That Dog Won't Hunt!

In the comments which followed my post The Linchpin of Armstrongism, some of the commentators brought up the fact that I am a celibate homosexual. For my regular readers, it will come as no surprise that I have always regarded my celibacy and faithfulness to God and my family as a tremendous source of moral authority for the things that I write about spiritual/theological issues. Hence, as part of my response to this mention, I wrote: "Perhaps, if Herbert Armstrong hadn't been such a narcissist and pervert, his teachings would carry more moral authority."

This statement provoked the following anonymous comment: "Earlier above, you excoriated HWA again for being such a 'narcissist and pervert' (doubting his conversion and believing the allegations against him, while calling yourself a redeemed one), and that if it hadn't been for that, 'his teachings would have carried more moral authority.' I detect a spirit of bitterness here. You don't know that Christ had him teach the truth for over 50 years, that many watched the WT and read the PT, and that attendance reached 140,000 until the apostasy set in? (to which you give assent if you disparage the law) His teachings did carry high moral authority from the Lord and led to many conversions (to which you have attested). Even after the trials and turmoil of the 70s, after all the allegations that he faced, he survived it until '86 when the church was still flourishing. If it was a work of men (which it began to be under the JWT's watch '93-'95), it would have come to nothing."

I completely understand where this person is coming from - once upon a time, I thought the same way. Like many of the folks who read this blog, I swallowed what Herbie was selling hook, line, and sinker! I believed that God had revealed THE TRUTH to that old guy, and that God had opened my mind to believe what He had revealed to Herbie. Later, however, I came to see that all that glitters is not gold - that there were a lot of holes in Herbie's "truth." I discovered that Herbie's dissertations on history and science were full of inaccuracies. Moreover, I eventually realized that many of his "prooftexts" had been taken out of context, and that his knowledge of the Bible and Christian theology was very superficial.

Finally, after an extensive reevaluation of Herbie's teachings, I came to understand that God had NOT worked through Mr. Armstrong. Indeed, it became very clear to me that he had twisted history, science, Scripture, research, and the thought process itself. Armstrong claimed that he had figured out God's plans, recovered First Century Christianity, and found the key to understanding prophecy. Sadly, it turned out that he didn't understand very much at all!

Then, I began learning more about the man himself - his character - his very real and glaring weaknesses and failures as a person. I talked to people who knew him personally and had worked with him. I reread his autobiography, and I saw things there that I had overlooked or ignored the first time I had read it. Herbert had written that his sister-in-law had been "indoctrinated" with the theory of evolution; and that she had called him "ignorant," because he had expressed his belief in Divine creation. The account continued:

"That accusation came hot on the heels of this Sabbath challenge from my wife. Of course, Hertha was only about 19, and had had but her freshman year in college. She was yet immature enough to be a bit oversold on what had been presented to her as a mark of intellectual distinction. Nevertheless, her manner was cutting, and a bit sarcastic, and 1 accepted it as a challenge. 'Hertha,' 1 responded, 'I am just starting a study of the Bible. I intend to include in this research a thorough study of the Biblical account of creation. Since it is admittedly one of the two - evolution or special creation - I will include an in-depth study of evolution. I feel sure that a thorough study into both sides will show that it is you who are ignorant, and that you merely studied one side of a two-sided question in freshman biology, and accepted what was funnelled into your mind without question. And if and when I do, I'm going to make you EAT those words!'" (spelling and punctuation were Herbert's)

Allow me to point out the things which I hadn't noticed the first time I read this passage. Notice that Herbie was responding to challenges from his wife and sister-in-law. Notice also that he disparaged his sister-in-law's college coursework (Mr. Armstrong did NOT have a college background of his own). He then proceeded to announce that he would launch his own independent study of science and the Bible, and that the results would be definitive. Finally, he told his sister-in-law that he would make her "eat those words." It hit me like a ton of bricks. This man was a classic narcissist! He was the smartest tool in the shed, and everybody else was inferior to him in intellect! This would become even clearer as Herbie continued the account of his life.

He wrote: "Most believers in the Bible and in the existence of God have probably just grown up believing it, because they were reared in an atmosphere where it was believed. But perhaps few ever studied into it deeply enough to obtain irrefutable PROOF. Likewise, the 'educated,' who have gone on through college or university, have, in the main, been taught the theory of evolution as a BELIEF. They have accepted it, in all probability, without having given any serious or thorough study of the Biblical claims." No one had studied the subject like Herbert Armstrong intended to study it! Look out "Darwin, Haeckel, Spencer, Huxley, and Vogt, Herbie was about to give those so-called intellectual giants the what for!

