Non-Ordained Prophet Thiel Says God Is Primarily Working Only Through His Church

The non-ordained self-appointed false prophet Thiel made it clear today that God is only working through the Continuing Church of God and no other group.  Thiel especially wants you to know that God is NOT working with Dave Pack's cult.

God has also forsaken the Living Church of God and has now placed his seal upon Bob Thiel even though he is not ordained and appointed himself just like most of the hundreds of other splinter group leaders have done.  God must really be getting confused at this point.  Who's who and who is right?

Because of posts here from various ones, some wondered about my views of the gospel and its proclamation. At this time, I believe that the Continuing Church of God is the primary group that God is using and intends to use to lead the work that will finish the COG proclamation portion of Matthew 24:14. I also believe that Christ's gospel of the kingdom includes Jesus Christ, but His person is not the focus. As far as the Scarboroughs, their local minister, and discussions they had with Charlotte evangelists, I was never part of any of those. I presume that the Scarboroughs are well aware that Jesus is part of the gospel message and that LCG is well aware of the historical HWA teachings on the gospel of the kingdom.

James Scarborough Wants To Make It Clear That Dave Pack Is Not A Humble Or Teachable Man

My statement in my email about RCG is in no way an endorsement. We have looked at RCG thoroughly, and are aware of too many issues, which would make them no better an option than LCG. Anyone who has a history back to the work in the Global Church of God, and even further back to the work God did through Mr. Armstrong, would know the type of man God would use as his physical leader. Although God is looking for a strong obedient leader, He is also looking for a humble teachable man. These are qualities more rare than we once thought seeing so many strong leaders under Mr. Armstrong fell into pride and vanity.
James Scarborough

Apostle Malm Says CUT IT OFF! Otherwise God's Not Letting You In The Big House

Apparently in apostate apostle Malm's eyes we are are not fearfully and wonderfully made.   In his world tomorrow all males will be forced to get the big cut.

Brethren we are to circumcise our children on the eighth day; which is an allegory of spiritual circumcision.  Only adult converts who are circumcised in heart being more than eight days old are not required to be physically circumcised.  In the millennial kingdom there shall be no uncircumcised person allowed to enter the temple.

Ez 44:9    Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel.

7:8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

James Malm: People Who Wear Crosses Are Followers of the Anti-Christ

The apostate apostle Malm his getting his knickers all in a wad again at Ron Meredith. This time it concerns crosses.  Malm claims Rod is OK with crosses.  This certainly is news considering the humiliating drama that Bob Thiel created concerning crosses after the Milwaukee murders.  Thiel brought major embarrassment to the LCG because of his public hated of the cross.  However, Thiel's position was always the traditional Church of God stance since Armstrong came on the scene.

For Rod to say that this is not forbidden in scripture, is a statement of biblical IGNORANCE! 

We are repeatedly commanded not to worship God as the pagans do; and the cross is a pagan religious symbol!  The cross is the symbol for Tammuz, one of the founders of the Babylonian Mysteries and is NOT to be venerated as a religious symbol.

To wear or use crosses is to identify oneself as a member of the Babylonian Mysteries and a follower of antichrist!  This is an ABOMINATION to the Father and Jesus Christ!

Bill Gothard and Women Abused By Their Husbands

“Victim is a worldly word. In ATI we have no word for victim,” said Bill.

“So I understand,” sez I. “I imagine that fish have no word for water.”

(with apologies to Terry Pratchett)

This is from the guy that bought the Big Sandy Ambassador Campus and the person the Dugger family in 19 Kids and Counting are followers of.


Even more appalling are some of the comments in the link above.  This just goes to show how sick fundamentalism is, in or out of Armstrongism.

This isn’t uncommon in the Fundy world. When I attended BJU my Freshman year, I had an Orientation class with the Dean of Students, Jim Berg.

I was allowing my mind to wander off one day, my daily routine, when something Berg said grabbed my attention. He was talking about his wife. He said if a man knocked on his door and announced that he was there to beat Berg’s wife because she was a Christian, Berg would step aside and let it happen. He said he wouldn’t stand in the way of the heavenly reward she would get for being persecuted for Jesus.  I was shocked. I’m sitting there thinking about all of the levels this was messed up on.  Obviously, it was straight crazy. Secondly, why wasn’t he pontificating about HIM getting beat up for HIS Christianity. Lastly, if it was legit on any level, which it can’t be, why would he share the story bragging about his supposed level of  commitment to his faith??  I was 18 at the time, but all I could think about was how much I wanted to beat his ass.

I can’t imagine King David or Samson, or any other MAN in the Bible “stepping aside” to allow another man to physically attack their wife. David was the closest person to God’s heart, and he was a straight up warrior. Jim Berg is a straight up modern-day Pharisee. 

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I knew a female married town student who went to Jim Berg for counseling because her husband was beating her.
Berg’s advice? “Duck and let GOD hit your husband.”

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This is also the same mentality that many Church of God ministers held.  Women who suffered horrible abuse were told to stay with their husbands because their reward would be in heaven for following church government.  The man was in charge!

 

In Armstrongism this is the legacy of proper Church government. The belief and enforcement of proper church government introduced all kinds of abuse into the church.

God

Jesus

Herbert Armstrong

Evangelist

Minister

Elder

Deacon

Husband

wife

kids

Frank Schaeffer On Leaving The Religious Right

LCG In More Turmoil: Letter From James Scarborough

Things just seem to get worse every day in Living Church of God.

This is from Bob Thiel's blog:

I am sending this email to most of the LCG ministry. Some of you know my family very well, some probably do not. I am reaching out to any ministers who remain faithful to the truth, so you will know what is going on.

