Blessings from the LORD God to you all, Brethren, Friends, and Co-Workers in
Christ. Now, this article is going to be on the Feast of Trumpets, which will soon
be here for this year of 2025. And it may take me a couple of days to type this
article up ── and I’m sure that sometime down the road it will become notes for a
sermon. The Feast of Trumpets and the Church.
Greetings to all this beautiful, holy Sabbath. A day that is set aside for man to keep
holy and to remember always the fact that we do have a rest day today, and that we
are looking forward to a time when all the Earth has a beautiful rest day. Hello, here in Spring Hill, Florida. And, as I just posted on our Facebook page, I had a
great Labor Day weekend. My dear brothers and sister-in-law who live here in
Florida visited over Labor Day weekend, along with my dear Sister from North
Carolina, and we had a wonderful Sunday get together. A good meal and good
fellowship.
Well, I am so happy to be able to come to you from my desk here in our office,
publish this online, and it goes to all of you throughout the world! What a
wonderful century we do live in! I do all my work, typing, along with audio and
video recording, here in this office. As I was telling my Sister, I’ll soon begin
recording new sermons. And I hope and pray that the COJCOM can grow with
many new servants of God within this year.
Truly, the LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God – which at this time consists
of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ) has opened a most wonderful door for
us, brethren ── and, I’m speaking for all of us brethren. The ability to see and hear
in this 21st century God’s living word. And, it’s not just hearing God’s truth from
just the COJCOM, but from the LORD God’s servants that are throughout the
United States and abroad. Because each of our members may be teaching in their
own style, but we are all of one body. Something that I thought about this last
Sabbath service that I had with my dear Sister from North Carolina. Watching and
studying Minister Stan Roberts ── Transcending the Ordinary. It was wonderful to
know that ICG is teaching the same as us in regards to Matthew 24:14. Speaking of
the end-time prophets – the Two Witnesses spoken of in Revelation chapter 11.
The Purpose of the Feasts of the LORD
Each year, God wants us to remind His people of His Holy Days and their purpose.
To remind us every year of the awesome meaning that these days picture.
Officially, here in Florida, fall began this last Labor Day, and we are officially in
the fall Holy Days season. The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the fall Holy
Days of 2025. In fact, the SEVENTH MONTH of the year begins this year on the
Feast of Trumpets! September 22nd in the evening till September 23rd in the evening. This holy feast has great meaning: the Feast of Trumpets. This
Holy Day should indeed remind us that the blowing of trumpets symbolizes
WARNINGS.
Sir Winston Churchill ── who was a great leader and stateman for Britain, during
World War II, once gave a statement as he spoke to the Senate, and of the House of
Representatives of the United States in 1941, “If you will allow me to use other
language, I will say that he must indeed have a blind soul who cannot see that
some great purpose and design is being worked out here below of which we have
the honor to be the faithful servants.” Well… certainly God Almighty is working
out a purpose here below. Truly, whatever the LORD God does is dual-in-nature.
As an example, there was a first Adam who was physical, and there was a second
Adam who was a quickening spirit. Everything is done dually. Another
example, there was a first Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and there will be a second ──
a final Catholic-led European civic leader (Daniel 11:39-44).
God ── and by “God” I mean Elohim, the family of God ── are reproducing
themselves. Yet, there is another great purpose, both being dual in nature. One
physical and the other spiritual. They are reinstituting the government of God upon
the planet Earth. The government of God, at one time, was to have been
established upon Earth, but it was not. It is not established as yet upon the Earth,
but the Lord GOD is in the process of reinstituting it through His Church.
I gave a sermon four years go now, the title, “God’s Master Plan… From the
Beginning.” In that sermon, I take you through ── from the time when there was
only the LORD God (John 1:1), to the time when the “morning stars” sang together
at the creation of the Earth. Then to its ultimate destruction (Genesis 1:2), to
Earth’s renewal (Psalm 104:30) ── and these festivals of the Lord’s were brought about from the material harvests, the physical harvests in Palestine. And in God’s
view, Palestine will be the future Headquarters of the Earth when New Jerusalem,
the holy city, comes down out of low Earth orbit, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband (Revelation 21:1-2). Ancient Israel’s headquarters was there ── and
thanks be to President Donald Trump, as of December 6, 2017, the United States
officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel! And of course,
our Lord Jesus Christ was there in the holy city of Jerusalem when He started the
Church. So, in other words, the physical harvests are used to picture a future
spiritual harvest. The duality again. The physical and the spiritual.
