It has come to our attention that some brethren in various states and even students here at the college have been allowing their minds to run rampant by equating our receivership problems with specific fulfillment of end—time prophecy. Some feel that the great tribulation has already begun, while others have even started to sell their belongings and pack their bags in order to be ready to leave for a place of safety on March 8 of this year!
Using Mr. Armstrong's frequent references to the Church as the temple of God (Eph. 2:21-22), a few have jumped to the totally false conclusion that the receiver is the abomination of desolation. With this in mind; they have also wrongly interpreted the time periods of Daniel 12:11-12 by claiming that these days started at the beginning of the recent ministerial conference, and that they will end on the day of Trumpets in 1982. The March 8 date was obtained by counting back years from the 1982 Trumpets date.
Because of the possibility of confusion over such erroneous calculations, it needs to be explained to our brethren that if Mr. Armstrong felt the preceding interpretation to be true, he obviously would have given direction to the entire Church. It also needs to be shown that the great tribulation will be such a major traumatic end-time event that there will be no question of its being here. In the meantime, many other prophecies have yet to come to pass to set the stage for the time of the final great tribulation.
Another point to clarify is that both the 1290 and 1335 days of Daniel 12, and even the 1150 days of Daniel 8, begin when the sanctuary is overthrown and the continual burnt offering is taken away. These events have not yet occurred. Therefore, the counting of these days cannot yet be started.
Please make sure no one is confused by these "wild" and irresponsible ideas about prophecy that are being circulated about. It is almost amusing what some will believe, but it nevertheless needs to be clarified in several church areas.
A WORD OF CAUTION REGARDING PROPHETIC EVENTS
Copyright © 2024 Herbert W Armstrong Library