TRUTHS LOST IN LAODICEA
I am not aware of anyone having compiled a list of truths that were lost in the Laodicea Church era under Herbert W Armstrong, so I have made such a list here.
1) At the time when Herbert Armstrong (HWA) first came into contact with the Church of God (COG) in the 1920's, its general belief was that they had long been in the "lukewarm" Laodicea era described in Revelation 3:14-22. However, this did not suit HWA's agenda as the supposed "end time Elijah" who restored all doctrines to the Church, so he proclaimed that he headed the highly praised Philadelphia Church era instead, causing a crucial truth to be lost to his followers.
As a result, many of God's people for the best part of a century have been oblivious to the fact that the Laodicea message specifically applies to them. Since HWA's death, subsequent Church leaders, employing a variety of narratives, have continued to deny that the final Church era message applies to their teachings and practices. Consequently, the severe rebuke God is giving them is not being taken to heart.
2) The Church of God in the Philadelphia era (mid-1400's until mid-1800's) knew that one man government in a Church was one of the major tenets of what was then commonly referred to as "Popery". Herbert Armstrong acknowledged this in the early days of his ministry, but then amazingly had a complete change of mind and went on to implement "one man" government in his branch of the Church, placing himself in that role, and thereby taking the place of the true Head of the Church, Jesus Christ. Thus he caused another great truth to be lost.
This autocratic form of government sees the person at the top as the sole conduit of God's teachings to the Church. In previous eras, however, it was understood that God works with and teaches Christians on an individual basis, just like human parents do with their children. Serious students of Scripture know that God does not filter the teachings of the Bible through one man, or even a group of men at the head of the Church. On the contrary, in the message to Laodicea, Christ exhorts individuals to go against the flow of the many erroneous teachings of the Churches of God and be taught by Him directly from His Word (Rev 3:20).
3) Following on from the previous point, brethren of the Philadelphia era had a much closer connection to the Bible. It was far more widely read, and considered to be the authority on all matters.
In the Laodicea era today, however, it is common for sermons to be sourced from the writings of Church leaders rather than from the Bible. In some groups, the reading of Scripture by members is even subtly discouraged in favour of Church literature.
Consequently, a far less Biblically literate generation has emerged in God’s Church, and the close relationship the Philadelphia era had with God, developed through diligent study of His Word, has been lost.
4) Up until the 19th century, the people of God generally explained prophecy according to the school of interpretation known as Historicism. The departure from this method in the Laodicea era has done great damage to the Church, leading to the loss of much prophetic understanding.
For example, the seven trumpets of Revelation 8 to 11 used to be understood as seven major events in history, from the first coming of Christ until His return. They were considered to foretell such things as the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem, the fall of pagan Rome, the "Christianisation" of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages and the Crusades. In other words, these prophecies were seen to be a sequence of historical turning points throughout the fifth and sixth millennia, which, together with the rest of the Scriptures, cover the first 6000 years of God’s dealings with man.
However, from the middle of the 19th century, Seventh Day Adventist leader Ellen G White, and subsequently Church of God (Seventh Day) leader Andrew N Dugger, began to derive some of their prophetic interpretations from Futurism, a Jesuit/Catholic school of thought which puts off the fulfilment of most prophecies in the book of Revelation until the very end time.
In the 20th century Herbert Armstrong introduced even more Futurist explanations into his branch of the Church. Because of this, most COG's today teach that the greater part of Revelation is yet to be fulfilled. The same treatment is also given to many other Biblical prophecies.
Sadly, this has led to the fulfilment of Revelation 3:17 which says that the final era of the Church will have become "poor" and "blind".
It is a fact that literally hundreds of HWA's prophetic pronouncements throughout his long ministry were erroneous, so it is surprising, to say the least, that most of his Futurist ideas are still adhered to by the Churches of God and have never been seriously re-examined.
As a result, most of the Churches of God are still waiting for the arrival of an Antichrist, a "Great Tribulation", a "ten-toed" European "Beast" power, the Two Witnesses, the battle of Armageddon etc. They also have fanciful Futurist explanations for the prophecies concerning the 1260, 1290, 1335 and 2300 days found in the book of Daniel, when wiser students of Scripture from previous eras could see that these numbers refer not to days, but to years, and therefore concern major long-term events.
This is perfectly logical, because the main purpose of prophecy is to prove the existence and power of God, who alone can fulfil prophecies over long stretches of time. As God Himself states in Isaiah 46:9-10, "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done".