Our Background

Ralph & Patricia Scarborough, and their eight children, began attending Worldwide Church of God in 1968. Four more children were born into the church over the following years. We were taught all the fundamental teachings of the Church of God through Herbert W. Armstrong until the time of his death in 1986. After his death the apostasy occurred, which led to the exodus of those who continued to believe the teachings of Mr. Armstrong were still valid. In 1995 almost all the Scarborough’s, along with several thousand others, left Worldwide to join the work Mr. Meredith had begun in 1993. My father told his children he would not be tricked by new truth a second time. We, as a family, supported Mr. Meredith, and our local minster Mr. Gerald Weston, in service to the Global Church of God.

 

When the takeover of GCG took place, Mr. Meredith came to my parents’ house, sat with us over dinner, and discussed the situation. My father told him to begin again, and most of the people would follow him because we do not follow an organization. Mr. Meredith went back to San Diego and started the Living Church of God. The Scarborough family provided Computer Servers, workstations and a complete network, all at our own expense. Two of our family members delivered, and installed the equipment at LCG headquarters. The Scarborough family provided all the internet services for LCG, for free, until a few years ago. Our lives are committed to the service of God, His people, and His work. We have never tried to gain any position, or recognition in the church. You may stop here and say that’s exactly what we are doing by sending this email? Please read on.

 

What is this all about?

About seven years ago some of us began to see changes in the focus of the Gospel. It is not relevant if you agree with the changes, or not; the following is the point. It was told to Mr. Meredith that two of the Scarborough brothers had problems with LCG’s “better understanding” about the Gospel message. That very week the local minister called my brother David, and I, to a private room after Sabbath services and asked, as he was instructed by Mr. Meredith, if this was true. We spent some time explaining the Gospel message as we had been taught all our lives. As it happened another minister, who was visiting Kansas City, was asked to attend our meeting. Much to our surprise he agreed with my brother and myself. We were instructed, by the local minister, to keep our opinions to ourselves, which we agreed since we had no interest in causing division.

 

Over the following years the issue seemed to become less of a focus, but we noticed after Mr. Bryce left LCG that a new focus on Jesus Christ began to emerge. One Pentecost we received a fine Passover Sermon for the morning service, and before the afternoon service the elder giving the message began with “Maybe we should mention here that it is Pentecost”. Much to our surprise he went into another sermon about Jesus Christ; not Pentecost. Not long after that CAD sent out instructions to those giving messages, at the Feast of Tabernacles, to give sermons on the topic of the Feast. Why should this be necessary?

 

About four years ago we started to hear of further upgrades/changes to the doctrines of the church, and finally after the death of Mr. Apartian it became clear there was no turning back. On December 25^th 2010 we heard a sermon, by the local minister, titled “In the Name of Jesus Christ”. The messages following began to focus on the changes, and ridiculed those who did not understand. In January 2011 the Scarborough family, with the exception of those in Charlotte, and a couple of nephews, agreed to discontinue fellowship with the Living Church of God. Our eldest brother set up a meeting with the local minister and all the adults of our family. The minister was informed of our decision, and some of the more serious reasons for our decision. The minister then asked the family to consider remaining until Mr. Meredith came to town for a Tomorrows World public event, which was to happen just before the spring Holydays. Mr. Meredith wanted to meet with us, and discuss the problems. All agreed with the exception of David and I. Mr. Meredith came to town and said he would meet with my mother, and eldest brother only, at a restaurant. We declined because there was no real opportunity to discuss our issues in such an environment. When asked why he would not meet with us as a family, the response was that he did not want to be surrounded by a bunch of Scarborough’s. Please remember we are the same family he sat with when he was being thrown out of GCG, and who served him faithfully. There was no hostility, or anger, on our part. We just disagreed with the changes and we were going to stop attending LCG. Over the following months the family was corrected from the pulpit, not by name, but by the messages. Saying the changes were what Mr. Armstrong taught, but in private we were told the changes were not that different. Finally before the fall Holydays my mother, and one of the elder brothers, had a meeting with the local minister, and the local elder, on the topic of Idolatry. My mother prepared literature from the days of Mr. Armstrong, which she tried to present as what we were once taught. The following Sabbath the minister, in his sermon, said you could have a whole stack of books and still be wrong. This being taken for what it was; my brother, which had been in the meeting, quietly got up and left. He even left his children there asking his oldest daughter to make sure his son got home. My mother got up and left shortly after. The following week the family did not attend with LCG. On Atonement Mr. Meredith marked the entire family with the exception of those sitting in service. His excuse was that we did not believe Jesus Christ was a vital part of the Gospel. We had made it clear, in every discussion we had with the ministry, we believed what Mr. Armstrong taught about the Gospel of the Kingdom. So it must be that Mr. Armstrong did not agree with Mr. Meredith. Why would an entire family be marked, on a solemn day like Atonement, for holding on to the truth? There was no evidence we were causing division, with the exception of 2 people in the family postings about what we were once taught as the truth. That is 2 people out of more than 60. At no time did anyone try to present any new truth. A year later we were informed others were beginning to question new teachings, other than the Gospel. We were also told they were being intimidated worse than the Scarborough family had been. It was at that time some of us decided to put the truth out about what we know about the Gospel, and since people were saying we were not marked. We put out the audio of the local minister reading the marking from Mr. Meredith on http://www.genuine-truth.com. This site has been updated periodically.

