The Flags of The People of Truth

"Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth" (Psa. 60:4)

"We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners, the Lord fulfill all thy petitions" (Psa. 20:5)

"All the inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye" (Isa. 18:3)

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people ... and He shall set up an ensign for the nations" (Isa. 11:11,12

God, in His great wisdom, by holy men of old, foretold the day when He would reveal to His Elect the necessity of having a flag in the last days. This was part of the hidden wisdom of God concealed in the Holy Writ which has now been brought forth through His chosen ones.

Even though the idea of a flag had been discussed, these prophecies began to be fulfilled on September 16, 1933. As Prophet A. J. Tomlinson presided over a gathering of God's chosen people, he began to quote many prophecies of the Scriptures (some of which are listed above) to verify his belief that in the last days, the time had come for the Church of God to raise up an ensign.

Bishop Tomlinson's words to this General Assembly of the Church are quoted from the Cyclopedic Index of Assembly Minutes, as follows: "For more than ten years I have been contemplating suggesting a flag specially designed and prepared for the Church of God. The idea has kept growing in my mind without saying much about it to anyone. In one of the conventions this year, Brother O. S. Carter made mention of a flag for the Church in one of his discourses. As I learned that I was not alone in it I thought of calling on our people to submit samples of their ideas so we could take up the matter at the Assembly and decide about it and if it was passed upon favorably at the Assembly, steps could be taken to decide upon the design.

"I suggested that we prepare a design and submit it to the Assembly. He [Brother A. D. Evans] made a little suggestion and I added to it until I told him to try to get a drawing developed. It suited me fine, but studying over the scriptures as they came before me I finally decided it would need a scepter and a crown to make it complete. Then we made a search for a picture of a scepter.

Figure 1"The All Nations Flag" (Flag of the Church of God of Prophecy"

This was finally produced and the drawing we already had was taken to an artist to have the scepter and crown added thereto. The next thing was to get a flag made as a sample to display at the Assembly. And here is the results of our efforts (Fig.1)

"If a better and more appropriate design can be found, it will be satisfactory to me, but I think the time has come for the Church to have a flag with a design of its own, and which cannot be duplicated by any other institution or government."

Flag Colors and Design:

The colors of the flag are red, white, blue and purple; colors used throughout the Scriptures. The red represents the blood of Jesus Christ. The white represents purity. The blue stands for truth. The purple stands for royalty.

The emblems for the All Nations Flag are the scepter, star and crown. All three represent some aspect of Jesus Christ. The scepter stands for authority. The star stands for the star of Bethlehem. The crown stands for kingship.

The blue stripes do not meet at top or bottom. This shows that all God's people who are scattered abroad over the face of the earth are not as yet gathered together in one.

More Perfect Design of the Flag

Brother Kent made certain adjustments to the flag after the Reformation on February 13, 1957. On that day, Bishop Grady R. Kent made a great stride in the advancement of the government of The Church of God as he realized that the Church must reach a state of perfection before the Lord's return. The reformed organization that came forth necessitated a reformed flag.

Figure 2 The Church of God Flag (1957)

The colors – red, white blue, purple and gold – are the same as the previous flag, except for the addition of gold. These five colors were found on the Vail of the temple of Solomon.

The background of the former flag was red, with the white displayed in the central designs and in the horizontal lines. Since the foremost goal was the perfection of the Church for the return of Christ the Bridegroom, the background was changed to white, and the red was moved to the central designs to be displayed with the other symbols representing Jesus, as He shed His blood also for the perfection of the Church (Eph. 5:25-27).

The central designs themselves were modified as well. In the center circle, the five-pointed star of the former design had been changed to a six-pointed "Star of David," representing Jesus, the Bright and Morning Star. The two horizontal white stripes are now blue, and were shown to represent the only two distinct and separate peoples in the sight of God: Jew and Gentile.

Figure 3 Flag of Israel

When all of the other elements of the flag are removed, the blue stripes and six-pointed star resemble the flag of the nation of Israel (Fig. 3) in obvious reference to Bro. Kent's emphasis on the eventual outreach to the Jews which would result in the Jewish remnant's grafting in again into their olive tree.

The golden candlestick, which represents the pattern of Church, is placed in the center of the star, superimposed over a white cross in the background. These three important Biblical designs in the center circle portray Jesus, the pattern of the Church, and the complete plan of salvation.

The design of the scepter in the former flag was that of a fleur-de-lis, a flower of the iris family used in heraldry, such as in the Coat of Arms of the French Royal Family. It can be seen in the flag of the Canadian Province of Quebec. The new design depicts a more realistic royal scepter of gold. Above the scepter was added a Star of David to represent Jesus Christ, who shall rule on the throne of David.

