The Major Problems with Armstrongism

The Major Problems with Armstrongism 

(which this blog and others have identified)

The following teachings of Herbert Armstrong have been thoroughly refuted here and elsewhere:

1. The nature of God. His teachings about the Trinity, and more particularly those that were related to the Holy Spirit.

2. The nature of the human potential. His teaching that man would one day be equal to God.

3. The biblical origins of the English-speaking nations of the earth. His teaching that the people of the United States and Britain are the descendants of the birthright tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh).

4. That the return of Jesus Christ to this earth is imminent. He repeatedly engaged in date setting and misleading people about the signs of the times.

5. That Christians are obligated to observe the commandments of Torah (including the weekly Sabbath, Holy Days, tithing, and clean and unclean animals as food.

6. That the symbolism of the Holy Days reflected Armstrong's understanding of God's plan. More particularly, his understanding of the meaning of Atonement, Trumpets, and Tabernacles.

7. The nature, purpose, and fate of the angels. Especially, as it related to Satan and his demons.

8. The nature of the ekklesia. His teachings about government within the Church, the composition of the Church, disfellowshipping, and that traditional Christians were deceived members of a false church, a pseudo-ekklesia.

9. The influence of paganism on Christianity. More particularly, his teachings regarding Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Saint's Days, etc., and his rejection of the cross as a Christian symbol.

10. The interpretation of prophecy. More particularly, his headline theology and insinuating modern nations, institutions, and leaders into biblical prophecies.

11. The nature of the Gospel. More particularly, his de-emphasis on the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth and what all of that meant for humanity.

12. The nature of the Kingdom of God. He ignored the anti-authoritarian message of Christ and dismissed the fundamental change that was being wrought in the nature of humanity. Instead, he emphasized a literal government which would forcibly impose its will on everyone.

13. The nature and purpose of human sexuality. More particularly, his teachings about dating, marriage, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, child rearing, appropriate clothing, makeup, and what constituted sexual lust.

14. The nature and role of faith and works in the life of a Christian. His understanding of love, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, faith in Christ, and physical works was twisted and inconsistent with what is revealed in Scripture.

15. The way that Scripture was used and interpreted. Mr. Armstrong's insistence on literalism and proof-texting; and his rejection of all textual criticism, along with the way he ignored context, doomed his interpretations of Scripture to failure.

Lonnie Hendrik/Miller Jones

Musings...Medicine, Theology, Politics: It's all the same

 

This speech from "Patch Adams" has always resonated with me on so many levels applying to so many personal experiences and perspectives.  

"You were never one of them" is an evaluation I have heard all my personal life in being a WCG pastor. "You say the things I am only thinking" is also a quiet moment with another pastor at lunch. I believe that is true and why this speech resonates so much with me personally. 

Getting caught up with WCG, or any Cult of Personality or group beliefs not your own, though you felt they were supposed to be and riding through all the storms that others bring your way can make one feel they failed for not conforming and for not going along to get along. 

Not going along to get along has been one of my own personal life lessons. It's why I can say I now see myself as having been a salesman for the Armstrongs, in the past, and not a well-trained theologian and pastor. I let myself see the Bible through the eyes of others believing it was wrong to see it through my own. Those days are long over. 

But it is not so When you are "not one of them", you are free and, to you, and there be few that find that kind of freedom. And while the price, indeed, is high, for saying what others are only thinking, I find being authentic a much better road to travel.

Besides, life is too short to be someone else.

Is Your Faith So Shallow You Will Let Others Steal Your Crown?

Is Someone Trying to Steal Your Crown?

Over at Banned by HWA, in reaction to Dennis Diehl's post about the dangers inherent to trying to live one's life in accordance with a Divine purpose, a conversation was inaugurated about whether or not Dennis was trying to steal a Christian's metaphorical crown. Now, this is not the first time this charge has been leveled against the various authors of the posts which appear on that blog. Of course, we must first understand that the entire blog is devoted to holding Armstrongist "agents of deception accountable." In other words, everything which appears there is meant to expose the inconsistencies and errors inherent to the theology of the Armstrong Churches of God - to prevent THEM from "stealing your crown."

