The Linchpin of Armstrongism

 

The Linchpin of Armstrongism

A Christian’s supposed obligation to observe four particular aspects of Torah was central to Herbert Armstrong’s theology. He identified the weekly Sabbath, Holy Days, clean/unclean animals, and tithing as being still binding on Christians of the New Covenant. In fact, many who are currently a part of the Armstrong Churches of God regard these doctrines as their primary raison d’etre! In support of these obligations, they cite the facts that God commanded them, and Jesus Christ and his apostles observed them as proof of a Christians obligation to observe them. However, this paper will demonstrate that these two foundational pillars of Armstrongist theology do NOT stand up to closer scrutiny.

First, God commanded the children of Israel to observe these commandments, NOT anyone else! Indeed, in the preface to the delivery of the Ten Commandments, we read that “God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.’” (Exodus 20:1-2, ESV) Question: Who did God deliver from slavery in Egypt? Moreover, in the preface to these commandments in Deuteronomy, we read: “And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today.’” (Deuteronomy 5:1-3, ESV) Now, from my perspective, the target audience seems pretty clear.

Notice too this passage addressing the weekly Sabbath: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’” (Exodus 31:12-17, ESV)

Likewise, regarding clean and unclean animals, upon closer examination, we see that they were clearly addressed to the people of Israel. In Leviticus, we read: “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.’” (Leviticus 11:1-2, ESV) And, “You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:43-45, ESV) In short, there simply is no mistaking to whom these commandments were addressed – the people of Israel.

Herbert Armstrong and his followers never failed to point out that ALL of these commandments were God’s – that it was God’s Sabbath, and God’s festivals. Unfortunately, they failed to mention the audience for whom they were intended! Once again, in Leviticus, we read: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.’” (Leviticus 23:1-2, ESV) The text then proceeds to list all of the festivals. For the Feast of Firstfruits, we read: “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them…” (Leviticus 23:9, ESV) Indeed, the phrase “Speak to the people of Israel” is repeated two more times in this text. (Leviticus 23:23, 34) Then, we come at last to the final festival and the summary. We read: “You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’ Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:42-44, ESV)

Finally, regarding tithing, we read: “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.’ These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.” (Leviticus 27:30-34, ESV) And, regarding the place for Israel’s central place of worship, we read: “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.  And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses.” (Deuteronomy 14:22-25, ESV) Once again, this language is clearly focused on the children of Israel and the Promised Land.

Now that we have examined each of the four elements of the Law which Armstrong and his followers have obligated Christians to observe, we can make some more general observations about Torah as a whole. Torah was addressed to the children of Israel - NOT to the world at large! In a recent post over at the As Bereans Did blog, we read: "Some people say, ‘Look what the Lord says to us,’ as they turn to Leviticus. Well, I have some bad news for you. The Lord didn't say that to us. He said that to ancient Israel." Jesus Christ said that he came to fulfill Torah and the Prophets. In other words, THEY POINT TO HIM! That is their value for us. ABDwent on to note: "The Old Testament was not written to us; it was written for us. Big difference."

Which brings me to my second point refuting the teachings of the Armstrong Churches of God relative to Torah and Christians: Both the Old and New Testaments view the Law as an inseparable whole! First, Torah repeatedly enjoins the children of Israel to observe ALL – EVERY commandment which God has given to them. (Leviticus 20:22, Deuteronomy 6:1-2, Deuteronomy 6:24-25, Deuteronomy 11:8, 32, Deuteronomy 28:1, 15, 58, Deuteronomy 31:12, Deuteronomy 32:45-46) Likewise, in the New Testament, we are informed that Christ and his apostles viewed the law in exactly the same terms – that it was an inseparable whole. (Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 7:12, Matthew 22:34-40, Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14, 34-40, James 2:8-11) This is an important/critical point in understanding the Scriptural view of the Law. To reiterate, both the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament writings confirm that Torah it is impossible to cherry pick Torah. Discarding, ignoring, or breaking one commandment makes you a law breaker – period!

