Surviving “Perilous Times”

Article Six -
How Does God Reveal Truth to His Church?

Does God reveal all of the truth about any one doctrine at the same time? As His servants grew in spiritual understanding, did God expect them to refine doctrine? Should Mr. Armstrong have done this? What about the Catholic concept of “progressive revelation”—have some applied this to God’s Church?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Over the years, various ideas, opinions and perceptions have arisen over how God reveals truth to His Church. During the ministry of Herbert W. Armstrong, the Church understood God revealed truth through His apostles. This was once not a mystery to anyone. God inspired Paul to write that His Church was “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone” (Eph. 2:20).

However, throughout Church history, “liberals” have sought loopholes to justify watering down long-held doctrines and traditions. They longed to be “free” from restraints.

At the other extreme, some Church “conservatives,” in their quest to not water down or compromise, have rejected legitimate—and necessary—refinements in doctrine, as God revealed them through His twentieth-century apostle, Mr. Armstrong.

Both extremes are wrong. They kept some brethren from properly growing in godly understanding. This need not and must not be!

Making Mid-Course Corrections

In the 1960s, during the Apollo moon landing program, NASA’s top scientists and engineers had to comply with the laws of physics in order to successfully land men on the moon.

But to do this, they had to continually make mid-course corrections or else they would not have achieved their goal. Worse, without proper mid-course corrections and refinements, the astronauts would have died.

These vitally needed corrections paid off because scientists adhered to the laws of physics in every step of the process. No laws were broken. As a result, the spacecraft successfully reached its target, allowed men to walk on the moon and brought them back to earth alive and well.

World To Come on The True Church

Just as scientists and engineers needed to make mid-course corrections, without breaking physical laws, to achieve their goals, Christians must do the same. God’s servants must actively grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3:18). This means having teachable minds and childlike attitudes so that God can teach them His ways through His faithful ministry.

Personally growing in grace and knowledge is a long, on-going process that will take the rest of your life. Similarly, God does not reveal everything about any particular doctrine all at once even to apostles.

Examples of Moses and Paul

Unlike men, God is perfect and infallible. He does not make mistakes. And yet, even the perfect and infallible God has made refinements—amendments—to His holy, righteous judgments.

An example of this is found in Numbers 36. Zelophehad, a Manassite, had died. Since he had no sons, God allowed his inheritance to pass to his five daughters (Num. 27:1-11).

However, this led to a big problem. Let’s first read the passage: “And if they [Zelophehad’s daughters] be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance” (Num. 36:3).

This was serious. Even during the Jubilee year, when all the land in Israel was to revert to its original owners (thereby eliminating third and fourth generation poverty, which plagues our world today), the daughters’ inheritance would not have reverted to the tribe of Manasseh (vs. 4).

God, through Moses, acknowledged that the Manassites had a legitimate complaint: “And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph have said well. This is the thing which the Lord does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry” (vs. 5-6).

God made a refinement here—an amendment!—to His original judgment, without breaking His other spiritual laws. However, it was not a correction made because God had somehow not thought out these laws sufficiently, but was rather an amendment to a previously made judgment. God did not present judgments for every possible scenario. Instead, as new circumstances were presented, God ruled accordingly. He added judgments!

For example, what if a bachelor from a different Israelite tribe had his heart set on marrying Mahlah, the eldest of Zelophehad’s five daughters? What if this man thought to himself that since God was perfect and possessed all truth, He had no business changing something that was working quite well? Maybe this man blamed Moses instead of God, like so many Israelites had done in other situations. God’s true servants have always taken the heat when their decisions did not go well with some of His people.

Consider this—God wants His people to learn from experience. He does not tell us everything in precise detail all at once in every circumstance. He does not address, at the outset of any undertaking, every possible complication that may arise.

