S
Hi All,
I belonged to a church called Worldwide Church of God as a new believer at age 22. Herbert Armstrong, the leader of Worldwide Church of God, claimed to be an Apostle and a prophet on the order of Elijah or John the Baptist.
I attended about a year there, then the leader died. His successor, Joseph Tkach, realized the errors of their teachings and changed the church's doctrines about 10 years later.
In the chatroom, sometimes individuals claiming to be Apostles chat sometimes. So, I think about the subject of Apostleship quite often due to this. Sometimes the discussions center on this topic. Since I was part of a cult whose leader made this claim, I would probably never accept the claim of someone who said they were an Apostle.
I feel similarly about those claiming to be prophets. My opinion is reinforced by the unusual behavior and prophecies of those that make such claims. I haven't met a single person who claimed to be an Apostle or prophet who didn't have serious issues with their prophecies, behavior or competency. I haven't met any who conveyed a humble attitude, either and I suspect their titles are a reflection of their lack of humility.
In addition, though, I'd like to present my reasoning Scripturally for why I don't think that the office of Apostle exists today.
Here are the main reasons:
1. Apostles (and prophets) were in the FOUNDATION of the church (Ephesians 2:20).
2. We have the writings of the aposles in Scripture, which has been canonized, so there is no reason
for apostles and prophets.
3. There are three distinct signs relating to apostleship/prophetship and NO ONE can meet
those today.
Here are the signs, and I will quote the source:
In order to be an Apostle, one had to meet at least three necessary qualifications: (1) an Apostle had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:22
; 10:39–41
; 1 Cor. 9:1
; 15:7–8
); (2) an Apostle had to be directly appointed by Jesus Christ (Mark 3:14
; Luke 6:13
; Acts 1:2
, 24
; 10:41
; Gal. 1:1
); and (3) an Apostle had to be able to confirm his mission and message with miraculous signs (Matt. 10:1–2
; Acts 1:5–8
; 2:43
; 4:33
; 5:12
; 8:14
; 2 Cor. 12:12
; Heb. 2:3–4
).
The source is here:
Are There Still Apostles Today? | The Cripplegate
This article is very conclusive and should give anyone good reason to view anyone claiming to be an Apostle with extreme skepticism. I wish I'd known this as a young believer. It could have saved me a dozen years I could have spent studying sound doctrine, Hebrew and Greek..maybe attending a sound theological seminary.
By the way, I am not talking about church planters, missionaries or messengers sent for a designated one-time purpose by the early church. I am talking about an individual who speaks authoritatively for Jesus Christ.
Regards,
Robert
I belonged to a church called Worldwide Church of God as a new believer at age 22. Herbert Armstrong, the leader of Worldwide Church of God, claimed to be an Apostle and a prophet on the order of Elijah or John the Baptist.
I attended about a year there, then the leader died. His successor, Joseph Tkach, realized the errors of their teachings and changed the church's doctrines about 10 years later.
In the chatroom, sometimes individuals claiming to be Apostles chat sometimes. So, I think about the subject of Apostleship quite often due to this. Sometimes the discussions center on this topic. Since I was part of a cult whose leader made this claim, I would probably never accept the claim of someone who said they were an Apostle.
I feel similarly about those claiming to be prophets. My opinion is reinforced by the unusual behavior and prophecies of those that make such claims. I haven't met a single person who claimed to be an Apostle or prophet who didn't have serious issues with their prophecies, behavior or competency. I haven't met any who conveyed a humble attitude, either and I suspect their titles are a reflection of their lack of humility.
In addition, though, I'd like to present my reasoning Scripturally for why I don't think that the office of Apostle exists today.
Here are the main reasons:
1. Apostles (and prophets) were in the FOUNDATION of the church (Ephesians 2:20).
2. We have the writings of the aposles in Scripture, which has been canonized, so there is no reason
for apostles and prophets.
3. There are three distinct signs relating to apostleship/prophetship and NO ONE can meet
those today.
Here are the signs, and I will quote the source:
In order to be an Apostle, one had to meet at least three necessary qualifications: (1) an Apostle had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (Acts 1:22
The source is here:
Are There Still Apostles Today? | The Cripplegate
This article is very conclusive and should give anyone good reason to view anyone claiming to be an Apostle with extreme skepticism. I wish I'd known this as a young believer. It could have saved me a dozen years I could have spent studying sound doctrine, Hebrew and Greek..maybe attending a sound theological seminary.
By the way, I am not talking about church planters, missionaries or messengers sent for a designated one-time purpose by the early church. I am talking about an individual who speaks authoritatively for Jesus Christ.
Regards,
Robert
