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In 1933, God Almighty through a man named Herbert W. Armstrong raised the work of ‘the church in Philadelphia’ (Rev. 3:7) era. The name of the Church organization that performed the work of God in Philadelphia era (1933-2003) is the WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD (formerly Radio Church of God. The members of that Church believed that Mr. Armstrong was the prophesied “Elijah who is to come” (Matt. 11:14, RSV).
A stark demotion indeed for a high caliber prophet but maybe Elijah is looking for the Messiah in the diaspora.
I never met Herbert W. Armstrong in person, when he was still alive. But after my baptism in the WCG on November 8, 1985, Mr. Armstrong died 70 days later on January 16, 1986.
In 1995, the Laodiceans era went into a full swing after a major Church split occurred in the WCG on April 30, 1995. This resulted in the formation of the United Church of God. The Philadelphia era contrary to the belief postulated by many breakaway groups from the WCG did not end on the day HWA died. It continued forward, even after the Laodiceans era had already started its course.
Why is that?
Most of the members and pastors of the Laodiceans churches of God are Philadelphians who have grown lukewarm in their love toward their fellow brethren. This is the reason why Jesus states the Laodiceans never get cold, “… you are neither cold nor hot” (Rev. 3:15, RSV). The Philadelphians, who moved to the city of Laodicea, spiritually, shall never get cold in their love toward their fellow brethren. Philadelphians will become lukewarm, but they will never grow cold. All of the Philadelphians who divorced themselves from their harlot-mother of a church of God---WCG/GIC--and formed their own (or joined other splinter) church organizations have become Laodiceans in the eyes of our Lord God.
We can classify the Laodiceans era as an extension and still a part of the Philadelphia era similar to Ephesus and Smyrna eras. Perhaps God does not recognize the works of the Laodiceans as His own inspired work. So, He never gave them a stand-alone era of their own times like that of Pergamos era. Their church era had only ridden upon the era of the Philadelphia. Besides, no member of the Laodiceans churches of God would even claim he is a Laodicean unless he is a nutcase. Most of them are claiming they are Philadelphians.
Most of these Laodiceans are former members of the Worldwide Church of God and its off-shoot Churches. They came from the era of Philadelphia era. But suddenly found themselves in the era of the Laodiceans. They have become blind spiritually for that is how they have been raised spiritually.
The Laodiceans leaders are just riding along the work that Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong had done. None of the leaders of the PCG, LCG, UCG, WCG of Tkach, and other splinters from WCG received any anointment or commission from God to start a work. They are not even sent by our Lord Jesus Christ ‘to run.’ All of them are doing the work of their own minds. Their works are the works of their own human hands.
When the Philadelphia and the Laodiceans eras ended at the same time, what did you think has happened? Please be aware, the Laodiceans are just riders in the Philadelphia era.
When the 70 years of religious captivity in the religion of Christianity comes to an end, the true followers of Jesus Christ were given an open door. God had opened their eyes to see clearly. They are still trying to find their way to the true faith and religion of Jesus Christ—Judaism. But the Judaism that is standing before them is Rabbinical Judaism—the synagogue of Satan.
When the Philadelphia era had ended, the Laodiceans era had also ended.
It is not easy discerning among the break-away Churches of the ECG who among them the true remnant of the church in Philadelphia is. Even if a group like us would say they are the true remnant of the Church that had done the work of God in the Philadelphia era, you should not believe immediately. But while you are looking for the true group of Philadelphians, take a look at that magic orange button with the word ‘donate.’ That button can transform you into a Philadelphian for the Laodiceans have become allergic at this time with anything that say ‘donate.’
We have been raised in a Church where the ministers would often ask us to open our offering envelope and our wallet at the same time during the offering service on Holy Days.
“I want you brethren to take all the money in your wallet and place them in your offering envelope. The work of God needs your money.”
Not again. The Laodiceans would not be talked into giving their money again to a Church or charity.
That is what the little orange button is. It is a test that only the true Philadelphians can pass. A $100.00 donation means you are ready to enter the gate of righteousness where only the righteous can enter in. Please send us a note stating the amount of your sin offering for we want to know who you are. It is like, we will go through hell and high water to bring you people to the place of safety we know as Eretz Yisrael—at the border.
Many people do not fully comprehend how the prophetic messages of our Lord Jesus Christ to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 come to pass. The Church of God raised by our Lord God to do His works during the successive church eras was not the same Church that became the remnant of each church era. They were connected to each other, since the remnant churches actually came from the original Churches of God that did the work of God in all of those seven church eras, but the name and the organization of the said church changed.
Take the case of the Worldwide Church of God that performed the work of God during the Philadelphia era, when the era ended, the name of its true remnant has been given a new name, as it is written. Kakatuv, as it is written, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I WILL WRITE UPON HIM THE NAME OF MY GOD, AND THE NAME OF THE CITY OF MY GOD, WHICH IS NEW JERUSALEM, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him MY NEW NAME” (Rev. 3:12, KJV).
God had given Abram and Jacob their new names—Abraham and Israel respectively—when He used them in His work during the Patriarch Age. God has also done the same thing to the true remnant of Philadelphia era. It is not only the remnant church in Philadelphia era that had gone through change of name after its era ended. Most of the seven churches have gone through the mystery of the name change.
When we discover and come to the true faith and religion of Jesus Christ, each of us shall change our secular or Christian name. No one can worship God during Sabbath without their new name in Hebrew. The false ministers and false teachers of this dark and evil world often change their birth name to that of English biblical name like John Mark, Peter or Matthew, or even Jesus. We shall know them by their names.
There are many things that God has not yet revealed to the members of the seven Churches, whatever era they might belong to in this end of time. Your resistance in accepting the things written in this article shall never affect the truthfulness of this writing; neither shall you be condemned for your unbelief. Each of the members of the body of Yeshua HaMashiach has its own spiritual level of understanding. The decision to upgrade your level of understanding should come at your own volition. I am bringing to you the truth about Elijah the prophet, which the Jewish people have already known, wherein many in the Churches of God know nothing about.
The Elijah Appearances
One of the signs that the true worshippers of God and Jesus Christ are waiting for, which will usher in the coming of the Jewish Messiah, is the appearance of Elijah the Prophet. Those who faithfully study and examine the Holy Scriptures to gain true knowledge and divine revelation know that John the Baptist was, indeed, Elijah the Prophet. He introduced to the Jews their promised Messiah.
Jesus Christ testifies, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, HE IS ELIJAH WHO IS TO COME” (Matt. 11:11-14, KJV).
You will notice the way Jesus made that statement; the people of Israel were really expecting the appearance of Elijah the Prophet and the Promised Messiah of God---an anointed King of Israel. John the Baptist was the first fulfillment of the prophecy about Elijah the prophet in Malachi 4:5 that states: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord…” (KJV).
The members of the true church of God in Philadelphia era were taught to prove all things they are being taught whether they are true or erroneous. In the matter about the true state of the spirit of man, what happen to that spirit when a man die, the Church of God were made to believe their doctrinal belief is true. The doctrine taught by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong in the WCG was not exactly right, in regards to the true state of the human spirit after death. The Holy Bible shows us a very different teaching. Even though the spirit of man, or the invincible soul, is not immortal the scripture shows us an instance wherein the dead and discarnate body still has a consciousness separate from its physical body. The scattered Churches of God explanations about those verses that refute what they believe were self-serving and erratic.
The leaders of the true church of God have not completely grasped the truth about the spirit of man and the spirit of Elijah the prophet. Some pretenders to knowledge often times try to erroneously support the wrong doctrines of the church of God as if God has personally taught them the truth. But their concerted efforts are all in vain. The sad state of the True Church of God, as of this writing, certainly reflects the true nature and understanding of the self-serving leaders of the splinters in regards to spiritual matters.
I would like to stress the fact first that I am not, in any matters, imparting or teaching in this writing that the soul or spirit of man is immortal. Many believe outside the realm of the church of God that our soul can survive the death of our physical body. That may be the truth but to say our soul is immortal is not the same thing.
You do not have to accept and believe what I am saying here to be saved and delivered. At this revision the Great Tribulation is already raging and we have been caught inside it. I can not promise you salvation but I can bring you closer to its door and no one can shut it for I will be standing at the door. You only need to walk into the room.
The truth will remain the truth whether we believe it or not. Your spirit or soul shall survive the first death no matter what you say or do. The second death, whether you’ll be in it or not, shall depend largely to the level of your spiritual development when you die, and to the mercy of our Lord God.
When Elijah the Tishbite died the first time sometimes near 886 BCE, his spirit, which is basically the same in meaning to the word “soul” as the people outside the church thought so, survived and still in existence today. According to the wisdom of King Solomon, when ‘the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN UNTO GOD WHO GAVE IT’ (Eccl. 12:6-7, KJV).
