"Who Are You?"
The
True Story Behind Triumph Ministries!
What is the
history and background of Triumph Publishing,
and William F.
Dankenbring. Many have wondered. Here
is the
fascinating, true story -- the who, what and why behind
Triumph
Prophetic Ministries!
William F.
Dankenbring
Back
in 1963, some 40 years ago, I was a relatively young man who had just graduated
from
Once
I began writing for the magazines, however, I was moved from Letter Answering
to head up a fledgling "Editorial Department" in January 1966. By that time my "by-line" had begun
appearing regularly in the Plain Truth and Good News magazines. It seemed I was really "going
places," as I had an article in almost every issue of both magazines
months on end -- reaching millions of people -- something no evangelist in
the church could say, not even
Garner Ted Armstrong, who seldom wrote for the Good News.
At one point, I believe
it was the Feast of Tabernacles in 1965, when I was still a single man,
unmarried, and lonely, and feeling deeply depressed, in spite of the amazing
way in which God Almighty and Jesus Christ were using me, and honing and
refining my talents, Garner Ted Armstrong stood up in the pulpit at Squaw
Valley, and began talking about "unsung heroes" in the Work of God,
who labored mightily yet without recognition, prestige, acclaim or reward. He mentioned my name. He not only mentioned it, he went on and on,
it seemed, saying that this little known, unsung fellow -- myself -- who had
written such powerful articles on prayer, faith, fasting, and many other
topics, was worth more to the Work of God than 7-8 men in the field, or even
2-3 evangelists!
Such
acclaim, actually, helped brighten my Feast and cheer me up, in spite of my
loneliness at the time -- but it didn't make the girls flock to my side.
A
few months later, at the ministerial conference in Pasadena, January 1966, he
once again mentioned my name before all the assembled ministers, saying I was
worth the equivalent to the Work of God of 7-8 "second men" in the
field ministry, and announced the formation of a new Editorial Department,
where I would be writing booklets, and a book on the existence of God.
Herbert W. Armstrong, who
didn't even know me at the time, asked if the young man was present in the
room. I slowly raised my hand. He asked me to stand up. So I did, basking in the sudden adulation,
acclaim, and the respect of my peers.
However,
the sudden rays of sunshine turned to mud a few days later when Mr. Armstrong
began talking about handling the "Christmas" issue, saying that under
no circumstances should any of God's people have anything to do with that pagan
holiday. He went so far as to say that
people working in department stores shouldn't even handle "Christmas
decorations" or displays in store windows.
I had just written an article on "The Christmas Problem," in
which I had used Letter Answering Department form letters as a basis for making
certain points, and I had written that setting up Christmas decorations in a
store, if it was part of your job, was no big deal, and would not be wrong to
do.
While
Herbert Armstrong was talking about "don't compromise," Richard
Plache, a pastor or evangelist ranked minister at the time, strode briskly up
to the podium and presented Herbert Armstrong with the December Good
News magazine, just hot off the
press; he had circled the portion I had written about this matter. Herbert Armstrong began reading it out loud
to the entire ministry, and then EXPLODED!
In effect, he said, "Who is this young whippersnapper who
wrote this? WHERE did he get this? " Ted Armstrong coughed, and said, "He got
it from things we've said at Bible Studies." Dr. Clint Zimmerman, then the supervisor over
Letter Answering, didn't have the "guts" to admit the information had
come from his department's "letter information file."
Herbert
Armstrong then said, "From now on I want 3-4 evangelists to proof read and check every
word these young men write before it is printed! " So my "glory" of the beginning of
that week had quickly turned to mud!
Upon leaving that meeting and walking up the hill near the Ambassador
College library, David Jon Hill, evangelist who was then my direct supervisor,
said to me, "Well, how does it feel to have received your 'baptism by
fire'?" Even though feeling
remorse, chagrin, and pain, from the humiliating and grossly unfair experience,
I couldn't help but grin, and laugh. As
far as I was concerned, it was all in God's hands anyway. He raised me up to write; He could tear me
down. It didn't really matter;
"blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job
worry. Just hide under a rock for a few months, and
then it'll be all right!" So for
the next few months, none of my articles appeared in the church publications!
