Twenty-five years ago, on February 10, 1986, Jules Dervaes wrote a letter to Joseph Tkach, Sr., whom Herbert W. Armstrong had designated as the next Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God before his death (January 16, 1986). The letter expressed a personal concern but also addressed the matter of a pervasive, underlying culture that had developed in the church—one whereby ministers were identifying themselves with the truth. Mr. Dervaes wrote his first letter with much trepidation but with firm conviction, stating, “I am responsible for what I know.”

A series of letters followed, written over the next nine months to the church authorities, including repeated requests for a personal response from or a meeting with Mr. Tkach. None was granted. In October 1986, Jules Dervaes’s membership in the church was revoked through his being disfellowshipped. This forced separation, both organizational and social, signaled an end to the private phase of his search for truth and began the next chapter—a public witness.

These letters and openly distributed “scrolls” were insightful and prescient analyses of harmful attitudes in the church’s leadership, laying out the likely consequences if those mind-sets were not corrected. The subsequent splintering of the church, beginning in 1989, proved Mr. Dervaes’s warnings accurate. The reluctant messenger had been vindicated, but it was a bitter “victory.”

Ten years later, in 1999, Mr. Dervaes reflected on the importance of researching history as the only way “to understand today [and] to know what direction to take for the future” (“History: Research or Rehash?”). Rather than ignore the unpleasant and painful events of the past, a complete and honest examination should be undertaken so that the lessons of that history can be uncovered and applied to the present. “Failure to do so will only mean that we will end up making the same mistakes, as our present circumstances clearly confirm” (Dervaes, “The Hidden Years-About”).

Mr. Armstrong often spoke of the principle of “duality,” a method of interpretation that seeks to understand the original setting of a text or meaning of an event but then also applies the patterns discerned to current and future events or to a personal situation. This task requires an active, ongoing and in-depth engagement with the LIVING WORD.

It is a common observation that the Bible does NOT whitewash its accounts. The tales told are often sordid and unflattering in the extreme. They are stories of failure. They describe the human condition,
unedited. But, the Bible also chronicles the growth and character-building that can happen when one is confronted with one’s mistakes, however grievous, and given a chance to make restitution. King David is a classic example.

However, the human preference is to forget the losses of the past and move on to a new life—often in a new place. Seeking immediate relief, people grasp at momentary comfort and temporary pleasure, thereby shunning the opportunity to change. Rather than remembering what happened and taking responsibility for failure, escaping is chosen as better than facing (or being faced with) what has been ruined.

When the occasion arose to return to a destroyed Jerusalem, first under Zerubbabel and then with Ezra, a majority of the Babylonian captives chose to remain in their new land (Dervaes, 1983, “Yearning for the Kingdom”). Returning meant they would have to face their failures as they lived amidst the rubble in the ruined surroundings of Jerusalem and come up with the real answer why the Babylonians had been allowed to conquer their land.

Where is the spirit of remembering, of returning? There is a torture in going back to face failure. The natural direction is to keep moving away, to keep distance from what has been lost, because it is too painful. To overcome human nature, we need God’s help—to move towards true godly sorrow and repentance.

As Mr. Dervaes observed a few short months after the horrific events and loss of life on September 11, 2001:

What worries me is how easy it is for me to forget even the worst past tragedy and live so secludedly, so splendidly in the present’s magic moment. The quickness with which loss is dealt with today is eerie. [...]

To mourn is a lost ‘art’ in the West. To grieve by wearing black is out of place, positively old-fashioned to the point of being considered morbid. In Victorian times the traditional mourning period for a widow ran for two and a half years. Today, a black veil is a relic. Why would we want to waste precious time remembering those “no longer with us”?

It’s all about establishing value. What we mourn is what we value outside ourselves. To ‘cry’ over an extended time will convey appraised worth. We can’t let life become another throwaway commodity. When there is loss, we need to take precious time and walk the path in tears.

In the church and in our personal lives, we need to recover the lost art of mourning and “remember Zion.”

In a report about the recent conference held by the United Church of God following a major split, a UCG leader described his rosy outlook in this way:

What a wonderful and energized conference we just held in Cincinnati! Several of you commented about our new beginning, energy and enthusiasm to preach the gospel, as well as to serve the churches. [...]

We were heartened by the optimistic spirit of moving on. We have come through a serious separation, yet we are optimistic for a strong recovery.

The time to mourn has not passed. We need to open ourselves to a heart- and gut-felt sorrow over our failures and cultivate a longing for what has been lost. Only then will we know the “total emotional involvement” necessary to initiate changes. Only through restoring the ruins and never forgetting the lessons can we truly move forward.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion (Psalm 137:1).

The date January 16, 2011, marked 25 years since the death of Herbert W. Armstrong. It was a tragic reflection on his work and the legacy which his so-called heirs have squandered that, a few days prior to the anniversary, an organizing conference for yet another splinter group from the late, great Worldwide Church of God convened.

Mr. Armstrong restored essential doctrines of the church that had been lost, including the observance of the weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Day Festivals. He also emphasized the importance of preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God. However, as these doctrines were established in the WCG, the church itself—its organization and well-being—became the overriding focus of “the work.” The ancient agricultural roots of the annual festivals, as well as the farming ethos of the early Radio Church of God in the community of the Willamette Valley in Oregon, were dropped as the church organization expanded and came to be defined by a highly successful publishing, broadcast and education outreach centered in urban Pasadena.

In bringing back the abandoned doctrines, Mr. Armstrong failed to set forth the crucial importance of restoring the LIFESTYLE in which these doctrines could be embodied and developed. Thus, a dangerous split was embedded in the church and in its individual members between mind and body. (To read more, see “God, Man & Technology.”)

The results of this inherent split between the mental and the physical are, today, blatantly displayed at the organizational level by the myriad “Church of God” groups which have spun off from the original Worldwide Church of God. The recent breakaway (COGWA) from the largest remaining group (UCG) has set off a desperate scramble of competing church-wranglers who are trying to round up stray members and ministers and drive them into each group’s “corral” so that the size of their herd can be increased. The “lasso” being used is the claim that a particular group is the possessor of God’s true work, brazenly touting their numerical growth as evidence of fruit.

