The “Church of God“ and its Resurrection Sunday
Herbert W. Armstrong was the founder of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). He taught that the resurrection of Jesus supposedly took place at the end of a Sabbath and that the women came to the tomb on Sunday morning. His reasoning is understandable, because since he mainly read the King James Bible (KJV), which reported the arrival of the women at the tomb “on the first day of the week“, but at the same time did not check the ancient Greek basic text, he took it as proven that Sunday was the day on which the Lord Jesus appeared to people. So he counted back three days and thought that the crucifixion should have taken place on a Wednesday. The theory of the Wednesday crucifixion and Sabbath-end resurrection was not a new invention by Armstrong, as it had already been taught by Ethelbert Bullinger (*1837; †1913) in his Companion Bible in 1909. This idea was taken up by various small Sabbath congregations who, unlike the Adventists, did not believe in Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but wanted to take into account the “3 days and 3 nights“ (Mt 12:38-40). At that time, they did not know the literal ancient Greek basic text (which spoke of the Sabbath morning), so that this theory seemed ideal to them for decades and they did not have to doubt the statements of the King James Version (KJV). See also the various theories in the chapter on church opinions.
The theory of the Wednesday crucifixion and Sabbath-end resurrection was not a new invention by Armstrong, as it had already been taught by Ethelbert Bullinger (*1837; †1913) in his Companion Bible in 1909. This idea was taken up by various small Sabbath congregations who, unlike the Adventists, did not believe in Good Friday and Easter Sunday, but wanted to take into account the “3 days and 3 nights“ (Mt 12:38-40). At that time, they did not know the literal ancient Greek basic text (which spoke of the Sabbath morning), so that this theory seemed ideal to them for decades and they did not have to doubt the statements of the King James Version (KJV). See also the various theories in the chapter on church opinions.
As there have been considerable changes to many teachings over the years under Armstrong's successors, there have been many departures from the church, resulting in several splinter groups. Most of them keep not only the Sabbath, but also the Jewish feast days, but not the biblical feast days according to God's calendar, especially since most members do not even know the differences between the old calendar from Leviticus 23 and the new Jewish calendar from the fourth century AD. As a result, they celebrate almost all biblical feast days at the wrong time, which proves that they are not as righteous as they think they are, because it is disobedience to postpone the seven assembly days of God. In 2024, they even celebrate all the feast days on the wrong days because the Jewish calendar has miscalculated the leap year and is a whole month late. It is incredible that these churches meticulously observe the Sabbath but at the same time valorize Sunday (the weekly feast day of Jesus' murderers) because for them it is the day on which the resurrected Jesus showed himself to His disciples (the “Resurrection Sunday“). At the same time, they devalue the Sabbath, because biblically both the resurrection and the appearance to the believers took place on a Sabbath. But it was only through the resurrection of Jesus on His day (Sabbath) that He completely fulfilled the law and thus became our eternal Sabbath rest.
As we can clearly prove biblically, the teaching of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong is wrong, because if one considers not only the KJV, but the basic Greek text of the NT and the many correct translations, the resurrection of Jesus did not take place biblically on the Sabbath evening, but on the Sabbath morning. We have personally contacted the major follower churches of the WCG and pointed out these clear doctrinal errors several times so that division in Christendom can be avoided and we can come to unity in the faith. However, since ALL of our posts under the You Tube videos were deleted by all (!) churches and we were blocked, and because ALL emails with the corrections were not answered, we have no choice but to publish these errors here. We have to follow our conscience and want to protect our spiritual brothers and sisters from false teachings, because we ourselves believed for years that Bullinger and Armstrong's view of the Sabbath evening with the calculation of the biblical feasts according to the Jewish calendar had to be correct. Only after intensive study of the Word of God were we able to recognize all these many errors. Agape love cannot tolerate false doctrines and changes to the Word of God, but at least points them out so that they cannot come into conflict with God's instructions in terms of conscience.
It is sad when churches complain about the censorship of Christian content in the media, but most pastors themselves are even worse than the world, for they censor and block their own spiritual brethren instead of contradicting or correcting them on content. Instead, they engage in an Armstrong cult and place the word of a deceased man above the biblical word of the living Lord Jesus Christ. Question: Would you also censor and block Jesus Christ if He drew your attention to errors in your church doctrine? As you can see from numerous Bible passages, God also works through people, and if you do not accept the corrections and want to hide them from Christians, then you are not only blocking us, but also Jesus Christ personally. What are you afraid of, such as losing members or your job? Isn't eternal life much more than that? Spreading false doctrines and cowardice are not the way of humility and love. For many Christians, keeping the Sabbath is like a ship of security to be able to piously twist the text of the Bible inspired by the Holy Spirit so that Mr. Armstrong's statements are not called into question. Yet they should all know that keeping the Sabbath did the Pharisees no good at all because they twisted the words of Jesus.