The Spirit of Jealousy
Several
years later, after much "seasoning," a stint in the field
"ministry" assisting a church pastor in the
The "Curse" of Notoriety
and Fame
All
the sudden notoriety, however, did not go unnoticed by various
individuals. At one point, when I
mentioned to a worker in the television department, Hans Quast, that wouldn't
it be good if we could interview Prince Sihanouk of
The
whole thing came to an end in June of 1974.
The Church had been having massive problems with defections of
ministers, doctrinal changes were occurring, there was much discussion and
"hope" things would get better.
But those were also the days of the revelations concerning Garner Ted
Armstrong's ubiquitious sexual escapades and rampant immorality. He had been exiled and disfellowshipped twice,
once to
During
this sordid period, my "morale" was very low. I didn't want to support wicked ministers and
their revolting life styles, ministers who were still in office and showed no
fruits of repentance whatsoever. Ted
Armstrong was still in the "denial" stage of recouperation -- he denied
the sexual affairs, although he had admitted them earlier to a group of
evangelists in his home, even saying he estimated he had had
"hundreds" of sexual partners during his ministry. This inflammatory material was later reported
in the full-color special issue of Ambassador Report, copyrighted in
1977. The striking cover article was
titled, "In Bed with Garner Ted:
The Dachshund
Caper
Nevertheless,
while I was in
I
thought nothing more of the meeting, and went to
Jon
Hill had recommended two years previously, in 1972, to Herman Hoeh that he hire me as his
editorial manager for the Plain Truth, when the Tomorrow's World magazine folded. At
that time, I remember sitting
down in Herman Hoeh's first floor corner office of the Hall of Administration,
where he solemnly asked me, "Why should I hire you? A certain person says I should let you go. Do you believe God has 'called' you to be
here?" I was flabbergasted --
aghast. I felt torpedoed -- suddenly,
out of the blue, I found myself being called upon to defend myself and my very
existence as a writer for the "Work."
I began explaining how I did believe
God had called me to serve him, my background, and history.
When
I was through, Herman Hoeh looked at me and said, "I will go to the
wall for you. I will put my own job on the line before I
fire you!" Sadly, however, two
years later when the editorial department was being restructured, he recommended
to the new editor that I could be let go -- he told me it was because he felt I
could do better on the outside. I
suppose in a sense he kept his word -- his job did go, before my own job!
Thus
in 1974 when Art Ferdig once again took up the mantle of the Plain Truth, he
approached Ted Armstrong with a list of men he wanted to use for the
magazine. My name was crossed off the
list. Ted asked him, "Can you do
without him?" Art said he
could. Ted then said, "Fine. You are in charge. The decision is yours." So in that brief exchange, I was terminated
from writing for the Plain Truth and
from serving God through employment at the Church -- after spending eleven
years there as a full time writer and editor, having written over one hundred
articles, booklets, and Correspondence Course lessons!
How
ironic!
Cut Loose! The Beginning of Triumph Publishing!
At
that time, however, I did not lose faith in God. Rather, with a shoestring and much prayer, I
launched an independent publishing company, called Triumph Publishing. The first book I wrote and produced was The
Keys to Radiant Health, followed the following year by The First
Genesis: A New Case for Creation. Herman Hoeh freely edited both books for
me, and even wrote a foreword for the second book.
In
the following years, God blessed me in real estate business, and I plowed the
money I earned into the publishing, to keep the truth of God's Word alive. I published Creation Book for Children, a
full-color book with beautiful pictures of animals, showing evidence that God
created them, followed by The Last Days, a book on prophecy, and Beyond
Star Wars, a book on earth's cataclysmic past and God's intervention in
earth history. In the meantime, I
published Raymond McNair's book Ascent to Greatness, when he was having
marital problems, which led him to divorce his wife of many years, Leona.
Then,
in the early 1980's, I wrote and published The Last Days of Planet
Earth: A Survival Guide to the End of
the World (489 pages), Overcoming
Satan (427 pages), Escape from Armageddon (441 pages), and Satan's Fate, a
shorter book. From 1974 till 1985, I
published some nineteen books in all, having written nine of them myself!
During
those years, the Church remained silent about my publishing activities. It did not object; nor did it endorse what I
wrote. Since I was running an
"independent publishing business," they said I had every right to do so,
and did not stand in the way. However,
they also said they could not endorse or "approve" such books, lest
it appear they were soliciting business for me.
