Can you imagine anything more dismal than what Richard Ames describes below? Given the track record of the leadership of LCG and most Church of God's today, who in their right mind would want to be "trained" by these people"? Never has there been such a sour, grumpy, mean spirited group of self-appointed men in COG history as what we have today. They kill any desire people have for a millennial kingdom to come given how they treat people.
Just how many Churches of God's do we need proclaiming they are teaching "true knowledge"? Every single one of them has their own unique interpretation of how things should be. They are not unified as a church and most certainly are not unified on doctrines and understanding of God's word or on Jesus. Who can anyone trust any more? Will all of these different COG's have their own "colleges" in the world tomorrow where they teach their own specific doctrines? If so, what a hellish millennium is instore for humanity!
True Wisdom and Knowledge
Though the world around us wants to confuse and deceive us with false knowledge, we must maintain a teachable heart. Why? We are learning in this life the lessons that will help us serve as kings and priests in the Millennium. In that day, we will be teaching the whole world true knowledge. “For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers” (Isaiah 30:19–20).
Yes, all of God’s people who are faithful will be teachers in tomorrow’s world. We’ll be those kings and priests. During the Millennium, today’s firstfruits will play an active role in helping people stay on the right path of true knowledge. “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (v. 21). The responsibility of a priest is to intercede for someone else, but also to teach. And we’re learning that way of life so we can teach it to others. We learn painful lessons so that we can help those who are also experiencing painful lessons.
But what about religious knowledge? So many religions of this world are not even convincing counterfeits of God’s true religion. In them, we find violence, deception, and the acceptance of evil as if it were good. Most of the world’s religion today is under the sway of the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4)—Satan the devil. Yet the presence of a lie does not mean there is no truth. True religion gives us the missing dimension in knowledge. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). What do we do with that truth? “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed’” (v. 31). We must abide in the truth! What is that truth? “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). We must not become contaminated by the world’s values, and we must practice outflowing concern for others.
If we have received true knowledge, we will be found acting on it, not just knowing it. Christianity is a way of life. In fact, that’s what Christianity was called before it was called Christianity: “But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings” (Acts 24:22). The Apostle Paul wrote, “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets” (Acts 24:14). That phrase, “the Way,” occurs three other times in Acts (9:2; 19:9, 23).
