Pastor’s Comments
2-12-05
Dear
Brethren,
In this writing to all of you, I am going to
write about the Laodicean Church Era. There are those who have requested that I
address this subject, since there are conflicting views about whether the baton
has been taken from the hand of the Philadelphian era and is now fully in view,
or still waiting to make its appearance.
And if it is fully present, how can we really
know whether you, or I, may be a part of it? This is very important for the
understanding of each one of us, for it could mean a life-saving difference!
Whether one may be hidden from the horrors of the soon-coming Great Tribulation,
or have to endure it by a martyr's death.
The Laodicean Spirit and
Attitude —
As I recall, it was as early as 1969 that Mr.
Armstrong began to speak about the Laodicean spirit being among us in the
Philadelphian Church Era. As time began closing in on him, he said more and more
about this Church Era.
In this present writing, I will use some of the
quotes from sermons he gave about it that would earmark it, so that we might
know if we find ourselves in danger of being enveloped by it as described in the
letter to it by Jesus Christ.
Though it is indeed God’s true Church, half of
it will not make it at all. Mr. Armstrong came to understand and taught this to
us before he died. The other half of it can only win their salvation through a
martyr’s death in the Great Tribulation. This Mr. Armstrong came to understand,
from the parable of the10 virgins, while comparing it with what is said about in
the letter to the Laodiceans (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 3:14-22).
A Third Group Among the
Membership —
In addition, there are others who appear to be
of us in God’s Church, but are like Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-20). A man who was
baptized by God’s true leaders, but did not receive God’s Holy Spirit. Thus, he
never came to be a true member of God’s Church.
In contrast to Simon Magus, consider the
thousands of people who were once considered to be actual members of the Church,
yet walked away from us after having accepted the “New Understanding”
(Protestant teachings)! These members were baptized and unlike Simon Magus, even
had hands laid on them for the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit.
Though these many thousands had been called to
support the Work of God, that He was using His late apostle to do in this
end-age, they had not been selected by Him to become true members of His Church;
therefore, He withheld His Spirit from them (John 6:44, 65; Matthew
20:16;22:14).
There are many of these same people who did not
walk away, but came to be members of the various corporate Churches that
branched off from the original corporate parent Church.
Though there are various names used in the
Bible to define them, the real name for them was given in a parable by Jesus
Christ:
The Tares Among the Church
of God —
In a little taught and understood parable,
Jesus Christ made known there would be many among us who would appear to be
truly people of God, but time would make known they were not His called and
chosen people.
Another parable He put forth to them, saying,
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while
MEN SLEPT, his enemy came AND SOWED TARES among the wheat and went his way. But
WHEN the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, THEN the tares also appeared.
So the servants of the owner came and said to them, ‘Sir, did you not sow good
seed in your field” How does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An ENEMY has
done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather
them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot
the wheat with them. Let BOTH grow together UNTIL the harvest, and at the time
of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind
them in bundles to BURN them (in the Great Tribulation), but gather the wheat
into my barn”’ (Matthew 13:24-30).
Then Jesus Christ makes known the meaning of
the parable (verses 36-43).
In the last few years of his life, Mr.
Armstrong began speaking more strongly than ever about the membership of the
church, just not getting the continued new truth God was revealing to him.
He would speak about 50 percent of the
membership and even to the very low level of 10 percent of members that were
just not, really comprehending it! He saw no excitement and enthusiasm, by most
of the membership, because of the greater understanding he was preaching! There
was no motivation in any real way, by the continued new truth God was opening
his mind to understand. In other words, God’s Spirit in him was not bearing
witness with the many, as he did see it with the few who were truly children of
God (Romans 8:16).
God’s Holy Spirit can be discerned through
action, attitude and conduct (Galatians 5:22-23). Other Scriptures define God’s
Holy Spirit in greater detail (John 14:26;16:13; I Corinthians 2:10-14, etc.)
Three Separate Groups
of People ----
As God’s true people, it is very important for
our understanding, that we grasp the fact there are the three different groups
of people in God’s Church. This is needful to comprehend the distinction between
the makeup of the Philadelphia and the Laodicean Church Eras.
