THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD
In this end time, just prior to the return of Jesus Christ and the setting up of God's Kingdom on Earth, there is a specific and crucial area of doctrine that has been seriously misinterpreted and misapplied by many sections of the true Church of God.
This doctrine represents a much-cherished belief of the Church, which is, however, not backed up by the Scriptures. It concerns the concept of "the Government of God".
It is the intent of the author to prove beyond doubt that "one man government", which was employed by God in various ways over physical Israel, has under the New Covenant been superseded by "one God government" over spiritual Israel, i.e. Jesus Christ as Head of the Church (Col 1:18).
The Origin of One Man Church Government
In recent times much has been made of "the government of God" that Herbert W Armstrong (HWA) is said to have restored to the Church, and which is commonly referred to as "one man rule". Since HWA’s death many Churches of God (COG) have continued to employ this form of government. Even those that choose not to, will usually state that there is nothing wrong with it in principle.
However, below is a quote from Herbert Armstrong's booklet "Who or What is the Prophetic Beast?" (1960, p26), showing that he himself strongly criticised this form of government.
The bracketed writing within HWA's text is mine, as is the underlining of his text.
"Where, then, did human church government derive its present form? "The first pope, in the real sense of the word, was Leo I (440-461 A.D.)", says the Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, volume 7, page 629. To him the form of government of the Roman Empire (one man rule by the Emperor) was the most marvelous thing on earth. He applied its principles to the church, organized the church into a government, forming the papacy (one man rule by the Pope). This church government or organization is the image of the beast. Says Myers' Ancient History: "During the reign of Leo I, the Church set up, within the Roman Empire, an ecclesiastical state [government] which, in its constitution and its administrative system, was shaping itself upon the imperial model". This church government, then, according to this historical authority, is in fact a model, a counterpart, an image of the beast which is the Roman Empire government. The Britannica calls it an ecclesiastical world empire! This image, man-designed and man-ruled (one man ruled) church government, compelled people to worship the church (worship the Pope, just like the Emperor was worshipped)! And since the church was organized into a worldly government (identical to that of the Beast powers), this was worship of the image, false worship (of the man at the top, rather than God), idolatry!"
Herbert Armstrong here says that to Leo I the office of the Roman Emperor embodied the ultimate form of government, and consequently Leo created the Papacy in its image. As HWA states, by introducing this office into the Roman Catholic Church, Leo became "the first pope, in the real sense of the word". We see therefore that the whole concept of a Pope, also known as a "universal bishop", is a Catholic invention.
How utterly amazing then that Herbert Armstrong established this same "image of the beast" office for himself, labelling it "Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God"!
A good example of how leadership used to function in the early Church is that of Polycarp, a leading minister who lived in the second century AD. Polycarp was Bishop of the city of Smyrna in Asia Minor. Indeed, every city where Christians dwelt had its bishop (or overseer), but no particular bishop had the pre-eminence. The fact that Polycarp is specifically designated as "Bishop of Smyrna" shows the limits of his territory. See "THE TRUE CHURCH ERAS" for more about Polycarp.
There is no Biblical record of an office of "universal bishop" ever having been created by God for a man. It is certainly not the New Testament equivalent of high priest, for that office today belongs to Christ (Heb 4:14).
Moses, Aaron and Joshua as Types of Christ
The first leader of the nation of Israel was Moses, a prophet of God, i.e. one who spoke God’s words (Deut 34:10). He was used by God as mediator between Himself and His people. Moses led Israel out of Egypt, a type of sin; he led them away from Pharaoh, a type of Satan; he taught them God's law, and he judged disputes between the people.
Moses was therefore a type of Jesus Christ in His role as Head of State (Deut 18:15-18, Jn 1:1,45, Acts 3:22-26, I Tim 6:15).
Moses' brother Aaron was high priest and also Moses' prophet, i.e. the one who spoke on Moses’ behalf (Ex 7:1-2). The book of Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus Christ is now the spiritual High Priest (Heb 3:1, 5:1-10).
Aaron was therefore a type of Jesus Christ in His role as Head of Religion.