Verse 6 of Ecclesiastes 12 is composed of esoteric phrases symbolizing the physical death of man. When man dies, his invisible soul, or his spirit returns back to its Creator. God has a certain prerogative and control over the spirit of man. He has the power to send the spirit of man back again to the physical realm, to a new physical shell or body, if He wants to. Most likely God choose to keep that same spirit in the world of the dead for a long period of time before eventually destroying it in the second death.
Our soul is not that immortal.
The invisible nephesh of man is not immortal though it can survive physical death. The English word ‘soul’ has two meaning; one is spiritual and the other is physical. That goes also for its Hebrew word ‘nephesh.’
In accordance to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ about the true identity of John the Baptist, the spirit of Elijah came back and entered into the body of the child within the womb of Elizabeth, the kinswoman of Mary the mother of our Lord.
That is simply what the concept of ‘re-incarnation’ is all about.
The problem with those who believe in the theory of reincarnation is they thought the soul of man is immortal. The problem with those who do not believe in reincarnation is they assume the soul of man dies after death. Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong taught that what remains is a spiritual cassette tape that has no consciousness at all. That was his opinion. It is not biblical and true at all. We oftentimes miss the mark and go to the extreme without understanding the truth.
This concept is very similar to what many have done to Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. They completely rejected everything that he had taught in the Worldwide Church of God upon the realization that many of the doctrines he established in the church were not exactly the truth. Then there are those who stupidly believe all that he had taught and written were right and should be treated as inspired like that of the writings in our Holy Bible. Many people react in the same manner. This often results in the death of many people who embrace the Rapture theory.
The Last Letter of Elijah
Through the chronological calculation of Archbishop Ussher of Armagh, we will assume that Elijah the Prophet was removed from his office as the highest-ranking Prophet of God in the year of 896 BCE. We can find his removal from office in 2 Kings 2:1-12.
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal … Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you” … And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (RSV).
Many believed Elijah was taken up into the heaven where our Lord God dwells. But, that is not what exactly happened. Jesus testifies to us, “…no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven …” (John 3:13, KJV).
In the preceding verse, Jesus refers to the highest heaven of all. Elijah was not taken up to the habitation of God, but was taken instead by the whirlwind into the sky---the midst of heaven. He was taken up by the whirlwind into the air where our commercial airlines are traveling today. In our sky, the one called ‘the midst of heaven,’ there are invisible air routes, which can only be seen by the air navigation radar. The whirlwind, which took Elijah, traversed that same air space which modern airplanes utilize today for air transportation.
Be aware, Elijah was being removed and replaced from his office as a consequence of what he had done. He was not being promoted in ranks. He was in reality being demoted, but God does not want many to see that.
So, during 896 BCE Elijah did not die at all. He did not go up to heaven as many people believed today.
He was merely transported through the air, in the midst of heaven where the birds fly, and relocated into a new place here on earth. Elijah was taken into a place far from Elisha. God did not want Elijah to have a negative influence on how Elisha would be doing the work of God.
Elijah the prophet had a full knowledge of what was happening at that time. He was still living on earth at a far away land. In the year 887 BCE (Ussher’s calculation), he wrote his last letter addressed to Jehoram king of Judah.
‘And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, as the house of Ahab led Israel into unfaithfulness, and also you have killed your brothers, of your father’s house, who were better than yourself; behold, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day’ “(2 Chron. 21:12-15, RSV).
All that Elijah had written in his last letter came to pass later on. The following verses show us how it happened.
“Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians …they came up into Judah … and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives … And after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases” (vv. 16-19, KJV).
This is the mark or the one thing that would identify to us who could really be the ‘Elijah who is to come’ in case this article is true to all its content. We shall need to find one last letter of a dead man wherein all that was written on it had come to pass. Can we find today of one such man who was no longer with us that wrote a certain last letter? Are all the things written on that letter came to pass?
Who could be that man?
Who could really be that prophet?
We shall know who really was, or is, Elijah the prophet by his last letter?
In the book, “Autobiography of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, Vol. II,” you can find therein the last letter of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to the members of the Worldwide Church of God. Check that last letter whether it really did come true.
The Prophet That God Never Retires
Did you know that our Lord God had punished and removed from his office Elijah the Prophet because of his accusation and denunciation against the people of Israel?
You might find that hard to believe but the Jewish sages of long ago understood that matter very clearly. You might have reason out, if that’s really the case, why did God appear to value the service of Elijah so much that he won’t let him go? Didn’t He even promise to the people of Israel that He will use once more the service of Elijah the prophet before the Messiah comes to deliver the chosen people (Malachi 4:5)?
“Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come” (Mark 9:11, RSV)?
You will notice from that preceding verse that the Jewish scribes knew, during the first century CE, Elijah the prophet must first come before their Messiah will come. As for the true church of God, it is a common knowledge among the brethren that an end-time Elijah must appear first, before Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach) would come back to usher in the kingdom of God. But there are many things about Elijah the Prophet that the churches of God have not been taught, to the detriment of its memberships.
Here is what the Zohar (the book of Splendors) reveals regarding Elijah the prophet:
“Said R. Abba further: ‘When a man takes up his son to initiate him in this covenant (the act of circumcision), God calls to the ministering angels and says, “See what a creature I have made in the world.” At that moment ELIJAH TRAVERSES THE WORLD IN FOUR SWEEPS AND PRESENTS HIMSELF THERE, it behooves the father to prepare an extra chair for his (ELIJAH) honour, and to say “this is the chair of Elijah”; and if he neglects to do so, Elijah does not visit him nor go up and testify before the Almighty that the circumcision has taken place. Why has Elijah to testify? For this reason. When God said to him “What dost thou have, Elijah?”(I Kings XIX, 9), he answered, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant.” Said God to him: “AS THOU LIVEST, WHEREVER MY SONS IMPRINT THIS SIGN UPON THEIR FLESH, THOU SHALT BE THERE, AND THE MOUTH WHICH CHARGED ISRAEL WITH FORSAKING THE COVENANT SHALL TESTIFY THAT THEY ARE OBSERVING IT.” Our teachers have also taught that the reason why Elijah was punished was because he brought FALSE CHARGES against God’s children” (THE ZOHAR I, Lech Lecha, 93a, page 306).
According to Encyclopaedia Judaica, “Elijah’s denunciation of Israel for having forsaken the divine covenant (cf. I Kings 19:10, 14) had so angered God that He dismissed Elijah from His service and appointed Elisha in his place (Song R. 1:6, no. 1; cf. I Kings 19:16) “(from the article ‘Elijah”, In the Aggadah, Moses Aberbach, Encyclopaedia Judaica—CD-ROM Ed. ã Judaica Multimedia (Israel) Ltd.).
The Torah-observant Jews know Elijah lied before God against His children. And for his transgression, God punished Elijah. Elijah was never retired by God from His service even after he died. There was no peace for Elijah after he died. Elijah was required by God to appear before His children on each act of circumcision. God ought to require Paul to do the same thing.
Also, during the month of Abib, every Torah-observant Jews expects Elijah to partake in their Passover Seder during the night of the 15th day. (Passover ceremony among the true church of God is held on the night of the 14th day of Abib. The true Passover Service begins on the night of the 15th day of Abib.) The Jews reserve a chair, a cup and a plate for the Prophet Elijah during their Passover Seder on the first day of the Feast. God is really keeping Elijah the Prophet very busy during the entire year.
Of course, in every beginning there is an end.
John the Baptist: A Crash Course in Biblical Reincarnation
“For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than JOHN THE BAPTIST: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. AND IF YE WILL RECEIVE IT, THIS IS ELIJAH, WHICH WAS FOR TO COME. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:10-15, KJV).
The majority of the Jews in this end of time continuously reject Jesus Christ as the Messiah God had promised them. They would not even read the New Testament writings and prove for their own selves whether this one, Yeshua HaMashiach, was their prophesied Messiah. In the same way, the unbelieving Jews also refused to accept John the Baptist as their own Elijah the prophet. Their interpretation of biblical prophecies misled them into utter rejection of their anointed King.
There is a duality in the fulfillment of most of the biblical prophecies. During the first century CE, this thing is not yet known to those who were watching the sign of their times. Most of those who were watching for the appearance of their Messiah were waiting for an anointed king that would deliver them from their Roman conquerors. When it became clear to them that Jesus Christ and His followers did not do what they were waiting for to happen, Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were relegated to the growing list of false Messiahs and false Prophets, which regularly appeared in the land of Judea during those days.