In the following text we will prove that Jesus was biblically resurrected on a Sabbath morning and that several of Herbert W. Armstrong's teachings are false and contradict the Bible. These churches are therefore built on the word of a man, but not on the sole foundation of the Bible.
Who is the “Church of God“?
Herbert W. Armstrong (*1892; †1986; Wikipedia) was an American evangelist who founded the Worldwide Church of God (WCG, Wikipedia, website) in 1934. With his radio and television evangelism, Armstrong preached strict adherence to the Old Testament regulations. Through the broadcasts “The World Tomorrow“ and the magazine “The Plain Truth“, the church was able to gain numerous new members. Armstrong promoted very strict teachings, not only on the mandatory Sabbath commandment, but also on the observance of all biblical feast days (which were, however, determined according to the Jewish calendar). Visits to the doctor were forbidden (as God was supposed to be the healer) or only tolerated. Mixed marriages between races and make-ups for women were forbidden. Couples who remarried after a divorce were either forced to separate or were excluded from the community, although this doctrine was relaxed in Armstrong's later years. Tithes had to be paid to the church, plus second tithes for the poor and third tithes for feast days, so that around 30% of members' income was donated. There were also strict dietary rules (ban on pork and seafood). Anyone who did not strictly observe the Sabbath, criticized the church leadership or even questioned some of the denomination's teachings was very quickly expelled from the church. They were threatened that they would lose their salvation and be thrown into the lake of fire on the day of judgment. We know members to whom this has happened. But no one needs to be afraid because the pastors themselves need to think about how they will one day stand before the Lord Jesus after decades of leading their congregation to the false feast days that God will NEVER accept because they are man-made calendar days that only mimic the Leviticus 23 data. It also becomes clear that if these false teachings regarding God's calendar and the false timing of Jesus' resurrection (including the revaluation of Sunday) have persisted for so many decades, it clearly shows that these pastors are not guided by the Holy Spirit, but stubbornly want to hold on to the traditions of Mr. Armstrong. Under Armstrong, the members considered themselves to be the only converts in the world who belonged to the supposedly only Church of God. Their sign was the observance of the Sabbath and the Jewish feast days. The others (outside this religious community) were therefore not true Christians. It was not until the end of 1992, under the new leader of the church (Joseph Tkach), that it was recognized that there were also true Christians outside the „Worldwide Church of God“. Armstrong was also criticized for marrying a woman almost 50 years younger than him in 1977 and leading a very lavish lifestyle (expensive car, private jet, very expensive buildings), while the members gave about 30% of their income as tithes and were partially impoverished. The name „Church of God“ is misleading, because the true Church of God is not an organization founded by men, but a spiritual family to which only those who have the Holy Spirit belong: „Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him“ (Romans 8:9). The spiritual Church of God defends the word of the Lord Jesus and does not twist it; it does not change the sign of the Messiah or the time of His resurrection.
Joseph W. Tkach (*1927; †1995; Wikipedia) was the appointed successor to Herbert W. Armstrong from January 16, 1986. From December 1994, he introduced significant changes in teaching. In his Christmas and New Year's sermons, he publicly declared that the Worldwide Church of God was a New Covenant church and therefore not bound by the terms of the Old Covenant. With this declaration, Tkach officially dropped all teachings based on the Mosaic Law (i.e. keeping the Sabbath, the 7 feast days and the dietary laws) and made adherence to these practices an individual choice. He also dropped the requirement of tithing and declared that giving as taught in the NT was voluntary. This came as a complete surprise and was unexpected for many. For a long time, many people didn't know how to react and who to believe.
After Tkach's death on September 23, 1995, his son Joseph W. Tkach Jr. (*1951; Wikipedia) succeeded him as Pastor General. The Worldwide Church of God changed its name on April 3, 2009 to: Grace Communion International. Due to the major changes in doctrine, this church can hardly be distinguished from other Christian religious communities. The many changes in various doctrinal issues in almost all areas have caused many people to leave the church. The many divorces and broken marriages (already under Joseph W. Tkach) have also attracted negative attention, which does not leave a good impression on this community. At the end of 2018, Tkach retired and stepped down as President of Grace Communion International. On that day, the previous Vice President Greg Williams took over as President.
As the critical members were either expelled from the Worldwide Church of God or left this church voluntarily due to doctrinal disputes, numerous splinter groups emerged, not all of which belong to the Sabbath-keeping congregations. However, most of them refer to Herbert W. Armstrong, who is even said to have been the “promised Elijah“ for some:
- Worldwide Church of God (WCG, 1934, Wikipedia): Herbert W. Armstrong
- Church of God, the Eternal (1974).