If He did, God knows that we would not grow in grace and knowledge. He is currently judging us based on what we do with what we know. The more we obey Him, the more spiritual understanding we gain. If we refuse to obey Him, even in mid-course corrections, we deny ourselves greater understanding. Mr. Armstrong saw in stages the truth of even single doctrines.

For instance, he first saw that the Church should keep Pentecost before later recognizing how to compute the correct day upon which it should be kept.

The liberals who infiltrated the leadership of God’s Church and led the great apostasy of the late 1980s and early 1990s referred to their doctrinal changes as “growth.” But their radical changes were not growth, because growth does not dismantle, restructure and depart from virtually all of God’s restored truths.

As a result of the apostasy and falling away, hyper-conservatives at the other extreme are now more cautious and suspicious of any change that Mr. Armstrong himself made.

God expects us to discern whether a refinement or correction was made by His servant according to His Word—or by wolves seeking to devour the flock by leading them to depart from sound doctrine. When God uses His true apostles to increase our spiritual understanding, He expects us to act and grow. Mr. Armstrong’s role as Elijah more greatly emphasizes this principle.

Even Paul made refinements—mid-course corrections—in his doctrinal understanding. For example, he taught the first-century brethren that Christ’s Second Coming would take place in their lifetimes (I Thes. 4:15-17). This was not a teaching invented in Paul’s mind—he based it on his understanding of Scripture. This teaching actually became an established doctrine (in the original Greek, doctrine means “teaching”).

God allowed this to be recorded in the Bible! Mr. Armstrong also taught and believed that Christ was returning in his lifetime. Because of this, some people label Mr. Armstrong a false prophet. Yet they do not say that Paul was a false prophet, even though, in his original thinking, Paul was over 100 times as wrong as Mr. Armstrong! Was God not using Paul at that time?

In II Thessalonians 2:1-6, Paul came to realize he had been wrong—and he corrected what must have seemed “established” doctrine. Did Paul begin an apostasy when he admitted his error? Of course not!

If Paul, God’s servant and a true apostle, was allowed to grow in doctrinal understanding and make corrections and refinements accordingly, why would we not have expected the same from God’s faithful twentieth-century apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong?

Accepting New Truth

Since God’s truth is understood step-by-step—slowly, throughout a lifetime of conversion and overcoming—necessary refinements and corrections in biblical understanding need to be made.

The ability to take correction from God’s Word is one of the traits of a true Christian. Once new insight and understanding are revealed, Christians must act upon them.

Some argue that there is no possible way that God can ever make a correction through His servants. However, consider the following:

Mr. Armstrong did not learn about the spirit in man until 1965. How could God use a man to teach conversion to millions and “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,” if he did not even know about the spirit in man? Did God not use Mr. Armstrong until he learned this?

In a 1939 Good News magazine article, Mr. Armstrong explained that he believed hierarchical government to be wrong. Yet, during the winter of 1952-53, he came to understand how God’s government works and taught this new understanding to the Church. Was God not working with him until he understood the right form of government?

Similarly, Mr. Armstrong did not understand Church eras for many years. But, as with government, God eventually revealed them to him. Some could ask: How could God have used Mr. Armstrong to lead the Philadelphian era for so many years if he did not even understand Church eras? And how many decades had he served in the office of apostle before he even recognized and accepted that he was one?

While God used Mr. Armstrong to restore all things, this did not happen all at once. If God had not been working through Mr. Armstrong until such times that error was acknowledged and a change made, then Mr. Armstrong would not have even been led to make the changes.

Christ described this in John 16:13. Notice: “Howbeit when [It], the Spirit of truth, is come, [It] will guide you into all truth…” Those who refuse to follow where God is leading through His chosen servant, by His Spirit, ironically view themselves as possessing an extra measure of righteousness. They are unaware that they are actually resisting God.

