PCG: They Didn’t Win in Court. They Bought Their Way Out—Then Edited Herbert Armstrong

The Philadelphia Church of God has spent more than two decades crowing that it “won” the lawsuit the Worldwide Church of God filed after PCG printed Herbert W. Armstrong’s writings without permission. That claim is not a misunderstanding. It is a sales pitch. PCG uses it to present itself as the church God miraculously protected and as the rightful heir of Armstrong’s work.

Gerald Flurry put the myth in print in the May 2003 Philadelphia Trumpet:

We have just won the greatest victory ever in the Philadelphia Church of God! It will probably be our most thrilling victory in this entire end-time work.

PCG was still repeating the same line years later, including earlier this year. The court record tells a different story. So does PCG’s own later editing of Mystery of the Ages—the book it claimed was too sacred to touch.What the courts actually decidedWCG first sued PCG in 1997 to stop PCG from distributing Armstrong’s works while WCG owned the copyrights. The court dismissed that first filing without prejudice, meaning WCG could sue again. It did. The second case ran until 2003. 

The reason for the suit was straightforward. PCG never asked permission. It copied Mystery of the Ages almost verbatim, swapped the copyright notice from WCG to Herbert Armstrong, and stripped out the warning against reproduction without permission. By the time of the Ninth Circuit decision, PCG had distributed about 30,000 English copies plus foreign-language editions. 

In 1999, the district court granted summary judgment to PCG and charged WCG nearly $300,000 in attorney’s fees and costs, but stayed payment pending appeal. That is the only stage PCG can honestly call a win—and it did not last.

On September 18, 2000, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court 2–1. It held that WCG owned the copyright, that PCG’s wholesale copying was not fair use, and that the district court had to enter an injunction stopping PCG from distributing the book. PCG also had to pay WCG’s appellate costs. The case was sent back for a damages hearing. 

The Supreme Court declined to hear PCG’s appeal on April 2, 2001. In March 2001, a new district judge granted a preliminary injunction. From that point forward, PCG was legally barred from distributing Mystery of the Ages. The remaining question was not who owned the book. It was how much money PCG would have to pay WCG for having printed it anyway. 

WCG’s forensic economist later put the claimed “profits” denied to WCG at about $3.84 million, or $4.3 million with interest, based on PCG’s distribution of nearly 100,000 copies. The damages trial was scheduled, postponed, put back on the calendar, and pulled off again while the parties talked settlement. Those talks broke down in December 2002. Then, in early 2003, the case disappeared—not because a judge declared PCG the winner, but because the parties cut a deal. 

Attorney Helen Liggett summarized the record this way in 2007:

So the facts are, Worldwide Church of God sued Philadelphia Church of God and lost at the district court level, then won on appeal, then was awaiting an amount from the court as to how much PCG would have to pay WCG and instead took money from PCG to dismiss the case and let PCG restart publishing of HWA’s works and for damages that the court would have ordered PCG to pay.PCG didn’t win, it lost in court and was going to be ordered to pay WCG damages, but WCG and PCG agreed on an amount, so the judge never decided the damages issue. There is no way that can honestly be characterized as a victory for the PCG.

That is the case. Not a divine reversal. A purchase.WCG took the cheap exitJoseph Tkach Jr. had already told the public why WCG wanted the book buried. In Transformed by Truth he wrote that the church felt it was its “Christian duty to keep this book out of print … because we believe Mr. Armstrong’s doctrinal errors are better left out of circulation.” 

That was the moral posture during the lawsuit. WCG had repudiated Armstrong’s core teachings: British-Israelism, the God Family, Saturday Sabbath as a salvation issue, and the rest of the system it later branded heresy. After Armstrong’s death it pulled Mystery of the Ages, destroyed warehouse stock, and told critics the book was “riddled with error.” Then, when PCG printed it anyway, WCG went to federal court to keep those “errors” off the street.

By 2003 the posture had changed. WCG’s income had collapsed from roughly $170 million before the splits to about $25 million. The damages trial was still ahead. Enforcing copyrights against a swarm of Armstrong splinter groups and internet archives was expensive and leaky. So WCG sold. 

On January 16, 2003—seventeen years to the day after Armstrong’s death—the parties agreed that WCG would sell PCG the copyrights to Mystery of the Ages and 18 other Armstrong works for $3 million. PCG later said insurance covered about $1 million of that, leaving PCG a net cost of $2 million. The paperwork closed in March 2003. The injunction was vacated. The lawsuit was dismissed. No judge ever fixed a damages number. 