- Church of God International (1978): Garner Ted Armstrong.
- Philadelphia Church of God (PCG, 1989, Wikipedia): Gerald Flurry, John Amos.
- Global Church of God (GCG, 1992; Wikipedia): Roderick C. Meredith (later dismissed). A Sabbath church.
- United Church of God (UCG, 1995; Wikipedia): David Hulme, Rick Shabi. This community largely follows the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong.
- Living Church of God (LCG, 1998; Wikipedia; website): Roderick C. Meredith, Gerald E. Weston.
- Restored Church of God (RCG,1999; Wikipedia): David C. Pack. This fellowship represents and propagates most of the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong.
- Church of God, A Christian Fellowship (CGCF, 1998). The CGCF later merged with the United Church of God (UCG) and ceased its activities in the USA.
- Church of the Eternal God (CEG, 1998). Led in the USA by a group of ministers who opposed the merger of the CGCF with the UCG.
- Church of God Fellowship: Harold Smith.
- Sabbath Church of God (1998): Warren Zehrung.
- Church of God, 21st Century: Raymond F. McNair.
- Herbert W. Armstrong Library (HWALibrary.com): Library and archive of Worldwide Church of God teachings under the direction of Herbert W. Armstrong.
- Grace Communion International (GCI, 2009; Wikipedia): Joseph W. Tkach Jr, Greg Williams. New name of the Worldwide Church of God. This fellowship has abandoned almost all the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong. It also teaches the unbiblical Good Friday and Easter Sunday (see below).
Do so many divisions among Christians really have to be? Do they not show an arrogant and unloving attitude among Christians? The individual communities were/are partly at odds or hostile to each other. Since Joseph W. Tkach no longer permitted the older publications of Herbert W. Armstrong due to the changed teachings, a dispute arose over copyrights. In order to settle the legal disputes between the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) and the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG), the WCG agreed to sell the copyrights to many of Armstrong's publications to the PCG so that the PCG could continue to publish them.
Jesus did not rise on a Sabbath evening!
As has been shown, there is not just one “Church of God“, but many with completely different doctrines. This also applies to the day of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. While most of Herbert W. Armstrong's successor churches defend his theory of the alleged resurrection of Jesus at the end of the Sabbath, the Worldwide Church of God (Grace Communion International) has completely abandoned almost all of Armstrong's teachings and now even teaches the unbiblical Catholic Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The changes could not have been more serious. We will prove in the following text that both views contradict the Bible and the Word of Jesus Christ. The doctrine according to Herbert W. Armstrong looks as follows in tabular form:
Only the following illustration does not create any contradictions and combines all biblical passages into a harmonious unit:
Many Christians have adopted the teaching of Bulliger and Armstrong because it has three advantages for them:
1. they have the “3 nights and 3 days“ (not the „3 days and 3 nights“ that Jesus spoke of).
2. they have the desired Sunday on which the women supposedly came to the tomb. As the word Easter Sunday sounds too Catholic for many, they simply call this day the “Feast of First Fruits“. In doing so, they turn the „day after the Sabbath“ into a new holiday, even though the day of the firstfruits sheaf was a normal working day for Jesus (see the chapter on Firstfruits).
3. they can continue to use the King James Bible and the revised or modern translations that have been proven to be mistranslated in the resurrection chapter. In this way they avoid problems and can follow their respective church founders. So do the Adventists, who believe a dead woman (Ellen White) more than the living Lord Jesus Christ.
The many splinter groups of the Church of God do not dare to even doubt the teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong, no matter what evidence they are given. They have no interest in the basic Greek text and the many correct translations worldwide, they would rather follow Armstrong than the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Armstrong had:
1. the wrong translation basis
2. the wrong calendar
3. the wrong sign of the Messiah
4. no knowledge of the „first Sabbath“
Although the evidence for the resurrection on a Sabbath morning is so overwhelming, most in the splinter groups of the “Church of God” stubbornly hold on to the teaching of Armstrong (as the alleged prophet Elijah for our time). Thus they prove how little they love Jesus in reality and instead put church traditions before the Word of God and before Jesus. Those who disagree are welcome to contact us and prove biblically that Jesus did not rise on the Sabbath morning. But before you do this, you must first inform yourself about the biblical calendar of God and know the differences to the Jewish calendar. Also, we do not accept a false Messiah sign of „3 nights and 3 days“. This is the sign of your church, but not the sign of the Messiah Jesus Christ. Further comments on the 4 points follow:
1. The wrong translation basis
Herbert W. Armstrong made a big mistake when he relied on the inaccurate and erroneous King James Bible, which even uses the unbiblical and pagan word “Easter” instead of Passover. Some pastors have even come up with the adventurous theory that the KJV is supposedly inspired by God. This is a terrible heresy, as can be easily proven;
see: The KJV is not inspired by God.
