Celtic Throne: When the Philadelphia Church of God Confuses a Traveling Dance Spectacle With Preaching the Gospel

There is something rather remarkable about the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG). A church that claims a unique understanding of God's government, the law, British Israelism, and supposedly the exclusive work of Jesus Christ has apparently concluded that one of its premier methods of "proclaiming the gospel" is to dispatch a large Irish dance production across the country.

Enter Celtic Throne.

According to the PCG's own glowing account of the 2023 season, the production involved 32 dancers, 27 crew members, nine vehicles, 6,400 miles of travel, 14 hotels, 253 hotel rooms, roughly 300 costumes, 2,150 square feet of dance flooring, plus the full supporting apparatus of food service, transportation, lighting, sound, marketing, stage construction, and traveling parents who volunteer their time. Seventeen performances in 14 cities. Seven weeks on the road. An entourage large enough to impress many professional theater companies.

And the spiritual fruit of this enormous undertaking? Nothing!

The PCG presents Celtic Throne as a means of taking the gospel to the world. Their article supplies abundant detail on choreography, hotel logistics, catering, costumes, promotional appearances, and the challenges of moving a traveling show. What it does not supply is evidence that this elaborate spectacle has brought a single person into the PCG, produced meaningful conversions, or resulted in any demonstrable increase in people embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That distinction matters. A production can be entertaining. It can be artistically impressive. It can introduce people to a religious organization. None of those things automatically constitutes the proclamation of the gospel.

When a church expends enormous resources on a production while presenting it as a spiritual mission, the obvious question arises: Is this really about proclaiming Christ, or has religious theater become another vehicle for institutional vanity?

1. "To the Trees!" - A Peculiar Battle Cry

The PCG article repeatedly notes the phrase used immediately before each performance: "To the trees!"

This is the cue for dancers, musicians, and backstage crew to take their positions. The article does not establish that the phrase is intended as a religious invocation, and it may simply be a theatrical signal. Nevertheless, the expression deserves scrutiny in light of the production's Celtic themes.

Trees, particularly the oak, held an important place in various ancient Celtic religious imaginations. They were associated with sacred spaces, ritual practices, and traditions attributed to the Druids. In some accounts, trees symbolized connections between realms. The Irish term nemeton refers to a sacred place or sanctuary, often linked to groves. Ancient sources and later scholarship describe sacred groves and trees within certain Celtic practices.

Does "To the trees!" prove that the PCG is consciously invoking pagan religion? No. That would be an overstatement. The phrase may be nothing more than a production cue, and the article offers no explanation of its origin.

Yet the question remains legitimate: Why does a church that claims to be restoring the original Christianity of the apostles show such enthusiasm for Celtic imagery, cultural mythology, and theatrical conventions that can carry associations quite different from the message of the New Covenant? The issue is not whether Irish dancing is inherently pagan. It is not. The issue is whether the PCG is treating a cultural performance as a substitute for the actual proclamation of Christ.

2. Celtic Dancing Is Not the Gospel

Irish dance is an art form-a cultural expression of rhythm, movement, music, and choreography. Christians are not required to reject every cultural tradition that originated outside biblical Israel. There is nothing inherently wrong with appreciating Irish dancing.

The PCG, however, is not merely staging a cultural recital. It presents Celtic Throne as a vehicle for proclaiming the gospel. That claim requires far more than an elaborate stage, a narrator, dramatic lighting, costumes, and a traveling cast.

What is the gospel? Paul summarized it in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. The gospel is the good news of what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ-His death, resurrection, and the reconciliation of sinners to God.

It is not a story about Celtic kings. It is not a celebration of Irish cultural identity. It is not a demonstration of elaborate choreography. And it is certainly not a production whose spiritual significance can be measured by the number of costumes, hotel rooms, or miles traveled.

If a person attends Celtic Throne, enjoys the dancing, applauds the performers, and returns home without hearing or understanding the gospel, what exactly has been accomplished evangelistically? The PCG might reply that the production "opens a door." An open door is not the same as someone walking through it. A theatrical production is not the same as the preaching of Christ crucified.

3. The New Covenant: Christ Is the Center, Not the Spectacle

One of the more revealing aspects of the PCG's approach is the contrast between its emphasis on elaborate religious productions and the priorities of the New Covenant.

Jesus did not commission His disciples to establish a traveling theatrical enterprise. He commissioned them to make disciples. In Matthew 28:19-20 He instructed His followers to make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to observe His commandments. The task involves proclaiming the message of Christ, calling people to faith and repentance, baptizing believers, and teaching them to follow Jesus.

There is no suggestion that the apostles required a traveling dance troupe, an elaborate theatrical production, a fleet of vehicles to fulfill this mission, and millions of dollars in tithe money spent. The apostolic church proclaimed Christ through preaching, teaching, personal relationships, and the testimony of believers.

Paul explained his approach in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. He did not rely on impressive rhetoric or human wisdom. His message centered on Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That passage is inconvenient for an organization that appears to treat a spectacular production as an effective means of gospel proclamation.

Artistic excellence is permissible. The question is whether the spectacle has become the message. When the PCG describes seven weeks of travel, elaborate technical arrangements, promotional activities, costumes, and theatrical performances, it describes an enormous human undertaking. Where is the corresponding emphasis on the actual gospel? Where is the evidence that people are being brought to faith in Christ? Where are the accounts of individuals who encountered the production, understood the message of salvation, and became disciples of Jesus?

