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Church of God, In Truth
Little Fock
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Little Fock
LITTLE FLOCK
What a powerful speaker Mr Armstrong was. I can just hear him saying, “You people don't get it, you just don't get it!” Another one of his favorite sayings was, “Don't believe me, believe your Bible.” And he never seemed to forget mentioning the “two trees” in Genesis.
Do you believe we are a part of God's true Church? Do you find we are growing in grace and knowledge of God's truth ? Have you recognized God's Word being taught differently here, than in other Church of God groups?
In general, the Church of God, In Truth has not deviated that much from Mr Armstrong's teachings. Physically, we still try to follow the same format for Sabbath services we used in the old Worldwide Church of God: songs service, opening prayer, a sermonette, then a song, followed by a sermon, closing song and prayer.
There are only a few things we have deviated from: 1). The belief that the Hebrew calendar is to be followed; 2). Commanded offerings are to be taken
up 7 times a year; 3). That it is OK to buy and sell
on the Sabbath and annual Holy Days; 4). Where the place of safety or protection might be; 5). We teach Pentecost or “Feast of First fruits” is to be at the beginning of the wheat or barley harvest; not at the end as it is this year for most other Churches of God [on June 12]; 6). Third tithe; 7). Germany is not Assyria; and 8).The astronomical moon is not the biblical “new” moon. These are just a few things that separate us from other Church of God groups!
We do agree with Mr Armstrong that God's church is to be small, and scattered at the end of the age as Daniel 12: 7 tell us, “ And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”
I would like to review the first 4 things I mentioned, starting with the Hebrew calendar: The main reason the Church of God, In Truth believes the Hebrew calendar is not to be kept, is that it teaches it is OK to postpone God's appointed Holy Day! And most church groups believe the barley harvest determines the first day of God's year, when God clearly says in Psalms 104:19, “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down.” The word “seasons” is Strong's # 4150: “Mowed,” meaning: 1). “An appointment; 2). Specifically a festival; 3). Appointed set time.” The word “seasons” is used elsewhere in Lev. 23:4 and Gen. 1:14. “These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons [appointed time]” (Lev. 23:4). “And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, [set times] and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14). The Hebrew calendar also counts from the astronomical moon which one Observatory calls a “fictitious” moon. The Astronomical Institute of Utrecht University said, “The mean moon which is a fictitious moon has the same average motion as the true moon, but that is not subject to any perturbations. If no accuracy is required and if you don't mind an error of up to about a half a day, then you can use the time of the mean conjunction [astronomical conjunction].”
 For any that are new with us, you may find a deeper study of this by requesting “Postponements, Another Mystery of the Ages” booklet and our “Special Calendar” issue of the “Prove All Things” magazine. You also will find more information on these subjects and others, on our Web site, www. postponements.com. The second thing we don't believe is correct is taking up 7 commanded Holy Day offerings a year. Deuteronomy 16 tells us specifically that Holy Day offerings are to be collected and given to God for His work, such as preaching the good news of God's soon coming kingdom! “ Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place which He shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: every man [house holder] shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you” (Deut. 16:16-17). Using Pentecost as an example, who is to receive this commanded offering? Verse 10 explains, “And you shalt keep the Feast of Weeks [Feast of Pentecost] unto the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shalt give unto the Lord your God, according as the Lord your God has blessed you.” For more proof that we should take up a commanded offering three times a year, research in Exodus 23 and Exodus 34.
A third area we believe is taught wrong in other Church groups, is that it is OK to buy and sell on the Sabbath - be it the weekly Sabbath or God's annual Holy Day Sabbaths. At Mount Sinai God told Israel to, “remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” That includes buying and selling on the Sabbath, work or pursuing your own pleasures. Notice Nehemiah 13: it sounds like Nehemiah might have just returned from making a tour of the country when he wrote, “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves [heaps of grain] , and loading asses; and also
wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: And I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, what evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers do this, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, why lodge you about the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath” (Nehemiah 13:15-21). It is obvious from this account that the Jews were working and buying and selling on the Sabbath. Nehemiah calls it “evil!”
In your own study you can read chapter 7; verses 1 to 3 and you will find the Levite's were appointed to guard those gates from the start. In verse 22 Nehemiah gets on the Levite's case for neglecting that duty. “And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify [set apart] the Sabbath day.”
The 4th and last point is about a sermon I gave on Sept. 19, 1999- 6 years ago and again last year on Sept 9th 2004, the Day of Atonement. You may find it under the pre-recorded sermons listed on our Internet Web page, www.postponements.com. The title of the sermon is “Place of Safety.” The closing verses used in the sermon were taken from the book of Hosea, where it talked about returning or restoring Israel to a former condition.