In the more than 300 corporate Churches of God,
there are those whose membership and ministers are TARES, members and ministers
who profess God, but do not have His Holy Spirit. Though they are not yet fully
apparent, given some time they will come to be known as we have already
witnessed just a few years ago, when the many chose to leave us. The apostle
John said they left us, because they were not of us (I John
2:18-19).
Now that we have in part identified the third
group of people who claim they are members, but in actuality are not, let us now
begin to better understand what era of God’s true Church is now dominant. Is it
Philadelphia, or Laodicea?
The Laodicean Church Era —
I had a question asked of me, by a member,
right after the death of Mr. Armstrong in 1986: “Does his death mean the end of
the Philadelphia Church Era?”
At the time, I never thought much about it.
However, in more recent times I have given much more thought to the answer to
that question, due to subsequent events that have transpired within the Church
of God.
While studying the Scriptures that pertain to
both Church Eras, and reading the writings of Mr. Armstrong on the subject, as
well as what he said in sermons about the Laodicea Church, it seems very
apparent when we view what is going on the corporate Churches of God, we most
definitely are in the Laodicean era.
The Philadelphia era, for the most part, began
fading into the background right after the death of Mr. Armstrong. And though it
is still in evidence, it is for the most part in the background, while Laodicea
has taken center-stage.
Although no particular leader can be pointed
to, as the one who leads it, based on various Scriptures it has to be viewed as
a spirit and an attitude that is pervasive within all of the true corporate
Churches of God. With some, the spirit of it is dominant, whereas with others,
it is in small evidence. Some few are even among the true members of the
Philadelphia Church era.
“The name Laodicea is Greek. It means the
[self] righteous people” (WCG, Correspondence Course, Lesson 53, page 14). The
letter to the Church describes it as a self-righteous Church! One that feels it
has everything right, “rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing”
... A lack of oil in their lamps (God’s Holy Spirit), due to little quality
time devoted to God in meaningful prayer, Bible study, and fasting for the right
reasons. Neither hot, or cold, not really stirred up about overcoming.
COMMENTS FROM THE SAME LESSON: “They will have
been self-deceived. They ‘know not’ that they themselves are the ones
pitiable and beggarly and blind and naked. They will say, ‘I have become
rich (physically and spiritually) ... and in need of nothing.’
“The modern Laodiceans will be products of this
modern age of skepticism, unbelief, creature comforts, medicine and
permissiveness. They are too close to the ways and false gods of this world to
really get ‘shook up’ about God’s truth, until finally shaken out of their
lukewarmness, by having to suffer in the Great Tribulation.” (Matthew 24:12).
They are described as being ‘lukewarm! A Church
that is in deep slumber, sleeping, even though the Great Tribulation is so close
to us as to be staring us in the very face!
Mr. Armstrong Blinded to
Detail —
Based on the writings and what Mr. Armstrong
said in sermons and Bible studies, and in view of what has taken placed within
the Church since his death, it can be easily seen that God kept from him how and
when some of the endtime prophecies, which were yet in front of us, would
actually take place.
An example is the scattering of God’s Church:
Though he was well aware of the overview of this prophecy, as well as others yet
before us, God did not choose to open his mind to see how it would take place
(Daniel 12:7; II Thessalonians 2:1-3).
Had he known, he would have never named the man
to succeed him who brought about the scattering of God’s Church. Biblically
speaking, this man was both an apostate and a tare! And God hid this from His
apostle, for it was His will that the scattering of His Church take place.
I voiced my thought to Dr. Herman Hoeh in a
telephone conversation, some few years after the death of Mr. Armstrong, that I
felt this man had never been converted. He did not dispute my thought, but said
he thought his father was converted. I did not know his father, so I could not
make a comment on his response.
Mr. Armstrong wrote and spoke about the
Laodicean Church, but again, he did not see exactly how and when it would fully
come into view. His thought, like Peter and Paul, was that he would live up to
the very end and go with God’s people to the place of safety.
With that belief in mind, he felt the Laodicean
Church with its leader, would not fully come to be an entity, until we had all
gone to the place of safety under his leadership.
