How Can Armstrongism Be Cultish When Good People Are In All The Groups? The Cost of Silence

Is Armstrongism a Cult? 

Armstrongism refers to the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong and the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) he founded. Core doctrines include British-Israelism, seventh-day Sabbath and biblical holy-day observance, rejection or redefinition of the Trinity, strong emphasis on Old Testament law as binding, hierarchical government, multiple tithes, and the claim that Armstrong restored the true gospel lost for centuries. After Armstrong’s death in 1986, the WCG reformed into the more mainstream Grace Communion International. Those who rejected the changes formed numerous “Church of God” splinters that continue versions of his teachings.

These groups form a spectrum. United Church of God (UCG) and Church of God, a Worldwide Association (COGWA) use collective governance through councils of elders. They retain core Armstrong doctrines but generally allow more local variation, less isolation from outsiders, and fewer extreme loyalty tests. They are often described as the more “liberal” or moderate expressions within the movement.

Other groups display stronger authoritarian features. The Restored Church of God (RCG, David C. Pack) centers absolute authority in Pack, who claims multiple biblical titles. Its “Common” doctrine has pressured members to liquidate assets—homes, equity, retirements—and give substantially to the church, sometimes via reverse mortgages or loans. Repeated failed prophetic dates are followed by new ones. Former members report financial ruin, family damage, and intense control.

The Philadelphia Church of God (PCG, Gerald Flurry) enforces strict no-contact/shunning policies that sever family ties with those labeled “Laodicean,” including relatives in other groups. Flurry is presented as “That Prophet” receiving ongoing revelation. Heavy financial appeals, fear of questioning, and isolation are frequently reported, with some accounts linking the relational destruction to severe emotional harm.

Church of God Preparing for the Kingdom of God (COG-PKG, Ronald Weinland) is built around Weinland’s claims to be one of the two witnesses. It has issued multiple specific, failed predictions for Christ’s return (2008, 2012, 2013, 2019 and beyond). Weinland was convicted of tax evasion. The pattern of unfulfilled prophecy and continued exclusive claims fits high-demand dynamics.

The Continuing Church of God (CCOG, Bob Thiel) asserts it best represents the Philadelphia remnant. Thiel cites dreams and anointings to support a prophetic role. It is hierarchical around him and exclusivist, though it has not generated the same volume of reports of extreme shunning or asset-liquidation campaigns as RCG or PCG.

Living Church of God (LCG, formerly under Roderick Meredith, now Gerald Weston) is hierarchical under a Presiding Evangelist, requires multiple tithes, and claims strong continuity with Armstrong. Meredith had a reputation for strictness. Former members describe control, difficulty questioning leaders, and spiritual pressure. While somewhat less extreme than PCG or RCG in publicized shunning or “sell-all” practices, it remains more demand-oriented and leader-centered than UCG or COGWA. The 2005 Brookfield shooting by an LCG member occurred in an apocalyptic environment, though the group rejected direct responsibility.

Across the more rigid groups, common patterns include concentrated authority claiming unique divine insight, discouragement of outside information or dissent, financial expectations backed by spiritual threat, exclusivist “one true church” rhetoric, and isolation tactics. These align with high-control or cultic characteristics on sociological measures such as the BITE model (Behavior, Information, Thought, Emotional control). Theologically, the shared Armstrongist framework remains at odds with historic Christian orthodoxy.

Good People, the New Covenant, and the Cost of Silence

Sincere, kind, and morally upright people exist in every one of these groups. Many joined seeking truth, community, and purpose. Their presence is real and should be acknowledged. Yet the existence of good people does not make the doctrines true, the leadership accountable, or the systems healthy. Good individuals can live inside flawed or harmful structures without those structures becoming right.

A damaging thought process often follows: “I know good people there, so it cannot be that bad—or I should not call it cultish.” This hesitation, born of loyalty or reluctance to offend, has real consequences. It softens public warning, delays scrutiny, and leaves others more vulnerable to the same patterns of control, financial pressure, family severance, or prophetic disillusionment. The kindness of some members becomes an unintended shield that helps keep the system intact and allows more people to become trapped.