If you have already accepted Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised Messiah to the Jews, then it already followed that you have also believed John the Baptist was Elijah the Prophet. Jesus already testified, as it is written in the New Testament, that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah the Tishbite.
Luke also adds, “… he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before HIM in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, AND THE DISOBEDIENT TO THE WISDOM OF THE JUST, TO MAKE READY FOR THE LORD A PEOPLE PREPARED” (Luke 1:15-17, RSV).
John the Baptist clearly fulfilled the role of Elijah the Prophet during the initial appearance of Jesus Christ on earth. Now that we are waiting for the coming establishment of the kingdom of God, which the return of Jesus Christ will usher in, we are also waiting for the imminent appearance of an end-time Elijah in the same manner that the Jews are waiting for their Messiah. If we can prove that Elijah had already come and gone, then surely we will know that Jesus Christ will be quickly coming soon.
Let me borrow the word of God, Jesus Christ, in saying to you, “but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased” (Matt. 17:12, RSV). This testimony of Jesus prophetically speaks of what is happening presently in the true church of God---the people that the end-time Elijah prepared for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Elijah had already come and gone, and the chosen people of God had done and said whatever their please about him. As if they are denying the fact that without the work of this end-time Elijah they are all nothing. They would not come to understand God great master plan for mankind. They would not come to the knowledge of God’s truth.
Many religious people have no idea what’s happening today, in regards to biblical prophecy; where exactly did our Lord God send Elijah the Prophet nor who are the people he had prepared. Even the Jews have no idea at all where God has sent Elijah the Tishbite. Elijah the Prophet, to the Jewish people, had become a messenger of God, some kind of God’s special angel to His chosen ones.
The Spirit of Elijah At Work Forever
As I stated before, for his false accusation against the chosen people of God, God had punished Elijah the prophet. He was given the task to prepare and supervise the preparation of God’s chosen people throughout the ages until the coming of the kingdom of God on earth. There is no rest for Elijah the prophet in the afterlife---the world of the dead. Since his death, Elijah the prophet is busily making appearance to many Jewish rabbis, in many succeeding generations that come and gone since his death.
These appearances of Elijah had earned for him a legendary tradition among the Jews throughout the ages. This expectedly led to many conjectures and speculations about Elijah’s role in the World to Come. The ‘unbelieving Jews’ had erred in their expectation about the appearance of the Promised Messiah of God. They also failed to recognize Elijah the prophet in his first re-incarnation in the flesh during the first century CE.
The Encyclopaedia Judaica gives us an insight on how the ‘unbelieving Jews’ regards the precursor of the end-time Elijah:
“Ben Sira (c. 200 BCE), in his eulogy of Elijah, attributed the future restoration of “the tribes of Jacob” to him (Ecclus. 48:10). By the first century CE, it was taken for granted that Elijah was to be the precursor and herald of the Messiah. Jesus himself was at first believed to be Elijah, but when he revealed his own messianic claim, he proclaimed John the Baptist as having been the REINCARNATED ELIJAH (Matt.11:10ff; 17:10ff; Mark 9:11ff.)”(From the article ‘Elijah: In the Aggadah’, EJ-CD-ROM ed.)
Those Jews who continuously reject Jesus as their Messiah obviously failed, and will continuously err; in their perception on the exact role which Elijah the prophet shall play in this end of time. The Jewish rabbinical authorities had attributed to Elijah much power he did not actually have. They thought Elijah would have the same exact power that he had before. Even the Church of God in their Babylonian captivity believes the same thing. One quick browse in the life of John the Baptist as the NT writers recorded it, will give us a sound reality check on how his life is going to be, or had turned out to be, in this end of time.
The power which Elijah the prophet had wielded and used in his first appearance as a prophet from Tishbeh was not with John the Baptist. The same thing occurred during his end-time appearance when he prepared the memberships of the WCG for the second coming of Jesus Christ. That’s why they have rejected him as the end-time Elijah. The adulterers always look for signs of power and miracles (Matt. 12:39).
In a much the same way, as George Lucas had shown in the first Star Wars film that was released in the seventies, in the death of the Jedi named Obi-wan-kenobi, the death also of the end-time Elijah in the eighties restored back to him the power of the messenger of God. Before Darth Vader struck down dead his former mentor, Obi-wan-kenobi said, “Kill me and I will only be more powerful.”
During that time that Elijah the prophet is in the grave, his spirit frequently made appearances to our Jewish sages throughout the generations as a way of encouraging my Jewish brethren in the pursuit of Torah learning. This special visitation is known as the APPEARANCES OF ELIJAH, for the Jewish sages written them. This thing might be new to many in the seven Churches of God for they have not evolved at all spiritually.
We can find many verses in the Holy Bible that support this. This knowledge is hidden to many. We will examine those verses later on. Foremost of all let me show you how the appearance of Elijah had taken place, as the Jewish sages related them.
“The Rabbis debated: To which tribe did Elijah belong? R. Leazar said: To Benjamin, for it is written, and Jaareshiah, and Elijah, and Zichri, were the sons of Jeroboam …all these were the sons of Benjamin (I Chron. VIII, 27, 40). R. Nehorai said: To Gad, for it says, And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the SETTLERS OF GILEAD, said (I Kings, XVII, I). Said R. Philippi to R. Nehorai: What reason have you for saying so? Because it is written, and their [sc. The Gaddites] border was Jazer, and all the cities of GILEAD (Josh. XIII, 25), he replied … our Rabbis were debating about him [Elijah], some maintaining that he belonged to the tribe of Gad, others, to the tribe of Benjamin. Whereupon HE CAME AND STOOD BEFORE THEM and said, ‘SIRS, WHY DO YOU DEBATE ABOUT ME? I AM A DESCENDANT OF RACHEL’” (Midrash Rabbah, Vol. II, Vayetze, LXXI.9-10, pp. 659-660).
The spirit of the dead Elijah the prophet was known to be very choosy and most particular on whom he would pay a visit to. His sensitivity was well known. He could be easily offended, and would sometimes suddenly stopped his regular visitation when his subject unintentionally hit one of his soft spot, or offended him on what they do or say.
“Lilla the son of Kosher was wanted by the government. He arose and fled to R. Joshua b. Levi at Lydda … R. Joshua b. Levi argued with him and urged him [to surrender], saying, ‘Better that you should be executed rather than that the whole community should be punished on account of you.’ He allowed himself to be persuaded and surrendered to them. Now Elijah used to speak with him [the Rabbi], but when he acted thus he ceased to visit him. He fasted thirty days, after which he [Elijah] came to him, and he asked him [Elijah], ‘Why did you absent yourself?’ ‘AM I THEN THE COMPANION OF INFORMERS?’ HE [ELIJAH] RETORTED. ‘But is this not a Mathnitha: “If a company of people,” etc.’ ‘AND IS THAT A TEACHING FOR THE PIOUS,’ HE RETORTED. ‘THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE THROUGH OTHERS AND NOT THROUGH YOU!’(Midrash Rabbah, Vol. II, Vayyigash, XCIV.9, page 879).
We are treading upon the so-called ‘forbidden things’ or ‘hidden knowledge’, which the ordinary Jews in their childhood routinely study and learn as part of their study of the Torah. This knowledge is an integral part of Judaism, which Christianity, and those being held in captivity by this pagan religion, will never understand nor comprehend. They are spiritually unlearned and unevolved.
The law of God, or the Torah, prohibits the Jewish people in consulting with a spirit medium, or those with familiar spirit, so that they could communicate and talk to dead people. Isaiah the Prophet says, “And when they say to you, “Consult the mediums and the wizards who chirp and mutter,” should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living” (Isaiah 8:19, RSV).
The spirit of the dead, or the discarnate body, or the spirit in man, all commonly term as soul, has an inherent power which could be utilized by the living---particularly by those highly evolved---if they want to. Most of the Jewish sages were known mystics, even Jesus Christ was a mystic in the true definition of the word, when he was still a human being; that’s the reason why they can communicate with the angels or messengers of God. Elijah the prophet in spirit is not just another dead prophet. He was a messenger of God, then and now. He has the power to intervene or intercede in our mundane affairs if he chooses to, as long as God wills it.
The book of Ecclesiastes discusses things that happen to man while he is still ‘under the sun’ (Ecclessiastes 1:3,9; 2:18,20,22; 4:3,7,15 ; 5:13,18; 6:1,12; 8:9,15; 9:3,6,9,11,13; 10:5 KJV). The phrase ‘under the sun’ is an idiomatic expression, which refers to our physical world, our physical life in general that receives the light of the physical sun. What lies beyond death is no longer under the light of the sun. It is already way beyond us. King Solomon discusses things that occurred only in our physical lives, in his physical life for that matter.
