Apostle Malm is attempting to deepen his standing with COG folk now by proclaiming he has a personal 'obligation from God'. He is now the COG's new "Watchman' who is crying aloud and lamenting the grievous sins of COG members.
It is not going to be long now till this guy officially starts his own splinter group. He has previously told people that he does not have enough money to hold a Feast site and in the meantime they are to attend with their regular fellowship of choice. It will not be long till he starts sending out tapes, then there will be church meeting someplace, money will start flowing in and he will be legitimized.
This guy is not the innocent COG member he appears to be. There is something deeper going on in his mind and it is NOT good!
Thank you for your concern. I have an obligation from God [as do all godly persons] to: Is 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob [Israel and spiritual Israel] their sins.” and again Ez 33:6 “But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” Someone MUST speak up! I lament that so few are! If more people cried out and exposed sin, there would be less of it around! James
An outsider's (as in, outside religion entirely) perspective is that all these people seem like dangerous nut-jobs.
ReplyDeleteHowever, since mental instability or criminal intent appear to be the only two conditions for COG ministry these days, I'm sure it will end up being "NOT Good".
Any "Christian" quoting Isiah or Jeremiah in, this, the 21st Century, merits sideways glances in their directions to see if they're going to do anything dangerous.
If, however, he's just out for people's money then, caveat emptor. You pays your money and you makes your choices.
None of this cult activity is to be trivialized: They are all serious dangerous nut jobs, vying for obsessives who want a particular style of lies -- a rather deplorable combination, risking slavery of master manipulators.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are nut jobs. The problem is that there are innumerable people who will fall for the voice of authority and safety.
ReplyDeleteFrom the time we were infants, we liked and sought after that cozy, secure feeling of being safely cuddled in our mother's, grandmother's or other caretaker's arms and bosom.
It's hard to outgrow that mindset and some never do. They desperately look for someone to mentor and take care of them, sheltering them from the dangerous and cruel world.
It's a con-person's dream come true.
Delusional fool. We get used to hearing this stuff, but it is far from harmless or even funny. These guys hurt people and know too little about the Bible, its origins, issues or politic to speak for any Deity.
ReplyDeleteAnother one to add to the list of "I never knew you..."
M.T Credentials
In fact, this is all sad and pathetic as well as being downright dangerous for some people.
ReplyDeleteI was dragged to a CoGWA Pentecost service Sunday. Fortunately, it was just the afternoon service and it was mercifully short. There were 30 people in a place where the WCG used to have over 700 for an holyday.
The regional pastor from Florida started talking about how things were progressing and asked people to be patient while they worked out "Governance". That part was sad: The realization that something bad had happened to all of them in the split and they weren't quite sure what exactly happened, why it happened or what to make of it.
The next part, the sermon part, was highly disturbing, as the minister started talking about The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy and how important it was to get out the gospel of this "truth". It was about all I could stand without gagging at the back of the room. He went through the "proof" about how these two great nations just HAD to have been Israel because of all the "blessings" -- mostly through technology.
I was further "blessed" last night hearing about the same from Living's TV broadcast. This time, the "proof" was that 50 years ago (you know who) prophesied that Germany would be reunited and that what was preached fit into the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948. What was not mentioned that just 5 years before, that particular prophet was predicting that Germany would win the war and NEVER really predicted the creation of the modern state of Israel. It was also conveniently ignored that no one in that venue predicted the rise of Islam either.
It appears to me that the ACoGs are gathering for their own Armageddon. This time, it won't be the nations fighting Christ at his return. It will be the ACoGs desperately fighting a war to preserve British Israelism because they know that if it goes, they too will be gone.
So it is our obligation to warn the Armstrongist CoGs that British Israelism and their own particular brand of church history is wrong, in error and a fraud and that if Jesus Christ returns, indeed, he can not just say he never knew them, but display his manifest irritation with their stupid foolish invention of heresy alternative world history which not only never happened, but they could have easily proved it to be wrong by six different proofs, not the least of which is DNA.
