Ronald Weinland

The Church of God – PKG looked to that specific physical day as the literal time of Christ’s return and faithfully looked for his coming right up to the last hour on the Sabbath of the 26th.

God’s people have lived through many difficult stages of time throughout our history. What we have just experienced has been one of those difficult times. Such events can be very unsettling, and they tend to move people to intensely reflect upon their Biblically based belief system. At such times, a person generally makes decisions that more fully reflect their truest personal choices (deepest convictions) about what they will embrace and what they will reject concerning their own religious belief.

People often “flow with the tide” and let life “just happen” as they continue whatever course they are following. Moments of crisis, trial, and/or trauma tend to take away that normal flow of life from “just happening,” as people must then face stark realities that require life moving and/or life changing decisions as to the course they personally determine will be the direction their life will take, no longer “just happening.”

There are moments in time that force people to examine their own ideas, beliefs, and thinking when a major trial comes their way. This often occurs in connection to relationships that may be between one person and another, between a person and his/her occupation (as with an employer, employment, or co-worker), or between a person and their religious beliefs (a relationship with God). These times of examination can become manifest at a time of death, a job loss or other employment crisis, a divorce, an unfaithfulness in marriage, a financial crisis, a relationship with someone involving drug addiction or alcoholism, experiences during a time of war, etc. This also readily happens during a time of religious struggle, as one is brought to moments (through trials, confrontation, realities) associated with changes in their deepest belief that concerns personal conviction about their relationship with God.

All these are the very things that mold and fashion “who” we are and “how” we then choose to live our life. Such events tend to form our responses to future life experiences that determine behavior, trust, beliefs, convictions, morality, aspirations, prejudices, judgment, etc.

In my lifetime, the greatest such occasion for me, that was the most difficult to live through, was when the entire Church of God experienced the prophesied apostasy of 2 Thessalonians 2. It was at this time that the Church began to be scattered and people were forced to make choices as to what course their life would take next.

At that time, nearly a third of the Church decided to move toward some form of “traditional Christianity” that was of their own liking. There were thousands of others affected by that traumatic time who personally decided that religion of any kind would no longer be a strong factor that would affect their course in life. Then finally, there was the third group of people, in the tens of thousands, who made choices reflecting a desire to hold to some form of what they had previously believed. However, this in itself proved to be the cause of further trauma as this same group of people splintered into over 600+ divergent scattered groups and organizations. These all varied in some form of their overall belief, yet reflecting a semblance of the foundational doctrines of the past.

Pentecost of May 27, 2012
The day of Pentecost, 2012, will prove to be most important to the return of Jesus Christ. As a prophet, God gives to me prophetic interpretation and additional prophecy not previously given in scripture. He does not do it all at one time, but in a “progressive” manner, as in a “building” process that involves a growing revelation of His will. That has been the case with how God has led His prophets throughout the ages. Because of this, that which has been spoken by the prophets has never been the “complete” and final revelation of a matter until it is God’s time to actually bring a prophecy to the actual moment of fulfillment—to be made manifest. This has always given critics and non-believers ample room to twist and mock what they do not understand in prophecy.

So in many respects, my job as a prophet is simple, since I speak and write what God gives to me. As with prophets throughout time, I do not always understand what God has given until He reveals more. People expect that a prophet somehow knows everything. Read the stories of prophets and you will quickly learn that they did not “know” all that God had given to them. Jesus Christ was the only exception and even he did not tell all that he knew.

Prophecy given by God, in a similar manner to when Jesus Christ gave parables and prophecies, is not intended to be readily seen nor understood. God is the source, and He has purpose for “when” and “how” He gives prophecy and then reveals the prophetic events. As the Bible contains so many examples of such things, more about this will be covered in future sermons.

Throughout Christ’s ministry, the disciples desired to know the meaning of his parables and prophecies. When asked, Christ generally gave them a very basic answer that somewhat satisfied them at the time. However, the disciples did not come to truly grasp many of these, of which all are spiritual in nature and understanding, until they had received God’s spirit on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD. But even as they lived out the remainder of their lives as God’s apostles to the early Church, they still did not understand any of that which was prophetic in nature that was purposed for this end-time we are now living.

The apostle, John, who wrote the Book of Revelation, did not know well over 90% of what he wrote. Ezekiel was given prophecy about Israel and their captivity by the Assyrians after they had already been taken captive by them. He was mocked as a prophet, as people have not understood that these prophecies were for a future time. Daniel wrote many things about the end-time and he wanted to know the meaning of what he wrote, yet God told him to shut up the book as this was not for him and the time in which he lived.

