Before getting into the main areas of interest in this paper as to what was changed and how those changes affected the ability of the church to retain the Gift of Healing, I want to plant a few seeds (hopefully good seeds) in your minds to think about.

First, Mr. Armstrong was a professional advertising executive by training. He is often criticized for his" catch phrases" that caught the attention of his followers. But critics trying to establish his faults tend to forget that most of us caught onto his most famous catch phrase, "Don’t Believe Me, Believe Your Bible." Yes, the Word of God and its revelation, the accuracy with which he presented the truth to us is what really caught on, at least before the 70s. In no way can any previous church leader in the last 1000 years compare. It is very difficult to trace important church leaders like Peter Waldo and others, but one thing is certain. No other leader ever accomplished anything remotely close to the amount of doctrinal truth returned to this era of the church. No other leader ever presided over a work that grew like the tiny grain of mustard seed into a worldwide work which was know everywhere. I know!! I came into that work and the version of truth it presented very late in the history of that era of the church. One thing was notably missing; the spiritual gift of healing as described in the New Testament. This always bothered me because I quickly became aware of the fact that early on, in the 40s, 50s, and early 60s that this gift was definitely present. After Mrs. Armstrong’s death a series of massive doctrinal changes occurred and a study will show that this important gift of healing soon disappeared after her death. The doctrinal changes in the late 80s and early 90s by no means marked the beginning of apostasy and the disintegration process, which the church has been going through for decades.

By education I was trained in Mechanical Engineering. One of the things we learned was to identify and isolate structural problems. The church most certainly has a lot of structural problems. It continues to be scattered to the ends of the earth. The church has actually been in a mode of scattering and disintegrating since 1969. I have actually heard ministers claim that doctrinal questions must be put down because the system is not broken. They claim and believe that things are going just peachy and that the present doctrinal system has worked great for about thirty years. This is a massive distortion of understanding on their part. The church has been disintegrating since at least 1969 and very rapidly since 1986. The process has been a continual acceleration toward nonexistence. Later in this study we will see exactly how this was prophesied to happen and when it would happen. For over thirty years the gift of miraculous healing taught in the Bible has just been absent. It was never a large manifestation in the church before 1969 but it definitely was there and to a degree that was both noticeable and verifiable. Most prominent leaders know exactly when it disappeared. They just fail to or refuse to face the facts and understand that the lack of fruit in this area is indicative of real problems. These leaders simply refuse to acknowledge that they have led the church into a apostasy and created the corruption of doctrine that made it necessary for God to remove this special gift of the spirit.

We have all heard Mr. Armstrong and other ministers relate how that a veil came over the history of the true church and when that veil was finally lifted a church emerged quite different from the one of the first century. This would have been the only true church era when true Apostolic Christianity existed. Likewise when we examine the entire panorama of the history of the modern church Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong were instrumental in leading, we discover that after 1969 an entirely different church emerges. Its doctrines and spiritual gifts are distinctly different. It seems to be proclaiming the same gospel and the same Christ as before but close examination reveals that it does not. Just because ministers say it is the same Christ does not make it a fact. The doctrines have changed after 1969, so the deity proclaimed is different. This organization has a form godliness but has lost some important qualities.

Yes, as hard as it seems to believe, the original version of Christ and what he believes had been changed due to new understanding of truth. The Christ that led the church before 1969 lied to its leaders about certain doctrines, or so these leaders of the New, Enlightened Church of God would have us believe. At best, this approach shows sloppiness and imprecision in handling the Word of God. At this time a large scattering of brethren occurred. Many just would not accept the change in Pentecost and other doctrines. As we move along the timeline of modern church history, into the time following the death of Mr. Armstrong another change is made. A different gospel is proclaimed and another Christ is presented. A massive scattering occurs because many people refuse to accept these doctrines and a number of splinter groups appear, all with a self-appointed leader. It is important to note here that Mr. Armstrong never anointed or laid hands of any leader. I have come to believe that he was much sharper than most believed, even in his old age. I personally believe he knew exactly where the church was in prophecy and knew all to well how it was being overrun by demonic powers. He wanted Christ to identify the right leader, not him. This would of course require the right leader to be able to lay hands upon the sick and they recover. No such thing ever occurred and still does not.

Today we have many versions of Churches of God, all claiming to be the real church and doing the true work. The only problem is they present a different gospel than Worldwide did in the early 80s and once again new doctrinal understanding now presents another new deity. Doctrine is important. It is actually the real basis for the weightier matters of the law that some seek. If you do not have the right doctrine, you will not have the correct spiritual gifts and will actually follow a different Christ. This is not to say that new people in the faith have a total understanding. I did not, but we are supposed to grow in knowledge. It is a lifetime endeavor and it does require diligently seeking God.

Yes, just as the ancient Pharisees took counsel to entangle Jesus, so have the modern Pharisees done exactly the same thing. This is why they needed to change doctrines and change to a New Christ, one who was not so picky about matters pertaining to some matters of salvation. This is nothing more than a new twist to an original and foundational set of scriptures Mr. Armstrong continually taught about.

I find that in many ways the New Christ and gospel presented today is adequately described in Jeremiah 10. This has happened so systematically and slowly that most have become used to (desensitized) and comfortable with this Christ. Most church members have at least become comfortable enough to not do anything about it.

Please note the verses in bold print, especially Jeremiah !0: 20-21. This is just one of many scriptures showing how God scatters his people away from false ministers. God scatters people for several reasons. One reason is to scatter His people for their protection so they be led back to Him. Just as verses 5 and 6 above show, the New Christ has problems. One of these problems is that he cannot heal the sick when his ministers and elders lay hands upon the sick. The true god is the one who can heal the sick and will heal the sick. That is why healing is an important sign. It is designed to help people know when they are out of touch with the true God. The doctrine of healing is real and has been absent for a long time. Mr. Armstrong dwelled on the ability and importance of healing and how God was the great healer almost as much as the Two Trees. It seems there has always been a constant battle by Satan and his demons to discredit and sideline the doctrine of the Gift of Healing. Naturally, once this knowledge is put away, it is impossible to identify the true Christ and where he is working. Don’t believe me, believe your Bible. This is why phony ministers today try to make people believe God has placed this doctrine on hold and will manifest this gift at a later time. They will tell you that you are mature spiritually and do not need to see this gift to develop faith. Just keep on paying and praying, everything is on track. Really??

Just as Tonto failed to see that the protective tent had been removed, so does the people of God in their various congregations fail to perceive the times we live in. God does not stretch out a protective tent and set up certain protective curtains about the church in many cases today. One of these protective curtains is the Gift of Healing. God has definitely scattered His flock away from brutish ministers and continues to do so, or so says the Bible. These verses and others do not say God has scattered the flock away from the Laity and World. Yes, God definitely intervenes in individual cases, but the identifying signs to any one group, showing where He is working and places His greatest approval has been removed for several decades.