Some of the main wranglers with their claims are cited below.

Gerald and Stephen Flurry, Philadelphia Church of God.

“Making Sense of the Church Split: Judge By the Fruits” by Stephen Flurry, January 7, 2011.

As Mr. Armstrong learned early on in his ministry, the work of preaching the gospel to the world directly paralleled the growth of Ambassador College. “It was the development of the college in Pasadena that MADE POSSIBLE the growth of the whole gospel work,” he wrote in his Autobiography.

In like manner, our college has provided the means for this work to exert a powerful influence worldwide. In terms of membership figures, this church is still incredibly small. But the size and scope of this work testifies loudly to what Almighty God can do through a small group of dedicated servants.

With the college and the headquarters building program now well into their tenth year, here is a quick snapshot of where we are in God’s work: Worldwide attendance stands at about 5,500. Serving those brethren, we have 72 ordained ministers—41 of them employed by the Church. Counting ministers and employees, 115 people work for the Church full-time. Another 60 are on payroll as part-timers. We’ve added 55 employees just since 2006, when the college first started turning out four-year graduates.

[...]

We have the public appearance campaigns, the television program, the web presence, hundreds of online videos, two magazines and dozens and dozens of books, booklets and reprint articles, as well as a 36-lesson Bible correspondence course.

[...]

It’s an incredible story….But at the same time, isn’t this what you would expect of a work God does through men? As Mr. Armstrong wrote in his Autobiography, when God does something through humans, it must start in the smallest of ways. But like the tiny mustard seed, the smallest of herbs, it continually grows until it becomes the biggest!

David C. Pack, The Restored Church of God

“RCG Fruits—Phenomenal Growth Continues!” by David C. Pack, [?] December 2010.

Growth is the greatest indicator of fruit. Each separate category demonstrating growth forms another fruit one can measure. In this regard, The Restored Church of God is without peer in every category of measurement! This is in addition to being the only Church that teaches without compromise the exact same truths taught by Herbert W. Armstrong in the WCG until his death in 1986. The following statistics compare the years 2010 and 2009, with 2008 sometimes included. For well-known internal reasons, all 2011 estimates are conservative!

[...]

As conditions in the world grow darker, and time grows shorter, we continue to pray diligently that more will follow Christ’s command to “anoint their eyes” (Rev. 3:18) so they can join where He is leading. We are pleased that in 2010 again a significant percent of our growth continues to come from those who were once in the Worldwide Church of God. With more regularly joining us from UCG and LCG (and smaller groups), we look forward to welcoming many more who desire to help finish the final chapter of God’s Work in this age!

Roderick Meredith, Living Church of God

Letter posted online, December 25, 2010.

Pray that God will bring with us those who should come and would loyally and cooperatively help us “do the Work.” For we certainly need more dedicated members and ministers.

[...]

Fellow ministers, I urge all of you to stir yourselves to reach out to these people and these ministers, to visit them as soon as you are able, to work with your Elders and members to make them feel welcome and to help them in every way to become part of the group that is really “doing the Work” at this time. We do not want to pressure or “proselytize” anyone in a wrong way. But it is certainly not wrong to reach out to them and let them know that we love them and would love to have them with us to help us do the Work and get the message out to a very confused world.
[...]
Brethren, most of you realize that a huge Work needs to be done within the next few years—far beyond anything we have done thus far. I can sincerely tell you that I can see more “light at the end of the tunnel” than I have ever seen before as far as the end of this age coming relatively soon and the foundations being prepared for a truly big Work to be done by us! As you know, Christ Himself has just opened the Discovery Channel to us, has given us a much better time on Word Network—which is already producing very good fruit….

Dennis Luker, United Church of God

“Jan. 14 Letter from Dennis Luker,” January 14, 2011.

The work of the Church has been hindered in some ways over the past year or so, and we expect—following the direction of the living Head of the Church, Jesus Christ—that we will emerge from these meetings refreshed and energized, eager to tackle the work that our loving and faithful God has set before us.

As the work of God advances, I expect to communicate with you ever more frequently. As you likely now know, about 30 percent of the ministers formerly associated with the United Church of God have formed their own separate organization.

In that regard, I want to bring a critically important point to your attention: Similar to other organizations that formed from the prior association in the 1990s, some of those formerly associated with us are actively seeking to draw members away from the United Church of God. Let me speak plainly: Some claim a “superior” form of church government. Some say that they are doing a work “more effectively.” Others profess to be some sort of apostolic heir. These challenges, of course, have no basis in fact. But we must warn you, lest their enticing words lead you astray.

Based on what we have already seen in current trends, we expect the United Church of God to go forth with renewed strength, energized and ready to humbly yield to the power—and to the growth—that God provides! James teaches us to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (chapter 1:2) because these trials refine us. We have all felt that refining fire, but we have also remained steadfast! We know that he who endures to the end—he who overcomes—will reap the reward that God has in store for us.

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The UCG has called for a special ministerial conference to be held January 31 - February 1, 2011, in response to the split in their organization. The first sessions on the agenda address the topic “What happened and why, and lessons learned.”

The question “Why?” has already been answered in events that unfolded following the death of Herbert Armstrong. At that time, there was a series of letters written to the church administration and, later, distributed publicly that pointed out fundamental problems in the church and warned of serious consequences if those problems were not addressed. The warnings were ignored, and the “mother ship” foundered and was wrecked, splintering into hundreds of pieces. What is happening today was explained 25 years ago; the current events are merely aftershocks that can be traced back to the original disaster.

The real cause of the recent developments in the churches is the continuing split between the mental and the physical that was already a characteristic of the “unified” mother church and her members and then was passed down—unquestioned—to the next generations.

The result is confusion about where the real work of God is and how it operates. How can each of these groups claim to “have” God’s work? How can the true work of God be split up into competing groups? And, most importantly, how can what is divided be made whole once again?

