Its starting to sound like a broken record when it comes to Bob Thiel and Rod Meredith. Thiel has been extremely bitter since Meridith publicly rebuked him over a year or so ago for his delusional behavior. That public rebuke reached Thiel's eyes from this web site BEFORE he heard it from anyone at Living Church of God. That certainly has to be the most humiliating day in Thiel's apostolic life!
The LCG has been swift to rebuke and warn LCG members to be wary of delusional men who self-appoint themselves to positions of power and authority. The constant public rebukes by Meredith and other LCG leaders strikes a raw nerve in Thiel's delicate personalty. Apparently Thiel is not thick-skinned like Herbert Armstrong was who ignored his detractors. Thiel lashes out whining and moaning every time he is labeled as false leader and an usurper in the faith.
The other day he lashed out at Rod Meredith AGAIN though a bitter come back at Wallace Smith regarding an article he wrote telling LCG members to be wary of self-appointed men in the church claiming that they were prophets sent by God. "Plain truth about "Prophets" from Herbert Armstrong."
Smith writes:
I was just studying a topic and came across, once again, Mr. Armstrong’s plain and simple explanation of what it means to have the office of Prophet. Ironically, it is given in a statement he makes explaining that he, himself, was not a prophet. And given that Christ prophesied that there would be “many” false prophets in the world as the end approaches (Matt. 24:11) — including those aiming to deceive God’s own people, specifically (v.24) — I think the clarity of his words is terribly helpful.
Later Smith writes:In the February 1972 Tomorrow’s World (nice title!) magazine on page 1, He said (bolding mine):
“Emphatically I am NOT a prophet, in the sense of one to whom God speaks specially and directly, revealing personally a future event to happen or new truth, or new and special instruction direct from God — separate from, and apart from what is contained in the Bible. And I never have claimed to be.“There is no such human prophet living today!“The Bible is the written Word of God — and, for our time now, it is COMPLETE! Never have I believed or claimed that God reveals to me new truths not contained in the Bible — in addition to, or apart from the Bible.”That description of what it means to occupy the office of Prophet is both simple and completely consistent with the lives of those who held that office in Scripture. I’ve seen the definition of a Prophet messed with many different ways by individuals who were, essentially, trying to craft lists of “qualifications” they could claim apply to themselves, and, in doing so, do great violence to the Bible — contorting it with all their might to make it say something that it simply does not say. (More specifically, contorting it to make it say something about them.)
Poor Bob, that must REALLY hurt to hear that!Those who would wish to make the office of Prophet about having unique and special insight concerning biblical understanding or seeing who in the world is represented in the Bible would find themselves doing (or claiming to do) no more than Mr. Armstrong did in his own life. And, as he said clearly and simply, that isn’t enough to make you a Prophet like, say, John the Baptist, Elijah, or Agabus.
For instance, I’ve seen Self-Appointed Prophets claim that the ability to “predict” some things and to understand the prophecies of the Bible are the fruit of a prophet. Cherry-picked scriptures (against Isaiah 28:9-10) are sometimes used to support this idea. Mr. Armstrong’s life and work — he did both, himself — contradict that statement, however, and clarify the meaning of those scriptures (as do other scriptures), and his personal example highlights to us that this is not enough to grant one the title of Prophet. He did those things and was not, himself, a Prophet. In fact, he did those things far more impressively than any of the pretenders I see in today’s crop of fake “prophets” and, yet, recognized that such things did not qualify him to bear that title.
(Note: This is all aside from discussing the fact that many Prophet Wannabes list “successful predictions” that are far from actually being actual, successful predictions in any meaningful and relevant sense of the words. I’ve seen various lists of “predictions” and put them to the test. Literally not a one has ever passed the test like they claim to do. None. Always examine such lists closely; the failure to meet the standard of “Prophet” is usually pretty clear. The points I am making here are broader than this, but it’s still a good point to make as an aside. I have simply never seen a list of “predictions” or a video from a “Prophet” making such predictions that are of the sort sufficient to qualify them as a Prophet. Ever. It would be exciting to see one, but I haven’t seen one yet.)
Delicate thin-skinned Thiel lashes out with this:Those individuals today who claiming the title and office of Prophet are, judging by Mr. Armstrong’s biblically consistent words, sadly self-deluded or purposefully being false (I prefer to believe the former).
Like any good prophet, splinter group leader or wanna-be apostle Thiel then has to have SEVEN PROOFS that he is for real. Seven, that magical number in Armstrongism of perfection. Since Thiel leads the greatest work the COG has ever seen in 1,900 years, and is the worlds most accurate prophet, perfection perfectly describes him.Wallace Smith has repeatedly attacked me--and the above was intended as another attack against me.