Healthy religion looks different. It is marked by transparency, shared accountability, and the protection of individual conscience and family bonds. It does not treat questioning as rebellion or departure as spiritual death. Financial giving is free, not coerced by fear of damnation. Prophetic or restorative claims are tested openly; repeated failure leads to humility rather than new demands. Leaders remain fallible humans subject to correction.

The New Covenant stands in sharp contrast to systems that elevate organizational loyalty or hierarchical “government of God” above the freedom Christ purchased. Under the New Covenant, the law is written on the heart, access to God is direct through Christ, and the Spirit leads into truth rather than into fear of human mediators (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:6-13; 10:19-22). Believers are called to test everything, hold fast to what is good, and refuse to be enslaved again to a yoke of bondage (1 Thessalonians 5:21; Galatians 5:1). Grace, not hierarchical compliance or multiple tithes, is the operating principle. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness—is the measure, not the intensity of control or the exclusivity of a group’s claims.

The ability to question is not a threat to genuine faith; it is essential to it. When people remain silent because they know good individuals inside, they unintentionally help perpetuate environments that can harm the next person who enters. Truth and love require both honesty about the systems and compassion for the people within them. The presence of good people should never become a reason to withhold clear-eyed evaluation.

Silent Pilgrim

Gerald Flurry’s “Apostle of the Offensive”: Still Charging at Windmills While the New Covenant Already Won the War

Gerald Flurry has once again climbed into his rhetorical tank and declared that he—and every loyal foot soldier in the Philadelphia Church of God—must be “an apostle of the offensive.” Borrowing Churchill’s wartime swagger, of whom they have been obssessed with for the last several years, Flurry informs us that God’s faithful remnant in this so-called Laodicean era is led by an apostle whose entire calling is aggressive, forward-moving spiritual warfare. The Work must go on the attack. Prophesy again. Warn the house of Israel. Reach the largest audience possible. Take ground. Never back down. Never compromise. And, naturally, keep the money, the effort, and the sacrifice flowing so the message can keep marching.

It is classic Flurry: military metaphors, Churchill quotes, Gideon’s 300, the armor of God with special emphasis on the sword, and the solemn reminder that if the watchman fails to warn, the blood is on his hands. At an age when most men are content to put their feet up, he is still sounding the trumpet for total offensive commitment. The absurdity is that this entire framework is a direct contradiction of the New Covenant that Jesus Christ actually established—and Flurry somehow never notices.

The Self-Appointed Apostle Problem

Flurry’s argument rests on a simple, self-serving claim: Herbert W. Armstrong was an apostle of the offensive who fulfilled Matthew 24:14, and now Revelation 10:11 requires the Philadelphia Church of God to “prophesy again.” New revelation continues to flow—seventy books and booklets, no less—because God only gives such revelation through the office of an apostle. Therefore Flurry must be that apostle, and the rest of the Church must rally behind him as offensive-minded soldiers.

The New Covenant does not operate this way. The foundational apostles and prophets of the first century laid the foundation. That foundation is finished. The New Covenant is not a rolling series of additional “new revelations” delivered through successive self-proclaimed apostles who then demand the same level of loyalty once reserved for the original Twelve. When Flurry asserts that the sheer volume of his written material proves the apostolic office, he is simply recycling the same circular logic that has produced dozens of competing “one true remnant” groups since 1986. Each one claims exclusive revelation. Each one insists the others are Laodicean. Each one requires its members to go on the offensive for its version of the Work. The only thing more impressive than the body of “new truth” is the body count of people who eventually walked away from it.

Christ did not leave His people under a perpetual hierarchy of modern apostles who alone can unlock the next layer of prophecy. He left them with the finished work of the cross, the indwelling Spirit, and the simple commission to make disciples of all nations—not to build media empires that constantly need more money, more effort, and more “offensive” drive from aging men who still cannot stop measuring faithfulness by how hard everyone else pushes.

