their descendants.

Genesis 49:22-24 records: “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob…”

In this scripture, Joseph—the father of Ephraim and Manasseh—is likened to a fruitful bough or branch, most likely an olive branch.  Joseph is also described as being shot by archers.  Later, Joseph’s descendants are further described in Deuteronomy 33:17: “His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deuteronomy 33:17).

With these descriptions divided between both sons, Manasseh’s primary emblem was that of an olive branch, and his secondary emblem a cache of arrows.  Also attached to Manasseh’s ensign was the number 13, since he was the thirteenth tribe. Ephraim’s primary emblem was an ox, with his secondary emblem being a unicorn (Symbols of Our Celto-Saxon Heritage, Bennet, 1976).

It is interesting that one major identifying sign, showing the correlation between the royal family of Britain and Judah’s royal line, is found in Britain’s emblem. Ephraim’s coat of arms was the unicorn and Judah’s was a lion.  In addition to this, the ensign for David’s royal lineage was a lion wearing a crown, as well as the Star of David.  After the kingdoms divided, the kingdom of Israel, led by Jeroboam (an Ephraimite), selected the unicorn as their national seal.  The kingdom of Judah selected the kingly lion.  In modern times, these emblems have carried over into Britain’s coat of arms—which features a lion wearing a crown—and a unicorn!  The union of the national emblems of Israel and Judah represents the connection of the royal Pharez line, the bloodline of King David, to the Zarah line of kings in Britain.

Recall that Manasseh’s two emblems incorporated an olive branch and a cache of arrows.  Another fascinating insight into the identity of the British and American peoples is that the American seal has an eagle carrying an olive branch and arrows.  While the American seal depicts thirteen stars to reflect the original thirteen colonies, Manasseh was in fact the thirteenth tribe of Israel.  This is clear evidence linking America with the symbols described in the Bible for Manasseh.

All these significant, yet little known facts evidence additional proofs of the identity of the British and American peoples today.

Archaeological tracks

For our third key to the identity of the British and American peoples, let’s look at the archaeological evidence.  The Behistun Rock inscriptions comprise one of the great archaeological breakthroughs that unlocked many of the other finds. They are found on a cliff face over 100 meters above the valley floor in the Zargos Mountains of modern Iran along the road from Baghdad to Tehran.  A massive inscription and bas relief carving of King Darius I of the Persian Empire (586-521 B.C.), this find shows images of the peoples Darius I had conquered.  It describes his victories in parallel accounts in three languages: Old Persian, Susian (Elamite) and Akkadian (Assyrian or Babylonian).  It is still there today.

In 1835, Sir Henry Rawlinson investigated the parallel inscription.  It provided missing keys, unlocking the ancient languages of Assyria and Babylon, never before understood.   One of the provinces listed in the inscription was “Scythia,” or “Saka,” as it was pronounced in the Persian language.  The Babylonian version of this term was Cimmerians and written as “Gimiri,” meaning “the tribes.” Israel was often referred to as the “lost tribes.”

Sir Henry's younger brother and eminent scholar George Rawlinson clarified how important the inscriptions were to reading the Assyrian tablets excavated from Nineveh in the mid-1800s, thus connecting the lost 10 tribes to the Scythians or Sacae and Cimmerians: "We have reasonable grounds for regarding the Gimirri, or Cimmerians, who first appeared on the confines of Assyria and Media in the seventh century B.C., and the Sacae of the Behistun Rock, nearly two centuries later, as identical with the Beth-Khumree of Samaria, or the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel" (George Rawlinson, note in his translation of History of Herodotus, Book VII, p. 378).

Thus, the Behistun Rock inscriptions are a vital clue on the trail of the wandering tribes of Israel.

Language tracks

For our fourth key let’s look at the language tracks the tribes of Israel have left in history.  Randy Stiver, a Church pastor of the United Church of God wrote in the Vertical Thought magazine for youth dated January-March 2007:

“All 12 of the ancient tribes of Israel spoke Hebrew, and many of the Middle Eastern languages were closely related to it.

“Linguistic studies from the late 1700s through the late 1900s have found clear and direct connections between Hebrew and the Celtic or Gaelic languages still maintained in Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Going a dramatic step further, many of those studies focused on the remarkable and fundamental commonalities between Anglo-Saxon English and Hebrew. The same connection can be seen in the core words for most of the northwest European languages as well. This is not surprising since those languages were fundamentally the same until about A.D. 500 when the modern nation-states first began to form.

“An interesting recent study in 1981 by Professor Terry Blodgett from the University of Utah titled "Phonological Similarities in Germanic and Hebrew" can be downloaded from http://www.originofnations.org/.  This is but one of the many studies that link modern northwest European, English and Gaelic languages to the parent Hebrew language that leave a tribe tracker an imprint to follow.”

Art History Tracks

Other evidence that the Scythians – Cimmerians who migrated to Britain, Scandinavia and other countries of northwestern Europe had a common culture is provided by art history.  Randy Stiver writes:

“The Scythian-Cimmerian art forms clearly reveal a common culture. Hard art pieces (gold, silver, bronze, stone, pottery, etc.) survive for modern archaeologists to find. Ditto with many Scythian-type artifacts. One of the great collections of Scythian-Sacae art resides in the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, Russia. These pieces define the characteristic Scythian animal style…

“Scythian and Celtic art was fundamentally the same from the borders of China (where certain of the Sacae harassed the Chinese frontiers for several centuries) to the British Isles. The animal style links wandering Israelites together.

“Celtic art styles assumed the Scythian influence in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. as the Cimmerians migrated across Asia Minor into Europe to link with their early Celtic relatives. Thus art history, when you know what to look for, provides another trail for the tribe tracker.”

Thus we see that besides Bible prophecy, the descendants of Israel can be traced from the name tracks, emblem or ensign tracks, archaeological tracks, language tracks and art history tracks they left around the world till they finally settled in Britain, northwestern Europe and finally in North America.

Satan’s agents sometimes argue that white Americans cannot be the descendants of one man Manasseh as they have migrated from all nations of Europe.  The author himself faced this doubt before becoming a member of God’s Church and again when the infiltrators in God’s Church raised this argument.  But what finally convinced him is that it is probabilistically impossible for all of God’s promises and prophecies about Jacob’s descendants to have been fulfilled in one people by mere coincidence.

The reasons we believe that white Americans are the descendants of Manasseh was the prophecy by Amos the prophet when God said in Amos 9:9: “For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel [which refers to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh in prophecy] among the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.”

According to this prophecy, God was to bring the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh as well as the other ten tribes through many nations to the lands they finally settled.  He would further bring the descendants of Manasseh later through many nations to their land in America.

It is also a fact that many Americans belonged to whole communities in their various countries indicating they had a common relationship in their countries of origin.  Whole communities left England, Germany (the ancient Assyrians who had carried the House of Israel captive) and other nations and migrated to America.  This means many of Manasseh lived together in the nations they settled before finally moving to America.

As Amos’ prophecy says, God commanded the House of Israel to sift through the nations.  He says it is His doing. He herded the descendants of Manasseh from various nations and they were stirred up to leave their nations to come to America.  An example of how God stirs up the spirit of people to do certain things is provided in Ezra 1:1-3:” 1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled , the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying , 2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he has charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.”

Just as God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to send the Jews back to build the Temple in Jerusalem, through the centuries He stirred up the descendants of Manasseh to leave their countries and migrate to America.  That is how most Americans are descendants of Manasseh.  Besides their modern emblems match those of the ancient tribe of Manasseh.