WCG officials called it stewardship. Chief financial officer Bernard Schnippert said the church had “found a buyer who’s willing to pay for material which [they] think is valuable,” and that the church “would never be able to make this amount in royalties” by publishing the works itself. In-house counsel Ralph Helge told ministers the $3 million offer was “substantial,” would bring “assured revenue,” and would end “further intensive, costly litigation.” Critics said the quieter truth out loud. Former WCG pastor Reginald Killingley put it this way: “They’re willing, in effect, to support what they condemn—to permit the perpetuation and promotion of heresy for the sake of money.” Phil Arnn of Watchman Fellowship called it an ethical problem: WCG had spent years insisting Armstrong’s doctrines were spiritually destructive, then cashed a check so a splinter group could put those doctrines back into circulation. 

WCG had other options. It could have held the copyrights, licensed the titles, and collected royalties for as long as the copyrights lasted. It could have kept the works out of print, as Tkach said Christian duty required. It could have published annotated editions under its own control. Instead it took a lump sum, walked away from ongoing property rights in those 19 titles, and let PCG restart the Armstrong publishing machine.

That is not courage. It is a cash-out. A church that claimed Armstrong’s teachings were false still monetized them, then left the field.

And it did not even sell the whole library. The deal covered 19 items: seven books, eleven booklets, and a 58-lesson correspondence course. Armstrong wrote thousands of other pieces—Plain Truth articles, Good News articles, booklets, letters, broadcast scripts. Those copyrights stayed with WCG, later renamed Grace Communion International. GCI still holds a large share of Armstrong’s intellectual property even while teaching that the man was a false teacher and that his system was unbiblical. The institution that “disproved” Armstrong remains a landlord of Armstrong. Then PCG started altering the book it called "inspired"PCG’s public story is that it rescued Mystery of the Ages from destruction and preserved Armstrong’s words. That story collapses as soon as you compare the 1985 text with the edition PCG issued after it owned the copyright.The most important deletion is not subtle. On page 245 of the original, Armstrong wrote:

No prophets are mentioned as having either administrative, executive or preaching functions in the New Testament Church. 

 

PCG cut that sentence from its 2003 edition. Researcher Robert Kuhne documented related passages that PCG also stripped or planned to strip, including Armstrong’s statement that the Church is built on Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles, and this line from page 350:

All teaching came from Christ through the apostles — and a few times Christ communicated to apostles via the prophets (of which there are none in God’s Church today since the Bible for our time is complete).

PCG did not hide the motive from its own ministry. In the October 21, 2004 Pastor General’s Report, Stephen Flurry explained the edit in language that should end any claim of textual fidelity:

We removed that sentence from the 2003 version, not because we are doing away with Mr. Armstrong’s teachings, but because of what God has added to the Church since Mr. Armstrong died—the revealed truth that there is, in fact, a prophet guiding the Church today who also serves an administrative and executive position within the Church.

He added that there were “no prophets in the Church during the Philadelphia era—throughout the entirety of Mr. Armstrong’s ministry—but God has since revealed that there is one leading His people during the Laodicean era.” Rather than write a new section into Armstrong’s book, PCG “felt it best to preserve the text as closely as possible to the original and simply strike that sentence and then let our other literature, like That Prophet, reflect the Church’s new teaching.” The next printing, he said, would also cut the parenthetical on page 350. That is not preservation. That is retrofitting.

Armstrong’s sentences were a problem for Gerald Flurry because Flurry claims to be “That Prophet,” a man with administrative, executive, and preaching authority over the church. Armstrong said the New Testament Church does not run that way and that there are no such prophets in God’s Church today because the Bible is complete. Those lines had to go so PCG literature would not contradict PCG government.The irony is blunt. PCG spent six years in court insisting that Mystery of the Ages was so essential to its faith that suppressing it violated religious liberty. After it bought the copyright, it treated the same book as a draft that could be silently corrected to match Flurry’s office. WCG had been accused of rewriting Armstrong to bury him. PCG rewrote Armstrong to enthrone a successor Armstrong never appointed.The myth and what it is forPut the pieces together and the “greatest victory” slogan is doing institutional work.

PCG printed a copyrighted book without permission. A federal appeals court said that was infringement, not fair use. An injunction stopped the presses. A damages trial was coming. PCG then paid millions of dollars—$3 million on the face of the settlement, about $2 million after insurance—to buy the copyrights and make the case go away. That is a commercial settlement after a legal loss, not a court victory. 

WCG, having told the world it had a Christian duty to keep Armstrong’s “errors” out of print, sold those same writings because $3 million in hand beat the cost and uncertainty of holding the property, collecting royalties, or fighting every copy on the internet. It abandoned the moral claim that justified the lawsuit and kept the rest of Armstrong’s catalog anyway.

PCG then edited the crown jewel of that purchase so Armstrong would no longer say there are no New Testament-style prophets running the church. The book that supposedly proved PCG was Armstrong’s faithful remnant was altered to prove Gerald Flurry is a prophet Armstrong said the Church does not have.

None of that requires a theological verdict on Armstrong, Flurry, Tkach, or anyone else. The paper trail is enough. PCG did not win the lawsuit. It lost on the law, bought the inventory, and then changed the inventory. WCG did not protect the public from teachings it called heresy. It sold the rights, took the money, and left the contradictions standing.