My whole life, I have known of the Lord’s festival seasons that the LORD God has
that no other churches know anything about. And if they have heard of them, they
are to them but “Jewish feasts.” Yet we know that the LORD God clearly tells us,
“’ The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations,
these are My feasts.’” (Leviticus 23:2). They are not the ‘feasts of the Jews’! Of
course, Earth’s seasons begin in the spring. And so does the LORD God’s. It begins
in the spring with the LORD’s Passover. In the Old Testament, the LORD’s
Passover pictured the deliverance from the bondage of Egypt through the LORD God’s
intervention. Now prophetically this pictured, of course, looking towards the time
when Jesus the Christ - the MESSIAH - would come and be the Passover Lamb (1
Corinthians 5:7), sacrificed for all mankind for the sins of the world (John 1:29; cf.
John 3:16-17).
It's quite a solemn festival; the fact that it pictures for us our Lord
Jesus Christ has paid our penalty in our stead should bring us great humility, hope,
and love ── and joy in knowing what He has done for us all.
Now… in this article, I could take you through what the following feasts pictures
── the Days of Unleavened Bread, and the Day of Pentecost. Might I suggest
listening to our sermons, “First Day – Unleavened Bread,” the “Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread,” along with “Day of Pentecost ~ 2021.”
Let us continue focusing on this article, the Feast of Trumpets.
The Feast of Trumpets certainly, along with warnings of trumpet blasts,
announces the powerful and glorious Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ
── along with our heavenly Father, all the righteous angels, and the saints. In fact, let’s go back to the Book of Leviticus, chapter 23, and read for ourselves concerning
the Feast of Trumpets ──
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24) ‘Speak to the children of Israel,
saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a
sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.’” – Leviticus
23:23-24.
They blew a shofar on this holy day ── well, in fact, on the first day of every
month, and I’m speaking of God’s sacred calendar, not the Gregorian calendar we
use, named after the Catholic Pope Gregory XIII. A sacred calendar that truly
begins in the spring, around March/April. It begins when life begins anew – and
new life is born. The beginning of a new life!
This sacred calendar begins when the LORD God created life to begin ── in the
spring. The fourth festival, which is the first day of the seventh month. It pictures
our Lord Jesus’ Second Coming.
The Trumpets Revealed by Jesus Christ
The Book of Revealing – the Book of Revelation – outlines the LORD God’s
future use of trumpets. And this dire warning Message is for the entire world, and
concerns tribulations which will occur just before the glorious and powerful return
of our Savior, Jesus Christ!
“When He [Jesus Christ] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for
about half an hour” – Revelation 8:1.
Again, this Feast of Trumpets ── the first day of the SEVENTH MONTH.
Now, we believe that the first four of these trumpets are in conjunction with the
prophesied “end time prophets” which are spoken of in the Book of Revelation
chapter 11, which finalizes with the “Two Witnesses” – Revelation 8:7-12.
Then, there comes the FIFTH TRUMPET BLAST – Revelation 9:1-11.
That ‘fallen star’ being Satan the devil, and his demons being thrown into the
‘bottomless pit’ just before the glorious and powerful return of Jesus Christ, His
saints, and His angels! – cf. Revelation 20:1-2. Back in the 1st chapter of the Book of Revealing, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that “stars” can represent angels –
Revelation 1:20.
Then comes the SIXTH TRUMPET BLAST – Revelation 9:13-19.
The SEVENTH TRUMPET BLAST – “but in the days of the sounding of the
seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished,
as He declared to His servants the prophets” – Revelation 10:7.
The LORD God is speaking about a time here when there is NO MORE DELAY.