Watchman, Warning, and the Blood-on-Your-Hands Trap

Flurry leans hard on Ezekiel 33. The watchman who fails to warn has blood on his hands. Therefore the Philadelphia Church of God must keep sounding the alarm to the house of Israel and the world. Anything less is spiritual desertion.

Under the New Covenant the prophetic watchman model of the Old Testament is not simply transferred wholesale to a modern hierarchical church. The ultimate Watchman has already come. Jesus Christ Himself is the fulfillment of the prophetic office. The warning has been given in the gospel: repent and believe. The blood that matters was already shed—once for all. Turning the church’s primary identity into a never-ending warning system that must reach “the largest audience possible” is a return to the very system the New Covenant replaced. It keeps people focused on external performance, loyalty to the organization, and fear of failing the watchman rather than on the finished work of Christ and the freedom that follows.

Notice what is missing from Flurry’s entire article: any serious discussion of the New Covenant itself. No sustained treatment of Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8, or the reality that the law is now written on hearts rather than enforced through an organizational “Work.” The emphasis remains on doing more, pushing harder, sacrificing more, and never softening the message. That is not the language of the New Covenant. It is the language of a system that still measures faithfulness by how aggressively the organization advances—and how loudly its leader can claim the blood will be on your hands if you fail to keep the machine running.

Gideon’s 300 and the Cult of Urgency

The retelling of Gideon’s army is meant to inspire. God dismissed the fearful and kept only the three hundred who were so battle-ready they would not even kneel to drink. Flurry applies the lesson directly: if you are not urgent and hungry for the Work, you are the ones who knelt. God is looking for people who remain in the fight without resting.

This is inspirational only if you already accept that the Philadelphia Church of God’s organizational goals equal God’s current battle plan. Under the New Covenant the “fight” is not primarily the expansion of one group’s media reach or the defense of one man’s claim to the apostolic office. The real battle is against sin, against the flesh, and against the spiritual forces that still try to drag believers back under performance-based religion. Turning every member into a permanent combatant for the organizational offensive is a reliable way to produce burnout, guilt, and dependence on the leader who alone defines what “the fight” requires this year. At ninety-one, Flurry is still recruiting for Gideon’s 300. 

The Real Offensive

Flurry ends where Armstrongist literature almost always ends: the reward of ruling with Christ on David’s throne, first over the earth and then the universe. That future hope is held out as the justification for every present sacrifice and every demand for greater offensive zeal.

The New Covenant does not deny the future reign of the saints. It simply refuses to let that future hope be weaponized into a perpetual recruitment and fundraising campaign under the control of a man who claims exclusive apostolic authority. The true offensive under the New Covenant is far quieter and far more radical: believe the gospel, rest in the finished work of Christ, walk in the Spirit, love God and neighbor, and refuse to be entangled again in any system that measures your standing by how hard you push the organizational machine.

Gerald Flurry can quote Churchill, invoke Gideon, and wave the sword of the Spirit all he wants. He is still fighting the wrong war. The New Covenant already won the decisive battle at the cross. Everything that remains is the outworking of that victory—not the endless construction of new apostolic empires that demand we keep going on the offensive for them while the man at the top keeps writing the next seventy books of “new revelation.”

Waiting for the King to Die: PCG’s Long, Awkward Interregnum

August 28, 2026, will mark a full twelve months since Gerald R. Flurry last graced The Key of David with a live appearance. One entire year of the “That Prophet,” the “end-time Elijah,” the man who wrote 70–80 books and booklets explaining how he alone continued Herbert W. Armstrong’s work… simply not showing up.  

The organization has lost Andrew Locher, watched more long-term members walk out the door, and watched those same departing members get publicly accused of “returning to the 6th Era teachings of HWA.”  

Meanwhile, over the last twelve months, roughly 90% of Stephen Flurry’s Key of David themes have been about… Herbert W. Armstrong.  

It is a masterpiece of contradiction so pure it deserves its own prophetic fulfillment chart.  

The ministry scolds leavers for supposedly clinging to HWA’s “6th Era” doctrines, while the heir apparent has effectively skipped the last 37 years of his own father’s writings. Those 70–80 books and booklets Gerald produced? Brushed aside like last week’s Philadelphia Trumpet. Why quote the man who claimed new revelation after revelation when you can just keep recycling the founder your dad claimed to succeed?  

