THE WORLD DOES NOT realize that the GOVERNMENT OF GOD once ruled over the earth. God’s Government does rule the UNIVERSE!
Angels inhabited this earth before MAN. As RULER over the UNIVERSE, God set a throne on the earth, and placed the super archangel Lucifer on that throne to administer GOD’S Government over the earth.
But Lucifer rebelled. He led his angels into rebellion – a third of all the angels. Chaos, destruction came to the face of the earth. Lucifer became SATAN, His angels became demons.
In six days God RENEWED the face of the earth (Ps. 104:30). God set out to REPRODUCE HIMSELF THROUGH MAN!
On the 6th day of this re-creation, God formed MAN of the dust of the ground, out of matter. The MAN, Adam, was composed of matter. But God formed him and his wife with human MINDS – capable of absorbing knowledge, and of reasoning and making decisions.
God gave Adam the opportunity to SIT ON Lucifer’s throne – IF Adam, fully instructed by God, would reject the ways of Satan, and accept GOD’S WAY – that of GOD’S LAW! But Adam rebelled against God, and chose to go HIS OWN WAY – not realizing, perhaps, he and his human race would be led and swayed by Satan.
God pronounced sentence on the man and through him on MANKIND! Man was CUT OFF from access to God – all except the VERY FEW God would specially call for special service preparing for the KINGDOM OF GOD, to be ruled by the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, to be established after 6,000 years.
Some 4,000 years later, the SECOND Adam, Jesus Christ, came to earth, born of the human virgin Mary. He overcame Satan, chose the GOVERNMENT OF GOD, based on the LAW OF GOD. But He was not to take over the throne of the earth until the end of 6,000 years. He raised up His Church, with the GOVERNMENT OF GOD ruling IN THE CHURCH. Satanic persecution drove the Church virtually underground, and the Gospel Message proclaimed by Jesus Christ was suppressed and not proclaimed to the world for approximately 1900 years.
Now we are near the end of the 6,000 years. Christ is soon to come and set up the KINGDOM OF GOD and rule all the earth once again with the GOVERNMENT OF GOD!
Forty-six years ago, God raised up Herbert W. Armstrong, opening his mind to GOD’S TRUTH, using him as Christ’s instrument in raising up the present era of the CHURCH OF GOD. Through Mr. Armstrong, Jesus Christ RESTORED THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD – not, of course, yet over the world, but over the Church – as the ONLY PLACE ON EARTH where the GOVERNMENT OF GOD is administered, preparing for the SOON-COMING OF CHRIST IN SUPREME POWER AND GLORY TO SET UP THE KINGDOM OF GOD OVER ALL THE EARTH!
Jesus Christ is coming this second time TO HIS TEMPLE. The CHURCH OF GOD is to grow “unto a holy TEMPLE in the Lord” (Eph. 2:21) – the TEMPLE to which Christ shall come. Christ set GOD’S GOVERNMENT in the Church.
But today the Church is composed of HUMANS, subject to human error – though humans chosen and led by CHRIST (as was David – a man after His own heart – who corrected his mistakes) will likewise correct errors when led to see them by Christ.
The present era of the Church of God started small – 19 newly-converted members. The Work of God, however, GREW. Some mistakes were naturally made, but corrected when Christ revealed them.
Ambassador College was founded in 1947. After a few years a number of small local churches were growing up, ministered by ordained graduates of Ambassador College.
In those early days I used Raymond Cole, a pioneer student, as a “trouble-shooter,” to restore peace where frictions had developed. He set up an office at Big Sandy, Texas. I moved him to Pasadena. Soon he moved to Eugene, Oregon. It was becoming extremely difficult for him to direct the growing ministry from there.
A CAD (Church Administration Department) was set up in Pasadena, with Roderick C. Meredith administering the department.
By about 1971 my son, Garner Ted Armstrong, had removed Mr. Meredith from that office, sent him to England as Dean of the Faculty, and installed David Antion as Director of the Ministry. This was a mistake, but not then recognized. It became apparent by 1974 that David Antion had gone too far.
A conspiracy was growing among certain of the ministers to bolt the Church of God, or, they hoped, through David Antion and Albert Portune at Headquarters, to simply TAKE OVER the Church of God. The conspiracy was thwarted. But Mr. Antion decided his LOYALTIES were with the ministers, not the Apostle Christ had raised up and used in BUILDING the Church.
The ministerial revolt, however, resulted in some 35 ministers leaving the Church, and taking two or three thousand members with them.
