The COG and the Feast of Tabernacles: More Inconsistencies

 

For a church that claims to have restored the one true faith that the original disciples taught, you would never know that in 2024. Armstrongism picks and chooses what it deems to be right.

The Holy Days of the Church of God used to be the one defining factor of the church. They no longer are.

These are some COG groups that are keeping the Feast in September:

Then we have the other Church of God Groups keeping the Feast in October:

The Restored Church of God and the Philadelphia Church of God have restricted sites that only allow their members. Others, like UCG, LCG, and COGWA, let others attend from other COG's but do not encourage it. Some even allow the public to attend. The Messianic COG groups seem to have the liveliest Feast sites.

Consistency and unity are not part of Armstrongism. 

New Moons and Armstrongism: Keep Them Or Not?

United Church of God has an article about the church calendar and moons. It is always fun to watch various COG groups claim new moons are not to be kept by Christians today and yet they base all of their calculations for their 'festivals' off the timing of those new moons. Then, on the other hand, to see those COG groups that demand new moons be kept.

Divinely Appointed Times and the Next Full Moon 

Greetings everyone, 

 

This past full moon of Sept. 17 was called the Harvest Moon, named this way because this moon graces the skies during the harvest season each year. As we observed the lunar cycle, we are reminded the next full moon will signal the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles. 

 

This is very appropriate, as God says in Leviticus 23:39 regarding the Feast of Tabernacles: “Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land [your harvest], you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.” 

 

The Holy Days center around and teach us about God’s plan for all mankind and the centrality of Jesus Christ’s role in every step toward its completion. And the cycles of the moon help us determine the time of God’s festivals. Yet for most of traditional Christianity, these biblical feasts are thought to have been kept only by the Jews and are considered meaningless for Christians.

Frank Nelte has a long detailed article about the fallacies of Herbert Armstrong and his understanding of new moons, fixed dates, the start of the church year in the spring, and the continuity of the Jewish calendar.

He states this in one section:

What credibility can we extend to religious leaders who felt they had the liberty "to construe biblical texts at their pleasure"? They were clearly hypocrites in the way they dealt with the Scriptures; yet they supposedly dealt with something not even recorded in the Bible (their calendar) with the utmost integrity? 

 

Where do the supporters of the present Jewish calendar find the faith to place such confidence in the integrity of religious leaders to faithfully preserve something that had supposedly been handed down from Old Testament times (the secret rules of the calendar), when it is freely admitted that those same leaders interpreted all of the Scriptures to suit their own ends? These are the very leaders in whose steps Hillel II followed almost 300 years later. It didn't bother Hillel II one bit that he placed the Last Great Day a full week before the end of summer; he too was, after all, simply "construing biblical texts at his pleasure" 

 

Next, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's claim that the present Jewish calendar has come down intact without change since 100 AD, that this is proved by history, IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!
Where did he get his facts from? What are his historical sources? Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong makes a point in this letter that "Brother Dodd" wasn't very clear about his source material for wanting to change the date of the Passover. Yet Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong is equally unclear about where history supposedly proves that the present Jewish calendar has been without change since 100 AD. THE JEWS THEMSELVES don't claim that their present calendar goes back to 100 AD. The starting date of the present Jewish calendar proves beyond any doubts that the very earliest the present Jewish calendar could have come into existence is about 150 AD ... after the destruction of Jerusalem in the 130's AD. An Examination of Mr. Armstrong's 1940 Good News Letter About 'The Calendar'

Nelte goes into detail about how the Jewish calendar actually "lost" 200 years from its calculations and yet Armstrong claims they preserved the true calendar.

Of course, there is the perpetual bogeyman that Armstrong and the church fall back upon when it cannot explain things well. Blame the Catholic Church!

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong then continues to say: 

 

"The Catholics are the ones who have thought to CHANGE the Times. They say the paschal new moon this year is the one BEFORE March 21st, and figure Easter accordingly. The Jews say it is the one AFTER March 21st." 