SEVENTH ANGEL, SEVENTH TRUMP! THIS IS THE RESURRECTION
TRUMP! And you can turn to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and 1st Corinthians
chapter 15, and we can read about this very event! – “The mystery of God would be
finished.” In fact, this is the culmination of the event which is depicted by all of
God’s prophets down through history. Certainly, all of the prophecies we read
about that are yet to be fulfilled, such as in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 2, Micah
chapter 4, and even in the Book of Habakkuk, where it says, “For the earth will be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.”
All of God’s prophets have looked to this moment in time! And here it is about to
unfold!
“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven [the
atmosphere], saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of
our Lord [God the Father] and of His Christ [our Lord Jesus Christ], and He shall
reign forever and ever!” – Revelation 11:15.
The BLOWING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMP is that event where the saints of
God – living and dead – are resurrected and brought into full-time eternal
membership in the family of God!
Again, the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ ── along with our heavenly
Father, all the righteous angels, and the saints, the Church of God.
What is the Church of God?
So, the Firstfruits of God ── the Church ── is coming down from low Earth orbit
to the Earth along with Father God, our Lord Jesus, and all the holy angels. And
the Church is being prepared for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus, when we
will co-rule with Him on Earth.
But why the Church? We certainly need to know. Because the LORD God is
coming with the Church, and we need to know just what the Church is, why the
Church is, and what its purpose is.
Multiple millions of people go to a church every Sunday, yet do not know what the
Church is, why, or for what purpose. WHY IS THERE A CHURCH? When my
wife and I took a trip to Bryson City, North Carolina ── an absolutely beautiful
small town ── but on nearly every street corner, a church building. You ask the
average churchgoer, “What is the Church?” Often, they will answer that the church
is a building with a steeple.
And, not to change the subject, but back in 1984, during Y.O.U. class, one of the
boys in class gave a report on why church buildings have steeples. Look it up sometime. It’s fascinating!
A steeple on top of buildings pointing to heaven, and then there’s a cross on its
façade. They claim that a church is a building where people of the same faith
gather together. “People go to church.”
Yet, that is not what we find in God’s living word. We find that the Church went to
a building ── usually someone’s home. They didn’t have a building at all when
the Church started out.
Ginormous Cathedrals sprang up from a false church ── the Mother of Harlots
and of the Abominations of the Earth. Our Lord Jesus’ original Church didn’t have
anything of the kind at all! They met wherever they could. Today, the LORD God’s
called and chosen begotten people follow this. We do not have a building; we hold
Church services in homes or rent accommodations ── such as hotel meeting
spaces.
The very word “Church” in God’s living word is- the word church is
mentioned in the 7th chapter of the Book of Acts. That word is ekklēsia, meaning
“congregation, assembly; a group of people gathered together.” Notice verse 38 –
“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness …” – referring to the
Prophet Moses. “ … with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, …” The
church in the wilderness that was back on Mount Sinai with the Prophet Moses. It
was a church, but usually it’s called “the congregation of Israel” and not the
“church of Israel.” Yet, the word church in Greek means the same as congregation.
They were a called-out group of people in the Old Testament. The church, or rather
the congregation of Israel. Understand, they didn’t have the glorious Holy Spirit
within them. The Church in this present age has God’s Spirit. We are called the
begotten of God – the children of God. They, however, were only the physical
children of Israel; we are the spiritual children of God. There is a great difference.
The Church Began A.D. 33 – the Day of Pentecost
The Church of God received the glorious Spirit of God on the Day of Pentecost,
A.D. 33. That is when the Church began. Our Lord Jesus Christ had prepared the
Church for 3 ½ years. He taught and trained His disciples to become apostles. He
trained them and taught them of the glorious gospel of the kingdom to’Go
therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever He
commanded.’
Again, what is the Church? Interestingly, what most of the people of these worldly
churches apparently don’t know is that, even if they read it, our Lord
Jesus was born to be a King. Even that small Sunday church that I had attended a
couple of times back in 2014 wasn’t teaching that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming
back to “execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly” (Jude 15). To be
a mighty and powerful King. O,’ they like to preach that He is King of kings and
Lord of lords ── I heard them announce that often. But do they truly know what
that means? They honestly don’t preach or teach that JESUS is coming as a King;
they simply say Jesus is a Savior. Or, they portray Him dead on a cross or a little
baby in a manger. They do not portray Him as He is ── having a garment down to
His feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair white
like wool, His eyes a flaming fire, His feet as fine brass, as if refined in a furnace,
His voice sounding like many waters, His countenance shining like the sun in its
full strength! A powerful and glorious Creator God!
You see… the way these worldly churches picture it ── and I saw this live and in
full vivid color ── when I had to watch the 2004 film, The Polar Express. This
life, they picture, is a one-time train ride, a once-in-a-lifetime. Here, The Polar
Express train magically appears in the middle of the night to whisk away children
for a ride to the “North Pole.” At each stop, the “conductor” is encouraging children
to make a decision to board or choose not to. A metaphor for you going to heaven or not. Because if the train stops and “the conductor” beckons you to come aboard,
you say, “Alright, I accept Christ,” then the train, where it would end up all along,
drops you off in heaven. But, if you choose not to board the train ── then you’ve
missed your once-in-a-lifetime ride to heaven.
Well… of course, this is not at all what God’s living word teaches us. But a lot of
people believe that, and they’ve been deceived. Satan, the Devil, is the great
deceiver who has deceived the whole world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Our Lord Jesus
was born to be a King. And He came to announce a soon-coming kingdom. A
government. The Church of God teaches of this soon-coming government! You
certainly don’t hear these worldly churches teach about the Church of God and the
glorious government of God. And, that our Lord Jesus Christ ── the soon-coming
King of kings and Lord of lords ── that we, brethren (God-willing), are going to
co-rule with Him in His kingdom. They actually don’t believe this at all. They
don’t say anything about this ── because they are, for the most part, ignorant of
this living truth. They pretty much teach and believe that all you have to do to be
saved is live your life “righteously” – under whatever definition they have as
righteous, just accept our Lord Jesus Christ, and then you will be saved and will
spend eternity with Christ in heaven.
Turning the channels on the truck radio before, while traveling through
Mississippi, I literally heard a radio preacher announce in a southern accent, “The
Bible says… when y’all get to heaven!” Yet, nowhere in all of God’s living words
is there one mention of “man going to heaven.” And neither will y’all. God’s living
word says ── in fact, our Lord Jesus Himself, “’ No one has ascended to heaven
but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man …’” – John 3:13.
The Coming of the Second Adam
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus, was the second Adam. The LORD God, from the
beginning, had a Plan in mind. And they created first the physical man ── “He
created them MALE AND FEMALE, and blessed them and called them Adam
(Mankind).” – Genesis 5:2. The first man was called Adam. But then, the spiritual phase of the LORD God’s Plan begins with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as
the second Adam. It’s the spiritual phase.
So, why did our Lord Jesus come to Earth? Ultimately, for a dual purpose. First, He
came to qualify to be a King. We find this in the 9th chapter of the Book of Isaiah
── “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And THE
GOVERNMENT will be upon His shoulder. …” So, He came to be our Savior. His
name being called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace, and Emmanuel ── which means “God with us.” He is truly the One
Seed in whom all families, nations, provinces, and countries on Earth are going to
be blessed, as their Savior. So, yes, He came to save us and to gift us eternal life,
but He also came to begin the establishment of the government of God upon the
Earth!
The government of God has not been established, yet, upon the Earth. The first
Adam had that opportunity to do so ── but he chose not to. And as I was saying,
the spiritual phase of the LORD God’s Master Plan began with the second Adam, who was our Lord Jesus Christ.
There were these two symbolic trees in the garden of Eden. One tree represented
mankind’s ability to learn on their own the knowledge of good and evil, and the
other tree represented the receiving of the glorious Holy Spirit of God. The
knowledge of good and evil ── meaning the taking to oneself the knowledge of
what is good and what is evil. And that’s certainly why, throughout this present evil
age, you see people have different definitions of what is good and what is evil.
A book in my library, “This Fabulous Century” under the title “A Meddle of
Matrons” has a photo of club members of the Woman’s Club of Chevy Chase,
Maryland in the 1940s. The opening of the text reading, “A ubiquitous and
powerful figure on the American scene in the ‘40s was the clubwoman, devouring
culture and cake, fighting Communism and overweight, preserving historical
monuments, sponsoring child welfare and playing a great deal of bridge.” 1 And, I
might add ── advocating for women's suffrage. But, “advocating for women’s
suffrage” began from the very beginning ── with Eve. Because Adam ── played,
just went along with his wife. And in this sense, Adam was not deceived. Yet,
Adam made the decision for the whole world.
The LORD God made that decision binding on the whole world, until the
government of God is to be established upon the Earth. Which means it is binding
for 6,000 years. And it has been binding, except that God the Father would call out
of this world a few to come to Him. Otherwise, the people of the world are cut off
from Almighty God. And we read of this in the last verse of the 3rd chapter of the
Book of Genesis ── “So He [the LORD God] drove out the man; and He placed
cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” – vs. 24. This, of course, represents
the fact that the LORD God did not want mankind, after having sinned and not
repenting of their sins, to then take of the tree of life and gain eternal life and live
forever ── in sin.
The LORD God desires that mankind should NOT have eternal life and live
forever in sin. Because sin is the breaking of God’s immutable Law (1 John 3:4),
and when you break God’s Law, it will bring upon you pain, suffering, and negative
consequences. God’s living word says that there are repercussions for neglecting
divine statutes, ordinances, and judgments. The LORD God says there will be
either blessings for obedience or curses for disobedience. And, because we were
created with Free Moral Agency, you have the right to live your life with curses for
disobedience unto the LORD God. The LORD God desires us to live forever in
love, joy, peace, longsuffering (which means, patience), kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).
Are you aware that back in the time of the great Flood ── which was a worldwide
flood-- there are many non-biblical and even pseudepigraphic writings that do point
to a worldwide global flood. Also, oceanic fossils are found on mountain tops
around the world. Cultures in all parts of the world have some form of flood
legend. The LORD God destroyed the people of the earth at that time, except for
the Patriarch Noah and his family. He saved them from the rapidly growing
wickedness, evil, and violence that was filling the whole world. A time when “the
sons of God” ── descendants of Seth, a son of Adam ── were intermingling with
the bloodline of Cain ── “the daughters of men.”
And God our Father has called certain men and women. As an example, He called
Abel out of the world, our Lord Jesus called him, “’ righteous Abel.’” Also, there
was Enoch, who had walked with God (Genesis 5:24), and Noah, who also walked with God and was a just man, perfect in his generations. Then there was Abram, in
whom God made all of the promises that we all have to rely upon to Abraham.
Then, the descendants of Abraham became slaves to Egypt, four hundred and thirty
years, and then God called them out and made the children of Israel His chosen
nation.
And of course, they were but one nation in the world. He gave them His Law ──
summed up in the Ten Commandments. And, they also had His civil laws for the
regulation of their nation and neighbors. Also, they had religious laws that were
temporary until the arrival of our Messiah. But the LORD God did not gift them
the glorious Holy Spirit. They were still cut off from God’s Spirit, but His holy
prophets were blessed with the Spirit of God. His prophets were kind of, founders
of the New Testament Church of God.
As God’s living word tells us, the “saints and members of the household of God,
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief cornerstone.” – Ephesians 2:19, 20. The Apostle Paul here
is not speaking of New Testament prophets. In fact, there were really only FOUR
PROPHETS spoken of in the New Testament, beginning with Simeon ── a just
and devout man, who waited for the Consolation of Israel, and having the Holy
Spirit upon him, having come into the temple by the Spirit. And when Joseph and
Mary brought in the Child Jesus, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God, and
spoke a prophecy, declaring that Jesus was the Son of God. Also, there was the
Prophetess Anna, who was of great age and served God with fastings and prayers, night and day, gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked
for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:25-38).
“’ The time is fulfilled’”
So, the LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God) is reproducing themselves ──
which is a large part of God’s Master Plan… From the Beginning. And, the LORD
God must save all of humanity from the grave rebellion that Satan the Devil has
led humanity into ── and onto ultimate Death. And so it required a blood sacrifice
── it required a Savior to pay our penalty so that we won’t eternally die.
Again, except for a very few that were called by Father God, all of mankind was cut off from access to God’s Spirit ── the Holy Spirit ── until the second Adam.
Until ‘the time was fulfilled.’ Our Lord Jesus Himself plainly said, “’ No one
can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; …’” – John 6:44. So,
these worldly evangelists that preach up a storm, “whosoever may come!”
WHERE IS THAT IN GOD’S LIVING WORD? There is, in the last chapter of
God’s living words, in which “the Spirit and the bride [the Church of God; the
saints of God] say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who
thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” – Revelation
22:17. But this is not speaking of this dispensation. This is after the glorious
Millennial Reign of our Lord Jesus, after the “Great White Throne Judgment.” This
is not during this present evil age. Indeed, at this moment, “whosoever may come”
CANNOT come.
Why is the Church of God?
What is the Church’s purpose? Its purpose is that we are spiritually being trained to
be leaders in the government of God. And it is a matter of ‘government’ and nearly
none of this world’s evangelists understand this ── they don’t realize that it is all about
the government of God. We are to be spiritually trained to be leaders in the
kingdom of God, and to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ
── to co-rule with our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not to die and “go to heaven, and
have perfect communion with the Holy Trinity, i.e., the ‘beatific vision’” 2
Think upon this, brethren… when our Master, Elder Brother, Savior, our God
returns, He will not rule alone. Regarding the prophesied 144,000, they will be sort of like what we would call “the Cabinet” – advisors to the president. And I
think these one hundred and forty-four thousand have a similar role, but there are many more of them. They are with Jesus Christ; they go wherever He goes! When
you think about the president, when he takes a trip, he’s got all these people that
are on the trip with him. Some people protect him, some people advise him, some
people are his spokespeople. And, I just get the feeling that this hundred and forty-four thousand has the same type of role. That they are indeed pillars in the
Kingdom of God! They go wherever Jesus goes! Now, think about that.
We are to co-rule with our Lord Jesus. In the 3rd chapter of the Book of Revelation,
we see the Apostle John ── under divine inspiration ── that this co-rulership applies to the Church of God. Our Lord Jesus said, “’ To him [speaking of the
members of the Church of God] who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My
throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.’” And, in
the 2nd chapter of the Book of Revelation, He says, “’ And he who overcomes, and
keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations ── ‘He
shall rule them with a rod of iron; …’” We are going to co-rule the nations of the
world. We’re going to sit with our Lord Jesus on His throne.
So, again, we are being trained to CO-RULE with our Lord Jesus when He returns!
GOD THE FATHER AND OUR LORD JESUS ARE GOING TO ESTABLISH
THEIR GOVERNMENT ON EARTH WHEN THEY COME!
Spiritual Gifts
Turn with me if you will to 1st Corinthians chapter 12 ──
“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, …” – speaking to His chosen and
begotten people. “ … I do not want you to be ignorant.”
Verse 4 – “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” There are a variety of
spiritual gifts, but they come from ONE SPIRIT.
Verse 5 – “There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.” So there are
ways in which the people or the ministries are dissimilar, yet are all led by the
same Master.
Verse 6 – “And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works
all in all.” So, there is a range of different things, but the same God is working in
all.
So, this false concept that the LORD God is only working in one man at a time is
not correct! The LORD God is working in many people all at the same time.
Verse 8 – “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the
word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to
another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to
another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of
[languages], to another the interpretation of [languages]. But ONE AND THE
SAME SPIRIT WORKS ALL THESE THINGS, distributing to each one
individual as it wills.”
We, brethren, do not all have the same abilities to do the living work of God. The
LORD God blesses certain individuals with the abilities to perform certain
operations within the Body of Christ. These different abilities are for the glorious
work of the Church of God. The same Spirit is working in each and every one of us.
He has blessed me to do one thing, and He has blessed you to do another, and so
forth and so on.