It is almost as if the family is already rehearsing the post-Gerald era. Dust off the old HWA clips, soft-pedal the more embarrassing “new truths” that only Gerald received, and hope the remaining members don’t notice the stage is being reset while the original star is missing in action.  

Many inside and outside the group are, of course, waiting. Waiting for Gerald to die so that Stephen might “change things,” eliminate the most abusive doctrines and teachings, and usher in a gentler, kinder Philadelphia Church of God.  

How touching. 

How naïve.  

Even if Stephen decides to dial back the most theatrical excesses, the core remains the same. The PCG still rejects the New Covenant. It still demands Old Covenant-style law-keeping, hierarchical control, and the belief that this tiny group alone holds the “key of David.” Abusive structures do not evaporate because the aging founder finally stays off camera. A cult that insists grace is insufficient and that members must continue under a heavy yoke of performance will remain an abusive cult, no matter how many HWA reruns it airs.  

What will the next twelve months bring? More premature deaths, more quiet departures, tighter finances, and—according to one observer—the likely liquidation of the Edstone property in England for around £4 million to keep the lights on a little longer.  

Gerald Flurry is missing in action. Stephen is busy ignoring everything his father spent decades writing. The members who remain are holding their breath for a changing of the guard that will somehow make the whole enterprise less controlling.  

And the rest of us get front-row seats to the spectacle of a group that spent decades declaring “God is not the author of confusion” while its own succession plan looks like pure improvisational theater.  

The Key of David still opens the door, they insist. These days it mostly seems to open onto an empty set, a pile of ignored books, and a “For Sale” sign on the English estate.  Charming.

Twelve Months Since GRF’s Last Live KOD:
August 7, 2026 

 

August 28th will be 12 months since GRF’s last live Key of David program, and much has happened since then; e.g., the death of Andrew Locher and many more long-term members leaving the organisation. 

 

Many of these long-term-members have been publicly accused of returning to the “6th Era” teachings of HWA. 

 

Over the last 12 months, 90% of the themes of Stephen Flurry’s Key of David have been about HWA, which is a huge contradiction to the public accusations coming from the ministry towards those that have left. It’s as if Stephen Flurry has skipped out 37 years of his Dads teachings–70-80 books–almost entirely brushed over. Why would that be the strategy from Stephen? 

 

It’s as if they are already preparing for life after GRF. What will the next 12 months produce? I suspect more premature deaths, more members departing and more financial pressure. Edstone will probably be liquidated for around 4 million pounds to free up some much needed cash. –[name withheld]

COG Veritas: COGWA, UCG, Regional Pastors, Inappropriate emails, Coverups, No Accountability (Part 1)

 

It is not every day that women in the Church of God movement publicly speak their minds and expose deeply concerning issues in the church, but here we are with one brave woman. This apparently short-circuits the power-structure neurons in certain COG ministers’ brains—neurons that, one suspects, were never wired for much beyond “submit  to everyting I say, do not question me, and bring the casserole.”

After all, women in the Churches of God are expected to remember their place and never speak out against the ministerial overlords who micromanage them. These men, if given half a chance, would prefer women stay in the kitchen making sandwiches or cleaning the house rather than becoming outspoken confronting issues. Be the perfect helpmeet and walk three steps behind your husband. Thankfully, those days are swiftly coming to an end across the COG groups—much to the visible distress of men who once preached freedom from “Babylonian hierarchy” while quietly building their own.

This is particularly true in the UCG and COGWA empires—two sister organizations that themselves were born in rebellion, complete with passionate speeches about corrupt leadership and the urgent need for accountability. Now, private emails and a Facebook group exposing them are now circulating. How inconvenient.

What is the Purpose of COG Veritas?

COG Veritas will be a series of articles from interviews with the brethren of the Sabbath-Keeping churches.    The information & truth has been largely hidden from the congregations for a very specific purpose.   