If Mr. Armstrong had examined the ancient Greek base text (see Interlinear Bible) more closely, he could have quickly discovered the major translation errors in the KJV. The Bible speaks of the resurrection Sabbath seven times in the basic text, while the corresponding ancient Greek words for “week” and “Sunday” are missing.
It was always very important for God to clearly name the day of resurrection, which is why He called the Sabbath by his name seven times, in the singular and plural. In total, the Sabbath appears exactly 70 times in the NT and 7 times in the resurrection chapter of the NT. Both are numbers that symbolize completeness and perfection. While Mr. Armstrong has correctly defined the Sabbath as the resurrection day, he has designated the end of the Sabbath as the resurrection time instead of the morning. This is a big mistake, because in doing so he is unnecessarily valorizing Sunday as the alleged day of Jesus' appearance and at the same time devaluing the Sabbath.
Not only the basic Greek text, but also many translations mention the Sabbath morning as the time of the resurrection. The Catholic Bibles of the Middle Ages even speak of a Saturday morning. Had Mr. Armstrong studied these Bibles, he would surely have noticed that the King James Bible (KJV) contains serious errors. Therefore, Mr. Armstrong's teaching was based on a false biblical foundation from the beginning, so errors were inevitable. Instead of correcting these errors, Mr. Armstrong's followers now engage in a cult of personality and do not want to hear arguments that prove he was wrong. Instead, they continue to spread false doctrine and censor/block those Christians who point out these errors. In doing so, they reveal their true heart attitude and how little they really love Jesus and His word. Would they also block Jesus if he showed them these errors? Do the pastors of the “Church of God” not know that God also works through people to point out mistakes and sins, as can be seen in the example of David in the Old Testament?
For the textual basis of the Bible, see: Old Bibles and Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Mk 16:9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1; Jn 20:19
2. The wrong calendar of Herbert W. Armstrong
Mr. Armstrong looked up the Jewish calendar to see in which year the 14th of Nisan fell on a Wednesday and found the years 30 (April 5) and 31 (April 25) of our calendar. But this information is not correct, because it is based on the Jewish calendar, but not on God's biblical calendar. April 25 is a whole month after the equinox (March 23), so there could not have been a sheaf of barley because the overripe barley grains would have fallen to the ground. Instead, April 25 is the second Passover (Pesach Sheni) in the biblical calendar. The correct 14th Nisan in the Jewish calendar 31 AD is instead Monday, March 25/26, 31. Many Christians make this mistake because they cannot distinguish between the calendars and because so many WCG pastors have equated these calendars.
The table below shows the dates according to the Jewish calendar with the years in which the 14th Nisan or the second Passover (Pesach Sheni) fell on a Wednesday. It should be noted that the 10th Nisan (Day of the Separation of the Lamb; Shabbat ha-Gadol) always fell on a Sabbath:
The table below shows the current years from 2000 to 2030. As can be seen, the 14th of Nisan falls on a Wednesday approximately every third year in the Jewish calendar. This was also the case in the year in which our Lord Jesus was crucified:
Passover 2023 looked like this in the biblical calendar and also in the Jewish calendar:
It is unbelievable how the Worldwide Church of God under Mr. Armstrong has led its members to the wrong assembly times with God for so many years. In 2024, for example, all 7 feast days are not only on the wrong calendar day compared to God's calendar, but even in the wrong month. So the “Church of God” congregations gather with their respective church leaders according to the legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong and with the Jews (because it is their calendar), but NOT with the God of the Bible. His biblical feast days are at other times because his astronomical calendar pays attention to both the first visible crescent moon over Jerusalem (the new light) and the ripening of the early grain (barley) (see harvest times in Israel). It is therefore always in harmony with nature. The imprecise mathematical Jewish calendar, on the other hand, takes into account neither the new light nor the ripeness of the barley, so that the leap years are often calculated incorrectly. The High Priest of the Jews and the “Church of God” would die most years if he entered the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple on the wrong Yom Kippur day. Disobedience and a false calendar would bring death to the high priest. Hopefully, the members of the Church of God would wake up by then at the latest.
To put it in a nutshell: Mr. Armstrong has deceived many Christians and led them away from the biblical meeting times with God and instead led them to the meeting times with the Jews who reject our Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Their calendar was not and is not the calendar of Jesus Christ, nor of the first Christian church, because it was invented in the fourth century AD by rabbis who did not want to know anything about a Messiah Jesus Christ. This is a fact and not an assumption, see the differences between the two calendars.
