Latest Audio - 2022-08-13
This world’s broken financial system - inflation, deflation, stagflation - and the unavoidable part of the business cycle:
Recession
“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets [inspired men].” (Amos 3:7)
Mr Armstrong was NOT a prophet – he was an apostle. He had EVENTS revealed to him by Jesus Christ – NOT dates. The first real warning to the Church illustrates this: Back in 1934, he warned that a dictator is to rise as the head of a resurrected Holy Roman Empire. This is the major Endtime event which we are still watching for, 88 years later!
Before he died, he also predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of East and West Germany and that the Eastern European nations would be freed from Russian domination and join the EU.
This is all now history!
One of the last events he warned about, a soon-coming worldwide financial disaster, is linked to the warning given in 1934.
The coming worldwide economic crash is linked to the resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire.
And we are warned that it will happen SUDDENLY!
“…I believe that some event is going TO HAPPEN SUDDENLY just like OUT OF A BLUE SKY that is going to shock the whole world and is going to CAUSE THE NATIONS OF EUROPE TO REALIZE THEY MUST UNITE…
Well, now I think I can see what may be the very event that is going to trigger it and that is THE ECONOMIC SITUATION in the world.
…Now when the financial structure breaks down, ALL CIVILIZATION IS GOING TO BREAK DOWN. I just wanted to say that much - maybe you can begin to see how serious this thing can become!” (Sermon - 7 July 1984)
This Warning Still Stands!
God’s Endtime apostle explains:
“It’s time you knew the real meaning of the present inflationary spiral, rising interest rates, and fears of entering a severe depression.
There is far more to all this economic concern than appears on the surface… We in the United States have enjoyed the most prosperous living standard of any nation in all the history of mankind. There is a reason for this unmatched prosperity that came to us. There also is a reason for the devaluation of the dollar in foreign markets, for our present abnormal inflation, and the fear in financial and government circles that we may well be in the beginning of the most severe economic depression in history.
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (II Peter 1:19-21)
A number of times I have published an economic analysis of the real causes of the inflation spiral and other economic distresses in the United States. But now the stranglehold of inflation and other economic disturbances are tightening around our necks. This trend is going to reach out and greatly reduce your standard of living, in the next two years or more.” (The Plain Truth – January 1980)
What Is A Recession?
“A recession is a significant decline in economic activity that lasts for months or even years. Experts declare a recession when a nation’s economy experiences negative gross domestic product (GDP), rising levels of unemployment, falling retail sales, and contracting measures of income and manufacturing for an extended period of time. Recessions are considered an unavoidable part of the business cycle — or the regular cadence of expansion and contraction that occurs in a nation’s economy.
Official Recession Definition
During a recession, the economy struggles, people lose work, companies make fewer sales and the country’s overall economic output declines. The point where the economy officially falls into a recession depends on a variety of factors.
In 1974, economist Julius Shiskin came up with some rules of thumb to define a recession. The most popular was two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. A healthy economy expands over time, so two quarters in a row of contracting output suggests there are serious underlying problems, according to Shiskin.” (forbes.com)
Inflation
Inflation is the steady, upward trend in prices over time. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduction in the purchasing power of money. Food shortages caused by supply line issues, wars, drought and expensive energy – all add to rapidly rising prices. All this leads to excessive inflation. Excessive inflation is a very dangerous phenomenon.
How Do We Know What The Rate Of Inflation Is?
“We know the rate of inflation because every month the Office for National Statistics checks the prices of a whole range of items in a ‘basket’ of goods and services. They record the cost of over 700 things that people regularly buy. The basket includes everyday things like a loaf of bread and a bus ticket. It also includes much larger ones, like a car and a holiday.
The price of that basket tells us the overall price level. This is known as the Consumer Prices Index or CPI. To calculate the rate of inflation, they compare the cost of the basket – the level of CPI – with what it was a year ago. The change in the price level over the year is the rate of inflation.
What Does the Bank of England Do to Keep Inflation Stable?
