Articles for the Benefit of Members and Ex-Members of the WCG

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22
Tkach's Big Heresy
Part 1

In 1995, Jo Tkach, 'pontiff' of the Worldwide Church of God, sprung a massive heresy upon his faithful followers. Armstrong would have turned in his grave to hear the new leader of the WCG pronounce the Sabbaths no longer binding under the New Covenant! Here is the real truth!

Writing in The Worldwide News of January 24th 1995, Joseph Tkach claimed that Christ had led him and his associates to see that there is no need for us to keep the Sabbaths which Israel observed. Claiming that these were merely Old Covenant rituals, Christians are now liberated from these observances by the blood of the New Covenant.

Nine months later, Tkach was dead!

Was there a link between Tkach's proposals and his death? Nine is a numeric symbol for judgement in the Bible, as well as ultimate finality (3 x 3). Nine people were stoned in the Bible, including:

• The blasphemer (Lev 24:14).
• The Sabbath-breaker (Num 15:36).
• The deceiver, Achan (Josh 7:25).

Did Tkach's new heresy blaspheme God? Yes.

Did he deliberately violate the Sabbath? Yes.

Did he covet the accursed things, as Achan did? Yes. He was responsible for one of the most pernicious heretical declines in the history of the Church!

Was God taking this heretic out of the way? A man who should have known better? He was versed in the scriptures - at least, he should have been, he was an ordained minister - and he knew what the WCG espoused strongly for decades.

In fact, it was perhaps the most focal feature of the teachings of the church, because of its distinctive- ness. For all the church's other failings, it's allegiance to God's Sabbaths was, I believe, the main reason God allowed the WCG to have the degree of prominence which it did in the secular and Christian world.

It was no coincidence that the WCG frequently acquired the PO Box number 111. There are 111 occurrences of the Hebrew word for "Sabbath" in the Old Testament. The number 111 also has distinctive meaning, being 3 x 37. The number 37 is a feature indicating the presence or guidance of Jesus Christ.1

With respect to Sabbaths, the WCG had one aspect of its doctrinal teaching correct, even though its application was not ideal. Unfortunately their emphasis contributed to staid and ritualistic worship, instead of being Spirit- led. And the church wrongly inferred that other Christians who were not keeping the Sabbaths were not converted and would not inherit the promises. This wrong assumption was based upon a failure to understand how God is working at this time - that not all available truth is available to all believers.

God holds each individual accountable for the truth God has shown him. He is not held accountable for aspects of truth which have not yet been revealed to his mind. However, he IS held accountable for aspects of truth he DOES understand. Worldwide failed to differentiate, and so it became judgemental of other believers. Under Armstrong, the church did not appreciate the scope of God's grace. Its emphasis was legalistic, but not in the way Tkach later claimed.

Other believers sensed this legalistic warp, and so the WCG received justifiable criticism. But that was not because its theology on the appropriateness of Sabbath observance today was wrong. Much of its basic thesis there was right. It was the application which was wrong. And the application was wrong because the fulness of the Spirit was lacking in worship.

Wanting to please outsiders and raise the image of the church, Tkach set about to give the church a face-lift. But being devoid of the Holy Spirit himself, he failed to go about this the right way. He sought to please men, not God. He relied upon human reason and listened to human arguments, and in so doing, he actually dismantled the aspects of truth which God used the WCG to preserve as a light for others in Christendom who were not privy to such truths.

He put that light out. I do not believe it is any coincidence that the light of his life went out soon thereafter. It is a sign.

In this paper, I shall expose the fallacies of the WCG's arguments dispensing with God's Sabbaths. They are lies and half-truths _ distortions of the real truth of the Bible.

Knowing the truth sets you free (Jn 8:32). Having some of it isn't ideal. All the truth is what you need. You need to return to the faith once delivered to the saints and uphold all the scriptural beliefs which the early Christian Church upheld soon after Jesus' death.

Tkach has introduced destructive heresies which undermine the very foundations of true faith. True faith is based upon obedience to every word of God. He has not brought new freedom to Worldwiders. He has brought them back into bondage (2 Pet 2:19).

Truth about Sin and the Law

True freedom is freedom from sin and its harmful effects (Rom 6:18,22-23). Christ bought that for us by His death on the cross (Rom 5:8,9). It was a horrific price to be paid, but it was the only way to redeem us from the penalty of all our sins.