 

Here Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong uses "before and after" March 21st (spring equinox) as a criterion. The Catholics were clearly wrong and the Jews were clearly right in this instance. But what about those years where the Jews ALSO say the new moon BEFORE March 21st is the one to start the year with? What if THE JEWS want to start the year in the winter? 

 

For example, in 1937 (3 years before this letter in 1940) the Jewish calendar started the year with March 13th (well before March 21st!), kept the Passover on March 26th, and the wavesheaf would have been required on March 28th. Why was this acceptable in 1937 when it was not acceptable in 1940? Is there a line of division somewhere between a Passover on March 23rd (the evening of March 22nd) which is NOT acceptable, but a Passover on March 26th (the evening of March 25th) which IS acceptable? WHY would there be a line between March 23rd and 26th? On what grounds could such a line be drawn? An Examination of Mr. Armstrong's 1940 Good News Letter About 'The Calendar'

In regard to Armstrong changing the date for Pentecost Nelte says this about the Jewish calendar:

And so the real problem with the Jewish calendar is that THIS FOUNDATIONAL PREMISE IS NEVER PROVED! IT IS ALWAYS ONLY ASSERTED! SOME OTHER PERIPHERAL POINTS MAY BE PRESENTED AS "PROOF", BUT THE FOUNDATIONAL PREMISE OF ROMANS 3:2 APPLYING TO THE CALENDAR IS NEVER PROVED! WHY IS IT THAT THIS MOST BASIC FOUNDATION IN THE WHOLE QUESTION SHOULD BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT ANY REAL PROOF? An Examination of Mr. Armstrong's 1940 Good News Letter About 'The Calendar'

A lot of Nelte's article is about Herbert Armstrong claiming he did "exhaustive" research into the calendar, moons, fixed dates, etc. Nelte pretty much debunks that fact. When HWA uses the "exhaustive" claim, we pretty much need to question the use, which Nelte does rather well.

Here you can see how Herb danced around new moons:

There is no authority or teaching in the Bible to calculate any of these days differently than they did in Moses’ day -- when the new moons were seen by the naked eye at Jerusalem. 

We calculate the beginning of months, even as did Jesus and the first apostles -- not as a holy day or convocation -- yet the spring and fall festivals are reckoned from the first days of their months, and it IS important that we calculate properly. NEVERTHELESS, even so, since these are CHURCH festivals, they must be calculated by the CHURCH, through Christ’s chosen apostle, as Christ leads. We follow Jesus Christ’s own example. He did not change or alter the calculating of these months but observed them as Judah had calculated them ever since Moses.

The apostles made NO CHANGE in the calculations. Neither do I, or God’s Church of our day. We observe these days, as originally calculated as inspired by God, from Jerusalem, WHEN these same days come to us on a round earth.  The Journal: News of the Churches of God. Issue 200, November 2017, p. 4

COGWA has this to say:

"Some claim that the apostle Paul’s reference to new moons in Colossians 2:16 is evidence that the Church of God should “observe” new moons, but is this really true?

We must be careful not to read too much into this verse. This reference offers no details about what the believers in Colosse did in regard to new moons. Therefore, it is inaccurate to point to this verse as proof that Christians must keep new moons today."

"Being aware of the new moons has to do with the Hebrew calendar. The calendar used to calculate the festivals is different from the modern calendar in use in the world today, which is based upon the movement of the earth around the sun. It is a solar calendar. In contrast, the Hebrew calendar is a lunar-solar calendar, which includes the cycle of the moon as it revolves around the earth as well as the movement of the sun in its calculations. For that reason, knowing when the new moon occurs is important. 

 

(Some might argue that observing the new moon has something to do with observing the Sabbath, but the cycles of the sun and the moon have nothing to do with the seven-day cycle of a week. Therefore, when the Sabbath occurs is not determined by when the new moon occurs.) 

