We are near the very end of this age, closer than most are willing to believe. Do you know why this is true? You need to understand the reasons why time is rapidly counting down for those of us remaining in the Church of God. Time is not on our side.
Some people have preconceived ideas that hinder their ability to recognize or admit some facets of our recent history. These ideas hinder growth and usually lead to false conclusions and judgments about today's Church. We need to look honestly at our history if we are going to be able to grasp the seriousness of the times in which we live.
It is astounding how some ministers are still looking for a future falling away within the Church, even after the devastation we have experienced in recent years. If we are able to admit that the vast majority of the Church has either quit altogether or left the truth that God initially delivered to us, then that in itself should plainly cry out that an apostasy or falling away has indeed already occurred. It is difficult to grasp how a minister of God could be so blind and refuse to acknowledge what is staring him in the face. Perhaps some need to ask if such a person is indeed a minister.
Some ministers and brethren believe, and even teach, that the Church must grow large again so that the commission of the gospel being preached into all the world can be fulfilled. Because of these ideas, they go on to say that time must go on longer in order for them to accomplish this. Can such a belief and teaching actually deny God? Why is it so difficult for people to acknowledge that the commission to do this has already been done through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong? The bottom line is that either it has been fulfilled or it has not been fulfilled. What do you believe and why? People need to be cautious as to what they deny and what they reject as being true. Some will find that they have indeed denied and rejected what God has done, not what any man has done.
By denying what God did through the Church and Mr. Armstrong up until the mid-1980s, we can be guilty of denying the "work" of God. There are many ministers who believe they must teach about a "Work of God" yet to be accomplished through their efforts and those of their organization. Brethren need to understand what they actually mean when they say such things.
What is the truth? Did God not do a mighty work, growing continually greater until the year of Mr. Armstrong's death? Has that work continued to grow since that time? What is the evidence? What is the true witness and testimony?
Some have based this false belief that the gospel has yet to be preached into all the world on a lack of understanding about this scripture. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14, KJV).
What is "the End?"
Some say this gospel could not have been preached into all the world because the end has not yet come. The conclusion drawn is that if the end has not yet come, then someone other than Mr. Armstrong must fulfill that commission or that someone else must continue the work of that commission which has not yet been completed.
What is "the end?" Is the end a specific final point? Is it when Jesus Christ returns? Is it the time of the Day of the Lord? Is it when the time of great physical tribulation begins on this earth? Is it the end of the millennium? Is it the end of the Great White Throne Judgment? Is it the time when many end-time events are to occur, which have been prophesied to occur at the end, just before the return of Jesus Christ? You would be wise to consider the reality of the latter question.
Are we blinded to what has been happening and continues to happen within the Church? Can we not grasp the most basic reality of where we find ourselves now? The end has come upon us! We are living in it! Are we too blind or asleep that we cannot see the obvious? The time for the Laodicean Church is at the end. There is not another era to follow it. Laodicea is the last one, and many prophesied events will take place during this "end" time.
We also need to be careful how we use the term "God's Work." God has worked to accomplish His purpose over the millennia, but His specific work has varied according to what needed to be accomplished at a specific period of time. For nearly 2,000 years His work has been primarily about the Church, about those He has called to be first in His family. The gospel, going into all the world, was to take place toward the end of this 2,000 years. It was to be a specific and unique work toward the end. Notice again what Mr. Armstrong had to say about the work and that commission in his letter to the Church dated November 22, 1982. "No one had proclaimed that Gospel to the world for nearly 1,900 years. I began proclaiming it then, but only to a small area in and around Lane County, Oregon [referring to the first Plain Truth in February of 1934]. Within 19 years I had proclaimed it by radio and the Plain Truth over the entire United States. Then, the first week of 1953- precisely 1,900 years (a century of time cycles of 19 years each), I began sending out this Gospel to all Europe over the world's most powerful radio station, Radio Luxembourg."
Is that phase of "the work" over? Is anyone coming close to accomplishing what was being done through Mr. Armstrong in preaching the gospel to this world? The truth is that no one is; no one is even coming close.
The fact is the gospel has been preached in all the world as a witness precisely as God intended. After that was accomplished, the end did come upon us. Read again verse 14 and notice the next verse that follows.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" (Matthew 24:14-15, KJV).
Mr. Armstrong always stopped at verse 14 because he understood this was the commission, the work, he was given to do with the Philadelphian Church. God revealed this to him. After that commission had been accomplished, then verse 15 would unfold, but would have nothing to do with neither Mr. Armstrong nor the Philadelphian era. The abomination of desolation was to occur at the end, after the gospel had been preached into all the world as a witness. Too many today do not believe that Mr. Armstrong and the Philadelphian Church finished the work God gave them to do. Our work today is to endure and hold fast to the foundational truths God gave us during Philadelphia and to be preparing ourselves for the soon coming Kingdom of God.