When one is dead, clinically dead, one is already brain dead. Memory stops within the physical brain; it ceases to function normally. Many people quote from the book of Ecclesiastes in their effort to show things that they thought happen to us, to our spirit when we die. King Solomon clearly confesses, “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth” (Eccl. 3:21, RSV).
The Healing Of A Tooth
When God chooses to manifest Himself to a certain person, often He would send instead an angel or a messenger to convey His message to him or her. The words that an angel would deliver to that person are the very words of God. The Lord our God could not directly appear before us—human beings—for we would not be able to stand His glorious presence. We will certainly die if God will ever do that to us, so he usually sends an angel or a messenger like the poor Elijah.
That’s the reason why angels appear constantly before men. Men have to survive in order to tell the story to others who are not yet acceptable and worthy before God.
The angels and messengers of our Lord God have the power to take the form and appearance of a living or dead person if they wish to in the performance of their divine function. This is not done for deception or evil, rather in an effort not to frighten those blessed and predestinated individuals to whom they are being sent. Many people today have already experienced talking to an angel in the appearance of a stranger or a human being. There are many instances wherein the messengers of the Lord God appeared before certain persons bearing the personality of their friends.
Isn’t it written in the New Testament, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2, RSV)? For angels, are indeed, “…ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation” (Hebrew 1:14, RSV).
The Midrash also says that God would sometime speak to a certain individual using the voice of their dead father. The Jews, unlike the Christians of this present evil world, are not afraid of their dead fathers, or their voices. The Jews are much more afraid of the real voice of God, for it comes booming loud and clear, accompanied by lightning and thunder. The book of Exodus relates to us the fearful attitude of the Jews to their God, “…let not God speaks to us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19, RSV).
There is a big difference between communicating with the dead at your own behest, and the dead communicating at you with divine permission. The first could be taken as a sin before God while the latter is a blessing that comes from the Lord our God. Maybe it is God talking to you through the spirit of the dead.
The Jewish people have a very different religious background and upbringing. Understandably, the Jewish rabbi would later on figure out who is really the one talking to them. That is what the study of the Torah can do to us. Others would predictably cringe in fear if ever this thing will happen to them. Even the members of the remnants of the seven churches were not knowledgeable on this matter. Everything they could not understand they attribute and blame it on Satan the Devil.
The Holy Bible shows us a very interesting incident wherein the disciples of Jesus Christ personally talked to someone who already died.
“That very same day, two of them were on their way… they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side. BUT SOMETHING PREVENTED THEM FROM RECOGNIZING HIM … Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory? Then starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself … Now while he was with them at the table …THEIR EYES WERE OPENED AND THEY RECOGNIZED HIM …” (Luke 24:13-31, Jerusalem translation).
The Lord our God, Jesus Christ and the holy angels of God can speak and talk to us directly without us being aware of their true identity at first. Later on, we will know the true identity of the messenger and understand as well the true meaning of the message.
We can find a similar incident in the Jewish traditional belief about the appearances of Elijah the Prophet.
“Our teacher was sitting and studying the Torah in front of the Babylonian Synagogue in Sepphoris, when a calf passed before him on its way to the slaughter and began to cry out, as though pleading, ‘Save me!’ Said he to it, ‘What can I do for you? for this you were fashioned. ‘[As a punishment for his heartlessness] our Teacher suffered toothache for thirteen years. During these thirteen years no woman miscarried in Erets Israel, and none suffered pain in childbirth …
“Our teacher was very modest, and he used to say … if R. Huna, the Resh Galutha, were to come up here [Palestine], I would rise before him … ‘ Said R. Hiyya the elder to him, ’Behold, he has come!’ At this Rabbi’s face turned pale … He went out and found no one, whereupon he treated himself as banned for thirty days … At the end of the thirty days ELIJAH, OF BLESSED MEMORY, CAME BEFORE RABBI DISGUISED AS R. HIYYA THE ELDER, LAID HIS HAND UPON HIS TEETH, AND CURED HIM. When R. Hiyya subsequently visited Rabbi he asked him, ‘How is your tooth?’ ‘Since you laid your hand upon it, it is cured, ‘he answered. ‘I know nothing about it,’ said he.” (Midrash Rabbah, Noach, XXXIII.3, pp.261-262).
Indeed, Elijah has been very busy performing the work of God behind the scene. Though those who are spiritually unevolved would not be able to understand the full meaning and purpose of the many appearances of Elijah the prophet, and how it takes place even in this end of time, we must be patient till understanding comes upon all of us. The mystery will soon be removed and Elijah will illumine the darkness that hangs upon his true identity in this end of time.
Who he really was?
And what happened to the people he prepared for the coming of the Messiah, the anointed king of the Jews?
While You Are Sleeping
Most of the appearances of Elijah to the Jewish sages occurred while they were sleeping. This is the reason why they easily recognized Elijah, since there is no record of the entire picture of Elijah, then and now. It all started in a dream at night. When the ‘appearances of Elijah’ took place while the rabbis or sages were fully conscious, it was because they had already evolved spiritually. Their eyes had been opened spiritually by our Lord God in order for them to see the spirit of Elijah the prophet.
Though in their writings, the Jewish sages did not fully specify that they were sleeping when Elijah visited them. Those who are in the know, or those who have undergone the same experience, would be able to deduce the truth. Most ordinary people are not really aware of what’s really happening to us while we are sleeping at night.
Paul the Apostle, who had undergone a similar experience, though not with Elijah the Prophet, imparts to us this truth. “The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14, RSV).
The Jewish sages did not give us a detailed description of the appearances of Elijah. There were things they kept in the dark for the reason that there are many ambitious and pretentious religious persons that would appear on earth in this end of time who would try to deceive even the very elect. Those charlatans might use that knowledge for their own vested interest. As it is written in the New Testament, “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24, KJV).
The pretenders, or false Messiahs, might deceitfully claim that Elijah has appeared to them. They will do this in order to deceive and mislead the chosen people of God. And so, once more lead the flock of God into slaughter, like what occurred during 132-135 CE in Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel).
If one would come today and claim that Elijah the Prophet made his appearance to him, those who knows the secret of the appearances of Elijah could come forward and expose the lies he is spreading about. There were things that happened during the ‘appearances of Elijah’, which the Jewish sages chose not to reveal.
We are now in the end of time. It’s about time that those whom God has called out from this evil world of ours might know and understand things that are hidden. If one will tell today of the appearance of Elijah he has experienced, surely the end-time Elijah would be clearly identified. Many today, in the scattered churches of God, would not accept the true identity of Elijah the prophet in this end of time.
Let’s now pay a visit in one of the appearances of Elijah, as the book of Zohar relates it.
“R. Hiya and R. Hizkiah were once sitting underneath a tree in the field of Ono. R. Hiya fell into a slumber and BEHELD ELIJAH. He said to him: ‘The whole field is illumined with your presence.’ ELIJAH ANSWERED: ‘I AM COME TO TELL YOU THAT JERUSALEM IS ABOUT TO BE LAID WASTE TOGETHER WITH ALL THE TOWN OF THE SAGES, FOR THE REASON THAT JERUSALEM IS THE EMBODIMENT OF JUDGMENT, AND IS PRESERVED BY JUDGEMENT, AND NOW JUDGEMENT DEMANDS ITS DESTRUCTION; AND SAMAEL HAS ALREADY BEEN GIVEN POWER OVER IT AND OVER ITS MIGHTY ONES. I HAVE THEREFORE COME TO ADVISE THE SAGES THEREOF SO THAT THEY MAY TRY TO OBTAIN FOR JERUSALEM SOME YEARS OF GRACE. FOR SO LONG AS KNOWLEDGE OF THE TORAH IS FOUND THEREIN IT WILL BE SPARED, THE TORAH BEING THE TREE OF LIFE BY WHICH ALL LIVE. BUT WHEN THE STUDY OF THE TORAH CEASES BELOW, THE TREE OF LIFE DISAPPEARS FROM THE WORLD. HENCE SO LONG AS THE SAGES CLING TO THE TORAH, SAMAEL HAS NO POWER OVER THEM, AS SCRIPTURE SAYS: “THE VOICE IS THE VOICE OF JACOB, BUT THE HANDS ARE THE HANDS OF ESAU “ (Gen. XXVII, 22). THE VOICE IS THE TORAH, WHICH IS TERMED THE VOICE OF JACOB, AND SO LONG AS THAT VOICE POURS FORTH, THE UTTERANCE ALSO, DOMINATES AND PREVAILS (OVER THE HANDS OF ESAU). HENCE THE STUDY OF THE TORAH SHOULD NEVER CEASE.’ R. Hiya [151b] then awake, and they went and told the sages. Said R. Jesse: ‘We all know this, and so it is written: “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain” (Ps. CXXVII, 1), as much as to say: “It is those who labour in the Torah who preserve the Holy City, and not the warriors and men of might”’ (Zohar, Vayeze, 151a-151b, Vol. II, pp. 85-86).