After Moses’ death his role was filled by Joshua, while after Aaron’s death his role was passed on to his son Eleazar and then his grandson Phinehas.
So God placed Israel, His chosen nation, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Under them He later appointed twelve leaders, one from each of the twelve tribes as seen in Numbers 1 and 10. God also instructed Moses to meticulously organise and encamp the twelve tribes, as seen in Numbers 2 and 3. This attention to detail extended to the way they travelled, as described in Numbers 10 and 33, and the orderly way that the twelve tribes later occupied the land of Israel, as detailed in Numbers 34 to 36 and Joshua 13 to 21. This was no haphazard undertaking. Clearly God wanted His nation to reflect his own high standards of structure and organisation.
The significance of the number twelve can be seen throughout the Scriptures. Here are some examples:
Twelve tribes of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob
Twelve stones in Aaron's ephod
Twelve pillars at Mount Sinai
Twelve spies who went into Canaan, one from each tribe
Twelve stones set up by Joshua at the crossing of the Jordan
Twelve Judges in the Judges period, almost certainly one from each tribe
Twelve stones in Elijah's altar over which he poured twelve buckets of water
Twelve oxen under the "molten sea" in the Temple
Twelve cakes on the golden table in the Temple
Twelve gates and twelve foundations in New Jerusalem
Twelve months in a regular year, twelve hours in a day
Twelve apostles of Christ, sitting on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28)
Twelve stars on the crown worn by the woman picturing the Church (Rev 12:1)
Twenty-four priests heading twenty-four divisions of priests (2 x 12) (I Chron 24:1-19)
Twenty-four Levites heading twenty-four divisions of twelve musicians (2 x 12) (I Chron 25)
Twelve military leaders heading twelve divisions of twenty-four thousand men (I Chron 27)
Twenty-four elders seated on twenty-four thrones (2 x 12) (e.g. Rev 4:4)
One hundred and forty-four thousand firstfruits of salvation (12 x 12) (Rev 7 and 14)
No leader like Moses or Joshua was appointed after Joshua's death. Even while Joshua was still alive, the account in Joshua 22 shows that the twelve tribal leaders were soon governing the country, under, and in consultation with, the high priest (a type of Christ).
At that time a serious misunderstanding almost led to civil war, but Joshua did not get involved in solving the problem. Instead, the leaders of the ten tribes living west of the Jordan (very likely those named in Num 34:16-29), in cooperation with the high priest's son and representative, Phinehas, defused a stand-off with the leaders of the tribes on the east of the Jordan. Note that it was Phinehas who had the final word on the dispute (Josh 22:30-33).
As stated, no single ruler was appointed after Joshua. If Israel had not then strayed from God, the raising up of the Judges would not have been necessary; government of the state would have remained with the twelve tribal leaders of Israel under the high priest.
It makes sense that Christ's role as High Priest retained a physical counterpart in Israel, though not His role as Head of State, because the high priest's role pointed forward to the one that Christ was yet to fulfil as atoning sacrifice to reconcile God and man. Meanwhile, the invisible Christ, as Head of State over Israel, would provide for them, protect them, and bless them.
God’s Government Rejected by God's People
Over time, Israel rejected Christ as invisible Head of State, and requested instead to be ruled by a human king, like the nations around them.
Three hundred and fifty years after Joshua divided up the land of Israel among the twelve tribes, King Saul began to reign. After some time, however, Saul disobeyed God and became demon possessed. Having someone with an unsound mind in charge placed the nation in a very difficult position. In a system where twelve govern and one goes astray, the other eleven can deal with the situation. This is what happened with the tribe of Benjamin, as shown in Judges 19 and 20, when it was severely punished by the other eleven tribes for doing great evil. This is also what happened in the case of Judas Iscariot, when his demise led to the eleven remaining apostles, with God's help, determining who should take his place. Government by a body of twelve, as long as it consists of a majority of God-fearing men, is a safeguard to the truth and to those who are governed.
When one man ruling as sovereign goes astray, the consequences are enormous.
