What If…

Let’s speculate. If—and only if—the beginnings of this famine were here, then we should at least consider what a famine is. Rarely does famine mean no food available, but rather a scarcity of it. Even the most severe famines have survivors—those who find food. This is not trick reasoning, but simply the nature of famines. God understands famines—He has seen thousands. Do not presume that He has redefined what they are for our time to mysteriously suit prophecy. Mr. Armstrong also understood this. Think about this when declaring yoursupposition that the “famine of the…word” has arrived, meaning no more preaching of the gospel or warning Israel. This is another irrational leap in logic, based neither on history nor the teachings of Mr. Armstrong and Scripture! It is 180 degrees off reality.

Consider. In an actual famine, people have to work much harder to produce and procure food or they will starve. A famine is not a time to take it easy, but rather to work harder to grow and harvest food—so lives can be saved! (This reflects exactly the zeal and near nonstop innovation of The Restored Church of God staff in its preparation of “food” for the Work and for the Church.)

The following parallel may help you see this. Daniel 12:7 prophesied a “scattering” of the Church. We saw some have used the scattering as license not to be governed by anyone—and to believe, as we also saw, that Christ’s Church is now hopelessly divided! Thus, they assert that no minister has the authority to ever again tell anyone what to do—and many know I am not exaggerating the picture!

Jesus promised that His Church would never cease and that He would never forsake it. Thus, its enduring responsibility to announce the kingdom of God could also never cease. The scattering is a prophesied natural result of APOSTATE leaders, not a license to rebel against FAITHFUL ministers. That God foretold a famine is no more a license to rebel against doing the Work than the prophecy of a coming “scattering of the Church” is a license to rebel against the direction of Christ’s true ministry, where HIS GOVERNMENT is present.

When the Tribulation comes, it will be impossible to do the Work (John 9:4). Of course, the famine will becomplete throughout this three-and-one-half-year period, except for the unique purpose to be fulfilled by the Two Witnesses.

At least you now see the terribly flawed “logic” of those who do not carefully examine God’s Word—and who recklessly throw around terms they do not understand!

I will restate that since Mr. Armstrong was uncertain whether the ongoing open door was before Philadelphia or himself, I will not presumptuously declare it one way or the other. I sincerely do not know. But it does not matter. Either way, it is open before those of Philadelphia.

Because he was the final Elijah, fulfillment of the Great Commission was necessarily given in a specific and prophesied fashion to Mr. Armstrong. But we are determined to never allow the fact that RCG will not have time to grow large to become an excuse to ignore our ongoing obligation. We must take the full, UNABRIDGEDtruth (Matt. 28:19-20) to the world in the same way Mr. Armstrong did—and we are!

We Have Rewritten God’s Truths

By the summer of 2003, The Restored Church of God had rewritten virtually all of the hundreds of truths Mr. Armstrong taught, with all completed in 2005. They are available on our website to hundreds of millions throughout the world. We also reprint them in hardcopy form for mailing upon request. (Again, this is a subject in Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen.)

Humanly speaking, those who will not do the Work should at least grudgingly respect us for tackling this daunting task. I would think that potential accusers would take care not to attack the only Church both doing the Work and teaching every truth God’s people all once believed—that none would dare risk “being found even to fight against God” (Acts 5:39; Matt. 12:30-32)! But I am not naïve enough to believe many will heed this advice.

Nevertheless, The Restored Church of God will use every possible means made available, within the funds that God sends, to continue the Work of the living God. Nothing but the Tribulation and our flight to safety will stop us. Come the proverbial “fire, hail, wind or storm,” we will do God’s Work while we have time and breath. And no one should doubt the strength of our resolve! Truly, we are “set for the defense of the gospel” and are “in nothing terrified by [our] adversaries” (Phil. 1:17, 28)!