The article supplies extensive logistical detail. It does not provide comparable evidence of spiritual effectiveness. That is a significant omission.

4. The Traveling Road Show and the Question of Fruit

The PCG article describes Celtic Throne as a production that has traveled extensively, performed in numerous cities, and attracted audiences that include prominent guests. It also notes street performances at restaurants, fairs, pubs, and the Lincoln Memorial. The article even celebrates the fact that local police checked the troupe's permit at the Lincoln Memorial, with a co-director describing the experience as evidence of a "miracle." Many other groups have put on productions here, such as the LDS-based Mellenial Choirs.

A permit to perform at a national memorial is an accomplishment for a traveling production. It is not a miracle. More importantly, it is not evidence of God's approval of the PCG's religious claims.

Jesus said, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). The context concerns identifying people by the character and results of their lives, not by their ability to secure an unusual performance location. A successful promotional campaign does not establish the truth of a religious organization. A large audience does not establish the truth of a religious organization. A spectacular production does not establish the truth of a religious organization. Permission to perform at the Lincoln Memorial does not constitute a divine endorsement of the theology of the Philadelphia Church of God.

The relevant questions concern fruit. Does this production lead people to Christ? Does it teach the New Covenant? Does it encourage love for God and neighbor? Does it produce genuine discipleship? Does it help people understand the grace of God?

The article does not answer those questions. It supplies a travelogue-an expensive-looking travelogue.

The article's silence does not prove that no one has ever expressed interest in the PCG after attending Celtic Throne. It would be irresponsible to assert that as established fact without membership or conversion data. However, the PCG's own account does not demonstrate that the production has achieved its stated evangelistic purpose. If the organization wishes to present this as an effective means of proclaiming the gospel, it should be able to provide evidence beyond the number of performances and the enthusiasm of the cast.

How many people attended? How many subsequently expressed interest in the gospel? How many received meaningful biblical instruction? How many became disciples of Christ? How much was spent, and what measurable spiritual outcome resulted? Those are reasonable questions when an elaborate traveling production is presented as a work of evangelism.

5. The New Covenant Is Not a Marketing Campaign

There is a deeper theological problem with the PCG's approach. Armstrongism has long emphasized institutional authority, prophetic claims, organizational identity, and the idea that a particular church organization possesses a unique role in God's plan. The PCG continues that tradition.

In such an environment, an elaborate production can serve purposes beyond entertainment. It can reinforce the organization's identity, create a sense of institutional importance, and supply members with a shared experience that makes the organization appear extraordinary. The production becomes a demonstration of the organization's supposed greatness: Look at what we can accomplish. Look at our talented children. Look at our elaborate stages. Look at our traveling ministry. Look at our ambitions.

The New Covenant points in a different direction. Paul wrote, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). The salvation of believers is not dependent upon the accomplishments of a religious institution, the theatrical abilities of its members, the financial resources of its leadership, or whether a church can organize an impressive traveling production.

The gospel is about what Christ has done, not what a religious organization can accomplish. A church can spend substantial sums on a production and still fail to communicate the gospel clearly. A small congregation can faithfully proclaim Christ without a theater, a traveling cast, or a sophisticated marketing operation. The size of the production is not the measure of the faithfulness of the ministry.

6. The PCG's Elite Children and the Question of Institutional Vanity

The article repeatedly highlights the role of Jude Flurry, who arranged street performances and served as the lead dancer. It also describes the extensive involvement of performers' mothers, the responsibilities of the cast and crew, and the logistical demands of the production.

Young people can learn discipline, teamwork, responsibility, and performance skills through a demanding artistic endeavor. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. The question becomes more troubling, however, when an organization presents an expensive traveling production as a major evangelistic undertaking while the apparent primary beneficiaries are its own young performers and the institution itself.

The supplied account does not provide financial statements establishing the precise cost of the production or the amount spent specifically for the benefit of particular individuals. Those details would need to be documented before any definitive financial claim. Nevertheless, the larger question remains: When a church devotes substantial resources to a traveling production featuring its own favored young people, what makes that expenditure an essential work of the gospel?

The PCG article describes a remarkable amount of organizational effort-nine vehicles, dozens of performers, dozens of crew members, thousands of miles, hundreds of hotel rooms, a massive collection of costumes, props, lighting equipment, stage floori, and thier own travelling caterer-all presented as part of an evangelistic mission. Yet it provides no meaningful accounting of the spiritual results.

It is difficult to avoid the impression that the production functions, at least in part, as an institutional prestige project. The performers may genuinely enjoy it. The production may be artistically impressive. The PCG leadership may believe it serves an important purpose. None of those considerations establishes that it is an effective means of proclaiming the gospel. If the production is primarily serving the interests of the organization's leadership and its favored performers, the claim that it constitutes a major evangelistic undertaking deserves serious scrutiny.

7. What Would Jesus Think of the Traveling Road Show?

Consider the contrast between the priorities of Celtic Throne and the ministry of Jesus. Jesus taught in homes, synagogues, fields, and along the shores of Galilee. He proclaimed the kingdom of God. He called sinners to repentance. He welcomed the marginalized. He healed the sick. He taught His disciples to love their neighbors. He warned against religious hypocrisy and the pursuit of human recognition.