The apostle, Paul, did not understand the prophecy he recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2, and for that matter, neither did the apostle to the Philadelphia Era of God’s Church, Herbert W. Armstrong, as it was not written for their time. Mr. Armstrong understood part of what Christ prophetically spoke in Matthew 24, especially verse 14 that applied to a “work” that God commissioned for him to accomplish, but he did not have any idea of the meaning of the following verses, especially verse 15 that spoke of things that would follow his time. The next era of Laodicea would experience the “abomination of desolation” that would decimate the “spiritual temple”—God’s own Church after the apostasy of 2 Thessalonians 2.

Having just stated these very easy and very basic prophetic truths concerning Matthew 24 and 2 Thessalonians 2, who believes or understands them as they have just been stated? Do critics of the Church of God – PKG? Do critics of the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong? Does the Church that was scattered into so many different organizations believe that these very basic events apply to them? Very few may partially believe a little of this, but not all. The vast majority, most assuredly, do not believe what I have just written.

Many do not believe in Church eras. Most all believe that the apostasy (a falling away from the truth) of 2 Thessalonians 2 has not happened, and they believe that the Pope is the “son of perdition.” They don’t grasp the most basic truth, that this is speaking of a person, Joseph Tkach, Sr., who was “set in authority” (Gk. usage of “set”) over the earthly ministry of the Church. Because this man turned against the truths of God and led the Church into this prophetic “falling away” of the Church, he became the “man of sin” and the “son of perdition” who betrayed the spiritual pastor of the Church, Jesus Christ. The actions of this man far outweighed the sin and description in God’s word concerning the first physical betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot. The spiritual betrayal by Joseph Tkach, Sr., was many times worse than the physical betrayal by Judas.

Still May 27, 2012
Who believes what I have said as God’s prophet and end-time apostle to God’s Church? It is only those who support and/or are part of the physical organization of the Church of God – PKG. May 27, 2012, stated as the day of Christ’s return, is looked upon by all others as foolishness and proof that I have been wrong and indeed evidence I am not a true prophet of God. These same people did not believe this before and now they have only become more emboldened in their own spirit of “correctness.”

Those who believed it before are the ones who still believe it today! Most will respond to this by saying, “How can such a thing be?” “What do you mean by this?” That would be the mild response, as others will certainly be even more convicted that I have simply “lost it” altogether.

There are people who accuse me of “spiritualizing” things away. Yet, everything that involves the process of people being called, then baptized in water and God’s spirit, and then growing as God’s begotten children are all matters of that which is fully spiritual in nature. Once such a process begins in a person’s life, it actually leads to the time when even the physical body will be changed to a spiritual one in God’s Family of Elohim.

The heart and core of the written word of God, the parables, prophecies, and teachings of Jesus Christ are all spiritual in nature. Those who are not baptized, and all those who are spiritually asleep (do not have the flow of God’s spirit constantly IN their life at this time), cannot “see” what is basic and truly spiritual. Hence, the true “spiritual” meaning of Matthew 24 and 2 Thessalonians 2 that we have just addressed cannot be “seen” by such people. Instead, what is heard sounds like a “spiritualization” of something that they can only see in a “physical” manner.

Jesus spoke many things that people could not “hear” or “see.” He spoke of physical things that had only spiritual meaning. On one occasion a group of followers simply quit following him because they too basically asked the same thing of what he said: “How can such a thing be?” Undoubtedly, there was one or two who thought that he too had “lost it.”

Christ said: “For my flesh is meat [food] indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells in me and I in him” (John 6:55-56). He was telling them about what would come to pass after his death in the yearly Passover observance for the Church, when they would eat a small portion of unleavened bread (spiritually symbolic of his body and his life) and drink a small portion of wine (symbolic of his blood and of his life).

Many of his followers heard this and this was their response: “This teaching is too hard [such a thing is simply too hard to believe that it could be true]. How can anyone listen to such a thing?” (John 6:60). Their comments fully reflected an attitude and belief that no one could be expected to listen to such a thing and that there simply was no credibility in what he spoke. That is why it goes on to say that many of these quit following after this. All that they could grasp was physical and no Jew was about to drink human blood or eat human flesh.

Such are the reactions to the teachings of Christ over and over again. The world cannot grasp what he was saying, for all his teachings are spiritual in nature. Prophecies are spiritual in revelation, although they involve physical events, just as Christ spoke of physical things that had spiritual meaning. So yes, God has given me the responsibility of teaching the spirit of His word, but this cannot be twisted to say that things are somehow “spiritualized” away without foundation, revelation, and origination from God.

