Herbert W. Armstrong began his career as a traveling salesman.  While doing this work, he happened to come in contact with a splinter group of the Seventh-day Adventists.  For a while he spoke as an Adventist evangelist, and demonstrated great success.  However, he came to believe some things that caused him to split with the Adventists and form his own organization.

Armstrong saw himself as specifically called of God to restore the true church to the earth, which had been lost for 1900 years.  His background in sales served him well as a self-proclaimed prophet.  He began to broadcast his beliefs on radio, once again with great success.  He attracted thousands of followers in the western United States.  Working through his radio ministry, correspondence Bible courses, and a slick magazine called The Plain Truth, Armstrong’s movement grew.  He formed his own church, initially called the Radio Church of God.  Later this was changed to the Worldwide Church of God (WCOG). Continue reading →