It Is a Serious Thing to Reject God's Word!

If God shows you something in His word, the Bible, and opens your mind to understand it, He is speaking to you.  And if the thing he shows you contradicts what you have believed before, you may have a problem.  You have to make a choice - believe your traditions and maybe your ministry and fellowship, or believe God.  Maybe it will be easy.  But not always.  It might be hard, especially for a minister, to admit he has been wrong in what he has believed and taught and to begin to teach some new truth God has shown him, if he is the leader, or to at least refrain from now on from teaching error if he is employed by a Church of God fellowship and forbidden to openly teach the full truth.

It thus becomes a test from God.  Will you believe what God says, or will you reject the Word of God in favor of your existing beliefs?

It can be a very serious thing to reject the word of God.  There are warnings about that, from the Bible and from Church history.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children" (Hosea 4:6).

To king Saul of Israel, Samuel said, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:23).

"The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord; So what wisdom do they have?" (Jeremiah 8:9).

We criticize the people of the world for rejecting the word of God, yet at the same time some of us do the same.  What must God think of that?

If we knowingly teach to the brethren what God shows us in His word is false, we are lying to God's people.  We are lying to God's Holy Spirit which dwells in the minds of the brethren.  The seriousness of that is shown in Acts 5:1-11.  Ananias lied to Peter, and Peter had God's Holy Spirit.  By lying to Peter, he lied to the Holy Spirit that was in Peter, and by lying to the Holy Spirit he lied to God.  God struck him dead for it, and his wife who participated in his lie.   

And if we lie to others, we open ourselves to deception.

God says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

If we sow deception, God may allow us to reap deception.  If we lie to others, God may allow us to be deceived by others.  That is a dangerous thing considering the worldwide deception that is coming.

Consider the life of Jacob.  Jacob lied to his father to obtain a blessing, and if you look at his life after that, God allowed him to be the victim of the lies of others.  Laban lied to Jacob, and later Jacob's sons lied to him about Joseph.  Jacob suffered needlessly thinking that Joseph was dead.  He sowed a lie, and he reaped being deceived.

There is an example in Church history, in the life of Mr. Armstrong as related in his autobiography, of how God dealt with someone who rejected His word.

There was a man who had the gift of healing.  He was a Sunday keeper, but God answered his prayers for the healing of others.  Mr. Armstrong learned about God's promises of healing from this man.  But Mr. Armstrong shared with the man the knowledge from God's word that the seventh day Sabbath, not Sunday, is the day God wants us to rest on and observe.  

The man had a decision to make.  He chose to reject God's word.

God took from him the gift of healing.  He no longer answered his prayers.

We must not reject God's word lest God reject us.

The Foundation for God's Word

In the last two posts I talked about the way that God primarily communicates with us today regarding doctrine.  In Bible times, God communicated with His people primarily through miracle-working servants - prophets and apostles.  Today, He primarily communicates with us through the Bible, which today is complete, widely available, and able to be proved to be the word of God through the miracle of fulfilled prophecy.  I talked about how and why this change was made.

I have one more thing to add.

God laid the foundation for using the Bible as His primary means of communication with us in the Bible itself - in the writings of the prophets and apostles.

God has emphasized several times that the Bible is His word and is infallibly true.

The Bible claims God as its author.  "Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure' " (Isaiah 46:9-10).

God declares His word is true and sure.

"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him" (Proverbs 30:5).

" 'For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,' Says the Lord. 'But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word' " (Isaiah 66:2).

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He answered every temptation with a quotation from scripture (Matthew 4:1-10, Luke 4:1-12).

Many events took place in the New Testament for the very purpose of fulfilling Bible prophecy.  Here is a list from the book of Matthew alone: Matthew 1:22-23, 2:14-15, 17-18, 23, 4:13-16, 8:16-17, 12:16-21, 13:34-35, 21:4-5, 27:9-10, 27:35.

In at least one case, Jesus Christ took actions for the very purpose of fulfilling prophecy - Jesus was concerned that prophecy be fulfilled and made choices to make sure that prophecy was fulfilled (Matthew 26:51-54).

Paul affirmed that scripture is inspired by God and is the word of God.  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Peter likewise affirms this, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation [or origin], for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

Paul reasoned with his listeners using the scriptures.  "Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ' " (Acts 17:2-3).

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

Perhaps the strongest affirmation of the truth of the Bible is this: "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods' "? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)... ' " (John 10:34-35).

With that background, showing that Bible scripture is true and is the word of God, God gives this example of how some in the New Testament used Bible scripture to determine the truth, not just the words of the apostles.  "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men" (Acts 17:11-12).

We are also told, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

Not everyone had access to the books of the Bible in the first century, and the Bible was not complete.  Nevertheless, God gives us these statements and examples to lay a foundation for our time when most of God's communication to us is through the Bible, not miracle-working prophets and apostles.

Why Does God Communicate With Us Primarily Through the Bible Today Instead of Through Miracle-Working Apostles?

In my last post I explained that God today communicates with His people differently than in the first century.  In Bible times, God communicated primarily through miracle-working prophets and apostles.  Today He communicates with us primarily through the Bible.  God has changed the pattern of how He communicates His truth to us, and He used Herbert W. Armstrong as a tool to change that pattern and make the new pattern known to us.