The brochure “The crucifixion was not on a Friday” (Herman Hoeh; Ambassador College 1959, 1968) states:
„Here is the chart, which can be verified by any work on the "Jewish Calendar," ABSOLUTELY CORRECT ACCORDING TO THE EXACT AND INSPIRED COMPUTATION PRESERVED SINCE THE DAYS OF MOSES!
Passover Dates
A.D. 29 ... Saturday, April 16
A.D. 30 ... Wednesday, April 5
A.D. 31 ... Wednesday, April 25
A.D. 32 ... Monday, April 14
A.D. 33 ... Friday, April 3“
No, completely wrong, a church is not allowed to spread such false teachings and then also speak of being supposedly “inspired”. That is a NO GO. This is even a lie with which Satan tries to keep the church away from the assembly days with God. To explain it in more detail: When the Jews were expelled of their land in 70 AD, they could no longer see the new light over Jerusalem. So that all the Jews scattered all over the world could rest on the same holidays, they invented their own calendar in the 4th century of our era, in which the new light over Jerusalem is only mathematically assumed, as astronomical data did not yet exist at that time. This means that the dates in the Jewish calendar agree with God's astronomical calendar in some months, but are off by 1-3 days in many months and even by a whole month in the wrong leap year. In 2020 and 2023, both calendars fell on the same days on Passover. In 2024, however, the Jewish festivals all start a whole month late, a whole month after the equinox. That is a no-go.
This Jewish calendar was useful for over 1,800 years because no one could know when the first crescent moon (the new light) would be seen over Jerusalem and therefore no one could say exactly when a new biblical month (and therefore every feast day) would begin. However, at the latest since the return of the Jews to Israel (1948) and at the latest from 1967 (liberation of Jerusalem), the old biblical and astronomical calendar of God from Leviticus 23 should have been reintroduced. It is shocking that so many Christians keep the Sabbath and study the Word of God so poorly during the Sabbath, because most Christians should have noticed that the “Church of God” follows a wrong calendar.
Here once again the differences between the biblical and the Jewish calendar.
3. The wrong sign of the Messiah
As the following illustrations show, this has nothing to do with the “3 days and 3 nights“ of Jesus, but is about the denial of the sign of the Messiah and its distortion into “72 hours“ with “3 nights and 3 days“. This is certainly not the sign of the Messiah and never will be. Do you really believe that Jesus (the Word of God) would supposedly not be able to express Himself clearly and unambiguously in the most important sign in human history that publicly legitimizes Him as the Messiah before the whole world?
Jesus does not confuse us, but Mr. Armstrong and his many followers confuse us. Their signs are “3 nights and 3 days“ and “72 hours“.
See the chapter on the sign of the Messiah: “3 days and 3 nights“.
The following is another negative example from the United Church of God (source). The illustration deceives the viewer, because it is not counted from the day of the 14th Nisan, but only after sunset from the night of the 15th Nisan (feast day). The 3 hours that Jesus was already in Sheol/Hades (the biblical abode of the dead) after His death on the 14th Nisan, and the at least one hour that He was in the grave on the 14th Nisan, were simply ignored. Even if it had only been one minute in Sheol/Hades and in the grave, this time should have been counted as the “1st day“, as is the case with the birth or death of a person in all countries. So there are “3 nights and 3 days“ and “72 hours“ in this illustration. Both statements are unbiblical and false.
Warning: This is NOT the sign of the Messiah, but the sign of Herbert W. Armstrong and the many groups of the “Church of God“:
As this illustration shows, there are even 4 days if the 14th of Nisan is taken into account. The other congregations of the “Church of God” also spread the false doctrine of the Sabbath evening and the arrival of the women at the tomb on a Sunday morning. They all valorize Sunday, the pagan holiday of those who tortured our Lord Jesus on the cross and then killed him. At the same time, they devalue the Sabbath because, according to them, it was supposedly NOT the day on which the Lord Jesus appeared to His followers.
This modern and often shown illustration in Tomorrow's World (link, Living Church of God) makes the errors of these churches clear. They do not count the days like Jesus, but exactly the opposite (3 nights and 3 days), namely only from the 15th of Nisan. The time that Jesus was in the Sheol/Hades (3 hours) and in the tomb on the 14th Nisan (at least 1 hour) is simply ignored. However, if it is counted from the 14th Nisan, then it is “4 days and 3 nights”, because a day begun was not only considered the “first day” in Israel, but also in all other countries. Example: If a baby was born 3 hours (or even just a few minutes) on Wednesday 14th Nisan before the change of calendar day and died on Saturday, all people would also say that it had lived “4 days and 3 nights”, no one would simply omit the 3 hours on Wednesday 14th Nisan. It is the same with the time spent in the grave.
