NOTE: All comments in brackets [ ] or in parentheses ( ) as well as highlighted text (bolded and/or in blue) are from the author of this study.
Bible quotations are in maroon.
In the days when there existed a corporate body of God’s Church whose human leadership was provided by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong and whose living head is Jesus-Christ, it was taught that the Millennium would be a time when after the 2nd Coming of Christ, the resurrection of the saints; the changing of the nature of animals and of climatic conditions and the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit upon all flesh that there would be a massive conversion of the nations of the world.
The Millennium would be a time of peace, safety and abundance brought about by nations that are converted and living their lives in accordance with the spirit of God’s 10 commandments to the best of their abilities. Nations would not learn war anymore; they would turn their spear into pruning hooks, their swords into plowshares and be eager to learn of God’s way. The Millennium would be a time of joy and prosperity which would be a material type of God’s eternal kingdom.
It was also taught that because of the great number of conversions occurring there would be a need for many teachers to teach the truth of God to all those newcomers to the faith and that there would be a need to re-educate the masses in the right way of living as a preliminary step in coming to conversion.
However, and this is what will be examined in detail in this study, we read in the Bible that shortly after the end of the Millennium there arises a great multitude of individuals from the four quarters of the earth whose number is as the sand of the sea and who converge on Israel and Jerusalem to destroy it.
Who is this great multitude of individuals from the four quarters of the earth that just a short time after the end of the Millennium rise up against Israel or the camp of the saints as the Bible states it?
How did so many individuals from all over the world whose number is as the sand of the sea in a short period of time after the end of the Millennium turn from being converted to being unconverted and head toward Israel/Jerusalem to destroy it?
How did we go from just about everyone being converted during the Millennium to such a great multitude being unconverted shortly after the end of the Millennium?
The Bible tells us that Satan must be loosed for a short time after the end of the Millennium and that he is the one that gathers to battle against Jerusalem the very large group of individuals from the four quarters of the earth and whose number is as the sand of the sea.
How can we reconcile the mass conversion of the nations following Christ’s 2nd Coming and the great multitude of unconverted which arise shortly after the end of the Millennium and who march on Jerusalem to destroy it?
Physical Gog and Magog
Let’s start our research by looking at something that most of us who are long time members of God’s Church have heard explained in many sermons usually at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles but not exclusively, Gog and Magog.
Gog and Magog are mentioned mainly in 2 chapters of the Bible: Ezekiel 38-39, where it occupies most of these chapters and in Revelation 20:8.
In Ezekiel 38 the time setting is at the beginning of the Millennium when Israel will have returned from its end-time captivity (the 2nd Exodus) and be resettled in the Promised Land. It is then described as being a nation without walls i.e., it is unprotected (Ez 38:11) and would make an easy prey for any invader. At that time it is also a converted nation and has become God’s holy nation and kingdom of priests following the making of the New Covenant which occurred at the very beginning of the Millennium. New covenant Israel does not have any army or visible means of defense as their protector and defender is God.
At the beginning of the Millennium there is an attack on Israel restored to the Promised Land by a physical Gog and Magog (Ez 38). The terms “Gog” and “Magog” here represent actual peoples or nations that will attack Israel at the beginning of the Millennium; they are “physical” Gog and Magog as opposed to “spiritual” Gog and Magog. Both the individuals making up the nations constituting physical Gog and Magog and those that will constitute spiritual Gog and Magog right after the end of the Millennium have one thing in common; they will descend upon Israel and Jerusalem with the intent of conquering it and laying it waste.
In Revelation 20:8 where the time setting is right after the end of the Millennium we read that there will be a second attack by nations from the four quarters of the earth the number of whom is as the sand of the sea and which God also calls Gog and Magog.
This Gog and Magog are not the physical nations of Gog and Magog mentioned in Ezekiel 38 which were miraculously destroyed at the beginning of the Millennium by God with “an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (Ez 38:22). This Gog and Magog is made up of individuals from all nations from the four quarters of the earth; not from 2 nations living in specific regions of the world; they come from all over the world. They are individuals from all nations and they descend on Israel to fight against it (Rev 20:9). They compass the camp of the saints and the beloved city and they are destroyed by fire coming down from heaven. This group of people from all nations (they are from the four quarters of the earth) is “spiritual” Gog and Magog; they are “spiritually” deceived by Satan. God calls them Gog and Magog as they will like the physical Gog and Magog at the beginning of the Millennium rise up against Israel to destroy it.
For a detailed explanation of who are the physical nations making up the Gog and Magog that will attack Israel at the beginning of the Millennium I refer you to the following Web site: http://www.herbert-armstrong.org/ where you will find lesson 3 of the 58 lesson Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course in which who are God and Magog is explained.
Mass Conversion of the Nations?
It is widely assumed that with the coming of the Millennium, the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit on the nations and, the binding up and sealing of Satan there will be a quick and almost universal conversion of the nations having survived through the events of the Great Tribulation.
The Great Tribulation as you will recall is made up of the 5th seal martyrdom of God’s true saints; the military conquest of the nations constituting end-time Israel and the captivity of the survivors among the Gentile nations; and the events of the Day of the Lord which will rain suffering, death and destruction on the nations.
Will this anticipated great, universal conversion of the nations occur?
We read in Revelation 20:7-10 where the time setting is right after the end of the Millennium when Satan is loosed out of his prison, that he then goes out to deceive the nations all around the world and, that the number of those that he deceives are as the sand of the sea i.e., a very great multitude.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
This begs the following questions: Did all of this vast multitude from all over the world become deceived instantly or in a very short time after Satan is loosed out of his prison and were the minds of these individuals ever converted?
How can we know if these individuals were ever converted? Can those who have chosen to obey God after having been called again become deceived as to what is the truth of God?
Christ very clearly states that God’s elect, those who have chosen to obey Him, cannot be deceived.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
If they could again be deceived then God could not hold them responsible (they were not being judged when they didn’t know the truth (1Pet 4:17)) for the evil that they do as they would again be blind as they were before their conversion. And, it would also mean that there is a power in the universe stronger than God.
Remember that it is God that allows Satan to deceive humanity and it is God that makes it possible for those whom He calls to no longer be deceived. The creator God is more powerful that Satan, a spirit being created by God. As originally created, Satan was called Lucifer and was not in opposition to God. It is only after having been placed on the throne of the earth and after that he and his angels rebelled and tried to overthrow God, that Lucifer became Satan and the angels that followed him became devils.
So who is this vast deceived multitude right after the end of the Millennium from the four quarters of the earth that God refers to as Gog and Magog and who are deceived by Satan the devil after his release from the bottomless pit where he had been placed in chains and a seal put upon him so that he could no longer deceive the nations?
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Rev 20:3 clearly tells us that Satan will be prevented from deceiving mankind during the Millennium. We also know that God during the Millennium pours out His Spirit upon all flesh i.e., there would then be a very large scale calling of the nations of the world. But does this mean that all those that are called would follow their calling. Being called is a time of decision making. After having been given enough information to be able to make a decision, the called out one must decide whether or not to follow God’s calling. Being called is not synonymous with becoming converted; one can be called but not become converted.
God has given man absolute free moral agency and will not force anyone to obey Him against their will. Mankind has been left free to self-willingly choose or reject the truth of God when it is given for them to come to know it. Simply being called does not lead to conversion. Being called is the first part of the process, the individual committing himself to obey God for the rest of their life is the the second part of the process over which God has no control by choice. Those that are to make up His kingdom must be individual with self-will, independent mind power and the ability to freely think for themselves and make their own decisions; otherwise, if their every thought and action were controlled by a stronger being even if that being is God, they would still be like robots without personality and individuality totally controlled by their programming and incapable of original independent thinking like all the animals created by God.
Yes, God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh but it will be left wholly up to the individuals to choose to follow or not their calling. (Deu 30:19)
Will the vast number of humanity called during the Millennium follow their calling?
In order to get our answer, let’s examine what has occurred during the centuries from the time of the foundation of God’s Church to our present days.
Christ and Paul, as we will see, provide some very revealing information about how converts behave which can give us an indication of how people during the Millennium will react when called by God and how those who convert will then behave.
By looking at God’s first century Church when the apostles were still alive as revealed to us in the epistles and examining events that occurred in recent Church history, we can begin to understand with more clarity what will happen during the Millennium and why there will be such a large group of spiritually deceived individuals at the end of the Millennium.
God Uses Men as Teachers
Since the foundation of His New Testament Spirit-begotten Church, God has instituted and has been following a process for bringing the unconverted to conversion.
First, He sent Christ to train specially-chosen men who would be the founding members of God’s Church. The Word himself became a man to teach those who were to be used to teach other men as they were called, God did not commission spirit beings to teach those coming to conversion. God would call men from the nations of the world but not everyone in every nation would become converted or stay converted. As you will see as you read on in this study that the Scriptures are clear that many are called but few follow their calling and of those who do, many do not remain converted.
Upon completion of their training, on the day of Pentecost, the disciples were filled with God’s Holy Spirit and through their inspired preaching on that day to the people gathered in Jerusalem many of them were converted by God making His Holy Spirit available.
God used converted flesh-and-blood men, not spirit being materializing in visible form to humans, to teach other flesh-and-blood men whose minds He opened up through His Holy Spirit to understand His spiritual truth which is otherwise completely unknowable by mankind.
The first century Church of the Ephesus Era set the pattern that has been followed until our time today. Those God would call would be taught by specially-trained men, the ministry of God’s Church. However, please note that the ministry is the instrument used by God to teach men but men’s ability to understand the truth and be converted is through God’s Holy Spirit. The ministry is only the helpers of the faith of the converted, not the author nor the finisher of their faith. All this has been extensively covered in a study available on this site at: Are Christians Personally Responsible for Proving all Things? So I won’t expand on the subject here but to say I encourage you to read the study.
For the last 2 thousand years approximately, God has been using men to teach those coming to conversion as well as long time members of His Church; there are no recorded Biblical examples of God using spirit beings to teach men.
Based on how God has been administering His great master plan of salvation for mankind over the last 2,000 years, is it possible for us to know how God will administer His plan of salvation during the Millennium? God says He does not change (Heb 13:8).
God’s Church during the Millennium
Let’s keep going and see if we can’t get to a Scripturally-sound, readily-understandable answer to the question of how God will administer salvation during the coming Millennium.
It may come as a bit of a surprise to many Church members that God will have His church in existence all throughout the Millennium and that it will be made up of specially-trained, truly-converted individuals chosen by God for the purpose of ministering to those whom God will call through opening their minds to His spiritual truth by His Holy Spirit.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
But, should it really be all that surprising? Christ said that the Church would exist as long as there were human beings on the earth. It would never die out; there would always be a church. Sometimes it would become so small that it would seem that it was about to die out but Christ said despite all the persecutions that would come upon it and no matter how small it would sometimes become, it would never die out.
During the Millennium and the Last Great Day humanity will continue to exist and inhabit the earth. God’s Church will also be in existence in those days or Mat 16:18 is a Scripture that can be broken but Christ said the Scriptures cannot be broken (John 10:35).
Who will be God’s Church that is to exist all throughout the Millennium?
God’s Holy Nation and Kingdom of Priests
In Old Testament Scriptures we are made aware that God had called out a specific nation for the special purpose of it becoming His holy nation and kingdom of priests.
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
The nation of Israel was called by God to accomplish a special mission on His behalf with the nations of the world. There were to teach them (the function of a priest) and there were to be His Holy nation i.e., there would come a time when He would give them His Holy Spirit and it would then be holy having God’s holiness through His Holy Spirit in it.
Under the Old Covenant made with ancient Israel there was no promise of the Holy Spirit ever being given them and ancient Israel fully remained a carnal-minded nation like all other nations of the world and unable to obey God or fulfill the mission given it.
But, God very clearly says there is a time coming which is yet future to our time, when Israel returned from its end-time captivity will become a converted nation because He will make a New Covenant with them which this time will include there being given access to His Holy Spirit. They will then become able to know God’s spiritual truth and to choose to obey Him or not. Those committing themselves to obeying God (not all of them will) to the best of their abilities become part of God’s holy nation whose mission will be to teach new converts coming into the Church during the Millennium. They are to be God’s kingdom of priests and fulfill the mission their forefathers were unable to accomplish.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [Israel’s descendants to become a converted nation serving God.]
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers [the Promised Land]; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
These verses make it plain that in God’s plan Israel is to become a converted nation and they are to become a holy nation and a kingdom of priests; in other words, they are to become God’s Church which as we know is made up of those in whom dwells God’s Holy Spirit and in whom God’s Spirit remains because of continued obedience (Acts 5:32). But, as previously stated, not all of Israel will convert and we will see why later on in this study.
The end-time physical descendants of the ancient nation of Israel, specifically, the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, are to become God’s holy nation and kingdom of priests which God will use to teach individuals among the Gentile nations which convert under the action of His Holy Spirit opening up their minds to understand His spiritual truth.
With this information in mind, let’s move on to examining who is “spiritual” Gog and Magog.
“Spiritual” Gog and Magog – Who are They?
God says that at the end of the Millennium, Satan would be loosed out of his prison and go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth i.e., they are from all over the world and their number is as the sand of the sea, a very great number of individuals.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Who are the ones that can be deceived? Is it converted individuals who have become part of God’s Church? No, as we have seen, Christ Himself tells us that the elect cannot be deceived; therefore, it cannot be members of God’s Church at the end of the Millennium that Satan deceives.
Would it be people who have become converted during the Millennium and who have subsequently turned away from the truth? If they have turned away from the truth, then as the Bible makes clear, they have become blind again and they will not be able to recapture the truth they have left behind i.e., become again converted as made plain in Heb 6:4-6. Having turned away from the truth, they have lost their salvation and will be in the third resurrection.
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Who then are the individuals that will be deceived in large numbers by Satan once released from the bottomless pit at the end of the Millennium and who will constitute spiritual Gog and Magog?
The only people that can be deceived and which Satan deceived in the past and who are today deceived, are those who are not converted. During the Millennium all will be called but as we have noted, being called is not the same thing as being converted; first the calling occurs then the called out ones has to make a decision whether or not to follow God’s calling or to go back into the world.
Christ tells us very clearly that many are called but few are chosen (Mat 22:14).
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
Few are chosen because though called they do not follow their calling by committing themselves to obey God for the rest of their lives; they chose to go back to their former lives in the world.
Christ says of the many called that it is the few that will follow God’s calling.
Take a bit of time to let that sink in; it is the few not the many that will follow their calling. Only a small number of all those called will commit themselves to obeying God for the rest of their lives. Would this be the reason why God calls His Church the “little” flock (Luke 12:32)?
Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
In the past we have somehow imagined despite these Scriptures (and there are others) that in the end, just about everybody would be saved but for a hardcore few who would refuse to obey God.
Let’s pursue our analysis.
What is the fate of those who were called and do not follow their calling?
This is an important question that has often been asked and which deserves a clear answer.
Are these individuals lost?
Let’s go through the calling out process to see if we can come to a clear determination of the fate of those who are called but do not become converted.
Mr. Armstrong used to explain God’s calling out process using the following story.
Until we are called we are like a man lost in a very dark forest unable to find our way out when unexpectedly he sees a light approaching. It comes to him and starts leading the way out of the forest. The man has to follow the light and as long as he is following it, he is coming out of the dark forest in which he was lost. But, if at any time he ceases to follow the light, the light will continue on its way and will not come back a second time to lead him out of the darkness.
When God calls someone, He places His Spirit around them and reveals to the person spiritual truth which this person had always rejected before but which he now comes to see in a different light. God reveals more and more of His spiritual truth to him and in time brings the called out one to the crossroads. For the first time in his life the called out one realizes that God exists and that salvation requires a fundamental change in the way he has been living up to that time and that he has to leave his former life behind and live a new life. He also comes to the realization that he cannot remain with one foot in the world and be able to fully and faithfully serve God; he has to fully commit to God’s way of life and never go back to his former ways before being called. God is placing life and death before him, blessings and cursings (Deu 30:19) and he must choose one or the other. God gives him sufficient knowledge for him to be able to clearly know and understand the choice set before him: life or death. If he follows his calling, life and if he doesn’t, death; there is no in-between decision possible.
Being called is a one time process. If the called out one refuses to commit to changing his life and obeying God to the best of his abilities until the end of his natural life, God’s Spirit will not force him to do so. It ceases to remain around the person; the individual again becomes completely blind to God’s spiritual truth as he was before his calling. God’s Spirit will not come back a second time. The individual has been given his chance to choose and he has chosen to remain in the world. All are given only one chance to choose eternal life or the second death. God will respect man’s decision and the absolute free moral agency He has given him which is that there is no power on earth or in heaven that can force him to believe or choose something against his will.
There is an Old Testament story that I believe illustrates well the fate of those who are called to come out of the world but who refuse to follow their calling. Those who refuse to follow their calling are those who turn back into the world before having become converted; their decision is not to commit to obeying God for the rest of their lives; they never undergo conversion. The fate of those that do so is illustrated by the story of Lot’s wife.
Gen 19:23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Gen 19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
Gen 19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
God called Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah (cities used as an example of the sinful ways of the world cut off from God) as He has called individuals to come out of the world since the foundation of His Church. He led Lot, his wife and their family out of Sodom and Gomorrah so they would escape dying when He would destroy it by raining fire on it. As they were being led away from Sodom and Gomorrah Lot’s wife looked back. God transformed her into a pillar of salt; she lost her life that was being saved as long as she was coming out of Sodom and Gomorrah but when she looked back i.e., did not forsake Sodom and Gomorrah, she lost her life. The Hebrew word for “looked” has the following meaning: “……..to scan, that is, look intently at; by implication to regard with pleasure, favor or care…..” She felt sorrow about leaving Sodom and Gomorrah which she didn’t think was all that bad and about which she continued to care even though God said its wickedness had become so great that it could not be allowed to go on.
It is the same process for those who are being called out of the world. When the time comes for them to make the decision to forsake their former lives and obey God they look back and see a world which in their estimation is not all that bad after all. They turn away from their calling and return into the world. Lot’s wife lost her physical life, they will lose their eternal life. And having rejected God’s calling, God will not call them a second time. It would be pointless to do so. By their refusal to follow their calling they have made it clear that they would rather stay in the world which they find more to their liking. God will respect their decision; no one will be dragged into God’s kingdom against their will.
During the Millennium, all of humanity will be called but not all will respond to their calling even though Satan will not be there to deceive them. The individuals that are deceived by Satan after his release from the bottomless pit can only be unconverted people whose minds are open to being deceived; the elect as we have seen cannot be deceived. Part of this group would also include all those who became converted at God’s calling but who after a time, went back into the world and who have lost God’s Holy Spirit which is what was protecting them from being deceived.
There are many, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea, that will refuse to submit to God during the Millennium even though called by God at a time when Satan’s ability to deceive them has been neutralized. After the release of Satan at the end of the Millennium, all those who do not have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them will be subject to Satan’s deception, a power of deception that cannot be overcome without God’s intervention. All these individuals have had their chance at salvation and chose to remain in the world. The sad and unfortunate conclusion is that they are lost and in greater number than we had ever imagined possible.
Surprisingly enough it is a very large number of individuals that will not follow their calling in addition to those who turn away from the truth after having committed themselves to following it as is made evident by Rev 20:8.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
When Satan is freed he deceives them; they do not have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them; they surround the camp of the saints and are destroyed by God who rains fire on them (Rev 20:9).
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
There is then only those who have converted minds left on the earth i.e., God’s Church as we enter into the Last Great Day.
But, we are not without having been warned ahead of time that this is what would happen as we will see in the next part of this study.
Warnings Given to the Church
There is a Scripture which has been quoted and read countless times by just about everyone that has ever come in contact with God’s Church or who became members and it is the following one.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
We have already spent some time on this Scripture but given its importance, let’s look at it some more. Mr. Armstrong used to explain this Scripture by saying that today they are many called but relative to the total number of people in the world, it is the few. However, Rev. 20:8 makes it clear that it will indeed be a very high number of people that will not be chosen because upon being called they will refuse to submit to God and choose to stay in the world.
Today is not the time when the many are being called, the Millennium and the Last Great Day is the time when all will be called.
The time setting of Revelation 20 is at the very end of the Millennium when you would expect that at the end of 1,000 years where God’s Spirit has been made accessible to all of mankind and Satan bound and seal placed over him that he should deceive the nations no more, that the vast majority of mankind would have repented, believed and become truly converted members of God’s Church but, this is not what will occur if we allow ourselves to believe what the Scriptures clearly say even though what they say goes squarely against what many have always believed.
If it were to be only a minority that does not follow their calling then the Bible could not state that the number of those in the world who are still unconverted at the end of the Millennium is as the sand of the sea i.e., a very large, uncountable number of individuals.
Joel 2:28 shows that the many are called (during the Millennium); this is the meaning of God pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh but Rev 20:8 says that the number of those deceived at the end of the Millennium will be as the sand of the sea.
They were all called during the Millennium (Joel 2:28) but the many did not choose to follow their calling preferring to remain in the world (Rev 20:8) and not being converted they are deceived by Satan when he is released as only God’s elect cannot be deceived and he gathers them against Israel and Jerusalem to destroy it but are themselves destroyed by God.
I fully know and well realize that this is incredible and not in accordance with what we once thought that but for a few incorrigibly wicked individuals, all would be saved during the Millennium and the Last Great Day. This is something that was implicitly understood but which I don’t recall was ever really explained and supported with Scriptures; it was just assumed that this is how it was going to be.
It may help us to be less shocked if we spend a bit of time looking at what the Bible says about the early Church as recorded in the epistles.
Were the early converts to Christianity full of zeal and enthusiasm to obey God and does the Biblical record show that they would all faithfully endure in the truth they had been given?
The First Century Church
Let’s look at a few Scriptures among many which show the attitude of first era Church converts.
In Hebrews we see Paul saying the following to the congregations he had raised up.
Heb 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Basically, Paul is saying here is that he had been teaching them now for so long that they should be at the point in their knowledge and understanding where they know the truth so well that they should be able to teach it to others but, no, he found they didn’t know it all that well and that he had to go back to teaching them the basics of God’s truth.
These are long term converts like many of you reading this study who were still at the starting gate, they had not made any progress despite all the time Paul had spent teaching them; they should have been able to teach the truth but Paul had to go back to teaching them the basics. Were they on-fire Christians hungering and thirsting for God’s truth?
What about the Corinthian congregations, how were they doing? In 1 Corn’s 11:17 – 34 Paul gives out strong correction to the Corinthian Churches as they were not keeping the Passover in the way he had taught them. They were making a party of eating and drinking out of it.
What did Paul tell Timothy to do and why did he tell him to do it? What Paul here is saying to Timothy is a revelation of what would be the spiritual status of those coming into God’s Church not only in the first century but throughout the ages including in our days and during the Millennium and the Last Great Day.
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come [in his days and this would be true throughout the ages] when they [the members of God’s Church] will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they [the members of God’s Church] shall turn away their ears from the truth, [they won’t want to hear it anymore] and shall be turned unto fables. [They will believe the lies of the teachers they have chosen to follow and which were more to their liking.]
Truly converted members of God’s Church of all ages would grow tired of being reproved, rebuked, corrected and exhorted to greater effort in their following of the truth and they would be eager to find other teachers that would reassure them, praise them and tell them they were basically good and had nothing special to do, they were well on their way to salvation and that all was fine. They shall turn away their ears from the truth and those that teach them the truth to seek out other teachers whose teachings are after their own lusts i.e., they did not reprove or rebuke them for their lustful behavior and spoke about other things more to their liking, especially giving reassurances that they didn’t have to fear losing their salvation and that they had nothing to worry about, they are no longer under the law and they will be in God’s Kingdom.
Did Christ have anything to say to those who throughout the centuries would come into God’s Church?
Let’s see? Ah yes, Mat 7:13-14
Mat 7:13 Enter ye [new converts coming into God’s Church] in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many [please note that Christ Himself says it is not the few but the many that come into God’s Church that take the broad way that leads to destruction] there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, [why do the many take the broad way? Because strait and narrow is the way (strict and difficult is the way that leads to life; converts must leave their former lives behind and live in newness of life)] which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Here Christ is speaking to those that would be called, become converted and be entering into God’s Church throughout the existence of the Church over the centuries.
He gives out a very grave and serious warning.
Newcomers to the faith are exhorted to enter at the strait gate and to take the narrow way because wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be of those coming into God’s Church which go in by the broad way.
The many going in by the broad way are those who try to reconcile their past lives and beliefs in the world with the requirements of God’s Church; they want to somehow be able to do both; be saved and not fully abandon their former beliefs but Christ says it is impossible to serve two masters.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
In time, as this Scripture clearly says, you will come to despise one or the other of the masters and hold on to one; you cannot serve both. You can’t have a foot in the Church and one in the world. If you do, you will come to fully be in the world and despise the truth you once followed. Matt 7: 13-14 says that the world wins out in most instances; the broad way leads to destruction no matter how much those taking it try to make themselves believe that they can serve two masters. They find themselves right back into into their former way of life and they become blind again to God’s truth and lose their salvation though often continuing to attend Church services.
As Mr. Armstrong always said, a blind or deceived person does not know they are deceived; if they did they would not be deceived. Those who again become deceived after having known the truth do not know they are deceived and this explain why most of the time they just keep on attending services. It also explains why it is impossible to bring them back to the truth; they firmly believe they have never left it. Many of us have had the personal and very frustrating experience of talking to such individuals and being utterly astonished that there is nothing we can say that can make them realize they have departed from the truth.
Christ says that it is the many coming into God’s Church that take the broad way that leads to perdition and that it is the few that take the strait and narrow way that leads to salvation.
This is a clear and unambiguous Scripture that requires no special explanation to be understood.
There may still be some reading this study who even up to this point remain unconvinced that it is the few that are chosen and not the many.
Let’s look at what we have witnessed with our own eyes after the death of Mr. Armstrong and see if there is any enduring truth to what Christ and Paul say in the Holy Bible.
The Debacle in God’s Church After the Death of Mr. Armstrong
Many of you reading this study have personally seen what happened in God’s Church after the death of Mr. Armstrong. Just about everybody left the faith or had left it a long time ago but had continued to participate in the assemblies of God’s Church. They had gone back into the world in their hearts (minds) or were seriously compromising with the ways of the world which are all contrary to God’s truth while continuing to attend Church services.
When Mr. Armstrong died and Christ had not returned nor had anyone gone off to the place of safety which everybody expected would occur while Mr. Armstrong was the human administrator of God’s Church with Christ being the living head, they then ceased pretending they were following the truth and their innermost thoughts became evident for all to see.
These are quite bold assertions and many will say how do you know that these people had left the faith. We are told not to judge others and this is what you are doing.
Christ says we would know the truth or lie of a thing by the fruit of what people do rather than what they say. Christians all through their lives are to make judgments as to what is true and what is false using God’s truth as their reference point. It is fully part of a Christian’s responsibility to be continuously choosing between good and evil and to be able to do so they must be constantly evaluating based on God’s law what is good and what is evil. But, and here is the big difference which has to be kept in mind, we are not to decide whether a person is lost or saved as only God can do that and has reserved this type of judgement to Himself only. We can judge that a given action is good or bad but we cannot pose a judgment that someone is lost or saved. No problem.
After Mr. Armstrong’s death, the ministry announced to the Church that they were not policeman; in other words, you could do openly what you wanted to do and we would not correct you. The message was clearly heard and the very next Sabbath we saw the Church’s women of all ages coming into services with their faces all made up and wearing short skirts; cohabiting couples came out in the open and attended services; and attendance to Sabbath day service became a personal decision. The favorite and most popular new teaching in the Church was that Christians are no longer under the law.
Then there arose several new churches of God led by some of the leading men of God’s Church while Mr. Armstrong was alive. Though coming from the same original church they were not united in doctrine; the new congregations of the so-called churches of God were mutually exclusive and each one appropriated for itself the title of being the one and only true Church and called all the others Laodiceans.
People left the Worldwide Church of God to join whichever new “church of God” best approximated in their view the Church in the days of Mr. Armstrong or who had preachers that had the kind of temperament, attitude and message they could live with.
The Worldwide Church of God has been renamed Grace Communion International and is now part of the mainstream religions of this world preaching the Trinity and the gospel of grace.
Nonetheless, God’s Church has continued uninterrupted and continues to exist today as it has since its foundation and as it will continue to exist until the end of the Last Great Day. Remember that all those coming to conversion during the Millennium and the during the Last Great Day become part of God’s Church if you understand who and what is God’s Church.
Final Thoughts
The Millennium will not be the time when there will be massive and lasting conversions of the nations even though physical and spiritual conditions would favor such a thing happening.
The true Church has never been a large, visible-to-the-world organization for any lengthy period of time. For most of its existence it has been small and invisible to the world and persecuted by the world whenever it came to its attention.
Christ referred to His Church as the little flock; it would not be big.
How small is it going to be we cannot know but it is a sure thing based on what the Book of Revelation allows us to understand regarding the very great number of unconverted individuals at the end of the Millennium and based on Christ’s clear warning to the Church that it is the few and not the many that will be saved. It is the little flock which is to inherit God’s kingdom.
Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
It is unsettling to realize that salvation will not be a thing of the many but of the few but this is what the Scriptures always said though this hadn’t been really clearly realized until now.
We know that the Laodicean Era Church converts will be an innumerable multitude or a very great number of people and it would seem that this would make God’s saved a large flock. However, given the whole of humanity since Adam and Eve to the end of the Last Great Day, all converts when compared to the large number of human being having existed will constitute but a little group.
Those losing their salvation is as a result of their own freely taken decisions to cease following the truth that had been given them and to which they had committed themselves before God to follow for the rest of their lives. It is also the fate of those whom God calls and who refuse to change their lives to one of obedience to God preferring to remain in the world.
Knowing that it is the few and not the many that are to be saved and this by their own choice, it should certainly serve to motivate all those who have remained with the truth to make their calling and election sure by being careful to be spending enough time every day in study and prayer and in putting forth effort to follow God’s law in every aspects of their lives to the best of their abilities.
Getting into God’s Kingdom will not be as easy or as much of a sure thing as we may have once thought.
The behavior of God’s first century Church members which illustrates what would go on throughout the centuries of the existence of God’s Church; Christ’s own words about how those who would be called out would react to their calling (most would not follow it); how converted members of God’s Church would not endure sound doctrine and would heap up to themselves teachers according to their own lusts having itchy ears (being eager to hear them); and the fairly recent destruction of the corporate body of the Worldwide Church of God and the resulting fallout should make plain to us that this is the sad truth as much as we don’t like it.
Lastly, some will recall Mr. Armstrong’s last live sermon on the day of Pentecost in 1984 I believe it was where he said that he would spend the next 2 1/2 hours trying to explain to the Church what is the Church and why there is a Church. He said he knew that the Church would not get it. He said even the ministers believed that the Church has been called out to be the first ones to receive salvation and that the others would follow after. Neither the ministry nor the members knew what and why God had a Church and this at the very end of Mr. Armstrong’s long ministry of preaching it to them. Some may also remember how Mr. Armstrong every now and then would strongly warn the Church of its lack of interest in the truth he was giving it and being consumed with interest for worldly matters.
Mr. Armstrong used to say, he could give a sermon explaining a new spiritual truth revealed to him by God and hardly anyone talked about it. A great, new revelation from God that should have had everybody talking; but it hardly made a ripple in the Church. But, he said, let me make a comment about make-up and the message flashes across all the churches with everybody on the phone talking about it.
Mr. Armstrong also said that the Church wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying; rather, they were taken up by the person of Herbert W. Armstrong. Church members would make great efforts to hear him speak live but after they went back to their congregations, their friends would ask them, how they had found the sermon; they would ask: “What did Mr. Armstrong talk about? Their reply was “I don’t remember, but I saw Mr. Armstrong, I saw Mr. Armstrong, I saw Mr. Armstrong.”
He would tell the story to the Church in an effort to give it an idea of its spiritual condition and in the hope that it would stir some to greater effort.
It is indeed disconcerting and sad to understand that it is the few and not the many that will inherit salvation.
We can choose to ignore Church history, Christ’s own words on the matter, Paul’s warning to Timothy of how the church would not endure sound doctrine, the behavior of the first century Church as revealed in the epistles and the events after the death of Mr. Armstrong.
God leaves us free to do that.
But as for me, I believe the clear message of the Scriptures as bitter as it may be and I take to heart the message that I need, and all those who are serious about their salvation, to make my calling and election sure by being about my Father’s business.
It is not a given that almost all will be saved in the end as was once believed. In fact, the Scriptures clearly say, it is the few.
Mat 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
And, to those who are called and who are chosen because they follow their calling and are entering into God’s Church Christ warns them to:
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
And, those that will be in God’s Kingdom with Christ, the Lamb of God are described in Revelation 17:14.
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
It is those that are called, chosen and faithful; all 3 of those elements are needed to be saved. It is not sufficient to have been called without having followed our calling and it is not enough to have been called and chosen (we followed our calling) without having remained faithful until the end of our natural lives.
Those that are to inherit salvation are those who were called by God the Father, who followed their calling and were chosen AND, who have remained faithful their whole life in living the truth they have been given.
As the Scriptures make clear to every Church era, it is only those who endure in their repentance and belief of the truth given them until the end of their natural lives that will be saved (See God’s message to the 7 era churches in the book of Revelation chapters 2 and 3).
It is up to each and every one of us to make sure we are part of that small number that is to inherit salvation.
I know what I’m going to do.
What about you?
God's Spiritual Nation 