Even though Armstrong admitted that he was self-educated, he was going to challenge scientists and biblical scholars alike. He was going to get to the "truth" that no one else had been able to discover or discern! Even though he didn't have any training in research techniques and methods, he would ferret out the answers that had alluded all others! He continued:

I began this intensified study by obtaining everything I could find in the way of books, pamphlets and other literature both for and against what was often called 'the Jewish Sabbath.' I wanted, not only everything I could lay hands on, on the case for Sunday, and against the 7th-day Sabbath. I wanted, also, the arguments or proponents for it, which I hoped to be able honestly to refute. At the same time, I found, in the Portland Public Library, many scientific works either directly on evolution, or teaching in textbooks on biology, paleontology, and geology. Also I found books by scientists and doctors of philosophy puncturing many holes in the evolutionary hypothesis. Strangely, even the critics of evolution, being themselves scientific men, paradoxically accepted the very theory they so ably refuted."

Apparently, no one ever informed Mr. Armstrong that all sources are NOT created equal, or that some arguments are superior to others. It also appears that no one ever told him that a university library would be better for this kind of research than a public library - that he would have access to more of the latest thinking on any given subject in a university library than he would in a local public library. In Herbert's mind, his research was the most intensive that had ever been undertaken. His study would settle these questions for all time!

In addition to these personal revelations about Armstrong's narcissism and intellectual prowess, it was about this time that my father informed me about a conversation that he had had with Garner Ted Armstrong - before the masseuse and his messy exit from the Church of God International. To my shock and horror, GTA had confirmed to him that the rumors were true about his father's incestuous relationship with his sister! Prior to this, I had always dismissed the rumors and refused to look into the matter. I had assumed it was just sour grapes and character assassination. After my dad's bombshell, however, I became aware of the fact that there was a substantial body of circumstantial evidence which supported the accusation. So, Herbert Armstrong was a narcissist and an incestuous pedophile! He had also clearly divorced his second wife - it was a matter of public record. He wasn't even qualified to be a minister of Jesus Christ - let alone to be called an "apostle"!

In light of everything I had learned, it became clear to me that God had NEVER used Herbert Armstrong to reveal anything to anybody! "What about the success of the Worldwide Church?" my friends who were still entangled in Herbie's web of lies demanded. After all, Herbie had always pointed to PT circulation numbers, radio and television stations broadcasting The World Tomorrow, Ambassador College, and Ambassador IC Foundation, and income as proof that God was blessing his leadership of The Work. What we were never told, however, was that the Mormon Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses had an even greater reach and impact than we did. In fact, it turns out that financial and publishing success are NOT indicators of Divine favor! Bottom line, my apologies to the commentator referenced above - that dog won't hunt!

Keeping the Feast of Tabernacles in the Kingdom!

Herbert Armstrong and his followers have used a passage from the prophet Zechariah to "prove" that people will still be observing the Feast of Tabernacles after Christ returns. In that book, we read: "Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths." (Zechariah 14:16-19, ESV) Well, what about it? Does this passage prove that Christians should be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths?

This post will demonstrate that Armstrong and his followers have completely ignored the context of this passage of Scripture and have misapplied and misinterpreted it so that they can use it in the capacity of one of their "prooftexts" for their contention that Christians are still obligated to observe certain provisions of Torah. Hence, we will examine the context of this passage within the book of Zechariah, and in the broader context of other passages which deal with the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths. In other words, we will use the whole Bible approach to properly understand this passage and demonstrate that Armstrong completely misunderstood and misapplied the meaning and import of this prophecy.

First, we must look at this passage's context within the book of Zechariah. Thus, backing up a few verses from the passage in question, we read: "Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one." (Zechariah 14:1-9, ESV) Notice, that this is clearly referring to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth.

In the New Testament, we are informed that Christ and his apostles gathered on the Mount of Olives prior to his ascension to heaven. We read: "So when they had come together, they asked him, 'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.' Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away." (Acts 1:6-12, ESV) Thus, the two men in white robes confirmed Zechariah's prophecy of long ago - that someday Christ would return to the Mount of Olives to establish his kingdom over the entire earth.

