How to Recognize God’s Only Work

God continues to discuss His Church, or Zion (Isaiah 29:8). “Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink” (verse 9). God is addressing His own Church. His people were sober, but they got drunk—and not on wine or strong drink. They became spiritually drunk. Only God’s own Church could get drunk. Only His people have ever been sober in this world. The whole world has always been drunk (Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

“For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered” (Isaiah 29:10). This is another way that God reveals that He has removed His lamp (Revelation 2:5). Their eyes were open. Then God “closed” them. God “covered” the eyes of the Church leaders, whose eyes were once uncovered. This verse is discussing a colossal change in God’s own Church! It is the worst possible disaster to strike God’s own people. They “are perishing,” as the Greek reads in 2 Thessalonians 2:10. They are dying spiritually! They have fallen away from God’s truth. They have passed from light into darkness!

“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed” (Isaiah 29:11). Their vision of prophetic understanding is gone. They now say “prophesy not.”

The Bible has become a sealed book to the Laodiceans. It was unsealed, but now it is sealed. This is the ultimate catastrophe!

When Mr. Armstrong died, God stopped revealing the Bible to the Worldwide Church of God. God also is not revealing His truth to any of those churches that left the wcg, except the Philadelphia Church of God. And that includes those churches that still teach quite a lot of what Mr. Armstrong taught. Look at any of the Laodicean churches and compare them with the pcg. You can absolutely prove what I am writing.

God has given new revelation in every book or booklet I have written that is published today. That includes the major prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. God has revealed new truth to us from all of the minor prophets and the former prophets, as well as from Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, the Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Daniel, Matthew 24, the Gospel of John, Colossians, James, Peter’s epistles, John’s epistles, Jude, Revelation and other books.

Does the wcg have any new revelation since Mr. Armstrong died? No. Do the other Laodicean churches? A resounding no! You need to know why! “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). It is so obvious to whom God has revealed His secret! It is so obvious, it’s shocking.

One evangelist of the Living Church of God said the minor prophets were mainly history. He did not learn that from Mr. Armstrong! Here is a quote from the Worldwide News, March 6, 1981, by Mr. Armstrong about Haggai 2:6-7 (the words in brackets are Mr. Armstrong’s, not mine): “‘For thus says the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land [What’s He talking about? He’s not talking about the time in which Zerubbabel lived: He’s talking about our time; this was a prophecy. Haggai is not a book of history, it’s a book of prophecy]; And I will shake all nations [He hasn’t done that yet. He didn’t do that in Zerubbabel’s day. Zerubbabel lived about a little over 500 years before Christ], and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts’” (emphasis mine).

Mr. Armstrong said that Haggai is not a book of history. It’s a book of prophecy. He said the same about all the major and minor prophets. But if Laodicean leaders can reject the revelation from these prophetic books, then they can easily reject God’s greatest revelation to the pcg—Malachi’s Message!

What does it mean when an evangelist says the major and minor prophets are mainly history? It is dishonoring those prophets and God. Let’s try to be logical. A cook cooks. A trucker trucks. An engineer engineers. And a prophet prophesies! That’s what his job is all about, and over 90 percent of Bible prophecy is for this end time. God is simply not revealing His prophecies to the Laodiceans.

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13). They draw near to God with their mouth—they talk a lot about God. But their heart is far from God. They are following men—not God.

There are two Zions discussed in this chapter. One Zion is doing a powerful and wondrous work. “Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid” (verse 14).

Our continually expanding Work would be worthless if we weren’t teaching God’s inspiring prophecy and revelation! Only those people who don’t thoroughly understand their Bibles will fail to see that. The difference between any Laodicean church and the pcg is the difference between God’s Work and a man’s work!

And whoever is a part of a man’s work—regardless of what he teaches—is headed for the frightening Great Tribulation! No man can prevent that.

The Story of Urijah

Some of God’s people in this end time do not see any significance in supporting the right work. Another Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, wrote about a man who was apparently teaching much of the same truth as he was, but was not supporting God’s Work.

“And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah: And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death” (Jeremiah 26:20-24).

Remember, these are prophecies mainly for the end time. There will be Urijahs who will rise up today also! Urijah prophesied in God’s name and against Jerusalem and Judah. But there is no indication he was working with Jeremiah. He probably wanted his own following instead of supporting God’s Work through Jeremiah. That means he really lacked faith in what God was doing through Jeremiah. Some leaders who have left the wcg today proclaim many of Herbert Armstrong’s teachings, but reject the Philadelphia Church, which God raised up to succeed him! What will happen to them? They don’t have God behind them, so they will probably panic when real persecution comes. Like Urijah, they don’t stay with God and Jeremiah, but run—and it may get them killed!

They lack faith in the living God because they are not supporting His Work. God said He would raise up a work in our day that many would not believe even when told (Habakkuk 1:5). If we can’t even recognize where God’s Work is, then something is tragically lacking in our spiritual lives! It’s not enough to be preaching God’s Word and prophecies. All of us must find Christ’s true Work—there is only one—and then back and support that endeavor. Only then will you have the faith and power to stand and fight for God! God will support you only as you support Him and His Work!

Jeremiah didn’t run. He was imprisoned, then released, by the enemy, Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon.

That could happen to some of God’s people in the end time. The point is, we must know where God’s Work is and never leave it. God will always take care of His loyal people.

Many people know about God’s Word and prophecies in the end time. But that is not the big issue. The only vision that will save us from physical destruction is knowing where Christ and His Work are—then following that Work! Only then are you walking by living faith. You must back and support God’s Work, or you could get yourself killed in this end time. God only supports us if we support His Work.

Philadelphians Have an Open Door

Only the Philadelphians have an open door. All of God’s people must follow the man God uses to walk through that door. “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (Revelation 3:7-8).

God reveals His prophecy to the Philadelphians. They have the key of David. That key revolves around Mr. Armstrong’s book The United States and Britain in Prophecy. The pcg continues to publish the very text that God inspired only Mr. Armstrong to write. Nobody else was commissioned by God to write The United States and Britain in Prophecy!

The United States and Britain in Prophecy is available to all of the Laodiceans. But they either reject it or want to produce their own uninspired version!

There is a major reason why God has given the pcg an open door. We accept all of the truths God restored through Mr. Armstrong (Matthew 17:10-11). And that includes the number one restored truth—God’s government, based on God’s law.

As long as we submit to God’s government, God will continue to open doors for us. The Bible will remain unsealed. God will continue to do a “marvellous work and a wonder”!

Continue Reading: Chapter 11: Laodiceans Asleep