 

This last summer Mr. Winnail offered to come to Kansas City to talk to the family, but there was no interest, with the exception of my brother David and I. We had a cordial discussion for over three hours about what we saw as changes. Nothing was resolved, but that was not a surprise. The last item we discussed was the marking of the Scarborough family. There was no reason given other than it was the way we left. My brother David, and I, left many months before the rest of the family, and the rest did nothing but stop attending. Many more are currently being disfellowshipped and marked over disagreements about the changes. This sounds very similar to the first century church. How many today have said I would not do what they did? Or were those making the changes, who would not even receive the Apostle John, right because they had the authority? They were disfellowshipping anyone who disagreed because they did not want anyone hearing the truth!

 

My sister Glenda was fired by LCG the day before Atonement last year just because she was sending out sermons, which was her job. LCG did not like that some of the sermons were given by Mr. Carl McNair, and Mr. John Ogwyn, and the fact some messages disagreed with LCG’s new teaching. This may not concern some, but the fact she was in the middle of cancer treatment should be of concern to any human being, not to mention us as Christians! She was called into Mr. Meredith’s office yesterday, and told to stop defending those who have been wrongfully marked. Even though she knows the truth. You see, her friend Thomas Boca II, who had recently quit attending LCG because things he saw going on at headquarters, had just been deemed “An enemy of the Church” just because he had posted some of his views on the web, and Glenda stood by her friend. Mr. Meredith also told her in this meeting that she, and her entire Scarborough family, are liars. Imagine this was you. How would you feel? I guess when you don’t need someone’s support; character assassination is justified. Didn’t Cain murder Abel because he was angry? We can prove all we are saying to anyone who cares. Bearing false witness against your neighbor is one of the 10 commandments; we do not take it lightly. We have not attacked anyone. We have only disagreed with the changes. How can this be the Philadelphian Church? How can this be any Church of God? How can you blindly follow men who walk and talk piously, while devouring the sheep? Maybe there is a line in the sand you are waiting for them to cross. Mr. Meredith says LCG will not do away with the fundamentals. Well how about the 10 commandments. I was told that if you had a heart, or cross, or statues of angels in your possession that it was not a sin, we just cannot bow down, or worship them. Mr. Meredith gave a sermon here in Kansas City where he said “nowhere in the Bible does it say the cross is pagan, or you can’t do anything with the cross”. I know he uses the picket fences comparison, but that is being used to make anyone who hates idolatry look ridiculous. A member, after the sermon, happily stated Mr. Meredith said the cross was okay. Divorce & Remarriage is out of control, and this is from the ministry. Trust me, if you don’t already know what is going on, you don’t want to. And then there is the 9^th commandment. This one only applies to the members. The ministry can say anything they want to protect THEIR church.

 

We are meeting as God’s people here in Kansas City; with others who have seen the problems and left LCG over the past few weeks. Many more are joining us online. We are God’s people. We know the voice of our Shepherd; Jesus Christ. We do not have a ministry attending to us, which is so sad that the sheep have to step out before the ministry, but we will put God first, and love our neighbor as ourselves. We will wait until God sends His faithful servants, but we will not give up the faith once delivered. We are NOT starting a church; we are members of the Church of God no matter what lies are conjured.

 

If you think you are in the Church of God just because you don’t see a “better” place to go, then you are failing at your responsibilities. We have been down this path recently. I have seen the other groups, and there is no place doing what God instructed, but you can discern that LCG is no better than the least of them. This may make some angry, but you are known by your fruits. If you say LCG is doing more of a work than anyone else. Well that is shifting toward David Pack. Would you really go with RCG just because they start doing more of a work than LCG? Most would probably go with CoGWA if LCG fails. I would just say this. I have attended with CoGWA, and see they are clearly God’s people. They also fit the description, as an organization, of Laodicea, which even though they have desires to do more; their form of government will not permit what is required. Even some in their ministry understand this truth. I know what God says will happen to them, and I want to be a Philadelphian with all that God says to, and instructs, the Philadelphian era. Remember the definition of Philadelphia. Does God see it in us?

 

James Scarborough

COGWA Is Doing An Earth Shattering Work! Dave Pack Seen Trembling in Wadsworth.

It is now well into the third year of existence for the Church of God a Worldwide Association.

During their formation they deliberately worked behind the scenes seeking to fracture and destroy the United Church of God.  They felt the need to be more loyal to the teachings of Herbert Armstrong than they thought United Church of God was doing.  Once more, families were broken, marriages ruined, friendships destroyed, all so that another group of ministers could do what they wanted to do and keep getting paid.

Since that breakup and the formation of COGWA, it has been doing one of the most earth shattering works.  Even Dave Pack trembles at their awesomeness!

From their web site:

From Cecil Maranville: The PC Department emailed 40 people and telephoned an additional person for a total of 41 outgoing contacts for December 2012.

From Cecil Maranville: The Personal Correspondence Department mailed 77 responses (including one surface mail letter) in January 2013, making the month’s activity one of our highest.

From Cecil Maranville: We sent out 49 emails and one surface mail letter in February, for a total of 50. Counseling issues required the most involved replies.

-------------------------

Heading into year three of the COGWA existence, it has printed its first booklet.  Wow!  I am impressed!

In other media news, we are in the process of printing our first booklet for all of the members in the United States! (We are working out how the international areas will receive their copies.) In another week or so these booklets and a letter from Jim Franks will be in the mail to all members, and we are shipping an advance copy to all pastors. (The pastors’ copies will be sent first-class; but the others are mailed at a nonprofit rate, which will be a bit slower). We’ve had three booklets available on our websites for a long time, but this is the first one in print. As Jim explains in his letter, we chose to print “From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You,” because of the timeliness with the new annual cycle of God’s holy days, beginning in just a few weeks.

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Money is still an issue in COGWA:

We have to carefully control print, of course, since print and postage gets very expensive very quickly.