In Matthew 6:1 He warned, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." Religious activity should not be undertaken merely to attract attention or secure recognition.

The PCG's article reads, in places, almost like a promotional brochure for a traveling entertainment enterprise. The focus falls on the scale of the operation, the people involved, the logistics, the special guests, the marketing, and the impressive accomplishments of the production. The gospel itself receives comparatively little attention. That is the problem. The church is not called to impress the world with its organizational abilities. It is called to proclaim Christ.

8. Celtic Throne and the Paganism Question: A Necessary Distinction

Irish dancing is not inherently pagan. Celtic cultural traditions are not automatically incompatible with Christianity. A Christian can appreciate Irish music, dance, history, and literature without embracing ancient Celtic religious beliefs. The New Testament does not prohibit Christians from enjoying cultural expressions simply because those expressions originated in societies that practiced pagan religions.

The PCG, however, needs to be clear about the distinction between cultural entertainment and religious proclamation. If Celtic Throne is a theatrical production inspired by Irish culture, it should be evaluated as such. If it is intended to proclaim the gospel, its actual message should be evaluated against the New Covenant. If the production incorporates religious imagery or themes drawn from ancient Celtic spirituality, those elements should be examined rather than assumed to be harmless because the organization has attached a Christian label to the production.

The phrase "To the trees!" is not sufficient evidence of pagan worship. The broader question of how Celtic cultural themes are being employed in a supposedly Christian production is entirely legitimate. The PCG cannot simply claim that its production is evangelistic and expect that claim to go unquestioned.

Conclusion: A Traveling Production Is Not a Substitute for the Gospel

The Philadelphia Church of God has invested an extraordinary amount of effort into Celtic Throne. Its performers have traveled thousands of miles. Its crew has managed a complicated production. Its members have supplied food, accommodations, transportation, and countless hours of labor.

There is no reason to deny that the production may be artistically impressive or that its participants may genuinely enjoy it. The relevant question is not whether Celtic Throne is entertaining. The question is whether it is proclaiming the gospel. Based on the PCG's own article, the evidence for that claim is remarkably thin.

The organization describes an enormous traveling operation but does not demonstrate that the production has brought people to Christ. It describes elaborate logistics but does not provide evidence of meaningful evangelistic results. It celebrates the accomplishments of its performers but does not explain how those accomplishments advance the New Covenant.

The PCG may call this a work of evangelism. Calling something evangelism does not make it evangelism. The New Testament does not measure the success of Christian ministry by the number of costumes, hotel rooms, performances, or miles traveled. It measures ministry by faithfulness to Christ, the proclamation of His gospel, and the genuine spiritual fruit that follows.

If the purpose of Celtic Throne is to proclaim the gospel to the world, where is the evidence that it is doing so? Until the PCG can provide a meaningful answer, its traveling Celtic production looks less like an apostolic mission and more like an elaborate institutional vanity project-a spectacular show, an impressive traveling operation, a great deal of organizational effort, and a rather conspicuous absence of demonstrated evangelistic fruit.

The gospel of Jesus Christ does not need a traveling dance troupe to make it impressive. It needs to be proclaimed. The apostles managed to spread the gospel throughout the Roman world without a single Irish dance production, a fleet of vans, or 2,150 square feet of portable dance flooring. They had something far more important: the message of Jesus Christ. And that was enough.

Silent Pilgrim

UCG Admits Why Some Of Their Videos Are So Bad

 

UCG's Latest Assignment: Write Your Own "Vision Statement" to Discover Who You Are

Just when it seemed the United Church of God had run out of ways to turn simple faith into another endless task list, President John Elliott introduced a new one. Society, he says, is racing toward destruction (Proverbs 14:12-got it), and the urgent answer is ... personal vision statements. Not resting in Christ's finished work. Not the once-for-all sacrifice that has already secured the believer's identity as a child of God. Instead, members are asked to sit down, reflect, and write a clear declaration of who they are "in process of becoming."

Nothing says "New Covenant rest" like assigning members a corporate-style exercise in self-definition. 

Elliott begins by reminding them that they are citizens of the Kingdom (Ephesians 2:19), members of God's family, and children of God the Father and Jesus Christ. True enough. Then comes the turn: "Who exactly am I in God's eyes at this moment?" The answer is apparently not "Already complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10), "No condemnation" (Romans 8:1), or "Accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Instead, identity becomes an unfinished project: the bride must be "diligent in making herself spiritually ready" (Revelation 19:7-8). Responsibility lands once again on her effort, her level of commitment, and her own picture of how the process should unfold. 

Paul is then brought in as Exhibit A. Elliott assembles a sample "vision statement" from Romans 8, 2 Timothy 1, Galatians 2:20, and several other verses. Paul did write about being a child of God and a joint heir; he also said that Christ lived in him. He counted everything else as rubbish, he said, because gaining Christ mattered more. He wanted to be found in Him-not claiming a righteousness earned through the law, but receiving the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ (Philippians 3:8-9). Elliott's quotations describe what grace has already made true. They are not instructions for members to invent a personal identity statement so they can "stay focused." Paul was not building a personal brand for the coming Kingdom. He was resting in the fact that Christ had already taken hold of him.