The spirit of Elijah the prophet came and appeared to Rabbi Hiya while he was sleeping. This Elijah’s appearance was like a dream unto him. The presence of Elijah lit up the whole field of Ono wherein R. Hiya was lying in sleep. In the parlance of the modern day parapsychology, this ‘appearance of Elijah’ is an OBE---out of body experience. It was the spirit of R. Hiya who actually conversed with the spirit of Elijah. The spirit of Rabbi Hiya was out of his physical body, which was lying in sleep.
Even the Jews during the first century CE knew what an out-of-body experience is. Shaul (Paul) the Pharisee, in his epistle, relates, “I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago---whether IN THE BODY I do not know, or whether OUT OF THE BODY I do not know, God knows---such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man---whether in the body or OUT OF THE BODY I do not know, God knows---how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible word, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4, NKJV).
Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, was relating in his letter to the church at Corinth, his own personal experience, not with Elijah the prophet, but with Jesus Christ. This is called the ‘appearances of the Messiah.’ Paul had experienced meeting our Lord Jesus Christ in spirit, in an out of body experience. This had officially made him a true apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the 12 Apostles of Jesus, even the substitute Matthias, had a personal contact with Jesus. They all met him face-to-face.
An out of body experience, wherein, most of the Elijah’s appearance occurred with the Jewish sages in the past, is not a ‘new age’ thing. The book of Ecclesiastes says, “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done. AND THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us” (Eccl. 1:9-10, NKJV).
Surely, it is only God who can bring something new in this world that has never been experience by the ancient generations of mankind.
The Jewish sages, who shared their own experience with the spirit of Elijah, did not need to emphasize the fact that they were asleep when he appeared to them. People whose eyes are spiritually open would easily perceive the true nature of those ‘appearances.’ The memberships of the true church of God in their spiritual prison cells today have to be told about these so-called ‘appearances of Elijah.” This will help them to understand the prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6, so that they might be able to figure out the true identity of Elijah the prophet.
The Transfiguration
The members of God’s true church during the Philadelphia era have probably remembered the church’s dogmatic stand about the transfiguration of Jesus Christ (Matt. 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36). Today, many still believe what they were told is the truth. It never occurs to them at all that many Church leaders and ministers have the proclivity to explain away things they hardly understand.
This is how the Worldwide Church of God explained away the transfiguration of Jesus Christ.
This is what we were told to believe.
“Now what about the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus …
“Leaving the mountain, Jesus told his disciples: Tell the vision to no man” (Matt. 17:9). A vision is not a material reality but a supernatural picture observed by the eyes.
“Moses died, and was buried (Deut. 34: 5-6). Both he and Elijah were still dead in their graves, but in vision both they and Jesus were seen in the glory of the resurrection---an event to which Moses and Elijah have not yet attained (Heb. 11:39). The vision was granted the disciples after Jesus had spoken of the glory of immortality in the coming kingdom” (Where are Enoch and Elijah?, HWA, © 1957, 1973 WCG, pp. 21-22).
Mr. Armstrong thought the transfiguration never occurred at all. He erroneously assumed the spirit of both Moses and Elijah were not actually there in the mount, but what the disciples had seen was only a prophetic vision of tomorrow’s event. Saying otherwise would put into question the WCG’s doctrine about life after death. Some people had to die first before they could understand what the complete truth is.
A Jewish Cure for Sore Eyes
If Herbert W. Armstrong only knew of the appearances and visitations of Elijah the Prophet, he would probably teach the WCG what really happened in the mount of transfiguration. It behooves us to understand what Elijah the Prophet had been doing since his death. So, let us once again examine a certain appearance of Elijah the Prophet.
“Once R. Meir was sitting and expounding, etc., that a woman went home, it being a Sabbath evening, and found that her [Sabbath] light had gone out. Her husband asked her: ’Where have you been so late?’ She replied: ‘I have been listening to R. Meir’s discourse! Now that man, being a scoffer, said to her: You will not enter my house, whatever happens, until you have gone and spat in the face of R. Meir.’ She left the house. WHEREUPON ELIJAH, OF BLESSED MEMORY, THEN APPEARED TO R. MEIR AND SAID TO HIM: ‘IT IS BECAUSE OF YOU THAT THE WOMAN HAS LEFT HER HOUSE.’ ELIJAH, OF BLESSED MEMORY, THEN ACQUAINTED R. MEIR OF THE EPISODE. What did R. Meir do? He went and sat down in the Great Beth-Hamedrash. Now that woman came in to pray, and on seeing her R. Meir pretended to be blinking. He asked [aloud]: ‘Who knows how to cure a sore eye by a charm?’ Whereupon the woman replied: ‘I have come to cure it by a charm’ ; and she spat into his face. Thereupon he said to her: ‘Tell your husband: “Lo, I have spat into the face of R. Meir.”’ He further said to her: Go, and become reconciled with your husband. See how great is the power of peace’” (Midrash Rabbah, Vol. VII, Shofetim, v.15, page 117).
Elijah appeared to the Jewish sages with a definite purpose, not to give a vision of the coming kingdom of God. Frequently Elijah talked lengthily to those he visited, about problem that presently concerns them. Thus we can conclude that Elijah also discussed with our Lord Jesus Christ the problem concerned Him the most when he appeared to Him with Moses. Remember, Jesus of Nazareth was also a Jewish rabbi, a teacher of the Law of Moses. In all sense of the word, we can safely say Jesus was also a Jewish sage.
Luke describes to us in his book the appearance of Elijah and Moses to Jesus of Nazareth.
“It was about eight days after he said this, when he took Peter, John and James … While he was praying the appearance of his face altered and his dress turned dazzling white. There were two men CONVERSING WITH HIM, MOSES AND ELIJAH, WHO APPEARED IN A VISION OF GLORY AND SAID HE MUST GO THROUGH WITH HIS DEATH AND DEPARTURE AT JERUSALEM” (Luke IX:28-31, Moffat translations).
When you analyze the preceding verses, does it look to you that the vision witnessed by Peter, John and James was some kind of a vision into the future, into the coming kingdom of God? Do you really think that during the seventh millennium, Moses and Elijah would need to further encourage and strengthen Jesus Christ to go through another sacrificial death? Certainly, Jesus Christ would not be crucified anymore when He comes back to rule Earth.
The New Testament is not silent about Jesus’ feeling concerning His impending death.
He was also afraid, as any normal human being would expectedly be.
“And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me” (Matt. 26:37-38, KJV).
The gospel book of Luke has further enlightened us on what was really Jesus going through at that time.
“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, FATHER, IF THOU BE WILLING, REMOVE THIS CUP FROM ME: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:41-44, KJV).
So great was the fear of death that our Lord Jesus Christ had probably felt there in Mt. Olives. It was probably the same emotion He experienced in Mt. Hermon during the transfiguration. Jesus Christ had never experienced death before. The thought of carrying in His shoulder the entire sins of mankind was probably so hard for him. Or is it the thought of being momentarily separated from God the Father that was bothering him, making him sad and sorrowful?
Heaven had indeed felt the sorrow and heavy heart of Jesus as He approached His imminent death that God in His mercy sent Moses and Elijah to comfort and strengthen Him. They were there to help Jesus Christ fulfills what was written and prophesied in the Holy Scriptures. The two greatest prophets of Israel were brought back from the world of the dead by our Lord God to console His only Son.
Moses the Prophet came to see the Prophet like himself, whom he prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, in the most agonizing moment of Jesus’ life. Elijah had come also to perform his special task of strengthening and comforting the rabbis of Israel. But the most surprising thing that had confronted the disciples of Jesus Christ who had witnessed the Transfiguration is the revelation of the true identity of Elijah the Prophet. They were unprepared for what they are going to see. And when it happened, the answers to all of their questions came poring quickly inside their minds.
This is the truth which many have not realized for they have not evolved spiritually yet.
The Transfiguration in the Mount occurred while Peter, James and John were sleeping. They were not wide-awake and conscious when it happened, as many have assumed and will expectedly think when they read Luke 9:28-36; Matt. 17:1-8 and Mark 9:2-8. They were not awake. The three disciples were as dead tired asleep during the transfiguration as they were also dead tired asleep in Mt. Olives when Jesus was likewise praying agonizingly prior to his arrest.