This point was underscored for the children of Israel. In the final book of Torah, we read: “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:1-8, ESV)

Notice please that adding to or taking away from these commandments was strictly forbidden, and that they were CLEARLY and unequivocally addressed to ISRAEL. They were to keep the WHOLE Law – everything contained in Torah. This legislation constituted the terms of their covenant with YHWH! Moreover, it made them SPECIAL among the nations of the earth. This legislation made Israel UNIQUE. They were the ONLY people on the face of the earth who had this Law!

Now, we come at last to the final argument of Armstrong and his followers in favor of the obligation of Christians to obey some of the commandments of Torah. Yes, Jesus and his apostles observed the Sabbath, Holy Days, and avoided unclean meats. They were Jews, living under the terms of God's Covenant with the children of Israel. They were also circumcised and never wore clothing made out of blended materials. They observed Temple protocols. They tithed, never entered the Holy of Holies, and presented the appropriate offerings demanded by Torah. They observed the appropriate protocols for bodily discharges, skin diseases, and mildew. They came to Jerusalem and the Temple to observe the three pilgrimage festivals. They didn't round off the corners on their beards or have any tattoos. They also didn't eat rare meat or consume any fat.

In the Gospel of John, we are told that Jesus went to Jerusalem during the celebration of the Feast of the Dedication (Feast of Lights, Hanukkah). Does that mean we (Christians) are expected to observe it? Didn't Christ say that we are supposed to follow his example? "That's not what he was talking about!" the Legalists will snap back. "EXACTLY," is my response.

Please permit a more modern example: The people of Illinois are living under the state constitution of 1970, NOT the three previous iterations of a state constitution! Likewise, the citizens of Illinois are obligated to obey ALL of the current income tax and traffic laws that are applicable to them. Most of us recognize that the notion that we would be able to pick and choose which laws we are going to obey and which ones we are going to ignore is absurd (and would probably land us in jail if we attempted such a thing)! 

Christ came to this earth to fulfill God's Law for Jews and Gentiles. He did. He fulfilled it perfectly - as NO other human has EVER been able to duplicate. Moreover, his righteousness/innocence was the perfect cure for our sinfulness/guilt before God. Likewise, his original disciples were ALL Jews - born under the terms of the Old Covenant (Torah). Hence, we would expect to find them observing the commandments of Torah - ALL OF THEM, and we do!

Even so, it does NOT follow that we (Gentile Christians) should be doing likewise in 2026! Indeed, a good many things have happened since then – like Christ's death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven; the coming of the Holy Spirit and the establishment of the ekklesia; the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (which I don't believe was happenstance), and the reformation of Judaism.

Thus, we have seen that the argument that Christ and his disciples were Torah-observant Jews is completely irrelevant to the notion of a Christian's obligation to that legislation! That's worth repeating - let it sink in: The fact that Christ and his disciples were Torah-observant Jews is completely irrelevant to the notion of a Christian's obligation to that legislation! Hence, we have demonstrated that the Armstrongist justifications for obligating Christians to observe the weekly Sabbath, Holy Days, clean/unclean, and tithing have been completely discredited.

In other words, Christians are NOT operating under the terms of God’s covenant with Israel! We are operating under the terms of the NEW covenant – the one which requires belief in and acceptance of the value of Christ’s fulfillment of Torah, the Prophets, and Writings of the Hebrew Bible, and subsequent sacrifice for us! The covenant, which was founded on the Two Great Commandments, which Jesus Christ himself drew from Torah. And, more particularly, the covenant that is based on Christ’s commandment to love each other (the very thing that he said would identify his disciples to the world – the sign of the New Covenant)! Sorry to my Armstrongist friends, but THIS represents the real obligation of New Testament Christians!

 

Lonnie Hendrix/Miller Jones