Have you ever wondered why those that speak the truth are attacked?   Think of men ranging from Charlie Kirk to Jordan Peterson or Jesus Christ.   These men are savagely attacked or killed when they speak from a place of principle and truth.    

The Truth Threatens False Power.   The Truth Threatens those that gained powered through politics and lies.    This has happened in the Sabbath keeping churches.   Those in society that Threaten this power are sometimes killed.   In the COG world, those that speak the truth are often Disfellowshipped.   It is the same spirit.

COG Veritas is meant to share the truth about events that have been largely hidden, so that the MEMBERS can make an informed decision about who to trust for Spiritual Leadership.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The overlords will first attempt to control this woman and shut her down. Then they will deny any culpability in the issues raised. Covering up scandals has long been an important part of the Church of God movement—practiced with the same enthusiasm once reserved for criticizing the previous administration. Look at how well it worked—until the internet opened the floodgates and the underhandedness and lack of accountability were thrust into the limelight. Suddenly the same men who once thundered about “transparency” discovered that transparency is delightful only when applied to someone else.

Another roadblock is the idea of members offering solutions to the churches’ issues. COG members have never had a real voice in the operations of the church, in any aspect. In fact, in all COG groups that are registered as corporations, the ONLY members are the Board and no one else. Democracy is apparently a fine concept—until the congregation starts asking awkward questions about their shepherds. 

COGWA states this as the reason for the organization of the church:

The Bible teaches that the Church of God is a spiritual body of believers led by God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 4:3-5; Romans 8:9, 16). Each member has a part to play in the work of the Church, as do the parts of the human body (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). As we yield to God’s divine leadership, we collectively grow “into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21).

The Bible also teaches that Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church; and as the spiritual leader, He guides and directs His Church throughout all ages (Colossians 1:18). He has also provided human leadership for the Church since the time He walked the earth. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13).

The leadership of Christ and the teachable attitude of the ministry and membership are essential to accomplish the preaching of the gospel, caring for congregations and general running of the Church.

This all sounds fine in a perfect world—or at least in the brochure. But what happens when one of the church leaders goes astray and causes serious issues? Who holds anyone accountable? The chairman? The board? Regional directors or regional managers? The local ministers? Or the members holding their ministers accountable?

In almost every single instance, accountability is not something members are allowed to exercise toward those over them. They are told to submit and shut up, or they will be disfellowshipped—the COG equivalent of duct tape over one’s mouth. The same organizations that split because they could not stomach unaccountable leadership now treat the mere suggestion of accountability as spiritual treason. 

The first issue out of the gates is a whopper. It carries over from UCG pre-split into COGWA’s present-day operations.

COG Veritas reports this:

Doug Horchak and Dean A

Dean A was in the Dallas, Texas congregation and going through a divorce.   An already painful experience was magnified when he found something shocking….    Inappropriate emails going back and forth between his wife and his pastor, Doug Horchak.

The process to adjudicate these matters is to take these issues to the Regional Pastor. This was a man named Ken Giese out of Houston, Texas.   

In a Heartbreaking email to Ken Giese that these authors have seen, Dean A laid out what he found between Horchak and his wife.  He clearly articulated he was ready to share the emails and documentation with Ken Giese.   

He requested a meeting with Ken Giese.  

The unspoken message in Dean’s emails was a deep sense of betrayal by his Pastor.

His last line in his email was: “And, Mr. Giese, I HAVE PROOF”.

Ken Gieses’ response: “Dean, I am praying for you.”

That was it.   No meeting.   No investigation.  Doug Horchak was not fired.   Doug’s inappropriate emails and evidence would not be reviewed.  

Ken Giese buried it.    

Dean A followed the ONLY process a member had.   Guess what happened to Dean A?

Dean A was disfellowshipped.

How many people go to COGWA and listen to Ken Giese’s sermons, as if he has credibility?    Ken Giese is dirty.    If you attend COGWA, will you look the other way or find a way to justify this scandal?