Can such incredible and intricate prophecies for the end time stand fulfilled in the British and American peoples, and they not be the people about whom these prophecies and promises were made?  And all these prophecies have not been fulfilled in any other people on earth in the history of mankind.  Only the blind, the diabolical liars or the insincere fail to acknowledge these events that provide overwhelming, probability-defying evidence that they are the descendants of the patriarchs Jacob and Joseph.

Probabilistically it is impossible for all these incredible and intricate prophecies to be fulfilled in one people.  Jesus Christ fulfilled all the numerous prophecies related to the Messiah so that there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that He was the Messiah.  Probabilistically it is impossible for one man to fulfill all the prophecies.  A fake Messiah would fail to fulfill many of the prophecies even if he were to fulfill one or two or a few by mere coincidence.  But for one man to fulfill all the prophecies was impossible.  In Jesus Christ fulfilling all of them God left no doubt in humanity’s mind who the real Messiah (Savior) was.  In the same way it is impossible for one people to fulfill all the prophecies and promises of God to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Judah and David by mere coincidence.  But the fact that the American, British and Jewish people fulfilled them all means that we can be absolutely certain that they are the descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim the sons of Joseph, and Judah respectively.  Genuine members of God’s Church have known all this in the past.  They should not let the diabolical wickedness of Satan and the infiltrators he has planted in God’s Church deceive them into disbelieving all this evidence and deprive them of eternal life.  It is impossible for such astoundingly intricate prophecies to be fulfilled in one people by mere coincidence.  Don’t let stupidly foolish statements of the infiltrators make you believe otherwise.

b)  Prophecies have failed

Next let’s look at another deceptive arguments used by the tares to deceive true members of God’s Church in order to overthrow their faith.

Except for Jesus Christ, no man has understood prophecy in the history of mankind better than Mr. Armstrong.  The prophets who wrote the prophecies certainly did not understand them because they were sealed and to be understood only in the end time. When we entered the time of the end, understanding of prophecies was opened to Mr. Armstrong.

Mr. Armstrong’s preaching was much about prophecy and the soon coming kingdom of God.  The expectation that the kingdom of God is very near made the members of the Church very fervent about preaching the gospel and diligent in overcoming sin.  But the infiltrators have put forward two major arguments concerning prophecy to dampen the fervency of the members.  They have said that all the prophecies Mr. Armstrong preached about have not come true.  Hence they have failed.  But in the same breath they say that the fulfillment of prophecies is far away since they were not fulfilled during Mr. Armstrong life.  They say that the fulfillment of prophecies could be 50 or even 100 years away.  So we are not really in the very end of the end time.  Let us look at both of these issues.

Let’s first debunk the argument that we are not living in the end of the end times.  Here are 15 signs that we are living in the end times.

Fifteen Signs of the End Times

1)  The first sign that we are living in the end times is that Daniel’s prophecy in 12:4 (4 "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.") says that in the end time ‘many would run to and fro’, implying a time of incredible global travel and communications.  With the age of jet travel we are living in such a time and this prophecy is being fulfilled.

2) The second sign in Daniel 12:4 was that in the end time ‘knowledge would increase.’  We are already living in a time when knowledge is exploding and doubling every 18 months.

3) The third sign in Daniel 12:4 was that all prophecies were ‘sealed till the time of the end’.  But when the end time was near, these prophecies would be revealed.  God’s true Church now understands all these prophecies, which were first revealed to Mr. Armstrong. All the symbols of various beasts in the books of Daniel and Revelation are now understood.

4) The fourth sign was given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:22 that unless the time of trouble was shortened, no life would be saved alive on earth.  This means that man would have the capability to destroy all life on earth.  Man now has the capability to destroy all life from the earth many times over, which he has never before possessed in his history.

5) The fifth sign in Matthew 24:14 was that before the end of man’s age, the good news of the Kingdom of God would be preached to all the world as a witness and warning.  This message has been preached for the past 96 years beginning with Mr. Armstrong. God is delivering that good news through the author’s weekly messages at 9.00 a.m. USA Eastern Standard Time, which every human being on earth can hear in his or her own language.   Thus we are in fact living in the very end of the end time.

6) The sixth sign is mentioned in Malachi 4:5-6 which states that before the Day of the Lord (which is the last one year of the three and a half year Great Tribulation) God would send a person in the power and spirit of Elijah the prophet to restore the true doctrines in His Church.  Herbert W. Armstrong has already fulfilled that prophecy, and he died in January 1986.

7) For the seventh sign, Jesus said in Matthew 24:18 that the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet would be set up in Jerusalem just before the beginning of the great tribulation.  For this purpose Jews would have to control Jerusalem.  The Jews do control Jerusalem today.  Before modern times, for over 1939 years they have never controlled Jerusalem.  So we are living in the end times.

8) For the eighth sign Jesus said in Matthew 24:37-39 that conditions in the end time would be similar to conditions in the days of Noah.  In Noah’s day people scoffed at the warning message preached by Noah that most of humanity would die in a catastrophic worldwide Flood.  They thought their spiritual condition was just fine.  People today react the same way to God’s warning message that their wars will lead to destruction of much of the world’s population.  That’s the ‘normalcy bias’ at work.

9) Noah’s day was characterized by population explosion ((Genesis 6:1). We are adding 1 billion people to the population of the earth every 11-13 years.  So for our ninth sign of the end time, the world has been experiencing a population explosion.

​10) Other condition that characterized Noah’s day was widespread violence.  This tenth sign in terms of murders, terrorism and general violence prevails in the world today.  The thoughts of most of humanity are only evil continually.  These evils are described in Revelation 9:20-21: “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”  Many nations today openly acknowledge that they prefer to work with Satan and the demons than the true God.

11) The global alliances that are prophesied to participate in the soon coming world wars are already forming.  For our eleventh sign, an alliance of nations in Europe headed by a German leader called the Beast (Revelation 13, 17) and King of the North (Daniel 11:40-45) which will war with the United States, Britain and the state of Israel is ready to emerge out of the European Union any time.

12) Islam is resurging.  They will be taking part in the world wars to be fought soon.  Later an Islamic leader called the King of the South (Daniel 11:40) will emerge.  Resurgent Islam is the twelfth sign that we are in the end times.

13) The alliance that will be defeated militarily by the German led European alliance consists of the USA, British Commonwealth nations and the Jewish state of Israel.  They are going to be punished by God for their sins.  Their societies are full of prophesied sins such as dishonoring parents, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, lying, cheating, stealing, murder, bloodshed and strangers (foreigners living among them) devouring their strength.  They are keeping none of God’s Ten Commandments as societies.  These disgusting and sinful conditions did not exist before the Hippie Generation of the 1960s.  This is the thirteenth sign of the end time.

14) An alliance of nations in the East is prophesied to fight the European alliance in the last but one world war, and be capable of fielding a 200 million man army globally.  To be able to field this huge army and supply it for months demands tremendous capability in producing machines and transportation systems.  Only China and India have the huge manpower to be able to field the men for the huge army.  And they have developed the technology, along with Russia, Japan and Korea to produce the vehicles and other machinery necessary to move and supply the army.  This alliance will actually form only during the 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation itself.  But all the elements for it to emerge at any time are already in place.

15) Finally, for the fifteenth sign, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church will emerge after the Third World War who will enforce his religion on the world in league with the German leader called the Beast.  The Roman Church is already pursuing a policy of uniting Europe and bringing other Churches into its fold.