In order to restore Mr. Armstrong’s legacy and then to go forward and correct the faults, there must first be a people united, a people who would never break away. As Mr. Armstrong often passionately preached:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

On December 23, 2010, another granddaughter was born to the Worldwide Church of God. Earlier this week, she was officially christened Church of God, a Worldwide Association (the winner out of 411 suggested names). Regretfully, her mother, United Church of God, an International Association, was not present in body (but most certainly in spirit).

Like mother, like daughter,¹ now like granddaughter. The message² of this newest entity is the same as her mother’s:³ we are here to provide you a home.

• We are forming this new organization as a home for believers who share our mission, our values and our beliefs.
• Plans will be made for providing a spiritual home for members and elders who have become disenfranchised and disillusioned….

And that home will be just like the one that has been left, “our previous organization,” a.k.a. UCG. The organizational conference held in Louisville, Kentucky, this week⁴ made that clear. Even before the conference itself, pre-conference committees were established “to ensure the continuity of important church programs.”

• Opening address by a recent former president of the UCG.

• Interim governance team of former UCG elders and leaders.

• “All established policies that existed in our previous organization will remain in effect until changes are made.”

• Funds provided so that “we will immediately begin taking care of those relying upon the Church for financial assistance,” including widows, retired ministers, pastors, and other salaried ministers.

• Pastors provided for congregations “as soon as possible.”

• Support of doctrines, “20 fundamental beliefs,” established by UCG in 1995.

• “Preaching the gospel” via development of literature and the Internet: “We have just as much passion for doing this as ever.”

• Educational programs—highest priority is youth camps.

• Feast of Tabernacles: “We have 20 or more past Feast coordinators.” (The FUN times will continue.)

Above all, members of this new organization can be assured that God is on their side: “Christ has allowed all that has happened. He knows of this meeting. Let’s pray for His direction. If we are faithful, we can be confident that God will finish His work in us (Philippians 1:6).”

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What can we learn from the course of these recent events? Certainly, nothing new or surprising has occurred. It was all laid out 25 years ago.⁵ The genetic trait of “schism” is being passed down through the generations: “Betrayal begets betrayal; one coup only spawns others.”⁶ And, as the evidence shows, the second and third generations are doing nothing to resist or change this trait.

One could easily dismiss this latest crisis as a mere blip on the news radar, of interest only to the insiders (and former insiders) of an obscure religious group. Yet, the lessons being demonstrated are universal and applicable at a very personal level.

While the COGWA pre-conference committees were meeting, an interview was published⁷ about the making of a newly released movie. While we have not seen and will not see this movie because of its graphic nature and because it presents a wrong solution, the interview touches on a core issue of human nature.

As the female lead explains,

Basically, the crux of the movie is that when you’re a teenager or a young adult, you say, “When I grow up, I’m not going to be anything like my parents. I’m going to get the hell out of here and I’m going to reinvent myself, and you won’t be able to see their shadow anywhere inside of me.”

And then you wake up in your relationship and you think, “I am my mom and I married my dad. How did that happen, when all I wanted to do was get away and be my own person? They’re there. One’s living inside of me and I’m sleeping with the other.”

And [the character] realizes she’s in the middle of playing this out. And she knows how the story’s going to end. So if she doesn’t make a change, she may as well go on autopilot for the rest of her life.

The crux of becoming an adult, a mature Christian, is to know our genetic heritage, to understand the patterns that define who we are and govern what we do, most especially in our intimate relationships. Then, the crucial, ongoing life task is to RESIST the harmful influences and CHANGE the negative patterns.

The problem, of course, is that we are comfortable with our heritage, with who we are, and do not see the need to change; we are at home with ourselves and seek to recreate that place—whether in a church organization or in a marriage—where we can continue to feel at home. Because “at home-ness” is our natural state, our default way of existing and relating, the status quo, we will have to experience discomfort and the unsettled feeling of being not-at-home, not ourselves, in attempting to make any change.

God has instituted a most excellent training program, the school of marriage, to give us the opportunity to confront (and be confronted with) the inherited traits we must struggle to change. We must leave our old selves, our previous home, and cleave to another.

In a worldly sense, we go from one home to a new home and do not experience uncertainty. In true Christianity and true marriage, however, change comes as a result of having NO home. It is in this situation of uncertainty where Christ works.

In the stark language of Christianity, we have to “lose our life” and “put off our old self.” The call to be a disciple of Christ is the call to be a pilgrim, to be “strangers and foreigners,” to be homeless while seeking a better homeland (Hebrews 11:13-16).

NOTES

¹ “Preface: September 21, 1998,” The Hidden Years, by Jules Dervaes, page ix.
² Press Release and Conference Updates, December 24, 2010 - January 11, 2011, published online by Church of God, a Worldwide Association, http://cogwa.org/news.html.
³ “Homeless In Your City?” by Jules Dervaes, January 7, 2011.
⁴ Press Release and Conference Updates, December 24, 2010 - January 11, 2011, published online by Church of God, a Worldwide Association, http://cogwa.org/news.html.
⁵ The Hidden Years, by Jules Dervaes, 1998.
⁶ “Letter to Mr. Tkach, Jr. from Jules Dervaes: August 26, 1996″ in The Hidden Years, by Jules Dervaes, page 315.
⁷ “Not by Heart” by Glenn Whipp in Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2011, page S24.

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8b, NIV)

According to the latest “re-assurance”¹ from the United Church of God leadership, “they recognize the faith…that is being produced [in the church members].”

The signs:

• “Selfless service and commitment to Jesus Christ”
• Signatures on a card in support of the Council of Elders
• Letters and calls of support

The real question is, Would Christ recognize the above as evidence of “faith”? The Christ who told the person who wanted to follow him that, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58, NIV).

The UCG leadership, on the other hand, speaks of each member having “a place to worship God each Sabbath—with faithful ministers to serve you.” And, to emphasize that special offer, they write again of their congregations having “a peaceful and spiritually nourishing home in which to worship on each Sabbath and Holy Day.”

The status quo, “stability,” will be maintained; the flock will continue to be “protected,” that is, made comfortable. No need to fret about uncertainty. A full smorgasbord of spiritual delicacies is spread before them. No need to learn the survival skills of foraging and hunting for one’s own and one’s family’s spiritual nourishment. No need to risk not having a place to go,² being HOMELESS.³ No need to grow up, become mature, take responsibility for one’s own salvation.

