March 5, 2010

“Now the Spirit distinctly declares that in latter times some will TURN AWAY from the Faith, because they continuously give their ATTENTION to Deceiving Spirits, and the things that Demons teach through the pretensions of False Teachers, men with seared consciences” (I Timothy 4:1-2, Williams Translation).

Dear Brethren,

There are many Scriptures in the Holy Bible that warn of Satan’s use of men who will try hard to turn away God’s elect from the true doctrinal teachings that Christ used His early apostles to place within His Church and were restored in the Philadelphia Era of the end-time by His late apostle and promised Elijah, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.

Satan’s effort of using deceived men to turn God’s people away from the true doctrinal teachings of God and replacing them with the pagan teachings, authored by Satan the devil, and experienced in our time from 1986-1995, is with the effort of taking the elect into total spiritual darkness and then bring about the 2^nd death of each member.

Sermon by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong

In the Comments this time I have excerpted parts of a sermon given by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong on the subject of Apostasy. While reading his writings one should be able to see that though Jesus Christ gave Mr. Armstrong great insight in all of the end-time prophecies, He chose not to open his understanding WHO He would permit Satan to use to decimate the Worldwide Church of God after his death.

This man was given the title of Pastor General. Because he had the trust of Mr. Armstrong he was named by him to succeed him after his death! This would be the very man who would bring about both the falling away and the scattering of His true Church (II Thessalonians 2:1-3; Daniel 12:7).

This is evident. Had he known WHO— he would have never named the man he did to succeed him.

After the Breakup—

And though Mr. Armstrong knew some of the apostate ministers who had left the Church, some few years before his death, and then tried to destroy it, he never understood that virtually all of the evangelists and other top-ranking ministers still with him at the time of his death, would afterwards begin their corporate Churches of God, and did as early as 1989, and then be used by Satan to continue his efforts to destroy the true Church members.

Virtually all of them accepted some of the pagan teachings as skillfully taught by the apostate pastor-general. They began to incorporate some of those Protestant teachings within their Churches – thus a continuation of Satan’s use of them to destroy the true membership. A few retained almost all of the true teachings, but later on began to elevate themselves by assuming lofty titles.

The last count of those who began their own corporate churches was 450 from the breakup of the Worldwide Church of God (I Kings 18:19). It became a matter of fame and gain to them (Ezekiel 34; Jeremiah 23).

Understanding what Mr. Armstrong Said and Wrote in View of Today

To understand the insightful truth of what has taken place in view of this writing by Mr. Armstrong, there is the need to move the timing of what Mr. Armstrong said at the time of the giving of this sermon into today’s setting, while keeping these apostate ministers of today in mind— men who are posing such great danger to our scattered brethren.

Though Mr. Armstrong tried to understand the fullness of what he said in this sermon about the apostasy, it can be seen in hindsight he was blinded to who and how it would take place. In essence, Christ said to him as He did to Daniel after denying him understanding of the end-time prophecies: “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13).

God tells His scattered people in this time of strong deception, trial, and test, that: “The Wise will understand” (Daniel 12:10). From this Scripture it would appear that only the wise will endure to the end and be saved (Matthew 24:13). This should be a real wake-up call to each of us!

Your servant and pastor,
Don Billingsley

Excerpts from a sermon given by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, ‘APOSTACY’

Anyway, I want to say something about this thing of enduring to the end because there are a number of Scriptures on that very subject and salvation will not come unless you do. Remember that scripture and obey it.

So, this afternoon I want to get back to prophecy once again. Now not just prophecy of world events this time; usually that is what prophecy means to us, but this time events that have to do with God’s Church.

As in the prophecies of world events, and the Bible has many of those, there is virtually nothing that was prophesied to occur between the first century, the time of the Apostles and Christ, until now except what we find in the second chapter of Revelation to the Churches that are mentioned there. Let me see, it is four of them.