It was only in the closing part of the lives of
all three, that they came to realize Christ was not coming in their life time.
It would appear that all of us have been blinded
to a degree, not realizing it would come on the scene in the way that it has –
in spirit, and attitude, not with a particular man at the helm, but rather with
several leaders who are in different corporate Churches, who display that spirit
and attitude as well as in their teachings.
Further Defined by Mr.
Armstrong —
With all of this as background, I will now
provide some of what he said in sermons, about this particular Church, and how
it would come to be recognized; as put together by one of our members along with
comments (NOTES) from him.
“I have put together two partial WT transcripts
and interspersed them with some Bible Scripture to help clarify who makes up the
Laodicean church. There are some things that become quite obvious once we put
together the judgments and teachings that Mr. Armstrong made regarding the
Laodicean Church. Mr. Armstrong was very firm in stating that the Laodicean
church, is a Church that has not gone from truth to error because people who
have done that are no longer in the Church of God! Unfortunately, there are very
few people in the scattered churches today who believe that, or are very
concerned about it, BUT SOON THEY WILL BE VERY CONCERNED!
I have tried, as much as possible, to transcribe
the parts of the two tapes I used, and directly quoted from in this document,
exactly as Mr. Armstrong stated them. Any errors are caused by my human
imperfection.
Avery Callenback
WHO MAKES UP THE LAODICEA CHURCH ?
From - THE TRUE CHURCHES - SARDIS, PHILADELPHIA
& LAODICEA – WT TAPE, BY MR. HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG.
04: 37 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now we come down to the end of it
picturing the church as it is in our time and we have three of these churches
that carry on and live until the end.”
NOTE: These three churches that “carry on and
live until the end” are: the Sardis church, the Philadelphia church, and the
Laodicea church. This is a very important point to understand, if we are to
understand the make up of the Laodicean church. Distinguishing between these
three churches and understanding that not all who attend the 400 plus church of
God groups are still a part of the church of God, because many of them have
failed to love God’s truth and have turned to error.
SARDIS ERA
05: 28 MIN
Mr. HWA – “And Jesus said, repent or I will come
on you as the thief and you shall not know at what hour I shall come. When you
read that my friends, that language ties in with what you will find in with the
seventeenth chapter of Luke and the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, and other
places, showing very well and very perfectly that it is referring to the second
coming of Jesus Christ. So, there will be the latter generation of that church
in existence, at the of the second coming of Christ. ”
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast
received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not
watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will
come upon thee.
PHILADELPHIA ERA
05: 56 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now, next however, came the
Philadelphia Church, which does carry the mission of God to the world. Here is a
church that from a physical point of view and physical power and strength, is
the weakest of all them. It’s the smallest. They have only a very little
strength, the church at Philadelphia. So, He says, these things saith he that is
holy, that is Christ, and he that is true, and he that hath the key of David, he
that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy
works. Now here was a church again that He could compliment on their works. I
have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: Now if you will check
through your Bible in how God opens a door, He opens a door for the Apostle Paul
to go to Europe and preach the Gospel. It is an open door, opening up the door
to facilities, to methods, to opportunities to carry the Gospel. Here is the
church that carries the Gospel of the Kingdom that had been hidden from the
world. That carries it to the world. For He says that thy hast a little
strength. Yes, they have some strength but it’s little. They’re small from a
physical or human point of view and have kept my word, there faithful and they
keep his word and they obey God. And has not denied my name. Behold, I will make
them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, it’s
speaking spiritually. He is a Jew, said the Apostle Paul, who is one inwardly,
and salvation is to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. So, it’s merely
referring to those that say, they are Christians. When you get the real meaning
of it. And, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know
that I have loved thee.”
07: 50 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now listen to this: Rev 3: 10 Because
thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of
trial, (the word in the KJV is temptation but your margin will say trial), and
it’s the time of Great Tribulation. I will keep you then from this time of The
Great Tribulation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth.”