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COGWA is finally getting around to doing an online magazine.  Even the non-ordained self-appointed prophet Bob Thiel had an online magazine up and running in the first few weeks of his new personality cult.  If one little grandiose man can do it by himself, what can't COGWA?

We have a lot of work and planning to do before we can start producing an online magazine, though, so we’re being very cautious not to set a target launch date just yet. It will be as soon as possible ...

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In COGWA there are a lot of steps to go through before one reaches salvation.  Its hard work but someone has to do it:

The seven festivals outline in symbolic form the seven steps in God’s plan of salvation.

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Apparently getting their "gospel message" out to a hurting world is not too big of a priority, no matter the cost.  I guess a persons salvation is determined by how much a stamp costs.

The greatest obstacle to printing more material isn’t the cost of printing itself, which is relatively inexpensive, but the cost of postage. Even using our nonprofit status, postage is still expensive. To print each 46-page, full-color booklet cost about 88 cents, but to mail it costs an additional $1.52 if sent first-class from the office or about 35 cents for the nonprofit bulk rate (which we used). The cost of postage will continue to be our biggest hurdle for distributing more literature.

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Church attendance seems to be an issue also.  Since no one from the "world" seems interested in the COG, they keep having to poach from other COG groups or pick up previous members. They now actually have four new members who actually attend church!  Wow!  I am impressed!  Really impressed!  Does no one else in COGWA actually attend church?

I met two new couples who found us on the Internet a few months back and began attending services. One couple was looking for a group that kept the holy days, and the other had prior Church of God background from the 1990s. It was refreshing to see new people actually attending!

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Jim Franks continues with this:

I am reminded of the words of Christ to His disciples in John 4:35: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”

Yep!  The field is ripe for harvest and you are raking them in!  Will they actually attend church?

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It is humbling to see a world with a population of over 7 billion and compare that number to the size of the Church today. How many will God yet call? We simply don’t know. What impact will we have on this world? The honest answer is that we don’t know exactly what our impact will be.

 Anyone with a COG background or from a COG can answer that question.  The impact has been ZERO.  No one cares!  There is no earth shattering work and never will be.

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Then there is this about the weekly newsletter:

One last note: In last week’s In Accord I encouraged everyone to subscribe to the Life, Hope & Truth Weekly Newsletter. While having over 1,100 subscribers is good, that means that most of the Church members do not receive this weekly email, sent every Friday, that keeps you up to date on the new postings on LHT.  

You know things are pretty bad with COGWA literature that they cant even get their own members to sign up!

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COGWA's college is up and going and making a huge impact upon the world and the COG!  The numbers attending are earth-shattering!  Quite amazing actually!

From David Johnson: On Monday, Jan. 7 Foundation Institute, Center for Biblical Education, began its second semester of operation. We added one student to the roster and now have 21 students attending classes.

Twenty-one students. I stand in amazement! I am in awe!

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COGWA has less and less people attending their Feast sites.  Is it because they are draining the members finances with quadruple tithing?

As more people become unable to drive long distances to attend the Feast, the need for the Church to provide live services into specific small sites or homes via computer continues to increase.

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And there you have it brethren, another successful earth-shattering Church of God doing a mighty work.

Dennis On: "What's Missing From This Blog"

What's Missing From This Blog?

 

Someone finally asked me a question I have asked myself for years now and I believe it is time for a discussion on the one topic that NEVER comes up with respect to this entire WCG/CGI experience.  I was told personally that it was a miracle that  God and Jesus performed in the Church.  This by a man who I personally think would do whatever the church told him to retain his status and retirement, but that is just my view.  I responded by asking him if  God and Jesus were tricksters then after decades of praying to that same God and Jesus asking for them to "bless the work," "help me be the kind of minister I need to be,"  "Please inspire....",  and so on?  No response.   I told him it was no miracle but rather reckless change by men who were accountable to only themselves.  No response.

 

This won't take long.   Fill in the blank...

 

Herbert W Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong, (WCG) Roderick C Meredith  (GCG,LCG),_______________, _____________, (___) Gerald Flurry (PCG), Robin Webber (UCG), David C Pack (RCG), and a whole bunch of others who don't matter at this point.

 

Let me give you a hint or two, though I know you know...

 

These men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men were related, something which WCG never seemed to learn the lesson of the previous two men.

 

The men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men lied, at least to me, 100% of the time to 100% of the questions I asked them about what was up.

 

These men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men and five or six Little Rascals with them live extremely well off the sale of every physical thing our Grandparents, parents, ourselves and children contributed to WCG.

 

These men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

Man number 2 seems pretty proud of himself for pulling this off

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men were never held accountable for anything nor showed one bit of regret for jerking the rug out from under good folk and merely reinventing a very old wheel to their own satisfaction.

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

One of these when dying is said to have said, "I have been so foolish."

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

The other of these men still lives high off the hog, pretends to be a theologian and serves no real purpose in the new and improved WCG, but is evidently in for life by his own decree, with much gain. Is also known to have enjoyed creating cognitive dissonance and enjoys the topic

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

Fill in the blanks

______________ and _____________

 

WHY DID THESE MEN GET A PASS FOR THEIR PART IN THE WCG UPHEAVAL AND CHAOS ?

 

WHY DO THEY STILL REAP THE PHYSICAL REWARDS OF THINGS THEY NEITHER BUILT NOR FINANACIAL SACRIFICES THEY NEVER MADE?

 

WHY DO THEY GET AN UNACCOUNTABLE PASS IN THESE MATTERS?

 

denniscdiehl@AOL.com   

Ron Weinland: I Am In Prison and They Visit Me Not

ht: Painful Truth

Poor Ron Weinland, the Church of God's most infamous convicted felon, is whining that some of his ministers are not  visiting or communicating with him while he is in the slammer with Big Bubba.

