It is that time of year when the Churches of God focuses upon Passover. It is the one time of year that the focus is supposed to be entirely on the guy they call Christ or Jesus if they want to look cool to their members. The rest of the year, not so much.
They look forward to the ritual symbolic killing of Jesus once again. Microphones will be brought forward so that when the matzo wafers are broken the sound of the breaking of the bread is amplified so that members sitting in the congregation are filled with guilt and remorse for their inability to remain sinless since the previous Passover.
Due to the previous sins in their lives since the last Passover, they have to kill Jesus all over again on the night of the COG version of the Passover. The problem is, as soon as they leave that gym or Masonic Lodge, Jesus seems to remain there for the rest of the year.
The meaning of his life, the significance of the resurrection, which is way more mysterious and meaningful than the crucifixion, barely gets a peep the rest of the year. COG leaders shy away from resurrection stories because they don't want to seem too Protestant and Easterish. Justification is rarely discussed as it is more important to focus on following rules than being justified. Grace and unmerited pardon are not looked upon too freely either. In fact, as the year progresses, the church will, as usual, be more graceless than ever. The rules and new rules will be enforced as Jesus Christ gets shoved in the corner again where he will have to wait till Passover next year.
Prepare for the Spring Holy Days: In just a few weeks, we will be observing the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. These annual Festivals are a memorial of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins and the sins of the world. They are also a reminder that we need to recognize and eliminate sin and inappropriate thoughts and actions from our lives so we can become more like our Father and elder brother Jesus Christ. For the Passover to be meaningful and profitable—and not just routine—we need to do our part to prepare for this important step in God’s Plan of Salvation. To put the Passover in proper perspective, it will be helpful to review the gospel accounts of the events that led up to the Passover, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. Placing our own period of self-examination within this biblical context can help us appreciate the tremendous significance of Jesus’ sacrifice. The Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread provide us with an annual opportunity to examine every aspect of our lives in the light of God’s instructions found in the Scriptures. Spending time every day in prayerful study and reflection, as we go through this Holy Day period, will help us grow to be more like our Savior Jesus Christ.
Have a profitable Sabbath, Douglas S. Winnail
16 comments:
I’ve never understood how Armstrongists could sanction holding services in Masonic temples. I’d rather have services in a Christian cathedral (Protestant or Catholic) than a Masonic lodge! Did the apostles and early Church hold services in pagan temples?! I think not!
Owning buildings and getting involved in the community goes against the Armstrongist creed which is to sell a mass market product through infomercials meant to scare the viewer into sending in 10% of their income.
Shout out to all the co-workers out there!
You’re in the gun lap! Things really could end in the next 5-15 years. Your heart is in the work if you dig deep and give more. God loves a cheerful giver. Two trees give and get.
What will a man give in exchange for his soul? Three offerings surely is enough. Oh and the tithe of the tithe silly me I forgot how much more we must give.
From 1984
“He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself."
"He loved Big Brother."
Doug Winnail's warped Passover concepts are due to LCG's insistence on preaching the shadows that foreshadowed Jesus, while ignoring the reality that is Jesus: Colossians 2:16-17 – and – Hebrews 10:1.
Doug Winnail and LCG don't preach a new way of living in a New Covenant based on Jesus. They don’t want you to have confidence in the blood of Jesus. Winnail and LCG want you to have a bothered conscience desperately seeking to make your self clean, rather than Jesus making you clean.
Hebrews 10:19-22
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let’s approach God with a [h]sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
People of the LCG need to know more about the New Covenant than Winnail; come out of the shadows and embrace Jesus as the Savior who does it all.
"Did the apostles and early Church hold services in pagan temples?! I think not!"
Wouldn't have mattered if they did as what many pagan religions of the time and previously, taught, said or believed would have sounded very familiar.