08: 15 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Rev 3: 11 Behold, I come quickly:
{There again, it is a church that is right near the end of this age and the
second coming of Christ and it is existing and doing its work before the coming
of Christ.} He says, behold, I come quickly: hold fast to that which thou hast,
that no man take thy crown. He that overcometh will I make a pillar in the
temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the
name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is the new Jerusalem.
That for the church, called the one of Philadelphia.”
LAODICEA ERA
08: 53 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now here comes the last one of all.
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. That
doesn’t mean he was the first thing that was created by God; created, or the
first person. But, it means that God created everything by and through Him, if
you get the words of the Bible. That He was the beginning of the creation,
because He did begin it and it was begun through Him.”
09: 24 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now, of this church, God says ‘I
know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:’ Here is the luke warm
church ‘I would thou wert cold or hot.’ Now here are people that know the truth.
Here are people that think that they have everything spiritually that they could
want. ‘So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue
thee out of my mouth.’ Says Jesus Christ. Because thou sayest, this is what the
people of this church thinks, because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, in other words spiritually rich, we have knowledge that the people have
not had before.”
10: 05 MIN
Mr. HWA – “You know, at the end time, knowledge
is to increase. And the wise are to understand, but none of the wicked will
understand. If these people were not people that were obedient to God, and that
have repented of sin, which is the transgression of God’s laws, of God’s rule,
God’s sovereignty, THEY WOULD NOT BE HIS CHURCH! These are commandment keeping
people, or they wouldn’t be called God’s people in the first place. But, these
are the lukewarm commandment keepers, these are the people who have known the
truth; they are the people that realize that knowledge is being revealed today
that was not known by the apostles.”
“And just as Jesus said to them, when they were
just his disciples, students, or learners, He said that many of the prophets of
old have desired to know, to have knowledge of the things that I am revealing to
you, the things you can know now and they could not know them, they were hid
from them. Now, technological, scientific, mechanical knowledge is being
increased today but so is spiritual knowledge.”
AC NOTE: Many people do not seem to realize
that none of the people in the Apostolic church understood the prophecies in the
Book of Daniel or the Book of Revelation. Many of the events in those two books
could not be understood until the end time. The Book of Revelation wasn’t even
written until much of the Apostolic church was apostate and many of the apostles
had already been martyred. Understanding of these two books was opened up in the
Philadelphia era by God, through His Apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong.
11: 05 MIN
Mr. HWA – “And then in the twelfth chapter of
Daniel, the angel said this: Many shall be purified and white and tried. It is a
time of trial. Yes, and with the ‘Great Tribulation’ coming we are certainly in
that time. But, the wicked shall do wicked and none of the wicked shall
understand. What’s your Bible definition of wickedness: Sin, the transgression
of the law of God! But it says here that the wise shall understand. What does
the Bible say is the definition of the wise?”
“Ps 111: 10 The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His
commandments.
His praise endures forever.”
11: 42 MIN
Mr. HWA – “So, it is only those that keep the
commandments of God that could keep this knowledge.”
AC NOTE: The people in the WCG and most of the
400 plus church of God groups have not kept the ‘revealed knowledge’ given by
God to the Philadelphia church era, but have listened to false prophets who
preach sermons based on unsound doctrine and most of them have accepted it as
truth! These people who have accepted false doctrine as truth are apostate,
having fallen away from the faith once restored to the church. THEY ARE NO
LONGER IN THE CHURCH OF GOD! They will not be in the Laodicean church or any
other true church of God, unless God will grant them repentance!
From: THE HISTORY of the ONE TRUE CHURCH -
WT_TAPE 6,
by Mr. HWA.
03: 18 MIN
Mr. HWA – “The Church of God, my friends, is
not a visible, political organization. The Church of God is not a group of
people that you see going into some church building, or the collection of all of
the people in all the church buildings that you see visibly going in to sit in
pews and seats in church buildings.” – END.
Return to: - THE TRUE CHURCHES - SARDIS,
PHILADELPHIA & LAODICEA – WT TAPE, BY MR. HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG.
