By David Ben-Ariel
I have proven to myself, most prayerfully, that the PhiladelphiaChurch of God is the most unique of all the groups who'vedistanced themselves from the Worldwide Church of God'sdoctrinal changes. Only
Of course, there are those who CLAIM to follow the traditionswe've been schooled in, yet they've refused to humble themselvesand submit to the fact that JESUS CHRIST had already moved HISLAMPSTAND by the time they finally saw the light! All that wasnecessary for them to do was to go where Christ had alreadygone, and support HIS WORK of knocking the errors in theWorldwide Church of God, while holding on for dear life to God'struth! We either GET A GRIP - or we lose it! (Rev. 3:11).
Instead of working with Christ, some have chosen to do their ownthing, contributing to the Church's state of confusion, ratherthan helping to RESTORE ORDER (I Cor. 14:33). Why duplicateefforts, wasting precious time and money? Why not join rankswith the PCG so we can present a UNITED FRONT to an increasinglydivided world? This would enable us to effectively share withothers the message GOD would have them to hear (John 12:49). Weought to come together, in Christ, especially since we've allbeen taught repeatedly: "There is only one Church. Not a parentchurch and many little daughter churches that have split off indisagreement. Divisions splintering off are NOT STILL IN THECHURCH" (
Whether we like it or not, God, in His infinite wisdom, choseGerald Flurry to REVEAL to God's Church what was going on - andthereby allow us to show our true colors by how we responded toMalachi's Message! (That doesn't mean Mr. Flurry is infallibleor that he doesn't need to continually apply the principles ofMalachi's Message to himself and organization, as we all do asexplained in my article "Worldwide All Over Again?").
Restored to Zion!
If I'm so convinced that Christ is ONLY with the PCG, and thatthe others are self-willed, for the most part, resisting God'slead, why don't I attend their services? (Matt. 7:21; I Sam.15:23). And how can I believe that God is actively workingthrough me in the Middle East? Because I've unjustly beendisfellowshipped (II Thess. 3:2), yet I remain loyal to God'struth they teach!
It's BEWILDERING to see an organization that apparently startedout so good and strong and righteous degenerate into apersonality CULT that rules through intimidation and fear andborders emperor worship! Yet they have more truth in manyregards than the others, just like Herbert Armstrong saw Sardis(Church of God, 7th Day) did however impotent! Strange but true!Perhaps it's like Saul was still the anointed until he waspunished by death for his sins and then David reigned.....
When Gerald Flurry wasn't anything in his own sight or mind Godused him and now, unfortunately, it appears to have gone to hishead, all the new revelation [simply a deeper understanding ofsome things], and he forgets that all truth is from and belongsto GOD and that God can use a donkey to deliver it! (I Cor.4:7). Mr. Flurry has become so swollen in his own imaginationthat he fails to see that he is the leader of LAODICEA! He knowswhat warning God is giving the Laodiceans, of which he is chief!He had better heed his own words!
Under Herbert W. Armstrong Pasadena, California was theheadquarters of the Philadelphia era of God's Church; nowEdmond, Oklahoma is the headquarters of the Laodicean era, andnext in God's plan is the restoration of His headquarters toJerusalem!
God knows my ATTITUDE AND ACTIONS still support the work God'sgiven them to do, but I truly believe what Mr. Flurry teaches:their work's almost finished! It'll just slightly overlap thebeginning of GOD'S FINAL WORK as outlined in my book,
I've come to better understand that God has already begun theTRANSITIONAL PROCESS of RESTORING His Menorah - His Lampstand toJERUSALEM! (I Kgs. 11:36; Amos 9:11). As prophesied, a NATIONALMESSENGER would be on active duty in Jerusalem, preparing theway for Messiah's imminent return! (Zech. 12:8). God reveals HEwould send this outspoken individual to deliver a BLISTERINGMESSAGE and a SCORCHING CONDEMNATION to the NATIONS - justbefore NUCLEAR FIRE AND BRIMSTONE RAINS DOWN upon those who'verejected GOD'S ULTIMATUM! (Isa. 41:27; 30:27; Micah 3:8).