All these fifteen signs (which are fulfillment of specific prophecies) show that the end of man’s age is very near.  But one can argue that these signs have been present for the past 50 years.  And the very end time prophecies concerning global wars and disasters have not been fulfilled all these 50 years.  So all the prophecies Mr. Armstrong preached about have either failed or their fulfillment could be far in the future as the infiltrators have argued.  We had believed that Mr. Armstrong would still be alive when the fulfillment of the end time events would begin, and he would be one of the Two Witnesses during the Great Tribulation mentioned in Revelation 11.  When he died, the tares cited this as evidence that prophecies had failed.  So there was no point in believing the prophecies that Mr. Armstrong preached about.

But look at these prophecies closely.  Some of these key signs were not present 40 years ago.  Many of these developments have taken place after Mr. Armstrong’s death.  So we had not reached the end of the end time when Mr. Armstrong was still alive.  He died on January 16, 1986.  Germany was a divided nation at that time.  We had believed that the gospel had been preached in all the world as a witness.  But the gospel had not become accessible to every human being on earth in their own language.  Only the author’s weekly messages have made that possible for the first time in man’s history.  And since his messages began being broadcast beginning on December 2, 2006, the gospel has been fully preached to every human being on earth as prophesied in Matthew 24:14.  This has never been done before.

Some key Bible prophecies have been understood only after Mr. Armstrong’s death.  These prophecies were actually about Mr. Armstrong himself as well as the Church.  So not all prophecies were understood when Mr. Armstrong died.  Hence Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 12:4 that in the end time all prophecies would be understand had not been completely fulfilled.  But it has been fulfilled since Mr. Armstrong’s death, signifying that we are indeed in the very end of the end times.In Mr. Armstrong’s time people did not openly acknowledge or even know that they were worshipping Satan and the demons in their religious practices as prophesied in Revelation 9:20-21.  But today the world openly knows that the Germans take their guidance from Satan and many nations are willingly allied with them.  They feel that they are doing what is in their best interests.

Only in the past decade or so have China and India developed the technological capabilities to produce vehicles and other machines to be able to supply the massive number of soldiers and technical personnel needed to field and supply a 200 million man army globally as prophesied.  Hence conditions were not present to truly fulfill this prophecy 40 years ago.  But now they are present indicating that we have truly entered the end of the end time.

Thus many things have happened since Mr. Armstrong’s death which indicate that we have indeed entered the end of the end times.  In addition, there are other end time prophecies which show that we have indeed reached the very end of the end time so that horrifying events are now actually on the verge of exploding on the world scene.

END TIME PROPHECIES ALREADY FULFILLED OR BEING FULFILLED

1)  Warning to God’s Church

Revelation 10:1-4 states, “And I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven…and he had a little book open in his hand…and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. And when he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”

Like other prophecies, this prophecy was also sealed till the time of the end.  But in the end time all these prophecies have been understood by God’s true Church.

Since the book of Revelation is mainly about the Day of the Lord, which is the last one year of the Great Tribulation, this prophecy is for the end times as well.  Since the Great Tribulation is a time of trouble for physical Israel (primarily America and British Commonwealth nations and the Jews) as well as spiritual Israel, the prophecies in the book of Revelation would have to deal with both of them.  John wrote the prophecies concerning physical nations of Israel and the world as the messages contained in the seven seals.  But John was told not to write the message the seven thunders uttered.  These messages could pertain only to spiritual Israel, the true Church of God.   John did not write these messages because they were to be sealed till the time of the end.  But these messages to God’s Church would then be revealed in the time of the end.

This prophecy thus is about members of God’s Church being led astray by Satan’s agents who had infiltrated the Church.  The seven thunders uttering their voice was a prophecy to warn the members of God’s Church to repent, get back on track, and put their hearts and souls into doing God’s work.  Mr. Gerald Flurry, pastor general of the Philadelphia Church of God understood this prophecy first and has been delivering that thundering message to God’s Church since December 1989. He continues to do that job even today. Thus this prophecy since the death of Mr. Armstrong has already been fulfilled.

2)  Prophecy to prophesy again already fulfilled

Now notice the next part of the message that the mighty angel delivered to John in Revelation 10:5-6, “And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer.”

The mighty angel said that after the message of the seven thunders was revealed and preached, there should be delay no longer.  This means that after the warning to members of God’s Church to get back on track has been delivered, there is no delay any longer in the fulfillment of the first end time event, which is world war between the German led global alliance against the USA/Britain/Israel alliance in which one fourth of mankind or nearly 1.8 billion people will die.  The mighty angel swore that by God.  So there is indeed no delay any longer.  We are without doubt in the very end of the end time.

Then just after giving the message to John that ‘there should be delay no longer’, the angel further told through John what the first event would be.  He said, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues [or languages], and kings” (Revelation 10:11).

John was not the one to deliver those messages on prophecy about many peoples, nations and kings in all languages of the world.  They were to be delivered near the very end of the end time.  So John did not deliver that message.  But the author has been delivering that message since December 2, 2006 every Saturday morning at 9.00 a.m. USA Eastern Standard Time which is broadcast to every human being on earth in the language he or she understands.

God’s Church does not have the resources to preach the messages to all the world in all languages.  Most nations would not even allow the message to be preached.  But Satan leads the global alliance led by Germany.  They are impatient to get the third world war started because ultimately it means control of the world’s nations and their wealth for them.  Initially to fulfill this prophecy, Satan and the demons chose to broadcast the author’s messages to every human being in his or her own language.

The author completed delivering his messages on July 14, 2007 in fulfillment of the commission in Revelation 10:11.  Then Satan and the demons stopped delivering his messages because their purpose in fulfilling that prophecy was served.  After that God’s angels have been delivering his messages on a weekly basis.  God says now there is no delay any longer in the fulfillment of the end time events.  Satan, the demons, the Germans and their allies are now free to begin the third world war, pictured by the first four seals of Revelation 6, without any further delay.  So we really are living in the very end of the end time.  And the prophecy to prophesy again to the world in all languages of the world has already been dramatically fulfilled.

Therefore, contrary to the arguments of the infiltrators, prophecies have not failed. In fact, they are being fulfilled and we also know precisely where we are in prophecy and the sequence of events ahead.  The fulfillment of end-time prophecies is not 50 or 100 years away.  We are actually witnessing the fulfillment of the very end of the end time events right now.

3. Prophecies fulfilled after Mr. Armstrong’s death

Many other prophecies continue to be fulfilled after Mr. Armstrong’s death.

i)  Gospel preached with greater power - In fulfillment of Matthew 24:14, the good news of the soon coming kingdom of God continues to be preached in ever greater power.  Since Mr. Armstrong’s death, the Church has become divided.  For some years, the gospel was not preached in the same power as during Mr. Armstrong’s life.  But then because of the development of the Internet, the reach of the gospel message has increased manifold. The gospel message is accessible to more people than ever before at even lower cost.  It has truly gone global because at least some people on earth in every country understand English and can read the gospel message.  And now with the author’s weekly messages, it is available to every human being on earth in his or her own language.

ii) Mystery of Iniquity and Man of Sin revealed - Since Mr. Armstrong’s death, the existence of the Synagogue of Satan (Revelation 3:9) within God’s Church has been revealed, and with it the “Mystery of Iniquity” (or lawlessness) and the “man of sin” in (Joseph W. Tkach sr and Joseph Tkach jr after him) (2 Thessalonians 2:3-7) the Church has started working openly.  As already explained, we now understand that these things were prophesied to come to light only after Mr. Armstrong’s death. So these prophecies have been fulfilled after his death.

iii) Prophecy concerning great falling away from the Church fulfilled – A great falling away from the Church was prophesied before the return of Jesus Christ to earth, and the ‘man of sin’ was to cause that falling away.  2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7-8 states: “3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition… 7 For the mystery of lawlessness [or iniquity] is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed…One (Mr. Armstrong) was restraining the ‘mystery of iniquity’ (infiltrators in God’s Church) from causing the falling away.  During his life the “Synagogue of Satan” (also infiltrators in God’s Church being a parallel Church within the Church) was able to cause some to fall away.  But when Mr. Armstrong was taken out of the way by death, the synagogue of Satan began to work opening and caused a massive falling away.  

