Did Jesus Trick the Sincere Members of the Worldwide Church of God 1933-1986

"Gotcha!"

In reading and musing on the "changes" that swept through WCG in the brief leadership of Joseph Tkach, I don't believe I have worked around or met a more sincere, friendly and dedicated to the cause a person as Greg Williams,  now President of Grace Community International, formerly the Worldwide Church of God. Greg replaces Joseph Tkach Jr, who still lurks from all I can tell.   Although formerly sounds lame as there is no comparison between the two.

As a pastor in SC I knew Greg and his family from the Asheville, NC area. All very fine and dedicated folk. Towards the end of my own time in WCG, I attended meetings on "the changes" etc with Greg and always found him to be probably the one pastor I'd ever wish to say was both friend and pastor of any church I attended.  He's a good man and very sincere in his doings.  We parted ways in every way but I respect Greg for many real ways, both for his personable self and for going on to better educated himself in all things theology.  Something most ministers, in the splits, splinters and slivers of WCG simply will not and cannot do.  

I spent time with Greg in ministerial meetings during the transitional times from what WCG was to what CGI now is.  Greg was on board from the start and almost relieved at the changes and I think that may reflect his having somewhat grown up in WCG.  I on the other hand felt I was just being dragged back into what I grew up with and my enthusiasm was not so apparent as you might expect. We parted ways in every way. I knew I wanted out of what most in the meeting seemed to want in on. 

During that time I also had a chat with Ron Kelley, evangelist in the WCG and now enthusiastic supporter of "the changes."  I have my own view as to why but I spare you. Our discussion took place after I had left the ministry but before I knew what direction I'd take with the rest of my life.  We talked about it all and I asked about some personal concerns to which he replied that the church was not able to meet its obligations because "Jesus worked a great miracle in the church and we simply do not have the funds anymore."   I did ask about the monies harvested with the sale of the Pasadena and Big Sandy Campuses, but evidently that was none of my business.  

Jesus worked a great miracle and Joe Tkach another one by being neither accountable for the resources gained in the sacking of the church properties nor remotely apologetic to the very sincere members whose lives he and his cohorts had turned upside down and over a very short time. The emotional and physical toll on the people never seems to have crossed Joe's mind. I guess when you are convinced you are doing the Lord's work, nothing matters anymore but getting it done and see what's left.

  Joe Tkach Sr. changed the church over in a couple years where historical Christianity took several centuries to do so.  I understand on his deathbed Joe Sr lamented that "I have been so foolish" , but who knows and nice timing Joe.  

I chuckle now at Joe Tkach yelling at my wife over the phone to squelch the rumor I had asked him about the day before, I was not home when he called back, about HWA getting divorced.  Of course about a month later it proved true.  I found the rule when talking to the Tkaches about what they had in mind to change and what not to that a "no not that" meant yes and a "Yes, that is the same" meant not for long.

I have always thought that the Tkaches and those of the same persuasion had an obligation not to change the church to their liking, but to leave it and go where they felt better about their theology. They had no right to hurt so many sincere people whose sacrifices and closely held faith and hope in all things seemingly also taught in the Bible and now rejected by them.  They simply should have left themselves.  It seems it was too difficult to change the church and lose the perks of their "leadership", so the rest is history.

Another grievous mistake was Joe Sr continuing the Herbert/Garner Ted pattern of nepotism by bringing comfortable family into positions of authority. But it was a good example of "The first generation founds it. The Second generation maintains it. The Third generation loses it and walks away."

My question then is, Did JESUS  Trick the Church and the incredibly sincere folk that made it up?  In all those decades of sacrifice both in material and spiritual ways, in all those prayers offered for God to bless the Work, guide the Armstrongs, give personal strength to get through the ups and downs of life and look forward to everything from resurrections of loved ones to the change they no doubt would experience themselves "in a moment in the twinkling of the eye and at the last trump" into the Wonderful World Tomorrow, was it a trick?  Some will say that "Jesus was never in the WCG" but that's not the point. The people were. They read their Bibles, prayed for the success and needs of where they were expressing their sincere faith in God, Jesus and the Kingdom of God to come as they understood it.  They scheduled their lives accordingly and for the most part participated freely and in faith.

If Jesus worked this great miracle, it implies he either was in the Church as a church but decided to play a different game at the expense of the people's faith or , not ever being in it, waited 50 years to intervene and bring the leftovers into the fold and set the course aright, again at the expense of the faith of thousands who can not be blamed for all that followed emotionally, spiritually and in their newfound skepticism of organized religion, which often proves to be an oxymoron in the extreme over time. 

Again I ask...

 Did the Cosmic and Resurrected Jesus, who was the supposed head of the church in all things and leader of the leaders as they followed him, trick the good people of WCG over all those years?  Or perhaps, like the Devil who "didn't do it",  Jesus "didn't do it either"?

