The Two Apostles | When the Apostle John Died, Did New Revelation End?

Before You Read Another Word

Two Men. One Extraordinary Claim. How Would You Test It?

Have you tested the claim? Have you weighed it against the Bible — against the record of prophecies made and prophecies fulfilled, against history itself? Or have you dismissed it out of hand, as most professing Christians do?

Before you read another word on this page, honestly face these questions: Was Herbert W. Armstrong an apostle of Jesus Christ — sent, as Peter and Paul were sent, with the Gospel of the Kingdom for the whole world? Is Gerald Flurry an apostle of Jesus Christ, continuing that same office in our own time? How would you know? How could it be proven? Could it be disproven?

These are the RIGHT questions to ask. And the answer does not come from assertion — not on Mr. Armstrong's word alone, not on Mr. Flurry's word alone, and certainly not on the word of this page. It comes from record. From prophecies printed in dated black and white, decades before the events, that the whole world has watched come true. The Test Every Apostolic Claim Must Face

Every claim on this page is anchored to a source you can open and read yourself. Every prophecy is dated. Every quotation is linked to its original publication. What you are asked to weigh is the record — nothing more, nothing less.

If new revelation did not end when the apostle John died — and the New Testament plainly says it did not — then Christ is speaking today, through the apostolic office He Himself set in His Church. The question is where.

Movement 1 · The Bible's Own Testimony

The Office of Apostle in Scripture Continues

The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, named five offices Christ set in His Church — and stated explicitly how long those offices would continue.

"And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers — for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith" (Ephesians 4:11—13). Herbert W. Armstrong drew the argument directly from the text in The Incredible Human Potential, Chapter 9.

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith" is future tense from the perspective of every generation between Paul's and the return of Christ. The offices Paul named — apostles first among them — were not scheduled to end when the last first-century apostle died. A foundation is what everything else stands on. Remove it and the building falls.

Ancient limestone cornerstone at the base of a Jerusalem temple wall

Vintage broadcast microphone and printed pages under warm lamp

Movement 2 · Scripture's Consistent Pattern

God Works Through One Apostle at a Time

Scripture's pattern for how God directs His Work through a human head is consistent from Genesis forward. He calls one man at a time.

God called Noah to save humans alive during the Flood. God called Abraham. Four hundred and thirty years after Abraham, God called Moses. God called the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah. The apostle Paul, originally named Saul, was struck down on the road to Damascus. Not a committee. Not a democracy. One man at a time, called by God, sent with a mission (Herbert W. Armstrong, The Incredible Human Potential, Chapter 8).

Among the Twelve, one man was chief. "The surname Peter had for centuries been a surname or title, designating a religious leader, head or headquarters. Peter was the first and chief apostle" (Mr. Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages, Chapter 6). Mr. Armstrong called himself "God's apostle for our day" — the office he understood himself to hold.

Movement 3 · His Own Testimony

Mr. Armstrong's Own Claim to the Office

Mr. Armstrong identified himself with three specific prophetic offices from the Hebrew scriptures — and stated his commission plainly in his own published writings. The claim is on record; the record is what you are asked to weigh.

Identification 01

The End-Time Elijah

Malachi 4:5—6 promises God will send Elijah before Christ's return. Jesus affirmed the prophecy remained in force even after John the Baptist. Mr. Armstrong wrote of an "Elijah to come" as an already-underway ministry (Mystery of the Ages, Introduction & Ch. 6).

Identification 02

The Antitype of Zerubbabel

Zerubbabel rebuilt the second temple after 70 years. Haggai's prophecy reaches past its physical fulfillment to a spiritual temple — the Church itself (The Incredible Human Potential, Ch. 9). Gerald Flurry applied the Zerubbabel identification to Mr. Armstrong by name in The Legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong.

Identification 03

The Matthew 24:14 Commission

"Christ ordained me to preach this same gospel of the Kingdom in all the world as a witness to all nations. This ordination took place at, or very near, the day of Pentecost 1931" (Autobiography of Herbert W. Armstrong). First person. No ambiguity.

Foundation 04

Apostles Are the Foundation

"The Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Eph. 2:19—20). A foundation is what everything else stands on. Remove it and the building falls (Incredible Human Potential, Ch. 9).

Pattern 05

One Apostle at a Time

Noah. Abraham. Moses. Isaiah. Jeremiah. Peter. Paul. Scripture's consistent pattern is one man called, one office at a time. "God's apostle for our day," Mr. Armstrong called himself — the office he understood himself to hold (Incredible Human Potential, Ch. 9).

Delivery 06

To Heads of Governments Worldwide

"This is the message the Eternal God is delivering now, by His end-time apostle, to the heads of governments in world capitals all over the world" (Mr. Armstrong, Incredible Human Potential, Ch. 2). The commission is documented; the deliveries are documented.

Movement 4 · The Fruits

"By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them"

The claim to apostolic office is proved by the fruits (Matthew 7:16). Mr. Armstrong made hundreds of specific prophetic statements over five decades — in the Plain Truth magazine, the World Tomorrow broadcast, and in booklets and letters to millions of readers.

Every prophecy on the cards below was published in dated print, sometimes decades before the events came to pass. Every quotation is drawn from He Was Right — the PCG-published catalog of Mr. Armstrong's fulfilled prophecies, freely available at thetrumpet.com.

The Work that produced this record reached the largest audience in Church history. When Mr. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, the question became: would the office he held survive?