And Mark 16:9 (“early on the first Sabbath“, not: “late on the first Sabbath“) is also ignored and reinterpreted as the “first day of the week“.
It is interesting that while some admit that the Greek text literally speaks of the Sabbath morning, they do not want to revise their teaching because their teacher (Armstrong) spoke of Sunday. Thus they exalt the word of a man over the word of Jesus (Bible). This church elevates Sunday even though it keeps the Sabbath, but God elevates the Sabbath again. Like the Catholic Church and the Seventh-day Adventists, the splinter groups of the Church of God also work with fear and anyone who questioned the word of Herbert W. Armstrong was either expelled from the church or the brethren avoided contact with him. This is also the situation with today's splinter groups, who put a nice fellowship with gatherings at festivals before the word of God. That is why most of them do not want to deal with this question at all and want to continue to believe in the alleged resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath evening after 72 hours, because if they were to take the word of Jesus literally, they would have to leave their „beautiful fellowship“ with the „beautiful feast assemblies“. Instead, they prefer to gather with themselves on Jewish (but not biblical) feast days, but not with the God of the Bible, who has set other feast days in Leviticus 23 according to His astronomical calendar.
The Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) also follows Armstrong's heresy with the alleged resurrection of Jesus at the end of the Sabbath and the appearance of the Lord on Sunday morning. This church also valorizes Sunday, although it strictly observes the Sabbath. Like the other “Church of God” groups, they do not keep the biblical feasts of God, but the Jewish feasts according to the Jewish calendar, so they do not gather with the God of the Bible, but with their church and the Jews. Most members of the church blindly follow Armstrong's teachings, which some consider to be “inspired by God”. Therefore, they have no interest in recognizing the error and avoid discussion on the subject. For them, the tradition of fellowship and being together on the Jewish feast days (especially the Feast of Tabernacles) comes first, not the literal word of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why they do not know the “first Sabbath“ (Mk 16:9) and change the sign of the Messiah to “3 nights and 3 days“, which is the sign of this church, but not of Jesus. Other Sabbath congregations of the Church of God also follow this example:
Dave Hunt and other churches have adopted this idea of the alleged resurrection of Jesus on a Sabbath evening so that they don't have to question Sunday as the “first day of the week“ in their Bibles. But according to the Bible, the women came the day before.
4. No knowledge of the „first Sabbath“
When the members of the splinter groups of the Church of God are asked what the “first Sabbath“ mentioned by Mark (Mark 16:9) is, no one knows from our own experience. These Christians count the 49 days until Pentecost, but are not even aware that there are exactly 7 weekly Sabbaths mentioned in Leviticus 23 during this period. Since most of them are guided by the King James Bible (KJV), which has been inaccurately translated in many places and speaks of the arrival of the women at the tomb “on the first day of the week“, they cannot know what is really in the basic Greek text and in many correctly translated Bibles. In this way, they unconsciously or consciously spread false teachings and contribute to the division of Christianity. God speaks in His Word no less than 7 times of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the Sabbath morning, never of the Sabbath evening, for that is when He appeared to the disciples in the house (John 20:19):
See: Interlinear Bible; Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Mk 16:9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1; Jn 20:19
And see also the many correctly translated Bibles of which the “Church of God” has no knowledge:
Old Bibles; Greek; Latin; Gothic; English manuscripts; English prints 1; English prints 2; English prints 3; English prints 4;
German manuscripts; German prints 1; German prints 2; Spanish; Italian; Swedish.
WCG: From Resurrection Sabbath to Easter Sunday
The changes within the Worldwide Church of God are dramatic and unbelievable. While Mr. Armstrong at least preached the resurrection of Jesus at the end of the Sabbath, the modern Worldwide Church of God now speaks of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In doing so, this church has not only abandoned the biblical calendar and even the Jewish calendar, but has instead adopted the Catholic Gregorian calendar, according to which Easter Sunday is always dated as the first Sunday after Passover. In this way, the Catholic Church has managed to keep its members away from all biblical days of meeting with God. A quote from the former leader of the church, Joseph Tkach Jr:
“Worship: Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Each spring, we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. These are pivotal celebrations because all that we believe and hope for hinges on the events commemorated by Good Friday and Easter Sunday... The precise chronology of Holy Week is not the important issue (if it had been important, surely God would have made it clearer). What is important is what Jesus did to fulfill the specific prophecies of the Messiah, like those given by Isaiah.“
This comment must be firmly contradicted. These Christians talk about the Word of God, but they do not know it, because there is neither Good Friday nor Easter Sunday. And if they were no longer guided only by the Pope's Catholic (Gregorian) calendar, but by God's biblical calendar, then they would know what the “first Sabbath” mentioned by Mark is (Mk16:9). For this church the day of Jesus' resurrection is not important, but for God this question is very important, that's why he clearly named this day in the resurrection chapter of the NT 7 times (number of perfection) with the name “Sabbath”, so that there is no misunderstanding.