He still uses miracles to confirm the truth of His message - to show that it is from Him.  But in Bible times he used human servants - prophets and apostles - to work public miracles and to deliver God's truth to the people in person.  Today, He uses the miracle of fulfilled prophecy in the Bible, which was not available in Bible times for three reasons: the Bible was not complete, the Bible was not widely available to everyone, and the prophecies in the Bible had not yet been fulfilled.

Why has God changed the pattern to use the Bible instead of individual servants to communicate with us?

There is a very practical reason why God has changed the pattern.

Personal messages from miracle-working servants would not serve God's purposes right now as well as the Bible does.

There will come a time when the two witnesses perform public miracles.  And there may come a time when God provides prophets to the Church to give us particular messages, such as going to a place of safety and other matters.  But right now, it appears God does not use miracle-working servants to communicate with the Church or the world.  He uses the Bible.

There is a reason why God primarily uses the Bible, not human servants, to communicate truth to us.

Suppose, in this day of a world population of seven billion or more and a population of the United States - just one tribe of Israel - of about 330 million people, God sent human servants working miracles.  How many people could they reach?  Not many.  Even using the Internet and modern communications, people would simply not believe it.  The Satan-dominated news media would not report it.  And if you published in a blog or website that your aunt was miraculously healed of cancer by a minister in the Church of God, who outside the Church would believe you?  

In Bible times, Paul and the other apostles worked with small numbers of people who were eye witnesses or who could personally talk with eye witnesses of the miracles the apostles performed.  The population of the earth was much smaller, and God was not trying to reach everyone anyway.  Why?  He had no reason to reach more people than were being called, and He only calls a few.  Those people could be reached personally by the apostles.

But today, God has a reason to reach everyone in the tribes of Israel with the gospel and warning message, regardless of whether or not He is calling them.  Why?  Because we are living in a time when the tribulation is almost upon us.  Everyone needs a warning so they know God is fair to warn them and give them time to repent before punishing them.

Just using the United States as an example, you can't reach 330 million people with a message from miracle-working prophets and apostles.  You can't reach that many people personally.  You can only deliver the message via mass media, but the people won't believe - nor should they.  Would you believe a website from a man that says he can perform miracles?

You need a different way to verify and prove the message is true.

So God has caused the Bible to be freely available and widespread.  All Americans, for example, can acquire a Bible and look up answers.  And God can prove the fulfillment of prophecy by history that is also freely available.  So all that remains for a preaching ministry to do is point people to the Bible and to the proof that the Bible is inspired.  You need some kind of mass media to do this, but people don't have to believe you - they don't have to take your word for it - that there are any miracles to prove the message.  People can prove it for themselves from their own Bible and from historical facts that are freely available.

That is why God has changed the way He communicates today.  He needs to reach multiple millions with a warning message that has credibility, and He can't do that with one or a few miracle-working servants.  So He uses the Bible.

And our job is to point people to answers and proofs in the Bible.  Then they can check up for themselves and find the proof and know the message is from God, if they are willing.  And if they are not willing, they will at least remember that God was fair to warn them, but they didn't heed or take the trouble to check it out.  They can know that God was fair, and they can repent during the tribulation and be ready for conversion in the millennium.

How God Teaches Us Knowledge Today

One who thinks that we should believe ministers more than the Bible and not learn directly from the Bible ourselves may want to emphasize the examples in the Bible that show how God's truth and knowledge are passed to us from individual people, who received it from other people and from God.  One might say that this is still the pattern for today, and thus we should believe what was passed to us by Mr. Armstrong and not what we see for ourselves, our "own understanding" of scripture as they put it, in the Bible.  But that is wrong.

The pattern has been broken.  God has changed it.  How?

In Bible times, those who taught the Church, the prophets and the apostles, performed public miracles.  In the case of the New Testament Church of God, all teachings came from miracle-working apostles.  Anyone could know that the apostles were from God because of the evidence of the miracles.

God gave supernatural evidence to back up the message of His servants.

Even Nicodemus knew Christ was a teacher from God because of His miracles (John 3:1-2).

That pattern has been broken.  Even the healings from Mr. Armstrong were not the kind of public miracles that enabled anyone to know that his message was from God.

God has changed the pattern.  He has given us a different pattern of how to know the truth to replace the pattern of miracle-working servants teaching us God's message directly from God.  He used Mr. Armstrong to do it.

God still gives supernatural evidence to back up His message, but of a different kind.

Mr. Armstrong taught that new pattern.  It is simple.  Today, unlike the early days of the first century Church of God, we have the Bible complete.  It was not complete most of the time in the first century Church of God.  The New Testament was in the process of being written.

Also, today, the Bible is widespread and readily available to anyone who wants to read and study it.  In Bible times, not only was the Bible incomplete, but it was rare and expensive.  Some individuals had access to a few books of the Bible, each of which would be a scroll, but very few people had all the books that were even written at that time.

And finally, we have the proof of fulfilled prophecy to prove that the Bible is inspired by God and is God's word.  That was not true in the first century because those prophecies were not yet fulfilled.  But now, any objective person can prove that the Bible is God speaking.  In effect, fulfilled prophecy is the miracle that proves that the teaching of the Bible is from God just as miracles of the apostles were the proof their teaching was from God.  Fulfilled prophecy in the Bible is the supernatural evidence God gives people today so they can know the message is from God.