Now, Revelation 2 and the 3^rd chapter of Revelation are dealing with the Seven Churches. Let’s get one thing straight, they are speaking of seven successive churches or seven successive eras of the one church but at the same time they are speaking of the seven dominant conditions that would be found in the Church of every era.

So, the things that you find in the Church at Ephesus really do apply to us now the same as they did to them then. The difference is that what is mentioned in the Philadelphia era dominates at this time and what was mentioned in the message to the Church at Ephesus dominated back in the beginning of the Church.

The Prophesied Events of the End-Time

Then, beside that, in Matthew 24 for example, and, of course, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are just you might say a different reporters account of the same prophecy of Jesus. It speaks there of the apostasy, of false ministers deceiving the people.

In other words, of the fact that they would come with ‘another gospel’ and that the gospel that Jesus Christ taught, his message, would not be preached. It would be sabotaged and then a famine, pestilence, of wars, and there have been continuing wars all through. Now most of those things they were having then and we have had them continuously. Apparently with a great sudden upswing now at the time of the end which is occurring.

Then, the next thing to happen, the one thing that Jesus said would be the sign that we are at the end and prior to his second coming would be what we read in verse 14, that “This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end of this age come.”

After that has happened, that is referred to in the Bible as the Day of the Lord in over thirty different prophecies. In other words, we have been in you might call it the day of man or perhaps you could just as accurately call it The Day of Satan because it is the day of man cut off from God primarily, but swayed by Satan who is the god of this world.

Some people I think tell you what God wants done and the only thing is they have their own God, they mean Satan. Then, after this, and you see the getting of this message out to the world has already taken 42 years so it is not something that just happens in one day. It is a continuous thing for quite a while. It takes a long time to get this job done.

The next thing that is foretold there is the Great Tribulation and then comes that really is the Day of the Lord and that is the time when God supernaturally intervenes in this world’s affairs. In other words, God, so to speak, just adopted a hand’s off policy and told humanity, go ahead form your own governments, decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong.

The Gospel

Now, from Abraham to Christ only the prophets, as I said, Christ and from that time on Christ came with a message, a Gospel. He wanted the message to get out. The early apostles did get it out but notice here in Galatians, where Paul wrote to the Church of Galatia; he said, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you” or would pervert the gospel of Christ.

[In 1995 the United Church of God developed a DOUBLE GOSPEL. Later on there was a vote to change it back to the one Gospel that Mr. Armstrong preached. However there were not enough votes to do it so they continue to have the doctrine of A DOUBLE GOSPEL. Also, The Church of God, An International Community (Mr. Hulme has the same DOUBLE GOSPEL. A double curse on them?; I wonder?]

There were enemies trying to have what they called this new teaching even then, trying to get them away. Satan is active; he has his ministers. [II Corinthians 11:13-15.]

You read of it in 2 Corinthians 11. It is no great thing if even his ministers appear as the ministers of righteousness and claim to be the ministers of Jesus Christ but he pronounces a double curse on man or angel that would preach any other gospel but the one he had preached which was the Gospel or Good News of the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is the Family of God into which we may be born. The Kingdom of God is the Government of God and it is the family who is doing the governing of God’s Government and God’s government is based on God’s law.

An Apostate Ministry

The ONLY REASON HUMANITY IS HERE IS TO ONCE AGAIN GET THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD AND THE LAW OF GOD ESTABLISHED ON THIS EARTH AND YET EVEN MINISTERS WILL GO OUT OF THIS CHURCH WHO HAVE BEEN TAUGHT IT AND SAY THE LAW IS NOT IN EFFECT FOR US AT ALL ANYMORE— and you can work on the Sabbath all you please and go right into God’s Kingdom. Oh no you can’t!

I wouldn’t give you a plug nickel for your chances because I speak the word of God and I speak it WITH AUTHORITY and you know I do. I don’t say maybe. I don’t say this is my opinion.

Now, as the gospel went out in the first century by the apostles there was a great apostasy then. As it is going out now there has to be another one now. [It happened—1986-1995, and still ongoing!]