Mike, on the False Prophet Ron Weinland blog,  has an excerpt from a letter that Weinerdude sent out recently to his fledgling ministry: Closer Service and Fellowship.

Ron is concerned that some of his disappointed members are "flirting with sin" and are filled with "bad attitudes". It seems some of Ron's devotee's are having a little fun while the boss is in prison while some are leaving the silliness while Ron can't do anything to them.

Yet not all have responded well and some are not growing spiritually as they should and could be. The greatest times of testing through some of the most difficult trials (in fire) provide some of the very best opportunities of overcoming and growth we could ever hope to have. Such things are (can be and should be) received as awesome blessings afforded to us by our great God and very loving Father. These are moments, while in God’s most loving care and concern for us, where the mind can receive some of the most exciting advancement in transformation of mind that is possible.

When I have made statements, even up to the very last of the messages I gave in sermons, about some leaving “this way” even up to the very end, I know that such statements just do not “seem” possible to most. Yet, it should be sobering that we have just had two from the ministry who have chosen to leave this one and only true way that God has given to all of us. A little letting down here and there (a little slumber), some flirtation with sin, a bad attitude (from selfishness) that is allowed to express itself just too often, and then all of the sudden one is struck down.

Ron is demanding that his ministers maintain more contact with the members.  What more can Weinerdude expect from his so called ministers?  They have been well trained in the Church of God to look down their noses at the lowly members, to use them for their own purposes, and to wring every last dime out of them.  They are only following the example they have seen set by Ron himself! Instead of being servants they are task masters. Ron's ultimate concern is that the with every member that leaves the income drops.  Audra and Laura wont be able to have their expensive shopping trips anymore!

Are all of you seeking to sacrifice for other brethren? Do you push yourself and go out of your way (over and above) to fellowship (perhaps even longer at times) with others in person, by email, or phone conversation? Isn’t that part of your ministerial job, let alone part of your Christian duty? Is that part of what God expects from His “servants” who have been given opportunities to be a source of some added strength and encouragement to brethren? One may ask, “But what difference will it make if I do such small things?” It will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING if you don’t do them! One’s life in the ministry is one of service and it is especially manifest in the “little things” one does toward others. If one isn’t continually focused on doing even the little things, then the BIG ones will never come. If we are “faithful” in a little, then we can be given much more. If not, then what? Is ordination in name only (for being esteemed before others) or does it carry great meaning and purpose from God and His Son toward us for the sake of the Body?

Then Ron does what I have been waiting on him to do since he was sent to prison.  He pulls out the Matthew 25:31-46 card to intimate his pathetic ministers.  He is pissed that some of them have failed to visit him in prison or contact him.  Their failure to "come to him" is a measure of their spiritual weakness that has serious spiritual ramifications.

There are some verses I am now going to refer to and you should read all in their complete context, but I am only going to quote a few here. The whole teaching of Christ in this is in Matthew 25:31-46.

 “For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in, being naked you clothed me, and being sick you visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me” (Mat. 25:35-36). Jesus was asked, by those who were living righteously, about when they had done such things unto him: “The King shall answer unto you, ‘In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me’” (vs. 40).

In times past, I have referred to these verses to explain a lack of understanding of these verses, as this is first and foremost about those “in” the Church and of those being called into it. Doing as Christ said unto any of these is to do so unto him (his Body). The purpose for mentioning this here is because I have been more than a little dumbfounded that within God’s ministry there are some who have not communicated with me (come to me) here. This is only about “you” if this fits you. Do I “need” to hear from everyone? No. But everyone should have come (needs to have come) to me. The bottom line is that this is indeed a measure of where you are spiritually. If it is simply out of neglect or one of putting it off (or some other menial reason), then it is “still” a spiritual measure that should be sobering to every person.

Then to further lay a guilt trip on his disappointing ministers, he says that when they neglect to see him in prison they are actually neglecting Jesus Christ!  Every minister and his wife should have been visiting Ron in prison.  Since they have not they have been spitting in Jesus Christ's face.

This is not a matter of what I feel about such a matter (though I am in full agreement with God’s spirit), but it is a matter of asking how does Christ feel about your neglect toward him. In addition, this is “every” person’s responsibility in the ministry and not just of a husband or wife’s duty (of those ordained). Such attitude or neglect also reflects something that is spiritual. What kind of friendship, what kind of love, and what kind of gratitude does such a thing reflect? It reminds me of the ten lepers that I recently quoted. I’m not just speaking of that shown toward me, but toward Jesus Christ and God our Father. What does this say about that which God has provided to such a small remnant while all the others scattered are malnourished and suffering greatly from continued famine? What does this say about that kind of response toward the one God gave as an apostle to lead, feed, help mold, and to share his life with you? If one will respond to God’s physical leader on earth in such a manner, then please acknowledge that there is shown far less care and concern to the rest of God’s Family!

To further reinforce this blasphemy by his ministry he warns them that they will "not enter the promised era".

So, will there be even more within the ministry itself who will not enter into the promised era (promised land) that is right before us? I for one pray that such will not be the case, but without repentance it will be.

 Maybe none of them are interested in spending eternity with Ron in the lake of fire!

The COG Marine

Here is an excerpt from an article on the Painful Truth web site about "Image First".  Sadly this is not an isolated case in the Church of God.  This kind of behavior happened all the time and still does today in the various splinter groups.

Michael

Michael stood alone in the middle of the foyer of the Seattle Masonic Hall, people swirling around and past him without interacting with him, a solitary island in the midst of a sea of people. I noticed he was new and that apparently, no one was interested in getting to know him. It made me feel sad. I went over and introduced myself to him and began learning about him. Over the next few weeks and months, I had him over to dinner with my family several times and we even went and worked out together at the gym. I learned about this “good guy” and he had a lot of depth that most people would not expect.