Please Advise: How a Grown Man Checked His Brain at the Door and Outsourced His Soul to Crackpot Bob

A former Worldwide Church of God member supposedly wrote to Bob Thiel with a problem that should have been solved by adulthood: he could not decide which splinter group to join. The churches disagreed with each other. Gerald Flurry was wrong about Jacob’s stone. David Pack claimed the Two Witnesses were already in his congregation. Living Church of God said the Mark of the Beast is Sunday worship and left it at that. The man was confused. So naturally he asked the one person whose entire ministry consists of announcing that everyone else is wrong.

Bob’s reply was a masterpiece of pastoral self-righteousness. He doubted Pack and Flurry were even converted. He declared that the only Church of God that is Philadelphian is the Continuing Church of God. Not all in CCOG are Philadelphian, and there are a few Philadelphians hiding in other groups, but no other organization represents the continuation of Philadelphia. 

Therefore, the man should use “God’s criteria” (conveniently listed in Bob’s own articles) and none other. Most people, Bob added sadly, refuse to believe and insist on using their own standards. How Laodicean.

The pattern is familiar to anyone who has ever been part of Armstrongism and who has watched the Armstrong movement fracture since 1986. Every new leader discovers that his group is the faithful remnant. Herbert Armstrong’s “Philadelphia era” apparently ended with his death, then immediately restarted in whichever living room the latest prophet happened to be sitting. Bob’s version comes with extra features: confirmed dreams, the signs of Acts 2:17-18, articles printed in more languages than anyone else, and the exclusive promise of protection in Revelation 3:10. When Jesus returns, the implication is clear enough. He will look for the group that kept the right list of 18 restored truths, practiced hierarchical government under a prophet who received a double portion, and refused to let members think for themselves. Everyone else gets the lukewarm treatment.

What has happened to people’s ability to think independently? Decades of being told that “God’s government” means the man at the top decides doctrine, prophecy, and which articles you must read before you are allowed an opinion. The emailer’s question—“who do you go with?”—is the logical result. CHurch members were told what color and kind of car to buy, what color shirts and suits to wear, how long skirts should be, how to color code their Bibles according to official church teaching, and never to ask questions. After years of being trained that disagreement equals rebellion, the safest move is to outsource the decision to whoever claims the loudest that God talks to him in dreams.

Bob is not uniquely guilty of this. Pack, Flurry, Weinland, and a dozen others have played the same game. The difference is only branding. One man’s “Philadelphia remnant” is another man’s “Laodicean error.” The Bible itself is treated as a multiple-choice test whose correct answers happen to be the ones published on cogwriter.com this week.

The real scandal is not that Bob thinks his church is special. Every religious entrepreneur thinks that. The scandal is that grown adults still write him asking which church Jesus would pick, as if the Second Coming includes a membership audit and a name badge check. Independent thought has been reclassified as a character defect. “People decide” churches are the problem, Bob says. The solution is a church where one man has already decided for you.

If Jesus returns and the first thing He does is ask to see your CCOG literature rack, we will all owe Bob an apology. But reality states this will NEVER happen! Until then, the more honest title for the operation might be: “The Continuing Church of Bob — Because Thinking Is Hard and Dreams Are Easy.”

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A while back, I received an email from a former Worldwide Church of God member that included the following:

I AM CONCERNED ABOUT SOME ISSUES OF MR. …. BELIEF AND APPARENTLY YOU DON’T AGREE WITH. I DON’T THINK THAT ANY OF THESE CHURCHES AGREE WITH OTHER SO WHO DO YOU GO WITH? …

SOME OF GERALD FLURRY’S TEACHINGS ARE COMPLETELY WRONG AND HE’S GONE FAR OUT ON SOME THINGS SUCH AS ARMSTRONG’S STONE REPLACING JACOB’S. MANY, MANY PLACES IN THE BIBLE STATES THAT CHRIST IS THAT ROCK AND IT’S SPIRITUAL. CHRIST DOESN’T NEED A ROCK. FLURRY BASED HIS THEORY ON THE IDEA THAT COME KIDS STOLE JACOB’S ROCK FROM ENGLAND. THAT’S AMAZING SINCE IT WEIGHS OVER 350 LBS. I’VE READ OTHER LITERATURE THAT THE STONE IS STORED IN SCOTLAND.FALSE PREACHER #1

I SAW A DAVID PACK SERMON ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THE 2 WITNESSES . HE SAID THAT THEY ARE IN HIS CHURCH RIGHT NOW. I BELIEVE HE’S NOW PULLED THAT SERMON BECAUSE I COULDKN’T FIND IT NOW. FALSE PREACHER #2

I SAW A SERMON BY THE LIVING CHURCH OF GOD ABOUT THE MARK OF THE BEAST AND THE PRESENTER SAID WITHOUT HESITATION THAT THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS SUNDAY WORSHIP. PERIOD.. HE MADE NO MENTION OF ANY MARKS ON YOUR BODY OR 666. SABBATH MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, BUT THERE WILL BE OTHER FACTORS. YOU LEFT BECAUSE OF DOCTRINE. I’LL ????????? ….