 

A careful study of the Bible shows that God never commanded Israel to “celebrate” the arrival of the new moon as a holy day. Only God can make time holy, and there is no scriptural evidence that God designated new moons as holy or sacred time, other than that one festival. Therefore, we have no biblical basis to observe new moons in the same manner as the annual festivals. 

 

It is still important to be aware of when the new moon falls, but only for the reason that Israel and the first-century Church needed to be aware of it. That is, to understand when the festivals occur. Christians today do not need to “observe” the new moon as holy time." New Moons: Should Christians Observe Them?

This is how John Ritenbaugh dances around the topic:

Though definitely not on the level of a festival, the new moons are associated with them much like the preparation day is associated with the weekly Sabbath. The lesser one points to and helps prepare us for the arrival of the greater, more important one. The preparation day, though not commanded, plays an important role in effective Sabbath keeping. Thus, it and the new moons are more like tools than commanded observances, but very important tools that should not be neglected. At the very least, carefully mark their passing. If you establish a custom for keeping them, remember it is your custom, not God's. The New Moons

In Armstrongism you can find hundreds of COG groups with hundreds of interpretations on new moons. Armstrongism is never consistent. It  has always been about doing whatever made people fell comfortable with instead of following Christ. Even BibleStudy.org (a COG-related site that tries to pass itself as mainstream) says they are not required:

"Although the new moon is the foundation for determining the start of the Biblical calendar, there is no command that any special worship should take place every time it occurs. 

 

In Leviticus chapter 23 God lists all of the days He commands His people to observe and to worship him upon. They are called "holy convocations" (Leviticus 23:1 - 2) because they are a commanded assembly based on his holy authority. "

"In summary, here are the main reasons why believers today do not have to worship or otherwise observe New Moons that occur each month. First, there are NO commands anywhere in the Bible to observe new moons in a religious manner. Second, there are NO instructions, guidelines or even restrictions on the proper way to observe or worship during these monthly periods. 

 

Third, Leviticus chapter 23 carefully lists ALL the days in the year God expects us to observe. The observation of any monthly special time is not listed! Fourth and last, inferences from references to the new moon during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth (Isaiah 66:23) are not clear indications for what we today should be doing. 

 

Taking note of a new moon, in the Old Testament, was one of the only ways people could keep an accurate track of the passage of time. The observation of these days in a religious sense, however, whereby worship of God was commanded, is not found in the Bible." Should We Worship on the New Moon?

So do modern-day Christians need to observe new moons? NO!

In the Bible, God condemned the practice of observing new moons because they quickly lost their true meaning. Luckily, God loved us so much that He gave us another way to show Him we love Him. We no longer have to sacrifice animals, and instead the earth was blessed with the perfect sacrifice of God’s one and only Son. Jesus appeased and died for all of our sins, and all the righteous requirements of the law were fulfilled by Him (Matthew 5:17). 

His death on the cross means that we have an avenue to eternal life in Heaven with God. Paul reminds us of this fact: “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16–17). 

While watching a new moon can be beautiful, it no longer needs to be considered a holy day or be celebrated in a festival setting. We do not need to go back to using the Hebrew calendar. Only God can make things holy, and He gives us no direction into marking new moons as sacred. Instead, we can accept Jesus into our hearts and ask for forgives through Him. Should Christians Observe New Moons?

 

Lone WCG Man Ready To Gather 7,000 Saints Who Have Not Bowed Their Knees To Baal

For many years now we have been regaled by wild stories from the Great Bwana Bob Thiel about how amazing he is and his so-called church is. There has never been a more miraculous COG in the history of humanity nor has the church ever seen a greater man than what we see in the Great Bwana Bob. No one has been persecuted more than he has and no COG has ever suffered as horribly as his church has.

