Every so often, Armstrongism produces something so spectacularly disconnected from the New Covenant that you have to read it twice to make sure it isn't satire. Samuel Kitchen has now managed to accomplish something remarkable. He has taken several passages of Scripture, inserted Herbert W. Armstrong into the middle of them, declared virtually every other Church of God organization outside the Body of Christ, and emerged with the extraordinary announcement that Jesus Christ has personally authorized him to collect God's tithes and offerings. Apparently, the finished work of Christ needed one final addition: Samuel Kitchen's mailing address.
The foundation of Samuel's argument rests on Matthew 10:14-15, Matthew 10:40, Luke 10:16, and Ephesians 2:19-22. The first passages concern individuals whom Jesus personally commissioned to preach during His earthly ministry. They do not establish a perpetual apostolic franchise through which someone centuries later can announce that Jesus has appointed him as His exclusive representative. Yet Samuel conveniently inserts Herbert Armstrong into that original apostolic commission and declares that Armstrong was sent by Christ to complete the foundation of the Church.
There is just one problem. Paul says the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone. He does not say that Herbert Armstrong would eventually arrive in the twentieth century to become an additional foundation stone. The apostolic foundation has already been laid. Christ does not need a succession of self-appointed restoration figures to finish what He began.
But Samuel insists that Armstrong's writings and teachings are now integral to that foundation. In other words, the teachings of a twentieth-century religious leader have been elevated to a position of authority that effectively places them alongside the apostolic witness. Disagreement with Armstrong becomes disagreement with Jesus Christ Himself. What a convenient arrangement! Once a religious leader's teachings are treated as the voice of Christ, questioning that leader becomes a spiritual offense rather than an opportunity for honest biblical examination.
Samuel then invokes John 6:44, arguing that because the Father draws people to Christ, and because some people first encountered the gospel through Herbert Armstrong, Armstrong must therefore have been personally sent as an apostle. This is theological gymnastics worthy of an Olympic medal. God can use a preacher, a book, a conversation, or any number of circumstances to bring someone to Christ. That does not confer apostolic authority upon the instrument He uses. If someone discovers Christ through a book by C.S. Lewis, does Lewis become an apostle? Of course not. God receives the glory for drawing people to Christ, not the human instrument who happened to deliver the message.
The real problem becomes even more obvious when Samuel declares that any Church of God organization not in 100 percent agreement with Herbert Armstrong is not the Body of Christ. Apparently, the biblical qualifications for belonging to Christ have been replaced with an Armstrong loyalty examination. You can believe in Christ, trust in His sacrifice, and seek to follow Him, but if you disagree with Herbert Armstrong on a doctrinal point, Samuel has apparently decided that you belong to a synagogue of Satan.
Paul would have had something to say about that. In 1 Corinthians 1:12-13, he rebuked believers for dividing themselves into competing camps based on allegiance to particular religious teachers. He reminded them that Christ is not divided and that Paul himself had not been crucified for them. Yet Armstrongism has managed to recreate precisely the kind of personality-centered allegiance Paul condemned, only with Herbert Armstrong's name substituted for the first-century personalities.
Then comes the financial centerpiece of Samuel's message: Malachi 3 and his demand that God's people return their tithes and offerings to the Worldwide Church of God, under his administration.
Here the theological problems become particularly serious. Malachi was addressing covenant unfaithfulness in ancient Israel, including the withholding of agricultural tithes intended to support the Levitical priesthood and temple system. Samuel simply transfers that Old Covenant arrangement into his modern organization and declares himself the authorized recipient.
Apparently, the Levitical priesthood has been replaced, the temple system has been redefined, and the treasury department has relocated to a post office box in Fairfield, Iowa.
The New Testament, however, presents a very different picture. Hebrews 7:12 explains that a change in priesthood necessarily involves a change in the law. Christ is our great High Priest. Christians are not instructed to recreate the Old Covenant temple economy under a modern religious administrator.
The New Testament absolutely teaches generosity and financial support for those who faithfully minister the gospel. But 2 Corinthians 9:7 makes the principle unmistakable: giving is to be according to what a person has determined in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. Paul does not establish a compulsory ten-percent payment to a particular organization, nor does he identify a modern religious leader as the exclusive recipient of God's money.
There is an enormous difference between encouraging Christians to give generously and declaring that Jesus Christ personally commands them to send their money to you. Samuel appears to have overlooked that distinction.
His use of Zechariah 2 is equally revealing. He takes prophetic passages concerning Jerusalem, Zion, and God's future purposes for His people and applies them to his own modern organization. He even connects his recent visit to Rome with prophetic warnings about the destruction of that great city. Once again, Scripture is made to validate Samuel's preexisting conclusions about his organization and its supposedly unique commission.
The underlying message never changes: Samuel's organization is God's organization, Herbert Armstrong was God's apostle, competing organizations are spiritually corrupt, and those who refuse to return to his organization are resisting God Himself.