NOW I COME TO … A FALSE TEACHER …

YOU SEE HOW A PERSON COULD BE DECEIVED?

PLEASE ADVISE

Anyway, here is what I responded to the former WCG member with:

Dear …:

As I have repeatedly written at COGwriter, I doubt that David Pack or Gerald Flurry are converted.

I consider that the only COG that is Philadelphian is the CCOG–though not all in CCOG are Philadelphian and there are Philadelphians not in CCOG–but no other COG represents the continuation of Philadelphia.

You should use God’s criteria, and none other to decide.

Here are two links you should read and pray about if you are truly serious:

1. How does the Continuing Church of God differ from other Sabbatarian COG groups?
2. Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18?

But most refuse to believe and use their own standards.

Best regards,

Bob Thiel

Many have been confused and used the wrong criteria to assess churches.

Sadly, in the end time, in Revelation 3:14-19 Jesus revealed that even most real Christians would use their criteria, not God’s as they would be part of the “people decide” churches (which is basically what Laodicea means).

P.S. The same former WCG member sent me a follow-up email after I posted this. Here is some of what he wrote (Note: This is a different Mr. … in a different COG than the one alluded to above):

ALSO, I’M NOT HAPPY WITH … IN THIS RESPECT—–I’VE BEEN IN THE CHURCH FOR A WHILE AND ONE OF THE 1ST THINGS I NOTICED IS THAT THEY HAVE LEFT OUT 1/3RD OF THE BIBLE AND THAT PERTAINS TO PROPHECY. I KNOW THIS PANDEMIC CAUGHT THEM UNAWARE AS MR. … DIDN’T CALL FOR A PRAYER AND FAST INTIL THE PANDEMIC WAS IN FULL FORCE. SOME WATCHMAN

I WROTE A PERSONAL LETTER TO MR. … ADVISING HIM THAT ALL SCRIPTURE IS TO BE TAUGHT, AND HE NEEDS TO CRY OUT AND SPARE NOT. THE LATEST ISSUE OF OUR MAGAZINE FINALLY WOKE THEM UP AS THERE WERE SEVERAL MEANINGFUL ARTICLES REGARDING THE TIMES AND PROPHECY ALSO, HE SAID THAT THEY NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB IN BEING A WATCHMAN. THIS IS THE 1ST TIME IN 25 YEARS THAT THEY STARTED TO WAKE UP ON PROPHECY.

My response to the above was to tell him that the COG he attends as well as a group that came out of it do not teach much about prophecy. They also have a lot of prophetic errors.  

Crackpot Prophet's 15 Year Long Bitterness Causes Him To Lash Out Once Again at LCG and PCG - They Are Too Stupid To Know When The Tribulation Starts

In December 2011 Bob Thiel submitted wording changes to Living Church of God’s Statement of Official Beliefs. Charlotte evangelists and ministers allegedly nodded along like they always did whenever Bob opened his mouth, stroking his overinflated ego. By the end of January 2012 the Great Tribulation paragraph was supposed to start at Daniel 11:39 instead of 11:40, because Herbert Armstrong once said something that later got a better translation, and because “Jacob’s trouble” must line up with an attack on the “strongest fortresses” (read: the United States and its British-descended cousins) before the King of the North whirlwinds into the King of the South.

LCG never changed it. As of 2026, their official statement still cites Daniel 11:40–45. Thiel left in late 2012 in a bitter fit of rage and founded the improperly named "Continuing" Church of God, and has spent the subsequent decade and a half reminding the entire universe that they promised him they would change it, but they never did. The grievance has outlived Roderick Meredith. It has outlived multiple world crises that were supposed to be the crisis. It has become its own liturgical calendar: the Feast of Unimplemented Changes.

This is not “love of the truth.” This is a man who treated a parenthetical citation like a marriage vow and then wrote a memoir about the divorce every year.

Armstrongite prophecy is a fear-management system dressed as truth. British-Israelism tells you that America and Britain are Ephraim and Manasseh; therefore, every bad headline is God spanking His favorite grandchildren. The King of the North (a German-led European beast, Holy Roman Empire 2.0) is coming to smash the “strongest fortresses.” The King of the South (an Arab/Muslim coalition south of Jerusalem) will “push,” get overrun, and then the real fireworks start. The TRUE Philadelphians get first-class tickets to Petra and their premium choice of caves. Everyone else is Laodicean and late for the bus and will be either taken as salves to Europe or butchered in the most gruesome manner. After all, Armstrongism requires the butchery to be the most gruesome ever imagined.

Thankfully, new covenant Christianity does not require you to live inside this delusional bubble Thiel has created.