The concept of crown stealing is drawn from a passage in the book of Revelation. In the messages to the seven ekklesia of Asia, the congregation at Philadelphia was praised for its faithfulness to God's word and their perseverance in the face of opposition to their work (Revelation 3:7-10). Then, in the next verse, we read: "I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown." (Revelation 3:11, ESV) What did they have to hold on to? Wasn't it faithfulness to God's word and perseverance in the face of opposition? Are the Armstrong Churches of God faithful to God's word? OR Are they the agents of deception that we contend they are? In other words, if they aren't being faithful to God's word, then what do they have to hold on to?

In this connection, I have always thought that the message to the ekklesia at Laodicea was more appropriate for the Armstrong Churches of God. We read there: "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see." (Revelation 3:17-18, ESV) Indeed, they glory in the "truth" which they possess even as they completely misunderstand the nature of the "crown" they seek to protect and the kingdom which it represents!

The Greek word "stephanos" is translated into English as "crown." It is indicative of the wreath, garland, coronet which was worn by the Roman emperor or given as a prize to the victor in the public games of that time - a symbol of the honor due to a particular person. In his letter to the ekklesia at Corinth, Paul wrote: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." (I Corinthians 9:24-27, ESV) Likewise, he called the saints at Philippi his "joy and crown" in the Lord (Philippians 4:1). Paul also wrote to Timothy that a "crown of righteousness" was waiting for him "which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." (II Timothy 4:8, ESV) For those who endure trials, James said that they would receive a "crown of life" someday (James 1:12, ESV). Moreover, Peter wrote to the leaders of the ekklesia to: "shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." (I Peter 5:1-4, ESV)

In short, even the use of the "crown" as a metaphor in the writings of the New Testament undermines the teachings of the Armstrong Churches of God about the Kingdom of God and the reward that Christian's are intended to receive from God! Finally, I would also point out that this context makes abundantly clear that YOU are responsible for protecting your crown - NO ONE can steal it from you if you are doing what you're supposed to be doing!

Posted by Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix

Greco-Roman COG Con-artist Takes Questions At Feast And Acts Like It Is A Big Deal

God sure knew what he was doing when he was forming the foundations of the earth so that in these perilous end times, a prophet would arise who would be filled with all the knowledge that true believers need to know.

Never has the church had such a magnificent prophet/apostle/Joshua/Elisha/Elijah in its midst who surpasses all revealed truth from Herbert Armstrong?.

Our most highly favored God to be, the Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel had this to say about his question and answer session at the Feast on prophecy.

CCOG Q&A: Prophetic Questions in Galveston

For this sermon, Dr. Thiel took written questions from people attending the Feast of Tabernacles in Galveston, Texas. He did not see the questions until he saw them while doing the sermon. Questions/topics addressed included whether or not there would be a future Zerubbabel and Joshua, the “teachers of Isaiah 30:20, the timing of the ‘Day of the Lord’ and the 6,000 years, if there is a relationship between the timing of Habakkuk 2:6-8 and Daniel 11:39, the sequence of Daniel 11 and the King of the North, Greco-Roman Catholic prophecies and Satan’s plan, why Muslims will turn against the King of the North, when Satan is cast out of heaven, Sabbath matters, whether Philadelphians would be subject to deadly persecution, the canon of the Bible, the short work, forgiveness, whether or not the serpent Eve saw looked like a snake, the timing of Matthew 24:29, having servants and maids in the Millennium, and the timing of Ephraim and Manasseh turning against Judah, plus comments related to the Beast, Islam, crosses, and the Antichrist. Dr. Thiel commented on each and every question that was submitted.

The Danger in "The God Given Purpose"

 

"Isn't it fantastic that if there is no purpose you have nothing to fulfill. You can just live. 

But no. You want a purpose and not just a simple purpose, but a God given purpose.

It's very dangerous. People who think they have a God given purpose are doing the cruelest things on the planet. They are doing the most horrible things. And they have always been doing the most horrible things. Because when you are given a God given purpose, life here becomes less important than your purpose."