If the Worldwide Church of God had not been under one man government when Herbert Armstrong died, and his successor, Joe Tkach Sr, had instead been one of a group of twelve leaders, he could never have led the Church to change its major doctrines. His abominable agenda would have been rejected by the other eleven.
In reality, Herbert Armstrong's "restoration of the government of God" brought the Church he presided over to the brink of destruction after his death.
One man government is not the government of God under the New Covenant. On the contrary, one man government is what the Church adopted in the Laodicea era when it rejected the government of God. Just like Israel in the days of Samuel, they said, "We don't want to be ruled by God; we want to be ruled by a man". See I Samuel 8:5.
Jesus Christ is Head of the Church
In the same way that there were twelve tribes of Israel with twelve leaders over them, Christ appointed twelve apostles when He established His Church. He could have appointed just one man, but He didn’t. He could have chosen one apostle and eleven ministers of lower rank, but He didn't do that either.
In Matthew 23, after criticising the Jewish religious leaders, Christ tells His disciples, "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren" (v8). In other words, they were all on one level under Christ.
When the Worldwide Church of God adopted "one man", "image of the beast" government in the late 1950's, it sealed its own fate. This change over time led to the alienation of God's people from Him and His law, as they looked more and more to a man for direction rather than having a personal, close relationship with God. See the page "TEN BROKEN COMMANDMENTS" for additional information.
This was followed, after the death of HWA, by the collapse and fragmentation of the Church, with a slew of men each now claiming to be "some special one" (Acts 8) and seeking to draw believers after themselves. The damage done to the longsuffering people of God is incalculable.
If ever there has been a time in history when believers once again say "I am of Paul" or "I am of Apollos" or "I am of Cephas" (I Cor 1:12, 3:4), then this must be it. Truly, there is nothing new under the sun.
It is common to hear it said in the Churches of God today that if only all the "Laodiceans" would unite behind their particular "one man", all would be well. This is total nonsense. The Catholics are all united around their Pope, but what does that achieve? All the people in the world uniting behind a man will not solve our problems.
The real problem is that we are transgressing God's law, i.e. His Ten Commandments.
As already stated, there have been many instances of God using one man for a particular job in Old Covenant times. Noah, Moses, Joshua and the Judges are some examples. All these men were types of Jesus Christ, as a lawgiver, provider, protector, deliverer, mediator, prophet etc. None of these men, however, were permanently set up by God as a one man government that was to have ongoing successors.
Successive "one man rule" was not found in Israel until it became a kingdom, which God asserts was a rejection of His government (I Sam 8:7) and which brought punishment on the nation.
Under the New Covenant, God gave the Church "one God" government under Jesus Christ. In the Laodicea era, however, many people in God's Church have once again rejected Jesus Christ as King and instead accepted a man as king. The Philadelphia era message is referring to this when it warns, "let no man take your crown" (Rev 3:11 - KJV). See the page "THE TRUE CHURCH ERAS" for more on this.
Physical succession was also found in the physical priesthood, but it has been replaced by a spirit-led priesthood, comprised of all believers (I Pet 2:5,9, Heb 13:15-16). The physical high priesthood was symbolic of the position now occupied by Jesus Christ. The book of Hebrews confirms that Christ is the High Priest (Heb 4:14-15), and the book of Revelation confirms that the place of regular priests is now occupied by members of the Church (Rev 5:9-10).
Israel as a physical nation was organised with twelve tribal leaders working in consultation with, and under the direction of, the physical high priest. Likewise, the Church was organised with twelve apostles working with, and under the direction of, their spiritual High Priest.
The Apostle Peter
It is true that the apostle Peter sometimes took a leading role among the twelve, but others did also (Acts 15:13-21, Gal 2:9). In Peter's case this can be seen for instance in his address to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, as well as his part in the calling of the first Gentile, Cornelius, in Acts 10. However, such examples do not justify the one man government doctrine which the Catholic Church calls "the Primacy of Peter". At no time did the responsibility that Christ gave Peter translate into domination of the other eleven, nor did any of Peter's words or actions give the impression that he believed he was over the other apostles.
