Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Here We Go Again
If anyone was hoping that the Church of God International might have learned a few lessons from its recent obsession with things political and the group’s unequivocal support for Donald Trump, their latest offering from Pastor Bill Watson should be sufficient to exterminate any such optimism.
Watson’s A Beast on the Move? (part of CGI’s series on “Biblical News Updates and Commentary”) criticizes the Biden Administration’s rolling back of Trump’s policies and warns that those nasty globalists are back!
Interestingly, the pastor does interrupt his attack to admit that the church has received some negative commentary regarding their coverage of geopolitical subjects, issues, current events and governmental policies. Apparently, there are folks out there who believe that Christians really shouldn’t be engaged in these types of discussions – that there should be more sermons about Christian living. Watson, however, is having none of this line of reasoning!
Instead, he repeats Herbert Armstrong’s often stated claim that more than a third of the Bible is prophecy. He says that’s a lot of material and goes on to specifically cite the books of Daniel and Revelation in defense of his position and says that they are full of information about the “beast” and how it is going to rise in the End Times. Pastor Watson says that this is obviously information that God wanted us to have. “Why else would God have instructed John to right all this stuff down?”
Mr. Watson goes on to say that he’s amazed that some folks consider this stuff unimportant or that we shouldn’t be talking about it. He claims that we “undermine” God when we fail to appreciate the amount of work and effort which God undertook to give us this information. The pastor also states that it is obvious that we are living in the End Times, and that it is important for Christians to take the time to understand the prophecies which deal with this period.
But what about these claims? Is Pastor Watson right about this Biblical emphasis on prophecy? Does God expect “His” people to closely follow current events, government policies and the machinations of the governments of this world? Are those of us who oppose this kind of messaging from the Church dismissing prophecy as unimportant or unworthy of our attention? Are we living in the End Times? Should we be focusing on prophecies dealing with that period?
In attempting to answer these questions, we should begin by acknowledging the fact that there are many opinions and interpretations extant within the Christian community about Biblical prophecy. Most students of the Bible who have taken the time to consider the question of just how much of the Bible is devoted to prophecy put the figure somewhere between 27 and 33 percent of the whole (see How Much Of The Bible Is Prophecy?). There is also fairly widespread agreement that the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve “minor” prophets are all considered to be prophetic literature. In the New Testament, the book of Revelation is likewise widely acknowledged as being prophetic in nature. Now, unless my math is incorrect, that means that 18 of the 66 books of the Judeo-Christian Bible are devoted to prophecy (we should also all be willing to acknowledge that other books contain some prophetic material within their texts).
Hence, if we accept that roughly one-third of the Bible deals with prophecy, we must also acknowledge that two-thirds of the subject matter deals with other topics. This is not to say that prophecy is unimportant – we’re just attempting to put some perspective on the issue. Moreover, it should also be pointed out that students of the Bible estimate that somewhere between 50 and 80% of the prophecy in the Bible has already been fulfilled (by the Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Jesus Christ, etc.). Again, to put that in perspective, we are really talking about 20-50% of one-third of the Bible that applies to the future. Furthermore, one source estimates that 150 chapters of the Bible deal with the period known as the “End Time” (see 150 Chapters on The End Times). That’s 150 chapters (where the author estimates more than 50% of the material in the chapter deals with this subject) out of 1,189 chapters in the Bible which specifically address the “End Times.” So, yes, the subject of prophecy is important, but we must not lose our perspective that MOST of the Scriptures which God has made available to us deal with other topics!
Pastor Watson goes on to quote Proverbs 24:11-12 and Ezekiel 33 as justifications for his obsession with current events and policy. He claims that he has an obligation to warn people about what’s coming, and that God will hold him responsible for not doing so. What about the obligation to preach the gospel and discuss the Christian way of life? And, what if (like Paul and the other First Century Christians) Mr. Watson is wrong in his assessment of the fact that we are currently living in the time of the end? What if Christ’s return is still hundreds of years in the future?
In his commentary, Watson goes on to applaud Catholic Archbishop Carlo Vigano’s letter of last October to Donald Trump in which he asserts that the world is being threatened by a global conspiracy. Vigano claims that he is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness against the forces of evil who are opposed to the children of light. He claims that these folks want to destroy the basis of society and promote the suicide of Western culture. The good bishop goes on to assert that the current health crisis is being used to establish a tyranny over people. Never mind that the Armstrong Churches of God have always been extremely anti-Catholic. In this instance, Mr. Watson sees a kindred spirit in the archbishop.
Watson then interrupts his praise of Vigano’s letter to compare its contents with Chuck Todd’s Meet the Press interview in February with Dr. Michael Osterholm warning about the surge in deaths and illness which we might experience if we aren’t diligent in addressing the pandemic in the present. Osterholm pointed out that “we’re good at pumping the breaks after we’ve wrapped the car around the tree.” Pastor Watson seems to think that this is proof that the archbishop’s assessment of the threat of a globalist conspiracy to institute a tyranny over all of us and destroy our individual liberty is real. Watson also quotes the archbishop’s statement that Pope Francis has betrayed his office and is supporting the Globalist agenda. Vigano goes on to suggest that Trump is an “instrument of Divine Providence.”
For his part, Watson equates globalism with the Beast. He claims that Biden’s executive orders are implementing this globalist agenda. He cites the fact that the new president has rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, instituted restrictions on the increased production of fossil fuels, stopped construction of the Keystone Pipeline and Trump’s border wall, revocation of the travel ban against Muslim countries and his commitment to rejoin the World Health Organization as evidence of Biden’s complicity. Watson then proceeds to warn us that, if the United States goes globalist, the rest of the world will follow. According to Pastor Watson, this Beast is going to persecute Christians – which he insists means that “government is the enemy of Christians.” To be fair, he does finally admit at the end of his message that Jesus Christ’s offer of eternal life in God’s Kingdom is what really matters (I’m thinking that should have been the bulk of his message).
Anyway, bottom line, the folks within CGI who were hoping for a return to a more spiritual message are going to be sadly disappointed with this latest offering from Pastor Watson. Maybe it’s time that these folks start looking for a different church home? Oh, sorry, I forgot there’s no where for them to go – the other Armstrong Churches of God are just as bad or worse! If you’re not a Trump supporter (or worse – if you support Biden), it’s becoming clearer and clearer that you’re not welcome in the Church of God International.
Miller Jones