"The meaning of his life, the significance of the resurrection, which is way more mysterious and meaningful than the crucifixion, barely gets a peep the rest of the year."
nice try at perverting the practices of The Church....
the resurrection was the only sign to be given that He was who He claimed to be....His death is what paid the penalty for our sins, and He said to commemorate it each year at the passover...
we reaffirm our covenant with Him and refresh our baptism by the washing of our feet, the part that comes in contact with the world....
go ahead with your easter if you wish...one cannot reaffirm a covenant one has not yet made.
Like almost all things in this world, the Splinterist view of Jesus is both good and bad. I think the Splinterists view Jesus as what they understand to be a Jew. They see him as being immersed in the OT just as they are. Jesus brought this idea of the gospel which only tweaked the OT a little - making it more attentive to prophecy and updating the sacrifices - but otherwise he brought nothing really earth shaking. All the weather comes out of the OT. It makes you understand why the Circumcision Party, against which Paul passionately railed, may have thought that Jesus did not bring a revolution but merely an addendum. He brought no grace, just a bigger law. Solely my opinion but I believe this view leads to a devaluation of Jesus within Splinterdom.
On the other hand, I believe the Christian movement has lost the idea that Jesus is a Jew. They don't so much see him as founded on the OT. I think they have, in some cases, fallen victim to a kind of Neo-Marcionism. They are just as aloof from the OT as the Splinterists are from Jesus. (In case someone is intrigued by this and wants me to explain it all in 25 words or less, just instead listen to https://peteenns.com/interview-with-paula-fredriksen-when-christians-were-jews/ if you can deal with the fact that the scholar here is a woman.)
Either view makes it difficult to understand who Jesus is. I tend to err on the side of Neo-Marcionism. Mostly as a reaction against my apocalyptic Millerite past. But I also have some lingering misapprehended inclinations towards the OT almost at an unconscious level. No free lunch.
******* Click on my icon for Disclaimer
HWA never transitioned successfully from the "Popeil Veg O Matic" business model to one of a customer service model.
It used an "infomercial" selling style, with mass market advertising on radio/tv/magazines. The actual end product fruit, the "membership" were basically viewed as "human fuel" to keep funding more media, and to have the centerpiece Pasadena Crown Castle for the elite.
As far as "servicing those who you sold" , or "aftermarket service" it was very poor, and viewed as a cost, not a benefit to the organization. Thus, meeting in crappy beer halls, masonic lodges, or rented back rooms somewhere.
With a mantra of this only lasting "5 to 10 years" , the development of local facilities, with local empowerment and accountability, never developed. Add on top of this that HWA was very jealous of his empire, and did not want local groups to feel any type of autonomy or ability to stand alone. You end up with what the COGs are today, a mish mash of wandering , temporal congregations, with no local presence or effectiveness.
I cannot think of any denomination that centralizes all of its money collection, and ministerial credential, to one person and location. A church building with a nice signage will act as its own form of advertising and attraction in a community. A congregation should have a locally elected board, who in turn , chooses the pastor and holds him accountable. Monies collected should stay local, (with perhaps a token sent in to a national organization for group insurance, or other common purposes).
This also allows for failure, and the removal of bad ministers, and for feedback. HWA did not EVER want to have accountability, input, or any kind of restraints. Thus the business model that he created, which centered on him and his whims.
Flurry, Pack , and others, center their religion on themselves, instead of having ANY faith that their own brethren are led by the Holy Spirit , and are of the Body of Jesus Christ.
go ahead with your easter if you wish..
Yes, Jesus offered His resurrection because there was a demand for "a sign" not as a redemptive act.
Even the iffy history of the church by Eusebius makes the point that Passover put on Sunday to accommodate the syncretic acceptance of the Lenten season. In Greek, Italian, Spanish, etc, the word used for the Sunday celebration is still the word Passover or some variant of it. For the Catholic Church, each Sunday mass is partly a re-enactment of Passover, not the resurrection.
go ahead with your easter if you wish..
Yes, Jesus offered His resurrection because there was a demand for "a sign" not as a redemptive act.
