Living Church of God members are freshly back from the Feast of Tabernacles, where they spent eight days marinating in "millennial bliss." Love, unity, answered prayer, the usual harvest of glowing surveys, and the obligatory "this one was even better than last year" testimonies. Opening Night sermons painted vivid pictures of Christ's coming kingdom. The Last Great Day closed with hope for the masses. For one week, the brethren were kings-and-priests-in-training, rejoicing before the Lord and generally acting as if the world had already been remade.
Then they came home-and right on schedule came the familiar reminder that they cannot be trusted with the vision they just received.
Douglas S. Winnail's latest piece makes the point with the usual historical parade. The lessons of history, we are told, show that both mankind in general and God's chosen people have drifted off course again and again, due to Satan's deceptive influence. Adam and Eve made wrong choices that sent human history in the wrong direction. Ancient Israel turned away from God and suffered serious consequences-and modern Israelite nations are heading down the same path. The implication is clear enough for the recently returned Feast-goers: you are cut from the same cloth. You just spent eight days hearing about the Kingdom, and the moment the hotel checkout is complete you are already at risk of repeating the same fatal drift.
The Church, the piece continues, was established to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, to warn the world of the consequences of sin, and to announce events that indicate Christ's return is near. Its mission also involves preparing a people to rule with Jesus Christ as kings, priests, and teachers in His coming Kingdom. To qualify for this exciting reward, members must avoid being distracted by the trials and temptations of this world and remain faithful and focused on their calling and God-given mission. The closing exhortation is pure post-Feast form: "Let's stay focused on that mission!"
There it is-the annual transition from millennial preview to managerial scolding. The good feelings and warm intentions did not even last one week. Members who just left Feast sites where they were told they are in training for rulership are now being treated as people too prone to distraction, too easily deceived, too stupid to keep from losing their way once ordinary life resumes. Every week brings some fresh perceived indiscretion: a moment of ordinary human weakness, an insufficiently intense zeal, a failure to remain in permanent Feast-level focus. The leadership does not pause to be simply grateful that people rearranged their lives, spent their second tithe, traveled, and showed up. Gratitude is quickly subordinated to the next warning that the brethren are one careless step from the ditch.
That is the problem with the law. Under a system that measures people by continuous performance, holy-day observance, and ministerial oversight, the members are never good enough. The Feast high is temporary by design; the insufficiency is permanent. No amount of "best Feast ever" reports changes the underlying arithmetic: the law demands what human beings cannot sustain, then interprets the inevitable drop as evidence of Satan's influence, spiritual drift, or failure to stay focused on the mission. The New Covenant says otherwise. It speaks of a finished work, of righteousness that is not earned by perpetual self-examination, of a Spirit that writes the law on the heart rather than requiring weekly reminders that the people who just spent eight days in "millennial bliss" are already in danger of repeating Adam's mistake or Israel's apostasy. LCG does not teach that concept. It teaches the old pattern: rejoice on schedule, then brace for the correction that proves you still need the system to keep you from drifting.
The Feast pictures a future kingdom of peace. The post-Feast admonition pictures the present arrangement: members as perpetual spiritual children who cannot be left unsupervised for more than a few days without wandering off. One is a prophecy. The other is simply the management style of a law-based organization that has never quite trusted its own people with the freedom the New Covenant actually offers.
17 comments:
Good points. When will Doug and the other LCG leaders begin to trust the Holy Spirit? Also, will there ever be massive good news about the fulfilling of the great commission? It can't be very encouraging knowing that you are invisible.in your very purpose for life!
Great write up, as my purpose in life is to be the best person that I can be, as well as the best christian that I can be taking it day by day. Doug wants to have individuals on this special “mission” that really has no impact coming from a splinter.
Their selfish ambition is that Armstrongism mission, that I am glad I don’t have to be a part of anymore. Like the first comment: The mission is the great commission. Their other mission is the ezekiel warning message, and I am not supporting that with my money, because for one thing they are not prophets, and the other main thing, Christ didn’t tell his followers to do so.