We live in the time of Laodicea. It is the end-time when the abomination of desolation will be working upon the Church. The physical type of what is spoken of in Daniel is about the abomination that worked to destroy the physical temple, but the spiritual type is about the Church, the spiritual temple, and the abomination that would work to destroy it at the end of this age.
The Hour of Temptation
God told Philadelphia, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Revelation 3:10, KJV). Does this verse say anything about physical protection from great physical tribulation?
To whom is this message directed? It is directed to those in the Church who were living in the time of Philadelphia. That time is long past; now we are deep into the time of Laodicea.
What was this promise of God? Was it about keeping Philadelphians from having to suffer physically during a time of great physical destruction and tribulation that is yet to come upon this earth? God will indeed keep many brethren safe from physical destruction and horrific suffering during the time of great physical tribulation that will come upon this earth just before the return of Jesus Christ, however this promise is not about physical protection!
This promise was given to the Church of God when it was given a great commission to support and accomplish. We correctly understood it and referred to it as the "Work of God." It was the work of God during Philadelphia. It was a work of reviving the Church and of supporting the gospel going into all the world. That is not the same work we face during Laodicea! That phase of God's work was given to Philadelphia and is over. It is past! During the time of Philadelphia we were protected and spared experiencing the events of the "end" referred to in Matthew 24:15 concerning the abomination that would work to make desolate, which is about the Church.
God told the Church that during the time of Philadelphia they would be kept from the hour of temptation "which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Do we not understand? At the end of this age both the Church and this world will be tried. Both a physical and a spiritual fulfillment apply to so many prophecies. The Church will be tried first and go through a great spiritual tribulation, followed by this world going through a great physical tribulation. Never in history has a time come close to comparing to the magnitude of trouble that will be experienced by the Church and this world.
The Church is now being tried in this end-time which is upon us. The scattered Church, throughout the world, is being tried to see if it will repent and be faithful by holding fast to the commandments of God and the testimony (witness) of Jesus Christ. Not many seem to be doing that today.
The time of temptation, for the Church, was to occur during Laodicea, when brethren would be enticed and lured to leave those truths restored to the Church during Philadelphia. The very meaning of Laodicea has become evident as we find ourselves in the "hour of temptation." Laodicea means "The people judge." The description of Laodicea in Revelation 3 is about a people who have lifted themselves up in pride and judge for themselves what is the truth of God.
Laodicea has made the same mistake as Adam and Eve, who had to be separated from access to the spirit of God. God removed them from the tree of life because, as He said, "They have made themselves as one of us, to know good and evil." They took upon themselves the prerogative of deciding what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false. That describes the scattered Church today. People are judging for themselves what they will accept as true and are deciding for themselves what is false, rather than remaining faithful to those foundational truths that God miraculously revealed to us from the beginning. This is why God commands Laodicea to repent and return with zeal to the truths they were given.
Understanding God's Instruction
Let's look at the admonition given at the end of Philadelphia, just before Laodicea was to come on the scene. "Because thou hast kept the world of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Revelation 3:10-11, KJV). Do you understand why God gave this instruction to His Church before Laodicea replaced Philadelphia?
Philadelphia was a time of great restoration of truth to the Church. Great wealth was being entrusted to brethren, but with time, brethren became spoiled and began to see themselves as rich, rather than truly seeing God as the source of those riches which He was entrusting to us. That is why the task before Laodicea is to hold fast to what God entrusted to the Church during Philadelphia. The last era would be a time when brethren would be enticed and lured through temptation to leave the truths God had restored. If we are faithful stewards of the true riches of God, we will hold fast to them.
Before the return of Jesus Christ, the last era of the Church is found to be spiritually lacking; it is actually drifting off to sleep or already asleep. It was so filled with pride that God described it as having to be spewed out of His mouth. How many have awakened to these events and fully repented of the pride, apathy, and complacency that came upon us and still holds the overwhelming majority in its grip?
In 1986 the WCG had nearly 150,000 people attending worldwide. In 1999, the WCG had only 6,160 attending the Feast in the United States (November 1999, Worldwide News, page 27). In this same issue is a report of people taking communion at Feast sites. Could there be many left who might yet escape? The rest of the Church, that has escaped and is scattered to all parts of this world, is not healthy either. We have been going through incredibly trying times as a people.
Most of what we once knew, as a Church, is now destroyed. It is indeed desolate. Early in 1995, approximately a third of the Church simply gave up and quit. Within a few more months, "traditional Christianity" had engulfed another third of the Church. This destruction and desolation has furiously continued ever since. Now, not much remains.