No, the church’s leadership “will continue to provide” so that the members have :

• A place to worship
• Multiple feast sites
• Youth camps
• Bible Center
• Literature—in print and online
• Television and online video

And, thus, they can “be comforted.”

“As we prepare to advance, what are we to do as members?” Yes, indeed, what is there left to do? The UCG leadership maintains that the work is in television, printed publications and online. But, in what way is the faith of the individual member being developed in his or her daily life? How and where does the individual member “labor to begin the physical Kingdom of God on this earth ”?⁴

The “open door” (Revelation 3:8) of an organization, a team, is not necessarily the open door for the individual, just as the “place of safety” (Revelation 3:10)  is not for “an entire church at large.”⁵ An individual “cannot qualify for the Kingdom VIA THE TEAM.”⁶

What happens if “a real demonstration of faith by you personally, by you openly”⁷ means following Christ and risking homelessness for a season,⁸ even for many years, so that you experience what it truly means to depend on God as you work and train now for his coming Kingdom?

NOTES

¹ “Letter to Ministers and Members,” December 23, 2010, from Melvin Rhodes and Dennis Luker, United Church of God, an International Association.
² “Preface: September 21, 1998,” The Hidden Years, by Jules Dervaes.
³ “Christianity: Its Awful , Primitive Roots,” by Jules Dervaes, August 20, 2002.
⁴ “Lollipops,” by Jules Dervaes, October 9, 2008.
⁵ “A Special Pentecost Letter: June 6, 1989″ in The Hidden Years, by Jules Dervaes, page 270.
⁶ “A Special Pentecost Letter,” page 274.
⁷ “Lollipops.”
⁸ “Dear Friends Letter: May 3, 1988″ in The Hidden Years, by Jules Dervaes, pages 245-247.

[The following commentary is a follow-up to "Lollipops," published Day of Atonement, October 9, 2008]

[First published October 16, 2008]

The time has come to settle conclusively the issue of where God is working and who His people are today. It was in January, 1986, that a rich, complacent WCG became confused and out of that confusion there arose what would grow to be the most insidious rebellion ever against God. Since all essential doctrines remained the same at first, there was no clear and present evidence of error to raise a red flag. True to form, spiritual sickness would have its origin in the heart and initially be manifested in affected attitude, breaking out as callous, worldly behavior.

The source of infection was identified to be the top ministers; but, inevitably, due to sycophantic dispositions combined with leader idolization, the ranks of the ailing swelled rapidly. Without a quarantine to cut off the viral element, the outbreak was not stemmed until the epidemic extended from “the head to the soles of the feet.” Yet, even when evidence surfaced to confirm the presence of disease, there was no turning to God to seek His super-natural cure. Instead of taking the strong, slow-acting medicine prescribed in the Bible, many were desperate for quick relief. Sensing a golden opportunity to take in the weak, self-serving ministers began hawking snake oil. And, on and on, their scam has continued to this day.

These hirelings, who had drawn salaries as officials supporting the organization, who, as benefactors, had nurtured its culture of mindless conformity, and who had marched along at the head of the line in complicit silence, are guilty. Called to serve God, they had served an organization where they were employed. Called to protect His flock, they had protected their jobs. No wonder, then, that at the sight of so many lost and helpless sheep, they turned wolves. So, when it became obvious that the head of the WCG had failed to stay true to his calling, a leadership vacuum occurred which tested the trueness of all those under him. The result was one of wholesale corruption; as history has shown, what ensued was a feeding frenzy where it was every wolf for himself.

[First published October 19, 2008]

The natural thing for normal people to do, in the aftermath of a crisis, would be at least to question, if not outright accuse, those in the administration on whose watch it occurred. For the catastrophic, spiritual collapse of the church, none of the ministry was held responsible. The selfsame leaders who aided in the creation of the problems or who cowardly stood by without lifting a finger to halt the destruction were, instead, given unqualified support to continue in their same role as charlatans but in different venues. The dressing up of their fabricated churches in brand new clothes (new name, new HQ, new media productions, etc.), gave the old bosses just what they needed to cover their seditious tracks, a fresh, youthful look to the timeworn power ploy. With ministers not being accountable for wrong actions as other officials would have been, they had no reason to stop their ruse on the one hand. And, on the other, members were quite happy to keep their seats in an official assembly, one made official by the dictates of officially ordained ministers, even though they were actually rebels bent on unseating God.

It takes two to make this most harmful scam work. Ministers, with the ultimate of arrogance, presumed that God would follow them wherever they wanted to go; and joining them are members wanting to go wherever the ministers are and presuming God will be there, too. Both parties calculated that God had to stay put in “His” church and, thus, had nowhere else to go. Absurdly, the most shameless gold-diggers (singly or as a syndicate) legally staked out claims to God. This is, throughout all of history, the grossest of perversions. The real God follows no man, not even ordained ones; He does not belong to any group, not even His own sacred one. The real servant of that God seeks to follow, and belong to, Him only and will suffer individual trials to achieve oneness with Him alone. False ministers take followers to themselves and demand oneness with their persons through preaching that their views are God’s. This utterly vain equality incriminates churches “of God” for the inferred idolatry of fixing their ministry in this world in place of God Himself.

Always, the church of God has had internal problems. To not believe that is to not understand the human nature of the humans running the earthly organization. At certain times, God’s church has notoriously erred. To refuse to see that is to have no understanding of history, basically turning your back on the Bible which lays out the evidence in black and white. When an entire church administration becomes corrupt, it means the decay extended completely from the top all the way down, leaving God with no minister to work through. At first, it was human weakness in the ministerial ranks that allowed the original error to go unchecked. There could have been repentance then and the damage could have been limited. But, egos came into play as pride reared its ugly head. With money and power added to the mix, the initial mistake boiled over into the outright wickedness of insurrection. Fomenting division, corrupt ministers carved up the one corrupt church into many corrupt pieces, all of which were founded in evil.