Sadguru-Stop Looking for Purpose

 I couldn't help but think the how true that is when reading the previous post about the trials and tests of Samuel Kitchen as he runs around the planet seeking and fulfilling his perceived God Given Purpose. What a mess he is. The God given purpose can do that to you. 

I don't recall much emphasis, if there was any at all, on having a God given purpose growing up in the Dutch Reformed Church. I never heard the phrase and knew no one striving to find it or fulfill it in that context. We just lived our lives and found meaning wherever it presented itself. That is my recollection.  My parents found meaning in volunteering for the Red Cross or the State School where my brother resided. That was enough. 

But when I discovered The Worldwide Church of God at 14 in a world of assassinations, racial upheaval and war in the Middle East, I became convinced my purpose was to respond to being chosen and have a good explanation as to the oft asked question once in the church, but yet unknown, "So, how did you come into the truth?"

Not only that, my God given purpose was to become a Pastor. That was my personal goal when I went to AC. However, the first student assembly there, GTA warned us all that if anyone came here "to be a minister", to get that out of your head.  What!?  I thought this was a seminary?  (I was naive about the WCG and AC as well as the Armstrongs).  I recall my thought being, "We'll see about that", but kept and pondered these things in my heart. It was kinda like being told in advanced public speaking class by the instructor/minister "No one get's an "A" in my class".  Uh huh...we'll see.  He was mistaken. 

From then on, it was game on.  My purpose was to become a King or a Priest in the Wonderful World Tomorrow. To rule over 10 cities, or 5 or just 1 if I was a lazy ass or had less than stellar enthusiasm for my God given purpose. Personally, I never cared for the idea of ruling cities. I would have more hoped for a nice log home, along a lake in the Adirondacks and basically being left alone with a few good friends in the surrounding Wonderful World Tomorrow community. 

My perception of being a Priest or King was that those positions, back in Biblical and Medieval times were probably considered the premier positions as opposed to the peasant population, so that seemed like great positions to aspire to in that miserable and mundane setting the average person had to endure just to get by. 

My God given purpose was also to attend the FOT with 3 services a day. Morning, afternoon and evening, at least at first, until exhaustion and illness caught up with way too many, marriages were getting a bit frayed, and the kids were beginning already to hate church. I recall thinking at 18 when I attended my first FOT at Squaw Valley, these folk are a bit too driven, but I really think it was just a way to give every hot shot HQ minister some sermon time, at the expense of everyone's attitudes, to serve not God, but ego.  But that's just me. 

It hadn't yet dawned on me that "Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven," (Matthew 5:19) could be taken to mean "no worries, at least I made it" :)

So for the next 30 years, I invested in my God given purpose. To preach the good news of the Kingdom of God both to inspire and motivate. Then of course, the Deity and Jesus must have gotten bored with that purpose and changed it, working a "miracle in the Church".

 Now we had a different God given purpose, and I personally had better get onboard and preach it or else. The new God given purpose was to magnify his Son, honor him through new, but not new of course, Holy Days of Christmas and Easter and eschew all things in the previous God given purpose. Of course, this was all done on purpose. 

I was no longer interested in the concept of the God given purpose and I thank God that I never hopped over to those insisting on the old God given purpose or those all emotionally attaching to new one, which, of course, was not new at all. It was just new to them. For me it was the reinvention of the wheel. Not interested. 

From all of this, my personal conclusion in the whole matter was that the Deity and Jesus are tricksters who would have known that when I sought my original, because I was chosen, had "come into the truth" and now had my God given purpose, but it really wasn't that at all and decades on the ruse would be revealed. Being suspicious of the new God given purpose and having already experienced that the first quarter of my life, I don't find a need any more to have such lofty goals or purpose.

The obsessions and compulsive behaviors one can come up with to fulfill their God given purpose are myriad and not a bit frightening. They can tear your family apart and leave you not a bit broke if one attaches oneself to, say, a Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack or others not only obsessed with their own purpose but in need of being in charge of inflicting it upon others at great cost. 

 The world, indeed, is full of examples of the perils and dangers in having one's own God given purpose which conflict with the God given purposes of others.  

So I agree with...