The Bank of England has the job of setting monetary policy – the set of tools used to keep inflation low and stable. The main way we do that is through interest rates. An interest rate is the amount of money people get on any savings they have. It’s also the charge they need to pay on their loans and mortgages.
So What’s the Link Between the Interest Rates and Inflation?
Higher interest rates make it more expensive for people to borrow money and encourages them to save. That means that overall, they will tend to spend less.
If people on the whole spend less on goods and services, prices will tend to rise more slowly. That lowers the rate of inflation. The opposite is also true. Lower interest rates mean it’s cheaper to borrow money, and there’s less of an incentive to save. This encourages people to spend and increases the rate of inflation.” (bankofengland.co.uk)
Deflation
“Deflation is when consumer and asset prices decrease over time, and purchasing power increases. Essentially, you can buy more goods or services tomorrow with the same amount of money you have today. This is the mirror image of inflation, which is the gradual increase in prices across the economy.
While deflation may seem like a good thing, it can signal an impending recession and hard economic times. When people feel prices are headed down, they delay purchases in the hopes that they can buy things for less at a later date. But lower spending leads to less income for producers, which can lead to unemployment and higher interest rates.
This negative feedback loop generates higher unemployment, even lower prices and even less spending. In short, deflation leads to more deflation. Throughout most of US history, periods of deflation usually go hand in hand with severe economic downturns.” (forbes.com)
Recession Or Depression?
“Recessions and depressions have similar causes, but the overall impact of a depression is much, much worse. There are greater job losses, higher unemployment and steeper declines in GDP. Most of all, a depression lasts longer — years, not months — and it takes more time for the economy to recover.
Economists do not have a set definition or fixed measurements to show what counts as a depression. Suffice to say, all the impacts of a depression are deeper and last longer.” (forbes.com)
What is Stagflation?
Another word we see in the news is stagflation. This is really serious!
“In mid-2022, many were saying that the United States had not entered a period of stagflation, but might soon experience one, at least for a short period. In June 2022, Forbes magazine argued that a period of stagflation was likely because economic policymakers would tackle unemployment first, leaving inflation to be dealt with later.
What Causes Stagflation?
“Economists argue about the root causes of stagflation. In general, the stage is set for stagflation when a supply shock occurs. This is an unexpected event, such as a disruption in the oil supply or a shortage of essential parts. Such a shock occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic with a disruption of the flow of semiconductors that slowed the production of everything from laptops to cars and appliances. Such a shock can affect all of the factors that make up stagflation: inflation, employment, and economic growth.” (investopedia.com)
Now: The Bank of England Warns…
“The Bank of England has warned the UK will fall into recession as it raised interest rates by the most in 27 years. The economy is forecast to shrink in the last three months of this year and keep shrinking until the end of 2023. Interest rates rose to 1.75% as the Bank battles to stem soaring prices, with inflation now set to hit over 13%.
Governor Andrew Bailey said he knew the cost of living squeeze was difficult but if it didn’t raise interest rates it would get ‘even worse’. The main reason for high inflation and low growth is soaring energy bills, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A typical household will be paying almost £300 a month for their energy by October, the Bank warned.
Increasing interest rates is one way to try and control inflation as it raises borrowing costs and should encourage people to borrow and spend less. It can also encourage people to save more. Higher interest rates also mean higher charges on things like credit cards, bank loans and car loans.” (bbc.co.uk)
What Is A Recession And How Could It Affect Me?
“The Bank of England is predicting a recession for the UK economy will begin later in 2022. So what exactly does that mean? In normal times, a country’s economy grows. Its citizens, on average, become slightly richer as the value of the goods and services it produces - its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - increases.
But sometimes their value falls, and a recession is usually defined as when this happens for two three-month periods - or quarters - in a row. When this happen it’s a sign the economy is doing badly. The last time the UK went into recession was in 2020 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Why Does a Recession Matter?
