These questions are particularly relevant because God's scattered people are being cajoled and intimidated into believing that God prefers unity rather than obedience. But what did Christ say? "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:34-38). It seems God prefers obedience. In any case, disobedience is sin and sin separates from God. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die" (Gen 3:1-4).

We know God wants unity. He says unity is a wonderful goal. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity"(Psa. 133:1). And, "Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous" (I Peter 3:8). But God means spiritual unity not just physical grouping of individuals. You cannot have unity if there is disagreement over which are the right days to observe the Feasts. Christians are keeping silent when they know ministers, and the church hierarchy, are wrong in keeping the postponements. In such a situation you cannot have unity. "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all" (Eph 4:3-6). Read verses 7 through 12 and finally in verse 13; "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." You can't have unity without God. You can't have unity without obedience to his requests, instructions, laws and commandments. Any other type of unity is useless. "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psa. 127:1). "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand" (Matt. 7:24-26). Any other type of unity is not from God. Human beings crave unity. Some strive for family unity. Political parties also strive for unity.

In the United Kingdom it is general election time, so each party is trying to present a united front to make itself more electable. Party leaders and party hierarchies are prepared to sacrifice anything and anyone for unity while presenting themselves as men and women of integrity. Some Churches become broad churches, within which dwells many conflicting doctrines. For the sake of unity they find what they can agree on; they sweep the other issues under the carpet for the sake of unity. In God’s Church this is impossible. "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" (I Cor. 14:33).

As Christ said in Matthew 12:25, there is no future where there is division. Christians in the various Churches of God are being told directly and indirectly that it is alright to disobey God for the sake of unity. What is even worse is that there are ministers (including a great number of Ambassador College graduates) who know that keeping the Hebrew calendar dates is wrong. Yet they adhere to falsehood. They are failing to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:I8). Some ministers don’t even bother to prove the validity of the calendar they are following. Or, they simply follow the guidance of those higher up in the hierachy. Some ministers even dismiss the instructions that God gave without adequate study. What did God say about such tactics? "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him" (Prov. 18:13). Such Christians are set in their ways (not God’s ways) and are failing to worship our Creator " in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

Many through history sought ways around God’s instructions. Among them was King Saul, and he was told, "for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou has rejected the Word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king" (I Sam. 15:23). In Isaiah we read of God's reaction when Israel rebelled against him. "But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them" (Isa. 63:10). "But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him" (Psa. 37:38-40). We see how God deals with those who disobey him and those who obey him. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace" (Psa. 37:37). We should also note here that God does not say we are exempt from the consequences of disobedience if we belong to a large group. There is no safety in numbers. The criterion are; are you doing what is right or are you doing what is wrong! In Eze.20:23-24 we see the suffering of rebellious Israel. If they were physically united to start with, after God finished with them they were certainly disunited. The lesson to learn is that nothing can save you, if you persistently and wilfully disobey God. When we read about Moses and Solomon, we see that God sets his standards high. Num. 20:7-12 and I Kings 11:1-11.

Since Mr Armstrong's death members of God's Church have tended to relax their obedience to God. Now, a Christian's first duty is to God, a minister's first duty is to God. A husband's first duty is to God, a wife's first duty is to God. Obedience to God first, and if that causes division, so be it. But why should it cause division? Since when has obedience to God caused division in His Church - the Church that bears His name? Are we not shown what our reaction must be when presented with a choice of obedience or disobedience to God. See Dan. 3:17-18. Yes, God sets great store by obedience to His Word. True, obedience to God divides us from the world; but it creates unity within His Church.

Before we try to analyze why the majority in God's Church have chosen disobedience instead of obedience to God, we must remember it is not our prerogative to judge or condemn. We should remember that all in God's Church are human, even ministers. "Leaders" in God's Church are at the cross-roads. A minister has to make a decision. He knows he has to obey God but those at the top say you must believe and teach that the Hebrew calendar is valid. This is one of the biggest tests a minister can face. Loyalty to God or loyalty to his human paymasters. What does he want more; The Kingdom or his pay packet? See Matt. 6:19-34. It is not an enviable position: we all know what he must choose, but he looks at the problem with human eyes. If you are a minister paid by a Church, then that is your livelihood. You need the money to feed and shelter your wife and children. You may even want to see your son or daughter through university. All this is expensive business. Under such circumstances many ministers choose to close their eyes to God's truth and reverse Acts 5:29. The problem is even more serious for a minister higher up the hierarchy because he enjoys a higher standard of living, and if he should lose his job he may not find another paying as much. He may fear how his wife may react to a reduced income. Ministers in such predicaments will do anything to try and keep a congregation together. They think the more members they have the more secure their jobs.

Deep down, a minister, if he still has God's Holy Spirit, knows that only God, through obedience, will create unity. God will not be involved if His truth is wilfully ignored. So you see it is a vicious circle. If a minister preaches the truth, he fears division in his congregation, resulting in a reduction of church income and job security. If he doesn't preach the truth, he knows God will hold him accountable (Eze. 34:IO). Every minister in God's Church, high or low, must ask himself if Romans 16:I8 applies to him. Can you imagine Mr. Armstrong in the early days as an impoverished minister putting money, or even his family, before God? Did he care about unity more than obedience? Did he have faith? And did God bless him and the work? Was he obedient to every word of God as he understood it? Did he understand Matt. 4:4? Did he understand he had to be obedient to God's word as Christ himself was (Phil. 2:8 and Heb.5:8)?

Our duty as individual Christians can be summed up in one word - GOD. Even though we are scattered, we have a choice. If the "leaders" we follow are, themselves, obeying every word of God, there is no problem. However if our study proves they are not putting God first, we should repeat Josh. 24:15 and allow God to lead us to where Christians are putting God and His Word first. There we will find spiritual unity and we will be able to work out our "salvation in fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). But if we refuse to see the truth, God may not give us a second chance, and He may let us delude ourselves. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie" (II Thes. 2:10-12).