They are circling the wagons waiting for the next raid. The next raid is coming, but circling the wagons will be ineffective.
No one wants the job of being the anonymous, humble servant. There are no gifts of money, wielding of power, thanks and appreciation, or sycophants.
ReplyDeleteConsider the widow not the king when you say you come in the name of the Lord.
And, it is my personal "obligation" to warn the world of these money hungry false profits (ooops, I mean "prophets") who come in the name of sweet Jesus - and deceive many.
ReplyDeleteRichard
Douglas,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think they still cling to "The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy"? I know during the WCG heyday it was the #1 entry door into the WCG, but why are they still doing it?
If they're ignorant or are turning a blind eye to DNA evidence that destroys their beliefs, that's one thing. I they are blatantly lying about it just because it is still a hook, that's quite another thing.
Baywolfe, I cannot say with any certitude about whether there is any shred of sincerity amongst the British Israelism proponents. I think the CoGWA answer is that they are sincere, but maybe not.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that United is lying and they have even tampered with Wikipedia to remove the DNA evidence after they got wind of it from me through a church member I met at a Feast day.
For most of us, it is inconceivable that the leaders within Armstrongism are ignorant that belief in British Israelism is totally delusional. The real issue here is that if, and perhaps when, the membership starts getting the information, they will be in complete disarray. I've had early indications with this when I talk with current members here and there. What will be lost is tithes and offerings. If this occurs, all the Armstrongist CoGs will collapse -- not that they aren't already. If people understand that what they belief is sheer stupid fantasy, many will begin to reevaluate what they want to do with their lives.
I know from listening to Dennis Luker for years and years how concerned he is with salary and retirement. He is not alone. Faced with potential loss of a financial basis, it would be logical for all the ACoG leaders to fight as hard as they can to keep what they have. I believe that it is for this reason that they are beginning to support and defend British Israelism more vigorously than ever before.
I think that most of them already have gotten wind of the DNArefutesBI.com project and that is why they seem to be circling the wagons. It should be clear by this time that they are neither moral or ethical. They will flat out lie to their membership. They became used to that under Herbert Armstrong and they have continued stealth deception as they split from whatever splinter they worked for.
The members will be torn apart. The ministry only cares about itself. Sure, they talk about concerned they are for "the Brethren" but when push comes to shove, the rank and file members will become collateral damage.
At the same time, ministers are publicly decrying what they call "church wars". They whine about the conflict. Then they tell their people that "God is displeased" with those who cause division and tell people not to say anything derogatory about the church. It should be noted that they don't seem to care about saying negative things about CoG7D, the group from which they came after the rebellion and heresy of Herbert Armstrong. It's a curious hypocrisy. The truth is a casualty -- so much for those who have claimed, "If you prove us wrong, we will change".
Part of the problem here is that many of the membership seem to be highly obsessive. They don't really want the truth. It upsets them. They want the familiar comfortable because anything else is so upsetting. To them, it is better to hear old lies than face the harsh new (to them) truth. Being obsessive with hating hearing the truth is a one-two knockout punch. They don't want the truth and they too will resist it with their being. British Israelism is the doctrine with which they are most comforable because it assures them of their future of power as God is God is God to render their fury on those with whom they are frustrated.
While we do care what happens to people, it's going to be really tough to face the truth: This has been a long time coming and it will be painful for everyone. It's better to face it sooner than later though.
At least that's what it seems like to me.
Good question.
As an asnide: Today is the 100th Anniversary of the IBM Corporation.
ReplyDeleteYou know the one: They made the Third Reich much more efficient with their tabulating machines.
What would have really impressed me during the Armstrong years is if he had met with the CEO of IBM and pictures taken. IBM is and has been one of the most powerful (corporate) governments on earth. One would think the gospel should have been taught there, wouldn't you think?
It has truly been an International Work.