For most people, economic growth is good. It usually means there are more jobs, and companies are more profitable and can pay employees and shareholders more. A growing economy also gives the government more money in taxes. So it can cut taxes, or spend more on benefits, public services and government workers’ wages.
When the economy shrinks, all these things go into reverse. Are we going back into recession? The Bank of England thinks so, and suggests it will be a long one. It predicts a decline of almost 1% in the size of the economy in the last three months of 2022, and thinks it will shrink in every quarter of 2023.
It blames that on very sharp increases in prices, especially for energy, with people’s incomes continuing to fall after adjusting for rising prices. Inflation (the amount prices are rising) will rise to more than 13% before the end of the year, the Bank predicts, up from its already high level above 9%.
What is Happening Around the World?
Other economies are also struggling, with the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook carrying the title ‘Gloomy and more uncertain’. It highlights downturns in China and Russia, alongside higher-than-expected inflation, especially in the United States and Europe. This is partly blamed on Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has increased energy prices and food prices. There are also continuing effects from Covid19.
How Could a Recession Affect Me?
Some people may lose their jobs, or find it harder to get promotions, or pay rises big enough to allow them to cope with increases in prices. Graduates and school leavers could find a first job harder to get. However, the pain of a recession is typically not felt equally across society, and inequality can increase. Benefit recipients and those with fixed incomes are particularly likely to struggle.
What Can be Done?
When the economy is struggling to grow at the same time as there is high inflation there is a situation called stagflation, which is very difficult to solve.
Usually, the Bank of England - which is independent of government - would cut interest rates if the country was going into a recession, but in fact it has just raised them because prices are rising so fast.
Similarly, there is a debate going on between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss - the two Conservative candidates to be the next prime minister - as to whether taxes should be cut to stimulate the economy or raised to combat inflation.” (bbc.co.uk)
The Great Starvation Is Coming
“The great depression was a time of intense fear and uncertainty for America – and the world. The economy was completely destroyed. Families struggled to survive through sickness, poverty, and hunger.
Unemployment and homelessness skyrocketed. Food was scarce and finding creative ways to make meals stretch and last longer was the only way to secure steady meals for your family.
The cost of food has increased 8.3 percent globally in the past year alone. Here in the USA, prices for groceries have risen by almost 11 percent. Seeing National food prices soar to the highest they’ve been in 40 years is enough to make anyone look for practical ways to stretch their meals further.” (thelostsens.blogspot.com)
The Stock Market Crash In October 1929
“The widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly with the stock market crash in October 1929 and the great economic depression that followed. The depression threatened people’s jobs, savings, and even their homes and farms. At the depths of the depression, over one-quarter of the American workforce was out of work. For many Americans, these were hard times.
The economic troubles of the 1930s were worldwide in scope and effect. Economic instability led to political instability in many parts of the world. Political chaos, in turn, gave rise to dictatorial regimes such as Adolf Hitler’s in Germany and the military’s in Japan. These regimes pushed the world ever-closer to war in the 1930s. When world war finally broke out in both Europe and Asia, the United States tried to avoid being drawn into the conflict. But so powerful and influential a nation as the United States could scarcely avoid involvement for long.
When Japan attacked the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, the United States found itself in the war it had sought to avoid for more than two years. Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defense jobs.” (loc.gov)
We were warned: Prepare Greatly To Reduce Your Standard Of Living!
“Our governments have been corrupt. Our business, industrial, economic and commercial systems have been shot through with deception, dishonesty, selfishness.
We have adopted the WAY OF LIFE of Satan – utter selfishness, lust and greed, envy and jealousy, competition in every walk of life – business, politics, sports, society – leading to violence and destruction! We have rebelled against the authority of GOD over us, worshiping the false gods of science, evolution, and greed. We have gone the WAY of SATAN! And Satan is the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4).
And now, FOR OUR OWN GOOD, an all-wise and all-loving God is about to PUNISH our nations, in order finally to bring us to HIM!