Mr. Armstrong succeeded in persuading Mr. Antion to stay with the church. A small few of the revolters formed what they called “The Associated Church of God,” with headquarters in or near Washington, D.C. A few ministers took a portion of their local members with them, each forming his own little local church. However it all came to naught. GOD was not IN this revolt. God was in HIS CHURCH, and in a few months God added to His Church more new members than the number who went out.
My son, Garner Ted, about this time began his own conspiracy to TAKE OVER the Church – and if his father did not oblige him by dying, to put Herbert W. Armstrong into retirement. Ted brought four or five men in from the field to work on a peer basis with Wayne Cole in supervision over the ministry.
After a period of time Mr. Cole managed to eliminate the others. Mr. Cole managed to set himself up as “the head” of the Ministry.
When some of his personal aberrations became known, he was dispatched to Canada and Garner Ted put Ron Dart in as “head” of the ministry. He was to a great extent a “Yes-man” to Garner Ted, and Ted’s conspiracy to take over the Church – by cutting his father off from the ministry, and by taking authority never delegated to him in two areas – Policy setting, and doctrine.
Ted and others had lobbied aggressively to get the college accredited. I refused for some time, saying it would be impossible to achieve accreditation and keep it GOD’S college. Their persistence, assuring me we could achieve accreditation and still keep it God’s college, finally caused me to say, “Go ahead, then.”
Result? A number of PhD’s from various universities were brought into the college, and the Big Sandy student body was moved to Pasadena. Bible truth was being rapidly watered down and permissiveness escalated. God Almighty and Jesus Christ were virtually thrown out of the college – and were rapidly being thrown out of the Church:
During these years from 1970 on, I was overseas a great deal of the time – even up to 300 out of the 365 days of the year. Garner Ted had threatened ministers, or those who knew what was going on, with being fired if they communicated to me what was being done.
There came to be a total lack of response from ministers when I repeated requests during 1975 and thereafter. I was being SHUT OUT of all authority in the Church Christ had used me in starting and building.
Ministers were crying for more and more watering down of truths Christ had put into His Church through His Apostle. For example, a number of ministers either had never been really converted, or had slipped so far from Christ by lack of prayer, that it was too embarrassing for them to anoint and pray for healing. They were demanding that healing be eliminated.
Meanwhile, in these same years, a small group of self-professed “intellectuals” were busy preparing the STP (Systematic Theology Project).
I had repeatedly asked ministers or members to contact me personally on problems in the field – but my requests fell on deaf ears.
Mr. Dart was sent away by Ted to Texas on a sabbatical for further study at the University of Texas. Garner Ted then brought C. Wayne Cole back as “head of the ministry.” He was Ted’s tool, working with Dr. Robert Kuhn and the “intellectuals.” Ministers who should have been fired were left in. Mr. Cole always has worked to keep people “friendly” to him. As the ancient prophet Eli was condemned and punished by God for allowing his sinning sons to remain in the priesthood, so ministers who should have been eliminated were left in. Mr. Cole would offend no one. After Garner Ted was put out of the Church, Mr. Cole did all he could to keep disqualified ministers loyal to him personally, building power for himself.
What has happened, through the years? A power bloc has developed in the Work – a power bloc headed by these various “heads of the ministry” – of ministers that were NOT loyal to Christ or His Apostle, but to the one using politics at Pasadena.
When the massive invasion by the State of California struck the Church on January 3rd, Mr. Wayne Cole and Mr. David Antion called me on a telephone conference call – with both of them on the phone. They raised their voices to me, DEMANDING that I fire Mr. Stanley Rader, and allow the attorney who brought this evil suit against us to select our defense attorney. This was the last straw. I immediately disfellowshipped both from the Church. It has developed also what I felt sure of – Mr. Wayne Cole was “IN” on this whole conspiracy to bring on the unconstitutional attack by the State of California. Only he kept his name out of it.
In the emergency, I set Mr. Roderick Meredith as head of the ministry until I could decide how to eliminate this POWER BLOC by having a man as “head of the ministry” – which is virtually the same as being head of the Church and the entire Work. Such an office simply does not belong in God’s Church.
Therefore I am ABOLISHING that office entirely. Christ’s Apostle is the human head over the ministry, and MUST NOT BE CUT OFF FROM THE MINISTERS! Mr. Meredith is being transferred back as Dean of the Faculty or Ambassador College.
Jesus Christ is the LIVING HEAD of the Worldwide Church of God, and of the College and the Foundation. I have prayed urgently and repeatedly for His guidance, and I know that I have it.
Jesus Christ has been moving swiftly the past year to SET HIS CHURCH BACK ON GOD’S TRACK! Christ’s second coming is near – and His Church is NOT yet ready. Christ is moving through His Apostle to MAKE US READY!