Even the iffy history of the church by Eusebius makes the point that Passover put on Sunday to accommodate the syncretic acceptance of the Lenten season. In Greek, Italian, Spanish, etc, the word used for the Sunday celebration is still the word Passover or some variant of it. For the Catholic Church, each Sunday mass is partly a re-enactment of Passover, not the resurrection.
It's sad and frustrating that Jim Franks of COGWA states:
"While we reject the use of John 3:16 as an excuse for doing away with God's Law and lowering the bar for God's expectation of mankind,we do fully embrace the understanding that 'God so loved the World'."
I'm amazed that people believe not eating pork and not working on part of the weekend (Saturday) or on several additional days a year...results in their not lowering the bar for God's expectations as done by the rest of Christianity. I don't think God views those that willingly became martyrs or have truly sacrificed and given themselves to spreading the gospel as "lowering the bar."
None of these COGWa ministers seem to understand that. They all live in nice homes and have a steady income with a flexible schedule that allows for a lot of extra activities.
They probably shake their heads at such a comment thinking "this person just does not get it because we also understand 'the plan of God.'" I would say, "whether you do or DON'T, how does that change your life differently than other Christians?"
Is knowledge of the "holy day plan" a requirement to understanding 1)Jesus died for your sins, 2) that we should be unleavened/humble, 3) That God will give us the Holy Spirit, 4) that Christ will come again and be met by the saints, 5) they miss the meaning of Atonement so I won't even bring it up here, 6) that there will be a future Kingdom, 7) that there will be a white throne judgment?
Many Christians believe all these things without the COGs and without tying them to the holy days. Special knowledge and physical actions are used by the COGs to differentiate them from those silly low standard people that simply believe:
"16 For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."
I have been around for a long time, and what I see as the problem is that the cogs continue to attempt to observe the OT Passover. It appears they would love to observe that, but they/we can't. Even the Jews cannot observe the OT Passover, so they come up with a substitute. The cogs also have substituted the 'emblems' being changed but the OT Passover is still in place. The scripture about NOT putting new wine into old wineskins is pretty much ignored. In my opinion and observance, that is what is going on here. The old served it's purpose and was indeed holy to God. There is something new now, that even the prophets of old could not see what was coming exactly, but realized there was something awesome coming.
There were detailed instructions in the OT, but very little instructions after the death and resurrection of Jesus. About all that can be found as instruction is "as oft as you do this". Doesn't specify what day, or one day, although we have 'traditionally' observed it on the evening beginning the 14th Nothing wrong with that one time or the timing, IMO. But claiming this fulfills in some way the OT is not properly 'discerning the Lord's Body'. The scripture states that Jesus is first in ALL things. The point to be made and understood is the tremendous sacrifice given in a demonstration of love for God's creation.
Ac 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. (NIV).
The NIV has Priscilla first, as has the AV in 18:18.
It maybe helpful when hearing and reading Paula Fredriksen to know that she is a convert to Judaism, which appears to color somewhat her perspective, if this book review has any merit:
thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/christians-jews/
My favourite woman commentator is the late Joyce Baldwin; a sample:
"Bible prophecy regularly exhibits this characteristic of telescoping the future, so that the more distant event appears to merge with the nearer so as to become indistinguishable from it. The best known passage in which this telescoping features is the discourse of Jesus in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, where He speaks both of the fall of Jerusalem and of the end of the age. Only after the former event had taken place did it become possible to distinguish which passages applied to the events of AD 70, and which were predictions of the more distant future. The common factors in judgment, whenever it takes place, and the similarity between the methods of one tyrant and another, account for the apparent homogeneity of the chapter. 'It seems...that neither an exclusively historical nor an exclusively eschatological interpretation is satisfactory, and that we may allow for a double reference, for a mingling of historical and eschatological.' The historical is still future at the time of writing, but relates to a recognizable situation identified when the event takes pace. Other parts of the discourse look to the second coming and the end of the age" (Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel, TOTC, p.202).