Through God's grace (Eph 2:8) we can receive forgiveness which Christ's blood makes possible (Heb 9:11-28). But that grace does not give us license to continue in sin as though sin no longer matters.

The New Covenant in Christ's blood frees us from condemnation caused by our sins. It frees us FROM sin (Rom 6:7-11). It doesn't free us TO sin! (Rom 6:1,2.) That is a huge blasphemy, a monumental insult to the One who suffered in our stead!! Yet it is the subtle implication of Tkach's teaching. It is the heinous result!

What is sin? "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 Jn 3:4, KJV). Firstly, sin is breaking God's holy moral code, initially delineated by the ten commandments, and further elaborated by the whole teaching of God contained in the Bible. We are to live by every word of God there (Matt 4:4). Not to do so is sin.

Even one infraction technically deprives us of the reward. For he who breaks just one point is guilty of breaking the whole law (Jas 2:10).

Yet, Tkach is saying that for various reasons (which we will come to shortly), it is not necessary for us to keep the fourth commandment, the Sabbath. Nor is it necessary, likewise, to keep the holy days outlined in Leviticus 23. Tkach's claim is in violation of scripture - New Covenant scripture, the letter of James. To be absolutely clear, let's repeat James' inspired words:

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all (Jas 2:10, NKJV).

God expects ALL His commands to be kept.

The Change in the Law

There is no mandate in scripture for dispensing with any of God's commands which were given under the Old Covenant (Matt 5:17-19). Instead of being annulled, Old Testament precepts are heightened by obedience in the spirit under the New Covenant.

The only scriptural alteration (notice that it is an alteration divinely approved) centres around the sacrificial system which was administered by the Levitical priesthood. The animal sacrifices and ritual ordinances were no longer necessary once Jesus died. His blood was the ultimate sacrifice, that of the perfect Lamb of God. His death paid the price of sin, making animal sacrifices for sin obsolete. Paul's letter to the Hebrews explains this fully. (The fact that Paul wrote Hebrews can be substantiated numerically. See Bullinger's Number in Scripture, pages 37-41.)

Moreover, after Jesus' death, the Levitical priesthood also became obsolete (Heb 7). Jesus, who was of the tribe of Judah, now resumed the role of High Priest. We give to Him the sacrifices of our lives.

This was the "change of the law" (Heb 7:12) that was made because of Jesus' death. It is the ONLY CHANGE sanctioned in scripture. All other aspects of Bible teaching ("the law") are still valid.

New Covenant Versus the Old

The law God gave Israel was not a law of bondage, but one meant to give them liberty. The Old Covenant effectively brought people into bondage because they disobeyed God's law of liberty. The fault was with the people, not with the law (Heb 8:7,8).

Blessings were promised for obedience to the law which God gave (Deut 28:1-14). This was the foundation of Old Covenant theology.

Notice what New Covenant theology promotes. James wrote:

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (Jas 1:25, NKJV).

This is New Covenant theology. It is the same underlying principle as in the Old. There is no fundamental difference. Obedience is required and blessings are promised as a result.

But Tkach asserts that the Sabbaths are done away under the New Covenant. He doesn't say it in those words. That would be too abrasive on the ears of Worldwiders. It would be unacceptable to them. So he says it more subtly. He uses persuasive-sounding jargon and lots of scriptural allegory. To the uninitiated, he sounds like he knows what he is talking about. But his antinomian intimations are cleverly intertwined into his thesis. No wonder his name in Russian means "Weaver"!

Isaiah prophesied aptly:

No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; he who eats of their eggs dies, and from that which is crushed a viper breaks out (Is 59:4,5, NKJV).

Tkach's Clever Deceit

Tkach begins in his deceitful paper by softening up his readership with several half truths. First is that "the new covenant in His [Christ's] shed blood has made the old covenant obsolete". He doesn't quote the verse he uses to support his argument, Hebrews 8:13.

Take a look at just what that text DOES say!

In that He says "a new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Heb 8:13, NKJV).

Notice from this verse that, although the New Covenant is superseding the Old, the Old Covenant has not yet passed away, contrary to what Tkach claims. "It is ready to vanish away" - not "has" already done so!

The Old Covenant was a national covenant. God made it with the nation of Israel. If, as a nation, they obeyed God, they would have become the greatest nation on earth (Ex 19:5,6; Deut 28:1). Such national greatness and receiving God's promises were predicated upon their obedience to God's law.