I will use just one prophecy here. In Leviticus 26:19, God said of OUR PEOPLE, TODAY: ‘And I will break the pride of your power.’
God has given the US more national POWER than any nation ever had! But since Korea we have been afraid to use it! Small nations like North Korea, Cuba and Panama thumb their noses at us, and we run…
But already the noose is around our necks, and is almost daily tightening! Skyrocketing inflation, devaluation of the dollar in all foreign markets, other economic ills are starting GREATLY to reduce our standard of living! I warn you, PREPARE greatly to reduce your standard of living! Even GREATER punishments are to follow!” (The Plain Truth – January 1980)
We’ve Lost All Sense Of The TRUE VALUES
“Today this country is in dire trouble – far more serious than we realize. Marriage and family life – the foundation of a stable and enduring society, is breaking down. Morals in the cesspool. Crime escalating. We’re in a world of troubles its governments can’t solve, recurring wars, governments overthrown almost one a month – weapons of mass destruction that can erase human life from the earth.
WHY? Our troubles are spiritual in nature, governed by a basic spiritual LAW. It is the way of life I simplify by the word ‘GIVE’ – outflowing LOVE – the WAY OF LIFE of cooperation, serving, helping, sharing. We don’t believe it, but it’s as inexorable – as relentless as the law of gravity! It’s the WAY to peace, happiness, contentment, joy, universal well-being.
Break it, and it breaks YOU! We break it by our ‘GET’ way of life – the way of vanity, coveting, envy and jealousy, competition and strife with violence and wars, resentment of authority.
It’s no maudlin, sentimental or impractical religious idealism, but the cold hard FACT that stares us all in the face now – with life-and-death consequences!
Our problems are spiritual in nature, and we’ve lost all sense of the TRUE VALUES!
We need desperately to CHANGE - but we have gone past the law of diminishing returns – past human ability to solve our life-and-death evils.
This voice cries out emphatically that now, that unseen ‘Strong Hand from Someplace’ is about to intervene dynamically, before MAN annihilates mankind from the earth, and save a misguided humanity from itself! Your believing that makes no difference – it’s as CERTAIN as the rising and setting of tomorrow’s sun!
Even our so-called human nature is going to be changed! The world is going to be changed from the ‘GET’ principle of life to the ‘GIVE’.
And the GOOD NEWS iS…
A new world of PEACE, contentment, happiness, universal well-being and salvation for all is just around the corner – AFTER a misguided mankind first brings itself to the final grand-smash climax of world trouble and to the very brink of total destruction!” (The Worldwide News – March 16, 1981)
WHY The Spiritual Heritage?
"Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance." (II Peter 1:15)
A Unique Time
In a recent, rare and frank public speech during a visit to the United States, Sir Stephen Ludgrove, the UK's top national security advisor warned how mechanisms developed during the Cold War by and between western allies and the then Soviet Union to prevent either side from triggering a nuclear exchange, were no longer sufficient. He highlighted the concerns about China's nuclear weapon programme in particular.
"As this contest unfolds, we are entering a dangerous new age of proliferation, in which technological change is increasing the damage potential of many weapons, and those weapons are more widely available," the top British security official said....
..."We have clear concerns about China's nuclear modernisation programme that will increase both the number and types of nuclear weapon systems in its arsenal," he said...
...He was speaking ahead of a review next month of a United Nations treaty aimed at curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. (news.sky.com)
The world finds itself in a unique time in history. Since 1952 it has been possible to erase all life from off this planet, largely as the end product of two things: communications and science. These two ingredients were highlighted to the prophet Daniel as distinct characteristics of the end time:
- But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)
But as we can see from Sir Stephen Ludgrove above, we have additionally entered a time of unparalleled instability as well. Just this past week, Antonio Guterres, the secretary general to the United Nations warned that, "Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation". Yet ironically, communications and science have also given mankind truly spectacular positive repercussions as well, due to such things as the printing press, audio and visual recording, TV, radio, and latterly the internet, personal computers and smartphones. These positive elements have meant that even after death, the legacy of what a person stood for can live on in a way totally impossible in the past. Up until the advent of the printing press the words of someone such as the apostle Paul had to be painstakingly copied by hand and carefully distributed among those who wanted to read what he had to say. Today Paul's legacy lives on effortlessly – as does our own spiritual heritage, which has specifically been made available by Jesus Christ to His end-time church.