AC NOTE: Mr. Armstrong has made a composite
description (three following paragraphs) of the characteristics of true church
members in the Laodicean church, the ones who are still in the church of God and
are not apostate:
11: 46 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now here are people that have this
knowledge, here are people that know things that the apostles couldn’t know,
here are people that look down on the other people in the world, they look down
on even popular churches shall we say, that don’t have all of the knowledge that
they think they have, they say that we are better than they are and we are
spiritually rich and increased with goods, speaking of spiritual goods, in other
words knowledge. Understanding, we have the knowledge. We are very important
because we have these things. And in their own conceits, they have grown
spiritually lukewarm. They are not exactly cold. But neither are they very hot!
They are losing out on zeal. They are not really doing the work of God at all.”
12: 30 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Because thou sayest I am rich and
increased with goods and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy
of me gold tried in fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, which is
always the symbol of the righteousness of saints, the righteousness of God,
which is the righteousness that God gives to us through and by His love. His
Holy Spirit, the love of God spread abroad in our heart by His Holy Spirit; the
very love that does and will fulfill His law.”
13: 02 MIN
Mr. HWA – “White raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, nakedness is always
the symbol of sin, or rebellion against God. Now here are people who have the
knowledge of the commandments of God and still they are not obedient. They are
careless. And anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. So they
don’t see as well as they think they do. As many as I love, God says, I rebuke
and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Now He loves this church. They
are His church. But they are succumbing to this temptation to just become
lukewarm, just to let down.”
AC NOTE: What are the definitions of ‘White or
white raiment,’ ‘Nakedness’, ‘Beginning of wisdom,’ and ‘A good understanding’?
White or white raiment = Righteousness of the
Saints.
Nakedness = Always symbolizes sin or rebellion.
Beginning of wisdom = fear of the LORD
A good understanding = those who do His
commandments.
Ps 19: 7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Ps 19: 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring
forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. NIV
NOTE: So we clearly see from Ps 19: 7, 9 that
God’s law is perfect and that the fear of Him is not just the beginning of
wisdom, but enduring forever.
13: 43 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Behold, I stand at the door, says
Jesus Christ, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and He is saying that to this church, at the last end. Now, my
friends, there is the church that will not be accounted worthy to escape all
these things that are coming to pass. There is the church that is lukewarm,
there is the church that is not continually having its whole mind and heart in
the things of God.”
“In the twenty-first chapter of Luke, which is
Luke’s version of this same prophecy of Jesus that we have been following in the
twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, he said many things are going to happen, these
being the days of vengeance when all things written shall be fulfilled, coming
to our time now, and the time ahead when Jerusalem shall be surrounded by
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh, then is going to come a
time of flight, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, speaking of our
people and our nation here, literally and shall be led away captive to all
nation and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of
the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
15: 10 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Luke 21:36, Watch ye therefore, and
pray always,” In other words, don’t be lukewarm, but you better be really hot,
spiritually, and in your zeal for the things for God and in the work of God,
“that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
“Now this church that I just read to you about,
the one that has little power and kept the faith, and for whom God opens the
door and does go through the door and does do the work of God with their little
strength, but in the great power of God. To them, because thou hast kept the
word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, or the
‘Great Tribulation,’ which is the correct translation of the Greek word, which
shall come upon the whole world. So, my friends, there is the portion of God’s
people of the church that shall escape.”
16: 15 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now you also find a part of them in
the sixth part of Revelation that are to be martyred. They will not escape and
they will not be accounted worthy to escape and taken to a place of safety. And
the ‘Great Tribulation’ will be on them! For the very elect’s sake, because many
of them will begin to repent and those days shall be shortened, or otherwise no
flesh shall be saved alive on earth.”
From the ‘HISTORY of the ONE TRUE CHURCH’ -
WT_TAPE 6, by Herbert W. Armstrong.
01: 29 MIN
Mr. HWA – “My friends, when you understand
first what the Church is, we’ve been going into that a great deal on this
program, and when you understand what the Church, the real Church that Jesus
founded is, you will know that Church did not and cannot fall away from the
truth because the Church is made up of those who are in the truth. The Church,
the true Church of God is made up of those who have and are led by the Spirit of
God. And the Spirit of God does not lead you away but into the truth. Jesus said
when the Spirit of truth is come ‘he will lead you into all truth.’”