The letter then asks each member to write a version of that statement: a clear account of "who you are in process of becoming." The purpose is to stay anchored while "endeavor[ing] to keep growing... toward the goal pictured in the plan of salvation we just celebrated in God's annual Holy Days." There it is again: salvation is still being linked to the annual Holy Days, even though Colossians 2:16-17 describes those observances as shadows fulfilled in Christ and says they should not be used to judge anyone. Under the New Covenant, believers do not need to measure their faithfulness against an Old Covenant festival calendar to prove that they belong. That question has already been settled. We are children and heirs, seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Spiritual growth follows, but it comes through the fruit of the Spirit; it does not earn our place or force us to keep declaring that place over and over.

This is classic Armstrongism dressed in legalistic corporate language. Everything becomes a matter of personal effort, self-monitoring, and repeated confirmation, as though people might lose their standing simply by forgetting to reaffirm it. The New Covenant says something plainer and more secure: "It is finished" (John 19:30). Revelation 19 presents the saints' righteousness as fine linen given to them-not fabric they painstakingly produce through vision statements or renewed resolve on each Holy Day. You do not need a personal mission statement to know that you are God's child. The Spirit Himself bears witness with your spirit (Romans 8:16), and the Father has already said so. Rest there. Destructive lifestyles exert real pressure, but writing more declarations about yourself will not answer it. Christ is in you, the hope of glory. That is already true; it is not a goal you must keep revising.

When the Revelation Isn't Frightening Enough:Crackpot Bob's End Times Fear Show

Crackpot Bob's Gospel of Fear: Germany Is Coming-So Keep Obeying!

A New Covenant Critique of Bob Thiel's Fixation on the End Times

By a Recovering Armstrongist follower

Bob Thiel has begun the first of a two-year project on subjecting his followers to his interpretation of the Book of Revelation. 

Typical of Armstrongist prophecy, he follows a stubbornly familiar pattern. Decades pass, predictions fail, and Herbert W. Armstrong's religious empire breaks into ever more splinter groups-yet the underlying formula barely changes.

Germany is on its way. The Great Tribulation draws near, and the Beast is getting ready to rise. The Church will have to endure. Before everything collapses, its members had better be certain they obey the right man.

Enter Crackpot Bob (affectionately called Bwana Bob by his African followers) with another installment from Armstrongism's end-times entertainment industry.

Apparently, Jesus Christ's gospel needs extra drama: a German invasion, a European dictator, horrifying prophetic scenarios, and a congregation fretting over whether its obedience will spare it from the worst. 

Welcome to the Continuing Church of God's prophetic-anxiety department. Bring your Bible, emergency supplies, and checkbook. The end is near. Again.

Armstrongism's most troubling feature may be the way it turns biblical prophecy into a tool for controlling believers.

The point is not merely to make Christians think about the future. Prophecy keeps catastrophe feeling close at hand, while suggesting that members' spiritual survival depends on their loyalty to the organization and its leaders.

The formula works with striking consistency: take a frightening event, tie it to a prophetic passage, and present it as proof that the organization's interpretation was right. Members are then urged to stay faithful and obedient, while being reminded that the Great Tribulation is still coming. But what happens when the prediction fails to unfold as expected? Never mind. Another prophecy is always available.

The issue is not Christians talking about Revelation. It begins when someone turns it into a threat, leaving people constantly afraid that they may not stand right with God. Paul described a very different promise in the New Covenant:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7, KJV

A sound mind?

That idea seems awkward for an organization whose prophetic interpretation appears to depend on keeping its members in a constant state of alarm.

The Christian life should rest on faith, hope, love, and confidence in Christ-not on constant anxiety over whether the newest political shift in Europe signals the collapse of your spiritual life. Which brings us to the Germans, Armstrongism's preferred villains of the end times.

Armstrongism has long been drawn to the idea of a revived European empire. In Herbert W. Armstrong's prophetic framework, Germany and a broader European power stood at the heart of the coming Beast system. Over time, that reading sank so deeply into the movement's thinking that several generations of members interpreted European politics as signs of an approaching catastrophe.

Germany became more than a country; it turned into a prophetic fixation.

Want to understand the European Union, military cooperation across Europe, a new political leader, a financial crisis, or a dispute between European nations? Watch Germany. Somewhere, an Armstrongist prophecy enthusiast is likely scanning the latest German headlines and muttering, "This could be it!"

That is the absurd part: the prophetic narrative can absorb almost any development.

Whatever happens, the Armstrongist prophecy industry can claim vindication. A stronger Europe fulfills the prophecy; a weaker Europe does too. Germany's leadership counts as confirmation, while its failure to lead merely means the prophecy is waiting for the right moment. The only outcome that might genuinely surprise them is Germany remaining an ordinary country while the world ignores the organization's carefully constructed prophetic timetable.

What does the New Covenant say about this fixation? Jesus did not send His followers into the world to become professional German-watchers. He sent them to make disciples, love their neighbors, proclaim the gospel, and remain faithful.

Matthew 28:18-20 records the Great Commission. It does not say:

Go therefore, and monitor the German economy, the European Parliament, and every political development that might conceivably resemble Daniel's fourth beast.

