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Continued from Part a...
Title: Four Churches that will definitely be in the Tribulation!
Edward McKinney
This Newsletter Commentary, #9 Part b, was written August 4, 2008 by Edward McKinney.
Dear Prophecy Student:
This is the free Newsletter Commentary you requested from either www.researchliterature.com or www.twoprophets.org .
4.) Thyatira- The history of the Church is a history of the main branch from which all other branches sprouted at different times in history. The main branch has been a continuation of the Jewish Christian Church that James led in Jerusalem. This Church has never changed basic doctrines despite all the persecution it has suffered for almost 2000 years.
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches were branches off this group of Jewish Christians. Luther and Calvin had been religious leaders that were taught by this small group of Jewish-Christian believers. That is where they got their ideas.
This main branch of the Menorah is like a tree trunk. It does not have many leaves (members). And, yet it has kept alive the truth so that people like Luther and Calvin would be inspired to make the world better through religious movements. The Church of God has been essential for the survival of the world. Without this salt of the earth [verse?], God would have destroyed the world a long time ago.
Two identifying characteristics of this main branch have been the name, Church of God, and Sabbath observance.
It has been said that members of the Church of God were the first to sail to North America in order to escape persecution and poverty at the hands of Catholics and Protestants in Europe and Britain.
Eras of the Church are illustrated by the Menorah in both a vertical and horizontal perspective. When we view the vertical perspective, we see that there have been seven basic branches of the Church. In the East, there have been the Orthodox branch and the Lutheran branch. In the West there have been the Catholic branch and the Calvinist branch. In American there have been Sabbatarian branches that include the Seventh Day Adventist branch and the Church of God Seventh Day branch. The middle branch has been the Church of God under the Armstrong family.
The succession of oil lamps on the Menorah illustrates the succession of seven eras of the Sabbatarian Church of God described in Revelation 1-3. In Revelation Jesus does not directly speak to Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant organizations, but His messages would be relevant for them down through the centuries.
Members had been in hiding all over Europe. People called them Valdensens and Waldensens, although they simply considered themselves to be members of the Church of God. They considered America to be the new Promised Land. They set sail to the Promised Land and settled in isolated communities that were all over the East Coast of colonial America. French Huguenots were actually the first non-conformists to settle in 1500 AD in the territory that was to become the Carolinas. The message to Thyatirans is about feet because of their travel to the New World.
It was Mr. and Mrs. White who traveled to isolated communities of Sabbatarians to organize them into a Church corporation. As a result of the efforts of Mr. & Mrs. White, the fruit of the Church is greater today than when the Church was isolated in colonial times [verse?].
Unfortunately, Mrs. Ellen White promoted the idea that she was a prophetess. She spread destructive concepts in the Church. God likened her to Queen Jezebel of Ancient Israel because she spread destructive ideas.
The chief idea that Ellen G. White spread in the Church was sexual abstinence for married couples. That is why the message to this Church era is about fornication [verse?]. Untold havoc and misery came upon followers because they restrained themselves from normal sexual intercourse. The natural result was adultery, divorces and emotional suffering.
As if Jezebel didn’t cause enough misery for Church members, she started the doctrine of vegetarianism. There is nothing wrong with vegetarianism [verse?]. It is an inconsequential matter except when it is considered to be a way that makes a person more righteous than others are. At that point, it becomes a sin. Nothing that we eat makes us worse or better than others [verse?].
Revelation 2:20 "I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel [Ellen White], who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols." [My insert]
So, God tied the doctrine of vegetarianism in with the false doctrine of marital abstinence in His message to Thyatirans/Adventists [verse?].
God said that He would kill Adventists that follow Ellen White [verse?]. This is a clear message that the Thyatiran Church goes into the Tribulation [verse?]. From this point on, the remaining eras of the Church go into the Tribulation, which will be from 2015 to 2021 AD. The last four eras of the Churches of God in the USA exist concurrently. In one city, there could be several Churches of Sabbath keepers.
5.) The Sardis Era- The description of this era begins with reference to a name[verse?]. The Sardis era of the Church of God retained the name, Church of God, when the followers of Jezebel changed their name to Seventh Day Adventists. The name became formalized into, Church of God Seventh Day, when the Church incorporated.
This era is likened to the sleeping virgins [verse?] that are rejected at the Second Coming because they did not have oil in their lamps.
A reference is made to the Book of Life. This is an oblique reference to the book, A History of the True Religion by Dugger & Dodd. This book was the great achievement of this era. The authors are the super stars [verse?] of this era.
In God’s message to this Church, there are references to Armageddon, Tribulation and the Second Coming. For example, God says that He will come as a thief [verse?]. He tells members of this Church to have ears [verse?]. This is clearly a warning to members to listen for the Two Witnesses, who are not ministers just as Jesus was not a Priest.
6.) Philadelphian Era- The next Church corporation to be formed after the Church of God 7th Day, was the Worldwide Church of God. The founder was Herbert Armstrong. Actually, this was a continuation of the main stem (Seventh Day Baptists) after Seventh Day Adventists and Seventh Day Church of God members split company and went in two separate directions.