What makes this particularly troubling is the enormous spiritual burden placed upon followers. Their relationship with Christ is effectively made dependent upon loyalty to a particular religious leader, institutional identity, and financial arrangement. Yet the New Testament points believers directly to Christ. First Timothy 2:5 identifies Jesus as the one mediator between God and humanity. Hebrews repeatedly emphasizes the sufficiency of His sacrifice and His continuing priestly ministry. There is no missing Armstrongite intermediary, and certainly no requirement that Samuel Kitchen stand between Christians and their Savior.
If Herbert Armstrong truly pointed people to Christ, why does Armstrongism continually insist that people must also submit to Armstrong's teachings as an indispensable foundation of their faith? Why must every competing organization be condemned? Why must Christian unity be measured by agreement with a twentieth-century preacher rather than by allegiance to Jesus Christ?
The New Covenant is not an Armstrongite restoration project. Christ does not need another apostle to complete His work, another organization to monopolize His Church, or another religious personality to collect His money.
Samuel repeatedly insists that this is not his work, that he did not volunteer, and that Jesus Christ appointed him to the job. Unfortunately, the only evidence offered for this extraordinary appointment is Samuel's own declaration, accompanied by an assortment of Scripture passages that never actually identify him, authorize him, or instruct Christians to send him their money.
What a remarkable coincidence that God's supposedly restored work happens to require financial support payable to the very man announcing that he has been appointed to administer it!
Perhaps Samuel should consider that there is a considerable difference between being convinced that God has given you a mission and convincing everyone else that God has given you authority over their spiritual lives and their wallets.
Jesus Christ did not establish the Church so that Herbert Armstrong could become its indispensable foundation stone and Samuel Kitchen could become its authorized collection agent. The foundation is Christ and the apostolic witness to Him. The gospel is sufficient. His sacrifice is sufficient. His priesthood is sufficient.
If Samuel wants to preach Christ, by all means, preach Christ. If he wants to encourage generosity, teach the New Testament principles of giving. But when he starts declaring that refusal to finance his organization is disobedience to Jesus Christ, he has crossed a very serious theological line.
The New Covenant has no provision for an Armstrongite apostolic franchise, no requirement for 100 percent agreement with Herbert Armstrong, and no provision for Samuel Kitchen's personal collection agency.
Christ said, "Come unto me." He did not say, "Come unto me through Herbert Armstrong, surrender your judgment to Samuel Kitchen, and make your checks payable to Fairfield, Iowa."
Perhaps it is time for Armstrongism to stop looking for another man to follow and start paying attention to the One it claims to worship.
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"whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."(Matthew 10:14-15)"He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me."(Matthew 10:40)This is talking about the APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST. The men "sent forth" by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God,"He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me."(Luke 10:16)"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;"In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:"In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."(Ephesians 2:19-22If we are built together for an habitation of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have ALREADY received the apostles of Jesus Christ, and are readily HEARING THEM and RECEIVING THEM.Today, we have the preserved epistles, and teachings of Herbert W Armstrong, which are already produced as integral to our foundation with Jesus Christ.Jesus Christ sent forth Herbert W Armstrong, in order to build us for an habitation of God, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The people prior to this Philadelphia ERA, looked to dead apostles too.Some people want to say we follow dead men. Do you realize all the men of the Bible are DEAD, even Jesus had to die...but he was resurrected first? The others are awaiting a resurrection too. And what God did through them, in preaching and teaching, we who are of God receive and heareth them! Knowing this that they were sent of God.We have no excuse. Not only do we have the Word of God in print, but we also was given an apostle in the 20th century, to prepare the way for Christ's return, and for our preparation as the Bride of Jesus Christ! He is part of OUR FOUNDATION, and we are built in Christ with Mr. Herbert W Armstrong as an apostle! The rest of the Church prior DID NOT HAVE THIS! Why? Because we have a work to do. Every member of the body, does not do the same job. A toe cannot see, or smell, or taste. We all must work together, but we do different things.So if we believe the one sent forth by Jesus Christ, we observe everything he teaches us in the name of Jesus Christ, as if Christ Himself was teaching us! We can evaluate the lifetime of Herbert W Armstrong. He does not lead you away from Jesus Christ! He points you and leads you to Jesus Christ!And so we have EVIDENCE, that Herbert W Armstrong was doing the WORK OF GOD! Not the work of Herbert W Armstrong! THE WORK OF GOD! Because in John 6:44, Jesus says NO MAN CAN COME UNTO HIM UNLESS THE FATHER FIRST DRAWS HIM! The WORK OF GOD done by Herbert W Armstrong, was used to DRAW YOU TO JESUS CHRIST!YOU WERE CALLED, through the hearing of the gospel message, and then you were added to the Body of Christ, when you repented of sin and BELIEVED THE GOSPEL. THE WORK OF GOD was performed by Herbert W Armstrong. And when YOU BELIEVED the one sent by Jesus Christ and received and heard His apostle, YOU became part of the WORK OF GOD.As you live God's way, according to what Christ gave through His apostle, you become one with the Father, and Jesus