When Mr. Tkach started going wrong Mr. Armstrong's concerns about the rest of the evangelists were borne out, as none of them strenuously fought the developing apostasy from their offices inside the Church, even though a few executives tried to do so and sought strong backing from the evangelists, which was the only hope.  Most of the evangelists generally agreed with the apostasy until about 1992-93.  Only a very few were known to have even privately voiced major concern before that time; none opposed the apostasy openly for the benefit of the whole Church before they left to form or join new organizations.

 

 

ZERUBBABEL REBUILDS THE TEMPLE

 

The book of Haggai speaks prophetically of the restoration of the spiritual Temple in the end time, using certain aspects of Zerubbabel's restoration of the physical temple as a prophetic type.  Many will remember Mr. Armstrong believed his work was that of the prophetic Zerubbabel: the first Zerubbabel was sent to restore the original temple from ruins; the prophetic Zerubbabel, Mr. Armstrong said, had been sent to restore the original apostolic Church and Truth, just at a time (1927) when the Church had decayed, through loss of much understanding over the centuries, to the point where it was virtually dead (Rev. 3:2).  Haggai's prophetic message is for us today.  The time of its fulfillment is at hand.

 

Haggai typically and prophetically describes God's people as neglecting their commission to restore His House.  During the reign of Cyrus, a number of years before the dates mentioned in Haggai 1, Zerubbabel had led the people back from captivity to rebuild God's house, and he had laid a right foundation for it (Ezra 3:10-11).  Subsequently enemies of God's work, wielding unrighteous governmental authority, forcibly stopped the work and damaged some of what had been accomplished.  Thus, God's people were tested in their dedication to rebuild the temple by subversive enemies who at first claimed they also worshiped God and wanted to do the work too (Ezra 4:2-3).

 

After this persecution subsided, however, leaders among the people preferred to build their own “houses”—prophetically churches—leaving God's house lying in ruins (Haggai 1:2-4). Those leaders and the people following them expected great blessing in the work they chose, but God gave them only frustrating, shameful fruitlessness in their labors (1:5-11).