For that reason, there has been a change in the way God communicates with us.  He no longer does it directly through human servants whom He backs up with miracle-working power.  Instead, He gives us proof that He speaks through the Bible, and He makes the Bible easily available to everyone.

So comparisons of how Mr. Armstrong taught us with how the first century apostles taught the Church are not valid for showing that God works the same way today.  They worked public miracles to prove their message, Mr. Armstrong did not.

Instead, Mr. Armstrong pointed us to the Bible, saying, don't believe me, believe your Bible, believe God.

That is a change and a difference.

That is the new pattern.

And for that reason, we should believe what we see for ourselves in the Bible more than we believe Mr. Armstrong's teaching or any man's teaching in the Church of God.  The ministry has the job of helping us see the truth in the Bible.  That is their role.  They can help in various ways.  They can point out scriptures on a subject we may have overlooked, for example.  But they must show us so we can see the answer ourselves in the Bible.  That is God's way, today.

Even Mr. Armstrong followed the new pattern.  He did not learn God's truth passed from another person to him.  He learned it direct from God in the Bible.  Others may have helped him find the truth in the Bible, Loma Armstrong for example, as ministers should help us find answers in the Bible today.  But he didn't believe any new truth until he saw it for himself with his own understanding in the Bible.

The Bible interprets the Bible.  Clear passages help to explain difficult passages.  We should never let the Church and the ministry "interpret" the Bible for us.  Our faith must be in God and His word direct.  Faith in man, even Church of God ministers, even Mr. Armstrong, is a form of idolatry.

Members who are Philadelphian in character and spiritual condition should always believe what they see in the Bible for themselves more than their ministry, and should always be willing to learn new knowledge from the Bible, if they want a wide-open door for preaching the gospel to the world and the Ezekiel warning to Israel.  And we need that wide-open door if we do not want the blood of the people to be on our heads (Ezekiel 3:16-21) and if we want to glorify God's name and reputation for fairness and help more of Israel be saved.

And Philadelphians should never move their tithes and offerings and support from a group with an open door to a group that has no open door.

Here is a list of other posts in this blog on the subject of God communicating with us through the Bible today as contrasted with communicating through miracle-working apostles and prophets in Bible times:  

Friday, August 14, 2015:
Why Does God Communicate to Us through the Bible Today, More than through Miracle-working Apostles and Prophets as He Did in the First Century and Before?

Wednesday, January 10, 2018:
Principle of Knowing God's Revelation - How Can One Know the Truth? / How to Preach the Gospel More Effectively

Elijah (Again)

This is the third post in a series about Elijah.

This will be a short post.  This will also be more personal.

Repetition is a form of emphasis.  And some people, I think, still don't "get it".

There is a controversy in the Churches of God about whether the Church can rightly change or add to the doctrines of Herbert W. Armstrong.  Some, such as I, say yes, and some say no based on the belief that Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to come and restore all things, and since he has restored all things there is nothing left to change or add.

This controversy is with many fellowships, not just one or two.  It has been going on for a long time.

As with any controversy over doctrine - and this is a major doctrinal question - we should settle it by the Bible.

Some in the Church, even some ministers, have grown up in the Church.  They never had the experience of having to reject their family traditions to follow God's word.  They never really experienced looking to the Bible for answers in the same way as someone who had to give up their religious traditions and in some cases even give up their families in order to obey the Bible.  Following a list of Church of God doctrines was easy for them.  They were not really tested before they were baptized the same way as those who did not grow up in the Church.  They had it easy in that way, so far.

Maybe some of them are being tested now.

If we want to know what God thinks about this controversy concerning Mr. Armstrong's role as the Elijah to come and restore all things, we need to look at what God says about Elijah himself - the first Elijah.

You say that Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to come.  Fine.  I have no quarrel with that.  You say it was his work, from God, to restore all things, meaning doctrine.  Fine.  I have no problem with that.

But the question is, does his work, which he started (or God started through him if you want to word it that way), continue after he is gone, or did it stop when he was removed by death from the Church?

Does his work continue today?  If it does, then we are to continue his work of restoring all things, even today.

What does God say in His word?

God says that the work of Elijah continued after Elijah was removed from the scene.  It was continued by those who were supervised and no doubt trained by Elijah and followed him.

You can read the details in my last two posts.  The work God gave Elijah included anointing Jehu king over Israel.  This was done by others, probably trained and definitely led and supervised by Elijah, but only after Elijah was gone.  This shows that the work of Elijah that he starts continues after he is gone.  This is a principle from God, which applies to Mr. Armstrong, the Elijah of our time, as well as to the first Elijah.  I am convinced it is for the purpose of teaching this principle, so we can know that we should continue Mr. Armstrong's work of restoring doctrine, that God put this example in the Bible and gave us the details we need.

Did Elijah's work of anointing Jehu continue after he was gone?

Yes.

Does Mr. Armstrong's Elijah work of restoring doctrine continue today after he is gone?  

Yes.

If someone can't see this, is he really following the God of the Bible?

I have doubts.

Is he following where Christ leads?

I don't think so.  Christ leads through the Bible.  If a man rejects what God says in the Bible, he is rejecting the leadership of Jesus Christ.

Maybe he doesn't understand these particular passages.  Maybe he is blinded to their meaning.  Maybe he needs more time for God to work with him and open his mind.  

