THE TRUE CHURCH ONE ORGANIZATION, OR MANY? by David C. Pack THIS BOOK IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE AND IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST BY THE RESTORED CHURCH OF GOD. It is made possible by the voluntary, freely given tithes and offerings of the mem- bers of the Church and others who have elected to support the work of the Church. Contributions are welcomed and gratefully accepted. Those who wish to voluntarily aid and support this WORK OF GOD around the world are gladly wel- comed as co-workers in this major effort to preach the gospel to all nations. Copyright © 2011-2012, 2016 by The Restored Church of God® All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America Jesus Christ built His Church nearly 2,000 years ago—and promised it would never be destroyed (Matt. 16:18)! Is this Church and Christ’s Body still a single unified organization? Or, after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986, and the proph- esied “falling away” (II Thes. 2:3), did it split into multiple organizations, groups and scat- tered individuals? Christ is not divided, but can circumstances divide His Church and Body? Do—or can—the actions of men make this possible? The Catholics, the Protestants, the WCG apostates, and the splinter leaders all have clear teachings on this subject. What did Mr. Armstrong teach— and does it align with the Bible? This book presents facts, history and the proof of Scripture. It brings plain answers! TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 7 CHAPTER ONE – LOST UNDERSTANDING ....................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO – THE CATHOLIC TEACHING ................................................. 17 CHAPTER THREE – THE PROTESTANT VIEW ...................................................... 25 CHAPTER FOUR – WHAT HERBERT ARMSTRONG TAUGHT ....................... 33 CHAPTER FIVE – THE WCG APOSTATES ........................................................... 43 CHAPTER SIX – WHAT THE SPLINTERS TEACH .......................................... 51 CHAPTER SEVEN – MORE FROM MR. ARMSTRONG ..................................... 67 CHAPTER EIGHT – PLAIN BIBLE TRUTH ............................................................. 83 CHAPTER NINE – COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................... 105 CHAPTER TEN – OBJECTIONS ........................................................................... 127 CHAPTER ELEVEN – IMPLICATIONS ....................................................................... 137 Introduction 7 INTRODUCTION his volume was written several years after the other books in the TSplinter Explanation Packet. With the passing of time it became absolutely necessary. Here is why. The United Church of God (UCG) split in the winter of 2010-11. As events played out in a long fight toward such a major split, it became clear that virtually all of God’s people had lost sight of one of the Bible’s very greatest doctrines. The public nature of the argument involved a tremendous number of “postings” from various ministers on both sides of the fight. A variety of ministers who left or who were put out of UCG posted opinions about the “problems” dividing the two sides. Personalities were mentioned and either attacked or defended. The subjects of “ethics” and “love,” among others, were invoked time and again as each side attempted to gain the high ground before the thousands of UCG members watching. Quite literally, hundreds of thousands of words were written by parties on both sides in an attempt to bring proper “focus” to what was happening, or to what would hap- pen if the problems were not addressed. The greatest issue never arose. Questions Never Asked Before and during the split, it was tacitly assumed that a “true Church” was merely dividing into two “true Churches.” Each side of course 8 THE TRUE CHURCH – One Organization, or Many? believed that it was the other side that was wrong. (When is this not the case?) Over half of UCG’s pastors, plus up to 100 local elders and retired ministers left (over half UCG’s total ordained ministers stayed)—followed by something under half the brethren. Neither side suggested, nor even believed, that those who were departing (members and ministers) were “leaving the Church”—or “leaving the Body of Christ.” And both sides certainly believed and talked as though Christ continued to be the “Head” of their organizations—old and new. Whether Christ leads either organization, or ever led UCG in the first place, seemed never to enter the public discussion. Neither then of course did which one of the two groups is the true Church—never mind did the question of whether both might not be. If even a single minister on either side was concerned about this, it never became evi- dent. And finally, neither did the question arise of where is Christ’s Church if both organizations are not! The United Church of God and the new Church of God, a Worldwide Association (COGwa) are far from the only organizations and groups that no longer understand what is God’s Church—and what is the Body of Christ. For instance, you will see that the Living Church of God (LCG) has also completely lost this towering truth, as well as virtually all of the great truths connected to it. With so much confusion surrounding this all-important understand- ing, the matter could no longer be left unaddressed. Necessary Overlap Since the subject of the true Church and Christ’s Body is discussed in a number of other parts of the Splinter Explanation Packet, there is certain overlap between this book and the material found in other splin- ter books. At the time of their writing, I did not anticipate the universal chaos that would come to reign over this subject. Considering our long-held belief while in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), no one could have anticipated this. A number of sections from the other splinter books were brought to and repeated for context within this subject. Understand why. Much of this book first appeared as an Open Letter to all of the splinters in mid- January 2011. This letter was originally posted with the belief that it would bring closure to the subject for those who still cared about what Mr. Armstrong taught, and about what the Bible teaches. However, it was immediately read by many thousands of people. The result was that it caused an uproar. It helped so many brethren in UCG, including some Introduction 9 considering going with COGwa—but it also caused many in LCG and other groups to reconsider where they were—that it became necessary to expand it into its own small book. If you are reading the other books to the splinters you will see these crucial sections repeated in different contexts there. Realize that the book has been greatly strengthened above the Open Letter with a number of additional elements having been included. If you read the letter, you should still read this book. Every Bible discussion today among God’s people should start with the single question of where is God’s Church and Christ’s Body. The subjects of God’s government, the true gospel, the Law, the Sabbath, the Holy Days, tithing, the truth of salvation, virtually all elements of proph- ecy—and every other truth in the Bible—start with, and flow directly off of, where is the Church that Jesus Christ built. Therefore, any thorough explanation bringing the truth about what is the Church that Christ built would necessarily take its place among the most central books to the splinters. Then realize that, in fact, the GOV- ERNMENT OF GOD book stands inseparable from this one. You cannot understand either one without the other. It will be obvious to the reader that the truth about either subject automatically leads to the other one— and that both of these just as automatically lead to certain other truths. Critical Thinking Almost everyone swallows what is presented to them without exercising any in-depth analysis. They do not routinely “prosecute” ideas, state- ments and “facts” for whether they are true or false. In short, they do not bring critical thinking to even the most important matters at hand— where eternal life and eternal death are at stake. Here is the best definition of critical thinking that I have seen: “Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions and assesses conclu- sions.” It is this level of thinking that is now required of you. The problem everywhere today—in the world and among God’s people? Almost no one any longer practices critical thinking! A colossal doctrine—one of the very greatest in the Bible—has been completely lost by almost all of the splinters and slivers that came out of the Worldwide Church of God. Incredibly, virtually no one even knows anything changed… CHAPTER ONE 11 LOST UNDERSTANDING esus Christ said, “I will build My Church” (Matt. 16:18). The apostle JPaul recorded, “He [Christ] is the Head of the Body, the Church” (Col. 1:18), as well as “[God] gave [Christ] to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His Body” (Eph. 1:22-23). What did Christ and Paul mean? There are only two possible positions on this: (1) Christ built one unified organization, or (2) His Church and Body does—or can under certain circumstances—consist of several or many organizations, includ- ing scattered individuals. It has finally come time—once and for all—to address this question in a comprehensive way. Once-basic understanding has been corrupted throughout the WCG offshoots today. This book clears up all confusion for those with an open mind. It brings facts, history, the proof of Scrip- ture—and PLAIN ANSWERS! Overview This volume will be like nothing you have ever read. It will examine what the Catholics teach—what the Protestants teach—and what Mr. Arm- strong taught. Then it will look at what the apostates who suckled in the lap of Protestant professors came to believe—before looking at what the splinter leaders now teach.