For Bible believers, it should be obvious that God hates rebellion. Obviously, it is not clear in the least, however, that God hates rebellion no matter what, no matter why, and no matter by whom. Under no conditions could insurrection be considered divinely correct, because that would leave anyone able to do what he saw as right in his own eyes. Through justification, wrong things are seen as right in wrongful circumstances. Thus armed with human reasoning, followers of God were swept along in a God-despised rebellion as they followed their leaders who, most heinously, were using God’s name to overthrow Him. In order to accept this truth, one who was duped must overcome pride. In order to accept this truth, the human mind must overcome its natural resistance to grasping the scale and scope of such a travesty while considering deceitful action on the part of God’s servants en masse to be impossible. History records another comparable, sick and twisted incident when “Church of God” ministers, scheming to save their ministry in 31 A.D., handed over God’s Son to be crucified.

[First published October 26, 2008]

Now is an extremely critical time for those who consider themselves to be members of God’s Church. The attempt to redo the WCG by re-forming into a new group that is the right one has inevitably backfired; by taking matters into their own hands, members moved out of the frying pan into the fire. With schisms the norm, the good days of brethren dwelling together in unity are long gone. What unity there was has vanished into thin air. Today, it is all U-Pick: You pick the leader; you pick the church (or churches); you pick whatever way you like. There is such a state of disorder and divergence that some members are just wandering around, doing their own thing and having church their way. These are the wretched, profane consequences, decades in the making, of looking for God in all the wrong places. At first, the one great church which had all the “bling bling” was the place to be until it got ruined. Was God found there? Did He then move over to one of the replacements? Or, did He divide Himself, without favoritism, to please the many and be with them all? Is God available everywhere men call on Him to be and, in order to be popular, is He nowhere in particular? Does the One God care less and accommodate everyone in any place now, as long as that person is being good? No; no; no; no; and no.

God is Truth. No one can possess God; so, no one has the Truth. It is not possible for any person or group of persons to know God; therefore, no one knows the Truth. The best that men have ever done is to have a partial grasp of the truth as certifiably and independently stated in the Bible. Even then, that documented truth can be mishandled by men who have ambitiously pursued their own agenda. With the organization of religion, groups turn to expounding on various selected pieces of the truth and to shamelessly padding their product with all manner of flaws and fluff, in order to prove their worth to the troubled masses. The very existence of a church is based on serving up theological answers as a seal of God’s endorsement. In the face of stiff free-market competition, it must proclaim its product and service with bravado and, above all, it must appeal to the people. A church caters to its customers, offering them what they want, in order to keep them happily paying their “bills.” What chance would a business selling packaged food have of staying in business if it admitted to not knowing what ingredients were in its products? What chance would an auto repair business have of retaining customers if it confessed to not always knowing how to fix their cars? How would a tour guide fare if he said he did not know the way to the group’s destination? A church can not tell its members the whole Truth.

Only God is Good. No church, not even the very Church “of God,” is Good. The Scripture says that “not one is good.” Nevertheless, many not-good people choose to gather together under a not-good minister, or faction of not-good ministers, to demonstrate how “good” they all have become, as if goodness springs from belonging to a ring of churchgoers. Somehow, incredibly, members believe that God will accept them if they come together under the right formula in the “good” camp. People normally congregate in order to feel good about themselves and more numbers naturally make the group feel safer. But, feeling righteous by joining a righteous-feeling congregation makes for pure puke. God is surely never impressed by how many others a person has with him and He hates how “righteous” ministers are being looked up to as His agents. Since access to God is never through any human other than Christ, then uplifting these hypocritical usurpers is worse than worshipping the golden calf. For, it is up to each Christian, singly, to work out his own salvation. Each member, no matter how much “good” he believes he is doing in a church, is still not good. Each one, as wholly responsible for his own actions—and lack of actions, will stand before God alone. This is the truth. Since, in the end, a Christian will face the Good God as one stripped of all his “righteous” belonging and “good” behavior, he should start now, before it is too late, to stand alone. This is the chance.

[First published November 4, 2008]

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding.” If you believe that you, as a church member, have some understanding, then you must have feared the Lord. The natural result of having that understanding is being set apart from others who lack it, while coming together with the “called out” ones who share it. In truth, a powerful bond is formed and that specialness is euphoric. At the early stages, there are heady times; but, over time a common transformation occurs. The truth that once was dynamic turns static when the godly understanding, which was to continue making its way into one’s heart, goes instead to one’s head. A routine smugness settles in, as the group, resting comfortably on the laurels of truth, turns to believing that its knowledge makes it special. The once-delivered truth is erroneously seen as proof of God’s perpetual approval. So, if you have God rubber stamping whatever His “followers” agree upon, you now have nothing to worry about, ever. No one has to even check with God about anything; and, this is arrogance, the dark side of specialness. Therefore, it is an especially haughty, vile church “of God” that does not ask His help in cleansing itself of inherent errors. By failing to constantly humble itself to seek the Supreme Truth, existing as fundamentally foreign and, thus, unattainable, that church no longer views God as fearsome but as familiar instead. Its chummy attitude speaks of a contemptuous familiarity; and, its blasé behavior tells of an insolent indifference. The loss of the spirit of meekness is proof the church has, indeed, ceased to fear the Lord.

A refusal to take a test, a God-designed, God-graded test, to determine what is the real Truth would be an admission of unbending, self-serving autonomy. Guilty is God’s verdict for those who, church-smart and “already-saved,” stand on their own righteousness by refusing to kneel before God and seek His correction! All true believers would be rightfully anxious and fearful because they realize their hearts are not true. Only the haughty, the phony church members, will scoff and ridicule upon knowing they will have to face who they really are.

MOUNT CARMEL CHALLENGE, N.T.

HOW: Let the Real God Answer with “Fire” in 2009

WHAT You Need to Do in Preparation: PRAY AND CHOOSE SIDES

So many years now. So terrible an ongoing tragedy. Have you really not noticed that the new churches (by the hundreds now) “of God”—whatever fresh adjective is affixed—have failed to deliver one iota of new understanding as coming from God, even though the world today is desperately in need of the strongest warning sent by God? These groups would have you believe that He is sitting out this most critical era in humanity’s existence.

