Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's
Own List of
Restored Truths
"One original Church, much persecuted and opposed, but
still in existence, has these evidences [proper name and true
gospel] proving it to be the original true Church. And even
this Church, until after the year of 1933, had lost many vital
truths. At least 18 basic and essential truths have been
restored to the true Church since that year."
- Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages, page 251 (hard cover edition)
From a sermon that was titled Mission of the Philadelphia Church Era, given on December 17, 1983, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong spoke about many of the doctrinal teachings God used him to restore within His Church. In his own words he speaks of them in that sermon, and others that are listed here have been taken from his own writings and teachings.
Sermon
Begins
"Greetings, everybody! This afternoon I want to speak on
the mission of the Philadelphia Era of the Church, this Church
today in comparison to the first era of the Church, the
Ephesus Era of the Church. It's been seeming more and more to
me, as the years go by, that the Bible was written primarily
for the Philadelphia Era of the Church...Today's mission of
the Church you will find in Matthew 24:14. And this gospel of
the kingdom…that is the same gospel that Jesus
preached…shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Why Restored Truths in Modern Times
"Verse 19, the third chapter of Acts. Peter said, 'Repent
you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out. Now He's ascended up to heaven and the heavens would
receive Him UNTIL a certain time; until the times of
restitution of all things, which God had spoken to them out of
the mouth of His Holy prophets since the world began. Now
'restitution.' Look that word up in the dictionary.
Restitution means restoring to a former condition, a former
state or condition. Restoring what had been taken away,
restoring what had been taken away. So now I ask you, what is
Christ coming to restore that had been taken away? What had
been taken away was the government of God, the government of
God."
Restored
Truths
The truths Mr. Herbert Armstrong stated God used him to
restore to the Philadelphia era of the Church of God are
listed below in the order he spoke of them as restored in that
sermon.
1. True Gospel
"Now in Romans 5 and about verse 5, you will read that by
the blood of Christ we are reconciled to God. Now the gospel
was suppressed and, as I say, they turned to a gospel ABOUT
Christ, but they have not talked of His message. And His
message talked about God as being the supreme ruler, and His
message had to do with the government of God and God is the
lawgiver, and when you sin, the sin is the transgression of
the law, and that has cut you off from God, the Father. And
what was restored? The world had lost the gospel, they didn't
know what the gospel was. I came among the true Church of God
of the Sardis Era. They didn't know what the gospel was, they
thought it was what they called the third angel's message.
They didn't know what the gospel really was. They called it a
third angel's message. God revealed it to me and through me,
to the Church. That the gospel is the Kingdom of God, that is
the gospel Jesus preached, that's the gospel Paul preached to
the Gentiles, that's the gospel that Peter and John preached.
You'll find when Jesus sent them out and sent out 70, He said
preach the Kingdom of God. That is the only gospel, is the
gospel OF Jesus Christ. The world preached and has a gospel
ABOUT Christ. Now the first thing to be restored to the Church
is the true gospel. The world has lost the purpose of God.
They have lost all knowledge of the gospel of Christ, which is
the Kingdom of God. They have lost all of these things."
2. Purpose of God
"And the second thing to be restored is the PURPOSE of
God. And the gospel has to do with that. That God IS
reproducing us and that MAN CAN BECOME God! No other Church on
earth believes that, brethren. And now let me tell you, I'm
going to reveal to you, now, things that have been restored in
this Church. Let me tell you, ... God's purpose is that He's
reproducing Himself and that we, ultimately, become God."
3. God's Plan Through the Holy Days
"Now another thing that has been restored is, through the
Holy Days, God's plan, His Master Plan for accomplishing that
purpose, and the annual Holy Days. And no other Church has had
those Holy Days, and understands them."
"The fact of the annual festivals, that they represent
God's plan."
4. Government
"But to go on with the things that have been
restored...The government of God has been restored to the
Church, and the government of God has been placed in the
Church. You read that in Ephesians 4 and I Corinthians 12.
