Joseph Tkach, Jr.
“We are living in the last days! — and we have been for almost 2,000 years.”
The Worldwide Church of God (WCG) was founded by Herbert W. Armstrong who long ago proved to be a false prophet.
In his book 1975 in Prophecy, Armstrong predicted the utter devastation of the world and second coming of Jesus Christ. To view two examples of illustrations from the booklet, click here and here.
The year 1975 came and went, but the WCG continued to preach a futuristic message. The prediction of a future second coming continues to be firmly embedded in the church’s literature and Statement of Beliefs.
Today, the church is led by Joseph Tkach, Jr.
In an apparent attempt to distance the organization from Armstrong’s false-prophet image, it has been decided the church needs a new name: Grace Communion International (GCI).
However, delusion under a new name is still delusion. Just as changing your name to Bill Gates will not make you a billionaire, GCI is still somewhat doctrinally poverty-stricken. Sadly, they retained Armstrong’s denial of the first-century second coming predicted by Jesus and his apostles. In an article currently on the GCI website, Tkach says, “We are living in the last days! — and we have been for almost 2,000 years.” This statement is absurd.
At the time of Christ’s first coming, the history of the Old Covenant went back only about 1,500 years to the time of Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Even if we generously add another 500 years or so to extend Israel’s history back to the time of Abraham, it still totals only about 2,000 years.
In the first century, the Old Covenant age was about to end. Christ’s earthly ministry took place in the “last days” of that age:
1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son… (Heb. 1:1-2, ESV throughout.)
…he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages (Heb 9:26).
The Old Covenant which was “obsolete” and “ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13) ended when the temple was destroyed in a.d. 70. The Jews could no longer sacrifice, which meant forgiveness for their national sins was no longer possible. They were cut off from God forever.
That was it: the end. The Old Covenant age ended. Of course, so did the “last days” of that age.
Yet Tkach wants us to believe that the last “days” of that 2,000-year age constitute a period as long as the entire age; the last days of Israel are as long as the entire history of Israel. If the end of the age covers thousands of years, we must wonder why it was continually referred to as days and not centuries or millennia.
Tkach’s position becomes infinitely more ludicrous when we consider these statements:
11…the hour has come for you to wake from sleep… 12The night is far gone; the day is at hand. (Rom. 13:11-12)
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18)
The apostles said they were living in the last days. Tkach believes it and claims we are still living in the last days. However, upon further investigation, we notice that not only were the apostles living in the last days, they were living in the last hour! Even though Jesus said no one knows the “day and hour” of his return (Matt. 24:36), both Paul and John were so confident the end was imminent, they were willing to proclaim “the last hour.” So to be consistent, Tkach would need to believe that we are still living in the last hour. This, of course, would be just too much for any reasonable person to swallow. So Tkach’s church offers a solution: in this case the formerly trustworthy apostles were wrong; not just slightly wrong; “grossly” wrong! The following is a quotation from the GCI booklet Will Christ Return?
The disciples’ early epistles show the belief most of them apparently carried to their graves: that Jesus’ return was imminent.
But...
They grossly underestimated how much time would pass before Jesus’ return.
So the apostles were right when they said they were in the last days, but “grossly” wrong when they claimed to be in the last hour. How do the people at GCI know this? On what basis do they make this distinction? And why are they so smart, but the apostles so dumb? If we can’t believe the apostles regarding the last hour, why should we believe their claim they were living in the last days? For that matter, why believe anything they wrote? Were they grossly wrong regarding the subject of salvation too? If we can’t believe God’s “holy apostles” (Eph. 3:5), why should we believe Joseph Tkach or anyone else at GCI? If we can’t believe the very men Jesus handpicked, imbued with the Holy Spirit and sent out to teach the true gospel, whom can we believe?
21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22)
Apparently, we are to regard the apostles’ testimony as though it were coming from the Father and Jesus Christ. Perhaps then, Tkach should consider the possibility he is the one who is grossly wrong, not God’s apostles whom the Bible refers to as the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:19b-20; Rev. 21:14). Tkach and GCI portray them as dummies. Who does Dr. Tkach think he is anyway? He’s certainly no genius. He, evidently, fails to comprehend the implication for his own Statement of Beliefs: his dismissal of the numerous apostolic predictions regarding a first-century return of Christ is a frontal assault on the very doctrine of inspiration GCI claims to uphold.
Tkach continues:
God can end the world whenever he wants to, and I will be happy for the great day to come, but I do not see any biblical proof that it will be very soon.
Evidently, Tkach has overlooked the following passages:
8…Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9…behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (Jas. 5:8b, 9b)
The end of all things is at hand… (1 Pet. 4:7)
Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. (Rev. 22:10)
Actually, Tkach is right; the “end of the world [age]” will not be “soon” because it was supposed to be “near” in the first century! Therefore, it must have been fulfilled back then, or the Bible is a sham. Tkach is musing over the future fulfillment of something that was fulfilled well over 1,900 years ago.
Obviously, Tkach has no understanding regarding any of this. However, changing the name of his church will accomplish nothing toward clearing up the confusion in his mind or the minds of the church’s members. Along with the cosmetics, we recommend the people at GCI totally renounce Armstrong’s futurist error and begin teaching what Jesus and his apostles proclaimed: a first-century second coming. Until then, Tkach and GCI will remain on the Delusion Alert list at Preterism.info.
We find ourselves wondering what it would be like to be a man standing before the throne of God at the end of his life, stammering as he tries to explain why he taught that the Lord’s holy apostles were “grossly” in error. Is this where Jesus says, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23)?
Related links:
The following is a large file and may take a few seconds to load. See page 15:
Booklet: 1975 in Prophecy by Herbert W. Armstrong.
Three-minute video: Tkach explains the name change.
Read Tkach’s article on the last days.
Booklet: Will Christ Return?
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