The Teaching Christ Could Come at any Time

Now I want to go into those Scriptures. I want you to notice now in 2 Thessalonians, second chapter and beginning with verse 1 the second chapter: “Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us.”

They were getting messages over in England that purported to come from Headquarters. Now they came from Pasadena alright. So, this is one of the deceptions that Satan would use— his men said over there, “Now this is the new teaching from Pasadena.” And the brethren thought it came from me and from my son Garner Ted and from us here in Headquarters and it is just the opposite.

[Mr. Tkach also said that Mr. Armstrong told him to find what the error in his teaching of healing— this was a lie! The proof can be read in My Personal with the Editor, March-April, 2010, Philadelphia Remnant Magazine.]

I found over there when we rushed over there as soon as we found what was going on that here were some of my good friends and they believed. Well, yes, they were just going right along. “Well we thought that was your teaching Mr. Armstrong.” As soon as they found it wasn’t they were through with it. I don’t know yet if some are going to go that way and believe it but most of them are not.

“. . . As that the day of Christ is at hand.” Now this is the second letter that Paul wrote to them. This was written about 52 or 53 AD. The falling away it speaks of here that that day of Christ is at hand, “Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first.”

Now this falling away comes from the Greek word apostacia. In other words, an apostasy and apostasizing. In other words, turning away from the truth to error and false teaching. It is a dereliction of essential truth or a corruption of truth and correct doctrine and that it says here had to come first.

Well, Paul had written a letter to them and a second letter to the Thessalonians written later within that same year. Less than a year later than the first.

Apparently a messenger had come from Thessalonica and had told them that these brethren thought that others were spreading the gospel. They had what they called this new teaching that has come to the Church now and they purported that it had come from the Apostle Paul so the people would believe it immediately if it came from Paul and that the day of Christ was at hand. It was just going to come right away.

[Mr. Jon Bowles of the Church of God, Wales, believed this, based on Luke 12:40, and said so to me just before he chose to leave us. I tried to tell him this Scripture had to understood in the context of other prophecies that had to take place before Christ would return. He did not seem to believe me at the time.]

So he said, “We beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord and Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him that you be not soon shaken in mind or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us that the day of Christ is at hand.

Now, lets go on to this second chapter of 2 Thessalonians. Someone apparently had told them that they were from Paul. They were believing that. He said, “except there be a falling away” or an apostasy from the truth, “and that man of sin be revealed,” he was already there and really the man of sin started out as this man in the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, Simon the Sorcerer, and he founded the great false church and that church is still in the world today and it is a great church. It has ruled over governments of Europe. You don’t have to guess very far to guess what church that is. “And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God.” Most Holy Father they call him.

There can only be one who is the Most Holy Father and that is God himself. “Remember you not that when I was yet with you I told you these things?” Paul is reminding them but they were forgetting it. “And now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time for the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” Even in Paul’s time.

This was probably about 52 or 53 AD. They were already with a false gospel he said just a little later when he wrote to the Galatians that was going out then and it has filled the world ever since. “And then shall that wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

At the coming of Christ. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan and with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of truth that they might be saved and for this cause God shall send them delusion that they should believe a lie.”

You come to believe a lie and you depart from one truth of God and pretty soon you depart from another and another and another.

I said when some of these apostates went out of God’s Church and did it with a manner of duplicity pretending they were with us. One got a leave of absence with full pay for a year and used that money to try to destroy this Church and this work and is getting out this so-called new teaching nullifying every important thing in the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Now if you want to follow that, there’s the door back there. I won’t try to keep you from it but I’ll tell you where you’re going. It will be a lot worse than following the oxen to the slaughter, a lot worse and you’ll leave all of the truth.

“God will send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you brethren, and I say that with Paul to you, beloved of the Lord because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth whereas he called you by our gospel to the attaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore brethren STAND FAST, HOLD, the traditions that you have been taught whether by word or our epistle. Now the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God, even our Father, which hath loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and stablish you in every good work.”