Notice the attitude of the Thyatiran Era of God’s Church: “In a confession of their faith, one of the members of the Waldenses stated their faith, ‘declaring that they proffered [proposed or offered] the doctrine contained in the Old and New Testaments and comprehended in the apostles’ Creed, and admitted the sacraments instituted by Christ, and the Ten Commandments, etc…They said they had received this doctrine from their ancestors, and that if they were in any error they were ready to receive instruction from the word of God’” (Jones’ Church History, p. 355, 1837 edition).

Do not be confused by the terms “Apostles’ Creed” and “sacraments instituted by Christ.” The Thyatiran brethren had been reared on a Catholic education. As they came out of that background, some Catholic expressions remained. But their zeal, courage and unyielding devotion in the face of martyrdom testify that they were indeed converted brethren.

The Thyatirans willingly looked to God’s Word to correct and refine their doctrinal thinking. This attitude is so precious and rare that it identifies God’s true Church. Unlike counterfeit Christianity, which relies on the traditions of men, God’s true servants will look to Him for His truth.

However, not only is this attitude far removed from this world’s false religions, it has become increasingly rare, so as to be virtually non-existent in the Laodicean Era of God’s Church. In this final era, in which the people have taken over precious few are open to change from their own adopted errors!

What Is “Progressive Revelation”?

Now contrast the attitude of true Christians with that of the great counterfeit. Like certain elements within the Church of God, Catholics deny that Christians can grow in the truth or recognize that former beliefs and practices are in error. They believe that their church can never err, since “Christ” is deemed to be mysteriously guiding it at every moment and in every way. This is called “progressive revelation.”

As a result, the Catholics consider even every contradictory decree ever issued to be inherently irreversible. Therefore, they do not feel the need to repent of error. Change is not an option, they reason, since their church could not err under Christ’s guidance.

But what the Catholics fail to realize is that God does not give Christians the full measure of His truth instantaneously—just as He does not give them the full measure of His Holy Spirit instantaneously.

Human beings make mistakes—yes, even faithful apostles! Paul demonstrated this. God’s Spirit guides His servants into His truth throughout a lifetime of conversion.

Progressive revelation predates the time of Thomas Aquinas (1217-1274). In his most famous works, Summa Theologicae and Summa Catholiciae, Aquinas attempted to open the door to accepting new discoveries in mathematics and physics, mainly by Arab scholars (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 9, pp. 250-251).

But this made little impact. The Catholic clerics and theologians were so unyielding that, when the astronomer Galileo made a series of discoveries confirming the theories of Copernicus, he was put on trial in 1632. Galileo and Copernicus had confirmed the earth’s orbital position in relation to the sun and other planets.

The Catholic leaders would not accept this new knowledge, because it contradicted their pre-ordained theological “truths.” Refinement or correction was impossible. Instead, they forced Galileo to publicly renounce his discoveries (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 11, pp. 406-411).

Needless to say, progressive revelation—the inflexible belief that every position taken by the church is without error—is the antithesis of truth, or the “Spirit of truth,” which “leads” into all truth.

It does allow for subsequent doctrines to help bridge the gap, so to speak. But, since the original doctrines were deemed to be not in error, there is nothing to ever actually correct. The only option is to keep building upon former doctrines in order to better “interpret” them. This is exactly what Rome does, and seemingly without end. Since no error is ever admitted, and correction and change are forbidden, composite doctrines become a maze of contradictory decrees and positions. Doctrinal simplicity and purity become impossible to maintain.

Progressive revelation ultimately led the Catholic Church to adopt the doctrine of Papal Infallibility: When the Pope speaks from the official throne—Ex Cathedra (“from the chair”)—it is considered as if God is speaking. Error is deemed impossible!

Counting Pentecost—A Case-in-Point

During the Philadelphian Era of God’s Church, some resisted refinements from error. Their line of reasoning closely paralleled what the Catholics have practiced. They felt that truth was revealed all at once—and any attempt to correct error had to be error.