The statement was made that the church was not in the business of
approving or disapproving books of independent publishers. The church even permitted me to buy
advertising space in the colorful Festival brochures, however, to advertise my
books (they wanted my money!).
Nevertheless,
as the years went by, the attitude of some in the church began to change -- for
the worse. Eventually, the Festival
brochures were banned. I began hearing
rumors that people at the Festival sites would go to bookstores or markets
where my books were on display, and tell others, "Those books are not
approved. " The truth is, they
were neither approved or disapproved, but the gainsayers failed to add "or
disapproved." They made it sound
totally negative! Some began saying I
had left the Church! But I persevered,
serving God. As my name is
"William," meaning "helmet of will," "strong
will," "iron will," "resolute determination," that is
the way in which I approached these trials and tests.
Disfellowshipped and Marked -- Without a
Hearing!
A
year after the death of Herbert Armstrong in January, 1986, I was issuing
another "Triumph catalog" of books and articles, and announced the
beginning of a new newsletter to help keep people informed on Bible
prophecy. It was to be called PROPHECY
FLASH! It was at this time that
Joseph Tkach, the new pretentious Panjandrum of the Worldwide Church of God,
got on my case for publishing outside the church, as a private publisher, and
sent two ministers to my home to inform me that I was no longer considered a
loyal, reliable church member -- I was suspended one week, disfellowshipped the
next, and "marked" the third week -- without even being given a
HEARING!
When
this happened, I knew there was
something very, very "rotten in
considered unimportant, and
simply damned without a hearing!
The Irony of It All
Since
that time in January 1987, I have been very busy serving God. The first issue of Prophecy Flash --
about 6 pages long -- came out in March 1987.
The total circulation of that issue was about 32 copies! Today, Prophecy Flash averages some 88
pages in length, published six times a year, and the active mailing list is
about 3,000 people worldwide.
During
the past few years, I have taken a lot of "heat" from various
individuals, including Worldwide ministers, who have accused me of
"charging for the truth," "bitterness,"
"Satanic," and one even told people I was "delivered over to
Satan for the destruction of the flesh."
Others, including Joseph Tkach, have called me a "false
prophet," and on and on.
But
during these years of persecution, God has BLESSED this Work, with slow but steady
growth. Even more than that, however, He
has blessed us with wonderful NEW TRUTH and KNOWLEDGE, regarding prophecy,
doctrine, the Passover, Pentecost, healing, the truth about the nature and
origin of Jesus Christ, and insight into many other matters. For the past seventeen years I have been
blowing the "trumpet," shouting the warning to God's people still in
Worldwide, as well as Church of God International, and OTHER OFFSHOOTS, that
they are in a deadly LAODICEAN CONDITION and need to bitterly repent and
"COME OUT" of such sheer apostasy (Rev.3:14-21). No one else has been shouting the
warning! God revealed the Laodicean
condition of Worldwide to me, and I began writing about it beginning in 1987,
the year I was disfellowshipped. Sadly,
few took it to heart, at the time.
Growing Doctrinal
Confusion
Of
course, today the rampant changes in doctrine of the Worldwide Church of God
have become noticeable to many others, as well.
The WATCHMAN EXPOSITOR, volume 10, no.7, published in August
1993, featured a full-length cover picture of Joseph Tkach with the glaring
title: "Joseph W. Tkach Pastor
General of the Worldwide Church of God Moving past 'Armstrongism' toward
mainstream Christianity?" Across
the bottom of the cover is the shocking title:
"Insiders Report: Worldwide
poised to adopt DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY."
That was ten years ago, and they have absorbed that doctrine hook, line
and sinker!
I
have been WARNING of this
diabolical apostasy for the past SEVENTEEN YEARS! Inside the magazine are these feature
articles: "Worldwide Church of God
ACCEPTS TRINITY DOCTRINE," "Leaked WCG Memo Questions British
Israelism," and an article contrasting Tkach's new teaching with Herbert
Armstrong's teaching on the nature of God, entitled: "To Be or Not To Be . . . GOD?" In one article, entitled "Testimony of
Jim Baldwin
Former WCG Elder," the
former elder says, "The changes in doctrine/administration were such that I
did not know what I believed anymore " (emphasis mine).