Notice what occurred in Matthew 26:38-45.
“Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me … And he came to the disciples and found them SLEEPING; and he said to Peter, “So could you not watch with me one hour? …Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed … And again he came and found them sleeping… he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest” (Matt. 26:38-45, RSV).
It appears that Peter, James and John were habitually sleeping each time they accompanied Jesus Christ in His prayer session with God the Almighty. They were sleeping at this time just like what they did during the transfiguration. They also witnessed the visitation or appearance of an angel to our Lord Jesus Christ while they were sleeping.
“And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40-46, NKJV).
How did Luke know that an angel visited and strengthened Jesus except the three disciples had somehow testified that they witnessed the appearance of the angel on that night?
Now, let’s go back and analyze the first time the three disciples of Jesus Christ had undergone an out-of-body experience brought supernaturally by a ‘visitation’ at night.
“And as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. Then behold, two men talked with him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. BUT PETER AND THOSE WITH HIM WERE HEAVY WITH SLEEP; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. And it happened, as they (Moses and Elijah) were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”---not knowing what he said” (Luke 22:29-33, NKJV).
The three disciples witnessed the Transfiguration in Spirit like what John the Beloved described in the book of Revelation (Rev. 1:10, 12-16), as an out-of-body experience while they were ‘heavy with sleep.’ They had seen “HIS GLORY” when they became ‘fully awake’ in Spirit. The naked eye of man would not be able to see and stand the glory of God. But, in Spirit, like what John experienced in the island of Patmos, this is possible.
These three disciples of Jesus Christ had witnessed an Elijah’s appearance to Jesus of Nazareth, while they were sleeping. Elijah was already dead and buried, and its only his spirit that can be seen during his ‘appearances.’
An ordinary human being, whose eyes are not ‘opened’, would not be able to see a spirit. But, when a person is in Spirit (biblical term in New Testament used for an out-of-body experience), he can even see the spirit of dead people. Some people bless with this type of gift at birth, and some people who by some circumstances in life have their eyes accidentally opened, need to have this so-called third eye closed if they could not handle the things they are seeing. Those who are in-the-know may they be ministers of God or not, can alleviate the sufferings of those people whose eyes are open by closing it in the name of Jesus Christ.
You must understand the ministers of the scattered Churches of God are not knowledgeable on this type of spiritual matter. The Church of God ministers often call EVIL things they do not understand spiritually. Many gifts of the Holy Spirit could not manifest in the true Church of God because of the lack of spiritual discernment by the Church of God leaders.
You will notice by now if your mind is open that there is written evidence in the New Testament of an ‘appearance of Elijah the Prophet.’ It is not really a fabrication of the Jewish sages of long ago. The spirit of Elijah can really appear on some people today, and your unbelief on this matter does not really count at all in the work that God is doing in this end of time. God can send back from the world of the dead, from Abraham’s bosom, any of His servants who have already died physically many years ago, even those who have died a thousand years ago. That’s His prerogative, and church doctrinal beliefs do not count at all in the work of God for most of the times they are only man-made doctrines.
Deep Sleep
Many of the appearances of Elijah, and also, of the angels, which people experienced occurred while they were in ‘deep sleep.’ Most of the world’s religious leaders and biblical scholars are not even aware of this due to the reason, that church organizations and their leaders have an evil or bad habits of ‘killing the prophets’ whom God often send to His chosen people. Even in the churches of God, the ministers often resort to abortion even before a prophet could be borne among the brethren. Church ministers in many local congregations act like little Herod the King in their church domain, always ready to slaughter any of their children who would pose a threat to their leadership. In the hierarchical structures of the Church of God’s organization today a Prophet of God, or anybody who has a certain gift of the Holy Spirit (i.g. gift of healing, speaking in tongues and so on) could not manifest and be known among the brethren because the leaders and pastors are often threatened by people with a much better gift than them.
When people, or the prophets of old, or the apostles of Jesus Christ, were in deep sleep, they were completely in a relax state, and their minds became susceptible to outside influences. Satan the Devil can really influence some people on a relax state, but God’s chosen people are well protected by Our Lord God and they have a wall of protection. Those people who do not really know God would discourage the others from communicating deeply with God for they would be left behind in spiritual development when those who are chosen and faithful would experience God speaking directly to them.
Modern science recognizes the condition of the mind in deep sleep. The brain wave pattern of a human mind had been analyzed and measured while they are in different state of consciousness. Our brain waves can be measured by the use of EEG machine. The human mind, during deep sleep, is known to have a rhythmical frequency from eight to thirteen cycles per second. A German physician named Berger called it the Alpha wave because it was the first to be discovered. In Beta, the electroencephalograph (EEG) records fourteen to twenty-eight cycles per second, sometimes it spiked upward to fifty. This is known as our conscious state.
People, particularly the busy and highly energetic people, are known to be in Beta state even while they are sleeping. These are the people who never even remember their dreams at night.
During sleep as the mind level deepened and the body continue to relax people reached the Alpha state. It is in this stage wherein an angel of the Lord, the spirit of dead people, and even an evil spirit, can influence our mind to see dreams and visions, and even experience nightmares. When we are having dreams or visions during deep sleep, the slower high voltage brainwave pattern, Delta and Theta, become mingled with the Alpha. And we also experience this thing known as the rapid eye movement or R.E.M.
Lose your religion now!
During the transfiguration in the Holy Mount, Peter, James and John were in deep sleep. The appearance of Moses and Elijah, brought their mind into a much deeper level wherein man experience revelations and visions at night. Their spirits had been awakened out of their sleeping, physical bodies by the presence of the angels, which often accompanied Elijah the Prophet as he roams around the earth. Those angels herald the appearances of high ranking, spiritual entities sent by our Heavenly God. This means, that the ‘appearances’ or ‘visitations’ have a divine approval from the Lord our God.
That was how the three apostles had known the presence of Moses and Elijah. The heralding angels of God announced their identities. During the visitation at night, one may ask anything and the answer will certainly come. You know the answer is true for communication is not made in spoken language. The answer comes in thought form, and if you are talking to Satan the Devil you will be able to feel it.
Daniel the Prophet had also experienced the divine appearances of the angels of the Lord. He describes his experience vividly, “And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them… and there remained no strength in me … Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, THEN WAS I IN DEEP SLEEP ON MY FACE, and my face toward the ground” (Dan. 10:7-9, KJV).
Notice the following verses, how Gabriel the archangel strengthened, comforted and assuaged the fear of Daniel.
“And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And He said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling” (vv. 10-11, KJV).
During the first time, and at the start of the ‘appearances’, one is usually afraid. The angels of the lord often help people to get rid of this fear.
“Then said he unto me, Fear not Daniel …” (verse 12, KJV).
In the ‘transfiguration’, it was Jesus who comforted them from their fear.
Notice how Peter the apostle had blurted out of fear that the transfiguration actually occurred during the seven days of the Feast of Booths.
“And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths (tabernacles), one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, FOR THEY WERE EXCEEDINGLY AFRAID. And a cloud overshadowed them …” (Mark 9:5-6, RSV).
In the book of Matthew, we can clearly see how Jesus allayed the fear of His disciples after they were frightened by Bat Kol, the voice of God.
“… and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, THEY FELL ON THEIR FACES, AND WERE FILLED WITH AWE. BUT JESUS CAME AND TOUCHED THEM, SAYING, “RISE, AND HAVE NO FEAR” (Matthew 17:5-7, RSV).
Compare now what occurred to John the Beloved in the Book of Revelation, when he himself also heard the voice.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a GREAT VOICE, AS OF TRUMPET, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last …” (Revelation 1:10-11, KJV).
John the Beloved, was likewise, in a deep sleep, in exactly the same way that Daniel the Prophet and Jesus’ three disciples were when they experienced the visions related in this article. John the Beloved was ‘in spirit’ (Rev. 1:10) and out-of-body. He was fearful and Jesus Christ also comforted him.
“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And HE (Jesus) LAID HIS RIGHT HAND UPON ME, SAYING UNTO ME, FEAR NOT; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death” (Rev. 1:17, KJV).
The ‘appearances of Elijah’ were certainly not just a Jewish concoction invented by the sages of Israel. The heathens and the Gentile nations of this present evil world are so fond of lies and half-truth which they made to make their religion believable, but that is not the case with the Jewish people. The ‘appearances’ were as real as our exasperating neighbors. Visitations really happened, and are still taking place even in this age of ours, not just by Elijah the prophet, but even by the Messiah of Israel. It frequently takes place during the time of deep sleep. It is an experience every Jewish rabbis longs to have.