It's from Jerusalem that we must warn another HOLOCAUST iscoming! That's the sensitive location where God will spark aNATIONAL DEBATE and ignite an INTERNATIONAL CONTROVERSY! (Micah6:1-2). It'll shock the Jews and anger the Germans! It'll also,undoubtedly, offend many holocaust survivors who now live inIsrael, but they ought to understand and lend their voices ofexperience to ours, having personally witnesses GERMANY'S BRUTEFORCE, to help our efforts to ensure "Never Again!"
Regardless, we can expect a maelstrom of protest and a bitterbacklash - but such persecution will only fan the flames of thisBURNING ISSUE! (Isa. 54:15-16). Both Germany and Israel (fortheir own reasons), will want to immediately stop such"incitement" - calling it fear-mongering and racist - butthey'll fail and God's Word will prevail! (Jer. 1:19).
God MUST grant "political immunity" to His
Mr. Armstrong's Experiences
In the words of Mr. Armstrong, referring to his dealings withcertain Sardis ministers, "I Shall Not Hide the FACTS!"(Autobiography of HWA, Vol. 1, pg. 366). However, lest I bemisunderstood, I'd been most hesitant to say or write anythingabout my experiences with certain professing Philadelphianministers, but I feel compelled by GOD to state the truth,without fearing men's reactions, but trusting in God's PURPOSE!
Mr. Armstrong relates how he had presented a "dual test" to theChurch of God, Seventh Day, to help him determine whether or notit truly was the Church of God. His first test involved mailingan "exposition of 16 TYPEWRITTEN PAGES proving clearly, plainly,and beyond contradiction that a certain minor point ofdoctrine... was in error... to see whether their leaders wouldconfess error and change." Their head man admitted what Mr.Armstrong pointed out was true, but feared it might upset manyof the members and even threaten to divide the Church!"Naturally, this shook my confidence considerably."(Autobiography of HWA, Vol. I, pgs. 360-361, emphasis mine).
I, too, detected "a certain minor point of doctrine" taught byMr. Leap (on the 144,000), was in error. I didn't want to rockthe boat, and it wasn't something I'd lose sleep over, so Iwanted to just ignore or overlook the matter, but God wouldn'tlet me! Amazingly, a dear friend asked me about the 144,000 outof the blue, and then somehow it came up again with someoneelse; so God succeeded in getting my attention to write Mr. Leapabout it. I sent him my PAGE AND 1/2 LETTER, reproduced here -and didn't hear anything.
Finally, around my third try (I don't give up easily!), Mr. Leapdiscussed it with me on the phone. When I mentioned that theScriptures clearly state that once you've broken your "seal"you've lost your salvation, and to claim we can somehow be"resealed" amounts to crucifying Christ twice, Mr. Leapstammered around, unable to justify his position, but remaineddetermined to stick with it - to my sorrow. Like Mr. Armstrong'sexperience, "Naturally, this shook my confidence considerably."
Church Rejects New Truth
God used an evangelist in Florida to challenge Mr. Armstrong. Hehad written Mr. Armstrong and told him he was ignorant if hedidn't know where we are mentioned in the Bible. After gleaningthrough the surprising amount of information on the subject inthe library, Mr. Armstrong PROVED that the so-called "Lost 10Tribes" are, in fact, the American, British and NorthwestEuropean peoples. He then sent the "lengthy manuscript of closeto 300 TYPED PAGES" that he had written to support this truth tothe editor and leader of the Church. "Did this Church accept andproclaim this vital new truth... But this Church refused then toaccept it or preach it or publish it though their leader franklyconfessed it was TRUTH and a revelation from GOD! Yet here wasthe Church which appeared to have more truth, and less errorthan any other... Truly this was bewildering!" (Pg. 362).
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