God's Apostle
Until relatively recently apart from painstakingly hand-written letters, any individual used by God would have to travel in person into a particular area to deliver his message to relatively small groups of individuals. We can see this quite clearly throughout the book of Acts where the apostle Paul in particular would travel into various regions establishing churches through his preaching. Many Bibles today have a map at the back entitled "The Journeys of St. Paul". These often extensive journeys were also true of the other apostles and are largely the reason we don't hear much if anything about them, as Christ sent them specifically to the tribes of Israel scattered throughout the Roman world (Matthew 10:6, 28:19). This required a number of men and was a very limited work compared to what is possible today.
Yet when you consider the multitude of prophecies which talk specifically to our end-time generation it is inconceivable that Jesus Christ, the Head of His church, would not use the myriad of tools available to distribute not only the warning message to Israel, but also His core teaching to those who the Father had called. And that is what we can clearly see both before and after the death of Mr. Armstrong. We have been left a truly astounding heritage of spiritual material that is for our own present time certainly – but with the added vision of what we will undoubtedly use into the far distant future. God's apostle not only spoke to us in our thousands through his technologically amplified voice when he was alive, but that same voice – with the same spiritual message specifically designed for Christ's end-time church – still speaks to us loud and clear today as well.
As was the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth ... so is Mr. Armstrong to us at this time:
- For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
- Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
- For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. (I Corinthians 4:15-17)
More than the Watchman
As brought out in a recent Pastor's Report on "The Ezekiel Watchman", one of the main jobs given to Mr. Armstrong was to give the "Ezekiel warning" to modern day Israel, and also preach the good news of the coming Kingdom of God to the world, as per Matthew 24. But his calling – his apostleship – did not end there. He was also the "Elijah to come" to restore all things, i.e the government of God and how that was to be administered. God also used him to prepare the Bride, so as a united body we could be used to take the Way of God out into eternity, eventually.
- Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
- Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
- And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:4-6)
We can see how the apostle Paul also strived for unity at his time within the churches he was pastoring. What he felt was needed – beside the fundamental truths – was a first century "spiritual heritage", which involved advice on coping with meat offered to idols, vegetarianism, life as a slave, staying single in the "present distress" and being not bound to an unbeliever in certain circumstances. None of which are mentioned per se in the Ten commandments, yet were regarded as part of the government over the church. So what IS God's government if it's not a specific tick list of Biblical do's and don'ts? Mr. Armstrong was very clear on what the government of God actually is:
His government, with His constitution and laws. God’s LAWS were – and are – a way of life; the way of love – outgoing concern for the welfare of others; the way of peace, harmony, helping, serving, sharing.
The government of God is a way of life. It is the way that develops righteous, holy, perfect character. It is the way that produces peace, harmony, happiness, joy, abundance. It is the way of love. It is love to God in implicit obedience, adulation, worship, reliance, and faith – knowing that God Himself is love! (PT - Aug 1978 why humans were put on earth)
The spiritual heritage gives the correct Godly administration of the principles that lie behind the government of God – even where there are no specific do's and don'ts found in Scripture to force obedience. Someone submissive to that government does not need to be backed into a corner, with no "wriggle room", before placing themselves under The Way of God. But, as did King David, will seek to RUN that way with ALL their heart (Psalm 119:32). So what specifics, if any, were WE given – upon whom the end of this age has come – our 20th and 21st centuries? And furthermore can they also be used in principle to teach others in the future? The correct understanding of makeup is one such example: Some years ago my impression was that as far as makeup was concerned, Mr. Armstrong was somewhat ambivalent, going backwards and forwards on the subject. But that was before we once again played his sermons, read his articles, and re-discovered what the end time apostle actually had to say on a number of issues that continue to divide the wider church ... such as: makeup, interracial marriage and birthdays.