In
view of the rapid-fire changes in Worldwide, various groups have departed from
that church to begin their own new "church." One of the first was the "Global Church
of God" led by Roderick Meredith, which has since then gone defunct,
replaced by “The Living Church of God,” still being led by Roderick. An attempted coup de tat finished off the
Global Church.
What about the “Living Church of
God"?
Roderick
C. Meredith, evangelist, departed from Worldwide Church of God in December,
1992, after being forcibly "retired."
Apparently he had long had doubts about the way the Worldwide Church of
God was being led, and had secretly made plans to incorporate his own church,
the Global Church of God, when the time was right. A year previously on the telephone he
expressed to me his undying and complete loyalty to both Joseph Tkach and his
son Joseph Jr., and even said he hoped that one day I would return to the
Church! Yet apparently, even then, his
words were only a smoke-screen, belied by his actions a year later!
Roderick
Meredith, of course, was a long-time evangelist in the Worldwide Church of God,
one of the first evangelists ordained.
Strangely, once he left Worldwide, I called him on the phone, thinking
it would be good to get together for lunch and renew our friendship. But he wanted no part of meeting with me, as
I was later to find out, and said he was too busy at the time to get together,
but "later." Since then he has
been busy building his own church, and trying to get as many members as he can
to leave Worldwide to join in what he calls "God's End Time
Work"!
Many
church members, not trusting Flurry, and appalled at the backsliding of
Worldwide under Joseph Tkach, are moving over to Meredith's church. I applaud their efforts to remain faithful to
God's truth, and believe that they are really sincere when they blast the
doctrinal errors and heresies of Worldwide.
Raymond McNair, my old friend, has joined him in Global Church, and the
Church seems to be sky-rocketing in growth.
Excellent articles have appeared in his World Ahead magazine, and in their "Global
Church News."
However,
not all was truly well in the Global Church of God, either. For some reason, Roderick Meredith took it
upon himself to attack me privately, in conversations with individuals from
coast to coast. To one person he said I
had made several "false prophecies."
He was referring to the fact that in fall of 1990 I, like virtually
everybody else, thought that Saddam Hussein would put up a much stiffer
resistance to the armies led by the United States in the short Gulf War. I thought casualties would be heavy on both
sides. I admit that I was mistaken. This, however, was speculation on my part --
not anything I claimed was "direct revelation" from God!
But
when it comes to prophecy, is Roderick Meredith himself immune from
mistakes? The truth is, he himself made
a serious wrong prophetic prediction while serving as an evangelist of the
Worldwide Church of God. In a1966
article in the Plain Truth, Meredith noted a spectacular Bible event
which was to happen in 1972. I quote the
article:
"What was 'The meaning of Hitler's fake suicide?' Meredith asked.
'It's
meaning could SHOCK an awed and astonished world within
the
next five to seven years! Its meaning
could precipitate the END
of
this present age and the second coming of Jesus Christ! . . . It is
a most
interesting date because Bible
prophecy indicates that the final
attack
on the U.S. and Britain by this coming 'Beast' power could easily
be
launched perhaps as early as the spring of 1972 -- or earlier if this
final
work of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is cut short'
(May
1965, p.45)."
In
his first newsletter to the Global Church of God readership, Meredith
maintained his interest in Bible prophecy, challenging others by saying:
"God insists that His servants the prophets will
understand and
fearlessly
teach what the future holds. If teachers
cannot see the
revealed
future, then are they true servants of God?" (Global Church
News,
vol.1, no.1, p.5, quoted
in Watchman Expositor, p.22).
Judging
by Meredith's own words, then, one must ask:
Is he a true servant of God?
His own predictions, in his 1965 article, were as wrong as can be. His prediction of World War III by the
spring of 1972, of course, fell flat as a pancake!
Since
early 1993, Rod Meredith promised members of the Global Church of God that they
were seriously going to address the question of Passover and Pentecost. This was to be done at the ministerial
meeting in the summer, but got pushed off the calendar. It was to be done at
"doctrinal meetings" before the fall festival, but again got
scrubbed. Then members were promised it
would be investigated right after the Feast.
It never happened. Some said
there was no hurry, and recommended that they didn’t address those questions
for another 2-3 years, but concentrate on building the Church, at the present
time.