This, of course, is also consistent with Christ's own statement that he came to this earth to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). Indeed, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are literally chocked-full of references to Christ doing just that - fulfilling the Law and the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible. As we have mentioned many times here, Christ and his apostles used the Hebrew Bible to teach people about HIM - they were the ONLY Scriptures available to them at the time (the New Testament had NOT been written yet)! In the Gospel of John, we read that "Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'" (John 1:45, ESV) In the Gospel of Luke, we are informed that Christ told his disciples: "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:44-47, ESV)

Likewise, the Apostle Paul wrote to the saints of Colossae: "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (Colossians 2:8-17, ESV) The NLT renders that last passage: "For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality." In other words, the Sabbaths, festivals, and new moons pointed to Christ.

Now, we know that in ancient times, the Feast of Temporary Dwellings/Tabernacles/Booths memorialized the time that the children of Israel had wandered in the wilderness - living in temporary shelters, and the ingathering of the fall harvest in the Promised Land. What does that have to do with Jesus of Nazareth and his ministry? 

In the Gospel of John, we read: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14, KJV) According to Blue Letter Bible, the Greek word translated here into English as "dwelt" literally means "to fix one's tabernacle, have one's tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle"! Notice how this same passage appears in some of the other English translations of the Bible: "So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." (NLT) "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (NIV) "And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth." (YLT, Young's Literal Translation) So, like the Jews of old, this Jew from Nazareth temporarily pitched his tent/booth among his people!

Likewise, in the epistle to the Hebrews, we read that Jesus was "for a little while" made lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9, ESV). Continuing, in that same passage, we read: "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:14-18, ESV) Just like us, Jesus Christ tabernacled in the same flesh and blood, temporary dwelling, that each of us as humans currently inhabit!

Interestingly, the temporary nature of our current dwellings is a recurring theme in Scripture. Paul wrote to the saints at Corinth about the salvation that they had through Jesus Christ though it was currently contained in "jars of clay" (II Corinthians 4:7, ESV). A little later, in the same letter, he wrote: "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." (II Corinthians 5:1, NIV) In similar fashion, Peter wrote this about salvation through Jesus Christ: "Wherefore, I will not be careless always to remind you concerning these things, though, having known them, and having been established in the present truth, and I think right, so long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up in reminding [you], having known that soon is the laying aside of my tabernacle, even as also our Lord Jesus Christ did shew to me, and I will be diligent that also at every time ye have, after my outgoing, power to make to yourselves the remembrance of these things." (II Peter 1:12-15, YLT)

Alright, we've addressed the symbolism of the temporary dwelling, but what about the harvest aspect of this festival? Jesus equated his work in some of his parables to the harvest (see the Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Weeds). In the Gospel of Matthew, we read: "And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'" (Matthew 9:35-38, ESV) Over and over again, Christ portrayed himself as a crop farmer or shepherd of flocks who expected his work to bear fruit or produce a harvest. After all, Scripture even referred to Jesus as the first of the first fruits of the great harvest!

Hence, as we have demonstrated that this festival pointed to Jesus Christ, we are ready to return to the passage in question and give it another look. In the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah, we read: "In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain. If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the Lord will punish them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go. Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they don’t go to celebrate the Festival of Shelters." (Zechariah 14:16-19, NLT) Notice, that I chose to use the New Living Translation of this passage, because I believe it better conveys the intent of the Hebrew verb "hagag" which indicates celebrating rather than simply keeping or observing a day or time. Moreover, this same Hebrew verb is used in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus to describe THIS festival - that the Israelites were expected to celebrate it (the same terminology is not used of the other festivals listed there).

Thus, when we put all of this together, Zechariah is clearly predicting a time when the whole earth will celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ tabernacled in the flesh and inaugurated the great harvest which will then be in full swing! Notice again, the language which the prophet used in this passage: (they) "will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters." In other words, worshipping the king is considered an integral part of this particular celebration. Hence, we must conclude that Zechariah is referring to a celebration of Jesus Christ and what he has done for the whole earth, rather than a simple resurrection of the physical observance of one of the festivals of Torah! In short, this prediction is much more profound and meaningful than anything Herbert Armstrong or his followers ever imagined!

Thank you, Lord!

I am happy to announce that my extended family is finally free of the pernicious influence of Pastor Bill Watson of Medina, Ohio. True to form, over time, Bill showed his true colors to them and demonstrated that he was no friend to my deceased father or his offspring. Of course, my father's widow continues to associate with Bill and Marge and attend their Church (she hasn't spoken to me since my father's death). Even so, all of my father's progeny are now free of Bill's ministry. Hence, going forward, I will not be as interested in what Mr. Watson has to say, write, or do. For the sake of my own audience and the people who are still under his sway, I will continue to monitor his website from time to time and report on any outrageous developments from that direction, but my own kin and loved ones are FREE!