On Makeup:
Now, apply God’s law to makeup. Why do women use makeup, to please and glorify God? No. God is the Master Designer as well as Creator. The world seems to think that God did not design women’s faces properly, and they try to do a better job of making up their faces. (They call it “makeup.” It’s make up the face.) A better job than God did. Does makeup please God? His Spirit certainly says to me that it is displeasing to Him! And I, like the apostle Paul – or, like the apostle Paul – I think that I have “the mind of Christ.” Do they do it to exalt God? No. Rather to exalt the SELF (to look pretty to themselves in the mirror, to look nice to the world and to look more like the world), which debases God.
It is pure and simple VANITY, no matter how you want to use human reason out of it. If you want to use it, walk out of the Church. Go out into the world and use it. Enjoy it now. You won’t enjoy it in the life to come, I promise you; because you won’t be there. So take your choice. *** "God knows it is, even now if some women are self-deceived and protest that it isn’t. It is done to glorify the SELF, not to glorify God!" Now, just think of that. What is the motive? It isn’t to glorify God. It’s to glorify the self. (sermon November 7, 1981 what God expects of us)
*** When Mr. Armstrong says "God knows it is," he is picking up the reading from the draft of the WORLDWIDE NEWS right after the words "IT IS PURE AND SIMPLE VANITY". (WWN 16 November 1981 "How Satan began injecting liberalism into God's church.")
On Inter-racial marriage:
"Race is only something that has nothing to do with your salvation. It has only to do with reproduction. Now that’s why when you integrate, you get in danger of interracial marriage. We have integration at Ambassador College here. And this college was going so far over into Satan’s way, that we had an interracial marriage here. I don’t know was it, one year ago or three years ago? Something like that. Now one man who was one of our leading ministers, endorsed it and was going to perform that wedding. I understand he backed out at the last minute. And the couple, of course it was a black man and a white woman, they went over to Las Vegas and got married over there.
God is not in favor of interracial marriage. God is not in favor of discrimination either. But marriage and the reproduction of children is another thing altogether. (sermon May 1982 interracial marriage)
On birthdays:
If anyone has questions about any of the above subjects, they can search on the GetBackOnTrack website and find out what Jesus Christ's teaching via Mr. Armstrong has been ... and continues to be.
Cutting Through the Chaos
I would think the vast majority of the "off-shoots" of WCG still hold to the weekly Sabbath, the 10 Commandments and the Holy Days. But that is obviously not enough or we would not have the hundreds of varieties of God's church. The government of God is not just from the top down, otherwise the Catholic church has got it right! But it's from God down, through Jesus Christ and then to the individuals He sends – His apostles, or the spiritual heritage that has been preserved from them. It most certainly is NOT for "private interpretation" by all and sundry, which we see all around us today! (II Peter 1:20)
- He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (Matthew 10:40)
- Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (John 13:20)
- He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. (Luke 10:16)
Apart from God revealing to Mr. Armstrong the "Mystery of the Ages" ... the actual meaning of human life on this earth and our "Incredible Human Potential" – mainly through the deep understanding of the Holy Days, which no other church on earth has ... we in the end-time church also have our own spiritual heritage, designed and fashioned for our particular time in God's 6000 year plan. It gives us "the Way" to correctly administer the principles we find within the Word of God, making the scriptures clear, applicable and relevant to us in this dramatically different world to that of the time of Christ. As brought out in Ephesians 2, the temple is to be "fitly framed together" – and this can only happen if we are all under the same government, led by the same Spirit – and not, as in the time of the judges, doing what we feel is right in OUR own sight ... or even as in Genesis 3, taking to ourselves the knowledge of what is good and evil.