Jesus did not say “blessed are those who correctly sequence Daniel 11:39 versus 11:40 so they can flee on time.” He said the hour is coming when true worshipers worship in spirit and truth, not on this mountain or that one. He said no one knows the day or the hour. He said do not be anxious about tomorrow. The new covenant is “I will remember their sins no more,” not “update your statement of beliefs or you lose the mantle and die in the tribulation.”

You do not have to decode whether “he” in verse 39 is already dividing the land for gain with a strange god before the king of the south pushes in verse 40. You do not have to treat Herbert Armstrong’s WWII-era reading, later adjusted, then re-litigated by a delusional self-appointed prophet, as the hinge of salvation history. The gospel is not a prophecy chart with a “place of safety” checkbox.

Armstrongism turned the Bible into a national-identity decoder ring and then a loyalty test: if your group won’t adopt my sequence, it cannot hold the Philadelphia mantle and therefore cannot finish the work. That is not New Testament Christianity. That is franchise warfare with extra proof-texting.

Daniel 11 is a long, detailed chapter that tracks the post-Alexander world: Ptolemies in the south (Egypt) versus Seleucids in the north (Syria), then later Rome absorbing the northern role. Armstrongism projects the end of the chapter onto the end of the world:

• King of the North = the final European revival of the Holy Roman Empire / Beast system, frequently German-centered, often with a religious figure riding along (Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg). This power supposedly first hits the modern descendants of Israel (US/UK/Canada/Australia/NZ) and later the Middle East.
• King of the South = a coming Islamic or Arab confederacy, classically Egypt-led or a broader caliphate-style bloc “south of Jerusalem.”

The intra-COG fight Thiel is still having is almost comically small: does the Great Tribulation begin when the northern king goes after the Anglo-American “strongest fortresses” (v. 39, Thiel’s hill), or when he later collides with the southern king (v. 40, LCG/PCG wording)? Both camps agree the US and Britain are prophetic Israel, Europe is the bad guy, Muslims are the other bad guy, and their own tiny group is the one that will know when to run. They just disagree on which verse number starts the horror movie.

HWA originally tied some of this to WWII-era events and a KJV rendering of v. 39 that is less clear than later translations. Thiel’s argument is that Armstrong later shifted and that LCG leaders privately agreed in 2008 and 2011. Whether that hallway conversation happened exactly as remembered is now less important than the fact that it is still the main character in 2026 blog posts.

COG history after Armstrong is a demolition derby of “the other guys lost the mantle.” Global became Living after Meredith was ousted. Living produced Continuing after Thiel decided integrity and footnotes had fled Charlotte. Philadelphia Church of God, Restored, United, and dozens of smaller letters-of-the-alphabet groups all claim to be the faithful remnant. Each one has a slightly different chart, a slightly different villain, and a slightly different reason the others are Laodicean.

Thiel additionally claims prophetic status: dreams, a “double portion” anointing that an LCG minister later said he didn’t intend as a prophet ordination AND that NO ONE can verify ever happened as Thiel said it did, and a running list of world events that “align.” Just because “something vaguely Europe or Middle-East-shaped happened this year” is not the same as “thus saith the Lord.” Thiel loves to boast that he doesn’t take a salary and continuously lets us know he writes an astonishing volume of material. Both can be true. Neither requires you to fear missing the exact verse where Jacob’s trouble begins.

The ongoing bitterness is the proof. A person who left over integrity in 2012 and then spent fifteen years cataloging the same unkept promise is not practicing good theology. He is keeping a wound warm. LCG’s refusal to swap 11:40 for 11:39 in a document most members will never parse is treated as proof they cannot lead the final phase of the work. That is an extraordinary amount of spiritual weight to hang on a citation.

New covenant people can say the obvious thing: if your faith requires you to win an argument about the start-verse of the tribulation against a group you left in 2012, you might have mistaken the appendix for the gospel. The new covenant alternative is almost offensively simple: trust Christ, love people, stop treating speculative timelines by deluded self-appointed prophets as a membership exam, and let a 2011 memo stay in 2011. The end of the age will not be delayed because LCG used the wrong verse number in an article. It also will not arrive faster because Thiel is still nursing a massive butthurt.

Here is is the change I explained and then I submitted in writing to the Charlotte-based evangelists in December 2011 on that topic. They agreed to use the following in their Statement of Official Beliefs by the end of January 2012:

THE “GREAT TRIBULATION”

The Bible speaks of a time of great catastrophe, called the “Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:21-22; Daniel 11:39[xxiv]-45; 12:1; Luke 21:19-36)—also called “Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:3-7). Jesus Christ Himself will have to shorten those horrific days; otherwise “no flesh would be saved” (Matthew 24:22). We believe that we are fast approaching that time.   We also believe that God promises to protect the faithful Philadelphians from this “hour of trial” (Revelation 3:10).[xxv]

Here are the related footnotes that were submitted as partial explanations of the proposed changes:

[xxiv] Since we teach that the Great Tribulation is the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) and Herbert Armstrong taught that it would begin with something like a nuclear attack on the UK and/or USA, we should not start it with Daniel 11:40 which shows the battle between the King of the North and the King of the South. Verse 39 shows the King of the North going against the “strongest fortresses” (NKJV) and dividing the land for gain. And since we teach that the King of the North will go against the British-Israelite nations first, we should not teach that he goes against the King of the South first. All the HQ evangelists specifically agreed to that sequence in a meeting with me in January 2008 and this would be a good time to modify the Statement to reflect this.

