The work of the late Herbert W. Armstrong was a work of prophecy. It fulfilled a prophecy made by Jesus Christ nearly two millennia ago: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). This commission revolved around a prophecy being preached—a prophecy concerning a coming Kingdom of God. Mr. Armstrong himself is referred to in Malachi as Elijah “the prophet.”
This prophecy has been fulfilled, and the “end” spoken of in Matthew 24:14 has come—the end of the Philadelphia era.
Today we stand in the fulfillment of another great epoch in God’s true Church—the faithful Philadelphian remnant in the Laodicean era. Our commission also revolves around prophecy. We are to “prophesy again” (Revelation 10:11) as an extension of the Elijah work. This work focuses even more on prophecy, with an emphasis on warning, because of the imminency of global destruction (Ezekiel 33). And Mr. Armstrong’s spiritual successor is known as “that prophet.”
But as God’s end-time remnant—with a greater understanding of prophecy than any of God’s people before us—do we miss out on vital “Christian living” training and personal betterment because we focus so much on prophecy? Some certainly think so.
An Edifice of Character
In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses the governmental structure of the Church of God and relates it to a physical body. Each member has different strengths and functions (1 Corinthians 12). Later in the epistle, he shows how it is the same in the ministry—different ministers have different gifts, different strengths (1 Corinthians 14). But within this context is one of the most profound chapters of Paul’s ministry—the “love” chapter. He explains how love is central to Christian living. Love is God’s character. It is to become ours. And that supersedes every aspect of the work—that it is all to be done with love.
Notice 1 Corinthians 13:1-2: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”
Within chapters 12 and 13, Paul is gearing up for an in-depth discussion on speaking in tongues, and giving the members at Corinth the proper perspective on this gift. Lumped in with that is this discussion of the gift of prophecy. But notice, both gifts are meaningless if they lack God’s love.
In chapter 14, Paul begins, “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy” (verse 1). The Moffatt translation makes it more clear: “Make love your aim, and then set your heart on spiritual gifts. Especially on prophecy.”
Yes, acquiring God’s nature must be our goal above all else—because it permeates every aspect of our Christian lives: how we do the work, how we conquer Satan, how we survive in this world each day. But notice! After that, Paul says, seek the gift of prophecy next.
“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries” (verse 2). Paul is contrasting the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues. What makes prophesying better than speaking in tongues?
“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. … I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying” (verses 3, 5).
Paul says speaking in tongues may edify the self (verse 4), “but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.”
Prophecy, if done with love, has everything to do with our edification—with our Christian development as sons of God!
The word edification in verse 3 means “building, as in architecture and structure.” Consider an English root word of this: edifice. An edifice is a structure or building. God is making us an edifice of holy, righteous character. And prophecy is intended to be a part of that edification process!
Does studying prophecy preempt studying Christian living? On the contrary. Christ places such an emphasis on prophecy for the very reason that it helps us grow in godly character and some of the more basic points of life. This work of prophecy and our character development go hand in hand! Understanding prophecy stimulates character development.
Of course, as with all things, there must be balance. We can humanly fall into the trap of investing too much energy and study into one spiritual area and neglect other things. Still, as we have seen from Paul’s writings, prophecy plays a major role in our spiritual development. The commission of the Church revolves around it.
The Vision and the Burden
There are two major types of prophecies: ones that deal mainly with good news—what we’ll call the “vision”; and ones that deal with bad news—what God terms in many of the minor prophets as the “burden” (Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Malachi 1:1). Even the little book of Revelation 10 is known to be both sweet and bitter.
As editor in chief Gerald Flurry expounded upon in John’s Gospel—The Love of God booklet, deeply understanding the vision is vital to our character development. This aspect of prophecy is absolutely necessary if we are to develop God’s love, keep His law more perfectly and overcome our wicked human nature.
Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish ….” Though perishing is the end result of having no vision, the word perish in this verse actually means to throw off restraint or to be unbridled. Without the vision—without this aspect of prophecy firm in our minds—we live lawless, sin-filled, unbridled lives. But with the vision, as the rest of the verse states, we keep God’s law and achieve true happiness.
The Apostle John wrote about this concept as well. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2). John follows the same formula as Paul. He discusses love first! Then he expounds on the vision—the prophecy of our awesome future.
“And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (verse 3). Then John continues with how understanding this prophecy edifies us. It causes us to keep the law more perfectly. It causes us to purify our lives. Without this vision, without this prophecy, we would have no motivation.
It is the hope of this prophecy that stirs us. The substance of that hope is faith, because we hope for something that is yet in the future. And this belief, John states once again, helps us overcome—it helps us conquer! “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Having faith, having the hope of these prophecies—of this vision—gives us the victory! How tied to our salvation is the subject of prophecy!
Mr. Flurry wrote in The God Family Vision, “Nothing will change your life more than having this understanding and this vision in your mind! It will cause you to stand up and face any difficulty, any trial, if you understand this from God’s perspective” (emphasis added).
Another aspect of the vision that helps us overcome and grow—to become edified—is the holy days. In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul wrote that they are a “shadow of things to come.” They are prophecy. And they teach us how to live based on these prophecies.
Notice Colossians 1:21-23: “[Y]et now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” What makes us “holy and unblameable and unreproveable” in God’s sight is that we continue in this faith—the hope of the gospel.