Some are content just to play it safe while mimicking the old-time, Armstrong original. Beating the drums to attract giddy dancers, others spin prophecies so old they have become a broken record. One even has retreated into isolation, erecting castle walls to keep its tithe-payers from getting any ideas and leaving. The plain truth is that all are puny and pathetic churches of Man.

Are you tired of playing church yet? Will you give up chasing the fantasy of truth by the increase in numbers of men and forsake embracing the illusion of salvation through obedience to men? Since you have become so accustomed to your precious Peter Pan churches, you balk at the requirement to grow up ASAP. Having lived the comfy life in your cozy Sun City churches, you resist the call to get up and work without ceasing. The tragic truth is that today’s church “of God” members will not work for Him.

All along, since 1986, your own ministers have fooled you. And, what about you, will this shock you? You have taken a liking to their fooling ways; for, with their requiring so very little of you, there was only enjoyment to fill your Saturday club meetings. Just how burdensome was it to carry out their mighty command to “watch and wait”? Most of your time (cumulatively, as a group, adding up to many millions of man-hours) was spent talking and, especially, talking about prophecy.

Where do you find in the Bible that knowledge of the Bible is what God requires of you? Honestly, do you really believe salvation can be that easy? Then, why did Jesus have to die? Being in the know is about your feeling right; possessing answers to mysteries pertains to your being satisfied. None of these human endeavors is about pleasing God. You do not get the simple, spelled-out truth that there is absolutely no pleasing Him without faith.

Just because you can be fooled, do you think God can be? You seek to present your righteous beliefs and behavior before God; yet, He will accept only the rubbish of who you are. It is advanced foolishness to be sure that you are OK in the church and to feel secure that you have found God. That state of mind and that condition of heart being fostered in Christians is THE GREAT LIE promulgated by seditious ministers who seek to seduce you. The pure truth is:  A God found in a church is no God at all.

False Christianity is a bright, primrose path, offering pleasantness today but leading to horrific consequences in due time. Do you think that you can spot false religion based on doctrines? That is a child’s game. It is so simple-Simon to see yourself as looking good by nailing others for their wrong beliefs. This artificial goodness belies your status in the eyes of God who is looking for the realness of a corrupt heart in need of saving by faith.

In faith, are you risking man’s (including church members’ and ministers’ alike) rejection to reach God’s higher standards? In faith, do you struggle by taking the difficult path where human rewards are not forthcoming and where you might reap penalties instead? In faith, will you, as an adult, labor to begin the physical Kingdom of God on this earth, as working at your worldly job? By your wish to leave this preparatory work to God, don’t you realize you are taking yourself right out of His plan? You—yes, you!—kill your chance at salvation by forfeiting your opportunity to prove how faith-full you can be.

Jesus Christ Himself asked whether He would find faith upon His return. The question is directed to the Church for good reason. After baptism—a giant leap of faith out of the old— there is no more leaping, only the staying put in the new. With second generation (and beyond) Christians, there is not even that first great leaving of prior ways since their aim is to remain in the church. Intent on confirming an already established lifestyle, church members by inheritance do not experience the faith dynamic of dying to an old pattern and being born to a new way.

Faith is the X-factor needed to instigate and complete change. When you physically leave something, when there is something physical to let go of, there is direct, external evidence that you have exercised faith. Living in the status quo that exists within the confines of a church would patently check the use of faith. There would be no great growing of faith unless the church itself, within its sacred framework, makes unrestricted room for the R&D of faith, so that its members could heed the admonition “Use-It or Lose-It.”

It is right that biblically proven, fundamental, and crucial doctrines be cast in stone and never abandoned, so that unity at the core will always prevail. Yet there exist understandings, interpretations, and traditions that are of wood. Being a product of the times and circumstances, these auxiliary beliefs should be held as transitory and, thus, dropped when expired or outgrown. It is wrong to use the elixir of conformity to retard what should be normal advancement in faith.

The phony shepherds do not want to quit their game; they, who need you to feed them with your tithes, are hungry for jobs. The slick salvation salesmen of the WCG birthed bastard organizations so that they could keep conducting business as usual, with themselves now free to occupy CEO positions. Promiscuous insider traders of bogus Kingdom Treasury bonds pocket lifelong salaries as they swindle ambitiously naïve investors eager to lay up quick, eternal nest eggs.

The “victims” of such hypocrisy continue to enjoy the riches of their worldly church, all the while being fleeced by their blind managers who have made them twice as much the children of hell than they. And, now these members have become phony sheep, looking to man, not God, for guidance. They do not want to quit their own game; they are hungry for ease, comfort, and license.

This is the time of calling out the serpents, the generation of vipers. Such a purge is long overdue. By a process conducted out in the open and under God, the spiritual cancer of delusion which is devouring the church can be excised completely. The solution is so right it is found in the pages of the Bible; it is so bold as to call on God to decide who is really who they say they are. His Word revealed will be used to drive the hirelings out of business. “See, your house is left to you, desolate.” (Matt. 23:38)

Therefore, you are most certainly under the gun. The chances of your qualifying to do THE WORK grow slimmer each day that your eyesight grows dimmer to THE LIGHT. It will only get more painful for you to open your eyes to what you have missed for so long and realize how much personal redemption you have to account for. It is late, but you must squarely face your mounting debt now. Only by first acknowledging the full extent of your losses can you begin to balance the books.

What is required is a real demonstration of faith by you personally, by you openly. Children on seeing a doctor are given treats of lollipops. You have wanted and waited for more sweet knowledge, so that you can proceed safely forward, avoiding any painful trials. Such Bible candy is not good—not eternally healthful—if you seek to mature as a Christian. Without the lollipops of knowledge, you must decide before any final outcome. Faith is in the choosing ahead of time, so proof would deprive you of this rare, priceless opportunity to develop adult faith.