The Feast is rapidly approaching and this fraudulent COG leader is expecting you to give him your hard-earned money

Where would the Church of God be without some miserable grumpy self-appointed old leader demanding more money at Feast time?  The COG Chief Pharisee, James Malm, was sitting in his lonely kitchen tonight banging away on his keyboard bemoaning the fact that no one is sending him money right now. Seriously people, get your act together!  You are supposed to financially support the man who does not do any physical work but expects you to hand over your money to keep him living comfortably.  Sadly, there will be some few that will.

12 Sep 15:00 PDT: Dear Friends, over this summer TheShiningLight has received an average of 5,000 unique visitors reading nearly 150,000 pages each month.  This COG News site receives almost the same amount of traffic.  In spite of this almost no one has remembered that your financial support is necessary to do this work.  As the Fall Festivals approach our bank balance is shrinking towards zero and we find ourselves in serious need; please consider helping us to serve you.

Is the COG Belief in Zechariah 14:16 a "Profound Misunderstanding"?

It's that time of year again - time for COG Members and families to go forth and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, in obedience to the prophetic writings of Zechariah in chapter 14. For the COG Community, because the Bible Says It, you then must do it, as a commanded convocation, and this is enough reason for them. Let's look at Zechariah 14:16 and it's commentaries:

¹⁶ And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁷ And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. ¹⁸ If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁹ This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
²⁰ In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. ²¹ Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lordof hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. (NKJV)

Zechariah 14:16-21 Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary (Concise) (Bolding mine) 

"As it is impossible for all nations literally to come to Jerusalem once a year, to keep a feast, it is evident that a figurative meaning must here be applied. Gospel worship is represented by the keeping of the feast of tabernacles. Every day of a Christian's life is a day of the feast of tabernacles; every Lord's day especially is the great day of the feast; therefore every day let us worship the Lord of hosts, and keep every Lord's day with peculiar solemnity. It is just for God to withhold the blessings of grace from those who do not attend the means of grace. It is a sin that is its own punishment; those who forsake the duty, forfeit the privilege of communion with God. A time of complete peace and purity of the church will arrive. Men will carry on their common affairs, and their sacred services, upon the same holy principles of faith, love and obedience. Real holiness shall be more diffused, because there shall be a more plentiful pouring forth of the Spirit of holiness than ever before. There shall be holiness even in common things. Every action and every enjoyment of the believer, should be so regulated according to the will of God, that it may be directed to his glory. Our whole lives should be as one constant sacrifice, or act of devotion; no selfish motive should prevail in any of our actions. But how far is the Christian church from this state of purity! Other times, however, are at hand, and the Lord will reform and enlarge his church, as he has promised. Yet in heaven alone will perfect holiness and happiness be found."

Such an interpretation was never considered in the Worldwide Church of God Days. Zechariah 14 - as most of the prophetic writings were in the Old Testament - was taken absolutely literally. Did we ever consider the fact that our literal interpretations of scripture were wildly out of the realm of realism? 

Coffman Commentary:

Any literal acceptance of this verse as a pledge that God will destroy the whole world except a remnant of Jews in every nation, and that the entire physical earth shall journey three times a year to physical Jerusalem to live in tents for a week must be accounted as a preposterous misunderstanding.

There is nothing in the last 2,000 years that resembles a fulfillment of this prophecy, except the repeated triumph of Christ and his gospel in those very lands which once were pagan enemies of the Lord. This verse is a pledge that it will continue to be so.

Yet it is exactly that "preposterous misunderstanding" that the Churches of God hold to - and dearly - when it comes to what they view as biblical support of their steadfast adherence of their unique version of the Feast of Tabernacles. What logistics would be required to literally bring "all nations" to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem? "You, your son, your daughter, your maidservants, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widows"? Has it ever truly been considered that the city of Jerusalem itself cannot possibly contain all nations within it's gates? 

Have the logistics of food, water, sewage, lodging, sound, meeting (how, when, where) ever been considered? It was our belief way back in the day that a literal (there's that word again) Super-Highway would be built to handle the traffic of all nations. Again. Has anyone considered the logistics? 

Perhaps we were certain a supernatural miracle would have had to happen. In exactly the same way we took other literal prophetic statements - such as the taming of wild animals in the World Tomorrow - to be supernaturally conducted. 

So here's the question. For those who hold on to the "literal interpretation" of the Zechariah 14:16 prophecy concerning the Feast of Tabernacles, I ask you - have you ever considered the logistics - and why is it a figurative allegory to these verses cannot, and does not, to you, apply? If Herbert Armstrong was wrong about over 200 "prophecies" in scripture - then what makes him so right about understanding Old Testament prophecies such as the Zechariah prophecies? 

I will tell you on my end as one born and raised in the Church - it was taken absolutely literally, not figuratively. I was not told how these things would happen, just that they would happen. This led to more of a sci-fi like understanding of how these events would transpire in my young mind. Certainly, it would have to be somewhat different for those who came into belief of these prophecies through Armstrong who may not have seriously read these scriptures before. 

Let's have a conversation on Zechariah 14, how you interpreted it then, how you interpret it now, and what it was that made or makes you believe a particular way about this particular prophecy. Please comment below if you are so inclined.

submitted by SHT