Repairers of the Breach and the Memorial of the Blowing of Trumpets By

Repairers of the Breach and the Memorial of the Blowing of Trumpets

Several months ago I wrote a study paper on a topic concerning a special type of person, namely the Builders of the waste places, Repairers of the Breach. In Isaiah 58: 12 these terms are used to describe a certain type of person and the year 2001 saw a number of these courageous individuals emerge. 2001 marked one of those special years when the real doctrines of the ministers emerge such as those specifically involving the counting to Pentecost. To the total dismay of many, they discovered that their ministers actually subscribed to a doctrine, which they had never heard of and that the ministers have silently subscribed to this doctrine since 1974. This involved the departure from the teaching of the Apostle concerning using the Weekly Sabbath occurring during the Days of Unleavened Bread as the anchor, to a more biblically uninspired and unsubstantiated doctrine where one is supposed to focus on the Sunday that occurs during the Days of Unleavened Bread. A special interpretation of Joshua 5 is used to substantiate this belief which lacks scriptural credibility. To those aware of this spurious doctrine, the year 2001 was a benchmark where the various COG splinter groups were forced to deal with the issues involved in this controversy.

Most amazing is that no written proof from Mr. Armstrong has ever surfaced sanctioning any part of this spurious doctrine (focusing only on the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread as the anchor). This doctrine was upheld and administered during the trying 70s and old age of the Apostle without his specific, written approval. In other words, someone kidnapped the church with this and other spurious doctrines from within exactly as prophesy and Paul’s writings indicate would happen to the True Church. Mr. Armstrong wrote about this spurious doctrine in the May 1981 Good News showing how to focus on the Weekly Sabbath as the anchor and said that Pentecost means Count 50, but the ministry basically thumbed their nose at him then as they do now. It seems the only time they take church government seriously, as Mr. Armstrong taught it after 1968, is when they want power and authority for themselves.

Today many aspiring leaders-to-be wonder why the gift of miraculous healing has disappeared from the church. Yes, I said disappeared. Many prominent ministers can look back and recognize that this gift evaporated in the late 1960s and has not returned but they fail to make the connection between the changes of doctrine, which occurred starting in 1969, and that continue to date, with the removal of this gift. Oh yes, there does remain occasional delayed-reaction type healing which many people have and rightfully deserve, but the gift of instantaneous, miraculous healing has been missing for decades. So has this special privilege from the majority of the church body. Yes, that special form of healing, the real fruit that was to point to the real leadership Christ would be using, has been gone for a long time. Of course, without this special evidence, leaders claiming traditional authority of church government do come up real short. Those that in reality would not respect the Apostle and church government they now claim is theirs to administer lack in substance, no matter how loud they yell.

Some of the other less known doctrinal changes which would not agree with the teachings of Mr. Armstrong at the end of his life would be: that the genealogy of Christ is now recognized to contain a lot of gentile blood rather than descend from the pure, white bloodline of Shem (See Mystery of the Ages), that the study of history is not paramount to understanding where we are heading (just try to get specifics on the last 40 years of church history), and that Mr. Armstrong really was not led by Christ and former doctrine was not inspired by Christ through him to be restored to the church ( that is, Mr. Armstrong only contributed certain things, he really was not inspired by the Holy Spirit where doctrine is concerned. After all, he never had a college education).

Additionally, we have seen this year the rise of the old doctrine of Christ not being with a group of believers unless an ordained minister is present. Yes, unordained speakers have been systematically sidelined for speaking heresy in all main Church of God splinter groups. A case in point would be how to count to Pentecost. Many unordained men have been with the church, contributing tithes and offerings for years but they read the 1981 Good News. They were not privy to the inside information that Jesus Christ really did not inspire Mr. Armstrong and his ideas were just his, not scriptural. So, they naturally thought they were teaching right, but boy did they get a wake-up-call. And rightfully so, they were teaching heresy by the modern doctrinal standards adopted by the ministry in general. These wake-up calls are long overdue because there is a substantial number of people still floating around the Churches of God who harbor quaint ideas from the past, believing them to be biblically based. A good number of these individuals are not college graduates. They rank in education with the prophets of old so they really do not understand doctrine or the Bible.