["Reicke ("Synoptic Prophecies") has shown the language in the Olivet Discourse prophesying the Fall of Jerusalem to be largely OT categories. Not only is it general, it does not describe any detail peculiar to the known history of the Jewish War (A.D. 66-73). Reicke goes so far as to conclude that the Olivet Discourse as found in any of the Synoptics could not have been composed after A.D. 70..." (D. A. Carson, Matthew, EBC, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), Vol.8, p.489)].
Kalinda Rose Stevenson, from a single book perspective is my favourite female author, the title of her book - a somewhat rare successful PhD transition to - reads: “The Vision of Transformation - The Territorial Rhetoric of Ezekiel 40-48”. A sample:
"The House of YHWH is not only the source of holiness, it is also the local point for impurity [that is, sin and ritual impurity]. Since impurity is dynamic and contagious, any impurity in society or cosmos is attracted to this holy place... societal and cosmic well-being needs more than the presence of YHWH. There is also need for a means of cleansing the society and cosmos from the effects of impurity" (Kalinda Rose Stevenson, The Vision of Transformation, pp.40-41).
Eze 45:17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths—at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel. (NIV).
(My note: Christ’s sacrifice does not eliminate the ‘dynamic” nature of sin and ritual impurity, hence animal blood will be required to make atonement so that Jesus Christ can have a dwelling presence in the Millennial Temple - “No Purification Offering - No Christ - No Covenant”).
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law [torah] in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;
Eze 43:12a This is the law [torah] of the house;
(Continued next post)
"Ezekiel's program is a revision - and up-dating and a rectification - of selected topics of existent priestly legislation and practice very similar to, if not identical with, that of the Pentateuch..." (Moshe Greenberg, "The Design and Themes of Ezekiel's Program of Restoration," p.235).
(Sabbath-keeping is required in the New Covenant).
In regard to the Ezekielian Torah for God’s New Covenant with the House of Israel and house of Judah, there is a change in the nature of the Passover zebah:
The New Passover - the Day
Eze 45:21a In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover.... (AV).
"The opening lines of Ezekiel's Passover ordinance (v. 21) resemble the Mosaic prescriptions... In vv. 22-24, however, the form of the ordinance adheres more closely to custom than to statutory law. Several customary features may be noted.
"First, the nasi' is to play a leading role. Whereas Exod. 12-13 presents the original Passover as a family affair, led by the head of the household, Ezekiel charges the national head of state with responsibility for the celebration. The requirement that he provide the sacrificial animals codifies what seems to have been the custom for some time.
"As royal patron of the Passover, Hezekiah had initiated the celebration, resolved problems of timing, issued the decree for national participation and spiritual renewal, interceded on behalf of the people, encouraged the Levities and provided the animals (2 Chr. 30). Cf. Josiah's similar role decades later...
"Third, the focus of the celebration has changed. On the day of the Passover, the prince is to provide for himself and the people a bull for a purification offering (hatta't).This shift parallels the change in the nature of the sacrificial victims. Whereas the function of the original Passover was apotropaic, to ward off Yahweh's lethal actions, and subsequent celebrations provided annual reminders of the original event, in the Ezekielian ordinance the memorial purposes of the Passover are overshadowed by the purgative concern. Thus, while the Passover, the most fundamental of all Israelite celebrations, is retained in Ezekiel's new religions order, its nature and significance has been changed...
"Although Ezekiel retains the label of the ancient rite of Passover, his ordinance calls for a dramatic transformation of the festival. Like the original Passover (Exod. 12-13), Ezekiel's celebration has inaugural significance. Through this celebration the nation of Israel becomes the people of God. Whereas the function of the original Passover sacrifice was apotropaic (to ward off Yahweh), however, Ezekiel's is purgative. Like the rest of this prophet's Torah, the cult of the new order is preoccupied with holiness: maintaining the sanctity of the temple (v.20) and of the worshippers (v.22). Before the rituals can be performed, viz., before the new spiritual relationship between Yahweh and his people can be celebrated, the defilement of the building and the people must be purged. Through the Passover celebration, the temple complex becomes sacred space and the Israelites become a holy people. In this newly constituted theocracy the role of the nasi' is pivotal. As the patron and guardian of the cult, he bears the responsibility for the sanctification of the temple and the nation..." (Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28, NICOT, p.664-66).