Ask yourself some questions. What is more important? Is it more important for those living during Philadelphia, who live on into Laodicea, to be protected and saved from physical pain and suffering later on in the great tribulation or was it more important during Philadelphia, to be kept from the kind of spiritual destruction and desolation that has engulfed the Church for several years now?
When you look at this realistically it seems silly to ask such questions. Most of those who were in the WCG, at the close of the Philadelphian era, have now gone by the wayside. The enticement to take the easy way out by quitting all together or to leave the truth and accept false doctrines has already engulfed nearly 85% of the Church. The "hour of temptation" has led these people from the Church. The Church during the time of Philadelphia was indeed kept from what we have been experiencing for many years now. But no one has been kept from the spiritual tribulation now engulfing us during the time of Laodicea.
The hour of temptation that came upon God's people, wherever they were in this world, has resulted in a great scattering and desolation upon the Church. That hour of temptation is now upon this last period of Laodicea. It is upon all the Church throughout the world. There has been an abomination working within the Church to make it desolate, and it is still working. The Church dwelling upon the earth during Laodicea is not promised to be kept from the hour of temptation. On the contrary, we are in it!
Ears to Hear?
These things should be plain to us when we consider what we have gone through as a Church. Do we have ears to hear what the spirit says to the churches? The "work" of preaching the gospel into all the world was a commission given for the period of Philadelphia. After that was accomplished, to the extent that God determined, the beginning of the end did come upon the Church.
In recent years, we have been living through the time of Matthew 24:15, when brethren have had to flee for their spiritual lives, while the Church was being scattered in all parts of this world. There has been an abomination at work to make the Church, the spiritual temple, desolate. What is the evidence? What is the true witness to these events? Has it been happening or not?
Do we not grasp the abomination that has been causing such desolation within the Church? What is it that has caused people to flee? What changed within the WCG that has brought about such worldwide destruction upon the spiritual temple?
This destruction originated from the top of human leadership. It spread wildly through the ministry, most of which became corrupt, and then it spread wildly through the Church. This is described in 2 Thessalonians as a time of apostasy or a falling away within the Church, the likes of which has never occurred before. Those who sought to corrupt the Church by changing the most basic of doctrines are those who yielded themselves to being part of the abomination that makes desolate. The very heart and core of who we are was corrupted. The Church began moving away from the truth about the weekly and annual Sabbaths, tithing, and even clean and unclean meats, to moving closer to a Trinitarian and universal church. The abomination which before would have been thought impossible has now been at work in the spiritual temple? What could be plainer?
Can you grasp how close we are to final end-time events and how rapidly they are approaching? There are specific events mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2 that had to take place before Jesus Christ would return to the earth. Those events are about the Church. An apostasy had to occur within the Church at the end before Jesus Christ would return. That has happened, and it has almost run its course. These events are the very thing that serve as an announcement to the Church that Jesus Christ is now coming, and we must be more zealous than ever to make ourselves ready.
Doctrines and teachings began to be attacked and corrupted in the late 80s and early 90s and led up to a climatic event. The great abomination, that began working to make the Church desolate, officially began on December 17, 1994 when Mr. Joe Tkach, Sr. gave a sermon in Atlanta, Georgia declaring the apostasy to the Church. He died exactly forty Sabbaths later, within that very hour. Does that mean anything to God's people? That apostasy, which began officially in the Worldwide Church of God working as an abomination to destroy the Church, is nearing its end.
How much longer do you think it will be until that abomination is complete? The greatest part of this abomination concerns those things which identify God's Church- the weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths. Although the official announcement in 1994 declared that such things are no longer commanded for God's people, the WCG has not completely fulfilled the abomination that has been at work to destroy the Church of God. It should cause fear in people to know how close it might be to the total fulfillment of this prophecy. This fulfillment will be officially complete when they change the Sabbath and completely do away with the Holy Days. The Holy Days will most likely be abandoned first, then the weekly Sabbath. If the words of Daniel and other prophecies are indeed about what is still going on in the WCG, then we are very near the end of the abomination that has been making desolate.
Next, on the heels of the fulfillment of the abomination of desolation, is the great physical tribulation that will come on all this world. Are you repenting and becoming more zealous towards God? That is what Laodicea is instructed to do. If we know that Jesus Christ is indeed at the door and ready to enter, we will be responding by making ourselves ready, more than ever before! We must focus more fully on preparing ourselves for the soon coming Kingdom of God and helping prepare any of our physical and spiritual family who will listen.
Are you sobered when you consider how near the end may be? God has been warning us for some time now. Are you listening? We are racing toward the end of the end. Time is not on our side. Time is indeed running out!
[You may request the taped sermons that expound more on the subject which include: "What am I to Hold Fast?" and "Renewing Our Sense of Urgency."]