Broken stone fragments scattered around one standing tablet in a beam of gold light

400+

TV Stations

8M+

Magazine Circulation

200+

Nations Reached

Years of Ministry

Movement 4 · Seven of Many

Prophesied. Printed. Dated. Fulfilled.

A small selection from He Was Right — each prophecy verifiable against the historical record.

1950 · Germany

A United States of Europe

"European nations are becoming distrustful of America and thinking more and more about uniting themselves into a united states of Europe" (Plain Truth, March 1950). The European Union came into being in 1993, with Germany as its economic engine.

1945 · Nazi Underground

World War III Would Be Planned

Spoken at the founding conference of the UN, one day after Germany surrendered: "They have carefully, methodically planned… the third round — World War III" (Herbert W. Armstrong, May 9, 1945).

1956 · Suez

Britain Would Lose Its Sea Gates

"Britain has lost control of Suez for the rest of this age, and will not be able to gain it back" (Plain Truth, August 5, 1956). Seventy years later, Britain does not control the Suez Canal.

1964 · Panama

America Would Lose the Panama Canal

"America, before this is all over, is going to lose the Panama Canal unless it repents" (Plain Truth, March 1964). The United States transferred the Panama Canal to Panama in 1999 — thirty-five years later.

1961 · War

America Had Won Its Last War

"Unless the United States as a whole repents… the United States of America has won its last war!" (Plain Truth, October 1961). Vietnam. The Iraq wars. The Afghanistan withdrawal.

1973 · Brexit

Britain Would Not Fit in Europe

"Britain is going to look back on Monday, January 1, 1973, in all probability, as a most tragically historic date" (Plain Truth, March 1973). Forty-seven years later, Britain formally left the European Union.

1978 · Vatican

Rome Would Gather Europe

"There is but one possibility of union in Europe — and that is through the Vatican" (Good News, August 28, 1978). A Holy Roman Empire in continuing formation — a church-state combine reforming across the continent.

Active archaeological excavation in the City of David at golden hour

Movement 5 · December 16, 1989

The Continuation of the Office After 1986

Herbert W. Armstrong died January 16, 1986. Immediately, the leadership of his own Worldwide Church of God began dismantling the doctrines he had spent fifty-seven years restoring — while denying any change was underway.

On December 7, 1989, Gerald Flurry — then a WCG pastor — was fired for warning of the apostasy. Nine days later, on December 16, 1989, twelve people met for the first service of the Philadelphia Church of God (Raising the Ruins, Ch. 14). Twelve. The number Christ chose for the original apostolic foundation. In 2003, on the seventeenth anniversary of Mr. Armstrong's death, WCG sold PCG the copyrights to all nineteen of his works.

Vintage broadcast microphone and printed pages

Movement 6 · The Fruits Continue

The Contemporary Fruits of Mr. Flurry's Office

Mr. Flurry's ministry — like Mr. Armstrong's — is proved by fruits. Specific, dated, publicly testable forecasts on record.

In May—June 2014, three months after Russia annexed Crimea, Mr. Flurry identified Vladimir Putin as the "prince of Rosh" of Ezekiel 38 in The Philadelphia Trumpet. In February 2022 Putin launched the largest land war in Europe since 1945.

In the January 2021 cover article of the Trumpet, Mr. Flurry wrote: "Regardless of what the media says… Donald Trump will remain president." On November 5, 2024 Donald Trump was re-elected. In February 2010, Mr. Flurry forecast Germany's rearmament and dominion in Europe — by 2025 Germany was on track to nearly triple its defense budget.

No Cost · No Obligation · No Follow-up

The Two Books at the Heart of This Argument

One book from each apostle — both provided free of charge by the Philadelphia Church of God. Read online, or request a physical copy by mail.

Mystery of the Ages

by Herbert W. Armstrong

The seven mysteries that structure the whole of biblical revelation — and the doctrine of Church government tested by the last thirty years of history.

Request Free Book

Malachi’s Message

by Gerald Flurry

The founding book of the Philadelphia Church of God — written in 1989 as a warning to the scattered members of Mr. Armstrong's church.

Request Free Book

The Question That Remains

If revelation did not end with the apostle John — and the New Testament plainly says it did not — then Christ is speaking somewhere today through the apostolic office He set in His Church. The question for any reader is where.

Every claim on this page is drawn from the published testimony of the two men who bore that office in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Their prophecies read in the same voice: Germany rising, America declining, the Vatican gathering Europe, Russia consolidating in the east — decades ahead of the events themselves, in dated print, with names attached.

Download the Full Treatise (PDF)

~30 pages · every citation, every prophecy, every fruit · printable

Two Apostles — in Our Own Day?

Two Men. One Extraordinary Claim. How Would You Test It?

The Office of Apostle in Scripture Continues

God Works Through One Apostle at a Time

Mr. Armstrong's Own Claim to the Office

The End-Time Elijah

The Antitype of Zerubbabel

The Matthew 24:14 Commission

Apostles Are the Foundation

One Apostle at a Time

To Heads of Governments Worldwide

"By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them"

Prophesied. Printed. Dated. Fulfilled.

A United States of Europe

World War III Would Be Planned

Britain Would Lose Its Sea Gates

America Would Lose the Panama Canal

America Had Won Its Last War

Britain Would Not Fit in Europe

Rome Would Gather Europe

The Continuation of the Office After 1986

The Contemporary Fruits of Mr. Flurry's Office

The Two Books at the Heart of This Argument

Mystery of the Ages

Malachi’s Message

The Question That Remains

Dig Deeper