Dear Members and Friends:
When Jesus Christ was asked by three of His disciples about the future and the sign of His coming and the end of this present age, He responded by warning them not to be deceived.
At first, He was addressing His disciples who were alive at that time (Matthew 24:4: “Take heed that no one deceives YOU”), and indeed, by the time Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, many had already begun to believe a false gospel (Galatians 1:6-8), and by the time he wrote the second letter to the Corinthians, many had begun to believe in another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4).
But Christ did not limit His warning to the disciples of the early New Testament Church of the first generation; He kept repeating the fact that throughout history, many would be deceived (Matthew 24:11), and that in the end time, the love of God would grow cold in many Church members (verse 12). And that even the very elect could be affected, if possible (verse 24).
Although we had been warned before, many in our former organization (the now-defunct Worldwide Church of God, referred to as “WCG”) did not take heed. After Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s death (the human leader of WCG), many, if not most, fell for devastating and false doctrines in the early 90’s and beyond. They became more and more like the rest of nominal “Christianity”… believing in all their wrong teachings; so much so that no difference could be detected anymore between them and other orthodox “Christians.”
They exemplified what the late Mr. Armstrong had emphasized so many times: That all these churches WERE wrong, and that all their substantive teachings WERE false, believing in and teaching as doctrines the commandments and traditions of men; namely, the worship on Sunday, observing Christmas and Easter, accepting the pagan doctrine of the Trinity and the “immortal soul” and the nebulous concept of the “moral law” which had “replaced” the Ten Commandments; and, most importantly, the abolishment of God’s weekly Sabbath and His annual Holy Days.
God has given His true Church a SIGN of identity and identification: In keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths, God would recognize them as His people, and they would recognize Him as their God (Exodus 31:13, 17; Ezekiel 20:12, 20).
While the weekly Sabbath was given to and made for man (Mark 2:27), the annual Holy Days were given to ancient Israel and, by extension, to God’s Church as spiritual Israel. They set forth and explain God’s Masterplan for mankind, but at this time, only the elect understand it, and even they will forget it when they cease from keeping the Holy Days. There were times in history when God’s true Church seemed to have neglected keeping the annual Holy Days (while still adhering to the weekly Sabbath), and a muffled comprehension of God’s purpose for man had been the consequence.
When Mr. Armstrong found the Church of God Seventh Day, they did keep the Sabbath, but not the Holy Days. They did not understand anything about the House of Israel’s modern identity and all the end-time prophecies regarding it; and they only had some hazy ideas about other substantial doctrines. All of this important knowledge had to be restored, and it was.
We should be able to see that it is not impossible to lose understanding when neglecting the
observation of God’s annual Holy Days. That is why Christ tells us to endure to the end (Matthew 24:13; 10:22), and to hold fast what we have (Revelation 3:11). Many in our former organization (the WCG) did not do so; they became part of the world again.
The major doctrines which were changed at first were the wrong belief in Born Again and the Trinity (thereby rejecting the understanding as to who and what God is and what the purpose of mankind is), the commanded observance of the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days (together with doing away with tithing and allowing the consumption of unclean meat). They had thereby lost the sign of identification and confirmation that they were the people of God and that God was their God.
The true Church of God—the Body of Christ—WILL KEEP the annual Fall Holy Days this year, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets on October 3; and continuing with the Day of Atonement (a Fast Day) on October 12, the seven-day long Feast of Tabernacles (from October 17 to October 23), and the Last Great Day on October 24. During this time, God’s wonderful Masterplan will be explained and expounded upon, and as long as we observe these days in the right spirit, we WILL BE God’s people, and He WILL BE our God.
Never grow tired of this priceless knowledge and understanding; rather REJOICE that God has granted YOU to know today what is still a hidden mystery for the rest of mankind.
Wishing you a greatly rewarding Fall Festival Season!
With Christian love,
Norbert Link