In terms of the Church’s size—its numbers—there is simply no such thing as “too small to do the Work.” This attitude “despises the day of small things” (Zech. 4:10). Everything that grew large started small. We preach the gospel whether few or many help us, and whether few or many are converted as a result. It has been God’s job to grow the Church and Christ’s job to decide how many He will “add to the Church daily” to be “saved” (Acts 2:47). We do not forget John 6:44, 65, and that the Father must first draw people to Christ. People decidewhether they will do the Work—God decides how large it will become or small it will remain. God decides how much time we have to do it. How big we grow—or small we are—is irrelevant to being found “so doing” (Matt. 24:46).

It is always that simple!

Remembering Jeremiah 48:10!

In the late 60s, I was introduced to a powerful scripture indicting those who did not zealously carry out God’s Work. My Bible margin notes reflect what was standard Ambassador College teaching on this passage.

Jeremiah 48:10 warns, “Cursed be he that does the Work of the LORD deceitfully…” While the second half of this verse refers to chapter 47, Jeremiah 47:6, and to those used to wield God’s sword in the Day of the Lord, the first half has always been understood to reference and apply to the Work of preaching the gospel and to warning national Israel.

Examining the Hebrew word translated “deceitfully” helps make the passage clearer. Bible margins reference “negligently.” Other acceptable translations are “slackly,” “idly” and “slothfully.” People who have fallen intothis approach to the Work have also come to view continuing it—or what it has supposedly now become—through a series of “deceitful” arguments and reasonings, allowing themselves to feel comfortable in rebellion. Therefore, how much greater the condemnation—the “curse”—on those who will no longer do anything!

One way to “do the Work” deceitfully is to tell people, “Yes, we do need to preach the gospel, but we need notbe concerned with doctrines we think are not basic, core or essential for salvation.” Every other organization doing the “work” does this—and in a big way! This also “deceitfully” attracts and keeps brethren where the Work is done very, VERY negligently! Organizations that believe false doctrines invariably teach them within their “Work”! And make no mistake. This greatly limits who might be genuinely converted as a result. But those relative few who are would always eventually be brought to the unified Body of Christ, or would lose God’s Spirit if they will not come—and this is exactly what Mr. Armstrong taught. THE TRUE CHURCH and “ANOINT YOUR EYES” clarify this.

Ask again: Why did Christ say, “You shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man be come” (Matt. 10:23), if none are striving to do this just prior to His Return? It can only mean that there are people trying to cover Israel with the gospel and the special warning to her, until the Tribulation. This verse did not change or go away with the death of Mr. Armstrong.

Prayer Is Work!

God’s people are to always pray “effectually” and “fervently” (James. 5:16) for more “laborers” in the harvest (Matt. 9:38). Take a moment to review this latter passage. Consider it carefully. If there is no remaining Work to be done, then God’s people no longer need to really work in prayer about it. Remember, the Work is work. Effectual, fervent prayers (about anything) are WORK. Also, God’s people have to be “laborers/workers” in this way for His Work.

Referenced earlier, many understand the labor—the very REAL WORK!—that this kind of prayer represents, and will no longer put in the required time and effort to do it. We saw that their focus turns entirely to themselves and getting salvation for self. They would rather pray about themselves—their growth, their development, theirproblems, their needs, their wants, their families—and their salvation. In theory, if carried to the extreme, such people might even conclude that if more laborers were called to join in the work of the harvest, then at the resurrection these new converts would take “cities” (Luke 19:11-27) away from those set on getting salvation.

Also referenced earlier, most today have also forgotten almost all semblance of sacrificing financially for the Work. Yet, virtually 100 percent of Mr. Armstrong’s Brethren/Co-Worker Letters spoke of this—using the most urgent of terms. But with time, now shorter than ever, those with real urgency to sacrifice have never been harder to find.

Make yourself see through all this lazy, deceitful human reasoning. The devil has carefully designed it to keep more people from being reached with the truth—and the truth of the gospel—so that they can achieve the Sonship in God’s Family that he knows he can never have. Of course Satan wants you confused.

Jesus declared, “I and My Father WORK” (John 5:17). A true Christian is one who copies Jesus Christ (I Pet. 2:21) and the Father (Matt. 5:48). Jesus also said, “My meat [food] is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).

How many remember this passage—and connect it to how our food must also be to finish God’s Work?

If You Cease Doing the Work...

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