The Burden for Edification
“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28).
Just as the “vision” aspect of prophecy motivates us to grow and overcome, so does the “burden” aspect of it. It is also key in edifying us to become more like God.
God’s faithful remnant in the end time has the responsibility to warn the world of the imminent calamities. This involves preaching prophecy that falls in the “burden” category. God’s people are told to “watch … and pray always” as part of their duties (Luke 21:36). Why? Christ explains in the same verse: “[T]hat ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Our understanding of end-time events as they fulfill dreadful prophecies has everything to do with our being able to stand with Christ at His return.
Even Mr. Flurry, with the revelation from the epistles of John, has used the fact that it is the last hour to exhort us to greater growth. “The last hour has struck. We must talk and act like it really is the last hour! God has revealed this truth to us so we will comprehend our responsibility and have the urgency He wants us to have” (Royal Vision, March/April 2002).
The Apostle Peter also used the burdensome side of prophecy to exhort and edify those under him. In his second epistle, he endeavors to “stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance” (2 Peter 3:1). He reminds them of the prophecies spoken by men of old and that there would be people who doubt that these prophecies would even come to pass (verse 2-4).
But don’t lose faith in these prophecies! Peter urges them.
He reminds them that God thinks of time differently than men do, that a thousand years might seem only as a day to God, and vice versa (verse 8). Then he states, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (verse 9).
He explains how Christ will come when people least expect Him and the “heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (verse 10).
Why is it imperative that they not lose faith or understanding of these prophecies? Verse 11: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.” If we understand these burdensome prophecies, it can really cause us to straighten up!
Not only that, but if these prophecies stir us to greater growth, we can actually speed up the fulfillment of them! “Looking for and hasting unto [literally: speeding up the presence of ] the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” (verse 12).
Then verse 14 reiterates Peter’s point about it stirring us to greater growth: “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for [Greek: anticipate, wait in hope for ] such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”
There should be no doubt that Peter’s prophecy here was for the edification of his flock, that the burden and the vision of which he spoke would prod his members to greater Christian development!
Love—the Source of Prophecy
Why does prophecy edify us? Why does it stir us to greater works? Because its source is the God of love. It is all given with love!
Our work is directed and guided by the almighty hand of the God of love. Everything this work does, every prophecy uttered from the mouth of that prophet and those trained to serve under him, is spoken with God’s love underscoring it.
The main magazine that the Church produces, the Trumpet, is designed to warn people of these prophecies in love. The January 2002 issue of the Trumpet, which served mainly as an educational exposé of the prophecies soon to befall the world, stated this on its final page: “God is love. Love is the source of all His actions. Do you believe that truth? Many people recognize it in God’s sending His Son to pay for the sins of mankind. But many have a hard time seeing it in the God of the Old Testament—in His plagues and punishments and prophecies. This Trumpet has focused on biblical prophecy, most of which has been painful to think about. Now, ask yourself this: Can you recognize the God of love in those prophecies?”
We fought for the most foundational truths of God in a court battle so we could “prophesy again.” It would have been impossible to fulfill our commission, Mr. Flurry made clear, without the material of Herbert Armstrong. Tied to that commission—of prophesying again—is the effort we put into fighting this battle. Mr. Flurry said that wanting to get this message to the world “is the love of God in us”! He said the court case was a “test of our love.” By how much we support this commission to prophesy again, we are proving our love to Jesus Christ.
Mr. Armstrong always stated that those whose hearts are in the work grow spiritually. If we have our heart in a work that has prophecy as its main commission, we will grow.
Prophecy Designed to Cause Action
Not only does prophecy motivate us to keep God’s law more perfectly, we know that even the law itself is prophecy. God told the Israelites in Leviticus 26 that if they kept God’s laws He would bless them beyond their imaginations. He told them if they did not keep His laws, however, then they would be cursed.
The same is true in the book of Proverbs on a more individual level. Solomon constantly is putting God’s wisdom forth in this form: If you live this way, then you will reap these things.
Our understanding of the law affects how we act. That is why prophecy edifies! It helps us to see the need to keep the law—because we know the outcome of NOT keeping it!
That same issue of the Trumpet quoted above, ends with these words, “You, reading this Trumpet, have been given a comprehensive overview of the future of world events. If you do nothing about the warning contained in these prophecies, you are described in Ezekiel 33:30-32.” It then describes those who hear God’s warning, but don’t do anything about it. “Which choice will you make? If you heed the warning of God’s representative today, you can be protected. If you choose to ignore it, all we ask is that you do notforgetit. Remember—as you watch it come to pass before your eyes. Remember what God says of YOU and of all who heard His message and knew in advance what would happen: ‘[W]hen this cometh to pass, (lo, itWILLcome,) THEN shall they know that a prophet has been among them’! (verse 33). Remember—so you can recognize the God of love in that terrifying punishment, and then act upon this precious message of love.”
That is why we don’t miss out on any spiritual development by throwing ourselves wholeheartedly into a work with such a focus on prophecy. It’s because God designed prophecy to cause us to act—to help build us into a glorious, spiritual edifice! Becoming grounded and settled in these prophecies, becoming students of prophecy—understanding both the burdensome events ahead and the glorious vision just beyond those events—will bolster our character-building process for life.