As a member of God’s Church, what time do you think it is? Not the specific time of day, month or year, but in terms of prophetic time.
God promises to keep His people informed concerning the times they are living in.
“Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret (counsel) to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
“For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what His thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth—The Lord God of hosts is His name” (Amos 4:13).
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I will tell you of them” (Isa. 42:9).
Where is God’s Church now, in the timeline of prophetic events leading to the blowing of the 7th trumpet?
The reason for not knowing
Today, much of God’s Church is spiritually incapable of receiving God’s secret counsel. Christ provides the reason why in Revelation 3:16-17.
“So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will (about to) vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked”
The final era of God’s Church does not understand the times it is living in today. God’s people have allowed themselves to become spiritually blind. This is something every member of God’s Church should be very concerned about.
God’s Word provides an exact explanation about the time God’s people are living in now. Through a sequential order of prophetic events, every member of God’s Church can know what time it is.
Sequence of events
1) God’s Church is in its final era, called Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22). This era began with the death of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, 31 years ago.
2) Mr. Armstrong’s death was the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24:14.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached (proclaimed) in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.”
On many occasions, Mr. Armstrong stated the commission of Matthew 24:14 was given to him, only.
In a letter to the brethren, dated May 16, 1977, Mr. Armstrong wrote:
“But, as I wrote you in the letter read on April 27, God committed to me in July, 1933, Christ’s great commission—to take Christ’s gospel announcement to the whole world for a witness to all nations.”
In another letter, dated January 28, 1979, he wrote the following:
“Christ has called and chosen His Apostle for this end-time job of the Great Commission!”
The main reason God’s Church doesn’t understand what time it is today, is because it fails to acknowledge the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 through Mr. Armstrong.
Men within God’s Church today, who claim the gospel must still be taken to the world have not been chosen and sent forth by Christ to do so.
3) Following the death of Mr. Armstrong came the falling away from God’s Truth by His Church (I Thes. 2:1a, 3a).
“Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,”
This could only happen after the Philadelphia era of God’s Church was over. It explains why Christ told the remaining members of Philadelphia to “hold fast” (Rev. 3:10-11) throughout the final era of Laodicea.
Please view M24S video titled “The Falling Away” for a thorough explanation about this significant prophetic event, applying to God’s Church.
4) The falling away has created a famine of the hearing of God’s Word (Amos 8:11). This has contributed to the spiritual lukewarm condition of God’s Church today.
“Behold the days are coming, says the Lord God, That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord.”
There is an incorrect view within God’s Church that this verse refers to a shortage of God’s Word. But notice the shortage is not of God’s Word, but in God’s people willing to listen to it.
When Amos writes, “Behold the days are coming,” it is vital to realize “the days” have now arrived.
Understand, the gospel message of God’s Kingdom has gone out as a witness to the nations of this world. That message was rejected by the world and now many within God’s Church are rejecting it too.
The famine of hearing God’s Word occurs between the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14 and the start of Great Tribulation.
Today, God’s people are in the midst of the famine “of hearing the words of the Lord.” If they weren’t Christ would not describe their spiritual condition as “lukewarm.”
This is what time it is for God’s Church today!
Ears to hear?
The Bible makes numerous reference concerning the importance of hearing God’s Word and living by it.
To Laodiceans, Christ says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3:22).
“But he who received the seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty” (Matt. 13:23).
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).
In one of his final letters, dated December 9, 1985, Mr. Armstrong summed up what God’s people should be doing in these end-times.
“I hope you will all realize the seriousness of the time in which we live and that nothing is important any longer than to be close to God and assured of a place in His soon-coming Kingdom.”
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”