Revelation was never meant to leave Christians terrified about what lies ahead. The book's real purpose deserves a closer look.

The opening verses identify this as a revelation from Jesus Christ. Its subject is not Germany, Crackpot Bob's interpretations, or the newest prophetic reading from an Armstrongist leader. The focus is Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:1 begins:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass."

What, then, does John say when he sees Christ glorified? He collapses at Christ's feet. Jesus answers him:

Fear not; I am the first and the last. Revelation 1:17, KJV

The contrast is striking.

Armstrongist prophecy teachers often use this book to frighten people, yet it opens with the risen Christ telling John not to fear.

Revelation's final message is not a warning that Christians must fear the Beast.

The Lamb wins. Evil will not have the last word. God's kingdom will prevail, and Christ's people are called to remain faithful to him.

That stands far apart from the endless Armstrongist refrain: "The end is near. Germany is rising. Make sure you belong to the right organization."

Christ has already accomplished what Armstrongism keeps turning into a test.

Armstrongist theology repeatedly makes organizational obedience overshadow the believer's relationship with God. Yet the New Covenant rests on Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 8:6 says:

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

A better covenant.

Better promises.

A better mediator.

Not another set of predictions meant to provoke fear. Not an institution that expects blind loyalty. And not a religious survival plan that keeps warning its members they may suffer because their obedience has fallen short.

The New Covenant rests on what Jesus Christ has already completed. Paul writes in Romans 8:1:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

That statement is remarkable.

No condemnation.

Not with a condition attached-such as correctly naming the next European dictator. And not on the condition that you stay loyal enough to Bob Thiel, Sam Kitchen, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, or any other COG minister or leader. Believers place their confidence in Christ.

Christians are not thereby excused from responsible living. The New Covenant calls believers to holiness, love, obedience, and good works-but these grow out of a changed life; they do not buy spiritual protection from an impending prophetic disaster.

Ephesians 2:8-10 draws the line clearly.

Salvation comes through grace by faith, not through anything we accomplish. Yet believers are created in Christ Jesus for good works.

That order matters: grace comes first, and Christ comes first. Christian living grows out of that relationship.

Armstrongism reverses that order: spiritual security becomes tied to obedience to its own reading of biblical law and prophecy. No wonder its members are afraid.

Will members who have sinned face the Great Tribulation? That question exposes a troubling part of the Armstrongist prophetic system.

Armstrongist circles often suggest that members who fall short of sufficient faithfulness could face the coming Great Tribulation. The nations and the wider world will suffer, and those who have not obeyed properly may suffer with them.

The New Covenant does not promise Christians protection from every catastrophe to come merely because they belong to the right organization. Nor does it say that suffering proves a Christian has failed a spiritual test. Jesus rejected that simplistic explanation outright.

In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus challenged the idea that tragedy proves a person's spiritual failure. Rather than speculate about who deserved such suffering, He urged His listeners to repent.

In John 9:1-3, Jesus challenged the belief that the man's suffering had to come from his own sin or from his parents' sins.

The New Covenant does not authorize religious leaders to explain every tragedy as proof of someone else's spiritual failure. Nor does it permit them to frighten members with the claim that any terrible event means they could be next.

Christians have never been strangers to suffering. The apostles endured it, as did the early church, and believers across history have faced it too.

Believing in Christ does not promise a life without suffering. Romans 8:35-39 states the point plainly: no hardship can cut believers off from God's love.

Paul never says Christians will avoid tribulation. His claim is different: nothing can sever believers from God's love in Christ Jesus. That is the hope of the New Covenant.

It does not rest on belonging to the right organization or finding some prophetic way out.

Let's be honest. Fear is a powerful motivator.

People may silence their own questions, put up with harmful leaders, and stay committed despite serious doubts when they believe disaster awaits anyone who leaves a particular religious organization.

The Great Tribulation can be used as a spiritual leash.

Question the leader, and you may be told that you are abandoning God's true church. Leave the organization, and the warning may shift to the loss of spiritual protection. Challenge the latest prophetic interpretation, and your faithfulness itself may be called into question.

Already worried about your salvation? There is another prophecy waiting to trouble you. That creates a system where religious anxiety keeps feeding itself.

The member fears what lies ahead, while the organization supplies an explanation. Reassurance then comes from the same source that keeps interpreting the future, making the member increasingly dependent on it.

What a convenient arrangement. Only a subscription service is missing.

Perhaps Bwana Bob could call it:

The Great Tribulation Survival Package: Monthly Prophecy Updates, Spiritual Anxiety, and Premium German Watching.

Yes, it's satire. The issue underneath it isn't.

The New Covenant calls believers to freedom in Christ.

Galatians 5:1 says:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

That freedom does not release anyone from love, responsibility, or holiness. Christ has broken the condemnation and bondage that once held people captive; believers are also free from religious systems that try to bind them again through fear.

The Gospel is not an end-time emergency broadcast!

One tragic result of Armstrongist fixation on prophecy is that it can bury the gospel itself. Jesus announced the kingdom of God, calling people to repent and receive forgiveness while showing mercy and restoring humanity's relationship with God. He healed the sick and welcomed sinners. His followers were told to love one another-even their enemies-and He gave His life to save the world.