If a man grew up in the Church, learned his religious values and doctrines from his parents as most people in this world learn their religious traditions, has never had to choose between the Bible and those traditions, has had it "easy" in that sense, and is now not willing to admit error and change his view to believe God's word because he is afraid or unwilling to admit he was wrong and change - this may be a time when he has to exercise courage and faith to obey God.

It can take courage to hike one hundred miles on a difficult trail, to stand up for what you believe and be fired and have to go out on your own, and even to refrain from wearing a face mask to stick with your convictions.

But it can also take spiritual courage to admit to yourself and to God that you have been wrong in what you have believed and taught and to change and be corrected by the Bible.  That is the kind of courage Mr. Armstrong had.

If a man is only willing to follow the traditions his parents raised him in, but is not willing to change to follow the Bible, is he really converted?

A man may be a workaholic and be filled with energy to build an organization.  He may be a great speaker and have the kind of personal charisma and people skills that win supporters and followers.  He may be faithful to the religious traditions he was raised in and taught by his parents.

So what?

Many unconverted people in the world today (and in history) have exactly those qualities.  Some are fired by their employer for standing up for what they believe.  Some face physical challenges and dangers in the outdoors.  Some scorn face masks.  Some are workaholics and are filled with energy.  Some are good speakers and have pleasing personalities, the kind that win the support and loyalty of their followers.  Some faithfully follow their family traditions.

A man may be willing to practice a minority religion.  Does that make him converted?

No.  Look at the Jehovah's Witnesses.  Look at the Jews.

He may keep the seventh day Sabbath.  Does that make him converted?  No.  Look at the Seventh Day Adventists.  They do not keep the holy days.  But neither did the Church of God Seventh Day or much of the true Church of God in the last several centuries before Mr. Armstrong.

Why would a man who rejects God's word, including what God teaches us about Elijah's work continuing after he is gone, imagine that he is converted and has God's Holy Spirit dwelling in him?

The answer is easy.  Millions of Catholics and Protestants do the same thing.  Such a man might not know this, having been raised in the Church of God.  He might not know how those Catholics and Protestants who are zealous and religious and fervent think they have God's Spirit within them, how they fervently pray and trust in God all day.

If a man or woman in the Church of God is not willing to make difficult changes when confronted with and corrected by God's word, the Bible, what evidence is there that he or she is converted at all?  Such a person needs to ask himself or herself this question, especially as we approach self-examination time for Passover.  This would be a good question for many Church of God members to meditate on in preparing for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

You think you have God's Spirit leading you?  You sense it somehow?  You say you feel God's presence in your mind and life?  You say you see the evidence of God's answers to your prayers?  So do many Catholics.  So do many Protestants.  You follow the traditions of your parents?  So do Catholics and Protestants.  You are willing to be part of a minority religion, out of step with people of the world around you?  So are Jehovah's Witnesses.  So are Jews.  So are people of many religions who are minorities in certain regions of this world, surrounded by people of different faith, often persecuted.

But are you willing to change what you believe to be corrected by God's word?  When have you ever faced that test?  Loma Armstrong faced it.  Herbert W. Armstrong faced it.  Thousands of Mr. Armstrong's radio listeners in the 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's faced it.  Dr. Roderick Meredith faced it.  But you grew up in the Church.  When have you ever faced that test?

Maybe you're facing it now.

If you are facing it, pass the test.  Have the faith and humility and courage to believe God, admit to yourself and to God that you have been wrong in your beliefs, and change.

If you trust God, believe what He says.  Believe what He says about Elijah.  He won't lie to you.  Put Him first.

How Did the First Elijah Do God's Work?

In understanding Mr. Armstrong's probable role as the Elijah to come and restore all things, would it not make sense to examine the role of the first Elijah and how he did his work?

"Jesus answered and said to them, 'Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things' " (Matthew 17:11).  See also Mark 9:12.

I am convinced that Mr. Armstrong was that Elijah to come and restore all things.  I won't say I have proved it with 100% certainty in my mind, but the evidence of that seems very strong, even overwhelming.  It would be hard for me to imagine anyone restoring more lost knowledge than he did.

But what does that mean, in detail?  Does it mean everything Mr. Armstrong taught was infallibly correct?  No, because we know from Church history that Mr. Armstrong made mistakes, and he himself said he made mistakes.  He admitted error and corrected his own errors.  He sometimes changed his own teaching, such as with Pentecost being on a Monday.

And for those who think that he never made a mistake in his teaching that he did not later correct before he died, consider his statement to the Church shortly before naming Mr. Tkach as his successor that we should follow the next pastor general if we want to be in the kingdom of God and we needed to stay united.  He did not qualify that statement with, "as he follows Christ", or "as he follows the Bible".  Mr. Armstrong did not make that qualification.  He just said, follow him - period.  But that was a mistake, for we could not follow Mr. Tkach without falling away from the truth.  And Mr. Armstrong never corrected that error in the short time before he died.

If God allowed Mr. Armstrong to make mistakes in his teaching, not all of which he corrected in his lifetime, then his teachings cannot be regarded as infallible.  That does not negate the good work he did in restoring lost knowledge, and it does not negate his role as the Elijah to come.  The first Elijah himself no doubt made mistakes, but not in God's word that became part of the Bible, since the Bible is God's word and is infallible.  Mr. Armstrong never claimed his writings were on the same level as the Bible.