A case-in-point: counting Pentecost. The Bible is explicit on how to count from the time of the wave sheaf offering. This occurred on the day following the weekly Sabbath that fell during the Days of Unleavened Bread: “And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths [weeks] shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall you number fifty days; and you shall offer a new meat [meal] offering unto the Lord” (Lev. 23:15-16).

Before a faithful apostle can revise any established doctrine, he must examine all the facts from every angle. This includes the original text and meaning of the language in which the scripture was originally written.

In this case, Mr. Armstrong contacted his personal friend, Dr. Binyamin Mazar, of Hebrew University in Israel. Dr. Mazar gave Mr. Armstrong access to the most able scholars from Israel specializing in the ancient Hebrew language. Mr. Armstrong conferred with these experts in a series of conversations, over a period of time, before ever reaching any definite conclusion.

The accuracy of counting Pentecost lay within the technical meaning of a couple of words found in Leviticus 23:15. It was originally thought that “from the morrow after the Sabbath” meant to start counting from Sunday. The Hebrew intent, as was explained to Mr. Armstrong, was to also count the day from which the counting began. The original Hebrew allowed for the inclusion of the day of origin, whereas the English language did not! This was critical new knowledge.

This understanding, as presented by the Hebrew scholars, was vindicated by the wording of verse 16: “Even unto the morrow after the Sabbath shall you number fifty days.” This demonstrates that, after counting the fifty days, the target date was to be the day after the weekly Sabbath! This became more clear-cut than ever. The Hebrew intent of this scripture left no room for maneuvering or doubt regarding the target date. Pentecost is clearly and unequivocally labeled “the morrow after the Sabbath”—Sunday.

The same conclusion had been previously introduced to Mr. Armstrong by a headquarters minister. But not until conferring with the ancient Hebrew language experts did Mr. Armstrong consider revising the Church’s former understanding. Although he respected this man, Mr. Armstrong did not correct and revise the Church’s doctrinal understanding until he had irrefutable proof.

There is no record that any of the major sects of Judaism observed Pentecost on Mondays (although it is possible that one or more obscure sects could have done so).

The Sadducees and the Karaites (a sect founded in the eighth century A.D.) counted Pentecost from the day after the weekly Sabbath that fell during the Days of Unleavened Bread. This was biblically correct, according to Leviticus 23:15-16. Even the Samaritans, who had a hybrid form of Judaism, observed Pentecost on the correct day.

However, the Pharisees counted Pentecost from the day following the First Day of Unleavened Bread. By this method, Pentecost never occurred on any fixed day of the week. Obviously, this was not biblically correct. Another sect of Judaism, the Falashas of Ethiopia, kept Pentecost on Sunday, but they counted it from the day following the weekly Sabbath after the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. By this method, Pentecost fell on a fixed day of the week—Sunday—but it was one week too late.

The Sadducees were the ones in charge of the temple during Pentecost, A.D. 31. Since they kept the correct day, along with thousands of orthodox Jews visiting Jerusalem for that Holy Day, the stage was set for the miraculous beginning of the Church of God.

The scholars at Hebrew University held that observing Pentecost on Sunday was founded on solid scriptural authority and tradition.

As for minority sects, many originated from the Babylonian captivity, while others emerged later, during the Hellenistic domination. Whatever their origin, Christ’s admonishment applied to them as well as to the Jewish authorities of Christ’s day, who had given priority to their own traditions over God’s commandments (Mark 7:8-9, 13). This included keeping any of God’s feasts on the wrong days.

Precautions Used in Vital Decisions

Mr. Armstrong knew that he was not, and had never been, infallible. He knew that the Spirit of truth guides Christians into all truth gradually—not in “one fell swoop” (John 16:13). Therefore, when he decided to correct the Church’s former understanding of counting Pentecost, or of divorce and remarriage, the brethren had to make a decision: cling to a form of progressive revelation and claim that established doctrines are irreversible or follow Mr. Armstrong’s lead, acknowledging that they had not yet attained spiritual understanding in all truth.