Armstrong was able to utilize his experience in the advertising industry to build a new Sabbatarian Church out of a congregation of the Church of God 7th Day. Armstrong took the writing and doctrines of the Church of God Seventh Day and repackaged them as his own creations. In my opinion, this was blatant plagiarism by an unethical man. Armstrong was probably motivated to isolate his followers from the Church of God Seventh Day. This was like evil King Jeroboam, who built golden idols in order to keep Israelites from returning to Jerusalem in order to worship God.
Armstrong introduced error into the Church by coercing members to pay up to 30% of their gross income in various tithes. Armstrong resurrected the evil Levitical system that God had destroyed. This included the observance of Levitical Sabbaths. The day will come that yearly Sabbaths are reinstituted. For example, we read about Egypt being forced to observe the Feast of Tabernacles after the Second Coming. But, God destroyed the Levitical system in 70 AD and has not wanted it to be reestablished until AFTER the Second Coming when Jesus can make national holidays that are enforced by governments.
After God destroyed the Levitical Temple, He opposed everyone who resurrected the Levitical system. This is similar to God’s curse on anybody that would rebuild Jericho [verse?]. It was just too tempting for some predatory religious leaders to recreate perverted hybrids of the evil Levitical system, most notably Herbert Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God and Joseph Smith of the "Mormon" organization. Those hybrid versions were/are based on a strange new tithing system, which is in contrast to the Biblical tithe of produce from wealthy land barons.
Armstrong and Smith perverted the meaning of 'tithe" to mean parts of paychecks of lowly workers. That they did in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and to build tyrannical empires that have been infamous for various human rights abuses.
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; Zechariah 14:16-20
The Holy Days were discontinued because they were part of the Levitical system that God hated. But, Christians were still responsible for studying the Holy Days in order to understand the spiritual lessons behind them. Likewise, we are to study the Temple even though God forbade us to rebuild the Levitical Temple.
Needless to say, followers of Armstrong burned out quickly and many declared bankruptcy after they could no longer sustain the infamous Armstrong way of life, which included the financial support of yet another evil priesthood. Actually, Armstrong introduced a toxic mixture of Quaker (isolationism) and Nicolaitan (elitest dictatorship) doctrines into the Church of God. Those doctrines resulted in an absolutely miserable lifestyle for many members. It was a great relief for everybody when that abomination finally self-destructed due to its own stupid ideas.
Predatory Church leaders had even coerced members into slave labor on weekends in order to do light manufacturing. There was untold misery among members that Armstrong refused to acknowledge. In this he was very much like evil King Jeroboam who built golden idols. Out of pity for struggling Church members, God decimated the evil empire that Armstrong created, and the Church was forced to sell off the mansions that Armstrong bought in Pasadena. Amazingly, there have been former ministers in this Church that have not repented of Armstrong's sins. They are trying to recreate their own versions of Herbert Armstrong's ill-gotten and delusional financial/ego empire.
Naive people might think that leaders in the Church of God have been righteous people. On the contrary, Adventists and other Sabbatarians have suffered a great deal because of evil leaders. These have included E. G. White and Herbert Armstrong.
Regardless of corrupt leaders and erroneous doctrines, many Adventist people and members of the Worldwide Church of God have been on fire with missionary zeal and good works.
The one belief that Armstrong got right is called the Key of David [verse?]. This is the historical knowledge that the nations of Europe, Britain and the USA are populated by descendants of the ancient nation of Israel. Specifically, this doctrine identifies the Queen or King of Britain as a royal descendent of King David. The official genealogical chart validates the "key" of David. The Queen is, in fact, a royal descendant of King David. The term, key, means that much of the Bible is unlocked to understanding when a Bible student reads history with this in mind. Again, Armstrong plagiarized this material and did not give credit to the original French and British historians. In this we see the sin of Jeroboam. We also see a pathetically egotistical man that stole his material.
God says that He will keep the people of this era from the temptations of the Tribulation [verse?]. When Muslim and Red Chinese armies occupy the USA, many Church members will be tempted to deny Jesus in order to keep from having their heads cut off. But, God promises to keep members of the Church of God from this temptation. I do not think that predatory Church leaders that are like Armstrong and E. G. White will be spared. But, individual members who have the Philadelphian Spirit would be spared.
The Two Witnesses stand with Jesus among the lamps of the Menorah [verse?]. This means that the Two Witnesses are members of the Church of God. They have been members of Sabbatarian Churches.
God associates the Philadelphian era with the Temple. This is the new Temple that is made of Spirit. It is the Temple that Jesus will return to.
The association of the Philadelphian Church with the Temple is a repetition of the association of the Thyatiran era with the Temple [Revelation 2:18 eyes of flame]. This is a Masonic symbol. Flaming eyes refer to the two pillars of the Temple, which had fires at their tops. At a distance and at night, they looked like glowing eyes. They also refer to Simeon and Ana, who stood at the Temple and "LOOKED" for Baby Jesus.
