"God has made mankind so we will desire (lust) to go contrary to His laws! Unbelievable, but true." (Italics his.)—The Plain Truth, January,1I960, p. 19.
It is almost inconceivable that any professed Christian could utter such a blasphemous statement, yet this is printed in Herbert W. Armstrong's magazine. I thought it must be a misprint; but no, for he further states:
"Mankind was made to desire things of no value—corruptible and sinful things, by God himself! God has made mankind with the inherent capacity to be upright but has given them a carnal mind!"—Ibid., p. 19.
"Today, God is letting the world prove that He has not bestowed on human minds the capacity of working out laws of happiness for themselves! He is letting them prove that happiness is beyond their reach as they are now constituted. It is no wonder then that God is perfectly willing that the Devil deceive the world now by encouraging the people in it to be 'as gods.' . . . God declared the end result from the beginning. He planned it this way! After we learn the folly of our ways God says 'the creature shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption' and be 'created in Christ Jesus unto good works.' "—Ibid., p. 20.
These statements illustrate the confusion that fills the minds of people when they leave God's message, and Mr. Armstrong's statements are certainly no exception, for Mr. Armstrong is an offshoot of an offshoot of an offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In 1866 Elders B. F. Snook and W. H. Brinkerhoff, two ministers of the small and newly organized Iowa Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, apostatized, and with a few members formed a group of their own. They directed their work from Marion, Iowa. In 1889 they centered their work in Stanberry, Missouri, calling their company The Church of God (Adventist).
Mr. Armstrong joined this church, and after a stormy experience with them, he reported that Mr. Duggar, in a dispute over leadership, led off a sizable part of the membership and called the group The Church of God (Seventh-day). Mr. Armstrong joined this offshoot movement. Some time later, because of Mr. Armstrong's acceptance of the British Israelism theory and other subjects, he went out on his own and formed his own church, calling it the Radio Church of God.
Many have thought that he is a Seventh-day Adventist, and have sent him money, accordingly. They have told me this. Others have inquired as to whether his teachings are correct. The statements by Mr. Armstrong, which are quoted previously, answer at least some of the questions, for these statements are so full of error that one hardly knows where to begin in answering them.
First, may I say that God did not make mankind so he would lust to go contrary to His laws. If that were true, God would be entirely responsible for sin with its resulting war, suffering, crime, and death. If God had given man a desire to go contrary to His laws, then God would be to blame. Mankind would be blameless; it would be God who was at fault, not man. However, the Scriptures show clearly that God does hold man responsible. He will judge man accordingly. God held the antediluvians responsible for their sins: likewise the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. At the last day all people will be judged according to their deeds.
"Now Is the Accepted Time"
Evidently Mr. Armstrong knows nothing of, or certainly does not take into account, conversion and its resulting joy and peace when he says that God has not bestowed on human minds the capacity of working out laws of happiness for themselves. Thousands of God's saints could testify that God has made us capable of peace and happiness today. In John 13:17 Jesus said, speaking of the commandments, "Happy are ye if. ye do them." In Proverbs 29:18 we read, "He that keepeth the law, happy is he," and "rejoice in the Lord" is the frequent command of Scriptures.
Mr. Armstrong seems to place conversion and salvation over into the millennium, at which time he assumes Christ will reign upon the earth. Under the heading "Conditions During the Millennium" he states:
"As Lord of Lords, Christ will begin to convert and save the entire world during His reign."—The Plain Truth, October, 1959, p. 30.
"All peoples will then come to know God. Their blindness and religious confusion will be removed and they will finally be converted. The resurrected saints will teach the people God's ways."—Ibid., p. 30.
"It will be a startling experience for some to have a voice behind them suddenly boom out and warn them not to break one of God's commandments! But, the saints of God—now born of the Spirit and become spirit at the resurrection—will be able to be invisible or visible at will."— Ibid., p. 30.
These statements are surely filled with error. In fact, practically every line is a contradiction of the plain truth of God. The facts are that Christ began to convert and save people thousands of years ago, and does not reserve this work until the millennium. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "This day is salvation come to this house, forso-much as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:9, 10). "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18). Or as in the Revised Standard Version, "are being saved." Salvation is a present experience. Thank God it is not left for the millennium. Anyone can have it by trusting Jesus Christ and thus receiving His peace and joy right now. Thousands of God's people can testify to this.
People will not come to know God and be converted during the millennium. This second-chance theory originated with the enemy of souls, to encourage people to put off the responsibility of following Christ; but the Scriptures state, "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). Of all deceptions of the devil, and their name is legion, perhaps none is more dangerous than the teaching offering salvation after the second advent of Christ. The Bible is clear on the fact that the close of the day of mercy or the close of human probation will take place prior to the second advent of our Lord. There will be no conversions during the millennium.
The resurrected saints will not teach the people God's ways, for then "they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest" (Heb. 8:11). Mr. Armstrong's so-called plain truth is contrary to God's plain truth. Thus it becomes plain false doctrine.
Resurrected Body Real
The saints of God will not "become spirit at the resurrection." They will have a real body as Jesus had after His resurrection, for at the coming of Christ He will "change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body"
(Phil. 3:21). Therefore at the resurrection we will have a body just like the one Jesus had when He arose from the dead. "We shall be like him" (1 John 3:2). Jesus rose in a body of flesh and bones. After His resurrection He invited His disciples to "behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have"
(Luke 24:39). Jesus promised His people that they would drink grape juice in His Father's kingdom (Matt. 26:29). How could mere spirits drink wine? Why does Mr. Armstrong invent mere human speculations that so contradict the Word of God? Note another promise made by Jesus: "Ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom" (Luke 22:30). In the resurrection God's people must be real people, for they are going to eat and drink. The home of the saved will be a real place for a real people. It will not be a spook country of disembodied spirits. Jesus rose from the dead with a body of flesh and bones, and He is "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). Thus His resurrection is a figure, or a forerunner, of our resurrection. Notice a few more of Mr. Armstrong's erroneous teachings.