02: 25 MIN
Mr. HWA – “THE CHURCH is made up of those that
are actually begotten of God who have the Holy Spirit of God, who have yielded
to God and who are governed by God. And when you are really governed by God and
your mind is controlled by God through His Holy Spirit and being lead into the
truth, you’re not apostatizing!”
02: 44 MIN
Mr. HWA – “Now that doesn’t mean everyone in the
truth knows all the truth, or that anyone in the True Church has all knowledge.
Oh no, because, the people in the church are those who are growing in grace and
in knowledge, they don’t have it all yet! So, they may have some error, that
they have always had, but what I mean is they are not turning from TRUTH INTO
ERROR. They are not apostatizing, they are not falling away, BECAUSE, THOSE WHO
DO THAT FALL OUT OF THE CHURCH! AND THEY ARE NOT IN IT ANYMORE. AND THOSE THAT
ARE AWAY FROM THE TRUTH ARE NOT IN THE CHURCH! That is the thing we have been
bringing out.”
AC - CONCLUSIONS: These two sermon tapes’
partial transcripts show that God’s true apostle, Mr. Armstrong, stated and made
judgments regarding who are in the Laodicean Church:
(All quotes below are Mr. Armstrong’s taken from
what is written above.)
1. Mr. Armstrong speaks regarding the people in
the Laodicean Church: “If these people were not people that were obedient to
God, and that have repented of sin which is the transgression of God’s laws, of
God’s rule, God’s sovereignty, they would not be His Church! These are
commandment keeping people or they wouldn’t be called God’s people in the first
place. But, these are the lukewarm commandment keepers,”
2. Mr. Armstrong speaks regarding all of the
people in the Church of God: “So, they may have some error that they have always
had, but what I mean is they are not turning from TRUTH INTO ERROR. They are not
apostatizing, they are not falling away, BECAUSE THOSE WHO DO THAT FALL OUT OF
THE CHURCH! AND THEY ARE NOT IN IT ANYMORE. AND THOSE THAT ARE AWAY FROM THE
TRUTH ARE NOT IN THE CHURCH!”
NOTE # 1: So we should be able to clearly see
that the WCG members and their 400 plus offshoots, who knew the truth, but
accepted errors in place of the truth, in doctrine, judgments and teachings, put
in by the apostate ministers in the Church, are no longer in the Church, because
they knew the truth and turned to error (Mr. Armstrong’s judgment for all who
knew the truth and turned to error)!
3. What does the Bible say is the definition of
wise?
Ps 111: 10 The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His
commandments.
His praise endures forever. NKJV
Mr. HWA – “So, it is only those that keep the
commandments of God that could keep this knowledge.”
4. “And in their own conceits, they have grown
spiritually lukewarm. They are not exactly cold. But neither are they hot! They
are losing out on zeal. They are not really doing the work of God at all.”
5. “White raiment, that thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, nakedness is always the
symbol of sin, or rebellion against God. Now here are people who have the
knowledge of the commandment of God and still they are not obedient. They are
careless.”
6. “As many as I love, God says, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Now He loves this church. They are
His church. But they are succumbing to this temptation to just become lukewarm,
just to let down.”
NOTE # 2: Mr. Armstrong has said that “God loves
this Church (Laodicean) and they are his Church.” But, God would not love this
Church, nor would it be His Church, if they ‘knew the truth and turned to
error.’
SUMMARY: The people who make up the Laodicean
church are simply all of the people that are still in the Church of God, but
have become lukewarm. They are not apostate. Jesus Christ counsels the people in
the Laodicean Church and gives them a stern warning to repent and be zealous.
They are given an opportunity to accept what Jesus Christ offers in Rev 3: 20 –
21, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. He who
conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered
and sat down with my Father on his throne.” It is up to each individual in the
Church of God to accept or reject Jesus Christ’s counseling and His warning to
them. Jesus Christ’s offer to the Laodicaen Church shows the true mercy of our
God, so mankind is without any excuse not to have salvation.