That all came to a screeching halt when the most persecuted family in the church stepped forward with their horror stories:

Samuel Kitchen writes:

Now Herbert W Armstrong came in the spirit and office of Elijah the prophet. He came to “prepare the way of the Lord” as mentioned in Malachi 3, and 4 explains, and he came to “restore all things” as Jesus Himself said in Matthew 17:11.

If God didn’t send such an individual, He would allow “utter destruction” to curse this earth(Mal. 4:5-6).

In Matthew 24:22, concerning worldwide destruction, Christ says “but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

So this man has something to do with raising up the elect of God. This single human man is not only important to God, but also those with that man are important to God!!!

The fate of the World depends on them!

The Worldwide Church of God is in 100% agreement and support of everything Mr. Herbert W Armstrong taught!

Where he goes, we go. We do not run, we not retreat, or depart from God’s leadership through one man!

While he was alive was Herbert W Armstrong available to every member of the Church? Could he simultaneously appear in every congregation of the Worldwide Church of God? No!

Now instead of everywhere in 1986 and prior, we have EVERYWHERE 1986- FUTURE!

And while not every member of every congregation received the teachings from the apostle of Christ simultaneously while he was yet alive, members are receiving those teachings, this preaching, as they do through time.

How are we bound to such a work now, when the servant of God died so many years ago? By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! Without it… WE HAVE NO CONNECTION!!!!! We have no reason to obey it. We have no reason to hold fast to it otherwise! But those of us who have the Holy Spirit dwelling and leading in us, recognize the authority of Jesus Christ, and the work of God being done in the flesh, we forsake everything in surrender to Jesus Christ! Those who have not yet surrendered wholly to Jesus Christ do not understand why we do what we do!!!

They say we ought to join or become another group or church. They think the job started through Herbert W Armstrong is not going to finish, since he died. They think the physical aspect is needed! It is a SPIRITUAL WORK!!!!

And while there may be great distance between people, those with God’s Holy Spirit are on a total different frequency than the rest of this world! The connection will always be made!

So back to 1 Kings 19.

Elijah was fleeing Jezebel because she wanted him dead. His colleges were attacked and the students and teachers were murdered.

He ran a days journey into the wilderness, and here received two meals from an angel of God.

The first meal was to recover from what he was then experiencing!

Think of the 1970’s and “liberal period”.

Jesus Christ through Mr. Armstrong sustained the membership who held fast. Without that spiritual food, many would have STARVED SPIRITUALLY!

The second meal was for the intent of preserving the servant of God for a journey he was going to make! Now from 1981- forward we have received spiritual food, through Mr Armstrong, that is aiding and assisting the membership of the Worldwide Church of God to continue to EXIST for the last 40 years.

Apparently everything that Herb did prior to 1981 was wrong. In 1981, when he supposedly put the church back on track thenthe church was on the right path

For the first time in ourchurch history, the Church of God was organized right in 1981!

Prior to 1981, the Church was organized to a “corporation” pattern. There was a board of directors that could fire Mr Armstrong, but they wouldn’t.

But 1981, Christ through Mr Armstrong put the Church back on the right track, and placed ONE MAN IN CHARGE of EVERYTHING via corporation sole! The government of God was restored to the Worldwide Church of God. And the work, the congregations etc got organized rightly under Mr Armstrong.

This was done in the state of Arizona.

Then, forty years later, prophecy came alive and intense persecution started on the one true COG family: 

Forty years later, was the year 2021.

My family was living in Arizona.

We had been fighting for the right to exist as the Worldwide Church of God.

We had a window washing business, and we had been fighting with a conglomerate of other industry leaders, who used to be in the Worldwide Church of God! They got together and wanted us to be ran out of town. One man stood up for us and wanted to include us with the “network” because he figured they all would do better with us than against us.

So we fought underhanded, dirty, thieving tactics, with people pretending to be our company in order to disauade customers from using our services. We had our home taken from us. We were burglarized. We had death threats. We had federal locks on our post office boxes, that had to be removed, we had a lot of “shady” things happen to us, because we were online sharing what we was finding about the Worldwide Church of God and Herbert W Armstrong.