How was Mr. Armstrong to fulfill his role as the Elijah to restore all things?  Did he work alone or did he use a team of like-minded people to help him?  And does that team continue Mr. Armstrong's work of restoring all things even after Mr. Armstrong himself is gone?

To know the answer, we can look at the first Elijah.  We can look at events God has recorded in the Bible probably for the very purpose of answering our questions about Mr. Armstrong's role.  God put things in the Bible for a purpose.  The Bible does not record every detail of every event - it would be a much longer book if it did.  God selected which details of which events to give us for our learning.  He knew what questions we would be asking today, and He gave us the lessons in scripture we need in order to get the answers we need today.

The work of the first Elijah was not exactly the same as the work of the Elijah to restore all things.  But God gave Elijah work to do.  He gave him various tasks and assignments, and those tasks were God's work in Elijah's day same as restoring lost truth and preaching the gospel to the public was God's work in Mr. Armstrong's day.

One of those tasks was to anoint Jehu king over Israel.  God wanted Jehu to destroy Baal worship in Israel.  Notice this passage that describes how God gave Elijah this assignment.  

"So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' And he said, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.' Then the Lord said to him: 'Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place' " (1 Kings 19:13-16).

Now, here is the important part.  Elijah did not anoint Jehu as king over Israel personally.  In fact, this anointing did not even occur when Elijah was fulfilling his office.  This same passage said that Elisha would be prophet in place of Elijah.  Elisha would be given Elijah's office when Elijah was removed from the scene.  This occurred before Jehu was anointed as prophet.

"And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?' Elisha said, 'Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.' So he said, 'You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.' Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!' So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces" (2 Kings 2:9-12).  

Then, "Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, 'Where is the Lord God of Elijah?' And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.' And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him" (2 Kings 2:14-15).

Notice, "the sons of the prophets" are mentioned.

This event happened before Jehu was anointed king over Israel.  Yet, God gave that job to Elijah.  So how was Elijah to anoint Jehu king over Israel after he was taken away by a whirlwind and Elisha received his office?

The answer is, Elijah did not work alone, and those who worked with him continued his work after him.  Elijah did anoint Jehu as king, but not directly.  He did God's work, the work and assignments and tasks God has given him including the anointing of Jehu, through the work of others he supervised, and they continued that work after Elijah was gone.

This is the example God gives us in the life of Elijah that helps us understand the role of Mr. Armstrong.  It makes sense to look at the lessons and examples God gives us about the first Elijah to best understand the role of the Elijah to come in our day.

Here is the account of how Elijah, through the work of those who followed him after he was gone, fulfilled God's commission of anointing Jehu king over Israel.

"And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, 'Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, "Thus says the Lord: 'I have anointed you king over Israel.' " Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.' So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, 'I have a message for you, Commander.' Jehu said, 'For which one of us?' And he said, 'For you, Commander.' Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel" ' " (2 Kings 9:1-6).

Notice that, though the anointing of Jehu as king was Elijah's job and commission he received from God in 1 Kings 19:16, it was a group effort.  He didn't do it himself directly.  It was carried out by those who followed him in his place after he was gone.  Elisha continued in Elijah's office, and he gave the job to a young man, one of the sons of the prophets, to do the actual anointing.  And God does not even give us the name of this young man.  Yet, he did the actual anointing.

It was a team effort.

The "sons of the prophets" are mentioned in accounts regarding Elijah and Elisha.  Some have said that there were one or more schools of the prophets at that time.  These schools may have been established by Samuel, or by Elijah - the Bible does not say - but it is clear that Elijah and Elisha led the sons of the prophets and used them to do God's work, as needed.  At least in the case of the anointing of Jehu, Elisha used one of the sons of the prophets to do it.

The work of Elijah was a team effort.

Not only that, it was a team effort that continued after Elijah was gone.  It continued after him.

And it was the work of God, for though it was a son of the prophets who poured oil on Jehu's head, God said that it was He, God, who was anointing Jehu as king (2 Kings 9:6).

So, if you want to really understand Mr. Armstrong's role as the Elijah to come and restore all things, which is part of the work of God in our time, and if you want to understand how that work is to be done and whether or not it continues to the present time, look to the examples God gives us of how the first Elijah did the work God gave him.  He didn't do it alone.  And the work didn't stop after Elijah was gone.  Elijah started it and put it into motion, but it continued after him.  God uses these examples, I think, to teach us about Mr. Armstrong.

God anointed Jehu as king, as it says in 2 Kings 9:6.  But God did it through human instruments.  He gave the job to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:16.  Elijah must have passed on the instructions and the job to Elisha to be done after Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind, for Elisha ordered it done in 2 Kings 9:1-3.  Elisha delegated the job to an unnamed son of the prophets who did the actual pouring of oil on Jehu's head and passed on God's instructions to Jehu in 2 Kings 9:7-10.

In our time, God gave the job of restoring lost knowledge to Mr. Armstrong.  He also gave him other related jobs, including feeding the flock, preaching the gospel to the world, and giving God's warning message to Israel.  Mr. Armstrong did that work, and he built a team to help him.  He established a college with three campuses.  He raised up a Church of God fellowship with many congregations.  He trained and ordained evangelists and pastors who wrote articles, went on baptizing tours, and pastored congregations.

The work Mr. Armstrong did, with the help of the colleges and men educated in those colleges and with the help of the whole Church and its members who supported him with tithes, offerings, prayers, and service, was like the work God gave the first Elijah.  And as with the first Elijah, it was a team effort.