At its peak in 1990, approximately 150,000 men, women and children attended weekly Sabbath services in God’s Church worldwide.  Among these were more than 90,000 baptized members. Since that time about 80% of the members and prospective members have fallen away from the Church.  This prophecy could only be fulfilled after Mr. Armstrong’s death and has been fulfilled.  So do not let any from the ‘Synagogue of Satan’ deceive you into believing that prophecies have failed.  Many prophecies have been fulfilled after Mr. Armstrong’s death and continue to be fulfilled.  No prophecies have failed and prophecies will not fail till the return of Jesus Christ.

iv) Mr. Armstrong’s coming and passing away was prophesied – As already explained, prophecies concerning Mr. Armstrong’s coming as a prophet and apostle and his passing away have been fulfilled.  His passing away was not failing of prophecy, but fulfillment of it.

c)  Fulfillment of Prophecies is 50-100 years away

With all that has already been discussed, this lie can be easily nailed.  The 15 signs of the end time clearly show that we are in the very end of the end times.  In fact we have already entered the time when there is ‘delay no longer’ in the fulfillment of end of the end time prophecies pictured by the 7 seals of the book of Revelation.  The powerful angel of God who delivered this message swore by God that we have already entered the time of ‘delay no longer.’

The very first event after we entered the time of ‘delay no longer’ mentioned in Revelation 10:11 (“…you must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues and kings) has already been fulfilled by the author’s weekly messages.  So we even know precisely where we are in the prophesied sequence of end of the end time events.  The beginning of the fulfillment of the events mentioned in the seven seals is at our door.  Fulfillment of prophecies is not far into the future.  Do not let yourself be deceived into believing the lie from the infiltrators in God’s Church despite all this clear evidence.  If you do so, you are setting yourself up to be labeled a Laodicean and your faith tried in the Great Tribulation.

d)  Work of the entire Church is an Elijah type of work

After Mr. Armstrong’s passing away, infiltrators (‘Synagogue of Satan’ or ‘Mystery of Lawlessness’) in God’s Church began to argue that Mr. Armstrong was not the prophesied Elijah to come but that God’s end-time work done by the entire Church of God is an Elijah type of work.  Towards the end of his life, when Mr. Armstrong began to realize that he is likely to die before the return of Jesus Christ, he started taking steps to appoint his successor and chose Joseph W. Tkach Sr for the position.  The title of Pastor General was conferred on him which title Mr. Armstrong held.  Joseph Tkach sr and those around him urged Mr. Armstrong many times to add the title of apostle in addition to Pastor General to the appointment of Joseph Tkach Sr.  Mr. Armstrong refused to do so by saying that God had not guided him to add the title of Apostle to the appointment.

Joseph Tkach Sr wanted the title Apostle added to his appointment because then he could claim that he had God’s authority to change all the doctrines that God had restored through Mr. Armstrong.  Mr. Armstrong knew and had preached that only apostles can determine doctrine, and that only one man was prophesied to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that he only would have the title of apostle conferred upon him by Jesus Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 11:9 and Luke 7:26.

When Jesus Christ in Matthew 17:10-13 (NKJV) was asked by His disciples why the scribes said that Elijah must come first, He replied “11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” These verses with Matthew 11:9 indicate that the role of the prophet Elijah was to be fulfilled three times: once by the original Elijah, second time by John the Baptist to prepare the way before the first coming of Jesus Christ, and then the third time before the second coming of Jesus Christ.  The Elijah to come before the second coming of Jesus Christ would ‘restore all things’ which role Mr. Armstrong fulfilled.

When John the Baptist was asked by the Pharisees who he was if he was not the Christ, he said (Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23) “23 I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord," ' as the prophet Isaiah said (Isaiah 40:3)."

This indicates that one single man would fulfill the role of the prophet Elijah and not the entire Church.  Mr. Armstrong also understood and said many times that he was the singular voice crying in the wilderness of modern day spiritual confusion.  The Old Testament prophecies of Malachi 4:5-6, Malachi 3:1-2 also state that one man would come in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet.

These scriptures thus easily nail the lie of the ‘Synagogue of Satan’ that the work of the entire Church fulfills the role of the prophet Elijah and thus Mr. Armstrong was not the single man prophesied to come in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet.  I hope no genuine member of God’s Church will be deceived by such lies.

e)  Church of God is not the only true Church

Another deceptive argument used by the infiltrators to lead members of God’s Church astray is that the Church of God is not the only true Church.  There are many other Churches that have members who are righteous to whom God will not deny eternal life.  This argument can serve many nefarious purposes for the infiltrators.

They want members of God’s Church to believe that they can freely fellowship with other Churches hoping that they will accept some of the teachings of the other Churches which may vary slightly from what God restored to His Church through Mr. Armstrong.  They hope that some in God’s Church may then be induced to leave the Church and join other Churches.  Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind: Such compromises with thinking and living God’s way of life will lead to loss of salvation.

We can examine this question whether God’s Church is the only true Church or not in two ways from the Bible.  First, we can show from the Bible that God’s Church has all the identifying signs for God’s true Church.  Secondly, we can show from the Bible that some beliefs of the other Churches are in error.  So we cannot obtain salvation through them at this time.  This is a hard saying for mainstream Christianity to bear.  It will be offensive to them.  Our purpose is not to offend anyone.  But these messages are directed at members of God’s Church to protect them from the wolves.  This is not the time for being politically correct.  It is time for the straight, plain, unvarnished truth, meant for former and current members of God’s Church only.  No member of God’s Church should have any doubt about what is being said and meant.

​If you leave God’s true Church and join other churches, you have allowed yourselves to be deceived by Satan and his agents, and you will lose your only chance for salvation.  Remember, members in all other Churches and the world are not being judged at this time.  They will get their chance for salvation later.  But you are getting your one and only chance for salvation at this time.  Your very eternal life is on the line.  Don’t throw it away by allowing yourselves to be deceived by Satan and his agents.

IDENTIFYING SIGNS OF GOD’S TRUE CHURCH

Let us first look at the identifying signs for the true Church from the pages of the Bible.

1.  God’s Church believes what God says, fears and obeys Him – The most important characteristic that distinguishes God’s Church from the other Churches is that it believes what God says, obeys Him and fears to disobey Him.

Jesus Christ told the Jews of His day that the Scripture cannot be broken.  That means the Bible is the infallible word of God.  God’s Church thus simply believes that every word in the Bible is the truth.  Hence the Church gets its beliefs and doctrines only from the Bible.The Bible says that human beings shall become literal sons of God.  The apostle John wrote in 1John 3:2: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”  How many other Churches believe that human beings will become God’s literal sons through the resurrection and will have a body like Jesus Christ?  But God’s Church simply believes this statement and all other statements in the Bible.