Michael shared with me his story about how he entered into the Marines at the age of 30. It was a matter of honor that his mates referred to him as “the Old Man” because they respected the fact that he stayed in there with them even though they were mostly a decade younger than he. He wanted to be a Marine. His father was a Marine.

Before the Passover I had broken my toes and at the Passover Service it was Michael who was to wash my feet. He looked me in the eye and said, “I ain’t gonna mess with no broken toes,” whereupon he washed my one foot without the broken toes. I washed his feet.

It was during the Days of Unleavened Bread that he showed up in our apartment complex in the parking lot. My wife and I looked at each other in dismay at him on the heavy duty motorcycle he had ridden on. He was all excited about it. He was a sincere believer who was going to take his brother out in the woods and talk to him about his new faith. We didn’t say anything and hoped for the best.

It was shortly after this that we learned that he was on his way on his motorcycle to prepare to go out to the woods when he got clipped on his head with the mirror of a semi. It removed the top of his head and he ended up in a coma in the hospital. His face had not been affected so it looked like he was in a peaceful sleep.

Each day for nearly 40 days, I would go down to the hospital after work in the afternoon and would sit with him and talk to him because I had heard that those in a coma often heard those talking to him. I would describe the Spring afternoon and the sun shining. At the last, I was not able to get to the hospital and he had changed doctors. He died shortly afterward from the trauma. I believe it was about 40 days.

What I did not know is that Michael had shared our friendship with his family: His dad, mom, sisters and brothers. I was the only one from the church in to see him at the hospital. I had talked with his family when they were there and we got to know one another as best strangers could under such circumstances.

Because Michael was a Marine as was his father, he was given a funeral with full honors with Marines in dress uniforms giving the gun salute with rifles.

Afterward, I prepared an obituary for the Worldwide News. I learned that I had to give it to the minister. It was a paragraph and told part of his story of being in the Marine Corps.

It turns out that I gave it to Dennis Luker after services on the Sabbath. He told me that he had met the family and when they told him about me, he said to them, “Oh, he’s so quiet!”. This produced laughter from Michael’s family and they instantly knew that Dennis Luker knew neither Michael nor me. He was attempting to cash in on an opportunity by pretending to be someone and something he wasn’t and got caught at it.

Eventually, the obituary made it to the Worldwide News. It was a sentence long. It was a brief sentence at that. Michael _____ died…. That was about it. Name, no rank, no serial number. It was crisply impersonally efficient.

During my brief discussion with Dennis Luker, he did something odd: He stroked my stomach as if it were a bowling ball. It was weird and creepy. Very weird and creepy. Very very weird and creepy. I just stood there and allowed him to do it. After all, this was God’s Evangelist of the Worldwide Church of God — the very Work of God. Many of us had been conditioned to be subjected to authority without question — to accept what was truly unacceptable, because the Very God of the Universe would support them even if they were wrong.

I vaguely felt as if I had been raped.

You can read the rest of the article by Douglas Becker here:  Image

E. W King: I Was Right AGAIN! My Prediction of a Female Leader Dying Has Come True!

Newsflash! So that E. W. King can be 100% accurate in his prophecies, God caused Margaret Thatcher to die in order to fulfill his prediction! 



E. W. King is boasting today that another of his predictions have come true!  He writes:

Towards the end of last year God was giving me special insight regarding a specific sign. This sign had to do with an event which was to occur that would point toward the setting up of the final “Abomination of Desolation”. Though all this agrees, in order, with what the Bible teaches I agree that this insight was specific to me. That is, it just confirms what the Bible already teaches regarding what must come first, before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. What must come first is the setting up of the “Abomination of Desolation”. Through a series of visions I saw that the death of a women leader was soon to take place. I spoke of this at the beginning of this year and also sent a special message to a California congregation [in Santa Cruz] of the “remnant” just this year during the Feast of Unleavened Bread [2013]. In this message I was even more specific.

I had seen a British flag and was told that this female leader was one of the last great leaders of latter-day Ephraim. People who read my posted message on “Church of God ~ Speaking to the Remnant” official website read what I stated:

“The death of an important female leader is coming soon!” [Stated at the beginning of 2013 by Mr. E.W.King] Also read: “The Marker”

E. W. King: God Has Given Me Special Discernment

When have we ever not hear that some splinter group leader in the Church of God has been given special discernment?  Flurry says it, Pack says it, Weinland says it, Thiel says it, Malm says it....  on and on the list could go.  Every single COG leader thinks they posses something special that the common folk have never possessed.

King is making it known that he has special knowledge and discernment.

I believe that God has given me “special spiritual discernment” [1 Corinthians 12:10] in these last days. I have been able to put probable outcomes of political events together from God’s word and the special insight that He sometimes gives me. When I get these revelations I post them as “Prophetic Forecasts”. This does not make me a prophet, I am not a prophet. It does mean that God can give a person special revelations without the person having to be a prophet. I believe that we will see more of this kind of activity in these last days as God continues to direct His last day REMNANT people.

King also writes:

God can and does still speak to His people today through the process of “revelation”. We know that the prophecy found in Joel 2:28-32 had a “typical” fulfillment in Acts 2:1-21. This prophecy talks of the out pore of the Holy Spirit. When one reads this prophecy one finds that it was only partially [or typically] fulfilled on Pentecost of 31AD. This means that in these last days people can begin to receive visions and dreams, ‘special revelation’ which will help guide the Church of God in these last days! [We are seeing the anti-typical fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32]

David Barrett and Fortean Times On: Coping Strategies For Failed Prophets

A reader here sent me this link to a recent series of articles in Fortean Magazine that collects some of the worlds strangest news stories and strange phenomenon.  This issue contains articles on the failure of false doomsday prophets.  The article discusses the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong with all of his failed prophecies and Ron Weinland with his latest epic failures.

