In the never ending list of excuses that COG members come up with in order to legitimize HWA, King adds his point of view.
What we must remember is the fact that God did not call Mr. H.W.Armstrong to be a “prophet”, God called Mr. H.W.Armstrong to be an APOSTLE. It is true that Mr. H.W.Armstrong longed for the appearing of his savior, Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul during the New Testament era felt that he might see the return of Christ Jesus in his day. Apostle Paul wrote in terms of disciples “longing for His appearing”. This is something that all true Christians do. So we must understand that what Mr. H.W.Armstrong spoke about regarding these types of issues should more appropriately be called “predictions” and NOT prophecies. Speculation is not a sin.As many of you know I too believe in the soon coming of our Lord and Savior but I do not believe in date setting nor did Mr. H.W.Armstrong. I also make “predictions” based on Biblical prophecies and current world events. I also know that God has given me the gift a “spiritual discernment”. Many of my predictions have come true. I am not a prophet nor do I claim to be.
In the typical style of all Church of God failed prophets, when the event does not happen it has to be "spiritualized." So when HWA's 1971, 72, 75, prophecies did not happen as predicted, they had to be made into spiritual events. Instead of widespread famine in the U.S., there was a famine of the word. Only in Armstrongism can its god be such a weak impotent thing that it continually looses its message and truth.
The tribulation that HWA constantly railed on and on about never happened in 1972/75 but was spiritualized into a mini-tribulation of the "work."
Yes, even apostles can make mistakes. When we look at some of the great men and women of the Bible we find that they made mistakes. It has been stated; “Great men tend to have great sins”. Look at Solomon and King David…wow! So we should not be surprised that the latter day apostle made some mistakes. God always allows this so that we do not fall into the “worship of men”.
There's that "testy" god again playing his cosmic joke upon the COG. No matter what you do you will never be right. It really doesn't matter what the apostle or prophet said or did, it was all a test to see how you would react. Your leader can lie though his teeth, but it's your fault that you caught him lying. God was testing you to see how you submit to authority. Since the liar is over you, you must remain under his authority event though you know he is wrong. That "testy" god will take care of him in the end.
Instead of the "easy" button, is that the "easy way out" button?
ReplyDeleteAccording to that, there would never be any false prophecy or false prophets, just false predictions and speculations.
ReplyDeleteWell, it is those false predictions that make a false prophet out of the man making them. That's what a false prophet is; a person who makes false predictions and speaks presumptuously (so says Deuteronomy, not Corky).
"Spiritual discernment?"
ReplyDeleteStop it, Ewwwww, stop it. My sides hurt.
It probably wouldn't be the huge issue that it is if HWA had not spoken so authoritatively regarding prophecy. End time prophecy was indeed his marketing hook, the major scare that caused such explosive growth to the Radio Church of God during the 1950s and 1960s. And, yes, in their backpedaling, they cannot erase the three equations by which they proved their dates. Or signing off on their "interpretations of the news" in Jesus' name.
ReplyDeleteWe grew up attending a Protestant church, and I know for a fact that in those days, most churchgoers were not at all well-grounded in the Bible. That didn't happen until the Jesus movement in the 1970s when such organizations as Calvary began teaching people to be able to substantiate their faith through scripture. So, it became very easy for someone like a Herbert W. Armstrong to systematically quote scripture, and to have scripturally ignorant Christians fall right into his clutches. It was all over from that point on, because he would take over their very lives! He taught against a second opinion, so people got trapped.
Now, certain ACOG successors are amplifying it all, adding more unbearable weight to already horrible unChristian doctrines. What is really needed today is "frog" evangelism, because the members of certain groups are most definitely cooking themselves, and missing out on some pretty awesome blessings that God could give them if only they were open to better understanding.
BB
These liars who claim that Herbert Armstrong could not be a false prophet because he was not a prophet -- because he claimed he was NOT a prophet -- (and this includes Richard Rittenbaugh as quoted in "Fragmentation") are dissimulating, attempting to cover up the fact that their dead false prophet often wrote his false prophecies signed "in Jesus' Name", thus adding the authority to his fabrications all designed to bring in more people to the (cough, cough) Radio Church of God for money and his great swelling narcissistic ego.
ReplyDeleteYou liars who keep giving this warlock a free pass need to take another look at the incredibly embarrassing 1975 in Prophecy.
Here's a challenge: Read from it exactly as you give your sermons. Go on. Go ahead. You read it just as it is to your congregation. See how comfortable it is.
For heaven's sake, it will be a lot more comfortable than burning up in the Lake of Fire as you are rejected from God's Kingdom -- assuming, of course, there is one.
That's rather problematic, isn't it?
You, being a liar, making up stuff to sell your own version of religion which can have nothing but a bad ending for you and your followers.
God would not be pleased with you at all and would destroy you for your vain empty words dishonoring His Name and taking it in vain.
Have you no fear?
HWA is not, cannot, and would never be an Apostle. To qualify to be an Apostle, he must be alive during the lifetime of Jesus and must have seen Him.
ReplyDeleteI concur with the first commenter.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed an "easy way out" button, used by a variety of Christians who know they have no reality-based leg to stand on, yet want to make their propaganda more palatable to the religiously less educated population.
As an example, I came across a propaganda video by the Duggar kids, (click here to watch it), while a refutation of the propaganda and lies can be seen here.