May 27th has come and gone, so how can I say this is still the day of Christ’s return? The answer is a matter of God’s revelation which is spiritual in nature, but having a definite physical outcome. It is prophetic. I did not know that when I stated this was the “day” of Christ’s coming. I viewed it in a physical manner until God revealed that it was spiritual. In the Pentecost sermon (given May 27th), it was clearly revealed that the job of the two witnesses had now come to an end. It ended at the end of the weekly Sabbath of the 26th, after the completion of the time God gave for their “witness” to be fulfilled, which was for a period of 1260 days.

That commission of that phase of God’s work is now complete, just as Herbert W. Armstrong’s commission (Mat. 24:14) became complete at the end of the era of Philadelphia after he died. Now that the job of two witnesses is complete, there is one final phase of God’s work to be accomplished before His Son literally returns as King of kings. Then how is it that one can say May 27th is the “day” of His coming and still be true? The answer is exciting and inspiring to those who believe God, and it is nonsense to those who do not believe God. It is just that simple!

Though my job is complete as one of God’s end-time witnesses, my job as a prophet and apostle continues. Those things written in 2008 – God’s Final Witness will now be made manifest to this world as a matter of God’s own direct work. The time of being a “witness” before God is complete, and as in the past 6,000 years, no one believes God save those few whom God has specifically called and given to “see” His words.

God’s Day
Now it is God’s turn—Gods “time”—to deal with a disbelieving world! God’s day has come and it is the day of Christ’s coming.

In a recent sermon entitled, “God’s Mercy,” prophecy in Ezekiel 12 was covered concerning this very time. From the beginning of time, God has given prophecy through His servants to be recorded concerning the end of the age of mankind and the beginning of His rule of government on the earth through His Messiah (Gk. “Christ”).

The last of prophecy (final prophecy) that God has given in this 6,000 year period of time has been replicated in a work that God gave His two end-time witnesses to represent over the short period of 3 ½ years. The vast accumulation of end-time prophecy recorded throughout 6,000 years of history is magnified in the book, 2008 – God’s Final Witness.

As God inspired what was recorded in this book, He also revealed the date He wanted the world to have that would be the time of His Son coming to earth as King of kings. It is a prophetic day that God gave. It was the day of Pentecost, 2012. But, we were not told by God that this was a prophetic day, so we prepared for a literal one-day event on a physical plane. May 27, 2012, has come and gone, but it is the prophetic day of Christ’s coming.

People can chide, ridicule and condemn all they like, and I understand their frustration and disbelief. But I can only give what God has given to me. That is my job. For those who believe God, we follow where ever and how ever He leads. We continue to “move forward” in the “way” God is leading us.

In Ezekiel, God declares that the time will come when people will no longer be able to say that what He has spoken through His prophets “has failed” or that it is “prolonged” (for a time yet future). This is exactly what has happened over the past few years, especially as time grew closer to May 27, 2012.

The Church that was scattered has indeed made many declarations concerning what is written in 2008 – God’s Final Witness, which is from God through one of His prophets. It has been readily repeated that “all that is written has failed.” There are Thunders and there are Trumpets that have not yet sounded. So the conclusion of others is that I am not a prophet and all prophecy has failed.

As this year has drawn on, the Church that was scattered has only become more convicted that the time of Christ’s return is “prolonged” (Heb. – “drawn out,” “farther away in time”) as they believe the events of the end-time will take many more years to be accomplished so that Christ can return.

God declares through Ezekiel that the “time” of prophecy will no longer be viewed as distant and farther away in its fulfillment. God says that people will no longer be able to say that “every prophecy has failed.” The reason for this is because there is a time that God declares He will perform all that He has said and all that He has given through His prophets. He also says that when these things begin to come to pass and because they begin to come to pass, “You shall know that I am the Eternal” (Summation of Ez. 12:20-28).

So God has given me to write His words: “Therefore say unto them, ‘Thus says the Lord Eternal. There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, says the Lord Eternal’” (Ez. 12:28).

Pentecost to Pentecost
God has great purpose in “when” and “how” He reveals His word. The very annual Holy Days of God reveal such things that involve His plan of salvation that is being worked out for mankind.

The Passover reveals the exact time of Christ’s death as the Passover Lamb sacrificed for mankind, which occurred on Passover day of 31 AD. The “wave-sheaf” offering perfectly pictures the exact time Jesus Christ was received as the “wave-sheaf” on Sunday morning during the Days of Unleavened Bread after he had been resurrected at the end of the Sabbath day in 31 AD.