Crowing Over a Cancelled Podcast: Bob Thiel Declares Himself the Undisputed Champion of Debates That Never Took Place

Two weeks of chest-thumping. Weeks of promising the world that the great Crackpot Bob Thiel—self-appointed guardian of “original Christianity,” tireless enemy of that pesky little doctrine called the Trinity—was about to educate some poor, unsuspecting Confessional Lutheran on a podcast. The topic? The Trinity, of course. The one thing Armstrongism has spent decades treating like garlic to a vampire.

Crackpot Bob was ready. Bob had the scriptures. Bob had the “historical facts.” Bob was going to gently (but firmly) dismantle centuries of Christian orthodoxy while the host sat there in stunned silence, taking notes for his eventual conversion. 

Then… nothing. 

The host delayed once to “prepare.” Then he simply vanished. No email. No explanation. Just radio silence. 

And what does our hero do? Does he shrug and move on like a normal adult? Of course not. Crackpot Bob does what Bob does best: he turns a cancelled appointment into a full-blown theological victory parade. 

In his own words: the host “backed out without informing us.” Why? “He probably could not handle the truth and was afraid his audience would have trouble with the truth about the trinity.” Further speculation: the man “may have seen that he did not have valid arguments against the scriptures and historical facts.” 

Translation: “I win because the other guy didn’t show up to lose.” 

This is the same energy as a kid who challenges the school bully to a fight after school, the bully never appears, and the kid spends the next week telling everyone he scared him off with his superior karate. 

Crackpot Bob even treats us to a little diagram of the Trinity (the classic shield) and smugly notes that “logic shows [it] contradicts itself.” Yes, Bob. The diagram that has been used for over a thousand years is the problem—not the man who thinks a cancelled podcast proves the early church was non-Trinitarian. 

And because the host’s “non-brave approach to cancelling” was just too much for Crackpot Bob’s delicate sense of justice, he is now adding extra sermons on the Trinity to his schedule. Nothing says “I have the truth on my side” quite like doubling down on a monologue after the other participant ghosts you. 

One can only imagine the scene in Crackpot Bob’s study: leather chair, wall of crooked bookcases, glowing Earth backdrop, microphone ready for action… and a man so certain of his own brilliance that an empty calendar slot is interpreted as divine confirmation. The arrogance isn’t just appalling. It’s performance art. 

Somewhere, a Lutheran podcaster is quietly enjoying his weekend, blissfully unaware that he has just handed Bob Thiel the greatest win of his debating career—by simply not showing up.  

And Crackpot Bob? He’s already polishing the trophy. 

No Trinitarian Discussion Podcast

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that I was supposed to be a guest on a Confessional Lutheran’s podcast. The host then delayed that to better prepare himself to read more of my writings, and he set up for us to discuss the trinity on his podcast yesterday. So, I agreed and that was scheduled. But he backed out without informing us or responding to emails from our team.

Why?

Let me speculate.

He probably could not handle the truth and was afraid his audience would have trouble with the truth about the trinity.

The fact is that I do NOT believe that one can have a rational scriptural discussion about the beliefs of the original Christians and conclude the Church was trinitarian if one can accept the plain truth on that subject.

I speculate that host may have seen that he did not have valid arguments against the scriptures and historical facts related to the Godhead.

Below is a drawing that trinitarians use to explain their faulty view, which logic shows contradicts itself:

(Public Domain via Wikipedia)

Anyway, partially because of the podcast host’s non-brave approach to cancelling, this motivated me to add some more to my sermon schedule. So, I plan to give a couple of new sermons on the trinity.

Send Your Tithes or Get Bundled: The Gospel According to Samuel Kitchen

Did you know that you are all nothing but tares that have been bound together and are ready to be burned? Ready to be fried to a crisp! All because you have joined one of the hundreds of splinter groups and are sending your tithes to them! How dare you! This is Samuel’s money.

Samuel has learned well from reading How to Start Your Own Church of God for Dummies. It was a bestseller for a while in the 1990s and has been well used by a myriad of current splinter leaders. Samuel has taken this to a new level—one that current splinter leaders thought they were achieving but have been failing at miserably. For some stupid reason, all of the splinter groups imagine themselves as the one true Philadelphian-era Church of God, when in fact they are nothing but tares! Tares, I tell you! Tares!