The Christian way of life can be summarized in two laws in Luke 10:27: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind [as elaborated in the first four of the Ten Commandments]; and thy neighbor as thyself [as described in the last six of the Ten Commandments].”

Usually many in the other Churches may do as well as God’s Church in the part of the law that involves loving our neighbor as ourselves.  But almost all fall short in the first part of the Law that involves loving God with all our hearts, soul, strength and mind.

Jesus Christ described in very simple terms how we love God.  He said in John 14:15: “If you love Me keep My commandments.” The commandments mean the Ten Commandments.  Then Jesus also said in Luke 4:4: “And Jesus answered him, [that is, Satan] saying, It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

The reason why other Churches fall short regarding the commandment to love God with all our hearts, soul, strength and minds is that they don’t keep all the first four Commandments.  Many fall short by disobeying the second commandment to not make idols, or images to worship them.  They don’t realize that making and kissing crosses, putting them on Church buildings, falling down on one’s knees in front of stained glass images of Jesus and Mary in Churches and paintings are all idols.  Almost all Churches are guilty of this violation of God’s commandments.  And hardly any obey the fourth commandment to remember to keep the Sabbath holy.

In contrast, God’s Church keeps these commandments, simply because God commands them.  Sabbath days don’t appear to be any different from Sunday or any other days to a casual observer.  So most Churches believe they can worship God any day they choose.  But God’s word says that we should worship on the Sabbath.  God’s Church simply obeys God and worships Him on the Sabbath day.  God says the Sabbath is holy, and only God can make time holy by His presence.  Sunday is not a holy day because God does not say it is a holy day in the Bible.  That is why He commands that we worship Him on the Sabbath day and not on Sunday.  God’s Church simply believes that the commandments are given for our benefit, and obeys them because God commands us to keep them.  And over time every commandment keeper realizes the tremendous benefits of keeping them.  That is how Jesus Christ defined love.  That is how God’s Church loves God; just as He asks us to love Him, not how we think we should love Him. In addition, God’s Church fears to disobey God.  This is a healthy fear of God.

We live by every word of God and search the scriptures for our beliefs and answers for all of life’s questions.  If we find anything in the Bible that we should believe or obey, we fear God enough to add that to our beliefs immediately or change our beliefs accordingly.  But we also believe God when He said He would send Elijah the prophet to restore all things.  So we believe that Mr. Armstrong restored all the true doctrines to the Church, as described earlier in the 20 doctrines of the Church.  The Church’s beliefs are quite different from the beliefs of the other Churches, and it has obtained all these beliefs from the pages of the Bible and not from vain human philosophy, paganism or tradition.  Because of our fear of God we dare not change them.

This is how God’s Church differs from other Churches in the world.  It simply believes what God says, obeys all His commandments and fears to disobey Him.  That’s how God’s Church demonstrates its love for God.  This kind of childlike belief in what God says; obedience to God without question, just as Abraham obeyed God when he was asked to leave Mesopotamia to go the land of Canaan; and healthy fear to disobey God, as Abraham feared to disobey Him when he was asked to sacrifice his only son Isaac, demonstrate to God that individual members of the Church will never rebel against His rule like Satan and the demons did.  God will not give eternal life to any who demonstrate by their actions and attitudes that they will not wholeheartedly believe and obey Him and fear to disobey Him.  He cannot rule rebellious people.  God’s Church by its actions demonstrates to God that it loves Him, can be easily ruled by Him and will never rebel against Him.  In short, God’s Church is totally and completely surrendered to God the Father and Jesus Christ.

​2.  The Identifying Sign – Secondly, God’s Church has the identifying sign that identifies the people of God.  God commanded the ancient Israelites to remember to keep His Sabbath day.  This is stated in Exodus 31:13-17, and is also the fourth of the Ten Commandments.  It states: “13 Speak also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the LORD that does sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever does any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

This scripture clearly states how and why the Sabbath should be kept.  It is kept holy by not working on the day and worshipping God.  It is to be kept as a perpetual covenant, meaning that it is to be kept forever. The reason it is commanded is that it sanctifies the Sabbath keepers; meaning sets them apart from other people as holy and God’s own people.  It is an identifying sign between God as their Creator who created all things in six days, and they as God’s people.  God commanded the Sabbath day as a memorial of creation.  By keeping the Sabbath God’s people acknowledge that they worship the God who created everything.

Since the Sabbath was to be kept as a perpetual covenant or agreement, it is to be kept forever by God’s people. Jesus Christ kept it “as His custom was” as stated in Luke 4:16.  So did the apostle Paul as stated in Acts 17:2.  In following the example of Jesus Christ and the apostles, God’s Church also keeps the Sabbath.  Sunday worship has come from ancient paganism, which was instituted by the great false Church to be different from the Jews.  The Roman Church admits that there is no authority in the scriptures for Sunday worship, but it changed the worship day of its own authority.  That is rebellion against God.  In contrast God’s true Church loves and obeys God.

So God’s Church keeps the Sabbath day holy which identifies it as God’s own people.

3.  God’s Church has God’s name - For the third identifying sign, God’s Church has the name God has given it and not what human beings have named their churches.  Names are very important to God, and He names people, places and things as they are.  For example, the name of the patriarch Jacob meant “usurper” or one who “supplants” another.  But after Jacob wrestled with God’s Angel and began to ask God to help and bless him, God changed his name to Israel, which means “overcomer” or “prevailer” with God.  Thus names are very important to God.

Since names are very important to God, He surely would not leave His Church unnamed, or leave human beings to choose the name for His Church.  In fact God has given His Church a name. It is mentioned twelve times in the Bible as the “Church of God” or its plural form “Churches of God.”  Twelve is God’s number for organized beginnings.  So God’s true Church bears the name God has given to it, and not what human beings have given to themselves.  That is honoring God as children honor their parents by bearing the name they have been given by them.  So as another identifying sign of the true Church of God, in honor and love for God, the true Church does bear the name God has given it: the Church of God.”

4.  God’s Church understands what salvation is and what is God’s purpose for man – For the fourth identifying sign, God’s true Church understands God’s true purpose for creating man.  God’s Church understands that God’s purpose in creating man is to enlarge His own family, the God family.  Man’s purpose is to qualify to be born as a literal son of God and brother of Jesus Christ.  That means God’s purpose for each and every man is to become like Jesus Christ in composition and holy righteous character as a spirit being as 1John 3:2 said: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”  No one else believes God when He says that.  Only God’s true Church believes that.  Only God’s Church believes that God is reproducing Himself through man, as Mr. Armstrong taught us.

5.  God’s Church understands God plan of salvation - For the fifth identifying sign, God’s Church is the only religious organization on earth that understands God’s plan of salvation.  This plan of salvation is pictured by the seven annual holy days of God.  The Passover pictures the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the sins of humanity, making forgiveness of sins possible.  The seven Days of Unleavened Bread picture the need for individual members to overcome sin and put it out of their lives in order to qualify to receive the free gift of eternal life.  The Feast of Pentecost pictures the firstfruits of God’s harvest of humans for His kingdom.  The firstfruits are the saints during the first 6,000 years of man’s history who will have qualified to receive eternal life in the first resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ to earth, and to rule with Him in His kingdom.