Food in Due Season
Following the apostasy God's church has been shattered fulfilling the prophecy to that effect in Daniel 12, which is probably better translated as per the RSV : "And when the shattering of the holy people comes to an end, all these things will be accomplished" (Daniel 12:7) . As implied by the existence of this passage in Daniel, God and Christ were fully aware that this would take place and this is further backed up by the admonition found in Revelation 3 ... "I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown" (Revelation 3:11 NLT) It is further amplified in the first two verses of Revelation 11, which indicates that the temple to which Christ will return – His true church – must be measured prior to the two witnesses appearing. Even more weight can be added to this conclusion when we understand that a specific job given to the ministry at this critical time of history is to continue to give " food in due season" to the household of God right up to the time of the actual return of Christ. (Matthew 24:45) The present season being the shattering and the need to hold fast to the truth .
Clearly, the apostle sent to us was used by Christ to build the end-time church – largely through the articles he physically typed which we can still read today – and Mr. Armstrong was well aware of this calling:
In Zechariah 4:9, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it…” And as Zerubbabel’s hands did finish that second temple, so shall the one Christ uses in building the temple to which He shall come in His GLORY!
And the Church of God of the present day shall be ”… a building fitly framed together [and] groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). (GN December 4, 1978 7 proofs of the true church)
The Two Trees
At the beginning I asked the question "WHY the spiritual heritage?" And with the understanding that it is the way of life God lives – His lifestyle – it should be obvious that this lifestyle, and the character associated with it, is something that is going to last into eternity. In that light let us consider the following two scriptures:
- Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
- Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (I Corinthians 6:2,3)
- "If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities" (Luke 16:10 NLT)
And re. "things that pertain to this life", we've been given the basis on which to correctly judge such "small matters" as makeup, birthdays, inter-racial marriage, etc; Because if there is one segment of scripture that Mr. Armstrong would continually turn to in order to lay the foundation for the rest of his sermon or article it would be the incident of the Two Trees of Genesis 2 and 3. Two ways of life ... Give and Get. So simple – yet so profound. Today, these two diametrically opposing approaches to life could bring peace between Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, Myanmar, the Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the Congo etc etc, as they can be extrapolated into any circumstance, situation, age, culture or race. Looking ahead to those indiviuals that will rise in the Great White Throne Judgement ... regardless whether you were a pygmy in the Brazilian rainforest, an Eskimo in the frozen north, one of the sons of Anak – the giants that scared the spies witless – or even Attila the Hun/Ivan the Terrible/Stalin or Hitler ... these two opposing ways of life can be easily understood.
In a similar way, when the time comes to judge an angelic being like the one Ezekiel describes below, the chances are you are not going to be able to use a tick/check list you put together in this life, but what you can bring to the fore – and is relevant for ALL created beings – is the lesson of the Two Trees!
- As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber.
- From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human,
- except that each had four faces and four wings.
- Their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves like those of a calf and shone like burnished bronze.
- Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings.
- The wings of each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
- Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back. (Ezekiel 1:4-10 NLT)
The Hands of Zerubbabel
God's people are presently scattered throughout multiple organisations, large and small. None of us can say we have got it 100% right and we are the one and only true church! But we should be able to see that the preparation of the spiritual Temple to which Christ is to return was primarily given into the hands of His end-time apostle – sent as His messenger. And that task is now still being accomplished via the spiritual heritage left to us through that messenger ... so that before long, there can indeed be a total unity within the one Body, the one Temple, the one Church, and the one Bride, for we are further told that these same hands – and the words they typed – will also be instrumental in finishing it:
- The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
- For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. (Zechariah 4:9-10)
And rather than the world being in fear of nuclear annihilation as it is now – with the "ambassadors of peace" weeping bitterly (Isaiah 33:7) – when the government of God is finally restored to this earth, being taught by those of us currently being trained in its spiritual administration during this human life (II Corinthians 3:6) then all humanity will finally enjoy the peace and security God eventually wants for His entire creation – with joy and happiness without end, throughout eternity:
- For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
- Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6,7)
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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