Please read this very interesting history of the origin of Futurism (the same article is linked on the page "REVELATION IS HISTORY"):
https://www.gospeltruth.net/futurismandthebible.htm
5) God's people in the Philadelphia era, though often likely to suffer persecution, were far more dedicated to keeping God's Sabbath day holy than most Church members are today. If we look at the statements from Henri Misson and George Carlow from the 1600's and 1700's, as quoted in the article "THE TRUE CHURCH ERAS", we see at that time a Nehemiah level of dedication (Neh 10:28-31; 13:15-22). This is far removed from the casual attitude displayed in our present Laodicea era Churches of God, where the practice of keeping the Sabbath to Biblical standards has been largely abandoned. The example set by HWA of doing business on the Sabbath has been instrumental in this decline.
6) The Church of God before Herbert Armstrong's time believed that ministers ought to live a simple and non-extravagant lifestyle. This knowledge, however, was totally abandoned by him in the latter decades of his reign.
When HWA was a Church of God (Seventh Day) minister in his early days in Oregon, he argued against tithes being received centrally at its headquarters in Stanberry, Missouri. Later however, when he was in charge, he implemented this very practice.
The inherent danger of this method is that one person, or a group of people, come to be in control of large amounts of money, and are therefore able to set their own salaries and determine their own expenditure. This has sometimes led to great excesses, including in the case of HWA himself who was almost certainly the highest paid minister of all time in the Church of God.
The practice of receiving tithes centrally is now commonplace in the end time Churches, and is one of the reasons why so many Churches of God exist. Gaining a market share of the tithes has proved to be a great motivating factor. Well does Scripture prophesy: "they shall with feigned words make merchandise of you" (II Pet 2:3).
In ancient Israel there were 48 Levitical cities (four in each of the twelve tribal allotments) where the priests and Levites lived and received the tithes locally. Churches of many persuasions have historically operated along the same lines as ancient Israel, providing for the needs of congregations locally.
From the last century onwards however, due to technological advancements, the world has witnessed significant numbers of people becoming exorbitantly wealthy through preaching "Christianity" and soliciting money. In many ways their mindset and practices have rubbed off on the Churches of God.
7) In the early years of his ministry HWA correctly taught a 7,000 year plan of God, including the physical resurrection of all who have ever lived, during the Millennium. He had learned this truth in the Church of God (Seventh Day). However, after being challenged on the meaning of Revelation 20:5, he changed his teaching to an illogical 7,100 year plan which claims that all who have ever lived are to be physically resurrected after Christ's millennial rule. Alas, another truth was lost in the Laodicea era.
8) The Church of God in the Philadelphia era had a better understanding of I Corinthians 14 than we do today. They realised that because God gives His spirit to all His people, "you may all prophesy, one by one" (speak God’s word) in Church meetings (or publications) and so add to the overall fund of Church knowledge (v31). However, once the Church turned to authoritarian leaders who wanted to control the narrative, alternative opinions became undesirable.
9) The Church of God already knew in the time of the book of Acts that the symbolic rite of physical circumcision has been done away under the New Covenant and therefore should no longer be practised. Strangely, Herbert Armstrong recommended physical circumcision to the Church, and consequently some COG brethren still practise it today.
10) One of the most noticeable things that seems to have been lost today, both in the world and in the final era of God’s Church, is common sense. God is perfectly logical, and therefore Church teachings should be too. Regrettably, this is often not the case.
Here are some examples:
* After the coming of the Prophet, Jesus Christ, and the completion of the Holy Scriptures, it is not logical that God would send another human prophet for us to follow. Those who profess to be such are false prophets (Zech 13:3-4).
* Numbers in prophecy should be interpreted consistently. If days mean years in one prophecy of duration, then the same must apply to all such prophecies, otherwise deciphering them would be impossible. For example, if in Revelation 2:10 days mean years, they must do so in Revelation 11:3 as well.
* It is not logical that most of God's prophecies would be fulfilled in the last few years before the return of Christ, rather than gradually throughout history. If they did all pertain to the end of this age, they would only benefit the brethren of the final generation, rather than be a proof of God's existence to all believers throughout time.
From the above examples we see that significant understanding has been lost in the final era of the Church of God. Although Christ’s warning rings loud and clear throughout Revelation 3:14-22, it has not been heeded by most brethren. The dire consequences are foretold by Christ in the same passage of Scripture.