[xxv] Elsewhere in the Statement we mention being Philadelphian. By adding this to the Statement we give outsiders (as well as our own members and those with a WCG background) a reason to understand that God plans to show the Philadelphians special favor.

Yet, despite agreeing, LCG still has not made the corrections over 14 years later.

In the sequence of Daniel 11, the Great Tribulation begins in verse 39, not verse 40. Now there appear to be two reasons that LCG and PCG misunderstand the sequence. First is that the late Herbert W. Armstrong originally taught that sequence because of events related to WWII and a mistranslation of verse 39 in the KJV (which was corrected in the NKJV). Although Herbert Armstrong clearly changed his position by 1979, the leaders of LCG and PCG have overlooked/discounted that. The second reason could be based upon a misunderstanding of a translation of Daniel 11:39-40:

39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11:39-40, KJV)

The above does not make it clear that the King of the North (the ‘he’ in verse 39) is going against the ‘strongest fortresses like the NKJV and other translations do. Notice a Jewish translation:

39 And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; whom he shall acknowledge, shall increase glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow, as he passes through. (Daniel 11:39-40, Jewish Publication Society, 1917)

Some seem to believe that the ‘time of the end’ does not begin until verse 40, but that is a misunderstanding of how the Hebrew text should be understood. The ‘and’ in verse 40 is not the start of the end, but a continuation of what began in verse 39. This is known by others. For example, the Barnes Notes on the Bible states:

And at the time of the end …. The “time of the end” must properly denote the end or consummation of the series of events under consideration, or the matter in hand, and properly and obviously means here the end or consummation of the transactions which had been referred to in the previous part of the vision. It is equivalent to what we should say by expressing it thus: “at the winding up of the affair.”

The ONLY way to reconcile that the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) starts with the beginning of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21) is to realize that it begins with verse 39 of the sequence in Daniel 11. Those who hold to a start of the Great Tribulation AFTER the King of the North attacks the King of the South will not know until it is too late.

For an English language reader, on the surface verse 40 seems correct as the start of the end, meaning the Great Tribulation there.

Yet, notice the following translation:

40 And in the time of the end the king of the south shall wage war with him: and the king of the north shall rush on like a tempest against him, with chariot and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he came into the lands, and overflowed and passed through. (Daniel 11:40, Smith’s Literal Translation)

The above makes more sense

Armstrongism: A Failed Work of Men

 

Armstrongism: A Failed Work of Men

 

Herbert and Garner Ted Armstrong are long dead, and the Worldwide Church of God which they built no longer exists! There isn’t anything left of the Ambassador College which they founded and operated. The defeat and captivity of the United States, Armageddon and the establishment of God’s Kingdom failed to materialize in their lifetimes. Herbert Armstrong’s designated successor changed or eliminated many of his most cherished doctrines. Moreover, NONE of the men who have set about the task of perpetuating his teachings has remained completely faithful to Armstrong’s teachings, and NONE of them have been able to establish an effective outreach to the world. So, what is the legacy of Armstrongism? Was it a work of men OR a work of God?

We read in Matthew’s account of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount that Jesus told his disciples to: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20, ESV) Did Herbert Armstrong’s prophecies come to pass? What are the fruits of Armstrongism? Did the tree that he planted bear good or bad fruit? Wasn’t that tree cut down and destroyed?

In the book of Acts, we are informed that the apostles were arrested for preaching about Jesus and brought before the Jewish Council. In that account, we read that one of the leading Pharisees named Gamaliel addressed the assembly and warned them about the ramifications of what they were doing. He said: “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So, in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God! (Acts 5:35-39, ESV) In other words, whether this Jesus movement was of men or of God would soon become clear to everyone! It would either collapse under its own weight, or it would thrive because of God’s blessing!

Now, we all know that the Armstrongs are dead, and that the Worldwide Church of God no longer exists. What does that tell you? Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear? Everything that we have observed tells me that Armstrongism produced the fruit of failed prophecies, strife, division, hatred, and ruined lives. Likewise, everything that we’ve observed informs me that Armstrongism was a work of men – that it was NOT a work of God! After all, Christ once told Peter that he would build his Church, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18, ESV) Did the “gates of hell” prevail against the Armstrongs and the organization which they founded? If so, then maybe it’s time to reevaluate your commitment to those teachings and the groups which seek to perpetuate them? OR Will you be the only one left standing when they turn the lights out at your former meeting place for the last time? The verdict has been in on Armstrongism for three decades – what about YOU?