In the quote below, Mr. Armstrong gave an overview of how he carefully studied any issue before arriving at a final decision. The context pertains to objections from some ministers about his just-published booklet about divorce and remarriage. It summarizes the care, diligence and forethought that preceded his every decision that involved establishing or revising doctrine:

“…I not only carefully studied all reports given me from the doctrinal committee, I showed their papers to some of our best scholars on the British campus…

“I have always tried to follow the Biblical admonition that in a multitude of counselors there is safety. I have always tried to follow the principle that I learned as far back as 1915, to get ALL the facts before a decision. God called and chose me to get HIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM TO THE WORLD, and to be used in raising up His Church for our time to HELP get that Great Commission DONE!

“I am sending word to Headquarters to WITHDRAW the booklet from circulation until I may have opportunity to study the position of those opposed to the present booklet. That is not to say I will agree with them—it IS to say I will study their position and facts in the Scriptures WITH A COMPLETELY OPEN MIND. If there are errors in the booklet, I will correct them. I want GOD’S TRUTH, and I must assume you Ministers do too!…

“If there is any reason I can account for, as to why God chose me and put me in the position I occupy, it is because I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COMPLETELY FAITHFUL WITH HIS WORD as He gives me to UNDERSTAND!”

Letter to the ministry, Feb. 22, 1974

This quote echoed the same sentiment expressed by the Waldenses of the Thyatiran Era: “…They said they had received this doctrine from their ancestors, and that if they were in any error they were ready to receive instruction from the word of God.”

If the Church was seeking to follow God and hold fast to His doctrines, then it should have been ready to acknowledge error when found and to receive instruction from God’s Word!

Where did the Church of God traditionally receive its teachings during the twentieth century when it was vibrant and on-track? During this stage of the Church, most every member was acutely aware of the origin of our teachings. As a refresher of that vital knowledge, we quote Mr. Armstrong a final time. In the context of this quote, he is discussing education in the World Tomorrow and the source of true doctrines not only in the Millennium, and in the first century, but in the twentieth century, as well:

“One thing there will not be in the millennial Headquarters Church is a doctrinal committee of intellectual ‘scholars’ to decide whether Christ’s teachings are true doctrines.

“There was no such doctrinal committee in the first century Headquarters Church at Jerusalem. All teaching came from Christ through the apostles—and a few times Christ communicated to apostles via the prophets (of which there are none in God’s Church today since the Bible for our time is complete). God’s Church today, as in the first century, receives its teachings from the living Christ, through an apostle, just as in a.d. 31”

MYSTERY OF THE AGES, p. 350

Christ continued to lead His apostle into more of the truth—sometimes by degrees—rather than giving a sudden, complete picture, fulfilling the sum total of understanding, at the initial instant.

This also applies to the doctrine of divorce and remarriage, as changed in 1974. At that time, Mr. Armstrong grew into a fuller understanding as he observed the confusion and inadequacy of his initial comprehension of that doctrine. He was able to grow in understanding and correct, refine and set straight the doctrines as he grew in the understanding of truth—as his mind was guided by Christ. This is explained in greater detail in our book I Will Send Elijah to Restore All Things and our biography of Mr. Armstrong, Herbert W. Armstrong – His Life in Proper Perspective.

In this post-apostasy era, people now argue, “The eras have changed…absent any apostle (as they suppose), we must take matters into our own hands.” Hence, those not content to accept Christ’s teachings through His chosen apostle have taken the prerogative to seize control of the Church, true to the era named after its own brand of conduct—Laodicea.

This special Epilogue has been prepared for those who understand that Mr. Armstrong taught the full truth, and who wish to refamiliarize themselves with basic, indisputable statements that he made on crucial matters facing God’s people today.

Continue to: Article Seven – EPILOGUE – WHAT MR. ARMSTRONG TAUGHT ABOUT CRITICAL DOCTRINES

070212
PT

RELATED LITERATURE