The 4th festival, the Feast of Trumpets pictures the return of Jesus Christ to set up God’s kingdom on earth and the resurrection of the firstfruits.  The 5th holy day, the Day of Atonement pictures the putting away of Satan and the demons from the rulership of the earth.  The 6th festival, the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the 1,000 – year reign of Jesus Christ and the saints with Him on earth.  And the seventh festival, the Last Great Day pictures the resurrection of all of humanity that has ever lived to a physical life for their first and only chance for salvation.

Only God’s true Church understands this Plan of salvation.  Only God’s Church understands that salvation is not being offered only during the first 6,000 years of man’s history.  In fact, only a tiny fraction of humanity, a very “small flock” are being called at this time and offered their first and only chance for salvation.  Only God’s Church understands that vast majority of humanity will get their chance for salvation later.  That is why God’s Church does not go around the world to pester people to accept Christ now and become Christians.  And only God’s Church understands that God’s plan offers a chance for salvation for each and every human being, and that almost all of humanity will qualify to receive eternal life.  This understanding is unique to God’s true Church, and one of the greatest truths restored through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.

6.  God’s Church is a small flock – For the sixth identifying sign, in Luke 12:32 Jesus Christ called His Church a little flock.  He said: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  Here Jesus Christ described the size of His Church throughout its first 6,000 year history.  It would never be a large organization with millions and millions of members.  Throughout its history since its founding in 31 A.D., the Church has always been a small flock.  Therefore, when the infiltrators in God’s Church say that we members can join any of the large Churches in the world, you can be sure from this description of Jesus for His Church that they are trying to deceive us into losing our salvation.  We hope you believe what Jesus Christ said about His true Church than paying heed to infiltrators in the Church.

7.   God’s Church does God’s work - For the seventh identifying sign of God’s Church, the true Church always does God’s work.  Jesus charged His Church with a two-fold commission. One part of the commission is stated in Matthew 28:19-20: “19 Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

This is the part of the commission that many churches participate in.  They preach about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for the forgiveness of humanity’s sins, thus making salvation possible.  They make disciples this way.  But even in this most churches go overboard, preaching about and honoring Jesus Christ to almost the exclusion of preaching about God the Father who is the originator of everything and deserves much greater honor.  But at least other Churches participate in this part of the commission, though imperfectly, not knowing God’s purpose for man and God’s plan of salvation for all of humanity.

However, no other churches know what the second part of the gospel or good news is, which will in fact make the first part possible which is salvation for all of humanity.  They don’t understand that the greatest good news or the gospel is the return of Jesus Christ to earth to establish God’s kingdom forever.  Only God’s true Church has been preaching that message.

This is the great commission that God’s Church was charged with by Jesus Christ.  This is the message Jesus Christ preached as stated in Mark 1:14: “14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying , The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Which Church believes that message except God’s true Church? They don’t believe that Jesus Christ is literally going to return to earth and set up His earth ruling Kingdom.  If they don’t believe it, how can they preach about it with passion? But God’s Church believes Jesus Christ’s words and preaches the same message that Jesus and the apostles preached about His kingdom.

Since the time for the fulfillment of these events is right at the door, Jesus Christ in the end time had focused the message even further on the same gospel or good news.  This commission is stated in Matthew 24:14: “14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

​Only God’s true Church has been preaching this message since Mr. Armstrong began to preach it around 1927.  Only God’s true Church believes that it has been charged with this commission and is fulfilling it with a passion. No other religious organization is doing this work.  How then can current or former members allow themselves to be deceived by infiltrators that they are not the only true Church? How can you deceive yourselves into believing that you will receive salvation by leaving God’s true Church and joining other Churches.  God has called us at this particular time to do His work.  If you leave God’s Church, you will not be doing God’s work and will lose your salvation.

Also only God’s Church understands that it has been charged with the watchman commission described in Ezekiel 33:3-4; that is to be a watchman to Israelite nations and the world and warn them of the impending horrendous disasters that our ways will bring on ourselves.  Our ways will destroy much of the population of the earth in the coming Great Tribulation.  Only God’s Church understands this commission and has been warning the world.  No other religious organization is warning the world.  How then can members allow themselves to be deceived into believing that they are not the only true Church, and that other Churches can also be the true churches of God and salvation can also be obtained by leaving God’s Church and joining them?

Now we are in the very end of the end time.  God has focused His message to the world even further.  That focus is stated in Revelation 10:11: “11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”  That commission has already been fulfilled by the author’s weekly messages and He is a member of God’s true Church.

To fulfill this part of God’s commission, God’s Church must have a thorough understanding of prophecy.  Only God’s Church has that understanding.  Others talk about prophecy, but they don’t know the head or tail of it.  They talk about prophecy because for them it is simply another slice of the religious market that they hope to capture and rake in more members, hence more revenues and profits.  God’s true Church on the other hand does this work without any charge to the world.  God’s true Church does this work for free.  How then can current and former members allow themselves to be deceived into believing that they are not part of the one and only true Church of God

This may be a very offensive message for other Churches of the world.  But offending them cannot be our main concern if it means saving genuine members, because this is their one and only chance for salvation.  We know that members of other churches will get their chance for salvation later.  But members of God’s Church will not get another chance.

FALSE BELIEFS OF OTHER CHURCHES

There is only one true Church of God that obeys God the Father and Jesus Christ in everything.  One cannot obtain salvation through any other Church.  That is the blunt truth according to the Bible.

Besides differing in beliefs and doctrines from the beliefs of the true Church of God, other Churches have other false beliefs.  We will not detail all their false beliefs.  But here is a sampling of some others.  They believe God is a Trinity: that is three beings in one, or one in three beings, or whatever other confused concept they can devise.  The holy spirit of God is God’s spirit essence and not an individual entity, somehow also merged into one with God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.  God’s Church knows that God is a family, consisting of two Beings at present: God the Father and Jesus Christ.  And the potential of human beings is to become part of that family.

Other churches believe that human beings have an immortal soul.  They simply don’t believe God when He says in Ezekiel 18:4, 20: “The soul that sins, it shall die.”  They still believe Satan’s original lie told to Eve that surely she won’t die if she ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, implying that God lied to her.

Other Churches believe that on death they will go to heaven if they qualify and spend eternity there.  They simply don’t believe God when He says in Revelation 5:10: “10 And [you, that is God] has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

Others believe in a hell where sinners roast forever.  The Bible nowhere states that.  The Bible does state that sinners will have their lives extinguished permanently in the Lake of Fire, as stated in Revelation 20:15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [meaning did not qualify to receive eternal life] was cast into the lake of fire.”  They will not be tortured for eternity, never actually dying, but their lives will be extinguished permanently.

Other churches keep festivals such as Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween and the like which have clear roots in paganism that originated more than 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ and keep none of God’s seven annual holy days commanded in the Bible.

Yes, other Churches don’t believe everything that God says, but God’s true Church believes every word of God.  And other churches believe and practice what the Bible condemns as paganism that is abominable to Him, which the Church of God discards as rubbish.

OTHER CHURCHES HOLD SOME OF THE SAME BELIEFS AS GOD’S CHURCH

Some will argue that there are other churches out there that hold each and every one of our beliefs.  There are some who call themselves the Church of God.  Some interpret and preach about prophecy.  Others believe in the return of Jesus Christ to set up God’s kingdom on earth. Some believe in not eating unclean meats just as God’s Church does. Some keep the Sabbath.  Some even have started keeping some of the holy days.  So they say that they also have the truth and salvation is possible through them as well.