On
the Day of Atonement, 1993, Rod Meredith lashed out viciously against those in
his congregation who were "Judaizing," and returning to
"Judaism," and said that the religion of Judaism is just as pagan and
bad as Catholicism! He gave no proof or
evidence to support this wild claim, but thundered his denunciation of Judaism
-- which he does not even understand and has never even begun to research -- and
caused one young lady in his congregation, a Jewish girl, to get up and leave,
tears streaming down her cheeks!
Global
Church of God is now “history.” Several
members of their Board of Directors did not like the direction Roderick
Meredith was steering the Church, and attempted to pull a “coup.” Rod left the church, took the mailing list
with him, and wrote to all the members explaining how he had been bushwhacked,
ambushed, and removed from power in that Church. Interestingly, 80 percent of the membership
agreed with him and also left the church, and they formed up the “Living Church
of God.” It held fast to all the
doctrines they had previously had, and everything inherited from Herbert
Armstrong.
I
lament what has become of the Worldwide Church of God, since I was
disfellowshipped in 1987, seventeen years ago, now. I lament also what seems to be happening to
the off-shoot groups which have come out of Worldwide, to set up their own
organizations, but not truly repenting of their sins or returning to God and
His Laws!
I
weep for the once-beloved Church of God!
I weep for the sad and deplorable state into which its remnants have
fallen! As Jeremiah wrote,
"I have heard a voice as of a WOMAN
IN TRAVAIL, and the anguish
as
of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of
Zion,
that bewaileth herself,
that spreadeth her hands saying, Woe is me
now! For my soul is wearied because of
murderers" (Jer.4:31).
The Time to Repent Is NOW!
Will any of the
end-time "branches" of God's Church repent, before it is too late?
The
evidence does not look good. God has
commissioned me to "cry aloud, spare not," and show His people their
sins (Isaiah 58:1-2). I have been
shouting and thundering the warning for SEVENTEEN YEARS, now! But there is strikingly little evidence
anyone is really listening -- not even Roderick C. Meredith! Therefore, I must appeal beyond the ministry,
and go straight to each individual MEMBER himself or herself!
But
in a long, hour and one half long telephone conversation, back in 1993, with a
man who was helping organize the Global Church of God down in Florida, Meredith
lambasted me for most of the entire conversation, dredging up things from many
years ago -- things I had never given any thought to at all. To the gentleman on the phone, Rod Meredith
unloaded a truckload of accusations and incriminating rhetoric, accusing me of
plagiarizing ideas from ministers in the 1970s, and running back to my office
to write articles using their material!
He even accused me of having taken his old article entitled "The
Seven Laws of Radiant Health" and plagiarizing his title and contents in a
book I wrote in the middle 70s entitled The Keys to Radiant Health. I was thunderstruck when I heard these
accusations. I felt literally bowled
over. All these years I had thought of
Roderick Meredith as a "friend" -- as a fellow laborer with
Christ. I had no inkling or even the
slightest suspicion of his suppressed feelings of anger, resentment and
hostility!
As
to his allegations, copyright laws state that you cannot copyright a title --
that's a fact any writer ought to know.
However, my book was entitled The Keys To Radiant Health, not
"The Seven Laws of Radiant Health."
Thirdly, my book was about 250 pages of material on heart disease,
cancer, nutrition, exercise, vitamins, VD, principles of healthful living --
nothing remotely like his little 3-page article. Obviously, not one iota of my book was
plagiarized or purloined from his article!
Rod
Meredith was told by this man, 'You really need to get together with Mr.
Dankenbring, it would be very good for you two to get together." Meredith replied: "I will NEVER get together with that
man! "
When
I heard of this, I couldn't believe it.
My mind was reeling -- whatever had I done to offend this individual
long ago? I could think of absolutely nothing. Then it began dawn on me and I began to
wonder -- could it be that years ago he really smarted to see a young man like myself writing up
a storm of articles for the church publications, when he could barely get an
article in edge-wise? Was this the
problem? Was he possibly jealous,
letting his emotions boil over, and resentful of my writing ability? Had his pride as a “great iron-lunged
evangelist” gone to his head?