If any nation today decided to accept the terms of the Old Covenant, they too could become a great and blessed nation, just as God promised Israel. Or if Israel repented and re-covenanted themselves to God, they would again be recipients of His divine favours. The way is still open to any people to take God up on His Word. Thus, the Old Covenant has not yet passed away. But experience has shown that no people seeks God and therefore the Old Covenant is ready to pass away into obsolescence.

Tkach avoids expounding the real truth of this text. Instead, he uses it to bolster the argument he is trying to put across, claiming that all that the Old Covenant was and contained is finished. That is deceitful use of scripture. It is not rightly dividing the Word of God (2 Tim 2:15). Tkach writes in his Personal in The Worldwide News, 24th January 1995:

Many people today, even in other Christian churches, think Christians should observe the principles of the Ten Commandments because they were written in stone by the finger of God. Yet, the New Testament clearly tells us that the glory of the old covenant, written in stone, has no comparison to the new covenant, which is not of the letter, but of the spirit (2 Cor 3:4-18). It tells us that the old covenant is now obsolete because the new covenant has come (Heb 8:13).

Tkach emphasises his spurious point by referring again to Hebrews 8:13, misusing the real meaning of that verse. And he introduces another subtlety through the words in italics. In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul was expounding on how much greater the promises of the New Covenant are than under the Old, but that does not deny the glory that was given under the Old. Tkach omits that part of Paul's words (see 2 Cor 3:7,9,11,13). He also omits mention of the purpose of Paul's words there, which was to emphasise that Israel under the Old Covenant lacked spiritual perception (2 Cor 3:14), and even today the same blindness exists (2 Cor 3:15) because the Spirit is absent. When Jesus comes into a person's life, His Spirit grants life and understanding which brings freedom (2 Cor 3:16-18).

Tkach leaves all this out. Paul said much more than Tkach wants to admit to. It makes a world of difference to the meaning. Deceivers will use parts of biblical passages, often out of context, to 'substantiate' their points. In this way, what Paul meant in his letters has often been totally reversed!

Tkach's False Claims

Tkach goes on:

In other words, we observe the principles we find in the Ten Commandments, not because they were given at Mt. Sinai, but because Jesus Christ and the apostles commanded them in the new covenant.

Here is another half truth. It is subtly devious. He is getting close to what some other heretics have claimed: that Jesus came to do away with the Father's commandments and instituted better ones of His own.

Then, Tkach develops his specious argument:

Again, Paul wrote expressly that the old covenant, written on tables of stone (the Ten Commandments), has ended and the new covenant has come in.

Do you see how clever he is? He uses one truth in such a way as to imply something spurious, then he adds a heresy which seems to be supported by the first aspect of truth. He is gradually leading his readers into believing a lie. It is a masterly technique of deception.

OK. Let's take him at his word for a minute. Tkach claims that:

...we observe the principles we find in the Ten Commandments, not because they were given at Mt. Sinai, but because Jesus Christ and the apostles commanded them in the new covenant.

Jesus said:

I and the Father are one (Jn 10:30, NIV). If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well (Jn 14:7). Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me (Jn 14:11). If you love Me you will obey what I command (Jn 14:15). ...I love the Father and that I do exactly what My Father has commanded Me (Jn 14:31). If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love (Jn 15:10, NIV).

Jesus and His Father are inseparable. Their teaching and commandments are inseparable. It is specious reasoning to say that we are only to obey Jesus today and thereby imply that we do not need to obey the Ten Commandments which many think were given by the Father. It is not stated; it is subtly implied!

Actually, it was the same One who became Jesus who engraved those commandments into stone on Sinai. He was that Rock (1 Cor 10:4). He gave that law to Israel (Jn 1:1-5,14).

The law may have been given through Moses (Jn 1:17) but it did not originate FROM Moses! Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (ibid.). Jesus was the originator of that law. He made all things (Col 1:16). That is why He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He made it (Mark 2:28).

Tkach continues:

The reason we do not murder, steal, commit adultery, worship idols, etc. is because Jesus tells us not to, and because His Spirit dwells in us through faith in Him [he is deceived about that - demonic spirits lived in Tkach!], not because they are written in tables of stone.

The "tables of stone" bit has got nothing to do with whether we obey God's Commandments given on Sinai. That is a decoy to confuse and mislead the reader. It seems to lend weight to his argument.