Those current and former members of God’s Church who accept this argument should discard such foolishly simple reasoning?  Having one or a few correct beliefs does not make all the other beliefs of those churches right, or make those churches the true Church of God?  Some may have a few correct beliefs, but then all their other beliefs are wrong.  The true Church of God believes every word of God and has all the right beliefs restored through Mr. Armstrong, obtained from the Holy Bible and the Holy Bible only.  It discards all beliefs that are not found in the pages of the Bible.

Most of these other Churches started preaching one or two beliefs similar to the Church of God after Mr. Armstrong had started preaching them?  They simply picked one or two of the doctrines restored through Mr. Armstrong and added them to their creeds.  They don’t even believe these doctrines to be the truth.  For them it is just another ploy to capture a slice of the religious market.  It is probably even more diabolical than that.  It is another one of Satan’s deceptions to make some of these churches look deceptively similar to God’s true Church so that some members may be induced to leave God’s true Church and join them, thus losing their chance for eternal life.

Some members who may have encountered some cause of bitterness in God’s true Church because of their dealing with other members or ministers may have become susceptible to this deception.  But those are not true Churches of God.  One who leaves God’s Church and joins them will lose his or her only chance for eternal life.  No one should make such a choice.

f)  Claims that doctrines restored through Mr. Armstrong are false doctrines

The author will not try to answer every argument that the former and current leaders of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) put forward to say that the doctrines that God restored through Mr. Armstrong are flawed or false doctrines.  There are many reasons for this.

1) There is nothing new in the arguments they put forward.  These arguments were put forward by dissidents in the very early Church more than 1,900 years ago and continue to be recycled.

2) The very same arguments are used by mainstream Christianity in support of its own beliefs and doctrines that are contrary to what God restored through Mr. Armstrong.  The world’s encyclopedias on religion and millions of books exist expounding these arguments.  There is no point in repeating those arguments which any one research on his own.

3) These arguments are being used by people we know to be the ‘synagogue of Satan’ and ‘mystery of lawlessness or iniquity’ and the man described as the ‘man of sin’.  They are Satan’s Church which has infiltrated God’s Church.  Their sole aim is to contradict the truth to lead people astray.  From God’s description of these people their arguments are guaranteed to be diabolical deliberate lies.  In case one is wondering why God’s Church allows these people to continue to fellowship with genuine members, the answer is provided by the parable of the tares in Matthew 13:24-30.  We are to allow them to remain and grow in the Church, but God will finally burn them up.  The only cause for which they can be put out is if they are openly causing divisions or speaking contrary to what the Church believes.

4)  Raising arguments contradicting the doctrines of God’s Church is their only endless game.  Answer their arguments and they will just invent more.  It would be foolish to waste time trying to follow up with their arguments to answer them.////Paul the apostle provided the best approach to dealing with this problem in the course of his ministry.  He acted quickly by simply separating himself and the genuine followers and seekers after the truth from such people. The story is told in Acts 19:8-9: “8 And he went into the synagogue, and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spoke evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.”

5)  Doctrines restored by an Elijah-like prophet and apostle.  God knew that all religions, including Christianity would have become removed from His truth by the time the return of Jesus Christ to earth was near.  That’s why God prophesied about 2,400 years ago and later by Jesus Christ that He would send one in the power of Elijah the prophet to restore all things.   What has been restored is the truth.  Infiltrators are simply trying to discredit the truth.  Their arguments can only be cunningly devised lies.

6)  Infiltrators use scriptures selectively to argue for their point of view.  When one is researching an issue or determining doctrine from the Bible, all scriptures on the subject must be studied.  If only some scriptures are taken into consideration, one can reach a lop-sided conclusion on God’s will on the subject.  The favorite tactic of the infiltrators is to quote only certain scriptures to try to discredit a doctrine established by Mr. Armstrong.  We will not try to examine all the arguments put forward by the infiltrators on all doctrines as this can be a never ending exercise in futility.  But just one doctrine, “Is keeping of the Ten Commandments required?” will be used to illustrate the selective use of scriptures by the infiltrators to establish their arguments.

Infiltrators main arguments for not keeping the Ten Commandments

Here are some of the arguments about the validity of the Ten Commandments from the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) web site www.wcg.org from the book Sabbath, Circumcision and Tithing, chapter 10 and 17:

“Many Christians teach that the Ten Commandments were spoken by God himself, written in stone, and are the major expression of God’s moral law, based on the unchanging character of God and therefore permanent.  But many of those same Christians say that the Fourth Commandment (that is, the Sabbath command) has been changed. However, it makes no sense to have an unchanging moral law that has a change in it.”

WCG is citing mainstream Christianity as authority to state that the Sabbath command has been changed.  So the Ten Commandments cannot be an unchanging moral law because it has a change in it.  But God’s true Church since it was founded in 31 A.D. has never believed that the Sabbath command was changed by God and has always kept it and has been persecuted for keeping it.

The WCG writer continues: “Paul refers to the Ten Commandments not by name, nor by the fact that God spoke them, but by the fact that they were written on stone tablets (2 Corinthians 3:7-8). He contrasts this old covenant with the new covenant, saying that the old was glorious, but the new is so much better that in comparison, the old is no longer glorious. He’s talking about the Ten Commandments! In comparison to Christ, they have no glory (verse 10).

“Further, Paul says that the Ten are "fading away" (verse 11). So we must ask, if all Ten are still in force in exactly the same way or in a stronger way, why would Paul say that they were fading away? We must reckon with the possibility that the Ten are not an eternally valid package. Something must have changed!”

Hold it right there!  In quoting 2 Corinthians 3:7-10, the WCG writer emphasizes that the Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets and that the new covenant is more glorious than the old covenant.  But the key part of the verses that explain what was glorious is conveniently left out of the discussion.

Here is what this scripture says in 2 Corinthians 3:6-8: “6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?”  The key part of the scripture is verses 6 and 8 “6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life; and “8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit [meaning the holy spirit] be rather glorious.”

Paul was stating here that he was a minister of the New Covenant, which was not a covenant of the letter, that is keeping the letter of the law given in the Ten Commandments as written and engraven in stones, but keeping the Ten Commandments in the spirit.  He was saying that the Old Covenant required keeping the Ten Commandments in the letter of the law, but it brought death because all have sinned as stated in Romans 3:23, and the wages of sin is death as stated in Romans 6:23.  He said that the keeping the letter of the law brought death, but keeping it in the spirit gives life. And what kind of life: eternal life.  But Paul also says that keeping the Old Covenant, that is keeping the law in the letter was glorious.  And why was it glorious?  Just read the incredible physical blessings God promised the Israelites in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 for keeping the Law: His Ten Commandments, statutes and judgments.  And we have seen the extent of those promised incredible physical blessings as showered on America and the British Commonwealth nations.  

But then Paul says in verse 8 “How shall not the ministration of the holy spirit be rather glorious.” So the New Covenant is about ministration of the holy spirit, that is giving of the holy spirit to enable spiritual Israelites or Christians to keep the law in the spirit rather than merely in the letter of the law.  Keeping the law in the spirit means keeping it in the letter and intent of the law.  And why would it be more glorious?  Because it gives eternal life, for he said, “the spirit gives life.” What Paul was really stating here is that the Old Covenant was about keeping the Ten Commandments as written and engraved in stones in the letter of the law.  But it brought death because not one human being could keep it perfectly in the letter of the law.  However, the New Covenant was about giving of the Holy Spirit to enable Christians to keep the law not only in the letter, but also in the spirit of the law, meaning in its full intent and attitude.