" People who think they have a God given purpose are doing the cruelest things on the planet. They are doing the most horrible things. And they have always been doing the most horrible things. Because when you are given a God given purpose, life here becomes less important than your purpose."

Poor Samuel Kitchen is a really good example of a really bad view of himself and the folly of "The God Given Purpose". 

"If you have balance, then you can climb. If you don't have balance, then it is better you stay on the ground. It's not safe for somebody who is not balanced to climb high. It is best you stay close to the ground. Then you should not climb"

"If you are looking for a purpose, you are seeking madness. If you find one, you are sure mad. If you think you have found a purpose in life, you for sure gone crazy. Because only insane people have purpose. Or people who have purpose are insane in many ways. "

"If you think this is your purpose (to fight for "my country") you will destroy the whole world for the nonsense you believe in"

"The purpose in life is to live"

 

Petra: Round 2-Another Failure

Two years ago, Samuel Kitchen headed off to Jerusalem to usher in the end times and gather the faithful Worldwide Church of God members. Devious crooks conned him with hotel reservations, and he had to leave Jerusalem and head off to Petra, where God had placed his name for the Feast. That turned into a major catastrophe that drove a wedge between his brothers and broke other relationships.

Never one to learn a lesson from the debacle, he is back this year in Petra for round 2 after Turkey ruined his orginal plans. This will once again will most assuredly be another bust.

Good morning brethren, 

 

I’ve been awake for almost 4 hours now already. I was awakened this morning in Petra, Jordan by a voice saying “What’s this, Samuel?” And since then i haven’t been able to go back asleep. 

 

And now, almost 7am in the morning, I am in my room asking God and contemplating why I have returned to Petra. 

 

Earlier in the year, I was actually looking into Egypt, to visit Mt. Sinai and to contemplate God’s great work there, during the Feast of Tabernacles.  

 

I was spurred to look for friendly countries, after listening to Gerald Waterhouse give a sermon, and after some prayer and research I settled on Egypt. I even purchased a plane tickets for my younger brother.  

 

I had booked our tickets through Turkish Airlines, and I was kind of nervous doing that considering the history of the Turkish people and the prophecies of the Bible.(Particularly Obadiah). 

 

Our 15hr layover was going to be in Istanbul, Turkey.  

 

Well a few weeks ago, Turkish airlines cancelled our connecting flight from Istanbul to Egypt, causing the cancellation of the entire trip.  

 

I began looking at inland United States, along the Florida, and Alabama coastlines, and wasn’t having any luck finding a suitable place to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 

 

I even looked along the eastern coastline, and even looked at European, and Asian countries, asking God to open a door to where He placed His name. 

 

Then I remembered, God did place His name here in Petra! In 2022, when God’s people were planning on assembling in Jerusalem, we were guided by Jesus Christ to Petra, Jordan. 

 

Last year I kept the Feast in Philadelphia, PA, and the worldwidechurchofgod.org website was started. Its function was to facilitate the ASSEMBLING of the membership of the Worldwide Church of God, and to show we are not completely destroyed as some assume. 

 

I find it interesting that it was in PHILADELPHIA that this world started forward in such a manner.  

 

But now this year, I was anticipating distress here in the United States, especially during the election year. I started to look at friendly countries that supported Mr Armstrong. I looked in Africa, and finally landed on Egypt.  

 

I realized how reasonable the prices were to travel there, and I sought to visit Mt. Sinai, and stay there for the duration of this years Feast of Tabernacles.  

 

Suddenly $2,000+ landed in my hands from new customers and I had the ability to purchase tickets and reserve hotel stays. So I did. I knew that it was safe in God’s hands. He provided the money, and even though I was struggling financially, I decided to put God first, and make sure His Feast and Holy Days were taken care of first! 

 

As we approached Feast time, with the upset and troubles in the Middle East, airports began to close. Our way into Egypt, was through Turkey. 

 

And when they cancelled, the book of Obadiah came instantly to my mind.

“For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

“In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.(against God’s Church)

“But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

“Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; (into the congregations of the Worldwide Church of God)yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity”(verses 10-13)

We begin to see who took the “substance” of the WCG organization, should NOT have done such.

“Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.”(verse 14)

Now, those of the Worldwide Church of God was persecuted!(Rev. 12:13) We were targeted with oppression, in order to NOT assemble together.

What happened was the membership of the Worldwide Church of God was forced to assemble in other churches and other groups! (And they used the name of “the Church of God” to cast the net over them! The wolves did the pushing, to force the flock into a scattered condition, where a “network” worked on the people! No longer were they together as they were assembled under Christ’s apostle Herbert W Armstrong!

It’s been a real battle to reassemble as the Worldwide Church of God, doing it God’s way! My family did so under great scrutiny, and peril.

So much so, new church groups and websites were started to copy us and our work, and their goal was to eliminate the warning message to our Laodicean brethren!!

My family was hit tremendously, and some have died in this battle to assemble as God has called us to assemble!

So in 2022, I sought to declare the continued existence of the Worldwide Church of God here in Jerusalem. As soon as that was declared, and as soon as we met up with fellow brethren, we were moved to Petra, Jordan. There we kept the Holy Days and the Festivals of God! It was made crystal clear where God placed His name!

So as I looked at friendly countries, and as plans began to fall through, I was looking at Egypt. I found a scripture in 1 Kings 19, where Elijah fearing for his life, thinking he was the ONLY SERVANT OF GOD LEFT ON EARTH, fled Jezebel’s slaughter and ran into the wilderness a day, and was prepared to die. He asked God to kill him. But God gave him food and strength and he continued his journey to Mt. Sinai!

There wind, earthquakes and fires were persecuting Elijah! God’s Word says “The Lord wasn’t in them”. Now who was behind those things and using those things, if God wasn’t? Satan the Devil wanted Elijah dead.

Now here was Elijah at Mt. Sinai, now located in modern Egypt, facing great persecution. Then he heard the voice of God, and there you see the man of Gid responding!

The Lord asked him “Why are you here, Elijah?” Elijah responded saying “And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”(verse 14)

God asked him again, “Why are you here, Elijah?” And again Elijah repeated what he said before!

Elijah came to Mt.Sinai, his entire life focused on the work of God. He was fleeing an unsafe environment, trying to stay alive to finish what was given him to do. He had thoughts he was done, so he asked for death.

But God was yet to FINISH the Elijah work, and God orders Elijah to return.

So after looking at Egypt, I found this scripture, and thought I was to go to Egypt. But then Modern day Edom, and Esau, which is Turkey, stopped my ability to go there. So I began to think on why I looked at Mt. Sinai, and God’s question to Elijah kept coming back to me. Why there? God says go back to “this location” to finish the job. Back to where God placed HIS NAME, and Elijah went back with the name of God stamped on him!

And so coming back to Petra, is very interesting. There aren’t any brethren here with me. I’m alone. But many brethren are with me in spirit, and have joined with me via The Worldwide Church of God website, where they are!

This past year, Satan has inspired some to rise up to claim the name of God’s true Church, and to have approval from Caesar against us. To keep us from assembling without their involvement.

So as far as I know, Petra, Jordan is the Headquarters of God’s True Church right now! He has placed His name here, and no other impostor can erase this fact!

All the prophecies of this Church shows this Church going into “her place”(Revelation 12:14). She isn’t recognized as having ANY OTHER PLACE TO GO!

So while others are assembling in Tennessee and other places which are convenient for them, God’s Church is and will end up assembling where God says is HER PLACE!

That is not the word of Samuel Kitchen! God’s Word says this Chirch will go to a place of safety!

Now returning back to Obadiah 1, and the persecution this Chirch is receiving, let’s read verse 16.

“For as ye”…the spiritual edomites who have attempted to rob and destroy the Worldwide Church of God…”have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.”

Yes they have been drinking and gobbling up everything this Church (which only has God’s government restored)has put out, so much they even grasp to lay claim of possession on what is NOT theirs!

What is coming, against them, is from Jesus Christ!

And while Christ moved me around the blocking of my path to the Feast, and led me safely back to where his name was placed, perhaps my job is to once again announce where God’s Church, the Worldwide Church of God is headquarter and based out of!!!