Yet in the Armstrongist prophetic universe, the message can end up sounding like this:

"Look at Germany!"

"Look at Europe!"

"Look at the Beast!"

"Look at the coming tribulation!"

"Look at the latest prophetic development!"

Eventually, the question becomes unavoidable: where is Jesus in all of this? Not Jesus reduced to a prophetic symbol or placed somewhere on a future timeline, but Jesus as the living Savior, mediator of the New Covenant, and the source of believers' hope.

The apostle Paul wrote:

For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2, KJV

That verse creates an awkward problem for a religious movement with an apparently endless interest in prophetic speculation. Paul kept his message centered on Christ crucified.

His sacrifice established the New Covenant, while His resurrection gives believers their hope. Christian life rests on faith in Him.

Germany is not where the gospel centers. Nor is Bob Thiel. The Continuing Church of God does not stand at its heart. Jesus Christ does.

The Final Irony: Revelation Ends with Hope, Not Bob Thiel

The book of Revelation ends with God's victory over evil and the promise that creation will be made new.

Revelation 21:4 declares:

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.

That is the Christian hope in its fullest sense.

It is not endless terror or a life spent fearing what comes next. Nor does it require constant doubt over whether someone has correctly identified the next prophetic development.

Through Jesus Christ, God will restore all things. Revelation 22:17 extends the invitation:

The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' Let anyone who hears them repeat the invitation. If you are thirsty, come; whoever wishes may take the water of life freely.

Freely.

That is the language of grace.

The water of life is not a prize for reading European politics correctly, nor for surviving a religious organization's endless prophetic trials.

It is given freely. That alone sets the New Covenant apart from the Armstrongist fear machine.

The world's problems are real. So is war. So is suffering. And human sin is real.

Christians should take Jesus' teachings seriously. Still, biblical prophecy should not be used to frighten people or control an organization, as though it held the answer to the world's problems.

The answer is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the New Covenant, believers receive forgiveness and reconciliation, along with the freedom and hope to live differently. They are called to love God and their neighbors, remaining faithful in the present instead of getting lost in speculation about the future. Their confidence rests on Christ-not on predictions made by religious leaders.

Crackpot Bob, watch Germany if you insist. Study European politics. Make your prophetic videos. Just stop presenting your reading of the future as though it were the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The New Covenant does not offer a plan for surviving a German invasion. Nor does it ask believers to live on a subscription of religious fear or keep proving that they deserve God's protection.

The gospel is good news: Jesus Christ has done for sinful humanity what it could never do on its own.

Revelation's final message is not the Beast's victory.

The Lamb wins.

The Germans are not the gospel; neither are the Great Tribulation or Bob Thiel's words.

Jesus Christ is.

From the Flint River Trail to the Kingdom of God: A Tour of Organizational Salvation

In his latest video, "The Church is Essential For Salvation," Samuel Kitchen presents salvation through a distinctly Armstrongist gatekeeping lens: it depends on belonging to his version of the Worldwide Church of God remnant, remaining loyal to Herbert W. Armstrong's "one man at a time" hierarchy, and taking part in "the work" within that system.

In his video, filmed along the Flint River trail in Burlington, Iowa, Kitchen says the WCG is a spiritual organism led by Christ. People, he argues, were not called merely "to get saved"; through the organized work, they were being trained as kings and priests. He describes those who left after 1986, including GCI and the splinter groups, as having abandoned the true church for "Babylon." He says independent believers have been cut off from the Holy Spirit and will eventually hear, "I never knew you." Kitchen also claims that God works through only one man, or apostle, at a time, under a theocracy to which believers must surrender. He cites Hebrews 10:25 against forsaking assembly and portrays critics as shadowy or demonic.

Samuel's argument breaks down when he puts an organization-and the system created by a dead man-in Christ's place. Kitchen treats "the Church" as the particular historical WCG structure restored through HWA and now carried on by people like him. Scripture, however, calls the Church Christ's body: everyone who belongs to Him through faith (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13). Belonging to a corporation, a mailing list, or an Iowa-based remnant does not determine that membership. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He did not say, "except through the Worldwide Church of God archives and the current authorized tithe recipient."

It makes salvation depend on loyalty to the organization and participation in its work. Statements such as "independent Christians will not make the kingdom" and "the Holy Spirit is cut off from them," along with the demand to remain in the organized work under the hierarchy, place the group between believers and God. That conflicts with the New Testament's plain teaching: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Scripture says that people are justified by faith apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5). Christ's completed work is enough. To add, "You must belong to this church and submit to this authority, or the Spirit is cut off," amounts to another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9).

The "one man at a time" theocracy came from HWA's authoritarian system, not from Scripture. Kitchen repeats the familiar Armstrongist argument that God works through one apostle rather than through committees or the congregation, leaving members no say in who leads them. That claim supported HWA's control. Nothing in the Bible identifies Herbert Armstrong as an end-time apostle who restored "all" truth after 1,900 years of darkness-especially when his predictions failed, and his distinctive doctrines do not withstand scrutiny. The New Testament instead shows plural leadership, with elders and overseers serving in multiple places under Christ as Head. It does not present one human gatekeeper whose writings must be obeyed for salvation.