Here is another example of a Splinter ACOG that deviates from what Herbert Armstrong actually taught. I think I'm going to start a list as I've already commented on other recent Banned by HWA Posts of ACOGs that are more extreme than the parent R/WCG was.
Herbert W. Armstrong taught that the Great Commission was Matthew 24:14 which reads "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Herbert Armstrong and the WCG believed that HE and his Philadelphia Church era ALONE fulfilled the Great Commission. And then the end would come. Armstrong never taught there would be a Philadelphia remnant in the Laodicean era. The ACOGs created this "NEW knowledge" to justify their existence post-Herbert Armstrong. As mentioned by Anonymous 11:05AM, all the ACOGs are low wattage works in fulfilling the mission that Armstrong himself claimed to have fulfilled - the sum of which doesn't even come close to Herbert Armstrong's reach when he was alive.
The ACOGs have the wrong gospel. By their fruits, you shall know them. They will continue to be ineffective low wattage works with little to no impact on the world. Jesus Christ is not with them otherwise their fruits would be flourishing.
Richard
The best feast I ever had was the first one I did not go to.
Doctrinal Changes
Remember that Roderick C. Meredith thought that the churches of the world were missing half of the gospel, so he took their gospel ABOUT Jesus and combined it with Herbert W. Armstrong's gospel OF Jesus to come up with his own two-fold, or hybrid, gospel message. RCM thought it was a really clever “doctrinal upgrade.”
Now, RCM and company just need to avoid the apostle Paul's double curse on those who mess with the gospel message.
I am not sure exactly how LCG and our ministers expect to be seen as credible to the world when they live in ways that are lower than the world, or else they are just like it. I do believe in the teachings overall and that these teachings for the most part are a part of the new covenant. But I can't help realizing that what our LCG says is a far cry from how they act and what they do. So what then, do what we say and not what we do? Surely, that cannot be right.
Herbert Armstrong and the WCG believed that HE and his Philadelphia Church era ALONE fulfilled the Great Commission. And then the end would come. Armstrong never taught there would be a Philadelphia remnant in the Laodicean era.
That's not quite true. HWA believed that during the very brief end-time Laodicean Era, the Philadelphia remnant would exist, and that it would be hidden away in the Place of Safety, not out in the world trying to relive the glory days of HWA.
Hey bro @ 1:50:27……….just question some of the doctrines and decisions made by the ‘ministry’ and ya are toast. No open minds……just pay ya tithes and shut up ministry, oh and do as ya told. Better out than in, just ask the thousands who have left…….
First of all, HWA thought that the end would come in 1975. Then plan B set in. But nature took its course, as it always does. A splinter group like LCG under Meredith taught that they would be spared by the hour of trial (Rev. 3:10) being a Philadelphia remnant. Interesting that this portion is in the Philadelphia portion and not in the Laodicean church portion. It’s also interesting as he taught that they(ACOG) would be hidden away, because the two witnesses that are prophesying aren’t hidden away. The world will hate those two witnesses and they will not be in a place of safety. Moses and Elijah were not hidden away. RCG also taught that other “less faithful splinters” would be laodicean and they would not be protected from the GT.
Cowboy
You are correct 1:50, they are no different than the world, and no amount of sabbath keeping or holy day keeping can change that. The change must come from within. But they have the opportunity to change. It’s not about a change coming down from a spiritual high from a 8 day vacation spot. You can only get there through Christ of the New Covenant being your High Priest and advocate. This is why the disciples/apostles in Acts were able to turn the world upside down for Christ. They can’t do that, (or can’t do it yet for your sake).
Their “mission” isn’t the great commission, it’s actually receiving tithes and offerings to get their particular prophecy warning message out. You see how that’s not about discipleship, it’s about control and lording it over. You can’t even question them using scripture, as that is seen as rebellion. By the way that third tithe is not of the new covenant.