Last year, even some from other groups, had to flee Jerusalem to Jordan to escape war. I think that highlights this even more!

The Worldwide Church of God is alive! And I’m here in Petra, Jordan hosting online for brethren all around the world.

Listen to God’s apostle, and the ministry who have prepared messages for our time. Let the true witness, which is Jesus Christ, remind you of what He has said. Have a wonderful feast everyone! I am praying for your safety and blessing.

In Christ’s name,

Samuel W Kitchen

Will You Be Ruling Over Ten Cities?

Parable of the 10 Minas

Will You Be Ruling Over Ten Cities?

In my last post, I discussed how Herbert Armstrong confused human notions about governance and the exercise of authority with God's conception of those things. Indeed, we demonstrated that his failure to comprehend the profound differences between the two models led him to twist the meaning of the Kingdom of God! To be more precise, we made it very clear that Armstrong's emphasis on GOVERNMENT and RULERSHIP was misguided, and it twisted his understanding of what the Gospel of the Kingdom of God was all about. In this post, we will demonstrate that it also twisted his understanding of one of Christ's parables about the Kingdom (It actually twisted Armstrong's understanding of many parables, but we don't have the space or time to go through all of them here).

In the nineteenth chapter of Luke, we read:

11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’
15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’
17 ‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’
18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’
19 ‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’
20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’
22 ‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’
25 ‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’
26 ‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

In his explanation of this parable, Herbert Armstrong wrote: "Now notice in verse 17, the one who had gained ten pounds is given authority to RULE CITIES - 'have thou authority over ten cities'! To the one who had gained five pounds, he said, 'Be thou also over five cities.' This is speaking of the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST and of His delegating authority to rule to saints converted during this Christian era, between Christ's first and second appearings (sic) on earth. This parable, then, was spoken to make clear to us that the Kingdom of God is a literal GOVERNMENT, to be set up AT CHRIST'S SECOND COMING - and not before!" - Just What Do You Mean - Kingdom of God? Armstrong also observed on another occasion "Some resurrected saints will rule over ten cities, some over five (Luke 19: 17 -19)." - Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like

Unfortunately, Mr. Armstrong always had trouble interpreting symbolism because of his obsession with literalism. He seems to have forgotten what a parable is! In their article, What is a Parable? Christianity.com provides this definition of a parable: "A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. The word "parable" comes from the Greek word 'parabolē,' which means 'comparison' or 'illustration.' Parables typically employ everyday situations and characters, making them accessible to a wide audience." In the writings of Herbert Armstrong referenced in the preceding paragraph, he seemed to understand that the nobleman represented Christ, but he quickly abandons any notion of symbolic meaning and declares that this passage means that resurrect saints will be ruling over literal cities in God's Kingdom! In other words, he is making the parable conform to his understanding that the Kingdom of God is all about "GOVERNMENT."

Now, let's return to the parable itself and reread it without Mr. Armstrong's obvious bias. According to Luke, why did Jesus give this parable? Didn't he tell them this story "to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away?" Isn't it obvious that Christ's disciples had the same obsession with a literal, human-like kingdom that Herbert Armstrong developed? Didn't Christ's disciples think in terms of Christ overthrowing Roman rule and restoring the Davidic Kingdom? In this connection, please review Acts 1:6-8. Do you think that the parable is about actual money being distributed to Christ's disciples? Is it possible that the story is pointing to the gifts of the Holy Spirit being distributed to them? Is it possible that the story is suggesting that those servants should be about the business of growing in grace and knowledge - developing the fruits of that Spirit which were entrusted to them? Is it possible that the story is suggesting that those individuals who have grown the most in love, kindness, and mercy will be the greatest in the Kingdom? Indeed, wouldn't such an interpretation be more consistent with our understanding of the definition of a parable? What do you think?

One more thing. All of this brings another passage of Scripture to mind. In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, we read:

10 His disciples came and asked him, 'Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?'

11 He replied, 'You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.'" (Matthew 13:10-13, NLT)

Is it just me, or does that suggest anything to you about Herbert Armstrong's status as a disciple of Jesus Christ?



Posted by Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix