June 24, 1985

             Recent History of the Philadelphia Era

                 of the Worldwide Church of God

                     By Herbert W. Armstrong

     All members need to be updated on the history of the

Philadelphia era of God's one original Church as founded in A.D. 31

by Jesus Christ -- especially the past 15 years of its life.

     Jesus Christ said that in the world His Church would have

tribulations and persecutions. He did not foretell clear sailing.

NO PEACEFUL EXISTENCE IN A HOSTILE WORLD. "If they have persecuted

me, they will also persecute you," He said. Again in God's Word we

are warned, "It is through much tribulation that we must enter into

the Kingdom of God."

     "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which

leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).

The apostle Paul warned the elders of the church at Ephesus that

grievous wolves would enter in among them to destroy the flock, and

also of their own selves some would seek to draw away disciples

after themselves (Acts 20:29-30).

     Why is this so? Why has God's Church in this Philadelphia era

gone through a period of friction, controversy within the Church

and split-offs, with certain ministers leaving the Church to take

followers after themselves during the 1970s? It was even so during

the preceding Sardis era. And why has the Church withstood this

controversy and even a certain amount of division in our midst and

emerged into unity, harmony, oneness and thriving progress of the

present?

     Why did the Los Angeles Times recently publish a story with a

full six-column headline clear across the page, saying Worldwide

Church of God "Thriving on Controversy"?

     These are actual events affecting our own very lives during

the past 15 years. To understand, we must refresh our minds briefly

on how it all first started, 6,000 years ago, at the very

foundation of the world and of the human family on earth with the

creation of the first man Adam.

     God was beginning His greatest all-time accomplishment -- to

reproduce Himself. God had first created angels. The great

archangel Lucifer had been placed on the throne of the earth when

God created the earth and the vast universe. Lucifer had rebelled

against God's government and led a third of all angels into

rebellion. He became Satan the devil, and his angels became

perverted demons. Then God created the first human, Adam, mortal,

out of the dust of the earth, with only a physicochemical temporary

existence, but offering Adam eternal God-life and opportunity to

replace Satan on earth's throne. Adam also rebelled against God and

His government, rejecting the tree of life, and choosing to take to

himself the knowledge of good and evil, relying on himself instead

of God for knowledge and the way of life.

     Thereupon God closed off the tree of life (the Holy Spirit),

except for those specially called, until Christ the second Adam yet

in the future should replace Satan on the throne, as the first Adam

should have done.

     Traditional Christianity, theologians and Bible scholars seem

never to have noticed that the tree of life -- which was the Holy

Spirit imparting God-life -- was closed to the world and still today

remains closed. God had said, "Let Us make man in Our image, after

Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). "Image" refers to spiritual

character; likeness refers to form and shape. God creates in dual

stages. To make man in God's image means spiritual image -- a

spiritual being with God's perfect divine character.

     But the first stage of this creation was the physical human

man, mortal, having temporary physical existence. Yet in that man,

God created the human spirit to empower the physical brain with

intellect. This spirit gave mortal man not only physical and

material intelligence and mind power, but also the capacity for

good or evil, but on the human level -- the carnal or selfish level.

Through the symbolic tree of life God made accessible to Adam God's

Holy Spirit to beget in him God-life of immortality and also the

God-mind for acquiring God's spiritual knowledge and spiritual

character. When God closed the tree of life He closed off from

mankind this contact with God the Father, immortality, the God-mind

and what the world calls "salvation."

     But the second personage of the God family, the Word, gave up

His divinity and was born as a human of the virgin Mary. He was God

in the human flesh, both God and man, but functioning as a human

man in His ministry on earth. He came to qualify, as the first Adam

had failed to do, to replace Satan on the throne of the earth. He

came also to call out of the world God's Church, also to qualify to

sit with Him on this throne, and to qualify to teach and rule with

Him as divine beings -- the very first fruits of God's harvest in

reproducing Himself. He came also to ransom the world of humans

from Satan, who had kidnapped all humanity. He paid this ransom

price by His life's blood on the cross.

     Jesus said He would build His Church. The word church, in the

Greek language of the New Testament, is "ekklesia", which means

"called-out ones." As Jesus had to qualify for the throne by

overcoming Satan, so did His Church that is to sit with Him on that

throne and be given power over the nations to rule, teach and

convert into the family of God.

     The original Adam could have been begotten as a son of

God -- converted -- had he taken of the tree of life. This begettal

would have come through the Holy Spirit. When God closed off the

tree of life, He closed off reconciliation to God the Father -- that

is, conversion or begettal of divine God-life. The world as a whole

is still cut off to this day from that begettal, commonly spoken of

by Protestants as "being saved." No such salvation is even yet

available to the world. The world of traditional Christianity is

blinded to this fact.

     But the Church was called out of the world, to be separate in

living by God's law instead of Satan's way of self-centeredness,

competition and strife, following the first Adam. That is why Jesus

said the Church would be persecuted, even as He had been. Those

called into the Church would live by God's way of love, not the

world's way of selfishness, contention and strife. This required

the presence and flowing into them of the Holy Spirit of God,

giving them a different purpose in life and a different mind and

attitude than formerly in the world.

     Why did Christ call the Church out of the world to be separate

from the world? They were called as students. The Bible calls them

disciples. The word disciple means student or learner. The Church

was like at school, and Jesus was the original teacher. He called

out of the world His 12 disciples, or students, for the very

purpose of educating them to become teachers, and also rulers with

and under Christ, when Jesus comes in power and glory to sit on

Satan's throne over all the earth and to rule as well as to convert

all nations.

     To those in the Church who are growing in grace and spiritual

knowledge, Jesus says He will give power over the nations to rule

them -- they shall sit with Him on His earthly throne, and they shall

be made priests or teachers and kings and rule with Christ on the

earth (Revelation 2:26-27, 3:21 and 5:10).

     The Church is actually a school teaching students to become

teachers and rulers in God's Kingdom.

     But these students -- or Church members -- must first themselves

be converted, begotten as children of God, having received the Holy

Spirit (tree of life) that Adam rejected. Why? Because the

natural-born carnal mind cannot understand the spiritual knowledge

and truths of God (I Corinthians 2:9-14). Therefore God has made

special provision, predestining those He calls out of the world to

be called now, in the Church age, BEFORE God opens the tree of life

and salvation to the world as a whole. That is why the Church is

called the "first fruits" of God's harvest for His Kingdom.

     Let it be emphasized again. As Christ the second Adam came to

qualify to replace Satan on earth's throne, God chose and called

certain ones out of the world also to qualify to sit with Christ on

that throne. This is not the time God is trying to "save the

world." God's judgment day for the world has not yet come. But to

those specially called for the very purpose of sitting on that

throne with Christ, it was necessary that they receive the Holy

Spirit before they could learn God's truth, which the first Adam

had rejected. That is why the Church is only the "first fruits" of

those ultimately to receive salvation.

     We receive the Holy Spirit ONLY after complete repentance of

the way we were living. We must come out of this world to live a

life separate from the life and ways of the world, with our minds

on things of God, not things of this world.

     That is why we are opposed and persecuted by the world. That

is why they persecuted Jesus Christ. That is why some who become

somewhat interested, are baptized and start in the Church, drift

back into the world and leave the Church. Many professed to repent

and be baptized who had not repented, but were accepted by Church

members as brethren. These false brethren did and always have

entered into the Church professing to be members.

     Jesus preached a definite Gospel. That and that alone is the

Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a Gospel message about the Kingdom

of God -- the begotten and finally to be born family of God -- a family

of divine persons, begotten and finally to be born of God.

     Jesus came. He called and taught His disciples. One of the

original 12 turned against Him, Judas Iscariot. Jesus taught His

students. Then He died for the sins of the world and commissioned

those He had taught to go into all the world and teach in all

nations the same message He had taught them.

     They were to baptize those who repented and believed. But

Jesus Himself said plainly, "No man can come to me, except the

Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44). Through

predestination God chooses and calls those He nominates to qualify

to sit with Christ on the earth's throne when Satan is removed. At

that time, beginning with the Second Coming of Christ, God will

open the tree of life to everyone then living. For the previously

uncalled, judgment will be on them by a resurrection from the dead

after the thousand years' reign with Christ. Judgment will then

have come to all who ever lived. But at the present time judgment

is on the Church only (I Peter 4:17).

     After Jesus' death and resurrection He ascended to heaven to

sit with God on God's throne, where He is today. Ten days after His

ascension days after His death -- the Holy Spirit descended and

filled His disciples. That day of "first fruits" the Church was

born.

     It thrived and grew amazingly, but soon opposition and

persecution set in. By A.D. 51, much of the Church in Galatia had

turned to another gospel (Galatians 1:6-7). A violent controversy

arose over whether the Gospel to be preached was the Gospel of

Christ or a gospel ABOUT Christ. The latter won out. There ensued

a "lost century" in the history of the Church, from about A.D. 70

to 170. The original true Church survived, but gradually lost much

of Jesus' teaching and biblical truth. By the early part of the

20th century much of God's purpose and truth had been lost -- but the

struggling true Church still had the name Church of God, the Ten

Commandments including the Sabbath, and also tithing.

     I came among the brethren of the Sardis era upon conversion

from 1927. I never did become a member of that era of the Church.

In 1930 a division occurred among the Oregon brethren, resulting in

the formation of the Oregon Conference of the Church of God. The

Sardis era of the Church had become, virtually spiritually dead.

That was the beginning of a gradual transition to the Philadelphia

era. I was ordained in June of precisely a century of time cycles

after the original apostles were ordained -- in this transition era

by the Oregon Conference of the Church of God. I continued to work

with and fellowship with West Coast members of the Sardis era until

1942, when the rapidly growing work of the fledgling Philadelphia

era required my full time. The present era was officially begun in

October, 1933. For the next 35 years it grew steadily at the

average rate of approximately 30 percent per year.

     Ambassador College was founded Oct. 8, 1947, amid a

life-and-death financial struggle for existence.

     Ever since 1930 in the Sardis church there had been opposition

and political infighting among some ministers.

     In 1927 God opened my eyes to the continuing command to

observe the annual Sabbaths, as well as the weekly Sabbath. None of

the Sardis era brethren in the United States would accept this

truth of the annual Sabbaths, except for two or three families. As

God continued to restore lost truths to His Church through me, the

Sardis era brethren rejected all restored truths.

     After two years of Ambassador College teaching in preparing

new young ministers, the Church started its rapid growth and soon

new local churches were being raised up in ever-increasing number

as ministers were trained to pastor them.

     The radio broadcasts, started January, 1934, continued to

bring an ever-increasing number of candidates for baptism and

conversion. The end time had come. God was preparing a Church, well

organized on His own pattern, to be prepared as kings and priests

to reign with Christ at His coming. Beside the growth of the Plain

Truth magazine, I was continuing to write many booklets on various

important doctrines and truths. Television did not go on the air

until after World War II ended in 1945. We did not go on TV until

July of 1955, but discontinued it after six months. Radio

broadcasting had increased greatly, and in the latter 1950s the

World Tomorrow program was using more wattage of radio power than

any program on earth. The Church was broadcasting daily, seven

nights a week.

     In 1960 the second Ambassador campus was started at Bricket

Wood, 19 miles northwest of London, in England. My elder son,

Richard David Armstrong, had become the most-loved minister in the

Church, but he died as the result of a head-on automobile crash

while on a baptizing trip in late July, 1958, while in his 30th

year.

     In 1964, the third college campus was opened at Big Sandy,

Tex.

     The Work of the Church was fast developing worldwide. In 1967,

April 15, my beloved wife, Loma, died after a happy marriage of 50

years. It was her challenge about the Sabbath in late 1926 that had

led to my conversion, and she had been an important half of my

ministry.

     The growth of the Church was continuing until about 1972.

     In 1968 word came to me through our German Office that King

Leopold III of Belgium had said that he would like to meet me. I

visited him at his chateau in Belgium, and a long friendship

developed affectionately until his death in late September, 1983.

     This led to meetings with many heads of governments of many

nations until my heart failure in August, 1977. During those years

the Ambassador Foundation was developing with projects in different

nations in many parts of the world. I had been traveling overseas

about 300 out of the 365 days a year.

     Up through the 1960's, with new lost truths being continually

restored to this era of God's Church, there had been little

contention or opposition within the Church. But the wily Satan was

not to allow this growth in harmony and peace and unity to continue

without opposition. We were to learn the truth of Jesus' parable of

the sower and the seed (Luke 8).

     The seed sown was the Word of God -- the Bible. The Word was

being proclaimed over the United States, Canada, Britain, Europe

and some other parts of the world. It fell on four types or

classifications of people. The first and largest number were those

by the wayside. They heard, but "then cometh the devil, and taketh

away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be

saved." These were the millions who hear, but the truth of God's

Word never sank in. There was no response from this largest number,

though they did hear, at least in part.

     The second group were those on the rocks, who, when they

heard, were interested and received the message with joy. Many of

these were baptized. But they had no root, and temporarily

believed, but because they lacked depth of purpose or capacity to

grow spiritually, soon dropped out.

     The third group were among thorns. When they heard they were

baptized. But the cares and interests of the world choked them.

They still wanted to be like the world. They were liberals. They

brought forth "no fruit to perfection."

     The fourth group, smallest of all, were those on "good

ground," which kept the word and came out of the world, growing

spiritually in character and biblical knowledge. They brought forth

"fruit with patience," in various degrees (see also Matthew 13:23).

     So it has been, especially since about 1969 in God's Church.

     The world looks on such events occurring in any church as

evidence of corruption or wrongdoing or something wrong and

reprehensible in the church. Worldly clubs, societies or churches

do not generally seem to have such troubles or controversies. Satan

does not bother them. They are already on his side, but Satan seeks

to destroy God's one and only true Church.

     Now how did these controversies, troubles or divisions occur?

It's time our members knew the truth.

     Late in 1971 many of our members became confused over

propaganda reaching our people over a "sacred names" teaching. This

purported that whenever the names of God or of Jesus are mentioned,

they must not be spoken by their names in the English language, but

in the Hebrew language.

     In other words, we could read and discuss the Bible as

translated into the English language in all terms except the names

of God or of Jesus Christ. Then we must speak Hebrew.

     God's name, they had come to believe, could not be spoken

except in the Hebrew language. They overlooked the fact that all

original copies of the New Testament were inspired by the same God

through Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and inspired by the Holy

Spirit in the Greek language. In numerous instances the inspired

New Testament, inspired in the Greek language, quoted Old Testament

passages containing the names of God. And in every case God through

the Holy Spirit used the Greek names for God and the One who became

Jesus, and NOT THE HEBREW LANGUAGE.

     Certain ones were leaving the Church to join this false

movement, being misled into believing God's Church to be in error.

     At that time, it was suggested that a special Doctrinal Team

be appointed to research the question more technically to verify

the real truth. We wanted the teaching and doctrines of the Church

to be verified beyond any room for doubts. I appointed A Doctrinal

Research Committee to pursue an in-depth research of the subject.

     A small few Ambassador graduates who had become ministers in

the Church were somewhat scholarly inclined, especially one who had

a specific problem. He suffered from an inferiority complex.

Because some of our graduates at the time were enrolling in outside

universities for higher degrees, a few came to conceive that a

"scholar" was in the loftiest position of humanity.

     If this inferiority sufferer could feel in his own mind that

he was a scholar he would feel elevated above other people and

therefore delivered from feelings of inferiority. He began to

question some of the established doctrines of the Church of God,

such as counting the day of Pentecost, divorce and remarriage,

tithing and others.

     Soon he was entering into what he considered a scholarly

research to DISprove some of the Church's basic teachings.

Gradually one or two others, then even more, joined in a

self-appointed "scholarly research" to DISprove plain biblical

truths.

     It became evident that those attending other universities came

to consider Ambassador College as inferior and substandard

intellectually