The Apostle Pack

In a recent vital sermon, David C. Pack, founder of the Restored Church of God (RCG) in Wadsworth, Ohio, humbly explains for nearly four-and-a-half hours that Jesus has appointed him to the highest position of "apostle." He says there have been perhaps three apostles in the last 800 years or so. The most recent apostle was the late televangelist Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, who died in 1986.

While David Pack holds such titles as "watchman" and "apostle," he is not the biblically prophesied "Elijah to come." John the Baptizer was a kind of "Elijah to come" (Matthew 11:10-15), but that role was ultimately and definitively fulfilled by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.

Apostle Pack also reveals that the prophesied, end-time "two witnesses" of Revelation 11 will be two members of his Restored Church of God. Because they will submit to God's government on earth, these two greatest prophets of all time will "report" to the higher-ranking Apostle Pack, who will certainly train them before they begin their mission.

I learned all sorts of great things listening to Pack's "coming out of the apostolic closet" sermon. He even predicts that he will be "attacked" by others because of this new truth. In fact, he says he is the "most attacked" person in the world next to the deceased Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong.

I suppose a blog post like this is part of that prophesied persecution. See, he is right after all! Amazing!

My interest in the Apostle Pack stems from my memories of him when I was a youth in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). I was big into basketball, and so was he. (He is just plain big at six-feet-seven.) He coached the Akron, Ohio, team, and -- thanks to my clutch free throws in overtime -- our Toledo team defeated his for the district championship in 1991. Soon afterward, he coached our district all-star team. And if I recall correctly, I gave him reason to stand tall with pride by scoring a few three-pointers for him.

Because of these basketball memories, and a morbid curiosity, I subjected myself to hearing some of Apostle Pack's online sermons. In a way, he is a captivating speaker because he demonstrates a certain kind of logic, and he speaks as one having authority, not as the WCG "splinters." He is set apart from "the splinters" in his apparent zeal and conviction in his message.

What is amusing, however, is that he never adequately explains how he is different from "the splinters." Apostle Pack (then Pastor Pack) left the Worldwide Church of God in 1993 to join a splinter group called the Living Church of God, from whom he later split to form his Restored Church of God. As a second-generation splinter, he does not number himself among "the splinters," for he alone is "extending the apostle's [Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's] ministry."

The plain truth is that if only Apostle Pack would annoint his eyes to see, he would be forced to admit that Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong splintered from a splinter from a splinter from a splinter -- going all the way back, like everyone else, to the Church that Jesus built: the Catholic Church.

I made the point in a previous post that the only reason Pack can give for his claims of exclusivity is that he "goes by the Bible." All a person needs to do is "blow the dust off" his Bible and "prove all things and hold fast to that which is good"; if you do that, then, according to Pack, you'll be left holding only his doctrines.

There is one other reason offered by the Apostle Pack: he is faithful to the teachings of the Apostle Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, a claim he can "prove" with many quotations from Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. Even so, how do we know Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong was God's apostle? Simply because the teachings of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong "go by the Bible."

In other words, you must read and interpret the Bible for yourself (with God's assistance, of course), and then you must judge the fidelity of the teachings of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong and the Apostle Pack. If in your judgment they agree with the Bible, then you must agree with them; if you determine they don't agree with the Bible, then "it's just not your time yet." You're not among the "called," but you will be given the opportunity to repent in another resurrection when God finally opens your eyes.

Too many sad souls are playing pin-the-tail-on-the-apostle and neglecting the fundamentals of the Christian faith. They are so enraptured with the idea of being unique and set apart that they don't think to be orthodox and faithful to the one gospel message transmitted by the Church through its 2000-year history.

Amidst all the religious confusion in the Christian world, we can find our way to the Truth by knowing the Scriptures (cf. Mark 12:24) and knowing "the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).

Stay close to the tradition of the true apostles, and to their successors the bishops. If you remain faithful to the Church's deposit of truth, then you will never be deceived by a false apostle's Pack of lies.