Through us, interest was expanded and explored. We had people come out of their churches in disagreement with us, trying to out do us in making these truths available. They thought they were better than us.

So through persecution we ended up in Arizona.

And there in Arizona, my family was killed.

A man who claimed to work for the cia, wanted my dad one day saying it was coming. He wanted us to know it was nothing personal, it was just orders. He had to protect his own family, he said.

That may have sounded like words of madman, but when a grandmother is murdered in the hospital, and your mom dies mysteriously and then your dad dies mysteriously, that warning had more weight. We didn’t take the warning lightly. We trusted God. And it just so happens that my dad died in 2021, at the closure of what began in 1981 with the corporation sole.

From that point forward I’ve been focusing on raising the alarms to brethren, and to continue to show the Worldwide Church of God does still exist.

Now I’ve personally come across some people who has tried to destroy myself and this Church! They have tried to put brother against brother, in order to destroy what is held in trust!

The last man standing! Even wimpy beta heretic Bwana Bob cannot measure up to this! 

Now because of this division someone else has started, the threat of some dissident sweeping in to take legal control of the name of the Worldwide Church of God has come.

And with family gone, I’ve been told I am the last one standing!

In 1983, the paperwork of the corporation sole in Arizona went dark.

In 1984 Mr Armstrong returned to Pasadena, and was preparing spiritual food for all of us these last forty years.

If Elijah received food to survive the attack from the state government, first, then the second time was meant for 1983-forward to our time, after the receivership, meant for a LONG JOURNEY! Jezebel destroyed the parts of the Elijah Work she could get her hands on!

You see how the spirit of Jezebel works?

And so forty years later, the Elijah Work still exists and we who have God’s Holy Spirit are connected with that work!

And when I read Elijah’s words in 1 Kings 19:10,14, I am moved emotionally. Because out of my personally family, I am alone for now. We’ve been struck by the enemy, and he seeks our destruction!

Now Mr Armstrong said there will BE NO ELISHA TO FOLLOW HIM! I agree.

In 1 Kings 19, it is a prophecy concerning the end of the Elijah Work.

Our work will end, with the rise of the final resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, a combine of ten toes, or ten nations or groups of nations in Europe, calling themselves “the United States of Europe”!

But no, as some mock me, the servant of God did not “go back to Egypt” when he travelled to Mt. Sinai. He was looking for the next instructions from the God of Heaven.

And we too, need to look to God and Jesus Christ as our savior and Head! We are connected to the Elijah work if we have God’s Holy Spirit! And we only will have God’s Holy Spirit if we surrender to Jesus Christ and wholly obey Him!

Some are saying they are the 7,000 prepared who have not bowed their knees to Baal. When the two witnesses stand up, they will be ready to add to our membership! There won’t be “another church” competing. We either will be together as the true church or we won’t be.

As for this legal sweep to grab for legal power over trademark. Merchants fight over that. And our God will destroy the merchants of this earth and avenge our people. A whore is going to be a whore. So a Jezebel will act like a Jezebel.

The book of Obadiah speaks on these things. God be praised!

There is one lasting sad legacy of Armstrogism, and that is that it helped create a lot of mentally unstable people! Hundreds of Elijahs have self-appointed themselves over the decades. Prophets and prophetesses regularly visited Pasadena with their prophetic messages. Some pretested with large signs parading up and down the street in front of the Hall of Ad as others tried their best to draw away church members.

I can state with absolute confidence that no one is going to follow Samuel. The few that did previously have all abandoned him after his epic failure at the Feast in Israel/Jordan.

Others, like Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, and Bob Thiel, attempted to start their own groups,  supposedly with God's official blessing, which now have turned out to be miserable failures.

Even the mother, GCI is facing difficulties. Are we finally witnessing the end of Armstrongism?

Satan Attacks The Greatest Church of God In Human History...Again!