So what we see here is that the current leaders of the WCG and mainstream Christianity take isolated scriptures, often out of context to form their doctrines.  They completely leave out other verses that would contradict their ideas.  The correct way to form doctrine is to take all scriptures on a subject and study them together.

But let’s continue with more quotes from the same writer. He states:

“Hebrews 8:6 tells us that the new covenant has been established, and verse 13 tells us that the old covenant is obsolete. There has been a change of covenants. We should therefore expect a difference between the Sinai covenant and the Christian covenant. Most of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament, but the Sabbath is not. The New Testament doesn’t criticize anyone for breaking the Sabbath.

Hold it there again. The WCG writer references verses 6 and 13.  Verse 6 states: “6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.”  The WCG writer cites this verse to say that the new covenant is a better covenant.  No quarrel with that.  But he does not state why it is a better covenant.  Paul said it is a better covenant because it was established on better promises.  And those better promises as compared to physical blessings of the Old Covenant were eternal life and promise of being heirs of the universe as stated in Revelation 21:7 and be rulers, that is kings and priest with Jesus Christ on earth as stated in Revelation 1:6 and 5:10. Then the writer cited verse 13 of Hebrews 8 to prove that the Old Covenant is obsolete.  The verse states: “13 In that he saith, a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”  

The conclusion drawn by the WCG is that the Old Covenant which included the Ten Commandments is obsolete.  And how do they say the Old Covenant is obsolete?  The writer continues:  “…there is a fundamental change in the way people relate to God. The old way is a written law that condemns people to death. The new way is the Holy Spirit, and this new way brings forgiveness and life. The Spirit leads us to obey God, but this is a fundamentally different relationship, a different basis of relating to God.

“There is some basic continuity between the old covenant and the new. Most of the Ten Commandments are quoted with approval in the New Testament. Those commands reflect aspects of God’s law that were in effect long before Sinai — from the beginning. One commandment, however, is not repeated in the New — the Sabbath command. It was a ceremonial law, instituted for a temporary time period. This is where the Ten have faded.

“In other words, we do not look to the stone tablets as the standard of Christian living. Every moral law within the Ten Commandments is also found outside of the Ten Commandments, and one of the Ten has been set aside in the New Testament. The Ten Commandments are neither sufficient nor necessary for Christian behavior.”

What then is the ethical standard suggested by the WCG? The writer concludes: “Christians have a better ethical standard in the New Testament — a bigger body of literature with better ethical balance. We have the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.”

This is the same conclusion reached by mainstream Christianity.  They say that Christians are not required to keep the Ten Commandments because they are the Ten Commandments.  They are instead required to live by what Jesus Christ and the apostles taught, that is only the writings of the New Testament.  That to them is the New Covenant.

But now read what Paul wrote between verses 6 and 13 of Hebrews which the WCG writer conveniently leave out: “7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

So what does Paul say the New Covenant is?  Verse 10 says: “…this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”  The New Covenant was not about doing away with the Law, including the Ten Commandments, but putting the laws (including the Ten Commandments) into their mind, and writing them in their hearts.”  In the New Covenant, the Law is not done away as mainstream Christianity, and now the current leadership of the WCG teaches, but the Law is put into the hearts and minds of the converts or Christians.  Paul here was quoting Jeremiah 31:33.

Ezekiel the prophet expanded more on the New Covenant in Ezekiel 36:26-27: “26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

God through the prophet Ezekiel said that He would give the people a new spirit, His holy spirit, which would mean giving them a heart of flesh in place of their stony hard heart.  The addition of the holy spirit will enable God’s law to be written in their hearts and minds, enabling them to walk in God’s statutes and judgments.  In addition, Paul said, God will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will He remember no more.

Mainstream Christianity thus misunderstands what the New Covenant is all about.  And the current WCG leadership is engaged in diabolic attempts to deceive members of God’s true Church with the same arguments.  The New Covenant is definitely not about making the Law of God, including the Ten Commandments (which include the Sabbath command) as contained in the Old Covenant, obsolete.  The New Covenant is about ministration of the Holy Spirit as stated in 2 Corinthians 3:8.  It means God putting His holy spirit within human beings to change their hard stony hearts into hearts of flesh, enabling God’s Law (the same Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone) to be written into their hearts and minds.  Writing God’s laws into hearts and minds means internalizing them.  This is also implied by Hebrews 8:11: “11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”  In addition, the power of God’s holy spirit will enable them to keep God’s commandments, and walk in His statutes and judgments.  And the New Covenant is about God being merciful to their unrighteousness, and forgiving their sins and their iniquities as stated in 2 Corinthians 3:12, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Because the New Covenant is in effect, it means there was a weakness in the Sinai or Old Covenant.  UCG booklet titled The New Covenant: Does it Abolish God’s Law? P. 34 states:

“What was the problem with the Sinai Covenant? Most people assume that the problem was in the laws God gave to Israel, that they were flawed and that Jesus Christ came to abolish or annul them. But does this square with the Scriptures?

“Hebrews 8:7 tells us that yes, there was a flaw with that covenant: "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another" (NIV).

“So where was the problem? The next verse tells us: "But God found fault with the people and said: 'The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah'" (verse 8, NIV).

“The primary weakness of the Sinai Covenant was not in its laws but in the people's lack of a willing heart to obey them. Because they were not given the Holy Spirit, Israel's citizens were incapable of understanding and performing the full intent and purpose of God's teachings.

Here is how Paul summarizes that fault: "But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

The people of ancient Israel, like most people today, simply could not grasp the full spiritual value of the teachings God gave through Moses. The reason is plain: "Man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned [meaning discerned with the help of God’s holy spirit]" (1 Corinthians 2:14, NIV).

So under the terms of the New Covenant, God gives us a new spirit, His holy spirit, that enables us to obey His laws, as He promised in Ezekiel 11:19-20: "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God."

Mainstream Christianity and infiltrators in God’s Church argue that Jesus did away with the Law.  They say that He brought a new teaching differing considerably from the instructions of the Old Testament. The common view is that the teachings of Christ in the New Testament annulled and replaced the teachings of the Old Testament.  But Jesus plainly explained His views on the Law in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:17-28 (NKJV): “17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets ["The Law and the Prophets" was a term commonly used for the Old Testament Scriptures; compare Matthew 7:12]. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

What did Jesus mean when He talked about fulfilling the law? Many have twisted the meaning of the term “fulfilling the law.”  Some say that since Jesus said He would fulfill the law, we no longer need to keep it.  Another view of "fulfilling the law" is that Jesus "filled full" what was lacking in the law—that is, He completed it, partly canceling it and partly adding to it, forming what is sometimes referred to as "Christ's law" or "New Testament teaching."  They imply that the New Testament brought a change in the requirements for salvation and that the laws given in the Old Testament are obsolete. Is this what Jesus meant by “fulfilling the Law?”

The Greek word pleroo, translated "fulfill" in Matthew 5:17, means "to make full, to fill, to fill up . . . to fill to the full" or "to render full, i.e. to complete" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2002, Strong's number 4137).

In other words, Jesus said He came to complete the law and make it perfect by showing the spiritual intent and application of God's law.  Jesus continued in Matthew 5:18-19: “18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus clearly said that we should not even think that He came to destroy the Law, but rather to fulfill it.  Then Jesus proceeded to clarify what He meant by fulfilling the law by showing the spiritual intent of some of the Ten Commandments.

“21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. 27 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

We hope you can now see how infiltrators in God’s Church use cunningly devised lies to try to deceive genuine members into not believing the truths God restored to His Church through Mr. Armstrong and will reject their false arguments.


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