The USA is the place of the Temple (Church of God) with the two pillars. These pillars were representations of two candlesticks [verse?]. These represented the Two Witnesses. In other words, the Two Witnesses are specifically from the Philadelphian and Thyatiran eras, which are the Worldwide Church of God and the Adventist Church respectively. They repeat Simeon and Ana in that they "look" for the Returning Jesus Christ. Washington, DC has been the location of the New Temple. This is the Holy City (Daughter of Jerusalem) that the Two Witnesses will be sacrificed in. [Update Sept-27-2010: The United Nations Building in New York City could be the Temple that the Two Witnesses appear at in December of 2021 AD.]
7.) Laodicean era- This is the lukewarm era that is doomed to go into the Tribulation. The only way these Christians will make it to eternal life is to confess Jesus as Lord when terrorists cut off their heads during the occupation. Or, whole congregations will submit to fiery deaths [verse?] when the Red Army surrounds their Church buildings with torches.
God says that He is NOW at their door and knocking [verse?]. Jesus has appeared to them as the Two Witnesses. But, they are as oblivious as sleeping victims of a burglary. Jesus has appeared to them like a burglar [verse?]. Laodiceans NOW have the option of saving their lives and the lives of their children. But, God says that they are too blind to see [verse?].
The specific Church that this message pertains to is the organization created by Garner Ted Armstrong, who is Herbert Armstrong's son. Garner Ted called his organization the Church of God International. Garner Ted was not exactly a fiery man of God. His organization reflects his lack of religious zeal.
God began His message to the Church of God International with exactly the appropriate words. God describes Himself as the Creator [verse?]. These words are appropriate because Garner Ted has been famous for his series of programs on Creation versus Evolution. God also called Himself the TRUE Witness [verse?] and this refers to the appearance of the Two Witnesses during this last era of the Church. There is a contrast between this lukewarm era and the TRUE fiery witness of the Two Witnesses.
The word "TRUTH" is emphasized for this era because it is full of error from Herbert Armstrong's teachings. In contrast to Armstrong, the Two Witnesses have TRUTH. But, that truth is wasted on people who have no "EARS." Many ex-ministers from the Worldwide Church of God have attempted to recreate Herbert Armstrong's ill-gotten financial empire with erroneous teachings of Armstrong. They have incorrectly assumed that God had given truth to Herbert Armstrong because God was close to the man. On the contrary, Herbert did not have a close relationship with either God or Church members. I am expessing my personal opinions throughout this newsletter. I do not believe that God gave any revelations to Armstrong. The man stole all his material. And, almost all of it was wrong anyway. This is why Laodiceans are condemned as know-it-alls that actually know nothing. God calls them BLIND people that think they have it all figured out. But, when it comes to prophetic understanding, the followers of Armstrong are tragically ignorant.
For example they still believe that a Furor type German leader will lead ten nations of Europe. And, that theory is very dated. It originally came from a Protestant minister in the 1800's. Armstrong put a new tread on a worn out tire because the theory became very saleable after two wars with Germany. But, nobody believes it any more. It is laughable, actually.
The Church eras of the Church of God reflect the spiritual state of the societies they are in. In this way, Catholics and Protestants are the same as members of the Church of God. So, a Laodicean Catholic is the same as a Laodicean Adventist.
There will be Catholics that will make it to Heaven while there will be Adventists that will not make it. There will be members of the Philadelphian Church that do not make it to Heaven. Nobody will get to Heaven by being a member of a particular Church. We all have an opportunity to be close to God, no matter what religious organization we associate with.
Return to Part 1...Newsletter2008-08-04_1a-7Churches-Tribulation.htm
God tells you how to escape Armageddon
There is one way to tell if you will escape the Tribulation and be in the Resurrection. That is described in Revelation 3:20 21 & 22. These verse numbers refer to the Tent of God. The last three cubits in the Tent were numbers 20 21 & 22. They were in the 3rd (and last) section of the Tent. That sacred area of the Tabernacle/Tent of God represented the time of the Resurrection.
In these three verses, God says that He is at your door and knocking. That means that at this very second, Jesus is at your front door because the Resurrection is upon us. Jesus has a meal to serve to you. This meal is the book of unsealed prophecy that was written by His Two Witnesses.
If you eat this meal, you will be empowered to overcome the Beast. And you will eventually be set down with God at His throne. But, if you do not eat this meal, it is very possible that you will neither escape the Tribulation nor go to Heaven.
Ask yourself if the Church that you attend is partaking of the meal that is served by Jesus through the Two Witnesses. If your Church is NOT NOW partaking of this meal and supporting the ministry of the Two Witnesses, it is NOT answering the door as Jesus knocks. There can be no other fate for you than to have your head cut off by Muslim terrorists when the USA is invaded and occupied. I hope that you do not deny Jesus at that time because that will be your very last chance.
But, why go that way? Why not answer the door when Jesus knocks? Why not eat the meal that Jesus has prepared for you? Even if other people in your Church have chosen to be burned alive, you don’t have to follow their examples. You should say to them, If you want to reject Jesus, that is your problem. I choose to answer the door RIGHT NOW! You and your children do not have to be burned alive.
-Edward D. McKinney
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