Christ is the head of the Church and under Christ in the
administration of the government are an apostle or apostles,
then evangelists, then pastors, then all are called elders,
all ministers all the way up clear down to the lowest. So then
there are teachers and elders both speaking elders and
preaching elders, deacons and deaconesses. And the Church is
restored in that form of government. The Sardis Church even
didn't have the right form of government". He also wrote
"The government of God is of necessity government from
the top down. It cannot be 'government by the consent of the
governed' " (Mystery of the Ages. p.49).
5. Who and What God Is
"Who
and what God IS. NO RELIGION ON EARTH KNOWS WHO AND WHAT GOD
IS! NO RELIGION ON EARTH! GOD IS NOT A TRINITY! GOD IS NOT A
SINGLE PERSON! God is a family of persons, and the family
began with God and the Word. You read of that in John 1:1-5.
And you read of it in Genesis 1 beginning with verse 1. You
should learn about God first, and it begins first both in the
New Testament and the Old, because many experts feel that,
so-called experts, that the book of John should be placed
first in the New Testament, although it was not written first.
That God is a family and it began with the two, and we can be
born into that family."
6. What and Why is Man?
"Now the next thing that's restored to the Church —
what and why man is! WHAT IS MAN? WHY DID WE COME TO BE ON
EARTH? The Sardis Church didn't know, they didn't know in the
Middle Ages. Man was made from the dust of the ground. Man was
made with one spirit and he needs another spirit, the Spirit
of God which unites him with God, and is the impregnation of
God-life in him, and he will be born of God. ... The knowledge
that he that is born of the flesh IS flesh, mortal, that's
what we are."
7. Spirit in Man
"Next the human spirit IN man. No other Church knows
about that. That has been revealed to the Church. That is
knowledge that has been restored to the Church of God. And
this Church has that knowledge."
The Bible teaches that "there is a spirit in man and the
breath of the Almighty gives him understanding" (Job
32:8) which God did not give to the animals (e.g. Job 39:17).
"For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit
of man which is in him" (I Corinthians 2:11). Mr.
Armstrong wrote, "This 'human' spirit imparts the power
of intellect to the human physical brain" (Mystery of
the Ages, page 105). This spirit is not the same as the
spirit of God which humans need to understand the things of
God, but this spirit is needed to understand the things of
humankind (Job 32:8; I Corinthians 2:11).
8. First-Fruits
"Another, the next piece of knowledge that has been
restored to this Church, that the rest don't know and no other
Church knows it, that this Church is the first-fruits, that
God is not trying to save the whole world now. He's calling us
out now and He'll use us as teachers to help save the others
in THEIR turn, and they’ll turn, from the Millennium, will
help save all the rest in the great White Throne of Judgment.
And ultimately, God's going to go after the saving of
everybody who ever lived. But no Church understands that, that
we are the first-fruits, we are the embryo of the kingdom of
God. The fact that we have to be called by God, and salvation
is not open to just anyone, whosoever will. The whosoever will
may come is found in the last chapter of the Bible, and does
not pertain to this time at all. And no other Church seems to
know that. That knowledge has been restored to this
Church." "And it is only the called who can
come" (John 6:44).
9.
Knowledge of What the Millennium Is
"The knowledge of the Millennium and what it is. Now the
Sardis people knew that Christ would rule a thousand years.
They knew it would be a Millennium. They had NO IDEA IN THE
WORLD about what would happen in the Millennium. They HAD NO
IDEA WHAT IS THE PURPOSE of the Millennium. We know when we
assemble at the Feast of Tabernacles, that's what we're
celebrating, and we know what's going to happen in the
Millennium and that salvation will be open, then, to all that
are still alive. But it is not open to all now. No other
Church knows that. These are things that YOU, brethren, are
privileged to know. YOU, God has blessed you with this
knowledge, has restored this knowledge to you."
10. Truth About the Holy Spirit
"Now truth regarding the Holy Spirit, ... GOD IS NOT A
TRINITY!"
He said very little more about the Holy Spirit in the sermon.