But
why? Why make all these ridiculous
accusations? Paul wrote, "For all
seek their own, and not the things which are Jesus Christ's" (Phil.2:21). Obviously, Rod Meredith felt very bitter
toward me, or he would not have said these things. Yet I didn't feel any bitterness or
resentment toward him at all. Over the years, I thought of him as a fellow
human being, learning lessons like the rest of us. I never put him on a pedestal. I knew he had his weaknesses, and sins which
he needed to repent of -- his foolishness, his ill-fated remarks about Leona
McNair, wife of Raymond McNair who was divorced by him.
The
fact is, I published the book The Incredible History of God's True Church, by
Ivor Fletcher's which spoke highly of Rod Meredith's pioneer years in
the Worldwide Church of God, then known as the Radio Church of God, especially
his stint in England where he established the European office.
According
to the man in Florida, Meredith did have at least one compliment of me, if I could call it
that. He admitted to the man that I was
the most prolific writer they
ever had at Ambassador College or the Work.
The man rejoined, "Well, if he was so prolific, then he wouldn't
need to steal other people's material, as you claim." Meredith had no answer to that.
In
the course of the telephone conversation, Meredith told "Mr.
S.": "I'll never get together with him! " He did promise, however, to read my articles
on Passover and Pentecost (they've been sitting in his files for many months!)
and study them! But will he really? I can only wonder. Judging by present appearance, it appears
obvious that Rod Meredith and the Global Church of God are not really sincere
in taking an honest, objective look at these foundational issues!
It
has been said that Roderick Meredith knows how to dish it out -- but can he
take it? Can he himself take correction
and rebuke? The apostle Peter took
public rebuke from Paul, and later called him a "beloved brother"
(see Gal.2:11-14; II Pet.3:15).
Paul
wrote to the Galatians, "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in
this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
But if ye bite and devour one
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another"
(Gal.5:14-15). Paul admonished the
Colossians, "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, evil communication out of your
mouth. LIE NOT
one to another . . . Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowls
of mercies, kindness, HUMBLENESS OF MIND, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against
any: even as Christ forgave you, so also
do ye. And above all these things, put
on CHARITY [LOVE], which is the bond of perfectness. And let the PEACE of God rule in your hearts,
to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful "
(Col.3:8-15).
Regardless of who we
are, and what our station or position in life, God says, "BE YE
THANKFUL. " It is not a spirit
of gratitude and thankfulness to bitterly revile and drudge up dirt on a
brother in Christ. As far as talents,
calling, and abilities go, God inspired Paul to write, "For the gifts and
calling of God are without repentance" (Rom.11:29). God chooses us, and puts us in the body of
Christ, "as it hath pleased him" (I Cor.12:18). As Paul wrote, "Now there are
diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but
it is the same God which worketh all in all" (verses 4-6).
The
things each one of us does, or accomplishes, in the body of Christ, if we are
truly inspired by Christ and truly serve Him, is done by the power and
inspiration of the Spirit of God. It is
not right for one "brother" in the Church -- the spiritual organism
which is the real "body of Christ" -- to judge another, as Paul
plainly declared (Rom.14:34, 10-13), and as Jesus the Messiah so clearly
pointed out (Matt.7:1-2).
To
accuse a brother falsely is to damage his reputation and sully his
character. It is the very same thing as
damaging the reputation of Jesus, and sullying the chacter of Christ
Himself! To viciously smear and attack a
brother in the church is tantamount to attacking Jesus Himself, our Saviour,
Redeemer, and Messiah! Jesus Christ
declares, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my
brethren, ye have DONE IT UNTO ME " (Matt.25:40).
Jesus
also declared: "O generation of
VIPERS, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaketh. A good man out of the
good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure
bringeth forth evil things. But I
say unto you, That EVERY IDLE WORD that men shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment. For by
thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned" (Matt.12:34-37).
Is
prophecy being fulfilled? Paul warned
the Philippians, "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and
others of good will: The one preach
Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing
to add affliction to my bonds: But the
other of LOVE, knowing [and accepting the fact] that I am set for the defense
of the gospel" (Phil.1:15-17).
There
are many who have attacked me, since God used me to raise up Triumph Prophetic
Ministries, in January of 1987. I have
been ridiculed, slandered and bad-mouthed by Gerald Flurry of the so-called
"Philadelphia Church of God."
I have been called "false prophet" and other diatribes by
various individuals in the United States, Canada and elsewhere. Ministers in the apostate Worldwide Church of
God have persecuted, ridiculed, and ridden roughshod over me for years,
ignoring and rejecting the truth God has revealed to me and others, and
continuing in their mad-cap dash to purgatory and tribulation. It truly saddens me that Rod Meredith would
join in with those who attack, demean, and insult me, and ignore this Work of
God and treat me with cavalier disdain and ignominious contempt.
Why Envy a Right
Work?
Wise
old king Solomon wrote, "Again, I considered all travail, and every
right work, that for this a
man is envied of his neighbour. This is
also vanity and vexation of spirit" (Eccl.4:4).
As
for me, I seek unto God, and to Him I commit my cause, my name, my reputation,
my work, and my life (Job 5:8; Prov.16:3; Psa.55:22; I Pet.5:6-7). For envy the priests delivered up Christ to
be crucified (Matt.27:18; Mark 15:10).
For envy the sons of Jacob sold their brother Joseph into slavery (Acts
7:9). But God was with him. The Jews were filled with envy against the
apostle Paul, and the success of his preaching, "and spake against those
things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming" (Acts
13:45).
Paul
wrote to Titus, an evangelist of God's Church, "For we ourselves also were
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living
in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another " (Titus
3:3). James, the brother of Jesus
Christ, wrote in his epistle, "Do ye think that the scripture saith in
vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy [or, enviously]? "
(James 4:5).
"I'd Rather Be a
Doorkeeper"
Personally,
I am not an eloquent speaker or “hunk.”
I am not a Sylvester Stalone, an Arnold Schwartzneger, or some Hollywood
star or hero. I am not an
impressive-looking executive of a major corporation. I am just a lowly, unworthy, plain servant of
God. I am like the proverbial
"doorkeeper" -- not an exalted position, but close to the House of
God, the Temple! As the Psalmist wrote,
"For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of
my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalm 84:10). The marginal rendering is, "to sit at
the threshold." It means literally
"one at the threshold," such as a beggar asking alms, or a passer-by
looking in. Even a lowly position in the House or Work of God is better than
feasting in the temporary "tents" of the self-serving, self-important
"wicked"!
Herbert
Armstrong admitted many times during his life that he did not have the gift of
wisdom. Understanding he had, he said,
but God never gave him wisdom. His track
record in the ministry certainly bears out the truth of that
self-analysis. One of his greatest
errors, in retrospect, was ordaining men to the ministry out of Ambassador
College when they were still children!
In the early years, several students were ordained as
"evangelists" in the Church, even though they were still
wet-behind-the-ears, untrained, inexperienced.
In the Old Testament, the law of God stated that no priest was to be
ordained to office before age thirty (Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 39, 43,
47). Jesus Christ began HIS OWN ministry
at the age of THIRTY (Luke 3:23).
If
even the Messiah Himself wasn't ready to preach until age 30, then WHY, O WHY
did Herbert Armstrong ordain immature, unseasoned, inexperienced young men into
the ministry, even as evangelists, in the early days of the Church? These included Herman L. Hoeh, Norman Smith,
Roderick Meredith, Raymond Cole, and Raymond McNair. Every one has failed to live up to their potential. Some have led seditions and rebellions
spiritually; some have compromised and serve Joseph Tkach and his "new
spiritual agenda" returning to "Babylon"; others have virtually
"given up the ghost" spiritually and caved in to pressure to conform;
others have "retired"; but is there even one valiant true man of God
among them, today, who has held fast, stood firm, and "endured"?
Paul
admonished Timothy to ordain no one until they were ready and qualified --
"not a novice, lest being lifted up with PRIDE, he fall into the
condemnation of the DEVIL" (I Tim.3:6).
The Greek word for "novice" here is neophutos, and
means, "newly planted," "young convert,"
"neophyte."
Of
course, all this is really "water under the bridge" -- or should
be. The past is dead and buried -- or
should be. Regardless of the mistakes of
the past, isn't it time God's people forgive and forget imagined
"slights" or "insults," and get on with DOING the TRUE Work of God -- teaching and proclaiming
HIS TRUTHS faithfully?
The
apostle Paul wrote: "This one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and REACHING
FORTH unto those things which are
before, I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil.3:13-14). He went on, "let us therefore, as many
as be PERFECT [MATURE], be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be
otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you" (v.15). God help US-- all of us -- to understand
the TRUTH, to LOVE THE TRUTH -- and to do the right thing!