Christ, and WITH ALL OF GOD'S PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD! Because when the WORK OF GOD went all around the world, so did the people of God stand up to perform that work!This is why we are the Worldwide Church of God. We are the Church of God raised up in 100% agreement with the apostle of Jesus Christ Herbert W Armstrong, to DO THE WORK OF GOD a/k/a the GREAT COMMISSION. As we live, we become witnesses of that way of life.Some "Church of God" groups, are not in 100% agreement, and do not receive 100% of what the apostle has taught, and do not 100% observe the things we were taught to observe through Herbert W Armstrong.These are not the Body of Christ...So if you are part of the Body of Christ, why attend with belial? Why give to the synagogues of Satan the tithes and offerings of God?What does the Temple of God have to do with works of darkness, and of wickedness? This is why you are WARNED and have been warned for the last 16+ years!These WORKS are NOT the WORK OF GOD! Their existence provides the evidence they are NOT doing the WORK OF GOD.They left the Worldwide Church of God.They developed new churches, and new works, according to their various departures from Jesus Christ. They wanted to "do better".But BELIEVING GOD and THE ONE HE SENDS, does not require us to create hundreds of other churches and hundreds of other organizations. It requires us to stand still and let God perform His Mighty Work and Deeds!The Worldwide Church of God is a spiritual organism.It is a SPIRITUAL HABITATION of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a SPIRITUAL TEMPLE.Today, we are called by God to RETURN UNTO HIM. And to resume THE WORK OF GOD.For the last 40 years, those who have held fast have observed what God gave through Mr. Armstrong all those years! Now, we are talking with each other as it says in Malachi 3:16-18, contemplating and thinking on the name and authority of God and Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ commends us for NOT FORSAKING HIS NAME in Revelation 3:8.The WORK OF GOD was not the work of Herbert W Armstrong. Herbert W Armstrong was doing His part in the Work of God....so must we! That is what it means to be the Worldwide Church of God! TO WORK THE WORK OF GOD. To bring the tithes and offerings back, and give it to His AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE.I didn't volunteer for the job. I was drafted. But I have the authority of Jesus Christ to receive the tithes and offerings of God and to DO THE WORK OF GOD.Earlier this year I went to Rome and Italy.What was present in my mind was what was said in Zechariah 2."I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand."'Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof."And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,"And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:"For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord."Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon."For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me."Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord."And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee."And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again."Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation."WE ARE THAT HOLY HABITATION! We are BEING BUILT UP NOW, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! Not by might, nor by power, but BY MY SPIRIT SAITH THE LORD!WE ARE HERE TO DO THE WORK OF GOD! Verse 11 describes a WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD. And when this Church is restored, then you shall know I have been sent of the Lord.Verses 8-9 is what I was doing in ROME! Guess their end! They shall become a spoil to their servants, and that great city shall be destroyed!Malachi 3 shows we are to DO A WORK, that is why the tithes and offerings are to be returned by THOSE DOING THE WORK OF GOD! We should NOT fund these other churches, who are keeping our membership from returning! They are teaching that the Worldwide Church of God went apostate and is no longer HEADED by Jesus Christ! THAT IS A LIE! They commit fraud so you can keep sending them God's money!SO why feed the wolves? They are NOT doing the Work of God! They are there to keep you funding THEIR WORK, and they do try to mimic the work being done by The Worldwide Church of God! BUT THEY ARE NOT THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD, or they would CONTINUE AS US, but they went out of us and ARE MAKING IT KNOWN THEY ARE NOT ALL OF US! Why aren't they returning? YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO RETURN!God says in Malachi, that the ministry departed from the way, and have cause many to stumble at the law. They are humbled and made base, meaning they are no longer His ministers!Why? Because they have rebelled against God and refuse to return!!!!! IT HAS BEEN 40 YEARS!I'm visiting with brethren, and trying to rally the brethren together and God is doing that, so that we may be the Worldwide Church of God doing the WORK OF GOD. It is not the Work of Samuel Kitchen! But i am being used to do the Work of God, and to show the world we exist, and we still are working the work of God!Now, what are YOU going to do about it? You are supposed to be doing the Work of God! But why then oppose me and work separately from me? We aren't a bunch of independent Christians working separately! WE OUGHT TO BE ONE IN HARMONY AND IN UNITY AND COOPERATION! ONE BODY. ONE SPIRIT.People want to say God put them in charge. No. They are critical of the man who was placed in charge. That man didn't choose or appoint himself. God chose him.My mailing address in P.O Box 126 Fairfield Iowa 52556 and my name is Samuel W Kitchen. This WORK OF GOD needs the people of God to support it. It does not need lukewarm guessers and doubters. It needs those CONQUERED TO THIS WORD and THISFOUNDATION! Surrendered wholly to Jesus Christ! We do not live outside of this work! Take it to God and ask Him how you can become more involved. But to start God does declare what you can do with His tithes and offerings. They go to HIS WORK. SO OBSERVE this teaching, and OBEY GOD brethren.In Jesus Christ's name,Samuel W Kitchen
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