Therefore a direct quote is taken from his writings that
further explains the understanding of the Holy Spirit:
Mystery
of the Ages,
pages 5, 44, 56-57: "No one can have the Holy Spirit,
which alone can open the human mind to understanding this Word
of God, without a complete repentance. There was a time, when
those two Personages coexisted and NOTHING ELSE did. No third
Person is mentioned--no "Ghost"...The Holy Spirit
came from heaven, audibly, sounding like a mighty wind,
"and it [the Holy Spirit] filled all the house where they
were sitting." Next, the Holy Spirit appeared--WAS
VISIBLY SEEN--manifested--"And there appeared unto them
cloven tongues like as of fire, and it [the Holy Spirit in the
form of divided tongues] sat upon each of them" (Acts
2:2-3). In verse 18, Peter is quoting from the prophet Joel:
"I will pour out...of my Spirit...." The Holy
Spirit, like water or a fluid, can be "POURED OUT."
Can you pour out a person from one into another--as from God
into those assembled there? John 7:37-39: "In the last
day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He
that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of
the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for
the Holy [Spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)" Again in Acts 10:45, "...on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy
[Spirit]."
11. Begotten Now
"And the fact that we are begotten now. You're not born
yet, only begotten".
Because he mentioned very little else about this, another
quote is taken from his writings: "Now, as the physical
male sperm finds its way to, and unites with the nucleus in
the ovum, so God's Spirit enters and combines with the human
spirit and MIND! There is, as explained before, a spirit IN
man. This human spirit has combined with the brain to form
human MIND. God's Spirit unites with, and witnesses with our
spirit that we are, now, the children of GOD (Romans 8:16).
And God's Holy Spirit, now combined with our human spirit in
our MIND, imparts to our mind power to comprehend SPIRITUAL
KNOWLEDGE (I Corinthians 2:11) – which the carnal mind
cannot grasp.
"Now we have the presence of ETERNAL
LIFE--God-life--through God's Spirit. In like manner the human
embryo was an actual human life as yet undeveloped. But we are
not yet immortal spirit beings – not yet BORN of GOD –
just as the human ovum was not yet born of its human
parents--not yet inheritors, and possessors, but physical
HEIRS (Romans 8:17). But IF God's Holy Spirit dwells in us,
God will, at the resurrection, "quicken" to
immortality our mortal bodies BY his Spirit that "dwelleth
in us" (Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 15:49-53)" (Mystery
of the Ages pp.260-261).
12. Born-Again at Resurrection
"You're not born yet, only begotten, that we will become
born at the time of the second coming of Christ, when this
mortal puts on immortality, when we won't be human any longer,
we'll be divine. The knowledge that he that is born of the
flesh IS flesh, mortal, that's what we are. That is when
you're born in the Spirit you will BE Spirit."
13. Identity of Israel
"Another thing restored to us is our own roots, our
identity, who we are. We are the tribe of Manasseh of the lost
ten tribes of Israel, and no other Church on earth knows it.
That knowledge has been restored into this Church, and God
restored that to me 53 years ago."
14. Identity Opens Up Understanding of Bible Prophecy
"Our identity. And that opens all the doors...and the
understanding of prophecy has been opened to this Church. That
has been restored to this Church."
15. Second and Third Tithe
"The
second and third tithe, what other Church knows about that?
And that was restored by this Church, that knowledge restored
by this Church."
[Second and third tithes are discussed in Deuteronomy
14:22-29. God specifically calls third tithe a "holy
tithe" (26:13)].
16. Identity of Babylon and Her Daughters
"Then the great deception, the counterfeit of Revelation
17:5, Babylon, the Great, the mother of harlots and
abominations of the earth, her daughter churches and who they
are...Those people in the Catholic Church and the Protestant
churches have been deceived."
17. Satan is the Guilty Party
"And
the fact that Satan, the devil, has deceived the whole world.
Brethren, Satan is the one who is guilty. Those people in the
Catholic Church and the Protestant churches have been
deceived. And I think they really believe. God just hasn't
opened any more truth to them. We don't sit in judgment of
them. We're not judging them YET. We're going to do it and
when WE judge them, then all truth will be opened and God will
take away the blindness from their eyes so they can understand
if they're willing. Today they couldn't understand it, even if
they're willing. I don’t think they're willing, either, as
far as that goes."
18. We Are to Be Separate
"And how in Revelation 18:4 that God has called us out
from among them, to be separate."
Conclusion of the Sermon
"Well, brethren, all those things have been restored and
there is a mission for this Church that never applied, and has
never been done by any other Church. This gospel of the
kingdom has been restored and shall be preached in all the
world for a witness to all nations."