Lonnie Hendrix

Rhinestones, Books, and Hospitals vs. Plaques, Scandals, and Endless Splits

Armstrongism had a real knack for denigrating anyone outside their exclusive little circle—especially if they were an entertainer, and heaven forbid, a professed Christian entertainer. Nothing set Herbert Armstrong’s blood boiling more than country music. Yet the man would happily sink into the velvet cushions of the Ambassador Auditorium and elsewhere, reveling in grand operas dripping with adultery, murder, and every other sin that Armstrongites supposedly held in such high disdain. Oh, the sheer hypocrisy of it all—the self-proclaimed apostle of purity getting his cultural high from highbrow debauchery while sneering at the honest, heartfelt twang of ordinary folks. How “godly.”

Today, Dolly Parton died. She was a larger-than-life figure who captured the attention of people from every walk of life, across political parties, racial lines, and cultural boundaries. She grew up in a strict Pentecostal faith-filled home in Tennessee, where gospel music filled the air as her entire family sang. Like many raised in fundamentalism, she later stopped attending church regularly and said the most important part of her day was talking to God by herself in the mornings. She wrote many songs about God, faith, love, and hope. She believed that true faith means loving everyone without conditions, supporting people from all walks of life, and avoiding hypocrisy.

Dolly Parton passed away on August 25, 2026, at the age of 80 in Nashville after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by loved ones. Her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, had predeceased her in 2025.

A Jewish woman wrote today:

Dolly passed away at 80 years old today.She was a woman of strong faith-the healthy kind. Although I am Jewish, I have many Christian friends who have demonstrated,as Dolly did, what it means to truly follow Christ's teachings. Unlike the phonies that we snark about here, she was the complete opposite. I wish more people were like her, in every faith. She embraced everyone regardless of race, religion,sexual orientation, and nationality. She not only talked the talk, she walked the walk.

Another person wrote:

In 1988 Dolly Parton pulled every 7th and 8th grader in Sevier County into a room and told them to pick a buddy. She made them sign a contract.. if BOTH graduate, she hands you both $500. One fails, nobody gets paid. The county dropout rate went from 35% to 6%. She handed out the checks herself. 

In 1989 she offered $500 to every kid in the county who wanted to go to the local college. 

 

When Gatlinburg burned in 2016, she sent 900 families $1,000 a month for six months. You've probably heard that part. Here's the part you haven't: The fund raised more than expected, so she showed up in May and handed every one of those families another $5,000 on top. Then she quietly put $3 million into the recovery group that handles the years after the news trucks leave. 

She built her county an entire hospital. She played a benefit concert in 2007, Dollywood and the Stampede matched it, and LeConte Medical Center opened in 2010 with a birthing unit and a women's center in it. 

In 2022 she started covering 100% of tuition, books, and fees for Dollywood employees. Full-time, part-time, AND seasonal. 

In 1991 she paid for a bald eagle sanctuary because the birds couldn't be released back into the wild, no press release. 

And when Hurricane Helene came through here in Western North Carolina, she wrote a personal check for $1 million and her companies matched it. She didn't owe North Carolina anything, but she helped us anyway. 

She started the Imagination Library because her daddy couldn't read or write. Before he passed, he told her it was the most important thing she ever did.

So, right now, I know that there is a certain element reading here that is getting all pissy and offended in self-righteous indignation at the mention of Dolly on this blog. So my question is: What will the Churches of God be remembered for in 50 years from now? What will people say about Church of God leaders who ruled their churches with heavy hands and abusive tactics?

What legacy has Herbert Armstrong left in Pasadena? Ninety percent of the city now knows nothing about the guy, other than a few plaques on the dismantled grounds of the old Ambassador Campus. Those that do remember recall all of the scandals and news articles eviscerating the church and its leaders. What lasting legacy has HWA left, other than hundreds and hundreds of splinter groups all claiming they are the one and only true church and that they and they alone are the best? What has Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, or Gerald Flurry ever given us that was meaningful and worthwhile? Endless “prophetic” updates that somehow never quite land, demands for more tithes to keep their personal empires humming, and the constant reminder that everyone else is wrong while they alone hold the keys to the kingdom. A true monument to humility and service, no doubt—scattered little kingdoms more skilled at condemning the world (and each other) than actually lifting a finger to help it.

A lot of the major religions (Catholic and Protestant) formed the first schools of learning in Europe and the US, though today most have drifted from their religious roots. Churches have built hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, schools, and much more. All of the Ambassador Colleges have been sold and now dismantled, either bought by another cult or torn down to make housing for the elite. Other than Ambassador Auditorium, there is no legacy of the church passing anything on to their communities.