Now is the time for all church members to stand up and take sides, choosing good or evil, the real or the phony. Taking a wait-and-see position, being a bystander, will mean that you no longer even follow the Bible. (See Deut. 30:19) Be forewarned: With this letter, the count-down to the showdown has begun. Alert your family and your friends.

More details will follow after the Feast of Tabernacles.

[Continued at "Mount Carmel Challenge, N.T."]

Truth is the cry of all, but the game of few. ~ Bishop Berkeley ~

Rating Personal Prophecies of:

Seven Eras
Four Horsemen
The Beast
Mark of the Beast
666
Sealed 144,000
False Prophet
Two Witnesses
Babylon
Scarlet Woman

God does not spoon-feed His people.  He knew that giving answers ahead of time would not foster the adult development He wishes to see in us.  But He does give us the ENTIRE Bible from our perspective of 6,000 years of human history to be able to conclude what we should be doing NOW.

I do not want to be guilty of giving answers to others without an adult struggle by them.  I do not want to step in and play the answer man where God Himself has remained purposely silent.  But I am willing to point others who are searching for TRUTH in the RIGHT direction, helping them conclude for THEMSELVES the TRUTH.

We spend all our time looking for some concept of Truth, but Truth is what is left when we drop all concepts.  ~ David Merzel ~

Should you be thinking that you can always get a last minute “ticket” for this trip, you can just forget that nonsense!  “Summer is nigh…”

(Mouseover each compass to view photo snapshots.)

[[Insert photo collage]]

Additional photos will be featured periodically.

Recorded in the Bible are the well-known stories of the Noachian Deluge and the Tower of Babel. They were examples of man’s one world order with one socio-economic system and language. Instead of these world orders being a help to further man’s growth to his real human potential, they became a hindrance, becoming the vehicle for man’s sinful ways to spread rapidly. Evil thrived and flourished in this cohesive social unit. So, God intervened, destroying the world in Noah’s day and dispersing mankind at Babel.

Today, at the ending of the 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium, we are coming together AGAIN as one. And it is technology that has made this possible. With the aid of computers and the internet we can instantaneously translate one language into another and have a “one world” language. Furthermore, a world banking system and economy is mankind’s attempt for another one world order man’s way. But, this time, what we are doing is far worse than ever before and far more damaging. We need to look at why OUR world order is so against God. Only then will we be able to understand why God hates our technological world.

To adequately do that we need to understand the purpose and wisdom of God’s laws. Man has always deemed them to be God’s arbitrary way to keep him in bondage. It’s time to take another look at the Old Testament and God’s original commands at creation to discern the real intent for God’s physical laws. As we will see, technology thwarts man’s ability to learn the many lessons God wanted him to learn and the way He wanted him to learn them.

The Purpose of the Old Testament

Did God waste His time writing the Old Testament? Was His purpose only to have us keep the Sabbath, Holy Days, and a few important laws (dietary for unclean meats, financial for tithing) in this modernized, “civilized,” urbanized, technological world? Does the Old Testament have lasting value in the obsolete WAY OF LIFE it portrays? Did not God train up the child in the manner He thought best? Or was He just biding His time until 20th century man came along to change things for the better? Was God hampered, unable to provide His child with the latest innovations, the newest devices?

For the first 4000 years God dealt physically with Israel. Thus, Old Testament Israel, the child, the pre-adolescent, had direct knowledge of the best way to GROW UP. That knowledge related to PHYSICAL affairs! With the Old Testament God gave first the knowledge of His PHYSICAL plan to His children Israel. As Israel was in the beginning a YOUNG, immature child, He started–with the PHYSICAL WAY OF LIFE–to teach him what to do, how to live, and why to obey.

Thus, God dealt with the physical life of His young child–the whole physical welfare. And now He required that Israel respond to His directives by performing, according to certain rules and regulations, PHYSICAL ACTIONS, physical behaviors first which were to pave the way for the later spiritual way. God rooted His Old Testament Church firmly in the physical and expected it to rise from there to go BEYOND the physical medium or else it would rot there. God wanted the outer to lead to an inner change as a father does when he is dealing with his children. At first, he can expect the child to obey because the baby has no choice. The child should be serving his father physically in every way. If the child is rebellious to the physical laws, how can he be receptive to the spiritual ones? If he is difficult to train physically, how can he be easy spiritually? If he is having to be forced to do correct physical actions, how can he be dealt with in the invisible realm? So God used the Old Testament to form PATTERNS in the mind of the child. He worked from the OUTSIDE to the INSIDE! That is the way God designed His plan; it was not faulty. It was the foundation on which He would later build the New Testament.

For thirty years of His life Jesus lived the Old Testament way of life, even while introducing the New Testament, showing man the way to at-one-ment with the Father which had been lost through sin. It was years after His death that the Catholic Church began preaching a bogus, phony New Testament, changing the teachings of the Gospels. The true doctrines were almost immediately suppressed (and only partially resurrected in varying degrees in history) for almost two thousand years; however, it took much, much longer–centuries–for the Old Testament lifestyle to completely disappear.

In this 20th century Mr. Herbert Armstrong taught for fifty years the real message of Jesus and His doctrines, which, for the most part, had been lost. But while he taught it, he lived the modern western way. Originally, at the beginning of the Philadelphian Era, the Church had its roots in the farming people of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. But, as the work grew, the emphasis remained almost exclusively on doctrines, while the right lifestyle was all but ignored. Even the agricultural program of the Church was eventually abandoned. We had accepted the doctrines in our heads but we were still living the modern way of life. As a result, we were doctrinally correct in our minds only, but our bodies were not living the truth of God.

Because Mr. Armstrong only restored doctrinal truth, not body truth, the Church did not go where it should have gone nor did it grow up. It was like a stillborn baby, having the form of a baby, but was dead on delivery. All truth grows and expands. For more than fifty years the Church has been stagnant because all Mr. Armstrong’s work was to change minds, while our bodies lived in the same false system. That’s why the doctrines don’t really stick and why we’re so obsessed with them. Keeping the doctrines in our heads without the Old Testament way of life in our bodies makes us SPLIT. So, we have a split-conversion with doctrinal, mental understanding but no necessary conversion in our bodies. We have never progressed beyond doctrine because we have not involved the whole person. Body changes were necessary to be WHOLE, moving forward and engaging the emotions, thereby assisting us to become a wholly, fully integrated human adult on our way to spiritual maturity through the New Testament.