A Memorial of Blowing of Trumpets

One specific example of these quaint ideas that is the real subject of this paper concerns the Blowing of Trumpets and the Blowing of the Shofar. In fiscal 2001 at the Feast of Trumpets in Douglas, Wyoming the Shofar was blown, according to biblical guidelines. After services many of us talked about this most important heresy to surface again after many years of suppression. I personally had not heard a trumpet blown on the Feast of Trumpets for at least 15 years. When the Shofar was blown at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jackson in 1999, people were actually offended. Yet this Biblical peculiarity is a part of scripture and used to be practiced back in the church in the 40s, 50s and early 60s I have been told.

Today, prominent ministers have actually written that the Blowing of Trumpets was done away with the animal sacrifices. Really??? Where is their scriptural justification for this? The Biblical justification for Blowing the Trumpets and Shofar comes from Numbers, chapter 10. In verse 7 of this chapter God inspired (yes, this author does believe Christ inspires his real leaders and tells them what to say) Moses to say that one of the functions of the Blowing of the Trumpet was to call the congregation (please note the word congregation) together. We did that in Douglas in 2001 and people loved it. Yes, they were just ultra-conservative Wyomingites but they were following the scriptures. In verse 10, Moses was further inspired to tell the congregation that Trumpets were to be blown over the sacrifices and peace offerings. It is true that we no longer sacrifice animals but unless I am mistaken, an offering is taken up on the High Days and our prayers qualify as spiritual sacrifices and money replaces the peace offerings. So, the Shofar was blown again and again, despite the reckoning of those who might cry heresy and apostasy. Their day under the sun will come when various corporate leaderships finally decide to mark and disfellowship the Repairers of the Breaches for creating a disturbance and diverting the attention of the laity from focusing on an organization’s particular version of doctrinal heresy.

But why is this quaint, old-fashioned custom so important? Isn’t it just a little bit silly? That is why knowledgeable leaders have systematically sidelined this and other outdated customs over a period of time. Emphatically NO!!!! Numbers 10:9 adds information. Unless Trumpets are Blown as God directs, you may not be remembered before the Lord our God and you might not be saved, or for that matter possibly not healed. Verse 8 adds more information. This statute is an ordinance forever. It has never been abolished in God’s opinion, kind of like the Sabbath. Examine Psalm 81: 3-4. Yes, David had the same misguided idea we did in Douglas. He thought the statute was forever too.

The most promising thing I see today is the ability and courage of certain individuals who are starting to stand up and do what God says. They do not take what they are told for granted. They understand a lot of things have been discarded and are willing to do what it takes to follow God. They get their nose in the Bible and reprove things; then follow through with action. Yes, scripture admonishes us that they who are faithful in little things will be given authority over a lot. Despite the underlying danger of going against unsanctioned doctrine from some leadership (or theoretical doctrine where no official doctrines or statement of beliefs exist), certain individuals are doing what is necessary to take personal responsibility for their relationship with Christ. They understand that failure to obey a simple command like Blowing the Trumpets over their sacrifices (financial offerings at High Days) can affect the ability of their prayers to be answered. These individuals want to have their prayers remembered by God. They would like someone to be healed. They further realize that no leader has yet been sanctified by Christ with the gift of instantaneous, miraculous healing at this time. Without this special gift, these individuals realize that no specific leadership is sanctified and they must do what needs to be done on their own.

S000!!!! They obey scripture, simple commands. These courageous individuals who defy false leaders and follow the Bible are the Builders of the waste places, Repairers of the Breaches. They courageously do what they need to do to restore the doctrines Christ once delivered to the saints in this church era despite persecution from self-appointed leaders, inebriated with their own sense of self worth.

Their Reward

Several years ago Mr. Dave Harris gave a (coincidentally a Feast of Trumpets as I remember) sermon about the House of Rechab. Jer. 35:18-19 records the reward for loyalty and doing as one is told. Having your family successfully develop a relationship with Jesus Christ so they can stand before him forever is the greatest reward most of us could ever desire. This is the goal for all family patriarchs. Let us be about this worthy goal. Let us restore the discarded doctrines which isolate us from a personal relationship with Christ and the gift of miraculous healing. Let us be about restoring the Blowing of Trumpets and Shofar on all holy days, observing New Moons to become attuned to God’s system of scheduling holy days (otherwise we will not know that 40 means 40 or three days and three nights really depict a specific time frame), and other discarded doctrines.

Review the Dave Harris sermon which is available from Jim Hamby