All the apostles were of the same rank, not one man in charge over eleven others of a lower rank. Peter was sanctified for his particular role among the twelve, according to his abilities, but not elevated over the others. Otherwise, he would have received a higher office than the other apostles.
In Mark 10:35-40, James and John ask Jesus to grant that they might sit next to Him in His Kingdom, one on His right hand and one on His left. However, if Peter had been given a higher rank than the other disciples, surely the two brothers would have expected that Peter would occupy one of these places in the Kingdom?
Immediately after this, Christ emphasises this point, telling the disciples, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you" (Mk 10:42-43).
Matthew 16:19 is often cited to allege that Peter alone had the authority to "bind and loose", setting him high above the others. However, only two chapters later, in Matthew 18:1,18, all twelve apostles collectively are told that they have the authority to "bind and loose". This explains the cooperation so evident between them at the Acts 15 Church conference.
Some Special One
Where did one man government over the Church, under the New Covenant, originate? Look at Acts 8. Simon Magus came claiming to be "some special one". He was possessed and inspired by Satan the Devil, who also claims to be some special one. Can you imagine Satan having the humility to sit down as one of twelve, like the apostles in Acts 15, and willingly submit to the consensus of the overall group as guided by Christ? Simon Magus went on to lay the foundation of false Christianity in Rome, as discussed on the page "THE MAN OF SIN". See also the page "REVELATION 13 - THE BEAST" under the subheading "The development of false Christianity".
Herbert Armstrong was stripped of his ministerial credentials by the Church of God (7th Day) (COG7) in 1937, but not because of doctrines that he believed in and that others wouldn't accept. The COG7 permitted ministers and members to have personal views on Biblical matters, and even to publish these. A number of ministers had their own publications, just as HWA did when from 1934 he published The Plain Truth for years whilst still continuing as a COG7 minister. Rather, HWA had his ministerial licence revoked because he wouldn't cooperate or work with other ministers. He wanted to be the "one man". Many matters have been left out of Herbert Armstrong's Autobiography, but his ambition to be "some special one" is evident from beginning to end. You would have to erase the whole book to hide that fact.
Sometimes a Church leader will point to Ephesians 3:5 and 4:11-13, claiming to be an apostle or a prophet and to exclusively represent God's government on Earth.
These same Scriptures, however, prove the opposite.
Ephesians 3:5 states, "which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets". This speaks of apostles (plural) and prophets (plural), not one man government. The same applies to the roles listed in Ephesians 4:11-13 and I Corinthians 12:28.
In addition to the core leadership group of twelve, the New Testament mentions at least eight other apostles by name. It also mentions many prophets (people who prophesy, i.e. speak God's word) and in I Corinthians 14:29-32 some basic principles are given for how they are to conduct their speaking in an orderly fashion at each assembly.
On the other hand, the apostle John writes about a Church member seeking to elevate himself above others, "I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church" (III Jn 9-10).
The apostle Paul also warns about "grievous wolves" and men speaking "perverse things" seeking to acquire a personal following from among God's people (Acts 20:29-30).
In the Church era messages, we see Christ commending this same Ephesus era for withstanding the overtures of such men seeking pre-eminence: "you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars" (Rev 2:2).
The Pergamos era is when the Papacy came to the fore, and so we find that era being warned about this domineering form of church government, labelling it "Satan's throne" (Rev 2:13). It appears that in some areas the true Church had begun to follow the Papal model at that time.
The bottom line is that God's people are God's people. Christ is their Head (Eph 1:22) and Chief Apostle (Heb 3:1), and it is not for any man to put himself in the place of Christ.
Not a Pope or a Pastor General.
Summary
Satan the Devil is the current sole ruler of this world, who doesn't want to share power with anyone. He has been permitted to set up kings, emperors and tyrants in his own image throughout his almost 6000 years of rule. The terrible results of this satanic form of government fill the pages of history.
God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son are two God beings who live in perfect harmony in a loving family relationship, and desire all men to become part of their family (Jn 1:12, 3:16, I Tim 2:4).