"Ezekiel's program is a revision - and up-dating and a rectification - of selected topics of existent priestly legislation and practice very similar to, if not identical with, that of the Pentateuch..." (Moshe Greenberg, "The Design and Themes of Ezekiel's Program of Restoration," p.235).
(Sabbath-keeping is required in the New Covenant).
In regard to the Ezekielian Torah for God’s New Covenant with the House of Israel and house of Judah, there is a change in the nature of the Passover zebah:
The New Passover - the Day
Eze 45:21a In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover.... (AV).
"The opening lines of Ezekiel's Passover ordinance (v. 21) resemble the Mosaic prescriptions... In vv. 22-24, however, the form of the ordinance adheres more closely to custom than to statutory law. Several customary features may be noted.
"First, the nasi' is to play a leading role. Whereas Exod. 12-13 presents the original Passover as a family affair, led by the head of the household, Ezekiel charges the national head of state with responsibility for the celebration. The requirement that he provide the sacrificial animals codifies what seems to have been the custom for some time.
"As royal patron of the Passover, Hezekiah had initiated the celebration, resolved problems of timing, issued the decree for national participation and spiritual renewal, interceded on behalf of the people, encouraged the Levities and provided the animals (2 Chr. 30). Cf. Josiah's similar role decades later...
"Third, the focus of the celebration has changed. On the day of the Passover, the prince is to provide for himself and the people a bull for a purification offering (hatta't).This shift parallels the change in the nature of the sacrificial victims. Whereas the function of the original Passover was apotropaic, to ward off Yahweh's lethal actions, and subsequent celebrations provided annual reminders of the original event, in the Ezekielian ordinance the memorial purposes of the Passover are overshadowed by the purgative concern. Thus, while the Passover, the most fundamental of all Israelite celebrations, is retained in Ezekiel's new religions order, its nature and significance has been changed...
"Although Ezekiel retains the label of the ancient rite of Passover, his ordinance calls for a dramatic transformation of the festival. Like the original Passover (Exod. 12-13), Ezekiel's celebration has inaugural significance. Through this celebration the nation of Israel becomes the people of God. Whereas the function of the original Passover sacrifice was apotropaic (to ward off Yahweh), however, Ezekiel's is purgative. Like the rest of this prophet's Torah, the cult of the new order is preoccupied with holiness: maintaining the sanctity of the temple (v.20) and of the worshippers (v.22). Before the rituals can be performed, viz., before the new spiritual relationship between Yahweh and his people can be celebrated, the defilement of the building and the people must be purged. Through the Passover celebration, the temple complex becomes sacred space and the Israelites become a holy people. In this newly constituted theocracy the role of the nasi' is pivotal. As the patron and guardian of the cult, he bears the responsibility for the sanctification of the temple and the nation..." (Daniel I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel Chapters 25-28, NICOT, p.664-66).
Interestingly the WCG published a booklet, "The Truth About Masonry" back in 1961 by Jack Elliott. Of course it was "discontinued" soon after seeing a lot of WCG congregations had to assemble somewhere and the only venue they could afford was Masonic halls. So they couldn't very well criticize Freemasonry now could they?
Interestingly the WCG published a booklet, "The Truth About Masonry" back in 1961 by Jack Elliott. Of course it was "discontinued" soon after seeing a lot of WCG congregations had to assemble somewhere and the only venue they could afford was Masonic halls.
I thought the story was that Stanley Rader, who had been a Freemason, pointed out to HWA some glaring errors in the booklet, which wasn't based on Elliott's knowledge but on some shoddy research from anti-Masonic sources, and that the errors were so severe that the booklet couldn't be fixed and Elliott fell out of favor with HWA.
Post a Comment