God instituted the physical laws first because WE needed it that way so WE could grow. After He had formed the pattern in our body, then our minds, He had hoped to elevate the whole man to a higher spiritual plane which was demonstrated in the life of Christ. Even God could not create AGAPE through mere words, doctrines, and dictates. He had to show us physically, in the flesh, through the person of Jesus. If we can’t do the basic physical obedience in EVERY area, then how can we go higher to the spiritual? Under Herbert Armstrong we ran with parts of the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament, ignoring the ENTIRETY of both. First and foremost, love of God must be grounded in obedience to His physical laws through a way of life.

Although Herbert Armstrong restored the knowledge of the doctrines, he did not restore the lifestyle that God instituted. And today, THIS WAY OF LIFE IS THE BIGGEST HINDRANCE TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD, NOT DOCTRINE!

God’s Original Design at Creation

God placed Adam and Eve in a physical paradise called the Garden of Eden. It was perfect and good and had everything for their physical needs. God gave the original command to Adam to dress and keep the Garden and to replenish the earth with offspring. After the Fall, God pointed them in the right direction with physically corrective punishments. Although Adam was to still tend the Garden, it was now to be by the sweat of his brow.

Pitting man against nature and its menacing elements was the only way to ensure that man could work his way back to Paradise by coming directly under God. There would now be pressure with insects, with weather, and the uncertainty. Nature would now be bearing down on him and would be the way God could break the man. It would be through nature that God was going to teach man obedience–not by talking, writing, or doctrines. As man, connected to nature, would be more likely to obey because now God would either send rain as a blessing for obedience or withhold it as a punishment. When man is in touch with nature man learns obedience–or dies! God intended the physical to be a teacher leading to THE TEACHER. We have not–as God wanted–ruled over what He created; we have, instead, sought to overrule His creation and, thus, God Himself. What He had pronounced as “good” we say it’s not good enough; we believe we can find a better way.

Technology: A Revolt Against God’s Plan

Far from being our new Savior, technology only saves people from the consequences of their wrong ways and physical sins, but only for the time being. Miracles are supposed to come from God; but now we get miracles from our fake Savior science and technology. We have become more reckless and stupid, knowing that, if there is an accident, our medical Messiah will put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again. To say that technology harms you, causing cancer from pollutants, while TV encourages violence is self-evident. Technology is destroying us as it promises to save us. It is one of those things in the Bible that God hates. And, somewhere along the road, He will destroy it.

Advanced civilization–that’s what we have called our plan to change God’s plan. But it is really rebellion, just one revolution after another, each taking us further away from the way God intended us to live. We can’t stop this craving to make our existence easier, freer, greater. God wants us to sweat out our lives. Because we have disobeyed, life was to take its toll on us, extracting the necessary payment of pain. Sweat pain was sweet pain; it would have taught us how to live. But we would not have it. Science and technology have rescued us (supposedly) by creating inventions which made labor unnecessary. That, however, is just a shell game, for work is not saved, that is, not eliminated; it is only transferred. Physical exertion gets moved around to some other area. As someone once said, we become slaves to the machines, working for them in order to keep them running. But man was commanded to toil and sweat from working the soil. (In New Zealand on my homestead, I felt the weight on my shoulders. It was enough to send my mind into shock.)

And if man reached manly maturity, being able to provide food by the sweat of his brow, this would be a prelude to facing the ultimate inadequacy, namely, that despite his powers he was, after all, just man. After attaining the harmony of his body and mind working together as one in a united effort, what would remain for him to come to terms with would be his place in a world not under his control. He–the whole man–would be due to meet God.

Man was to find his human “worthiness” (but faulty, nonetheless) to discover his “animal” value! PRODUCTION was to be achieved (for the man, food; for the female, offspring) and it was to be of a quality to ensure success on the human plane.

AFTER!–AFTER being successfully productive, man was to realize that his worthiness was not–and could never be–anything of and by itself. While working as if it all depended on him–meaning, thereby, he had become valuable as a human being in himself–as a person to be reaching his potential–it was for him to see then that it all depended on God. Even if he were a Job he had not true value at all on his own. It was to be obvious that, as a creation, man’s worth belonged to God as to the source.

If a person believed God–really believed in the real God–he would discover his own unworthiness. He would know in his heart that as a hammer he doesn’t deserve credit for building, nor the hoe for planting. He, being only the tool made to be used by God, doesn’t get the recognition for “his” work. On being productive, man was only giving God, like the investor, his money’s worth, at the very least, with “interest,” because God expected the tool to be put to profitable use. It was in the INCREASE of the original value (1, 3, 5 talents given) that man was to receive God’s praise “Well done!”

For over fifty years Mr. Herbert Armstrong preached about the coming new world order. God is not against man being in a one world order, for His Kingdom on earth will be exactly that–one language, one socio-economic system, one lifestyle, one religion–but all are governed by His physical and spiritual laws. Anything else is a rebellion against God and will be wiped out, as man’s history has shown.

Statement of Purpose

Much more could be said about the evils of technology, from its health hazards to its ability to thwart man’s true development. So, one may ask: Why does God’s work today use technology?

Our purpose for using technology is as a means for a worldwide WARNING to bring others to an awareness of its inherent evil. We plan to take advantage of technology for only a short time, using technology to destroy technology, until nature has begun to be restored to its original state. That work is beginning now by God’s people choosing to make the decision to rid technology from their lives. To wait until one is forced when Jesus returns is to have waited too long, losing the opportunity to show faith.

Our chance to prove that we want God’s total way in our lives personally means to choose NOW, as an adult, desiring with our hearts, and demonstrating that truth in our bodies, so God’s will may be done in our lives today. The road will be hard and the beginning steps small. But together we can make the gigantic leaps needed to prepare ourselves and to prepare the way for the soon-coming Kingdom of God on earth. It’s time.

Notes 1991