The implication he is leading up to is that, because Jesus has not commanded us to keep the Sabbath in the New Covenant, we don't need to do so. But, as I have shown, Jesus WAS the One who gave those commandments. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). God does not change with respect to His principles of righteousness (Mal 3:6).

What was righteousness 3,000 years ago is still righteousness today. All His commandments are righteous (Ps 119:172). Not nine of them or eight of them. All ten of them! Exactly as they were given Israel!

The law of the Lord is perfect... the statutes of the Lord are trustworthy... the precepts of the Lord are right (Ps 19:7,8, NIV).

Tkach, the liar that he was (and, "like father like son"), would have you believe that the law given at Sinai was not perfect, not were all God's statutes trustworthy, nor all His precepts right!

As I said, Tkach's introductory remarks are to soften the recipient for the heresy he wants to introduce. Now he has tilled the ground, here comes the question meant to implant doubt and deceive you, just like the snake did in the Garden to Adam and Eve:

Why don't we find the Sabbath commanded in the new covenant?

Because there was no need to reiterate it at that time. It was observed by the whole Jewish nation to which Jesus came. Jesus' example demonstrated its relevance. He kept the Sabbath, as did all the Jews (Luke 4:16). He did not sin at all (Heb 4:15). He never broke the Sabbath command, nor any other command of scripture. You are to follow in His footsteps, too!

Sabbath Relevance Confirmed

The Sabbath needed no emphasis, other than to de-emphasise its legalistic observance. So we only have indirect statements from Jesus showing that it is still valid. Here are some of them:

• 1. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments (Matt 19:17, NIV).

"Which ones?" some still ask. Jesus repeated several in this incident with the rich young man. He left out the Sabbath command, some say because it is no longer necessary. But if that were true, then the other four He omitted would be equally unnecessary.

No, the Sabbath didn't need any emphasis. It was so observed that it had become a religion in itself and had lost much of its meaning because of that. One other command Jesus omitted was the last one about coveting. The young man was covetous, and Jesus only challenged him on that point later, after He had evoked the predictable response from him.

Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath (Matt 24:20, NIV).

• 3. Paul - who has been misrepresented as having liberal views about Sabbath observance - said there was no fault in the law, unlike liberal theologians today who refuse to acknowledge the holiness of the fourth commandment in its unadulterated wording:

So then, the law is holy and the commandment is holy, righteous and good (Rom 7:12).

We know that the law is good if a man uses it properly (1 Tim 1:8, NIV).

Keeping God's commandments is what counts (1 Cor 7:19, NIV).

Tkach and his heretical cronies would have you believe that keeping God's commandments is NOT what counts at all; that it is your faith in Christ which counts. He doesn't realise that the two are inseparable! Faith in Christ leads to perfect obedience to God.

• 4. The Church at the very end would be marked by its faithfulness in this regard:

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17, NIV).

That war being waged by the devil (the dragon) is right now being waged inside the WCG by its leaders against the truth of God!

• 5. The apostle John was not disparaging like Tkach about any of God's commandments:

This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome (1 Jn 5:3, NIV).

Tkach Identified as a Heretic

The apostle John also had some stern words to say about deceivers like Tkach, as did the apostle Peter:

No-one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil.... This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God.... (1 Jn 3:6-10, NIV).

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly [people won't notice the heresies; they will be deceived by them] bring in destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them - bringing swift destruction on themselves (2 Pet 1:1, NIV).

Tkach received swift destruction! He was dead nine months after he introduced the destructive heresies about his so-called "New Covenant theology"! He denied the sovereign Lord. One aspect of Jesus' sovereignty is His lordship over the Sabbath. He is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28; Matt 12:8). Tkach was eager to deny that! The greater tragedy is not his death, but that he deceived many and has undermined part of God's end-time Work.

MANY will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute [more of that is to come!]. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up [in this instance, they doctored the stories of other heretics to suit their purposes of deluding WCG members] (2 Pet 2:2,3, NIV).

These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm... they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity... If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred commandment that was passed on to them (2 Pet 2:17-21, NIV).

These men blaspheme in matters they do not understand... they seduce the unstable... They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam (2 Pet 1:12,14,15 NIV).

The devil was using Paul's letters back then to destabilise the ignorant and bring them back into spiritual bondage. Tkach has done the same today.

Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters... [which] contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort... to their own destruction (2 Pet 3:15,16, NIV).

To be continued.

Jacob I Myers