The article is Apocalypse NOT on page 35.

A few of David Barrett's comments are as follows:

"There is a long tradition of Christan groups being disappointed by the non-arrival of Jesus on the date they foretold.  William Miller in 1843 and 1844 ("the Great Disappointment"), the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1874, 1914, 1925 and 1975 and the Worldwide Church of God in 1975 are perhaps better known.  Worldwide founder Herbert W. Armstrong's booklet 1975 in Prophecy, first published in 1956, oddly became unavailable from the mid-Seventies!  More recently, we had Harold Camping offering first May 21 and then October 21, 2011 as the End of Days, and Ron Weinland, leader of a small offshoot from the Worldwide Church, who set the date of 27 May 2012."

----------

"Both the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Worldwide Church of God lost some members, who were disappointed by Jesus's non-arrival and disillusioned by the fallibility )or worse, the falsehoods) of their Churches' leaders.  But, in fact, comparatively few left either religion, because, as Gordon Melton argues, "within religious groups, prophecy seldom fails."  Over the centuries, religious groups have developed a number of coping techniques to deal with the disconfirmation of their deeply held beliefs (see table below).  One of the simplest and most common is: "We miscalculated; come back next year" - which is broadly what William Miller's followers said in 19843 and Harold Camping said in 2011.  More subtle coping strategies are: "It occurred, but on an invisible plane" (which adds another layer of belief but has the twin advantages that believers can still claim it was right, and that they can't be proven wrong); "The Lord was merciful and stayed his hand" (which emphasises God's love and restraint and the niceness of the prophet who must have persuaded God); and "Your faith wasn't strong enough" (which shifts the blame to the religion's members).  Two others are a flat denial: "We never claimed that anyway" (millennial religions have a long history of rewriting history) and, very occasionally, an honest "We were mistaken" or "Our enthusiasm got the better of us" - which is what the Jehovah's Witnesses eventually said

David Barret then goes into a case study of Ron Weinland.

"The failure of any of his specific prophecies for 2008 to occur didn't faze him, despite his having written: "If the things written in the book do not shortly come to pass, then what is written here is false, and I am false".  Instead, he castigates those who criticise him: "Foolishly there are those whoa re more quick to find fault by saying we are wrong or that I am a false prophet since physical destruction did not come at a time I had previously stated." Weinland used versions of two of the common coping strategies for failed prophets."

David goes on to name a few of Ron's epic failures and then wryly notes how the judge who sentenced Ron to prison "did his homework" when he sentenced Ron to a prophetic 3 1/2 years in prison.

Other articles are : 

If at First Your Doomsday Fails - Try, Try Again... by Kevin Whitesides
Don't Get Fooled Again by Peter Brookesmith
Downwind of the Apocalypse  by Richard Stanley

Rod Meredith: Brethren, Its Still All Rainbows, Cotton Candy and Lolipops Here in Charlotte!

Rod Meredith has taken a swipe at James Malm's blog, the Shining Light, in a letter to the ministry justifying the recent disfellowshipment and marking of Tom Baca.  You know things are getting desperate at LCG HQ when they have to publicly pick at blogs and web sites that are a thorn in their side.

Meredith also lashes out at Tom Baca in the letter.  I don't know the full reasons behind Baca's public marking, but I do know from several sources that this is certainly a power play meant  to silence anyone who disagrees with some of LCG's methods of operations.

Armstrongism has always been obsessed with power.  That power structure is firmly in place with the top down leadership of the COG's.  When leaders place God and Jesus at the top of the power structure, then it makes any questioning, doubt, or dissent into rebellion against God.  Just because a person questions or holds the upper echelon accountable for something, does not imply dissension.

What is happening with Baca right now is a power play and a visible threat to anyone else in the church to not do the same thing.

Meredith wants everyone to know that it is still all rainbows and lollipops in Charlotte.  The church has never been more unified, members love Jim Meredith more than they ever have, and the telecast are better than ever after kicking out Baca.  The sticky sweet syrup is running down my computer screen right now.

Doesn't Meredith realize how stupid he looks when he writes this stuff?

Overall, the brethren here at Headquarters seem to be positive and happy and unified. We have had a few problems come up but they are certainly being taken care of and will be taken care of. But God is certainly blessing the Work—our income the last few days has been up, the responses to the telecasts have been great, and the growth in the Internet and our impact on the Internet is certainly proceeding. I just had a long meeting with some of our leading ministers here this morning, and I am very grateful for their advice and support. 

We truly are unified, fellow ministers, and some of the “weird” comments from people calling themselves “Shining Light” and others trying to imply there is some kind of big “power struggle” going on is frankly ridiculous. Mr. Ames, Dr. Winnail and I deeply love and respect each other and are working together very closely as well as Dexter Wakefield, Wyatt Ciesielka, Rod McNair, Bob League, Jim Meredith and others.

You will be hearing about the growth in the Work in the next few weeks, and specific statistics, but I just wanted to send this cover memo with the very much needed “marking” of Tom Baca. Many of you have heard or seen his comments on Facebook and elsewhere, and will understand the need to deal with this individual. Please read this “marking” notice to all the brethren in your area so that they can understand the need to avoid this individual and his attacks on the Church.