Samuel mistakes the result of salvation for its means. Acts 2:47 says that the Lord added to the church those who were being saved. The church consists of people Christ has redeemed; it does not redeem them. Trusting Christ comes first, and belonging to His body follows. No one must join the correct post-1986 remnant or avoid every "splinter" to meet that condition. Hebrews 10:25 urges believers to encourage one another, not to prove that only Kitchen's group qualifies as an assembly. Matthew 18:20 remains clear: when two or three gather in His name, He is present.

Exclusivity feeds the demonization. Anyone who leaves the old WCG structure or voices disagreement can be branded an apostate, said to be in Babylon, influenced by spirits in disguise, or accused of promoting doctrines of demons. The pattern is familiar in cultic groups: once a community declares itself the only true body, leaving or criticizing it becomes proof that the critic stands outside the Spirit. Kitchen's own history-marked by family disputes over channels, control, and claims of "restoration"-makes those assertions about the "one true church" look deeply human and precarious.

Salvation comes from God as a free gift, received through faith in Jesus and what he completed: a perfect life, an atoning death, and resurrection. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). The New Covenant does not revive Sinai's system of law-keeping joined to loyalty toward an organization. It applies Christ's work to believers through the Spirit (Hebrews 8-10; Romans 8). The church exists because people have been saved; it is not what saves them. Christ saves the body (Ephesians 5:23), never the reverse-not the body, nor any human part of it, saving Christ.

Kitchen's version takes the old Roman Catholic formula "extra ecclesiam nulla salus"-outside the church there is no salvation-and recasts it in an Armstrongist form. According to that view, anyone outside our church, still organized around HWA's teachings and currently operating from Iowa, lacks genuine salvation and the Spirit. But that is not the gospel. It puts one human religious stream, marked by failed dates, unusual doctrines, and internal power struggles, above the sufficiency of Christ.

The video has 14 views, and its repeated calls to "hold fast" to the old structure do not alter what the Bible says: Jesus saves, not organizations.

Alton Billingsley’s Perfect Prophetic Batting Average: Still .000 and a New Covenant That Arrives Fashionably Late

The Church of God Faithful Flock (CGFF), based in the Modesto-Valley Springs-Lodi area of California, is a small post-Worldwide Church of God splinter. It claims to be the only group that remained true to Herbert W. Armstrong's restored teachings. Of course it does! Every single COG splinter group claims the same thing. Alton B. "Don" Billingsley has led it since its founding. A World War II infantry veteran, Billingsley joined the Radio/Worldwide Church of God in 1953 and worked at Ambassador College, where one of his jobs was chauffeur. He was later ordained an elder, but left the WCG orbit after the Tkach changes. 

Before starting CGFF, he briefly associated with the United Church of God and David Hulme's group. The group runs cog-ff.com and a YouTube channel, and publishes magazines and booklets promoting HWA materials, online Sabbath services, and the claim that HWA was the end-time Elijah who restored all things. Like Crackpot Bob's organization, it is tiny and has produced repeated failed prophecies. Its record sits alongside Crackpot Bob's own failures.

Like many tiny COG groups, CGFF operates as a remnant church and claims to be the authentic Philadelphia-era body, preserving Armstrong's doctrines with "no departures." Billingsley, however, has spent years making specific public prophecies that never came true. Some earlier writings predicted that Hillary Clinton would become president and, in certain versions, be executed around 2023. A statement from around 2021, that we posted here on  Banned included:

• A famine begins near Passover 2023 and lasts 3½ years across America, Britain, and the "Israelite" nations.
• In 2024, the devil releases "Assyria-Germany" from the bottomless pit, leading to the emergence of the Holy Roman Empire.
• America and related nations face severe famine, pestilence-with COVID mutating into the black plague-and widespread destruction, particularly in 2026. Nuclear warfare follows.
• Around 2029, Jesus Christ stands on the earth.

Recent commentary still points to 2026 as a catastrophic year for America and Britain, sometimes linking the date to the 9th of Av / Tisha B'Av and predicting the end of those nations in their present form. Other versions place the Day of the Lord, or similar end-time events, somewhere in the latter half of 2028. Armstrongite circles have seen this pattern before: elaborate timelines miss their marks, then get revised or quietly abandoned when nothing happens. Deuteronomy 18:22 remains plain on the point-if a prediction fails, the Lord did not speak it.

Billingsley also argues that the New Covenant will not begin until Christ returns and that, during the Millennium, it will focus entirely on the law-specifically, the Ten Commandments. That claim reflects a classic Armstrongite delay tactic: it keeps the church under continuing law-keeping requirements while deferring the New Covenant's full benefits and character to the Millennium. Biblically, the position cannot stand.

Scripture presents Christ's first coming as the beginning of the New Covenant; His blood sealed it, and believers now live under it:

At the Last Supper, Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20; cf. Matthew 26:28, 1 Corinthians 11:25). 

He spoke of a covenant already established through his blood-not a promise postponed until the Second Coming.

Hebrews 8-10 treats the New Covenant as something already in force. Christ mediates this superior covenant (Hebrews 8:6), while the old one has become obsolete and is close to disappearing (Hebrews 8:13). God now writes his laws on believers' hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10; 10:16, quoting Jeremiah 31), no longer remembers their sins, and grants them direct access through Jesus' blood (Hebrews 10:19-22). The writer is addressing believers in the present, not describing a future millennial administration.