And Mr. Armstrong's work as the Elijah to come continues today.  As the work of the first Elijah was continued by the team Elijah had worked with, so the work of Mr. Armstrong continues today by the Church of God, the team Mr. Armstrong built and worked with.  We continue his work.

We continue his work of feeding the flock, do we not?  We continue his work of preaching the gospel to the world, do we not?  We continue his work of giving a warning message to Israel, do we not?  Do we also continue his work of restoring lost knowledge?

Yes, we do.

Just as Elisha and the sons of the prophets continued the work of Elijah after Elijah was gone, it is the Church of God's job today to continue the work of Herbert W. Armstrong, all of it.

It is the job of the Church of God today to continue the job of Mr. Armstrong of restoring truth.  Whether certain leaders of various fellowships in the scattered Church today accept new knowledge is a different matter.  They are responsible to God.  Mr. Armstrong started his work of restoration of knowledge while a lay member of the Church of God Seventh Day, and as part of that job he did research, discovered new truth, and offered that new knowledge to Church of God Seventh Day, but they never accepted it.  But he was doing his job, nevertheless.

You cannot use as evidence that we are not to restore knowledge the fact that the scattered Church of God fellowships today do not accept new knowledge.  That would be like saying, the ten commandments are not in force because no one obeys them.

You cannot say, Mr. Armstrong was not the Elijah to restore all things because the Church of God Seventh Day never accepted new restored knowledge.  That was their choice, their wrong choice, and God rejected them from doing a powerful work of preaching the gospel and the Ezekiel warning because of it.  But even before Mr. Armstrong started an independent work, which became the Worldwide Church of God, he was restoring knowledge for himself and his family and a few who would learn from him.

Mr. Armstrong practiced a way of life, and he taught that way of life to the Church of God by his writings, his speaking, and his example.  That way of life includes believing the Bible more than Church of God tradition, learning new knowledge from the Bible and teaching it to the Church, and correcting errors when those errors are found, even errors made by Mr. Armstrong himself.

Has the Church of God corrected any of Mr. Armstrong's teachings?  Have they changed anything?  Yes.  There is one mistake Mr. Armstrong made that he never corrected in his lifetime, but the whole Church of God has corrected it after his death.  Even Mr. Sheldon Monson has corrected it or participated in correcting it.

I already mentioned it early in this post.  Mr. Armstrong said we were to follow the next pastor general, who turned out to be Mr. Tkach, without qualification that he follow the Bible.  No one I know of in the true Church of God follows that mistake.  All have acknowledged that it would be error to follow the teachings of Mr. Tkach after Mr. Armstrong died.  I am sure Mr. Monson would acknowledge that.

Mr. Armstrong raised up a Church of God fellowship and taught the Church of God the way of life Mr. Armstrong practiced.  That way of life includes learning new things and correcting error.  The Church of God should continue that way of life today - that is the example God teaches us in the Bible in the events concerning the first Elijah - a type of Mr. Armstrong.  We are to continue the work of Mr. Armstrong as Elisha and the sons of the prophets continued the work of the first Elijah.

The work of Mr. Armstrong includes correcting error.  Some of that work he completed while alive and some was not completed when he died.  As a Church we are to do what Mr. Armstrong himself did not complete.

Mr. Armstrong made a mistake about Pentecost.  He taught it was on a Monday.  Later, he corrected his own error, and correctly taught it was on a Sunday.  Correction of error is part of his work.  Near the end of his life, he taught we should follow Mr. Tkach.  He died before he could correct that error.  But the Church of God, continuing in his work, corrected that error as he himself would have done if he were alive to do so.  We corrected that error by leaving Mr. Tkach and establishing fellowships that could continue in the main body of doctrine Mr. Armstrong taught based on the truth of the Bible.  We did not follow Mr. Tkach.

I am sure Mr. Monson, Mr. Weston, and most other Church of God leaders and ministers would agree that we were right not to follow Mr. Tkach.

I am not saying that there is a lot of error in Mr. Armstrong's doctrines that needs to be corrected.  There is probably very little error, and if there is any error, it is probably minor.  There may be additional new knowledge God wants to teach us, however.

The online HWA library that Church of God Assembly (COGA) plans to use for preaching the gospel is generally sound, and I think it can be a useful tool for preaching the gospel.  It would certainly be a time saver until the time when COGA can build up its own inventory of literature, perhaps very slowly.  When I learned of that plan, my reaction was, "why didn't I think of that?".  I don't know if pieces of that literature can be printed, according to copyright law, but I am not an expert in copyright law.  In any case, printing may not be necessary.  So if this can be made to work, it is probably a good idea, at least for a while.

But the Church of God should not teach its members and ministers that no teaching of Mr. Armstrong should be changed, corrected, or added to.  That is contrary to the whole way of life Mr. Armstrong practiced.  It is contrary to the work the Church is to do in continuation of Mr. Armstrong's role of restoring lost knowledge.  We need to read and study the Bible as we would want our readers and listeners to do when we preach the gospel to them - with an open mind willing to believe what God says more than church tradition and willing to learn new things that God wants to teach us.
    
How did Elijah do God's work?  Did he do all the work God assigned to him personally?  Or did he establish or work with an organization, a fellowship, a community that carried on his work after him?

The lesson God teaches us through the examples in the life of Elijah is that Mr. Armstrong's work continues today in the Church, including his work of restoring all things.