The ACOGs have most definitely had to apply patches to HWA's Philadelphia/Laodicea theories following the failure of 1972-75, the death of HWA, and the fact that the fulfilling of the "Great Commission" went sub-microscopic with the emergence of the splinters. What we see is nothing at all like what HWA visualized and taught back in the day. In his mind, the only splinters had been started by Raymond Cole, Dr. Ernest Martin, Garner Ted, and the group of ministers who began the Associated Churches of God over on the East Coast. The past thirty years has been a rudderless period of time in which the good ship Armstrong has been aimlessly adrift on the open seas hopelessly awaiting rescue. Oh, and various officers fighting to be the captain. (Queue Grand Funk's epic "I'm you Captain"!)
BB
I should clarify that Herbert Armstrong never taught there would be a Philadelphia remnant in the Laodicean era BEFORE THE GREAT TRIBULATION. Armstrong taught the demarcation between the two Church eras would be the commencement of the Great Tribulation. When German bombs were supposed to be dropping on America in January 1972, the Philadelphians were to be taken to a Petra Place of safety (50% of the Church, not a remnant) and those 50% who remained were Laodicean to be tried during the Great Tribulation (Matt 24: 40-41).
The ACOGs created this new knowledge and understanding of a Philadelphia remnant in the Laodicean era solely to justify their existence post-HWA. It would be interesting to know how the ACOGs use Matt. 24:40-41 with their new knowledge and understanding, or if they even use these verses at all.
Richard
Exactly Richard , I’ll give hWA some credit. He did start those colleges for the young people. He was ahead of the game, the magazines, the radio, providing jobs at the colleges. He witnessed WWI and WWI with Europe so he thought it was going to take place on his timeline (not saying he was right). Albeit misguided, he had far greater reach than all of these splinters combined. And those boomer mantle-ministers are holding on to that mission in a different century.
"You cannot solve 21st-century problems with 20th-century solutions"
There is a technique that I have seen pathological managers used. They treat you nicely sometimes and when you are feeling relaxed they ambush you. The idea is to always keep you off balance. This generates fear, anxiety and leads to control.
I have never figured out if this is actually a strategy, however. Sometimes I think that some people are just naturally bad managers. They intuitively know what to do to batter other people. Strategy or pathology - I don't know which - doesn't make a lot of difference to the people on the receiving end.
Richard, 6:57, how can you have NO Philadelphian remnant before the Trib and then have a Philadelphian remnant show up AT the trib??
So obviously incoherent that I had to write.
My understanding always was that they would exist side by side, as we see today, with the Laodicean side prevailing over the Philadelphian side in church matters.
As for Mt 24:40-41, if you have understanding it's not hard to understand but, if you don't, you may be left behind.
I had a manager who embraced that, Scout! It is most definitely a thing, and somewhere it is either taught, or is absorbed through osmosis. We had a company messaging system to which staff was required to call in several times per day. Announcements were made, and there were discussions. I participated regularly, just as I do here. My manager shared with me that he often dropped his little zingers on us on Friday afternoons so we would stew over things throughout the weekend and then be motivated to produce for him the following week.
My girlfriend from the '80s also used that technique on me throughout our relationship. A decade after we had separated, I was considering reconciliation with her. Our passionate love for one another was rekindled immediately, but then she began employing the same crap. Had not learned a thing! I hated to make the decision I did, it hurt like hell. But, I realized that I simply do not have any tolerance for a person, corporation, or church that would attempt to manage or handle me in that manner. I had learned enough from life's occasional hard knocks to choose the paths which actually improve the monetary, emotional, and philosophical quality of life. Don't need derailers!
BB
We've had this discussion before, 3:41. The teaching was that the Philadelphians would become obvious and known when they were transported to Petra, aka the place of safety. The Laodiceans would become known to themselves and others by being left behind.
I have to laugh, because knowing people and human nature, I can imagine scenarios where ministers would allow their personal feelings to cloud their judgment, and you might find some embarrassed ministers making remarks such as, "If it had been up to me, you would not be here with us! You'd have been left behind!"
I always thought of the place of safety as 3-1/2 years of having to be way too close to the @ssh0les, a time when they took such traditions from the Old Covenant as stonings seriously, and without the protections of the Constitution and Bill of Rights being enforced, it would not be the foretaste of the millennium that most anticipated! We were either destined to horrors from the Germans, or horrors from our own church!
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