Poor Bwana Bob, Satan is always out there trying to thwart his mind-boggling work in one way or another.

Greetings from the Five Cities region of California. 

 

Yes, we have received more translations of our English language booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God this week. As mentioned before, this assists us in our efforts to support the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14. 

 

That said, we have been hit by a major computer glitch and this is affecting our ability to do mailings, etc. Please pray that God’s will will be done and that this will be resolved without major data loss.

Amy Sherald, Former WCG Member Who Painted The Michelle Obama Portrait

 

Sherald painted this now-famous painting of Michelle Obama 

that hangs in the 

National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian.

"Sherald became famous after her portrait of the former first lady, Michelle Obama, was unveiled in 2018. Attention grew with Sherald’s portrait of Breonna Taylor, the Black medical worker who was killed in 2020 by police in Louisville, Ky., during a raid on her home. It remains one of the best known pictures of protest and resilience to come out of the Black Lives Matter movement."

"Born in Columbus, Ga., Sherald was brought up in a religious family. Her father, a dentist and a trumpeter, had them join the fundamentalist Worldwide Church of God; the Sheralds were its only Black members, she recalled. They celebrated the Sabbath on Friday night and Saturday; honored Old Testament holy days, including Passover, during which they ate matzoh; and dispensed with Christmas and Easter, as well as birthdays and Halloween. All-white, too, was the Catholic school Amy attended from kindergarten through high school.

She knew from second grade that she wanted to be an artist, and that it would involve hard work. She also would have to sort out a rather complicated identity. Her maternal great-grandfather, she explained, was a German Jew named William. “The story we have is that he was a tailor,” Sherald said, and that “my great-grandmother married a Black man, but she did have these two children with William.” When Sherald entered Clark Atlanta, a historically Black university, she left the church and did not return."

Full article here: Amy Sherald, Brazen Optimist

GCI: New Issues Arise Causing Restructuring Of The Church

 

Things are not as rosy as they used to be in GCI as men are retiring, and no one is available to replace them, leading to "incredibly challenging and painful decisions and even more difficult conversations with our pastors and facilitators."

GCI in the United States has been undergoing major restructuring throughout 2023 and 2024. These changes have occurred for several reasons. The main reason is a shortage of pastors and key leaders to replace our ranks. For the past 12 years, our regional system has served us well. We started with six regions. With the retirement of Ted Johnston, it went to five regions. In January 2024, Anthony Mullins left the role of Southeast regional director (RD) to plant a GCI congregation in Durham, North Carolina. Then in January 2025, Rick Shallenberger, North Central RD, and Tim Sitterley, Western RD, will both be retiring. This means Dr. Jeff Broadnax, Pam Morgan, and I will be sharing the responsibilities of overseeing the United States. I also have the responsibility of overseeing the Canadian and the Caribbean regions. We hope you can understand that we clearly needed to make some changes to manage this vast area with fewer people. 

 

One option was to move our more experienced pastors from their current congregations to the role of RD, but this would put these large, healthy congregations at risk. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is never a good strategy for growth nor sustainable health. So, the Holy Spirit has been leading us to think differently and guiding us to implement a new strategy. However, this new strategy has required incredibly challenging and painful decisions and even more difficult conversations with our pastors and facilitators.

Many of their smaller churches and Zoom groups will no longer have a "charter" or support from HQ.

We changed our chartering guidelines in 2023 and revised them in 2024. Groups who meet via Zoom but do not meet face-to-face weekly, no longer have a charter. We also are transitioning groups of less than ten in weekly face-to-face attendance to closed status, and they will no longer have a charter. Of course, most will continue to gather and fellowship as small groups as they are able, but it is not wise stewardship of limited resources for the denomination to continue to insure them nor support their charter. None of these decisions has been easy for the facilitators, members, RDs, or the home office staff. We all grieve and lament with those our decisions have affected. I have struggled with bouts of depression due to these transitions and closures. This is, however, necessary if we are to oversee and properly lead our groups who have a weekly attendance of more than ten people.