Departing from the Faith

Now we go next a little farther here to 1 Timothy 4 beginning again with verse 1: Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith.

Here comes this apostasy again, going to false teaching, and drawing some away after them. This is another evidence brethren we are right down into the last time. The Day of God and God’s interference in world affairs cannot come until this has happened.

Now here some shall depart from the faith and, in this case, this was written about 64 or 65 AD, and depart from the truth. The Greek word again is another form of the word apostatize or apostasy, bringing in doctrines that render the truth of the gospel null and void.

One that this [Catholic] church has always taught and I think many Protestants take it up is that the Kingdom of God has been here all these years anyway and it is the church.

Now some Protestants have come to a new wrinkle on that that the Kingdom of God is some mysterious nothing set up in the hearts of men. They make it so meaningless it means absolutely nothing to you. The Kingdom of God is the message that Christ brought that is the message of the gospel.

“. . . Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Speaking lies and hypocrisy . . .”

Let me just say that these things and these letters that Paul wrote to the churches and this to Timothy, were a message to them at that time alright, but also it applies to us today.

Now, most of the Bible, I feel, was written and has been kept primarily for us of this time now. Most people in past ages never had a copy of the Bible. Printing wasn’t established until just about, what, was it 300 or 400 years ago, and there could not have been any distribution.

The Word of God had to be copied and through the Middle Ages people would be burned at the stake if they had a copy or if they tried to make a copy. They [Catholic Church Leaders] did everything they could to try to stamp the Bible out and that was done by the religion, this false religion, but God didn’t ever let it get stamped out.

Now, speaking lies and hypocrisy, that did happen back then, but it is happening again now and to a more or less extent it has been happening all through this era. Speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscious seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry. I don’t know that the people going out today are forbidding to marry but certainly did then. They forbid their ministers to marry. They forbid their nuns to marry.

“And commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving. Well they have their meatless days and you can’t have any meat but fish on Friday [this has since been changed] and they have certain days when you can’t have meat and things of that sort, for every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused for it is received with thanksgiving for it is sanctified, which means set apart, by the Word of God in prayer.

Now the Word of God sets apart the animals that are for meat and the vegetables and so on that we shall have for food, Leviticus 11. It is already set apart by the Word of God. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ nourished up in the words of faith and of a good doctrine. But refuse profane and old wives fables and being blown about by every wind of doctrine that comes along.

And that is exactly what some are using to try to apostatize. However, there are more new brethren being baptized and brought in than that kind of thing can take out. Isn’t that strange and wonderful! Oh yes, prophecy is being fulfilled.

Now, in Revelation 3 it speaks of this Church and of the work we are doing and of the door open to get the gospel out. In the 11^th and 12^th verses it speaks of how when the Great Tribulation comes, which will end our work, we are not going to have to go through it if we are faithful. If you know how terrible that is you will want to escape. I don’t expect to have to go through it.

Now, let me see, well, I said a while ago the Bible is written primarily for us of this time because they didn’t understand it before. Now, the apostatizing began while Jesus himself was on Earth. I want to read that to you. John 6, beginning with verse 66. From that time many of Jesus’ disciples went back, not the ones who became apostles but others, and walked no more with him. And then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life and we believe. They believed what he said. Many others didn’t. And are sure that thou art the Christ the son of the living God. And Jesus answered them. Have not I chosen you twelve? And one of you is a devil. He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon for he it was that should betray Jesus being one of the twelve. Even Jesus had a traitor of those he himself had called.

Now I just want to read one final scripture in 2 Thessalonians again in the first chapter beginning with verse 2. I want to say this with Paul to you brethren here:

“Grace unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you brethren. Now this is the way I feel toward you, just as Paul did toward those at Thessalonica. As it is meet, or fit or proper, because that your faith groweth exceedingly and the charity, or love, of everyone of you all toward each other aboundeth so that we ourselves glory in you in the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulation that you endure which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which you also suffer.”

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