A Warning of Impending Punishment OR....

A Warning of Impending Punishment OR An Announcement of Salvation Through Jesus Christ?

As longtime readers of this blog know, I have devoted a great many posts over the years to attacking the messaging of the Armstrong Churches of God. Why this focus? Because they are preaching a FALSE Gospel! Instead of the good news which the New Testament is all about, they insist on preaching a warning message to the English-speaking nations of the world. Indeed, the contrast is stark. It is the difference between hope and doom! In other words, the messaging of the ACOGs is the antithesis of the real message which God intended for his people to deliver to the world!

In the January-February edition of their Beyond Today magazine, the United Church of God has published an article by John LaBissoniere titled God's Urgent Warning Message to You. The Armstrongian hook for the article reads: "God sent an urgent warning message through Ezekiel to the nations of present-day Israel. Discover what this prophetic message includes and why it has vital significance for you." Hence, we see that the article is based on the completely discredited (and wholly fanciful) teaching that the English-speaking nations of the world are the descendants and heirs of the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

LaBissoniere opens the article by pointing out that God made the prophet Ezekiel a "watchman" to the House of Israel. He contends that Ezekiel's message wasn't simply for the Jewish captives in Babylon, but that his message was also for the Israelites. John went on to state that: "As his prophetic warning message applies to the last days, we should recognize that it’s destined to reach the nations of present-day Israel and not just the Jewish people of today’s state of Israel. It will surprise many to learn that the modern Israelites are primarily the people of the major English-speaking countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand (see the study guide offered at the end of this article for the biblical and historical evidence)."

LaBissoniere continued: "Looking ahead, God foresaw a society that turned away from Him and His righteous biblical values and corrupted itself by ungodly, fleshly, materialistic behavior. As Ezekiel wrote, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity' (Ezekiel 9:9). This passage pertains to contempt for law and order and the fostering of moral depravity. Again, the conditions Ezekiel decries are evident in today’s nations—not just the original audience of his day. His message is for now." In other words, this warning message for the ancient Israelites has been transformed by Armstrong and his agents into a warning message for the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Moreover, the message incorporates yet another feature of the Armstrong heresy: that God expects Christians, Jews, and English-speaking folks to continue to obey the commandments of Torah - the tenets of the Old Covenant with Israel. What about the New Testament? you ask. The author of the article drags the Apostle to the Gentiles into his argument: "Instead of a righteous, commandment-keeping society, in our age we see an expansion of what the apostle Paul wrote about the debased culture of his day: 'Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful' (Romans 1:29-31).

La Bissoniere went on to say: "In abandoning godly values, many people in America and the other formerly blessed nations of modern-day Israel surrendered themselves to moral decadence, selfishness, greed, dishonesty, bribery, injustice, thievery, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual deviance, and violence. Of course, these iniquities are not exclusive to the contemporary nations of Israel, since the entire world is awash in sinful conduct (Romans 3:23). For this man and his Armstrong Church of God brethren, God's message for these folks is a warning of impending wrath and punishment for sins. It is decidedly NOT about how God decided to redeem mankind from his sins and cure us of their effects and consequences! In other words, the United Church of God's message is that God is pissed, and he's about to kick our asses up around our shoulders!

Of course, the real Gospel message was summarized by Christ in his meeting with Nicodemus. He said: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17, NLT)

Paul described the message to the Christians at Rome by saying: "The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name...For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.'" (Romans 1:3-5 and 16-17, NLT)

Likewise, Paul wrote to the saints of Galatia: "Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ." (Galatians 1:4-7, NLT) This passage, of course, is followed by Paul's double curse on anyone who would dare to bring a different message (Galatians 1:8-9)!

What about you? Are you going to heed United's warning message? OR Are you going to accept the Good News about Jesus Christ, and what he has done for you? Which one sounds like good news to you?

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix