Continued ……
Therefore, you are hirelings and not shepherds come from the Chief Shepherd; your wages should be sufficient! Why are you then not afraid to take what is not yours to take? Shouldn’t you rather have feed my sheep, taken them to water for a drink and protected them so that none may go astray or be eaten by wolves and lions? Because you have done this and not fed my sheep as I commanded, I will give you over to the Wolves and the Lions to devour all that you hold dear; unless you repent from your evil ways and turn to the LORD YOUR GOD, YOU will be to me as the heathen who do evil in my sight and likewise suffer the wrath of my anger in that day!
Brethren, greetings once again. King David once asked, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you consider him”, and God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and give him dominion over ….. over the Earth “. Man is indeed unique, in mind and body.
Gifts to man
Throughout history and down to the present, man has achieved great feats and soared to great heights of accomplishment; from the simplest mechanical machines like the cutting tool from long ago, to the very complex mechanical and electronic devices that send men to the moon, and space probes to the planets and beyond; as well as dominating the skies above, the arena of the mighty birds of prey. Within the last 100 or more years we have seen awesome advances in medicine and biomedical research. This same ingenuity sends probes and men to the deepest part of the oceans and safely back again. Soon, in the not too distant future, if man survives his ingenuity and the world continues, man will develop the technology to send expeditions to Mars and return them safely back; develop and build huge majestic space stations to orbit the Earth and the Moon; and explore the atom even further to reveal more of its secret parts. Day by day man continues to increase in Knowledge, discover, invent and develop technologies at an ever-increasing pace.
Man can work wonders with his mind and his brain; he can philosophize, intellectualize, analyze, reason, discuss, make decisions and debate. He can ask questions about himself and the world around him and ponder the eternal questions; Why man? what is man? What is the reason for life and the meaning of and for his existence?
Man is self aware and self-determinant and has cognitive powers far beyond any other creature found on earth. Man is aware of his environment and all creatures that he shares it with. He can shape, mold and change and adapt his environment to meet his needs and the needs of all under his care. Man is artistic, poetic, musical, sensitive, emotional, and highly intelligent with complex mental thought processes. Man can: Research, experiment, predict, extrapolate, communicate, write and has complex language skills. Above all, man can think! Man is also a great storyteller.
Man has a wonderfully unique and complex physical body and brain; brilliantly shaped, perfectly designed and built with ingenuity and brilliance unmatched even by man himself. His special bio mechanical attributes and superb mental abilities given by the human brain; which no man made super computer can match in its ability to process and analyze data; enable him to build anything from the tiniest complex fragile mechanisms to the largest many faceted structures that defies the human imagination; pushing ever forward the frontiers of science, engineering, medicine, and inspiring the senses, and spirit of adventure and exploration in the human psychic. Man can work with his hands to produce the most delicate, intricate and artistic work with wood, leather, canvas, metals, plastics and various other materials with awesome skill, ability and ingenuity.
To a large degree, Man has mastered the Arts, Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering and made great strides in medicine and biology; the laws of physics and chemistry are continually giving up their secretes to man. Man has explored the Earth and below the Earth, the Atmosphere above and the Cosmos beyond. Passionately, man longs and strives to rediscover the past; he stretches his imagination to see the future and puts his mind and hand to work to that end; working and pushing towards reaching out and bringing that future within his grasp, even to the present.
By shear determination and the heart of a lion, and with the strength of character that inspires the human soul, Man has: climbed the highest mountains, has on foot reached the Earth’s icy Poles; he has tamed the mighty rivers and explored the deepest forest and conquered the darkest jungles; he has tamed every animal and all species on earth are under his power. For all intents and purpose Man reigns supreme upon the Earth.
Heart Deceitful Above All Things
But, does he! Does man truly reign supreme upon the Earth? Is he king of the Castle Earth? Man has met all challengers before him, overcome all obstacles and defeated all enemies, all enemies? All enemies but one that is! Man can do great things with physical and material knowledge of the physical and material world involving the five senses.
But, man cannot seem to reign over himself, over his inner being and his carnal selfish deceptive heart! Riddled with greed and lust and violence!
Man cannot seem to deal with his fellow man in a loving caring way, why? Because man of himself does not and cannot worship God in spirit and truth with awe and reverence, and therefore obeys not the Ten Commandments nor fears the Great Almighty God, but has totally rejected Him. It is of the spirit (non-physical essence of life and living) that man lacks substance, and finds himself deficient in dealing with issues of outgoing love, compassion, and consideration with outgoing concern and wanting well being for his fellow man.
As a consequence, if man cannot rule or reign over himself, how much less can he then rule or reign over others? Remembering that ruler-ship/leadership is a position of servitude to those below you, and the higher the position, the greater the responsibility and servitude. And if man has trouble with outgoing love for his fellow man, how can he then serve and care about his brothers needs and wants, and much less his health and well being. When man rejects God and His way of life, how much easier it is to reject and hate his fellow man; his neighbor, much less his brother of all nations made in God’s image and likeness.
Put simply therefore, because of this rejection of God, man does not, cannot care or have concern for his neighbour; whether next-door, across the street, in the next block or neighboring countries. If any reader disagrees, than look at the world and the evils therein that dominate all aspects of the human condition and all facets of human life: wars, destruction, terror, abuse, torment, famines/hunger, disease, hatred, violence, poverty, misery, loneliness, unhappiness, sadness and the list goes on; can they be explained otherwise?
The Reality
This is the reality. We see the world in turmoil, on the brink of self-annihilation; world leaders, because of their totalitarian globalist ambitions and selfish elitist agendas, and idol worshiping of demonic nature (and all due to their calculated rejection of God Most High), have willfully and deliberately failed even their peoples basic needs; their desires and dreams of family, morality, justice, happiness, peace, abundance and freedom, etc. To the contrary what we see is an unjust and corrupt authoritarian draconian and militaristic rule under an infinite number of human laws and rules that govern every aspect of human life in an environment of do’s and don’ts; physical/material/financial slavery, marriage devolution and family break up; abominations having infiltrated society throughout, invasion by paganism with pagonistic religious practices; poverty, unhappiness and total lack of peace. And the situation is irrevocable and irreversible.
From a Godly viewpoint; based on God’s Laws and Ordinances and His righteous judgments, World rulers have failed their populace, and Israel’s (including Judah’s) leaders have failed His, that is God’s physical people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their motives are plain and the evidence is overwhelming as the spirit of evil and rebellion permeates the human psychic and takes its toll on society in general and the individual human soul; physically and spiritually sick humanity in a dysfunctional social environment. Where the Elite live in ivory towers high in the clouds untouched by the stains from the wounds inflicted on the lower class. Who are unworthy to taste Satan’s gift of power, wealth and greed in eternal bliss. But, to the Elite these things belong, who are of the elitist clubs such as skull and bones, The Trilateral Commission, The Bilderberg Group, The Illuminati, The Bohemian Grove Society, Freemasonry, The Club of Rome, Council of Foreign Relations (CFR). Most of which are practicing Luciferians and or involved in demonic rituals in the process of resurrecting the Babylonian Mystery Religion disguised and infused into the Universal Christian Order with the help of secrete societies. There is an exact duality with ancient and modern Israel; as to the reasons for their punishment, destruction of their country, exile from their Promised Land and eventual slavery of the remnant.
See video trailer at the end of this blog, advertising a new documentary on the New World order. Titled: The Invisible Empower.
Spiritual Shepherds Claim To Have The Spirit Of God; Therefore They Are Without Excuse.
BUT WOE to the shepherds of spiritual Israel! what excuse do they have in their failure (which they deny) to feed, teach, inform, guide, protect, nurture and warn the flock of God through these dangerous end time conditions where prophetic events are unraveling fast and furious! As a consequence, breaking their covenant with the Almighty agreed to when they had hands laid on them to do just that; shame on them. Once again, the evidence is clear and plain for all to see! All to see but the shepherds concerned it seems. We have outright lies being permeated, divisions, antagonism between cog groups and their shepherds, abuse, false teaching, watering down of doctrine and truth, hardness of heart, lack of love and outgoing concern; brethren being disfellowshipped for what ever reason at the shepherds discretion, the Good news turned to bad news for many brethren and the shepherds living in comparative luxury from the flocks earnings as well as the wool of their back; At the same time these shepherds are fearful in proclaiming Ezekiel’s warning message to the chiefs of Israel, and like the Pharisees of Christ’s time, they do not want to loose their positions and lifestyle by having authorities come down on them; WHY? Because they believe their master has delayed His coming (if they believe he is coming at all).
Matth 25:48-49. 48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, “My lord delayeth his coming”, 49. And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.
The outcome of this is over 400 church of God (cog) groups have formed since the death of God’s end time apostle 24 years ago. Many have gone apostate and the rest are all divided and each claiming to be guardians of the faith once delivered. But the question or questions in mind are, why such divisions and why so many groups, and why so many self made leaders or shepherds? In actual fact each group is evolving and morphing into a separate unique entity in their own right; and over time will not be recognizable as an offshoot of the worldwide church of God, as they find it difficult to interpret the signs of the time and fend off doctrinal challengers from within and without their own organizations. Meanwhile the members are settling down into a status quo condition, i.e. are becoming or have become lukewarm and forcing (rationalizing and deluding) themselves to accept their situation and to trust their shepherds. After all, where else can we go, they reason? Who else can they follow and give their tithes and be offered salvation? After all, Mr. H.W. Armstrong let them down; he died long ago, and Christ, well he is nowhere to be found.
The situation in spiritual Israel seems to be running parallel to physical Israel’s present internal condition of people’s attitudes to their leaders and their leaders abuse of them.
None are fighting for the faith, none are standing firm but shifting like the sand beneath their feet; accommodating their idol shepherds in their heart and mind and rationalizing through all obstacles that come their way. These are without excuse as the scriptures warn in no uncertain terms in Jude and Zechariah.
Jude 1:1-3. 1. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. 6. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.Zechariah 11:17. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
At the same time we see tyrannical rule by these same rulers and their subordinates. And as each member faithfully tithes and follows the policies set down by the leadership he/she is safe and promised salvation. If not, they are made examples of, through claims that they are not submitting and obeying God’s government and have a rebellious attitude or, have a spirit of rebellion whenever they ask difficult questions. The end result is these members are shunned by their brethren and condemned and abandoned to the fires of hell without a tear or two; as each member is concerned about their own salvation. Do the shepherds seek them out? Do they leave the 99 faithful and seek the one who is lost? Certainly not! This has been observed over and over again from many if not most of the groups. At the same time, to join one of the many cog groups one must adhere to their conditions and policies for entry, while purporting to follow the teachings of Mr. H. W. Armstrong.
Zechariah 11:16. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are those cog groups who in many cases openly reject the churches teaching under Mr. H. W. Armstrong, yet claiming to keep the faith once delivered according to scripture.
Contradiction upon contradiction combined with corruption of the faith, as over 400 corporate church of God groups claim to be doing the work of God; claiming to be continuing the work of Mr. H. W. Armstrong, i.e. proclaiming the gospel of the coming kingdom of God (some to there credit understand that, that commission was Mr. H. W. Armstrong’s and he had completed it before his death). They all claim to be keeping the faith once delivered. Each group has their own flavor and methodology to do this. However, each group has added and taken away from even the basic teachings of Mr. H. W. Armstrong, God’s end time Apostle and the Elijah who was to come; having reasoned and explained that he was wrong because the Lord has delayed His coming and prophetic events seem to be unclear as they once were. They have written their own booklets and reinvented the wheel in many areas. They rarely mention Mr. Armstrong, and when they do, it’s to bring members in line. Some groups unfortunately take the opposite view and use Mr. Armstrong even above the bible; thereby making him an idol, as every word he breathed is taken as inspired and infallible. Some groups say he was just wrong and plainly was not God’s true and only end time servant. However, in every group, on each occasion Mr. Armstrong’s preaching contradicts their new teachings or new revelations, the excuse is used that God had blinded him to this or that truth because it wasn’t time yet; and now God is revealing it to them because the time is appropriate. One only has to read their literature and hear their preaching to confirm what is said.
All 400 plus cog groups have forgotten what Mr. H. W. Armstrong thundered out on numerous occasions: “Christ is not divided and God does not work through committees or councils but through one man at a time for specific commissions. And that’s how God has always worked and done things”. God does not change brethren, but all these cog groups will tell God’s people otherwise.
What a mess, what a web of deceit and corruption of the faith that has been perpetrated on the people of God; where the fear of God is lacking and no knee bows and trembles before the Eternal Word, and no shepherd stands in awe of their creator; who knows their heart and mind, where the sin of unbelief separates these men from the God they once worshiped, so we thought. Is it any wonder many brethren refuse to join any cog group and have become isolated but faithful to the calling; can you blame them? What they see, hear and have experienced under these self made shepherds has made them realize that salvation comes from Christ Jesus and His teachings alone; accurately but maybe not perfectly taught by His church under the leadership of Mr. Armstrong. And not in these corporate church of god groups who exist for the benefit of these self made shepherds.
Christ Commanded Us To Watch! Who Is Watching in God’s Church?
Christ specifically warned and instructed His disciples to observe and watch carefully, to discern and understand the signs of the time; so as to perceive the end times and His second coming through the events and conditions in their time in the world around them. These of course were prophetic messages by Christ to His people of the last days; to the lay member and especially the ministry. It was to their detriment if they neglected these life saving instructions and did not watch and pray to be found worthy to escape all these terrible end time events. Matthew 24, Mark 16 and Luke 21 are all very explicit and well defined as to their target audience, and in their message content or subject matter and its implications for the lack of their application.
Matthew 24:32-44. 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 42. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Mark chapter 13 verses 28 to 37 gives the same warning and includes the following instruction:
Mark 13:35-37. 35. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36. Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Luke chapter 21, verses 34 to 36 includes the following:
Luke 21:34-36. 34. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 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.
It becomes obvious that those left behind were not watching and did not take Christ warnings and events very seriously; and so were left behind to suffer the consequences of their unbelief and ultimate inaction.
Members have been heard to say, “I know these things will happen, and I know the outcome; but I do not need to be watching or kept informed, because there is nothing I can do about it, its God’s problem and He will deal with it and in the end deliver me from it; I don’t have to do anything, except just live my life for myself and family”.
This rational is badly flawed! Was Christ speaking to the wind? Are His warnings without relevance or meaning or purpose? Are His laws, prophecies and commands of little value and importance and we do not have to give them credence? If that’s the case, than we can ignore His two great commands; to love God first and one another as he loved us. And if that’s the case, the bible is as useful as a paperweight!
The primary responsibility of watching and interpreting the sign of the times therefore falls on the shepherds of spiritual Israel (the church of the living God), and rightly so; to then feed, nurture, protect and guide the flock that they have made dependent on them. Why? Because they, i.e. these shepherds (of all 400 plus cog groups) have taken upon themselves this role and all claim to be the servants of the One True God, and having the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which dwells in them more than it does the lay member; does it? But, with eyes wide open and heads out of the sand, the lay member will see; vile immorality among the shepherds and lay member, confusion, division, antagonism, mistreatment, treachery, exploitation and a very poor effort in interpreting the sign of the times and feeding the flock etc. Over 400 plus groups and over 400 plus gospels and work of God. Brethren who are zealous for the faith once delivered and are awake should be able to recognize that the shepherds have failed badly in their role as guardians of the faith, as well as having lost the keys to end time prophetic events. Why? Because they are false shepherds in the role they assigned to themselves!
The Shepherds Lack The Spirit To Discerning The Sign Of The Times!
Today, do the self made shepherds correctly understand the world we live in: the nature and evolution of the rise of the end time beast and his mark upon a largely unsuspecting world, and revival of the Holy Roman Empower; the manifestation of the false prophet/man of sin/Babylon the great; the nature and form of the oncoming great tribulation upon Israel and the appearing and role of the two witnesses? Do they prophesy on these vital issues in sermons and bible studies? Do they closely follow world events and correlate it to scriptural prophetic messages and keep brethren updated regularly?
Do they truly understand what is happening in this dark world of open human enslavement by governments and authorities and their agents; who themselves are slaves to Babylon the Great, a system of governance, economic and religious activities developed by Satan himself to control the world; who influences and controls the depraved super elite who are overseers of this Babylon the Great in these end times; who in turn through their trillion dollar empowers control all aspects of human activity from national governments down to local authorities.
How we grow food, What we eat, what we drink, drug we take, medical treatment we receive; information we’re fed, our thoughts and feelings on ethics and morality, our concept of right and wrong, good and bad, sin and righteousness; our understanding of abominable acts and Holy works and the difference between true Christianity and paganism, and our inner and outer philosophical outlook on life from population control to environmental issues; all these event horizons the super elite want to control, dominate, effluence and guide towards creating a super world government of demonic construct with Satanic rulership; Apollyon (Hebrew: Abaddon), the god of destruction as supreme ruler over the New World Order, which will be a destructive force for evil.
Do these self-made shepherds truly understand the depth of Israel’s depravity? Corruption, illegal and unjust wars, murders, filthiness, abominations, paganism, wickedness and injustice; i.e. its Godless condition! And do they boldly witness against the sins of Israel. With a little research, one comes to realize that many worldly carnal men of this world seem to be aware (but not accurately) and are crying out about the above issues far more so than the self made shepherds of God’s sheep. These same worldly men witness against these shepherds. A shameful state of affairs!
There is a reason for this deplorable situation as there is a reason for all things! Many groups are still using old rhetoric and the same basic simple terminology of long ago to explain complex end time prophetic conditions; and some groups are just being silent on the matter. Still other groups are just way out on a tangent, while others are on the fringe of lunacy. None, not one cog group has grown in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; not in the way the church of God should have and was expected to, except for few scattered brethren it seems. As a consequence, the people of God are ill equip to deal with this dark new world that is unfolding before us, as the shadows of evil cover the earth, hiding Satan’s hand that’s behind the move to global domination by the elite. Satan, who has deceived the whole world in general, as well as having conned mankind that he is a myth and only exist in the imagination of men.
Why should this be! How did this state of affairs come about? What a travesty, what a sad indictment upon the self-made shepherds of God’s church. What a quandary God’s people find themselves in, what a maze of intrigue and a farcical charade the shepherds have perpetrated on the people of God! Why can this be said? And who is responsible for allowing the situation to come to this endgame? In no uncertain terms, the shepherds of spiritual Israel are responsible and have failed God’s elect to whom belongs the gift of Grace and Eternal Life. The Apostle Peter well understood the blessedness of God’s people, as stated in 1 Peter 2:9-10. These Shepherds have forgotten what love and how special the first fruits are to God, and WOE to anyone who causes them to stumble.
1Pet 2:9-10. 1. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Lukewarmness Of The Brethren in This age. Test Those Who call Themselves Jews And Are Not Says The Lord!
However, part of the blame lies with the gullible and naive sheep who shut their eyes and say, “I know things are wrong, but God will fix it”, its not my responsibility, I am to simply obey and pay and also pray”. Isn’t! Isn’t really our responsibility? Isn’t our problem as it affects all brethren! Is God a liar then, are His instructions for others and not for His people? Are the Apostles wrong in their inspired writings?
Who was the Apostle Peter talking to when he said in 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 to 21?
1Pet 1:20-21. 20. Knowing this first, that no prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
And who was the apostle Paul talking to when he said to Timothy, in 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verses 16 to 17?
2Tim 3:16-17. 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
This of course also applies to the Apostles themselves in their writings of the New Testament.
Further, was Luke mistaken when he said in Acts chapter 17, verse 11?
Acts 17:11. “These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so”.
Was Jude over the top when he encouraged the brethren to fight for the faith and to be aware of apostates who crept in with guile?
Jude 1:3-4. 3. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle John further states in 1John chapter 4 and verses 1 to 3,
1John 4:1-3. 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. 3. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
If any brethren are ignorant of the meaning of the above scriptures, they should make it a priority to be enlightened of their spiritual significance and understand the implications if they ignore these instructions.
Brethren, the spirit of the antichrist is alive and well in the cog groups, as the fruits speak for themselves; no fear of God Himself, immorality, treachery, tyranny and financial advantages, ignorance of prophesy and world events and the sin of unbelief. These self made shepherds by their conduct deny that Christ had come in the flesh; being born of a women of flesh, after having divested Himself of all His glory that He had with the Father in the Godhead, and died for the sins of mankind. These self made shepherds are directly and willfully responsible for the inexcusably dreadful and unacceptable situation among God’s people; divided, scattered, weakened with the truth watered down and the fire in the belly extinguished and therefore their power shattered and ineffectual.
Greetings to the Laodiceans, you were expected.
The people of God, the sheep of His flock cannot claim plausible deniability as the door to the skeletons in the closet were never fully closed but to the contrary had burst open long ago for all to see who had eyes to see and all to hear who had ears to hear; and most did nothing! And those who tried found themselves outcast.
There Must Be Change from This Present State of Affairs!
The Word of God inspiring the prophets of old through the Holy Spirit and written down in Scripture for God’s people, prophesied about these end times and long ago foretold about the false shepherds (self made shepherds) and their conduct and condemnation. It has already been seen what Zechariah 11:16-17 had to say about the shepherds of Israel. Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23, two Major Prophets used powerfully in ancient Israel by Almighty God, did not hold back in their portrayal of the character and doings of these self made shepherds. Malachi of the Minor Prophets was also not very kindly to them in Malachi 2.
Rather than cite these scriptures which should be very familiar to most brethren, but should be read nevertheless as it is in context, some modern day reality from informed sources should add weight to the condemnation of these false prophets.
Beginnings of …….cog
“……… in headquarters of WWCG and elsewhere, I was privy to communiqués coming from …………. I was watching the steady erosion of God’s Word as the ministry first began saying that God has no form whatsoever (even though the scriptures talk about His face and hair and hands and feet and golden girdle and two edged sword coming out of His mouth…). They then began to spread the doctrine of the trinity and Sunday worship and Christmas and speaking in unknown tongues. This is what was happening here in the states. With the exception of a small handful of ministers (who were put out of the WWCG and marked for not going along with its leaders) the rest of the ministry followed their employer… and even wrote articles embracing the trinity and the changes that new administration was orchestrating.
A communiqué came from ………… to all WWCG ministers, telling them that they were going to have their salaries cut to 30% of what they were presently making, they had to turn in their fleet cars, buy their own cars and provide their own insurance (health and automobile), and they were advised to go get jobs to supplement their income. ……cog was born before that week was out.
Their first order of business was securing their salaries. My oldest and formerly closest friend (a very wealthy fellow) was right there with them as they were making policy. The only reason he was allowed to be in the meetings is the amount of cash he brought to the table.
Over the next couple of years, ministers that endorsed Tkatch’s changes and stayed with WWCG, and who were having to actually work for a living, were talking with their minister friends in …… cog and finding out that they were enjoying their previous comfortable lifestyle. These WWCG ministers began approaching ……cog headquarters, asking if they can come on board. They would receive a standard form letter saying that “… you must bring enough members with you to pay your salary.”
Their financial reason for establishing …… cog was shamelessly flaunted. It wasn’t because of doctrinal changes as they later loudly espoused. They were all going along with Joseph Tkatch until it hit their wallets.”
There is a lot more to this communiqué, but the above will suffice to prove the point that these shepherds have failed God’s elect and will suffer the penalties as warned by the prophets of God.
Further information from another member that has come to light supports the immoral and abusing nature (there are many other cases that could come to light if only affected brethren spoke out) of many of these false shepherds, but hopefully they are in the minority.
“ ……………… ………… I saw that the minister was smitten the first time he laid eyes on her, but I felt certain that I no man could take my woman’s affections from me.
He kept coming over and he would leave my front door making that same comment. Again, my arrogance… I thought that there was no way that he could adversely affect my wife’s love and admiration for me.
This minister took every single tiny opportunity to disfellowship me …….. to get me out of the way. ………
According to this member he suffered at the hands of these men for years and was abused during the entire episode; and the wife of his youth whom he loved dearly was stolen from him.
This whole event, if accurate, resembled king David’s sin. However, king David repented with tears. But, these ministers never did. And to make matters much worse, this member suffered the loss of two wives’ at the hands of three ministers. Brethren, cursed are these ministers (false shepherds) and their condemnation is certain unless they truly repent from their evil works and be converted and worship God in spirit and in truth; remember Eli the priest and his two evil sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Both father and sons lost their lives in the end, because they did not repent of their evil was; even though the father himself did not directly sin, he nevertheless did not rebuke and sake his sons for their evil deeds of adultery, fornication and theft. Likewise beware Oh evil shepherds of today, for God does not change and vengeance is mine says the Lord!
The two statements above were added to emphasis the fact that there is something seriously wrong in the church of God that began soon after Mr. H. W. Armstrong’s death; though it is understood that faults have always been found in the church of God. Brethren, today is unique in that we are living in the end times, critical times for God’s people, who need true and faithful, compassionate, loving shepherds of Christ; to feed protect, nurture and watch over them.
Matth 24:44-47. 44. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
Instead the fruits to date reveal the opposite situation exists as the sheep are feed on by these false shepherds, thinking Christ delays His second coming. We find false shepherds reigning over Christ’s sheep that are confused and not properly identifying Christ’s voice. And yet, the sheep must know Christ voice if they are to survive through the maze of deception and abuse.
Matth 24:48-51. 48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49. And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Brethren, these ARE the last days, and yet in all this turmoil Jesus Christ knows His sheep, for He is the chief shepherd and God the Father has given Him the sheep and no one can snatch them out of His hands. Jesus knows each sheep (member of God’s true church) personally and loves them dearly. And as the sheep always follow the shepherd and not the other way round, it follows that God’s elect people, His called out ones who are the first fruit, must then follow Jesus Christ where ever He goes and not the other way round; for they recognize His voice and follow Him and not any stranger (false shepherd), but will flee from the stranger because the sheep will not know nor recognize the strangers voice.
How critical it is for God’s people today, who are scattered among the cog corporate groups and elsewhere, to listen to the voice of the chief shepherd; to heed these teachings of Jesus Christ, test the spirits who claim to be shepherds, and reject the self made shepherds who prove to be false and did not enter the pen through the door, i.e. through Christ; and to then follow Christ himself. The Apostle John explains this very clearly in John 10:1-29 through the Words of Christ which are relevant throughout the ages, but especially for us today in these momentous times we live in. These are crucial scriptures for our time, as prophetic events will soon overtake us if we are not watching and are properly feed.
