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Elijah : Where Are the True Prophets of God? : Part One

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ELIJAH : WHERE ARE THE TRUE PROPHETS OF GOD? : PART ONE Copyright 1994 - 2013 Endtime Prophecy Net Published On : April 4, 1998 Last Updated : May 8, 2013 Endtime Elijah Theory, Herbert W. Armstrong And Worldwide Church Of God, British-Israelism Doctrine, The Hard Work Of Being A Christian Writer, A Work Of Faith, Monopolizing The Truth, Humility In Our Understanding, Glorify The Lord In All Things, Don't Be Motivated By A Desire For Filthy Lucre, Don't Boast Beyond Your Measure, Puffed Up With Knowledge, Don't Try To Take Center Stage, Mark John Allen's Deception, Excerpts From "The Work of Elijah", One Unyielded Area In Our Lives Can Lead To Our Defeat, Satan Is Father Of Lies Within certain Christian circles, there exists the belief that in the years preceding the Second Coming of Christ, a mighty Prophet of the Lord will arise in the United States of America. According to this particular school of thought, this Prophet will follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Elijah of old by exposing the sins of the religious and the political leadership of America, and of the American people in general. Similar to John the Baptist who preached in the wilderness areas of the Jordan River Valley, it is said that this Endtime Prophet will inspire the American population to repent of their sins in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. To support their misguided doctrine, the adherents of this particular belief point to certain Old Testament Scriptures which are found in the writings of the Prophet Malachi, as well as to certain verses that are found in the Gospels. Some of these verses include the following, which we will examine more closely later on in this series: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6, KJV "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." Matthew 17:11, KJV Perhaps one of the most well-known examples of this belief in an Endtime Elijah can be found in the life of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, who is the deceased founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Due to my own personal interest in anything that is related to Endtime prophecy, when I originally wrote this series, I took the time to read a considerable amount of material which had been written by Armstrong; including his final life's work entitled "Mystery of the Ages". I also visited a few websites which are dedicated to his life and ministry. I will candidly admit that I agree with some of the views which were espoused by Mr. Armstrong, although not with all of them. If one believes everything that has been written in support of this man, it would seem that he was destined for greatness within the Christian world; at least from a human perspective. Herbert W. Armstrong was born into a staunch Quaker family in or near Des Moines, Iowa on July 31, 1892. Without going into a great amount of detail, once Armstrong reached early adulthood, he entered the advertising business where he became quite successful. However, due to several serious setbacks -- such as the Great Depression of 1929 -- all of his hard work eventually came to nought. Some people view these events as God's Hand working in his life to prepare him for the ministry ahead. That ministry began in earnest in the year 1934, following his conversion and several years of theological training. During those years, Mr. Armstrong embraced certain doctrines which would later form a part of the British-Israelism doctrine. Lord willing, I may discuss this doctrine in another article at a future date. While Mr. Armstrong's ministry found its humble beginnings in the state of Oregon, U.S.A., by the time of his death fifty-two years later, the various outreach branches of his ministry had reached millions of people the world over with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Herbert W. Armstrong's life and ministry came to a peaceful end on January 16, 1986 when he died in his sleep at the age of ninety-three. As you will learn when I publish the aforementioned article concerning British-Israelism, Mr. Armstrong firmly believed that the United States of America is the modern-day parallel to Israel -- that is, the land between the two seas -- and that many of the physical blessings which were promised to Abraham, have found their completion in America, as well as in other nations which form a part of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic world. It is upon this foundation that he then launched into his belief concerning a great American Prophet named Elijah. Tragically, prior to his death, with the encouragement of some of his followers, it appears that Mr. Armstrong was actually led to believe that he was this Endtime Elijah. In my view, it seems that similar to other men of God who have gone astray, Mr. Armstrong was simply tricked by Satan into yielding to his own pride and vanity. Exactly where and when this began to occur, I honestly do not know. However, the following quote taken from a letter dated August 23, 1984, clearly shows the spirit of exclusivity which had already taken hold in his heart: ----- Begin Quote ----- "Brethren and Co-Workers, God wants that world to hear the message -- if only as a witness. We have delivered that message -- and we only! . We have served God faithfully -- and are the only voice in a lost and doomed world shouting out God's message." ----- End of Quote ----- While I can truly appreciate and respect Mr. Armstrong's fervent dedication to the cause of Christ, when one begins to make such claims of being the only person with the right message -- that is, to be God's only Endtime voice -- then I believe that it is wise to examine their belief system with a great deal of caution, prayer and consultation with the Word of God. Just over a year later, on September 12, 1985, and only a few short months before his decease, Armstrong also wrote the following remarks in a letter to a co-worker which further reveals the self-aggrandizement to which he had sadly succumbed: ----- Begin Quote ----- "Since last December I have been working diligently on the largest and most important book of my life. In fact, I feel I myself did not write it. Rather, I believe God used me in writing it. I candidly feel it may be the most important book since the Bible . The Bible itself is a mystery to nearly all people. God and the nature of God -- what God is like -- God's purpose -- have been a mystery. No religion on earth has ever truly understood just who and what God really is . This new book, Mystery of the Ages, unveils all these mysteries. It puts the many different parts of the 'jigsaw puzzle' together." ----- End of Quote ----- Being a Christian writer myself, I honestly understand the degree of hard work and devotion that Armstrong applied to his writing ministry. It requires a great deal of patience, perseverance, inspiration and vision to sit at the keyboard day after day in what is for many Christian writers a rather lonely and thankless job. Sometimes we never even meet the people to whom we are ministering. We have absolutely no idea exactly how far and how wide our words are traveling; or how much of an effect we may be having upon the lives of other people. It is really a work of faith in large part. However, this job is not without its rewards; not only in the next life, but in this life as well. It gives us great joy and personal satisfaction to know that we are faithfully feeding God's sheep day after day. Not only that, but it is in feeding others that we ourselves are likewise nourished and fed by the Lord. Personally, I am always getting excited and thrilled by the things which are revealed to me through God's Word. There is nothing like it. I have no doubt that this is the Lord's calling for my life at this present time. Whether it will be in the future, I honestly do not know; for as the Apostle James wrote: "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." James 4:13-15, KJV The main point is this: None of us has the right to claim a monopoly on the truth of the Word of God, as Mr. Armstrong did. For a person, organization or church to boast that this is the very first time that a particular Biblical truth is being properly understood and explained -- as so many modern Internet-based writers foolishly do -- seems quite ludicrous to me. As I explain in the article entitled "Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word", we all need to remain humble before the Lord.
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