Pentecost contains great meaning and the fulfillment of the events that make up Pentecost occur exactly on that same day. On Pentecost, the Israelites were given the law directly from God at Mt. Sinai. Then on Pentecost of 31 AD, the power of the holy spirit from God was poured out upon the Church (revealing the only way in which God’s law can be lived, which the Israelites could not do even though they were given the law). That day was the beginning of the Church and the greater fulfillment for the preparation of the 144,000 “first-fruits” who will reign with Jesus Christ upon his return, who will all return with him on the day of Pentecost.

The day of Pentecost (May 27, 2012) that the Church has just observed is the “day” of Christ’s coming, just as God said it would be. But this “day” is prophetic.

God gave prophecy to Daniel (seventy-weeks prophecy) that is about Christ’s first and his second coming. In this prophecy (even understood by many in traditional Christianity concerning the first coming), God said that the Messiah would be cut-off in the midst of the week. The week being spoken of is the last week of the seventy-weeks prophecy. It is even understood by many, who are known in the world as Biblical scholars, to be a prophetic week with the week being seven days, and that Christ was cut-off in the midst of the week—at three and one-half years into his ministry—when he was put to death as our Passover.

God reveals through inspiration to His servants the meaning of such definitions as a “prophetic day” being a literal year in time. There is even occasion when God shows that a “prophetic day” is a thousand years in actual time.

There is a prophecy in the Book of Joel that was quoted on Pentecost of 31 AD by the apostle, Peter. It concerned the beginning of a greater fulfillment contained in the meaning of the day of Pentecost. It was the beginning for the establishment of God’s own Church, when the holy spirit began to be poured out upon it.

After Joel prophesied about the pouring out of God’s spirit, an event that actually began in the Church on Pentecost of 31 AD, he goes on to state those things that are prophetic for the end-time. These are the very events referred to in the book, 2008 – God’s Final Witness. God has now revealed the prophetic timing for the fulfillment of these events.

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars [Heb. –“columns”] of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the presence of the great and the fearful day of the LORD that comes” (Joel 2:30-31).

This “Day of the Lord” is a prophetic day that has a duration of a full year in its fulfillment. It began on Pentecost of 2012 and it will end on Pentecost of 2013. God has revealed that May 27, 2012 was the “prophetic day” for the return of His Son as King of kings. It will take one year to become fulfilled. This is as true as the prophecy of Christ being cut-off in the midst of the week, within three and one-half days from the beginning of his ministry. That three and one-half days lasted a full three and one-half years to become fulfilled.

God’s ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8). Mankind through time has rejected God, save for those whom God has called to His purpose and whom He has given His true ways. God has the right and the perrogative to do things in any way He chooses. He can reveal His words that He will fulfill through His prophets in any way He wills to do so.

There are many people who simply “hate” such prophetic declarations because they hate God’s ways. The things written in 2008 – God’s Final Witness are not a matter of my own ideas or my ways, but they are from God to one of His prophets. Those who hate God also hate His prophets and perceive them, their actions, and their words as arrogance and pride. I cannot help that and wish it were not so. Being on the receiving end of hate and mockery is not an enjoyable position to be in. However, I gladly accept all that God gives me to share in that works to glorify Him and His Son.

None of God’s prophets and none of God’s people can prove to others what is true and from God. That is God’s job! He declares He will do that, and for people living at this end-time, He will do so throughout the prophetic “Day of the Lord” that will be fulfilled throughout the year from Pentecost to Pentecost. Now the Thunders of Revelation will become progressively louder and the Trumpets of Revelation will sound within this year. Only God can prove His own words to mankind. The First Trumpet began to sound on December 14, 2008, and now the rest are soon to follow.

God says of the two-witnesses that He will make them to “stand” in the sight of others. God will prove the words and work He has given through them. This is true for the entirety of God’s Church, as the two-witnesses reflect God’s work through all His people at this end-time. He will make all His people to “stand” in the sight of all others in this world—in His time and in His own way.

God will make His words to “stand” in the sight of all living on this earth. God has a plan to deliver millions into His new age that is coming—into the millennial reign of His Son over all the earth. Over this prophetic “Day of the Lord,” God is also going to offer deliverance to 63,000 people who were baptized before the apostasy of 1994. However, this also means that throughout this “prophetic day” that God will shake His scattered Church throughout this following year by the death of 7,000 specifically named by Him who will not be allowed to live on into the Millennium.

God’s final day has now begun!