It is disrespectful to hold God responsible for something that this church does not understand. The statement “if this question had been important, surely God would have made it clearer“ can only be answered with a counter question: How could God have made it any clearer? It is not possible, it cannot be made clearer, because it has always been extremely important to God that people know that Jesus was resurrected on His day (Sabbath) so that they do not make the pagan holiday (Sunday) of those who crucified him into a new worldwide Christian holiday. And now you see how extremely clear God has been:
1. the “Sabbath” is mentioned 7 times: In the resurrection chapter of the NT, your alleged Good Friday and Easter Sunday are mentioned 0 times, but the “Sabbath” is clearly mentioned by name 7 times. Even if God had called the resurrection Sabbath 21 times, most Christians of the Church of God would still have said it was a Sunday:
See: Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Mk 16:9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1; Jn 20:19, Interlinear Bible, No Sunday.
Regarding the errors in the King James Bible: The KJV is not inspired by God.
2. plural and singular: The “Sabbath” is referred to in the plural (σαβββατων) and singular (σαβββατου) so that we can all be quite sure that it really means the Sabbath and not the week (ebdomada, literally “sevens”, unit of seven), which every Greek-speaking person knew and is even in the Greek translation of the OT (Septuagint) produced 200 years before Jesus.
See: Plural σαβββατων: Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1; Jn 20:19. Singular σαββατου: Mk 16:9.
Definition week; “μια των σαβββατων”, the plural σαββατων (Sabbaths); the day of the Sabbaths.
3. known sequence of days for the Passover: The Jews know that at the time of the Exodus, the first 10th Nisan fell on a Sabbath, the 14th on a Wednesday and the 15th Nisan (High Sabbath) on a Thursday. This was also the case in the year Jesus was crucified, because he had to die on the same calendar day (14th Nisan), on the same day of the week (Wednesday) and at the same time (3 pm) in order to fulfill the Passover sacrifice in a perfect way.
See: Shabbat ha-Gadol on Nisan 10; Palm Sabbath.
4. the intermediate day: As is clear from the NT, there must have been at least one working day between the High annual Sabbath and the minor weekly Sabbath.
See: The intermediate day.
5. a lot of Bibles speak of the Sabbath/Saturday: There is a flood of old and new Bibles that tell of the arrival of women on the Sabbath morning or even on Saturday morning. For over 1500 years until the Reformation, it was almost impossible to find a Bible that spoke of Sunday, because almost all of them spoke of the Sabbath or Saturday morning.
See: Old Bibles; Greek; Latin; Gothic; English manuscripts; English prints 1; English prints 2; English prints 3;
English prints 4; German manuscripts; German prints 1; German prints 2; Spanish; Italian; Swedish.
6. The “first Sabbath“: So that every little Jewish and Christian child can understand and be absolutely sure when the resurrection took place, God clearly said that Jesus rose from the dead “early on the first Sabbath“ (Mark 16:9). It couldn't be clearer, impossible. That's like the Pope saying that something happened „early on the first Sunday of Advent“, then everyone would know exactly when that is. It's the same with the “first Sabbath“. This “first Sabbath“ only exists once a year, because it is a very special and unique Sabbath for several reasons. Everyone in the early Christian church knew that this was the “first Sabbath“ after Passover (14th/15th Nisan), and this is also the “first Sabbath” in the count of the 7 weekly Sabbaths between Passover (15th Nisan) and Pentecost (50th day) and can be found in every Jewish and biblical calendar. This “first of the [seven] Sabbaths“ is a very special Sabbath because it is the Sabbath within Passover and falls between the two High Sabbaths on the 15th and 21st Nisan. It is shocking that after so many decades the Worldwide Church of God still does not have this absolute basic biblical knowledge. Therefore, they cannot know what the “first Sabbath“ is, and they twist the word into “first day of the week” or “first Sunday“ after Passover, as Amir Tsarfati also does. No, it is the “first of the [7] Sabbaths” as many translate Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1 and Jn 20:1 or simply “early of the first Sabbath” as Mark says it in the singular genitive.
7. Jesus appears on the evening of the same Sabbath: After it has already been clearly proven in the Bible that Jesus was resurrected early on a Sabbath and that the women came to the tomb early on a Sabbath, God makes it even clearer, because in John it literally says that Jesus appeared to the disciples “on the evening of the same Sabbath“ (Jn 20:19) when they locked the doors for fear of the Jews. Martin Luther translated this biblical passage perfectly and the old Catholic Bibles of the Middle Ages even speak of “the evening of the same Saturday“. These are all facts that the Worldwide Church of God still does not know.