The Church of God Is ONE BODY
Verse 12 – “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of
that one body, being many, are ONE BODY, so also is Christ.”
So, it’s not many churches ── it’s ONE CHURCH, ONE BODY.
In other words, it’s not the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern
Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism, or Restorationism. It’s not the Baptists,
Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravianism, Quakerism, Pentecostalism, etc. It’s not
the Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, La Luz del Mundo, and Iglesia ni
Cristo, etc. The Church of God is but ONE, as Christ is One. One body. “For as the
body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body, …” WE ARE ONE.
Verse 13 – “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into ONE BODY …”
How
many churches? ONE.
How many different bodies? ONE.
How many churches are
you baptized by the Holy Spirit into? ONE. ONE BODY.
Verse 18 – “But now God has set the members, EACH ONE OF THEM, in the
body just as He pleased.” So, the LORD God has set you in the Church of God.
We will never go out into our cities and towns, knock on your door, and ask if
“you’ve found God? Would you like to be converted?” God’s begotten children have
never done that! We simply preach and teach the gospel of the good news! We
announce the good news! But no one can come to Jesus unless the Father calls
them first. So says God’s living word!
Verse 20 – “But now indeed there are many members, yet ONE BODY.”
Again, not many churches. Only ONE!
Verse 22 – “No, much rather, those members of the body which to be weaker ARE
NECESSARY.”
We don’t all have the same spiritual strengths. Some may look at me and say, “You
should be doing more!” Well… It’s possible that God placed me in this position to
do less important things ── yet, it is important to the overall Plan of God. It could
be.
Verse 25 – “that there should be no schism in the body, …” – meaning, split or
division. And, you might have noticed that the Church of God is gravely divided
── due to apostasy and the introduction of false doctrines, and certain leaders
lusting for wealth and power. (See: THINK ABOUT THIS... The Nicolaitans). “
…but that the members should have the same care for one another.” Again, sadly,
we are not seeing this as we get closer to the end of this present evil age. (See:
“You're Not Welcome Here!”).
The Church of God is not to be divided. Because there are not two churches, or three
churches, or a whole plethora of churches of God. There is only ONE CHURCH.
Verse 26 – “And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one
member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
In truth, spiritually speaking, if one member of God’s true Church suffers, all
members suffer. “ …’ you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love
one another.’” – John 13:34.
Verse 27 – “Now you are the BODY OF CHRIST, and members individually. And
God has appointed these IN THE CHURCH: first apostles, second prophets, third
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties
of [languages].”
Now… this is explained more explicitly in the Book of Ephesians chapter 4, where
the Apostle Paul says that our Lord Jesus Himself “gave some to be apostles, some
prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” I speak of what an
“apostle” is in the article Personal From… Armstrong Religion. And, to say that
there are no “prophets” within the living Church of God in this dispensation would
be a mistake ── because we do know that toward the end of this present evil age, there will come on the scene, end-time prophets.
Some great revelations were given to Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. Almighty God
and our Lord Jesus Christ did use him mightily at various points in his life to restore and recapture certain major truths of God's Word; however, since 1980,
with the enormous growth of God’s grace and knowledge, we do indeed understand – as we get closer to the end-time, that we will begin to realize just how close we
are. We don’t know when Jesus Christ is going to return. The only advice we have
is ‘watch and pray.’ Keep an eye on world news, keep an eye on world events, keep
an eye on things that are happening.
Mr. Armstrong was not given the revelation that God is not and will not be relying
on the often half-hearted efforts of humans to fulfill the prophecy of Matthew
24:14. But that Almighty God and Jesus Christ will soon rise upon the scene
possibly twelve ‘end-time prophets’ – who will indeed proclaim the gospel
Message of the soon-coming Kingdom throughout the world as a WITNESS TO
ALL NATIONS – a final WARNING – and they will be ‘delivered before
synagogues and prisons, before kings and rulers for Christ’s namesake’ – (cf. Luke
21:12) – and shall be martyred!
But anyhow ── “He Himself gave some” within His Church … 12) for the
equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, …” – and that work as we saw
earlier is the preaching and teaching the gospel of the good news, along with the
LORD God blesses certain individuals with the abilities to perform certain
operations within the Body of Christ ── all for the edification of the body of
Christ. So that we continue to grow in God’s grace and in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ to help co-rule the entire world when He returns.
Verse 13 – “till WE ALL COME to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ.”
That we be no more divided in faith, doctrines, or the preaching of the gospel ──
“children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” WHEN WE ALL
COME, BRETHREN, TO THE UNITY OF FAITH, WE WILL ALL BE
SPEAKING THE SAME THING!
And, sadly, at this moment in time, we are gravely divided.
We Are ‘Children of God’
Turn with me a couple of pages to Ephesians chapter 2 ──
Notice verse 19 ── “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
Whether you have the outstanding blessing to have the ability to gather together
with brothers and sisters in a local congregation or you do not ── the
congregations are too far away, we are all in the household of God. We are all members in the family of God, as we also read in the Book of 1st John chapter 3 ──
“Beloved, now we are children of God; …” We are not yet born again, we are only
begotten. But, we are already children of God. “The Spirit itself bears witness with
our spirit that we are children of God.”
Verse 20 – “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”
And I speak of this glorious cornerstone in our article THE LIVING STONE. Our
Lord Jesus Himself is the whole foundation, because the apostles and prophets are
all built upon Him.
Verse 21 – “in whom the WHOLE BUILDING, being fitted together, grows into a
holy temple in the Lord.”
Now… there is a lot of discussion… are the Jews in Jerusalem going to build a
third temple? And, we speak a lot about red heifers and the end-time sacrifices being officially reestablished in Jerusalem ── but, are the Jews actually going to
build a third temple? In 2019, we wrote ──
“God’s Word clearly states that a third temple will be built! One of the last messages our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gave in His human life, He talks about the ‘abomination of desolation,’ or the ‘abomination that makes desolate,’ spoken of in the Book of Daniel several times. And, Jesus said, “’ Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, STANDING IN THE HOLY PLACE’ … ” – talking about a temple – in Jerusalem.”
Now, of course, we understand that there is no temple in Jerusalem today. For over
forty-four years of my life, I have heard servants of God ask the question: Will
there ever be a third temple built in Jerusalem? Because this speaks of a time when
a final European ‘beast’ power and a final ‘false prophet’ stand in what has been called the holy place, where the Jews are and will be doing government-granted
animal sacrifices once again. They will come in and set up an abominable idol that
will be a complete desecration of this temple, just like Antiochus IV Epiphanes did
when he sacrificed swine in the temple of God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is not coming with a physical temple. He is coming with His
holy saints ── for we are, brethren, His spiritual temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1
Peter 2:4-5). We are building His spiritual temple with God’s Spirit within us.
Again, our Lord Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.
Notice here the 4th chapter of the Book of Ephesians ──
Beginning in verse 15 ── “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all
things in Him who is the head-- Christ ── 16) from whom the whole body,
joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, …” So, again, ONE
CHURCH. ONE BODY. Not many churches. But, rather we are joined by the Holy
Spirit and knitted together by the Holy Spirit, “ … according to the effective
working by which every part does its share, CAUSES GROWTH of the body for
the edifying of itself in love.” So, notice, the true Church of God ── many
members, one body ── are joined together by the Holy Spirit.
His wife has made herself ready.
Alright now, in closing, let’s turn to chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation.
Let’s begin with verse 6 ── “And I [the Apostle John, in vision, on the island that
is called Patmos] heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of
many waters as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, ‘Alleluia! For the Lord
God Omnipotent [which means, having unlimited power] reigns!”
Our Savior Jesus Christ is coming! That, brethren, is what we are truly celebrating
this holy Feast of Trumpets! And the bride must make herself ready!
Verse 7 – “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the
Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”
That’s the Church ── the Body of Christ.
Brethren, are we ready? □
1) Time Life Books, This Fabulous Century 1940-1950, Time-Life Books, New York, ©1969, pp. 52-54.
2) Nash, T., What Will We Do in Heaven?, Catholic Answers, Retrieved 9 Sept. 2025.
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