{"id":84,"date":"2007-08-11T06:58:30","date_gmt":"2007-08-11T14:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wcg-news\/wcg-announces-35-beliefs-book\/"},"modified":"2009-02-17T16:06:16","modified_gmt":"2009-02-18T00:06:16","slug":"wcg-announces-35-beliefs-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wcg-news\/wcg-announces-35-beliefs-book\/","title":{"rendered":"WCG Announces 35 Beliefs Book"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em><em><strong>TRANSFORMED FROM TRUTH<\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 457px; height: 275px\" title=\"Worldwide Church of God Transformed from Truth to Fairy Tales\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/tkach-transformed-from-truth.gif\" alt=\"Worldwide Church of God Transformed from Truth to Fairy Tales\" width=\"457\" height=\"275\" \/> <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><em><em>My son Michael thought that the above picture could capture in humor what I believe has happened to the WCG.\u00a0My wife Joyce coined the expression &#8220;Transformed from Truth&#8221; many years ago when she first heard of the book improperly titled &#8220;Transformed by Truth&#8221; by Joseph Tkach (Jr.).<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><\/em><em>Late yesterday in an email, the Worldwide Church of God (WCG)\u00a0reported (my comments will remain in italics) the following:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"en-us\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: medium;\">2007 Conference of Elders &#8211; Comments From Participants <\/span><\/strong><\/span><span lang=\"en-us\"><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;\">&#8211; Interviews with men and women attending the international gathering of elders in Indian Wells, CA&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"en-us\"><span lang=\"en-us\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\">At the conference, elders received a book titled <\/span><em><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;\">35 Beliefs of the Worldwide Church of God. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;\">There is nothing new in the book\u2014it is a compilation of articles on our website. If you would like this book <em>as a book,<\/em> you may download the files:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;\"><span lang=\"en-us\">Word version, which can be reformatted for different margins or paper sizes: <a title=\"http:\/\/www.wcg.org\/lit\/aboutus\/beliefs\/35beliefs.doc\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wcg.org\/lit\/aboutus\/beliefs\/35beliefs.doc\">http:\/\/www.wcg.org\/lit\/aboutus\/beliefs\/35beliefs.doc<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;\"><span lang=\"en-us\">Adobe reader version, for the exact pagination of the conference edition: <a title=\"http:\/\/www.wcg.org\/lit\/aboutus\/beliefs\/35beliefs.pdf\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wcg.org\/lit\/aboutus\/beliefs\/35beliefs.pdf\">http:\/\/www.wcg.org\/lit\/aboutus\/beliefs\/35beliefs.pdf<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>The documents title page\u00a0states:<\/em><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Thirty-Five Beliefs of the Worldwide Church of God<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center\" align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Edited by J. Michael Feazell, Michael Morrison, and Joseph Tkach<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">Copyright \u00a9 2007 Worldwide Church of God. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>And the first few beliefs are:<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">1. The Triune God&#8230;<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">2. God the Father&#8230;<br \/>\n3. <span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">God the Son&#8230;<br \/>\n4. <span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">God the Holy Spirit&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Regarding Jesus, WCG made such statements as:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, fully God and fully human&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Our salvation depends on Jesus being both human and divine. But how can this be? How can someone infinite become finite? How can the holy Son of God become a human, in the likeness of sinful flesh?<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">Our question comes mainly because the only humanity that we can see now is woefully corrupt&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>No, the question does not come because the only humanity we see is woefully corrupt.\u00a0 The question comes because the statement that Jesus was fully human and fully God at the same time is a logical impossibility.<\/em><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>The fact is that although most mainstream groups that profess Christ cling to such false concepts of God, in order to do so, groups like WCG have to ignore scripture.<\/em><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>The Bible teaches that Jesus EMPTIED HIMSELF of His divinity to be born of Mary.\u00a0 And that AFTER the resurrection He was again fully God.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Several articles of related interest may include:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/two.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Is binitarianism the correct position? What about unitarianism or trinitarianism?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/father.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Is The Father God?<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> What is the view of the Bible? What was the view of the early church?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/jesusgod.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Jesus is God, But Was Made Man<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Was Jesus fully human and fully God or what?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/holyspirit.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity?<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Or did they have a different view?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/trinity.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity?<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Most act like this is so, but is it?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/unitarian.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church?<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Many, including Jehovah&#8217;s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/binitarian.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> This is a shorter article than the <\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/two.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Binitarian View<\/em><\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>article, but has a little more information on binitarianism.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Furthermore, here was another WCG belief:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em> <\/em><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">19. The Christian Sabbath&#8230;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The Christian Sabbath is life in Jesus Christ, in whom every believer finds true rest. The weekly seventh-day Sabbath, which was enjoined upon Israel in the Ten Commandments, was a shadow that prefigured the true Reality to whom it pointed\u2014our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"normal1\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The Sabbath commandment, along with all of the Mosaic law, <em>ended with Jesus\u2019 crucifixion and resurrection. <\/em>To embrace it, or to try to reapply it in the form of a Sunday Sabbath, is to diminish God\u2019s revelation of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of his promises.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify\"><span class=\"normal1\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">To believe that God commands Sabbath-keeping for Christians is to deprive ourselves of the full joy God wants us to have in Christ&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><span class=\"normal1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"normal1\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Sabbatarian theology works against the grace of God in Jesus Christ and the plain teaching of the Bible. The law of Moses, including the Sabbath commandment, was given to Israel and not to the church. Although Christians should feel free to gather for worship on any day of the week, we must not make the mistake of thinking there is any biblical reason for choosing Saturday above any other day.<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em>Yes, WCG actually posted the above.\u00a0 Essentially, they are teaching that somehow the Jews who kept the Sabbath were being pointed to the reality of life in Jesus when they kept it, so no one else ever needs to.\u00a0 They also teach, improperly, that the Sabbath deprives us of the joy God wants us to have (ignoring that the Bible teaches that the Sabbath is a blessing for those to whom salvation comes, see Isaiah 56:1-2).<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em>Furthermore, this misunderstanding of Colossians 2:16-17 and Hebrews 4 has been dealt with by various COGs (<a title=\"Teachings of the United Church of God and Living Church of God\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/ucg.htm\">UCG<\/a> did a decent job of it in ones of its most recent booklets).\u00a0 I have also attempted to deal with it in an article that discusses some of WCG&#8217;s improper logic in the articles:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/worship.htm\"><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">Is There &#8220;An Annual Worship Calendar&#8221; In the Bible?<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"> This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles such as one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/sabbath.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Was the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath observed by the apostolic and post-apostolic Church? <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em>Another belief was:<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">24.\u00a0Baptism&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">It is not our practice to baptize infants or children too young to express faith for themselves, since we understand baptism to be an expression of faith, and no one can be saved by their parents\u2019 faith. We do <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not<\/span>, however, condemn as unchristian those who do practice infant baptism. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em>Also WCG admits that baptism is an expression of faith that infants are to young to express, yet baptizing them any way is not unchristian.\u00a0 This is another obvious instance where attempting to fit in with the world&#8217;s churches has once again overridden truth and logic.\u00a0 An article of possibly related interest may be <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/baptism.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Baptism and the Early Church<\/em><\/span><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">The above, though, is consistent with several &#8220;beliefs&#8221; in the booklet&#8211;WCG on many matters takes two sides (or more specifically refuses to take one side or the other) .<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">Notice from beliefs 32,33,34, and 35:<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">32&#8230;The Bible teaches that unrepentant sinners will suffer the second death in the lake of fire, but it does not make absolutely clear whether this means annihilation or conscious spiritual alienation from God&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">33&#8230;In a vision, John saw God\u2019s presence eventually coming to earth\u2014not the present earth, but a \u201cnew earth\u201d (Revelation 21:3). Whether we \u201cgo\u201d to heaven, or it \u201ccomes\u201d to us, is of no consequence&#8230; <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify\">\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">34&#8230;Some passages suggest a conscious intermediate state, and others an unconscious state. The Worldwide Church of God believes both views should be respected&#8230;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>35&#8230;Two views of the millenium<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/span><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><\/span><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color: transparent; border: #ebe9ed; padding: 0in\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\">\n<p style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 30.35pt; text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-size: 37pt\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">F<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">or many Christians, the millennium is a very important doctrine, a wonderful mes\u00adsage of good news. But we do not stress the millennium. Why? Because we base our teachings on the Bible, and the Bible is not as clear on this topic as some people think it is. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><em>Those interested in more clarity on that last topic may wish to read the article <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/millenarianism.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Did The Early Church Millenarianism?<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">In a major departure from Church of God (COG) teachings,\u00a0 the WCG book essentially admits that Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox represented the true Christian Church.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">How?<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">It calls three documents that they came up with &#8220;Historical Documents of the Christian Church&#8221;.\u00a0 Here are some of their comments on\u00a0three of\u00a0them:<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">At the request of Emperor Constantine, Christian bishops from across the Roman Empire met at the town of Nicea in 325 to discuss the matter. They wrote their consensus in the form of a creed, called the Creed of Nicea. In 381 <span style=\"line-height: 112%\">another major council was held at Constantinople at which the Creed of Nicea was slightly revised to include a few more doctrines. The resulting Creed is called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, or more commonly, the Nicene Creed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"> In the next century, church leaders met in the city of Chalcedon to discuss, among other things, questions about the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ. The result was a Definition of Faith they believed to be true to the gospel, true to apostolic teaching, and true to the Scriptures. This statement is called the Definition of Chalcedon or the Faith of Chalcedon&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.3in; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\">Church fathers Tertullian, Augustine, and other leaders had slightly different versions of the Apostles\u2019 Creed, but the text of Pirminius in A.D. 750 was eventually accepted as the standard form.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>WCG then, in essence, is admitting what the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/catholic.htm\">Roman Catholics<\/a> teach, which is that\u00a0the\u00a0Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox were the true Christian Church in the fourth through eighth centuries (and by implication, beyond that).\u00a0 Since WCG admits that, it really has little excuse for not being part of them.<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\">Those interested in the truth about early Christianity, where the Church was, and a lot of what it believed, should read, pray about, and study the following articles:<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/earlychristianity.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>History of Early Christianity<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? <\/em><\/span><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/era.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>The Churches of Revelation 2 &amp; 3<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Do they matter? Most say they must, but act like they do not. This article contains some history about the Church of God (sometimes referred to as the continuation of Primitive Christianity) over the past 2000 years.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/roman.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>What Do Roman Catholic Scholars Actually Teach About Early Church History?<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/location.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/apostolicsuccession.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Apostolic Succession<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> What really happened? Did structure and beliefs change? Are many of the widely-held current understandings of this even possible?<br \/>\n<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/lutherhwa.htm\"><em>The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert Armstrong<\/em><\/a><em> This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the COG is NOT Protestant.<br \/>\n<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/catholic.htm\"><em>Which Is Faithful: The Roman Catholic Church or the Church of God?<\/em><\/a><em> Do you know that both groups shared a lot of the earliest teachings? Do you know which church changed? Do you know which group is most faithful to the teachings of the apostolic church? This documented article answers those questions.<br \/>\n<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/orthodox.htm\"><em>Some Similarities and Differences Between the Orthodox Church and the Churches of God <\/em><\/a><em>Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are? <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Not every belief in WCG&#8217;s new book was wrong.\u00a0 Some that they mention are held by both mainstream and COG groups.<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>However,\u00a0another belief (#31) was:<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"line-height: 110%\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">31&#8230;It is the belief of the Worldwide Church of God that in Christ the Lord makes gracious and just provision for all, even for those who at death appear not to have believed the gospel.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Finally, WCG has held on to at least one belief that most Roman Catholics and Protestants do not share&#8211;it is actually a belief that is condemned by most Catholics and Protestants.<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Yet, this is a belief that is essentially a COG belief, as well to a lessor degree, a belief of the Eastern Orthodox.\u00a0 And it is an extremely important belief. <\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>It is the belief that, in my opinion, best explains how God is a God of love and how come His plan is one of love.<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em>Two articles of related interest may include:<\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/apocatastasis.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Universal Salvation? There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em> Do you believe what the Bible actually teaches on this?<br \/>\n<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/salvation.htm\"><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">Hope of Salvation: How the COGs differ from most Protestants<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"> How the COGs differ from mainstream Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a COG background.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">Anyway, WCG&#8217;s new book simply is a relatively easy way to see that it is not a COG, that it often prefers mainstream as opposed to biblical doctrines, and that it essentially believes that the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox did, in fact, represent the Christian Church from the time of Constantine until at least the early 8th century (and by inference, beyond that timeframe).<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>Perhaps I should point out that the new WCG book does not explain some of the first changes that WCG made.\u00a0 An article of related interest may be <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/j18.htm\"><em>Did You Know What the First Changes the Tkach Administration\u00a0Made in WCG?<\/em><\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\">A listing of beliefs that the early true Church of God held that are not generally not held (with a couple of exceptions) by mainstream groups that profess Christ is available at the <span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman';\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/earlychristianity.htm\"><span style=\"font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;\"><em>History of Early Christianity<\/em><\/span><\/a> page.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TRANSFORMED FROM TRUTH My son Michael thought that the above picture could capture in humor what I believe has happened to the WCG.\u00a0My wife Joyce coined the expression &#8220;Transformed from Truth&#8221; many years ago when she first heard of the book improperly titled &#8220;Transformed by Truth&#8221; by Joseph Tkach (Jr.). Late yesterday in an email, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wcg-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}