What will our legacy be as a church? At the present moment in COG history it is rather a shitty mess.

At whatever point in time Dolly meets her moment of glory and in whatever location it might be, she will be told: “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

UCG: New Generation Incoming! Quick, Someone Tell Them We’ve Been Busily Being ‘Almost Ready’ Since the ’90s

Thirty Years of “Almost There”: 

UCG’s Epic Journey to Finally Doing the Work

Ah, yes, the United Church of God Council of Elders Report. Always a treasure trove of understated comedy. John Elliott, in a recent report, delivers the kind of announcement that would make any corporate consultant weep with envy: 

We have now reached a position where we are ready to perform—to do the Work in an enhanced way. We have a number of quality publications like Beyond Today, United News and Compass Check. With Council collaboration, we will begin focusing on setting other objectives for enhancing our target initiatives.

Thirty. Years.  That’s not a typo. After three full decades of existing as an organization, the United Church of God has finally arrived at the position where it is ready to “do the Work in an enhanced way.” One can only imagine the collective sigh of relief echoing through the halls: “At last! The warm-up is over. Time to start the actual race.”  

What, pray tell, was the previous 30 years for? According to the unofficial highlight reel that everyone outside the Council seems to remember: constructing buildings, assembling a staff roster that would make a mid-sized university jealous, and—of course—the occasional enthusiastic splintering. Nothing says “urgent proclamation of the gospel” quite like another round of organizational charts and real-estate closings.

Elliott continues with the inspiring vision: 

Operations for Ministerial and Member Services have been enhanced with the addition of new senior managers specifically managing Member Services and International Services. Media and Communications Services has a beautiful opportunity to provide our members with quality material. There is so much advertising everywhere that our message is getting lost to the public. We need to pray that God will open doors… 

 

Yes, the message is getting lost in the noise of modern advertising. Shocking. Perhaps if the previous three decades hadn’t been spent perfecting the art of internal bureaucracy and “growing relationships,” the public might have noticed a bit sooner. But no matter—new senior managers are here! Collaboration is blooming! Weekly meetings with the Chairman! Monthly chats with committee heads! Cohesive modules! The machinery of oneness is humming.

And let’s not forget the youth: 

A new generation is coming on—we need to encourage them with a firm foundation for the great work that God wants to do. There is a tendency to compare accomplishments in our current work to the work that was done in the past… ‘…be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you… 

 

The classic Haggai pivot. Don’t you dare compare today’s “enhanced” efforts to the past. That would be unfair—especially when the past was spent mostly getting ready to get ready. The younger generation must be so thrilled to inherit this firm foundation of “we’re finally positioned.” Nothing engages the youth like watching their elders congratulate themselves on three decades of preparatory harmony while the actual Work waits politely in the lobby.

So here we are in 2026, after 30 years of buildings, bloated staffing, and the occasional organizational divorce, UCG has reached the summit. They are ready. They will now begin focusing on objectives. They will pray for open doors. They will demonstrate oneness.  

One can only wonder what the next 30 years will look like once they actually start. Perhaps another round of senior managers. Or a really nice new building. Or—dare we dream—an “even more enhanced” way of doing the Work.  

In the meantime, the rest of us will try not to compare. As the prophet (and the Council) reminds us: just be strong… and wait for the next report.

We have now reached a position where we are ready to perform—to do the Work in an enhanced way. We have a number of quality publications like Beyond Today, United News and Compass Check. With Council collaboration, we will begin focusing on setting other objectives for enhancing our target initiatives. 

 

Operations for Ministerial and Member Services have been enhanced with the addition of new senior managers specifically managing Member Services and International Services. 

 

Media and Communications Services has a beautiful opportunity to provide our members with quality material. There is so much advertising everywhere that our message is getting lost to the public. We need to pray that God will open doors and show the way to reach those whom He wants us to reach. 

 

In 1 Corinthians 12:25, we read that all of the members of the body should have the same care for one another. Mr. Elliott thanked everyone for pursuing oneness over the past year. Biblical unity and harmony are some things that Jesus Christ died for so that we can be one with God and each other. We will really shine as Christ’s disciples by the love that we will show and the oneness that we will demonstrate. 

 

Mr. Elliott thanked the Council and the administration for a great year of growing relationships and the wonderful strides that have been made in collaboration, respect and doing our work in harmony. He mentioned that he meets with Chairman Pebworth each week and with the Council Committee heads monthly. We need each other and we are growing together in cohesive modules that are doing the work of God. 

 

Mr. Elliott is encouraging discussions about how we can accomplish this work ever more effectively. A new generation is coming on—we need to encourage them with a firm foundation for the great work that God wants to do. There is a tendency to compare accomplishments in our current work to the work that was done in the past. In Haggai, there is an important lesson urging us not to compare today’s efforts with those of the past. To those who had returned from Babylon and constructed a less spectacular second temple, God said, “‘…be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:3-4).