AC – Observations in View of His Writings —
There are many different views, floating out in
the four hundred plus groups of the scattered Church of God, regarding who are
the people that make up the Laodicean Church. Some of the views are downright
weird and appear to have no basis except personal opinions, rarely with any
scriptural support. The most popular view seems to be, that the Laodicean church
is sort of a catch basin, of all of the people who were members in the WCG and
any new members that came into the various Church of God groups, since the
Church was scattered. This includes those who stayed in the WCG after the
apostasy, those who left the WCG after the apostasy and home studied and all
those who are now in any of the 400 plus scattered Church groups. In other
words, everybody is a Laodicean. Not everyone agrees with this view. One large
group argues that everybody who is not in ‘our group’ is Laodicean, ala Mr.
____ _____. There are other groups who argue the same thing regarding their
Church group. It appears that most people in the scattered church groups feel,
that if you are still alive and have not gone back to the world’s ‘Christian’
churches, the Protestants and the Catholics, then you are probably a Laodicean,
again unless you are in ‘our group.’
1.
Subjects
such as ‘The Place of Safety’ and ‘The Three End Time Churches’ are seldom
discussed in the Church of God groups anymore, because either one, or both of
these subjects, do not fit into the different groups’ schemes of who makes up
the Laodicean church. These subjects: ‘The Place of Safety,’ ‘The Three End Time
Churches,’ and ‘The make up of the Laodicean Church’ are important for all of us
to understand, so that we can follow events that are prophesied to happen to the
Church and correlate them with current world events. We need this to properly
watch as we are commanded to do in Luke 21: 36, “Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” While all three of these
subjects need addressing, I am only addressing in this document the issue of
‘The make up of the Laodicean Church.’ Where do we go to find the answer to this
difficult question: Who makes up the Laodicean Church?
The subject of who makes up the Laodicean Church
is no different from any other subject in the Church of God. It just requires
believing in what the Bible says and the things God put into His Church through
His apostle, Mr. Armstrong. After all, he was the ‘Elijah to Come’, crying out
to a people living in a wilderness of spiritual confusion. That voice is still
crying out for people willing to listen and who have ears to hear.
Even the most optimistic person, would have to
admit, that the Church of God is today in a state of almost total confusion. The
main reason for this, is that the Church of God is always looking to themselves
for answers and not looking to God. I have found that whenever I am not
convinced that a subject being taught by one or more of the Church of God
scattered groups is true, such as the make up of the Laodicean Church, I can
find the answer somewhere in various sermons, WT programs, articles, BCC
lessons, or a combination of these as given through our endtime apostle, Mr.
Herbert W. Armstrong, that explains the subject fully and correctly. The truth
that we received came from Jesus Christ, but it was delivered to us by His end
time apostle, Mr. Armstrong. Therefore, we can be fully confident in the answers
we receive, when we search for the truth, using the material by Mr. Armstrong;
that God preserved for us from the Philadelphia era.
There is a prevalent attitude in some of the
scattered Church of God groups that even if we fail now, God will give us
another chance and purify us in ‘the Great Tribulation.’ That is a very
dangerous attitude to have and I cannot find any scriptures in the Bible that
guarantee that will happen. There will be people who will go through ‘the Great
Tribulation’ and be purified as the Bible clearly states. However, we are going
to lose two-thirds of the people in the United States and Great Britain in a
very short time and some in the scattered Church groups may be killed in that
destruction. The primary message to the Laodicean Church today, is to repent and
be zealous, not to have a cavalier attitude towards our salvation. THE TIME TO
REPENT AND BE ZEALOUS IS NOW!” The end
Conclusion —
Brethren, this is a very lengthy writing and
will require some time to study and meditate on it for real understanding. It
is my hope and prayer it will be enlightening to each and every one of us, and
will be a great help to us, to try as hard as we can, not to have to win our
salvation, by having to endure faithfully, the horrors of the Great Tribulation.
All of us want to be counted worthy to escape
all of these things that are soon to come to pass and to stand before the Son of
Man (Luke 21:36).
Our love and prayers,
Don Billingsley