Apparently income is also down.

The members and leaders affected by the restructuring are our brothers and sisters, our fathers and mothers, and our grandmothers and grandfathers, and we love and appreciate them very much! And it is also true that we cannot continue to provide support for the number of groups we previously supported and still provide training and the necessary accountability to help turn the corner to be a growing and thriving denomination. We do not want to leave anyone behind, so we have created the Home Church US. Pam Morgan has written an article to help explain what this is and how it works. Read it here.

I want to remind us that the “church” is not buildings or specific meetings — it is the people. Along with all Christians around the world, it is you and I, together, who make up the church, the body of Christ, the bride of Jesus. No one can remove you from God’s church. It is a covenantal relationship we each have with our God, as Father, Son, and Spirit, because of what Jesus did on our behalf. We belong to him, and no one can snatch us out of his hand. (John 10:28-29) Remember, he will never leave us nor forsake us! (Deuteronomy 31:6)

They remind members that all churches have a life cycle and most die off. Well, that pretty much describes the Worldwide Church of God and Armstrongism!

I also want to remind us that everything living has a life cycle and that includes congregations and fellowship groups. The apostle Paul planted congregations, yet they no longer exist today. Did Paul fail? Did those congregations fail? No, we are all here, in part, because of the work the Holy Spirit did through Paul and those congregations. Jesus tells us that he will build his church and even the gates of hell and death will not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18) Jesus never said a congregation or group of people will always exist in their current form until he returns.

I thank each one of you and am grateful for your love for God, love for his children, and your years (and even decades) of support and prayers. I apologize to those hurt by these transitions. To cause hurt has never been our intent, nor what is in our hearts. Like me, I know you love this denomination and want to see it thrive. I covet your continued prayers for God’s provisions and direction, as we try our best to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Love you all!

Mike Rasmussen, Superintendent of North America & the Caribbean

The Truth. Does LCG Even Know What It Is?

 

Did you know that truth and your capacity to understand the scriptures, what the plan of God is, and your part in that plan is only available through the Living Church of God? Who knew?

Be Thankful for the Truth: The Sabbath is a good time to reflect on the question: Are you thankful for the Truth? If you are a lifelong member or if you grew up in the Church, it is easy to take the Truth for granted. Yet, Jesus said that no one can come to a real understanding of the Truth unless they are called and their minds are opened (John 6:44). The capacity to understand the Scriptures, the plan of God, the purpose of life, and God’s way of life is a gift that God is only making available to a few at this time (1 Corinthians 1:26–27), because Satan has blinded the eyes of most people of this world (2 Corinthians 4:3–4). Jesus stressed that it is a great privilege to be given an understanding of the Truth of God (Matthew 13:10–17). The Apostle Paul stated that to be called out of darkness into the Truth is something to be extremely thankful for(Ephesians 5:8–20). Let’s never lose sight of this incredible privilege. Are you thankful for the Truth?

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

Feast of Trumpets Is Approaching And LCG Goes Into Fear Mode: Beware Of Those Rascally Germans!

 

Those rascally Germans, always stirring things up in COGland. When will they ever stop pestering the Churches of God? Living Church of God would have no reason to exist if it wasn't for Germany.

The fear factor is constantly alive and well in Armstrongism

We are now less than three weeks away from the Feast of Trumpets and as experience tells us, it will come quickly. Similarly, although we appear to be some years away, the day the Feast of Trumpets pictures will be here much more quickly than we might imagine. Germany is taking a turn to the right and cracking down on immigration. Events in Europe are setting the stage for the fulfillment of prophecies that we have known for decades must happen. Here in the United States, this is likely to be the most consequential election in memory, but who knows how it will turn out, what the fallout will be whichever candidate is elected, and most importantly, who God will choose, as He can turn elections in whichever direction He chooses. Leaders do make a difference, but anyone placing his trust in man and in our democratic approach to choosing our leaders is destined to be disappointed.—Gerald Weston

 

Counterpoint: God’s Law vs. The Law of Moses

 

We have had an engaging conversation about the law in a previous post. Here is another viewpoint from the other side of the conversation by Concretized Christianity. I don't normally do this when it comes to certain groups trying to get their own sometimes convoluted message across, but I have been in contact with theses folks over the years and respect them for their various stances that sometimes go against the grain of normal COG thoughts.