Is There a Contradiction Between Learning New Knowledge and Recognizing Herbert W. Armstrong as the Elijah to Restore All Things?

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong could well be, and I think probably was, the Elijah to come to restore all things.  Some people latch on to that "all things" to say that, since Mr. Armstrong restored all things, there is nothing left to restore, and doctrine should now be locked in place - no more changes, no more additions, no more discovery in the Bible of new knowledge we did not have before.  The thinking seems to be, if we were to discover something new, new truth, new doctrinal knowledge from the Bible, and if we began to believe that new doctrinal knowledge and teach it and practice it and make it a part of the body of doctrinal knowledge of the Church of God, we would be restoring doctrinal knowledge that had been lost.  But that would contradict the principle that Mr. Armstrong restored everything, because if some new knowledge was restored today, that would be something Mr. Armstrong did not personally restore, and that would contradict the principle that Mr. Armstrong restored all, things, not just some things and leaving other things to be restored in the future after he died.

I have to respect those who sincerely feel this way, assuming they are basing their beliefs on God's word concerning the Elijah to come and restore all things (Matthew 17:11, Mark 9:12).

But there is a flaw in this thinking, a mistake, and I want to point that out.  I hope those who think that we cannot learn and accept new knowledge because that would contradict Mr. Armstrong's role of restoring ALL things will read this post and consider this issue with an open mind.

A person may say, "If I am wrong, tell me, I want to know."  This is a commendable attitude, one we should all have, and is endorsed by God's word, which says, "Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning" (Proverbs 9:8-9).

If this thinking - that Mr. Armstrong's role as the Elijah to restore all things prevents learning new knowledge - were correct, it would be hard for me to reconcile it with the principle that we should practice what we preach, and since we teach the public to learn new things and believe the Bible more than their traditions, we have to do the same to successfully preach the gospel and the Ezekiel warning.  And we have to preach the message because the majority of Israel who needs a warning has not been reached with the message.  So they need the warning, and we need to preach it.  But to do this successfully, with God's blessing of an open door, we have to be willing to do what we ask others to do - to learn new knowledge from the Bible and believe what we learn and prove from the Bible more than our traditions.  God hates a double standard (Deuteronomy 25:13-16, Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:15-16, Matthew 23:2-4, Luke 11:46).

So is this a problem of reconciliation?  God teaches that the Elijah to come, who I and many others expect was Mr. Armstrong, was to restore ALL things, yet to avoid hypocrisy in preaching the gospel we have to be willing to learn new knowledge from the Bible just as we ask the public to do.  But if we learn something new, that would be something Mr. Armstrong did not restore.  So apparently, that would contradict Mr. Armstrong's Elijah role, which we believe based on scripture (Matthew 17:11).

How can we be willing to do what we ask the public to do, learn new knowledge, if we expect that there is nothing new to learn - that Mr. Armstrong restored it all?

There is an answer in the Bible.

The Bible teaches that when someone does something through the work of someone else, that action is attributed to the first person who started it, supervised it, or had authority over it.  

I have posted about this before, but many current readers of my blog may not have seen my old posts.

The world knows this too.  One may say that Henry Ford is the maker of Ford cars.  Yet he did not directly make the cars, but he did it through the workmen who worked in his factories.  They made the cars, but their work is attributed to the man, Henry Ford, who employed them and caused them to do the work of making cars, and that work continues today.  Mr. Armstrong, some of you will remember, used that example.  Another example: a historian of World War II may say that Adolf Hitler defeated France in 1940.  Yet is was the German army, officers, and soldiers that did the actual fighting and conquering of France - yet that action can be attributed to Hitler because he set it in motion.

God the Father created all things, but through the Word who became Jesus Christ.  Christ did the work of creating, but under the authority and supervision of God the Father (John 1:1-3, Ephesians 3:8-9, Colossians 1:15-16, Hebrews 1:1-2).

Look at Mr. Armstrong himself and the work God did through him.  He restored truth, yes.  But he had human helpers.  The whole membership and ministry backed him up.  Many articles that taught and expounded on truths that Mr. Armstrong restored were written by other men under Mr. Armstrong's supervision.  This truth was given to the public through the tithes and prayers of the membership.  It was taught in local congregations by ministers.  And there were no doubt times when Mr. Armstrong wanted and asked for feedback and scriptural research from some of his top men before he fully accepted a new idea he had.

He even allowed himself to be corrected, as with Pentecost being on a Monday or Sunday, by men under him.

The whole Elijah work was a group effort.  Yet, we attribute the restoring of doctrine to Mr. Armstrong personally because he caused it to happen.  He had authority over it.  He started it.  He set the example.  He caused it to happen, though it was Christ working in him, as he often said.

A very clear proof of this principle is in the Bible.  "Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)" (John 4:1-2).  Notice, the disciples did the actual baptizing.  But their action is attributed to Christ who authorized, supervised, and caused them to do it.  The practice of baptism continues today.

Mr. Armstrong established the principle by his teaching and example of believing the Bible more than tradition and being willing to learn new knowledge from the Bible.  We should continue living by that principle, as Mr. Armstrong taught us, and if we discover and restore doctrine, that restoration can be attributed to Mr. Armstrong as the Elijah to restore all things because he started the process - he taught it to us by word and example - and we continue in the work he started.