Human beings have been created physically in the image of God and Christ, with the potential of being transformed into their spiritual image as well. As part of the process by which this family building plan is being carried out, the nation of Israel was created. Israel the physical nation is a type of Israel the spiritual nation, the ultimate family that God and Christ are creating.
Israel the physical nation was brought out of Egypt, a type of sin, by a man (Moses) who was a type of Christ. Israel the spiritual nation is brought out of sin by Christ Himself.
Physical Israel in general did not have the spirit of God and so could not see things from God's spiritual point of view. Moses, however, was given the holy spirit so that he could be an intermediary between God and the people of Israel.
This physical leader, Moses, was a type of Jesus Christ in His role as Head of State, i.e. lawgiver, provider and protector. Aaron the high priest, who served alongside Moses, was a type of Christ’s other role as Head of Religion, which included making atonement for the sins of the people.
Therefore, physical Israel was given Moses and Aaron, and after them Joshua and Eleazar, to picture these two roles. Even when Israel rejected God's direct form of government and demanded a king, the picture continued through the reigns of the kings alongside the high priests.
However, when Christ became a man he was born into the bloodline that descended from King David (Lk 1:32-33, Jn 18:37), and through His perfect sacrifice He was made a High Priest after the order of Melchisedek (Heb 7:17).
Therefore, Jesus Christ, the "King of kings and Lord of lords" (I Tim 6:15, Rev 19:16), is now Head of State and Head of Religion over the spiritual nation of Israel - the Church.
These roles have ceased to be filled by human beings. Fittingly, the last physical high priest died in the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70AD.
Dictators love to be worshipped, just as Satan wants to be worshipped (Matt 4:9, Rev 13:4). History records few better examples of this than the Roman emperors whose statues the people were forced to worship and make offerings to. The penalty for non-compliance was death. The Roman Empire is pictured in the Scriptures as a component of the "Beast", i.e. the powers that controlled Jerusalem for 2520 years. The great false church imitated the form of government of this "Beast" power and created what Revelation 13:15 calls the "image of the Beast", which in this case is referring to the Papacy created in the image of the Roman emperor. See the page "REVELATION 13 - THE BEAST" for a full explanation of the term "image of the Beast", and its application to all Beast powers.
For God's Church to have such one man government is simply idolatry. As explained above, Jesus Christ fills both leadership roles under the New Covenant. No such roles remain for a human being to fill, as types of Christ, in New Covenant times.
What do remain are the roles Christ established, those of the twelve apostles, which correspond to the twelve tribal leaders of Israel, and the Church, a.k.a. the twelve spiritual tribes (Jas 1:1, Rev 7:1-8, 12:1), which correspond to the twelve physical tribes of Israel.
For any man to take on a "one man" leadership role in the Church under the New Covenant, and thus usurp a role that belongs to Jesus Christ, is for him to adopt the "image of the Beast". Such a man "as God, sits in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (II Thes 2:4). Herbert W Armstrong introduced this office of the "man of sin" into his branch of God's Church in its final era. Since then, others have followed his example. Please see "THE MAN OF SIN" for more on this.
Closing Comments
It is noteworthy that during the 2520 years of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah being punished and deprived of their blessings, they suffered under dictators and tyrants. Most historical persecution of Christians also occurred under this form of rulership. However, as soon as Israel's time of punishment was over and they started to receive their blessings, they also began receiving representative governance as one of those blessings!
This by its nature involved dialogue, and people being humble enough to think and work together for the good of a nation. This happened with the northern European nations, Great Britain, the United States of America and also the State of Israel in 1948. In the case of Israel, with its 120 member Knesset, this again involves a multiple of the number 12.
Nations of Israelite origin led by a body of God fearing men, have been the most blessed and prosperous of all nations. It is only when their leaders have distanced themselves from God that their nations have begun to suffer mounting curses. We see this particularly in modern times. See the page "BABYLON IS FALLEN" for more information.
In closing, note the following two Scriptures:
"Without counsel purposes are disappointed, but in the multitude of counselors they are established" (Pr 15:22).
"When the righteous (plural) are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked (singular) bears rule, the people mourn" (Pr 29:2).