Many in God’s church misunderstand Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and some misapply God’s warning to false prophets of verses 20-22, to accuse Mr Herbert W Armstrong of being a false prophet.
Immediately after God had given the Ten Commandments, the people rejected God with, “And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Exod 20:19).
In Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Moses reminded Israel of God’s reaction to that rejection with, “15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God …” Moses continued, “17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Moses then gave God’s warning to false prophets, “20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
[I didn't post the part of his article that doesn't pertain to proving how Mr. Armstrong is not a false prophet, as it could be a distraction - DBA]...
Let us now concentrate on the warning God gave through Moses to false prophets presuming to speak in God’s name (Deut. 18:20-22) and recognize this does not apply to Mr Herbert W Armstrong.
A number of men have accused Mr Armstrong of being a false prophet because he warned Greater Israel at times too enthusiastically of dangers during the dark days before and during W.W.II and again during the Cold War.
With the benefit of hindsight we can now see that Mr Armstrong got some of his predictions wrong during such dark times but as shown next these were not prophecies spoken in the name of God.
God told Moses He would send a Prophet, whom Peter identified was Jesus. Also that God would send His message through this Prophet to Israel despite Israel having declared not wishing to listen to God. We all recall how only Mr Armstrong taught that Jesus brought the Good News or Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God. Let no one forget that only Mr Armstrong and no other in our day brought us that message.
That therefore during his long ministry only Mr Armstrong spoke truly and faithfully concerning that Good News prophecy of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus brought from God the Father (Deut 18:15-19) and of which God the Father had warned that no prophet should speak falsely (Deut 18:20-22).
Therefore when we hear men accuse Mr Armstrong of being a false prophet by misapplying Deuteronomy 18:20-22 outside the Kingdom of God context of verses 15-19, then let us recognize that these men themselves are false teachers!
I recall one minister ridiculing Mr Armstrong throughout a sermon over predictions made during the dark days of W.W.II and the Cold War and which he claimed had not come true. He then claimed based on Deuteronomy 18:20-22, that Mr Armstrong was a false prophet.
One atheist web site lists over 200 alleged false predictions published in past PT's and other RCG / WCG publications but without giving precise references that allow us to investigate those claims. The few I could verify were questionable.
Even if some of Mr Armstrong’s past predictions did not come true but which he made to warn Greater Israel, we must see that this does not make him a false prophet because these alleged failed predictions were not false prophecies about the Kingdom of God. Therefore God’s warning to false prophets in verses 20-22 does not apply to Mr Armstrong.
Had any of us been in Mr Armstrong’s shoes during the dark days of W.W.II and the Cold War, and had we known about Israel Identity, then we too may have similarly warned Greater Israel without being false prophets. Let us therefore judge righteously but temper our judgment with mercy so that we too may be judged with mercy (James 2:13).
None of God’s servants were perfect. So let us not accuse Mr Armstrong of being a false prophet as has the secular world.
The reader may also like to read my paper P12, “Fresh Evidence Denies Mr Armstrong’s Accusers!” which addresses other accusations made against Mr Armstrong.
Readers may download from http://www.rightly-dividing.net/ the papers mentioned above or request these in
writing from:
Henk Jens,
PO Box 121,
Belmore, 2192,
NSW, Australia.
http://home.zipworld.com.au/~hwj/NoFalseProphet-Jul08.pdf
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