2 Corinthians 3 sets the old covenant's ministry-its letter engraved on stone, which kills-against the new covenant's ministry of the Spirit, which already gives life and liberty. Paul and his coworkers are already "ministers of a new covenant" (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The Spirit is the deposit guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14). Through the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, believers have been freed from sin's law and death (Romans 8:2).

The New Covenant is not a future reboot of the Mosaic order, with the Ten Commandments once again at its center after Christ returns. Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 speak of a new heart, a new spirit, and change written within God's people. According to the New Testament, those promises are fulfilled during the church age through the indwelling Spirit; they are not held over for the Millennium. Galatians and Romans state plainly that believers no longer live under the law as a system of justification or covenant administration (Galatians 3:23-25; 5:18; Romans 6:14; 7:6). The law functioned as a tutor who pointed people to Christ, but that role ended when faith came. Its moral substance did not disappear-love fulfills the law (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14). What now governs the covenant is Christ, His finished work, and the Spirit-not a renewed return to stone tablets.

Saying that the New Covenant must wait for Christ's return leaves people living under the Old Covenant's system of performance and fear, as though genuine transformation and freedom belong to some later time. That claim also diminishes what believers already possess: justification by faith, the indwelling Spirit, and the better promises now in effect. Much of Hebrews argues the opposite-that Christ has already established something superior. Moving that reality to the Second Coming turns the epistle's argument on its head.

Billingsley's failed timelines and delayed-covenant theology follow the wider Armstrongite pattern: prophetic urgency keeps being reset, while a legalistic framework rejects the plain teaching that the New Covenant has already begun through the risen Christ and rests on grace and the Spirit, not on some future law-centered regime. The scriptures cited above leave little room for claiming that the New Covenant has yet to begin.

Silent Pilgrim

Crackpot Bob’s Slow-Motion Apocalypse: One Sermon a Month on the Book of Revelation Until the Headlines Cooperate

It is another sunny day in the whack-a-doodle world of Armstrongism. Never a day goes by without some fresh batch of craziness vomiting itself onto the internet for the remaining handful of true believers to marinate in. This week's double feature comes straight from the Grover Beach headquarters of Crackpot Bob Thiel, self-anointed prophet, Ph.D. in something-or-other, and proud owner of the world's most flexible end-time chart.

In his latest letter to the faithful, Bob announces the next phase of his "Going Thru the Bible" plan. After supposedly covering every verse of 26 of the 27 New Testament books (a claim that would make any competent scholar laugh until they needed oxygen), he is now launching a brand-new series: Revealing Revelation. The goal? Cover every single verse of the Book of Revelation.

Here's the catch, straight from the man himself:

Unlike the previous series on other books of the Bible, I only expect to cover perhaps one sermon per month or so related to the Book of Revelation. Why? Well, for one, I do not want to rush the process. And for another, we may be seeing the fulfillment of certain prophesied events which will allow me to better see how certain events may tie in with prophecies in the Book of Revelation.

Translation: Bob does not actually know how the end-time sequence works, so he needs to drag this out for over two years while he watches the news and rewrites his timeline on the fly. The bouncing and flouncing will be legendary. Expect endless "this could be the beginning of sorrows... or not... let's wait and see what happens next month" sermons while the tiny flock is told that slow-walking the Apocalypse is somehow deep biblical scholarship.

Once the series finally limps across the finish line (sometime around 2028, give or take a failed prophecy or two), Bob hints that "we may produce a book on this." Of course he will. Books are Crackpot Bob's love language. Nothing says "I have unique insight that no one else in Church of God history has possessed" quite like another self-published booklet that will be translated into however many languages the next press release claims.

Speaking of books, the same letter pivots to the real star of the show: The Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Joan Galloway reported that it is now available in 125 languages online, with more in the works. (Earlier CCOG material has inflated the number into the hundreds or even "nearly 2,000 languages/dialects." Pick a number, brethren-the important thing is that it sounds impressive.) Bob then quotes Revelation 5:8-10, Revelation 7:9-11, and Romans 14:11 to argue that these translations will somehow produce "massive numbers of followers from all over and in all languages" right before the Tribulation.

In other words, the actual gospel of Jesus Christ is apparently insufficient. What the world has been missing all this time is Bob Thiel's booklet. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders are presumably on standby, waiting for the next language drop so the great multitude can finally show up.

It is genuinely impressive how Armstrongist ministers can present themselves as profound biblical scholars while repeatedly demonstrating the opposite. Bob is not revealing Revelation. He is stretching it out so he can keep adjusting his private interpretations whenever the headlines refuse to cooperate with the script he inherited and then modified. The book is not about to gather the nations. It is about keeping a shrinking group convinced that their particular leader still has the "open door" and the special insight everyone else lacks.

Two years of monthly Revelation sermons while the prophet waits for world events to catch up to his chart is not careful scholarship. It is a slow-motion admission that the system does not work the way it was sold. And the multilingual booklet is not evidence of a unique end-time work. It is marketing.

Welcome to another week in Armstrongism. The bouncing continues. The flouncing is scheduled. And the book will be updated as needed.