John 10:1. 1. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
The shepherds of Israel have failed because they have lost their way and seek only to steal and kill and destroy whether they acknowledge it or not, or even recognize it; and they are free to do so because of the spiritually lukewarm condition of God’s church at this time (Rev 3). The prophets of old make no distinction or exceptions in their condemnation of the false idol shepherds of Israel in our time! So what now for the flock of Gods?
What Now? Those Who call Themselves, “Spiritual Shepherds Of God’s People”, Must Take The Next Step Towards Righteousness! Or Else!
Again, how critical it is for God’s people today, to listen to the voice of the chief shepherd; heed the warnings of Jesus Christ and to test the spirits; to reject the self made shepherds who prove to be false and did not enter the pen through Christ, and to then follow Christ himself. The flock of God must rebuke these shepherds and demand that unity of the faith once delivered, harmony of the Gospel and peace among all the cog groups and the brethren be restored; that immorality, abuse, and corruption be put out from among themselves and the church at large, and that truth and justice be practiced with equality and equity amongst God’s people; and above all for the love of God to abound and be magnified, and forgiveness be sort after where sin and offense has occurred. The flock of God should further demand that right governance be re-instituted by establishing a council of elders and a chief elder by lot, after prayer and fasting to seek God’s will in choosing the right men from those put forward by the church. Once these things are done brethren, than God will grant repentance to those who need to repent and restore the church on the right path to salvation. And the people of God can be once again fitted with the correct armor of God for all good works, Eph 6:10-18.
Is it naive to think this can happen or be expected to happen? If we look at the fruits of the last 25 years, it seems improbable that a reformation will take place by the will of man! But we must try, and we all must want it and earnestly pray for it; some are doing just that. For man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Therefore, we must rekindle our love for God Almighty and one another. Again, anything and everything is possible with God. Time is short brethren! It is fast running out and what awaits Israel is terrifying as the following scriptures loudly proclaim from the Word of God!
Ezekiel 6:1-14. 1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2. Son of man, set thy face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3. And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. 4. And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken: and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5. And I will lay the dead carcases of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. 6. In all your dwellingplaces the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7. And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 8. Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. 9. And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. 10. And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. 11. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Smite with thine hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel! for they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 12. He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them. 13. Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols. 14. So will I stretch out my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 7:1-27. 1. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2. Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. 4. And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 5. Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6. An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. 7. The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near, and not the sounding again of the mountains. 8. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations. 9. And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth. 10. Behold the day, behold, it is come: the morning is gone forth; the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded. 11. Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness: none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of any of theirs: neither shall there be wailing for them. 12. The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13. For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, although they were yet alive: for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return; neither shall any strengthen himself in the iniquity of his life. 14. They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 15. The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. 16. But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 17. All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. 18. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 19. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity. 20. As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them. 21. And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. 22. My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. 23. Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24. Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall possess their houses: I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease; and their holy places shall be defiled. 25. Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. 26. Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27. The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Brethren, do we know the Lord! The Lord who is God from Eternity and occupies Eternity, creates eternity and who makes reality possible, and who is greatly to be feared; his Will be done not ours. Therefore, let us all seek His Will with fear and trembling and not ours, nor fear the false shepherds; let’s pressure them to repent of their evil selfish ways and follow the path of righteousness. For the time is at hand and the Lord Jesus Christ will judge them for their works and their deeds, and us if we live in terror of them and follow them with trepidation! For God Almighty says, “The fearful will not enter the kingdom of God; repent therefore and live”!
May God give us the courage to fight the good fight, may He give us the strength to overcome and endure to the end; watching and praying to be counted worthy to escape all these things to come! And if we don’t, may God forgive us in His loving compassion for us, in spite of us.
(KJV used throughout)