The First Reincarnation of Elijah
The world we live in is full of conspiracy of every kind. In all facets of life here on earth, a devilish form of conspiracy lurks hidden from view. Many claimed the biblical concept of reincarnation was removed from Christianity during the Council in Nicaea and was replaced by a false church doctrine about purgatory, hell and heaven. The church of God leaderships, out of ignorance, followed suit blindly. In this science-oriented world we live in, it’s hard to believe on things that cannot be analyzed and dissected in the controlled atmosphere of a scientific laboratory.
Reincarnation is something which many bible-based religions of this world can live without. In the same way that most of the Christian religious sects and denominations today subsist without the complete Law of God. But this is not the case with Rabbinical Judaism, the modern religion of the unbelieving Jews. There is a very thin line of difference between their doctrine of resurrection and the doctrine of reincarnation. Patiently, the Jews wait for the appearance of Elijah for Elijah the prophet is the harbinger of the Messianic era to them. When he comes again, they believe the Messiah will soon appear to usher in the Kingdom of God, which happens to be the Kingdom of the nation of Israel.
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, Reincarnation is “the doctrine that the soul (spirit in man) reappears after death in another and different bodily form.” It is a return to life after death. Much like what’s written in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be CHANGED---in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53, NKJV).
Though this is not the actual case of the first reincarnation of Elijah the prophet, one thing is very clear indeed with the prophecy in the book of Malachi. Reincarnation can easily be seen as the underlying fact in the fulfillment of what’s written in Malachi 4:5. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:5, KJV). And the New Testament has confirms that the reincarnation of Elijah the prophet had indeed occurred.
“… and you shall call his name John ... And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their god and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1: 13-17, RSV).
John the Baptist was the first reincarnation of Elijah the prophet, for biblical prophecy has a dual fulfillment, as in the case of Malachi 4: 5. You will notice that the prophecy of the preceding verses regarding the life of John the Baptist was left unfulfilled. The unfulfilled prophecy about John the Baptist, who is in fact, Elijah the Prophet, will be completed during the second and final reincarnation of Elijah the Prophet in this end of time.
John the Baptist was undoubtedly Elijah the Prophet for Jesus claims, “he is Elijah who is to come” (Matt. 11:14, RSV). You will see in the manner of Jesus’ expression that our Lord Jesus seems to be speaking prophetically. As if he is telling his disciples that Elijah or John the Baptist will once more be incarnated after his death.
But that is indeed what occurred.
Elijah has once more returned in the flesh in this end time generation of ours.
One of the things you must understand. Those who had been reincarnated back into flesh and those who will be reincarnated again will not be able to remember their past lives. That is the reason why, when John the Baptist was asked if he is Elijah, He denied He was Elijah for he could not remember being Elijah the Prophet.
“And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “what then? ARE YOU ELIJAH?” HE SAID, I AM NOT” (John 1:19-21, RSV).
So whoever is Elijah the Prophet today, just like John the Baptist, he would not know he is Elijah. Then, it follows; those people who are saying they are Elijah the Prophet are only misleading the faithful followers of God and Jesus Christ. False prophets and false Messiahs, they are indeed abounding in and out of the Churches of God.
Another thing you must understand in reincarnation. Those who will be sent back to life as mortal human being with a certain mission and purpose, must you take on a certain flaw in their character. The spirit of the dead person, particularly those who are highly evolved, like the case of Elijah the Prophet, will have to make a choice of the kind of flaw he or she will possess once brought back into life.
This flaw of character will manifest itself during that person lifetime. With Elijah the Prophet, biblical prophecy has foretold it has something to do with ‘children.’ Isn’t it written, “And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:6, KJV).
We are looking for a certain prophet in this end time who loved his children so much. Remember Eli the Priest (1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22-25). Remember Samuel the prophet (1 Sam. 8:1-5). They both covered up the sins of their children, pretending at times not to see their transgressions, because they loved them so much.
That could also be the dark and hidden side of the end time Elijah that we are looking for.
Herbert W Armstrong Strikes Back
When I was young I have experienced the appearance of the Messiah one night. But I am unable to remember anything that happened that night at all until twenty years passed by.
I remembered what brought the appearance of Jesus that night. It was also the same reason why Herbert W. Armstrong, which many Laodiceans believe as the end-time Elijah the prophet, had appeared to me one night.
In July of 1997, I had a dream that made me remember my dream twenty years ago.
I was at the second floor of our house somewhere in a far country at the East of Jerusalem. I was praying on my knees and suddenly I saw the face of Jesus in the window. I strained my eyes so I can see the face in the window clearly. It was not the face of Jesus that I saw clearly but my dream at night (OBE) twenty years ago suddenly came clearly into my mind.
I have no idea why it took me twenty years to remember that dream. It was like Jesus had appeared to me again so I could remember something heaven made me forget.
I remember everything that happened that day in 1977 swiftly.
Earlier I was at the store of my mother. I told my parents that Jesus and God are simply the pigments of the imagination of mankind. The ancient people were so afraid of this life that made them to create God who can deliver them from all of their fears and problems.
I have not yet read a Bible at that time. I was only interested in reading bestsellers’ books.
I said something unpleasant about Jesus and God the Father. My parents simply looked at me. Smiling, for they are Catholics. They had no idea at all about the true personality of Jesus. You know, like Sarah Silverman who said, ‘when Jesus comes again, we are going to crucify him again.’
Foolish Jews!
So it happened at the following night.
Jesus struck back at me in a dream at night.
In my room I had a very wide window enough for a tank to come barraging inside without destroying the house. Sometime planes from nearby airfield would fly into our house and out again without breaking the window at all. It is a good place to practice aero-acrobat for single-engine plane pilot.
One night while I was sleeping I was awakened from sleep. I opened my eyes and perceived there is someone at the window. The room was dark. I slept at that time with the light off. But still I could see clearly in the dark.
I did not close the window entirely. It was a little ajar. The stars of Orion can be seen always at night through my window. They were always there at that part of heaven.
My mind asked a question instinctively.
Who could that be?
The voice of the angels answered quickly as if they heard me.
“Jesus is coming into your room. Do not be afraid. Pay your homage to Him.”
The voices said Jesus is coming inside the room.
I saw a man came into the room through the wall of our house where the window is. He did not open the window but merely passed through the wall and window.
I had no idea at that time what I should do.
My Aunt slept nearby in the other room of the same floor. She was awakened by the voice of the angels. She knew what to do. I saw her rushed to Jesus, kneeling quickly in front of Him. But quickly her spirit disappeared into thin air as if Jesus had dismissed her gently.
Jesus came at that night to see me, not my Aunt or anyone at all.
At least my Aunt through her astral body showed me what to do when Jesus comes to visit you at night.
I got up from the floor where I slept. We were so poor at that time that I had no bed or mattress to sleep in. I simply slept on the floor of our house. Even today I am sleeping at the floor for I am still wallowing in poverty like yesterday.
I moved toward Jesus and followed what I saw my Aunt had done. I knelt down in front of Jesus. Then suddenly I remembered what they taught me. When you kneel down before God you should pray and ask for something for that is what God is for.
So I asked Jesus for something.
I wanted to be a pilot at that time but my eyes are not that good anymore. I asked Jesus to make my eyes see clearly.
Jesus looked down at me. He held my face with His two hands and smiled down at me.
That’s what Jesus had done.
It is like He is telling me, “I am real. I am not a mere product of the imagination of man.”
I looked up at Jesus and noticed that His eyes are shining bright like the stars in the night time sky. And as He disappeared before me I saw that there is a star shining bright behind Him where His eyes where.
The room became dark again.
I woke up and quickly got up and knelt down where I was before. The window was slightly open and I saw the star outside behind where Jesus was standing a moment ago. The Orion was still there in the night sky.
That out-of-body experience is like a slap-in-the-face for a non-believer like me. But I was young at that time and I did not remember what happened at that night.
What did I know anyway?
I woke up from my dream twenty-years later on with a full knowledge of that dream that I had twenty years ago in 1977. The face of Jesus in the glass of the window had triggered my memory to remember. I remembered everything. I remembered the face of my Messiah. I even remembered the prayers that I have not asked Him.
Crazy isn’t it.
The Appearance of Elijah?
This happened on the same month and the same year that I have the dream that made me remember the 20 year old dream.
I have been keeping a Dream Journal for many years and everything is recorded in one of my Journal notebooks.
I came early at the rented hall where the former members of the Worldwide Church of God met on Sabbath Day. There were two other people with me and we were discussing about Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. I said Mr. Armstrong is not really a prophet for many of his prophecies did not come true. We should think of him as an apostle of God like Paul the Apostle. Paul had written many things wherein he prophesied something is going to happen but it did not. Apostles of the Lord God are like that. They can speak of something prophetic but the prophecy does not come to pass for they are not really holding the office of a prophet.