The only real Church of God group out there is the one that stole the name Worldwide Church of God and all of its literature and telecasts. All other WCG- and COG-related groups are nothing but cheap street-corner whores out seducing people into joining their groups. They are tares that have been bound together and are waiting for Christ to return and cast them all into the Lake of Fire. Burn, baby, burn!

Like all good graduates of the Church of God Splinter Leader for Dummies school, Samuel has set himself up as the only place tithe money should be sent. And if you do not send your tithes to him, then you are a tare, ready for Christ to return with His heavenly match to set your sorry ass on fire.

Armstrongism has not matured into fine wine but into slop that is not even worthy of the swine.

Now feast your eyes on the pure, uncut gospel according to Samuel himself—the latest self-anointed heir to the Armstrong franchise, who has elevated the classic “send it all to me” scam to Olympic levels of shamelessness:

Now since these original apostle died and fulfilled their jobs in Christ, then over a thousand years ago, Jesus had need to bring forth and send out another man in the 20th century, carefully preparing him and giving to him THE ENTIRE BIBLE AS WE KNOW IT. The Holy Bible is complete for this time, and it was given to Herbert W Armstrong to preach the true Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

So as he preached the Word of God, planting seeds in the field under the direction of Jesus Christ, congregations of the Church grew all around the world, first beginning on radio...then WORLDWIDE. The Worldwide Church of God could have never been possible if the gospel message was not first preached by Herbert W Armstrong all around the world as a witness to all nations. 

We therefore are the SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP for Herbert W Armstrong. We are the evidence Jesus Christ sent him forth with the gospel of the Kingdom of God! 

Now back to the parable of Jesus Christ. As the Church became READY FOR HARVEST, there were found people attending among the people of God, who had crept in unwares,(Jude 1:4) from Satan, infiltrated the Worldwide Church of God, and were not the real membership at all! 

They had come into the Worldwide Church of God, to take it over, and to govern the Worldwide Church of God at the highest levels!

Judas came among the disciples did he not? Eventually he was used to come with SOLDIERS to take the physical body of Jesus Christ, so he may be killed. Judas, was the treasurer of the work of Christ. He had the money bag. So he had a lofty position in the work of Christ. 

 

And while INSIDE that fellowship he went and JOINED with others seeking the demise of the Body of Christ. 

And there came a time where he stood with the enemies of Christ, not with Jesus and his other disciples.

After Mr. Armstrong died, what was taken but that which was materialistic, and physical? It was taken by a psuedo-membership and psuedo-ministry.

TARES. And they became BUNDLED TOGETHER.

Herbert W Armstrong said this on the World Tomorrow RADIO BROADCAST, called The Parable of the Tares" : 

"Now, this is in the Kingdom, the Kingdom age. Whenever the Kingdom age is they are both to grow together in and during the Kingdom age until the harvest. When is the harvest, my friends? Is the harvest the present time? Is the harvest the Second Coming of Christ? I want you to notice. "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them..." And notice they're gathered in bundles. Have you noticed how people are being gathered into bundles? Have you ever noticed that it is human nature that people want to belong? They just want to belong to something. They want to belong to a club. They want to belong to a lodge. They want to belong to some society. They want to belong to something they can join and feel that they belong—that's psychology. And do you know that the psychologists are teaching that today? Do you know that in nearly every college and university in our schools of higher learning where they are training the future leaders of this nation? The future leaders for the churches and church pulpits, the future leaders for business and commerce, the future leaders of our government and our statesmen are being taught and trained in these colleges and universities and they have a psychological idea—they feel there that, well, it's human nature, everybody wants to belong and so they say, "Let's encourage it. Let's have every kind of group and fraternity and society we can and let them bind themselves up in bundles." I wonder if you ever notice the significance of that and what is taking place today. "Let them grow together until the harvest..." Now, when is that harvest? Is that speaking of our age now or the age to come? Well, we're doing that thing now but specifically what was Jesus referring to? At the time of the harvest, whenever that is, He says, "I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them..." These bundles of human beings gathered together are being bound up in these bundles to be burned. I think, my friends, that's something worth looking into. I think that's something you might investigate and begin to think a little bit about. "But," He said, "gather the wheat into my barn." They weren't bundled at all. They come into the barn, in other words, that is the Kingdom of God and that is the place where you want to go, the wheat, that's what He's saving. But the tares, He's not going to save, He's going to burn. Now, the wheat is going to be saved, in other words, Salvation and eternal life is what it portrays there."[Herbert W Armstrong]