God’s Law vs. The Law of Moses

From The Beginning

There is a lot of talk both within and without the COG groups about keeping the “law of Moses.” Those against it say it’s part of the old covenant and since we’re under the new covenant, we no longer have to keep those laws. And, sadly, in some ways, the COG groups don’t keep them in the way they are laid out in scripture.

Let’s establish a baseline.

What is God’s Law?

God’s law consists of the eternal laws before creation and the laws that were established at creation.

What is the Law of Moses?

It consists of the same eternal laws of God and those established at creation, and the addition of the Levitical priesthood and animal sacrifices and offerings for sin.

Bottom Line?

The law of Moses differs from God’s law in just one way: human priests and animal sacrifices and offerings for sin. (I do realize there were other sacrificial offerings, but they are not germane to this discussion.)

Which Law Remains With the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus?

When Jesus came, died, and was resurrected, the human priesthood was abolished, and the animal sacrifices and offerings for sin were abolished. Why? Jesus became our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, and He was sacrificed for all of humanity’s sins.

The human priesthood and the animal sin offerings and sacrifices pointed to Jesus becoming both. The book of Hebrews tells us they were a shadow (symbol) that pointed to Jesus Christ.

The rest of God’s law remains intact (Mt. 5:17-19)!

What Is the Issue With God’s Law?

The main sticking point seems to be with observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. But the seventh-day Sabbath predates the law of Moses. It was established as part of the creation (Gen. 2:2-3).

Jesus observed the Sabbath. Why did Jesus observe it? He created it as Lord of the Sabbath in Gen. 2:2-3! When Jesus says to “Follow me,” what does He mean? It’s pretty simple. Do what He did, speak like He spoke, treat people the way He treated them, have the same relationship with His Father that He did, think like He thought.

What Did the New Covenant Abolish?

It’s important to understand what distinguishes God’s law from the law of Moses to understand what the new covenant did and, more importantly, did not abolish. The book of Hebrews makes this abundantly clear.

How did Noah know which animals were clean and unclean (Gen. 7:2-9)? We don’t see him scratching his head and asking God to spell them out. Noah didn’t have to. This was one of God’s laws established at creation, just as the Sabbath was established as part of God’s law at creation.

Why Does the Law of Moses Exist?

Context is the key to everything. When we pull scripture out of context, we will always be wrong.

Jacob (Israel) and his family went to Egypt during a severe famine. His descendants stayed there for a total of 430 years (Ex. 12:40-41). God’s law was not passed down through successive generations (Deut. 6:9 addresses this problem).

The Israelites assimilated the Egyptian culture, which included eating unclean foods, worshipping pagan gods, and setting up idols as objects of worship. By the time Israel left Egypt, God’s law was unknown to them.

The law of Moses is God’s law given to Israel at Mt. Sinai because they’d lost it while they were in Egypt.

What Is the Takeaway for You and Me?

God’s law is God’s law. We can do all kinds of mental gymnastics to try to get around it, to refute it, and to ignore it. But none of those things change the fact that it exists and is in effect.

It still will be when Jesus establishes God’s kingdom on earth (Zech. 14:16-19).

Are we keeping God’s law as He commanded? You have to answer for you, and I have to answer for me.

I know when I look into the mirror of truth, the Word of God (Jn. 17:17), I find that sometimes the traditions of men have superseded the instructions of God, and I need to change.

What will you find?

God’s Law vs. The Law of Moses