The crown of the King of kings remains in the new design, now presented in gold.

The blue angular lines of the former design have been changed to purple, and whereas they did not join together, they are now formed into a square, displaying the twelve gates, representing the Holy City of Revelation 21, "... the city lieth foursquare ... and had twelve gates ..."

This newer design of the flag by Brother Kent was intended to better display the Church built according to the Holy Pattern, as it is written, "... for, see, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount" (Heb. 8:1-5).

The Stone hewn out of the Mountain:

In 1972, Bro. C. Eldon McNabb was moved to leave The Church of God. In fulfillment of Dan. 2:44-45, a handful of other saints, apart from Bro. McNabb, did likewise and joined him. That group was named The Kingdom of God to reflect what God was doing. Nevertheless, no inspiration or thought came as to what God desired to be used as a flag until 1980.

By that year, Brother McNabb knew which colors should be included in the design, and the necessity to display the "just scales" of the millennial reign of Jesus in justice and equity, but did not know how it would be laid out.

Figure 4 The Flag of the Dominion (The People of Truth National Flag)

In November of 1980, about a month before the fulfillment of Bro. McNabb's 1974 prophecy concerning the fall of Robert Somerville, Chief Bishop of The Church of God, and the demise of that organization as God's Church, Bro. McNabb saw a vision of The People of Truth's national flag: The Flag of the Dominion (Fig. 4). In 1981, the Lord showed that He had called them by a new name: The People of Truth.

In addition to the golden Balance, signifying the "Just Reign" of Jesus Christ, the field which contains the scales is purple, denoting the royalty of the King of kings. The flag also displays the white of purity – the righteousness of the Saints; and the blue of truth. These four colors – blue, white, gold, and purple – are the four colors worn by Mordecai when he went out from the presence of the king (Est. 9:15).

Of note is the color that is missing. This flag differs from its predecessors in its omission of the color red. But the Flag of the Dominion does not display the red of Jesus' blood, because "unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Christ's second coming is not about blood, nor is it about the forgiveness of sins. It is about setting up a kingdom, and ruling and reigning for 1,000 years until all things shall be put under His feet. It is about the Lord's day.

The Flag of the Sanctuary

In the summer of 2002, the Lord began to deal with The People of Truth to begin a renewed effort to gather material to build The House of God: His elect. In late August, 2002, on a trip to Oklahoma for that very purpose, Brothers C. Eldon and David McNabb were inspired with a new design for the "Church" flag.

Figure 5 The Flag of the Sanctuary (The People of Truth Religious Flag)

The People of Truth Religious Flag, or The Flag of the Sanctuary (Fig. 5), is similar in design to that of the national flag. The prominent field is white (instead of purple) for the Lord is coming for "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Rev. 19:7-8)

In the field of white is a golden Candlestick, because the Candlestick represents the Church (Rev. 1:20; Rev. 2:5). The seven lamps are burning, for the elect of God will have all seven Spirits of God functioning among them.

The purple remains, for we are a Royal Priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9), and also the blue, for God's Church is to be "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15).

The red is also displayed on this banner, for it is by the blood of our Saviour that we have been granted to be arrayed in fine linen, and to have gone on unto perfection. His blood purchased for us eternal life. The Book of Revelation shows the attitude of the redeemed, even long after Christ's return, in Rev. 5:9-14, "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever."

These five colors - blue, white, gold, purple, and red - are the colors worn by the high priest as prescribed by God in Exodus 28:4-8, thus tying this color combination to the work of the Sanctuary.

Whereas the flags of the Churches of God had previously displayed two separate horizontal lines, which was promoted to signify the two distinct peoples: Jew and Gentile, The Flag of the Sanctuary shows the uniting of the two stripes into one, even as the remnant of Israel shall be grafted in to their olive tree prior to the return of the Lord, and the Early Church and the Latter Church – the Elect, both of the Jews and of the Gentiles – shall be united together at Christ's return when they are raised from the dead and we are changed. Then, together, we shall rule and reign with Him for a thousand years as His wife, being made of twain one new man (Rom. 11; Eph. 2).

Other flags

The Scriptures do support the use of some subgroups within the nation of The People of Truth using a flag or banner to identify themselves. This can be seen by the fact that Israel had a national flag, but each tribe had its own flag, and even each family could have its own unique flag. "Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch." (Num. 2:2,34; See also Num. 1:52)