"They Shall Not Cleave"
"For more than twenty-five years I have been telling the radio audience that there will rise in Europe a resurrection of the ancient Roman Empire. It may be called 'the United States of Europe,' " he declares. But God says in Daniel 2:43, referring to the nations of Europe, "They shall not cleave one to another." God says there shall not be a united states of Europe. God says one thing and Mr. Armstrong says another.
Referring to Daniel 11:23, Armstrong says, "This prophecy means something that is going to happen in Europe, the Middle East, the Mediterranean region, yet in the future—somewhere around ten or fifteen years from now."—The Plain Truth, August, 1959, p. 4.
This prophecy was fulfilled many years ago. For evidence of that see Daniel and the Revelation by Uriah Smith, or God's Good News, by W. L. Emmerson. I am afraid that when Mr. Armstrong talks about what is going to happen on this earth ten to fifteen years in the future, he is teaching "my lord delayeth his coming." How does Mr. Armstrong know what is going to happen in ten or fifteen years? He gives no evidence at all for the majority of his statements, and this is but a sample. Even a casual reading will show that the majority of Mr. Armstrong's statements are made without any attempt whatsoever to prove them.
He is also very critical of the godly of days gone by. He refers to "the uninspired William Miller," and then proceeds to condemn Martin Luther's teaching along with the atrocities against the Jews by the Nazis. He says, "Thus, when we read of the atrocities committed against the Jews by Hitler's Third Reich, we may be reminded that this has been a tendency among many German zealots and was remarkably displayed in the founder of German Protestantism." —Ibid., p. IS. And, further, he states that "Luther was very unhappy and wretched during the last months of his life. Disturbed by the terrible state of moralitv to which his doctrine of faith alone had brought the inhabitants, . . . and he seriously wondered if he were not bringing many souls with him to eternal condemnation."— The Plain Truth, p. 13, December, 1958.
No Lost Tribes
What a blessing that Christ and not Mr. Herbert Armstrong will be the final judge!
He has resurrected the popular but absurd and refuted theory of British Israel-ism. He refers to "the lost House of Israel." Why does Mr. Armstrong wrest and alter the words of our Lord? Jesus speaks of "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." There is a vast difference between the "lost sheep" of a house and a "lost house." Nowhere in the Word of God does one read of the lost house of Israel. "The lost tribes of Israel" is also a favorite expression of Mr. Armstrong to uphold his theory, but nowhere can he find such an expression in the Bible. It is not there. The whole theory is only a last-day idea that pampers to national pride. Remember that not only is the Bible entirely silent about the ten lost tribes of Israel but also the Word of God shows clearly that at the restoration from captivity there were no lost tribes; they were all definitely represented, and many of Israel as well as many from Judah returned. In Ezra 2:70 we read, "and all Israel in their cities." Note that it was Israel, not merely Judah, that was returning. Mr. Armstrong would have us believe that only Judah returned from captivity; that the Israelites did not return and therefore were lost. However, Ezra 6:17 mentions "a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel." Note again that Israel is the one emphasized, not Judah. This was in direct fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah that states, in chapter 50, verse 4, "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together." Thus it was prophesied that both the house of Israel and o£ Judah would return. They were coming to gether. In Ezra 8:35 we find all the tribes of Israel represented where we read of "twelve bullocks for all Israel."
Mr. Armstrong would have us believe that the so-called lost tribes of Israel became inhabitants of the British Isles and the United States. The British, he maintains, are of the tribe of Ephraim and the people of the United States, modern Ma-nasseh. This teaching, he says, "is the key that unlocks the doors to all prophecy." The facts are that it is a key that unlocks nothing but a foolish error that has been refuted a thousand times, but is still repeated; and some people accept it. The lost tribes are not mentioned in the Bible; they are a figment of Mr. Armstrong's imagination. It is interesting to note that Ephraim is not mentioned among the redeemed in the seventh chapter of Revelation. Would that mean that no Britishers will be listed among the saved? As a Britisher I am most thankful that Mr. Armstrong's theory is not correct.
"The Jews are a different nation altogether from Israel. It is wrong to call the Jews of today 'Israel.' They are not 'Israel,' " writes Mr. Armstrong, but the Scriptures use the words Jew and Israel interchangeably. For instance, in Acts 22:3 Paul says, "I am verily a man which am a Jew," and in Romans 11:1 Paul writes, "For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin."
A careful reading of the book of Ezra shows that some people are called Jews eight times and Israelites 40 times. The book of Nehemiah calls them Jews 11 times and Israelites 21 times, while in the New Testament the same people are called Jews 174 times and Israelites 74 times. It is interesting to note that the gospel was to go to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:16). Now if the Israelites are not Jews, as taught by Mr. Armstrong, and they certainly are not Gentiles, just where do they come in for the gospel? They must be excluded entirely, for the gospel is only for the Jews and the Gentiles —there are no others.
How true are the words of Scripture; men are still "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." However, the everlasting gospel is outlined in Revelation 14 as going to every nation, tongue, and people. Hold fast to Christ and His wonderful message that is so clear, for when people start heeding an offshoot doctrine, there is no saying how far they and all the deceived followers will slide into deceptions and even "damnable heresies." May the God of truth keep us true, and warm our hearts with His love, that we may spread the truth as it is in Jesus.
(This study will be made available in mimeographed form to ministers on request, along with the two previous studies on this subject by R. L. Odom.)