In a recent sermon I read in Jeremiah 3:8, where Christ divorced physical Israel. “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorcement.” Why am I bringing this up? Because I read something interesting recently that I would like to share with you. But first, I want to return to the book of Hosea and refresh our memory of what Hosea 2 says. We can start with verse 14 in which God tells us, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, [Israel] and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly unto her.” Note the striking connection between this verse and Rev. 12: 6,14. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Verse 14, speaking again of this event, “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time [3-1/2 years], from the face of the serpent.” Back to verse 15 in Hosea 2: and we read of the wilderness being transformed into a place of hope! “And I will give her, her vineyards, and make the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.” As a side note, Rev. 14: introduces us to a group of first fruits that sang a song also: “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women [apostate church's - churches that desert God's truth]; these are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the lamb whithersoever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev.14:3-5). At Pentecost we read similar words in Lev. 23: 17 speaking of the two loaves, “they are the first fruits unto the Lord.”
Israel was in bondage to Egypt before God delivered them. Israel's exodus into the wilderness represented deliverance and redemptive freedom for them, because God entered into a marriage covenant relationship with them while they were on their way to the promised land. What God attempted to accomplish for Israel at the time of their wilderness experience, He will seek to accomplish for us in our three and one half years in the wilderness! Verse 16, in Hosea 2 is an awe inspiring verse: “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that you shall call me Ishi [my husband]; and shalt call me no more Baali [my master or my lord].” Some commentary's suggest that this name “Baali” is to be discontinued because of its idolatrous association with those whom Christ first married - Israel. Verse 17, “For I will take away the names of baalim [plural of gods] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for them [Israel] with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth [ promise to marry ] you unto Me forever; yea, I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth you unto Me in faithfulness: and you shalt know the Lord. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel” (Hosea 2:17-22). The Hebrew text here refers to Israel as “Jezreel.” Verse 23 speaks of Israel - no longer scattered, but sown in their own land. “And I will sow her unto Me in the earth [meaning, “I God, promise that after their captivity, Israel will be replanted in the promised land”]; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy [mercy here represents the restored marital relationship]; and I will say to them which were not My people, you art My people; and they shall say, You art my God.”
Now, back to that interesting article I mentioned earlier: I read an article off the internet, dated May 18th 2005, that I would like to share with you. The title of the article is “Kabbalist Blesses Jones: Now's The Time To Find Holy Lost Ark.” Dr Jones is a famed archaeologist who inspired the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” starring Harrison Ford as “Indiana,” or “Indy” Jones. Harrison Ford's nick name in the movie was taken from Dr. Jones first name, “Vendyl.” They removed the first and last letters leaving “Endy.” Dr. Vendyl Jones feels the ark of the covenant was hidden just before the destruction of the first temple. He claims, he read in the Talmud, that the ark is hidden in a secret passage under the temple mount. This passage or tunnel supposedly runs around 18 miles southward toward the Judean dessert, with many branches running off from it. He thinks the ark was brought through the tunnel to its current resting place in the Judean desert. The article states, He [Dr. Jones] believes the ark will be discovered by August 14th [of 2005] a day of repeated tragedy in Jewish history, most notably it is the anniversary of the destruction of both the first and second holy temples. Dr. Jones said with the help of an ancient document found in Qumran, together with the dead sea scrolls known as the Copper scroll convinces him he has pinpointed the location of the Ark of the Covenant.”
As a side note, I read, this particular dead sea scroll found at Khirbet Qumran, called the “Copper scroll,” differs significantly from the others, as the others are written on leather or papyrus. This copper scroll is written on metal; specifically, very pure copper mixed with only about 1% tin and then sealed with fired on clay. It was found in 1952, in cave # 3 - the first cave to be explored by archaeologists.
Dr. Jones' next comment is: what got my attention and the one that I wanted to share with you. Embossed on the first five lines of the copper scroll is this statement: “In the desolations of the valley of Achor, in the opening under the ascent, which is a mountain facing eastward, covered by forty placed boulders - here is a tabernacle and all the golden fixtures.”
Dr. Jones says, “This is what we have been looking for all these years, and I've walked over those boulders thousands of times without really stepping back and looking - realizing hey, those boulders have been brought in here, they have been placed in here they didn't come off a mountain and they are huge.”
Is this the “door of hope” we read of earlier in Hosea 2? “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt” (Hosea 2: 14-15).
Consider Mr. Herbert Armstrong's comments: God's true church is small and will be scattered. It will correct its doctrines when found to have been wrong. It will be growing in grace and knowledge. Mr Armstrong quoted Paul in 2 Tim. 3:16, “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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” Paul continues in Chapter 4, “I charge you therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” [Fables are false doctrines that are not God's doctrines!] (2Tim. 4:1-4).
James Russell
“THE COPPER SCROLL”
********************************************* ARK OF THE COVENANT
The last place seen by God's people in 2 Chron 5:1-14,
“Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.
Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.” ****************************************
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