If we restore anything, based on the example and teaching of Mr. Armstrong of believing the Bible, then it is Mr. Armstrong who restored it because he started the process, he taught it to us, and we continue in that same work.  Anything we restore is something Mr. Armstrong restored, because he caused us to do it, by his teaching and example.  We merely continue in his work.

The clearest example of this sort of thing is, coincidently (?), from the life of Elijah himself.

God gave Elijah a job.  "Then the Lord said to him: 'Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place' " (1 Kings 19:15-16).

So Elijah was to anoint three people for jobs they were to do or offices they were to hold: Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha.

Did Elijah personally anoint these three men before he was taken away?  No.  The only one he personally appointed to an office and job was Elisha (1 Kings 19:19).  After Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:1-14), Elisha, not Elijah, met with Hazael and told him he would be king over Syria.  Although it is not mentioned he anointed him, he apparently did, according to God's instructions to Elijah - Hazael did not seem to know before this that he would become king.

But the account of how Jehu was anointed is crystal clear - it was not done by Elijah.  It was done by Elisha, under Elisha's authority, and not even directly by him - it was done by an unnamed individual acting under Elisha's instruction, and Elisha probably got the general instruction from Elijah.  "And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, 'Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, "Thus says the Lord: 'I have anointed you king over Israel.' " Then open the door and flee, and do not delay' " (2 Kings 9:1).

Notice that God says that it was He who was anointing Jehu king of Israel.  God anointed him.  But God did it through Elijah by giving Elijah instructions to do so back in 1 Kings 19:15-16.  Elijah must have passed it to Elisha, who ordered a servant to do that actual anointing.  In other words, the work God gave Elijah in 1 Kings 19:15-16 continued after Elijah was gone.  Yet, it was the work of Elijah which God gave him.  The work was attributed to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:15-16 even though was not done by Elijah directly - it was done by those who followed Elijah.

Likewise, any new knowledge we discover and teach from the Bible, anything we restore that Mr. Armstrong did not personally and directly restore, is attributed to Mr. Armstrong as the Elijah to restore all things, because Mr. Armstrong started the work of restoration of truth and taught it to the Church of God, and by so doing caused it to happen, even if we are the ones who do it by continuing that work Mr. Armstrong started.

This is a way to reconcile these three things: we are to preach the gospel, we must practice what we tell others to do, and Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to restore all things.

If you know of another way to reconcile these things, I would like to hear it.  If I am wrong, tell me and show me from the Bible, from Church history, and from sound logic.  Comments are open.

There is no contradiction between the policy of believing the Bible more than the Church while being willing to learn new knowledge from the Bible, and the recognition of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong as the Elijah to come and restore all things.  They fit together when you realize that the work of restoration of doctrine that Mr. Armstrong started should continue today by those who have been trained by his teaching and example.  In effect, Mr. Armstrong, by starting the process as Christ led him, continues the work of restoration through us today.  In that sense, Mr. Armstrong not only has restored doctrine, but continues to do so now.

The teaching, example, and work of a man of God can continue after his death, according to the Bible.  "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks" (Hebrews 11:4).  Notice, God says that Able still speaks to us today, though he is dead.  Likewise, the work of Mr. Armstrong of restoring truth as the Elijah to come continues today, though he is dead.

A minister might say, no major new knowledge has been restored to the Church since Mr. Armstrong died.

If you look at the Church as a whole, that may be right, but only because the Church of God has not been willing to accept new knowledge.  But that does not mean that some individuals have not learned new knowledge that the Church as a whole has not yet accepted.

You could ask the question, what new knowledge did Mr. Armstrong restore to the Church of God Seventh Day that he originally attended with?  The answer is, none.  Mr. Armstrong restored nothing to that fellowship.  Why?  Mr. Armstrong did learn new knowledge that had been lost.  Truths were restored to Mr. Armstrong personally, which he accepted.  He tried to teach those truths to the Church of God Seventh Day, but they would not accept them.

Likewise, God may restore and teach, through the Bible, more knowledge that Mr. Armstrong did not have to certain individuals, and those individuals may try to give these things to the leadership of various Churches of God, but because of prejudice against new knowledge and fear of offending the majority of members who are against anything new, they reject any new knowledge offered to them by those individuals, who, like Mr. Armstrong, have discovered new knowledge in the Bible.

It is a little unfair, I think, for a minister or COG leader to back up his teaching that we should not learn new things by saying that no new truth has been revealed to the Church since Mr. Armstrong when it is the very bias of that minister and others like him against new knowledge that prevents the Church from accepting new knowledge.

God can restore new knowledge to any man or woman willing to believe God and learn new knowledge.  But God cannot use that man or woman to then pass on and restore that new knowledge to a fellowship that is not willing to accept it, just as Mr. Armstrong was not able to restore new truth to the Church of God Seventh Day which was not willing to accept it.

But eventually, God used Mr. Armstrong to raise up a new fellowship that was willing to accept the new truth that Mr. Armstrong was teaching.

A similar thing can happen today.

Since the death of Mr. Armstrong, the Churches of God and all the ministry and membership are being tested in a special way.  We are being tested on our willingness to practice the way of life Mr. Armstrong practiced and to practice the way of life God taught us through the teaching and example of Mr. Armstrong.  And that way of life includes willingness to believe God more than Church of God tradition and willingness to learn new things from God.

We are all being examined by God right now.