An Open Letter

To the true and faithful members of God’s Church

--  Worldwide  --

 

Dear Brethren in Christ Jesus,

In my previous letter I wrote to all of you whom I have known in past years and have had the blessing of serving in various Church areas. 

Also, in that same letter, I introduced myself to others of you, who I have not had the opportunity of knowing, during the 45 years of the ministry Jesus Christ has graciously and mercifully given me, to serve His people.

In this letter, it is my desire, to address the priceless and awesome calling, and selection, our Father and Savior Jesus Christ has given each of us.

Needless to say, all of us have suffered and endured many trials and testings while clinging to the pearl of great price -- trying very hard to keep it pure and clean lest it be tarnished and removed from us due to neglect, and a lack of diligence, faithfulness, and passion for the whole truth of God.

Needless to say, our battle is not over! Always we need to keep in mind that our adversary, Satan the devil does not sleep, but is always seeking in one way or another to destroy each one of us! No one is out of reach from his subtleties and cunning strategies. 

As we draw closer to the end, Satan will come to be more and more angry with us, and will come at us with every tool he has at his disposal.  Our safety lies in Christ Jesus!  And to be in His safe keeping requires our love for and enduring, with the truth God has opened our minds and hearts to understand, and receive within our innermost beings (II Thessalonians 2:9-17).

The apostle Paul wrote of himself and the apostles of God, as having been displayed by God, as men who are spectacles to the world, fools for Christ’s sake, reviled, persecuted, and made as the filth of the world (I Corinthians 4:9-13).

He adds: “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children, I WARN YOU. For though you (the people of God) might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do have not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel (I Corinthians 4:14-15).

It is within that same context, that God’s apostle in this end-time also likened himself as a father to all of us having begotten us through the gospel that had been lost, but restored by God, through him within His Church.

The apostle Paul added: “Therefore I urge you, IMITATE ME” (verse 16).  God expects the same with each one of us – that in such a context we should IMITATE God’s late apostle -- Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, meaning in the same way as Paul meant that members should imitate him, by remaining faithful to the true teachings of God rather than that of false teachers.

Along with a very few others, we are making the effort of following fully all of the teachings God used that man to RESTORE within His Church in this final hour.

Considering this time of real testing on the Church of God, Mr. Armstrong wrote: “It is the duty of Christ’s TRUE ministers (and how scarce today) to PROTECT the begotten but yet unborn saints from false doctrines, from false ministers” (Mystery of the Ages, page 262).

In a sermon tape recently played in this Church, while reflecting on the Scripture: “For as many as are LED by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14), Mr. Armstrong said, "There are men who have been ordained evangelists who are not converted.” He paused, and then said, “It worries me when I think about it.”

In the past few years the words of the apostle John came to life when he wrote about ministers and members within God’s Church then, and of today: “… there were those who went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us … (I John 2:19). 

We need to realize NOT all of the false ministers and members went out!  Many have remained and profess to follow the teachings of God that He used Mr. Armstrong to restore within His Church, but they do NOT fully follow ALL of those teachings!  Doctrinal and other changes have been made by virtually all of these men.

Tragically some of those changes have been falsely thrust on all of us, as God's people, as changes Mr. Armstrong endorsed and intended to make before his death.  This is deception at the lowest level and God will hold such leaders responsible for what they are doing to God's people.

It saddens and grieves me to have to write about them in this way for I have known most of them from the time they came to be a part of the Church and Ambassador College.  Though I will not be a part of their corporate Churches anymore, I do love and pray for them.

As did the Ephesian Church Era (Revelation 2:2), and the Bereans (Acts 17:11), I, who am a virtual nobody in comparison, plead with each of you, as ministers or members, to earnestly scrutinize all of us in regard to all of the teachings taught by Mr. Armstrong, and then compare them with what your minister(s) teach, and see if they do square, completely!

Your hope for both physical and spiritual survival could very well be at stake for each of us has to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). 

How can you check up on us?  Take the legacy God led Mr. Armstrong to write and leave with us, the last book he wrote, the book God led him to write before he died to make sure His true people would always be able to keep our minds clear from the clever and subtle writings of false ministers who have made changes to one degree or another as well as speaking disrespectfully of his memory.

The book: The Mystery of the Ages!  Please read it thoroughly and review it often with your Bible.  It is the most important book ever written outside of the Bible itself, and will enable each of us to remain on the strait and narrow path that will lead to our salvation.

Mr. Armstrong wrote on pages, ix, xii, and xiii, the following: "The final crystal-clear reason that impelled me to write this book did not fully reveal itself to my mind until December of 1984.  It was a mind-boggling realization -- a pivotal truth -- that will be made clear in this book. ... Time may prove this to be the most important book written in almost 1,900 years. ... And now, in my 93rd year, I have been led to write this book before this event-packed life ends, to share with as many as care to know, the answers that the great supreme mind of God reveals in His word -- if one is only willing to understand that Word."    

God will hold each of us responsible for clinging to the untarnished and beautiful pearl of great price, not only for the blessing of protection from that which is soon to envelop the whole world, but more importantly, to be able to stand before Jesus Christ our Lord.

Please visit our website and read our statement of beliefs, as made known by Mr. Armstrong, to see if what I say is true about us; while at the same time you are scrutinizing all others.

I also invite you to call or write me at the address below

A brother and fellow servant in Christ,

Don Billingsley

Church if God, Faithful Flock, P. O. Box 8819, Modesto, CA 95357

I also invite you to visit our website: www.cog-ff.com