It was a Sabbath day and this was what I said.
‘Herbert W. Armstrong is not a prophet of God.’
At this time I am already a reluctant Astral Traveler. I love to fly but I do not relish lying in bed a long time trying to get my spirit out of my physical body. Besides that I do not relish the idea that every time someone dies in the neighborhood I would have a dead visitor coming unannounced at night lifting one of my feet while I am sleeping.
When your soul or spirit travels, the room where you are sleeping emits light that dead people can see. They know there is someone there who can walk into both the world of the living and the world of the dead. So the dead often came into my room at night.
That night I was awakened from my sleep. I realized quickly that I would have a visitor again. I placed a switch near my bed so I can easily reach for it and switch the light on. I have already seen the Devil and the Old Hag came inside the house at night. Once I switch the light on the visitor would simply vanish and I would not be troubled at all. At least they would not come again while I am sleeping with the light on.
So I reached for the switch over my head and my hand could not turn the light on.
I was already in the Spirit and out of my body.
Suddenly I heard the voice of the angels, the same voice that I heard when Yeshua came for a visit when I was young.
‘You have a visitor coming. Do not be afraid.’
I sensed the presence of my visitor in the stairway of our house. He was ascending like what discarnate bodies often do when they come up into my room. The room suddenly lit up when the visitor had entered.
It was Herbert W. Armstrong.
I suddenly found myself in a different world with Mr. Armstrong. We talked a lot about many things. We talked and talked and talked until he came to the reason why he had visited me.
“I am a prophet too!”
I felt that Herbert was referring to what I said in the hall on that Sabbath day. But it did not really matter at all. I was so engrossed with my tete-a-tete with the old man.
But at this time I had the feeling that Mr. Armstrong was trying to tell me that he is like Elijah the prophet.
So I said quickly, “You should write a last letter like what Elijah the prophet had done.”
“I had already done that. Read my last letter to the brethren. It’s prophetic in itself.”
We talked some more until its time for him to go.
Before he left and disappeared into thin air, Herbert W. Armstrong had given me a message for all the members of the Worldwide Church of God.
He said, “Read 17-18.”
Herbert W. Armstrong was referring to Galatians 6:17-18.
“From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.”
Addendum: The Two Dreams
Rav Yeshua Ed/May 01, 2011/Updated on January 4, 2012
The day is May 1, 2011.
I moved back to the town where G-d has driven me. I am trying to turn the place where I would be working into a good working environment. As I am going through my dream journals, I found one where these words are written on the front cover—HWA visits.
Below are the entries on June 27, 1997. The words written are meant to remind me what I had dreamt at that night of June 27. I can remember more than the words that I had written. The words I have written are simply trigger that can make me remember all the things that I have seen or experienced in my dream—a vision at night.
June 27, 1997.
(This occurred at night time before dawn of Friday morning.)
Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong told me and whoever might care to read his last letter to the brethren. It was filled with prophecies about future events.
I was lying in bed frantically trying to open up the light through the switch near the headboard when he came.
During our conversation concerning many things that I could hardly remember, he mentioned the numbers 17-18 alluding to Galatians 6:17-18.
I have two dreams before the appearance of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong in my room. You will see how we know an out of body experience from an ordinary dream. But this first dream is prophetic for me personally.
I saw a closet full of royal blue linen clothing. Israel, the son of Mr. Gesmundo was lying naked asleep inside the closet. He was very drunk. Israel showed me what happened. He waked up staggering like a drunken man. Then he proceeded to run around the place where the male single members of the Philadelphia Church of God are.
Everyone in the place was laughing at him.
One very immature and worldly member of the PCG asked another man to masturbate him. The place became filled with semen and it was all over the place … (censored). The uncleanness of Israel the son of Mr. Gesmundo had infected everyone.
The rowdy boy-members of the PCG kept running around the place.
I saw a branch. One male member jumped from the branch of the tree and fell down head first on the ground. I heard his neck broke and felt his death. Someone died because Israel Gesmundo Jr. has become drunk. The one who died is the one who masturbated Israel and made him unclean and everybody else in that place.
When I opened up the closet after seeing what led him lying naked asleep in the closet, he woke up and said he is not drunk. So, he is simply sleeping.
The second dream happened like this.
I was lying down with a guitar and with a mic. There was a male baby beside me. I was singing and he was singing too. There were broken shards of glass around us. After we finished singing the baby cried for it’s like he had a cut on his mouth in the lip area with a piece of glass.
It was only at this time that I realized how the second dream above is telling me that I had said something before, which is the reason why Herbert W. Armstrong had made his appearance. I am the male baby. The male baby has said something that someone does not like. The cut in the mouth of that baby is telling me that I am guilty of lashon hara—gossiping. His crying symbolized that I would be hearing good news later on.
The first dream shows me there is a homosexual in the Philippine congregation of the Philadelphia Church of God. That’s Albert. He is leaving the PCG. He is destined to die and I will be witnessing what shall happen to him later on. Albert was a friend of mine at that time. This first dream is telling me that the Philadelphia Church of God is an unclean Church. Its members are like rowdy boys in the eyes of God.
I awakened suddenly and felt immediately that there is someone coming for a visit again. I was so afraid for I had been visited before by the old hag who strangled me and by the dead people that wander aimlessly in our neighborhood at night. It was scary not knowing who will come sauntering next in your room while you are sleeping at night.
So I reached out quickly for the switch near the headboard of my bed if my bed had a headboard. Once I switch the light on they will be gone. They would not come anymore.
I flicked on the switch but nothing happened. It was still dark. I went out of the mosquito net and pulled on the wires and the switch frantically close to me. I pulled them from the wall.
Suddenly an angel had spoken out of nowhere. I have experienced the voice of the angels before when the Messiah had appeared to me in 1977. The angel said reassuringly that I am going to have a visitor. I should not be afraid.
So I waited for a while in the dark. I could not open the light what am I to do but wait.
I felt the presence of a spirit ascending the stairs of our house. When the visitor came through the doorway I was surprised to see who it is. It was Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.
Suddenly the room where I was at that time lit up and we were in another place. I think it was another dimension. I was in my spiritual body talking lengthily with Mr. Armstrong in another place I could hardly remember. After some times had passed by and I realized I was in my room again. Then suddenly Mr. Armstrong said, “I am a prophet.”
I have no idea at this time why he said that even why he came to pay me a visit at night. He seemed to be saying to me that he is more than a prophet like he is Elijah the prophet. But I could be wrong about that. Maybe Mr. Armstrong was only saying at that time that he was also a prophet not only an apostle of God like Paul.
But something made me think Mr. Armstrong was telling me that he is Elijah the prophet, in fact. Otherwise, why would I ask him to write a last letter like the biblical Elijah of the Old Testament? He merely retorted that he had already done that. His last letter to the brethren is prophetic in nature.
I replied back why he wrote his last letter in a coded way. If it was simple and clear, we would be able to understand it easily. I insistently asked again that he write a new letter once more for the brethren of the Worldwide Church of God. But he responded to me with something like an admonition that I or we should read 17-18 (Galatians 6:17-18).
That is his last message to the members of the Worldwide Church of God.
As my mind tried to figure what 17-18 is all about, Herbert Armstrong gradually disappeared before my eyes like a spirit often does. The room was suddenly dark again.
I found myself back inside my physical body.
So the good news is Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong is indeed Elijah the prophet or maybe his office is that of a prophet of God, not merely an apostle.
When I left the PCG in 2001 right after the Feast of Tabernacles, I have a dream where the Prince brought me to the place where the PCG members are meeting on Sabbath Day. The place is empty. In every seat where PCG members are seating there is a handkerchief. The members of the PCG are destined to weep and cry. They shall all go out of the PCG and renounce it brokenheartedly.
But at this time that was already history.
Herbert Strikes Back!
I believe Herbert W. Armstrong can feel and sense from the world of the dead all the wrong things that some people are saying about him.
He was only human. Maybe he made many errors in the work that he did in the Worldwide Church of God. But even Paul the Apostle had his own share of fauz pas.
We all make mistakes, intentionally and unintentionally.
But the worse of all is for many former ministers of the Worldwide Church of God to continue in the errors of the past. The work of the Worldwide Church of God has ended like the rest of the other Church organization in the earlier Church eras.
In this article, it was me that Herbert W. Armstrong had struck back at for saying that he is not a prophet. 17-18 is for all of you who believe or do not believe in him.
I am a prophet too.
That is what he said and maybe that is true somehow.
Do not forget that little orange button linking you to my Paypal account. If this made you wince my brethren you are truly a Laodiceans.
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