WE KNOW that those INSIDE the true Church of God in the period of time called the PHILADELPHIA ERA, will be spared and saved alive in a place of safety, while the Great Tribulation is waging in all the world! Why is it the Philadelphia Era? It is because THIS ONE TRUE CHURCH, which was raised up through an apostle named Herbert W Armstrong, is faithfully doing the work, and is simply remaining in patience AS A WITNESS unto all the nations!

See Revelation 3:10; Revelation 12:13-17. Matthew 24:14

They are NOT being bundled, you see? We remain as the Worldwide Church of God, serving as a WITNESS in all the nations.

When you look online what do you see? You see the Work of God that was done through the Worldwide Church of God DOMINATING and still persisting even after 40 years in the wilderness! 

What else do you see? You see the unrepentant, the rebellious, the murmerer, and complainer, BUNDLING TOGETHER INTO DIFFERENT GROUPS! They will go through the Great Tribulation! And if they won't repent THERE, God will have to place the Day of the Lord on them, and if they still won't repent He is going to throw them into the Lake of Fire!

Every group is wanting to look enough like the Worldwide Church of God to fool everyone, but not enough to actually BE THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD. They have taken so much of what they learned from God's true Church, and they try to recreate it but to no avail!

They are just mere counterfeits, who oppose Jesus Christ!

Websites and groups, who are taking the property of the Worldwide Church of God, all oppose the Worldwide Church of God. They merely use the publications and productions of the true Church of God, to fill in and HAVE THE APPEARANCES of a similar work. But they are working to lead people away from full obedience, and full adhearance to what we were taught from Christ through His apostle!

Notice the WHEAT COME INTO THE BARN. That is the storehouse of the Wheat!

Notice Malachi 3:7-11, "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

Wherein shall we return? Haggai 1:4-5 "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

Now, brethren THOSE INSIDE the TRUE Church of God will go into a place of safety, protected from Satan the Great Destroyer and DEVOURER! 

What is the deciding factor? BRING YOU ALL THE TITHES INTO THE STOREHOUSE. Where is the barn? WHERE THOSE OF THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD ARE GATHERED TODAY.

The purpose for this work, is to restore the Worldwide Church of God, and to STAND AS A PHILADELPHIA WITNESS. 

If you examine every group, every website, you find they are going to ANOTHER CHURCH OR GROUP. It is not the Worldwide Church of God!

There it is, folks—the full, glorious, completely unhinged package. Herbert Armstrong was the final apostle (never mind that the original ones somehow finished their jobs a thousand-plus years early so Jesus could wait until the radio age). The “true” Worldwide Church of God is whatever Samuel says it is this week. Every other group is a satanic tare-bundle headed straight for the cosmic deep fryer. And the only way to prove you’re wheat instead of combustible weed? Mail those tithes, offerings, and anything else that isn’t nailed down straight into Samuel’s personal storehouse/barn/Swiss account.

It’s classic Armstrongism, all right—every splinter has always claimed to be the sole Philadelphian remnant while branding the rest as Laodicean losers destined for the Tribulation. But Samuel has refined the formula into something almost pure: the name itself is the magic talisman, the literature is holy relic, and any dollar that doesn’t land in his pocket is proof positive that you are a tare already tied up and ready for the match. No need for actual growth, no need for a functioning congregation, no need for anything except the perpetual declaration that everyone else is fake and the check should be made out to him.

Armstrongism didn’t evolve. It just found a new depth of depravity, and Samuel is happily diving headfirst into the sludge while waving Malachi 3 like a divine invoice. Burn, baby, burn—just make sure the tithe envelope is postmarked first.