Inserts of other Restored Doctrinal Teachings
by God's late apostle
19. The Holy Sabbath
Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is the 7th day of the week and is the holy Sabbath of the Lord our God. The 4th Commandment commands God ‘s people to rest from physical labor and pursuits and be spiritually rejuvenated by assembling together with other members to worship God wherever possible as also commanded by God through the apostle Paul.
20. Divine Healing
God is our Divine Healer and promises to heal all who come to Him in faith having been anointed and prayed for by the elders of God’s true Church while accepting the sacrifice of the broken body of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of any physical sins involved in the illness or health problems which then makes possible physical healing. See Mystery of the Ages, pages 211-212.
21. Dietary Laws
Scripture teaches that all creatures that are named as unclean are forbidden to be eaten by God as they are harmful to the health of the human body which is called the temple of God’s Holy Spirit.
22. Military Service
The 6th Commandment forbids the murder or killing of anyone directly or indirectly, to purposely take another human life. The bearing of arms or serving in any capacity in the military is in violation of God’s laws.
23. The Infallibility of the Bible
It is the belief and teaching of God’s Church that the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments are God’s revelation and complete expressed will to mankind, inspired in thought and word, and infallible in the original writings; that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and in life. It is believed that the Word of God is the foundation of all knowledge and the source of truth. It is also believed that all teachings contrary to the Holy Bible are false. The Holy Bible is accepted alone, and not something else.
24. The Commandments of God
The law of God is spiritual, perfect, holy, just and good and is summed up in the word LOVE. The law of God involves the two great principles of love to God, and love to neighbor, and that the Ten Commandments compose the ten supreme points of the law, and that violating of only one of them makes one guilty of sin. Scripture defines sin as the transgression of God’s laws.
25. Saved by Grace
Though commandment keeping is essential for Christians, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong also believed and taught that true Christians are saved by God's grace, not according to their works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but that their reward is dependent on their good works (Matthew 16:27; Revelation 22:12). It is law and grace, not one or the other alone (Titus 2:11-15).
26. The Authority of the Sacred Calendar
Mr. Armstrong wrote that the Church of God was confused in the 1930s as to when the year should begin. People are still confused today. He saw the importance of the Jew’s preservation of the weekly and yearly calendar and that is the one accepted by this Church.
27. The Change in Pentecost and Divorce and Remarriage
This Church supports and teaches the change made and announced regarding the observance of Pentecost from Monday to Sunday on February 11, 1974; and also the changes made and announced to an assembly of the full ministry regarding Divorce and Remarriage by Mr. Armstrong on May 6, 1974. The change made on Divorce and Remarriage was made three years before his second marriage.
28. The Makeup Ruling
It is also the belief and teaching of this Church that God led Mr. Armstrong to rule against the use of cosmetics within the Church of God. This Church supports that ruling. This ruling was made almost six months before his divorce from his second wife.
29. Interracial Dating and Marriage Forbidden
Mr. Armstrong also taught against interracial marriages in articles and sermons to the membership (See MYSTERY OF THE AGES, pages 166-170). This Church supports that teaching.
COMMENT: At the same time the Church has always accepted mixed marriages that are already in place when one or the other, or both, becomes a member, and still does without discrimination.
30. Dating and Marriage to Non-Members
Though the Church has always accepted marriages that are already in place when one of the two becomes a member, and still does without any discrimination, it does support and teach what the apostle Paul taught the members of the Church at Corinth that members are only to marry members within the Church of God (I Corinthians 7:39).
31. The Elijah to Come
Based on the prophetic teachings of Jesus Christ that are found in Malachi 4:5; Matthew 17:11, and in view of these restored doctrinal teachings within God’s Church in this end-time by God through him, it is the conviction, belief, and teaching, that God used Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to fulfill these prophecies. The man God said He would send to RESTORE the doctrinal teachings in the time of the end that has been mostly lost by the Church through the centuries.
The Philadelphia Era of the Church was used by God to support him.
Though Mr. Armstrong vigorously denied he was that man in the early years, just as did John the baptizer, he finally had to come to the inevitable conclusion that he was that man. This is clearly implied in The Mystery of the Ages, pages 9-18.