 As we obey God and do all we can to move the Work forward, protect the brethren from wolves, and truly concentrate on getting out Christ’s message with greater power, I know that God will certainly be with us. So let’s keep at it, try not to listen to often wildly speculative gossip, and help the brethren grow “unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

Apostle Malm: His "god" Thinks You Are Such Blithering Imbeciles That It Has To Keep Testing You Over and Over and Over

According to apostle Malm God is deliberately testing you over and over. The god that Malm follows sure is a masochistic god.  It seems to take great pleasure in torturing its small remnant.

The Father and Christ have TESTED and TESTED their called out in every generation to judge their loyalty and fitness to become a part of the chosen bride.

Brethren, the apostles did NOT FAIL their TEST!  Although doubtless many others did fail.  It was this situation, in which much of the first century apostasy began to creep into the fellowship, frustrating Paul and the other apostles and leaders.

It was about this ti9me that the Book of Revelation was written and the apostles and leaders began to canonize the New Testament scriptures at Pella.

Brethren, we are now at the end of the age and the tribulation is fast approaching, yet we are still being TESTED as to our LOYSLTY to Christ, as opposed to loyalty to false traditions and the idolizing of men and organizations.

God’s called out will be TSTED many times and in many ways to determine if their loyalty and faithfulness to Christ is absolute, uncompromising and unchanging!

Remember the kind of bride that Christ wants, and always seek him with all your hearts in passionate love for all that he is and does!  Run to him like a deer runs upon the mountains; cleave to him with your whole heart, allowing NO willful compromise or sin to defile us; allowing  NOTHING to separate us from our Beloved!!!

Who in the hell would want to run to Malm's god and cleave to it with your whole heart?  Malm's god is constantly pissed at something.  No one is ever good enough.

Ron Weinland: Your Failure To Follow Me is A Personal Issue Between You and God

The imprisoned Church of God felon, Ron Wienland is blaming members and ministers that have  left his personality cult recently involves a personal issue with ones relationship with God and not him (Ron Weinland).  These people have left his cult because Ron's April 4th prophecy did not come true.

A Personal Relationship with God:
So “what if” someone were to leave God’s Church over something so trivial as what did or did not happen on April 4th? If something so small were to lead to a reason to leave, then there is nothing you can do to change that, for it is a choice God allows because He does not seek to control anyone’s life. It is a spiritual matter, completely involving a personal issue of one’s own relationship with God. No one controls that relationship, but ourselves alone within our own life. Something God helped me to learn a long time ago is that each person’s spiritual life is in his or her own hands and in no one else’s. People can easily influence others (especially those closest to them) to doubt, be suspicious and questioning of others, to have wrong thinking, and so many other hurtful things in life because that is just the natural tendency of selfish human reasoning and of natural pulls.

According to Weinerdude, anyone who causes his personality cult members to doubt, question or be suspicious of his teachings is because the person causing it is full of selfish human reasoning.

The imprisoned felon had predicted that the "second trumpet" would blow on April 4th.  As you all well know, it did not.  Nada!  Zippo!  Never fear though, there just might be something different in the works!

But “what if” the Second Trumpet did blow on or near April 4th? Do you “know” that it didn’t? I don’t! Perhaps it did blow and something is in the works that began at that time in order to accomplish what that trumpet defines. Are you watching (physically and spiritually), staying on guard in battle, and sobered by your belief of this end-time? As one minister who is watching and keeping alert mentioned, even the 9th could be a pivotal day, since it is 40 days to Pentecost, which is still “near” 3 pm. Such observations are a matter of spiritual alertness and wisdom for aiding one in keeping on their toes mentally, with soberness of mind. That does not mean we will see anything on the 9th or that anything of significance will occur, but it is part of being ready and living soberly.

Did you know that every single one of you reading this are mindless imbeciles if you do not acknowledge that a great spiritual war is going on?  Apparently Ron's imprisonment is meant to be spiritual warfare against the church.

Every one of you is without excuse if you do not recognize that a great spiritual war is now being waged. Your ability and realistic degree to which you can see this is one of the measures of your true spiritual state and relationship with God. Have the battles and trials around you increased or decreased over the past few months compared to previous years? Are battles around the Body of Christ less today than a year or two ago? Jesus Christ likened the difficulty that will be experienced in life prior to his arrival with that of a woman in birthing labor. That labor and pain does not diminish as birth nears, but it increases.

Ron is getting ready to cover his ass when his prophecy that Jesus is retuning on May 19th fails to happen.  He writes:

If it were only another observance of Pentecost and nothing more were to happen on May 19th, would the Church of God cease to exist? Would it go some place else or is it already somewhere else? Would the truths of God cease to exist or do you believe that we even have them? Do you know? Do you have doubt about such things? If so, why? Only you and you alone can answer such questions before God.

I do not believe in a “what if” concerning May 19th, but suffice it to say, if it did happen, as with May 27th, then I would deal with it in exactly the same manner. You see, I know that the Church would still be here and moving forward, waiting on God and Christ’s guidance into greater and stronger truth. The “present truth” and our understanding would shift somewhat as it always does when God reveals more and it would be clarified more so we could be in ever-growing and increasing unity with God   as it always has been. We fight a spiritual war and we continue to advance forward. God’s people are “God’s” people, and there is NO fear in any of that, but only growth in spiritual strength, boldness, peace, and confidence in God leading His people, His way, and in His perfect timing. Our lives do not revolve around “what ifs,” but in “what is” as a way of life to be lived in truth and in spirit before our great and loving Father.

I can make a 100% accurate prophecy here. Jesus will NOT return on May 19th.  Ron Weinland will still be in prison as a contemptuous, abusive lying felon.  That his equally nutty wife will NOT be a "second witness" and his money laundering daughter will still be misusing members tithe money to pay for her personal expenses.  100% guarantee it!