If you were a Philadelphia Church of God member, could you and would you love your minister? Would you love the one who tells you to dump your child at the mall? Would you love the one who tells you to stop speaking to your children, grandchildren, parents or grandparents? Would you love the minister that tells you to sell your business and give all the money to the PCG?
Do you really love the ministers who guard the ordinances of God? We must, if we are to share David’s throne with Jesus Christ!
Next, let's threaten the members with tithing. Make them feel like they are sinning for not sending in a full amount. Make them feel like their salvation is at stake for not wanting to tithe. Even though the new covenant does not expect tithing nor teach it, but instead force it upon your members as a salvation issue.Look where the Laodiceans are: They followed men who didn’t guard the truth of God. They followed men who did not follow God!
Your salvation will be at stake if you do not remain faithful to your minister. After all, he is far more important than Jesus or grace or love.The priests under Ezra collected tithes according to God’s law (verse 44). This is a doctrine the wcg did away with almost immediately after Mr. Armstrong died! They saw it as old and outdated. But anciently, those Jews learned to rejoice in giving to God. They loved to have a minister do whatever was necessary to keep them from going into captivity. They knew the value of such a minister!
We need to love God’s faithful ministers before the captivity so we can escape such captivity! We have to learn this lesson today and not go the way of those ancient Jews prior to captivity—the way the Laodiceans are going today. The modern- day nations of Israel are about to go into captivity—the worst captivity mankind has ever experienced!