See: John 20:19
888. The sign of the Messiah: After so much biblical evidence, nothing more is really needed. But God went one better. So that every Christian in the whole world would recognize that Jesus must have risen on a Sabbath morning, He gave a sign that legitimized him as the true and only Messiah (anointed one of God). He spoke of “3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth“ (Mt 12:38-40). Every Christian who does not twist the words of Jesus into “3 nights and 3 days“ or into only 1.5 days (Friday evening to Sunday morning) knows exactly how long our Lord Jesus Christ was in the grave (or in Sheol, Hades), and even if the Worldwide Church of God rejects it, Jesus still fulfilled the sign of the Messiah nonetheless. He rose from the dead after exactly “3 days and 3 nights“, as He said, and no one can express himself better and more precisely than the living Word of God, Jesus Christ. No one has the right to twist his words and shorten or lengthen this time. Jesus could not have expressed Himself more clearly, especially since we are talking about the most important sign in the history of the universe, namely the sign of the Messiah.
See: The sign of the Messiah: „Three days and three nights“
After all the biblical evidence, a question for Mr. Joseph Tkach Jr. and his church: Do you still blame God for allegedly not being clear enough about when Jesus was resurrected? The gospel of Jesus Christ includes not only the fact that he was resurrected, but also the day of the week on which this happened. We do not want to hear any other gospel than that which is in the Bible, because God and Paul warned all who deviate from Scripture and teach a different gospel and add to or take away from the Bible (Gal 1:6-9; Rev 22:18-19). The members of this church really need to seriously ask themselves what they can learn in this fellowship, because one thing is certain, they are being led away from times of assembly with God to assemblies with the pope and Catholic traditions whose feast days are based on once pagan feast days. The sad fact is: they have been led away from the Bible and the seven times of assembly with God, denying the sign of the Messiah and postponing the day of Jesus' resurrection.
However, Jesus had to rise from the dead on a Sabbath (on His day), because this was the only way he could fulfill the law perfectly in order to become our eternal Sabbath rest. In him we have everything and he is everything for us. Therefore, we defend his word as long as we live and fight for unity in Christianity.
Please judge for yourself what is truth and do not be deceived:
An offer to the “Church of God“
Since the many splinter groups of the “Church of God“ are deleting all our posts under the videos on You Tube and blocking us, which is certainly not a model of love and humility, a question: how about showing us instead that we are wrong on one or more points? Or are you afraid for your job or that members will leave your church if they learn that for decades they were led by the church leadership to the wrong feast days, which only in a few years fell on the biblical feast days? Would you also censor and block Jesus if He pointed out the errors? Don't you know that Jesus still works through people today, just as He did at the time of the first Christian church, and that it is your task to test everything (1 Thess 5:21; Eph 5:11)?
Who is more important to you, a deceased Herbert W. Armstrong or the living Jesus Christ? Who was wrong, Mr. Armstrong or the Word of God, Jesus?
We offer you direct communication so that the division in Christianity can be ended and we can achieve the unity in the faith that Paul spoke of several times. It can no longer be tolerated that you as a church continue to lead our spiritual brothers and sisters to the wrong and unbiblical feast days, move away from the assemblies with God, postpone the time of Jesus' resurrection and valorize Sunday, while at the same time devaluing the Sabbath. What good is it if you keep the Sabbath and at the same time twist the words of the Lord Jesus and deny His Messiah's sign? Do you not know that you will be held accountable before God for every false teaching because you have deceived the children of God into false assembly days and turned a sign of the Messiah into a sign of Herbert W. Armstrong?
James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.“
Mt 12,26-37: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
It does not reflect well on your church if you are still spreading the old heresies after so many decades. But it is also no wonder if you exclude Christians who point out these errors from the church or delete their comments and are not guided by the Holy Spirit because you stubbornly want to hold on to old man-made traditions and calendars. That is neither humility nor love.
Closing Words
Biblically, there can only be one resurrection day and not several (Friday, Saturday, Sabbath, Sunday), whereby every Christian can choose the day they want, depending on which Bible translation they use and which church they belong to (see the chapter Church Opinions). Unity in faith is very important to God, because Satan wants to divide Christians in order to isolate and weaken them. Together we can achieve more and help more people in love. A divided people achieves little.
It is time for the splinter groups of the Church of God to correct their mistakes and apologize to the members, because for decades they have distorted the statements of the Bible and excluded, censored and blocked those who pointed out their mistakes. In doing so, they have proven that Herbert W. Armstrong was more important to them than Jesus Christ.
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil“
(1Thess 5:21-22)
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them“
(Epheser 5:11)