Next, Thiel brings in Aaron Dean's opinion on why he (Thiel) is a prophet:
Then Thiel uses an old article by Meredith that prophets would arise in the end time. Thiel believes this is the second proof he is a prophet. Logic dictates, at least in Thiel's mind., that since this is the end time he is one of those prophets.First, I spoke at least twice to Aaron Dean about Herbert Armstrong's position about prophets. Aaron Dean said it was Herbert Armstrong's belief that there were at least two alive when he wrote the Mystery of the Ages (with Aaron Dean's assistance) who God would later use as prophets. No one should imply that Herbert Armstrong did not believe God would raise up any prophets in the last days.
Thiel's third proof is that his prediction of God striking down Meredith and his wife came to pass. Meredith had a stroke and his wife died of cancer.Second, Dr. Meredith, current head of LCG, decades ago wrote that the church was to have prophets (Meredith RC. How Church Government Really WORKS. Good News, March 1964, pp. 4-5). So, does it not make sense as we get closer to the end that there would be at least one?
Next Thiel uses the dreams he and a woman in his personality cult had as the fifth proof that he is a prophet:Third, I did tell LCG's Davy Crockett in August of 2008 that I believe God revealed to me that a top leader in LCG would be struck if he would not implement certain corrections that he promised to implement, and that happened to Dr. Meredith the next month. This was an 'outside of the Bible' prediction that came to pass.
Fourthly, I also tried to warn Dr. Meredith in December 2011 that his wife was to be struck health-wise and several weeks later it was reported by him that she was. This was another 'outside of the Bible' prediction that came to pass.
Next Theil gives the sixth proof just because he assumes so:Fifthly, it was the position of the old Worldwide Church of God that God would again use dreams (Personal Correspondence Letter). Yet, the old WCG never reported any, hence the belief was that this would happen in the future, and it has. God has used dreams several times for at least three now part of the Continuing Church of God. For details, please study the article Dreams, the Bible, and the Continuing Church of God.
Then Thiel drags Rod Meredith back into the equation:Sixthly, I do have the other fruits of a prophet Jesus spoke of. For details, please study the article How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God.
Seventhly, it was LCG's Dr. Meredith who called me up and told me that GOD may consider that I was a prophet in October 2008. Wallace Smith neglected to share that part of the truth in his post. I was NOT going around for years telling people that I was. Prior to my 'double-portion' anointing by LCG minister Gaylyn Bonjour, I never told any LCG leaders I was a prophet. I told them what Dr. Meredith said and told them that I felt that I must receive a further ordination to accept that.
Thiel is so incensed at Meredith and others actions in the Living Church of God that he claims that NO ONE in the LCG will ever be able to understand when the end times gets here. That is only possible through Thiel's personality cult. Unless you are a member of the Continuing-Ed Church of God you have NO HOPE of salvation.It is Wallace Smith who is clearly reporting a lie. And he remains too cowardly to name me by name--yet he is being a false accuser of the brethren.
The role of being a prophet in the Church of God is certainly messy!
Bitter Bob is bitter.
ReplyDeleteA TV show could be made about the trials and tribulations of an embittered 50-something as he enters a belated mid-life crisis. The show could be entitled, My So-Called Apostolic Life.
Unless you are a member of the Continuing-Ed Church of God, you have NO HOPE of any so-called salvation.
First he's a fake "doctor." Then he becomes the author of fake books. Now he's embarking on a fake "career" as a "prophet." Too bad Bob couldn't have gotten himself any real careers, you know, ones in which you provide tangible value to other human beings?
This whole sorry episode suggests a different Rod---- Rod Serling, and the Twilight Zone. Wally is just as far off base as Thiel, because it is obvious that he bases his entire belief system and existence on the apostleship of Herbert W. Armstrong.
ReplyDeleteThese guys are disputing the position of "king of the outhouse", as if it were even a serious discussion.
I sure wish I had bought shares in Reynolds Aluminum way back when!
BB
I disagree somewhat with BANNEDs statement of...
ReplyDelete"Apparently Thiel is not thick-skinned like Herbert Armstrong was who ignored his detractors"
It seems to me that HWA was somewhat obsessed with the Church of God Seventh Day, and constantly referred to them as "Sardis" and a "Dead Church" right up until the time of his death, some 50+ years after leaving them.
Thiel's pitifulness seems to get worse by the day. I mean, really, predicting a couple of elderly people would have health issues? That takes no talent whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteSince when has Aaron Dean been worth getting his opinion on religious matters? He is just another cult lackey that covered up a lot of abuse and corruption in the WCG. Now he does it in an equally disturbing splinter cult, the United Church of God. His opinion is as worthless as Bob Thiel's.
ReplyDeleteBitter Bob sure can pitch himself a full on hissy fit when he doesn't get the attention he feels he deserves.
ReplyDeleteIt's remarkable how he takes Meredith's words as true when they are favorable to him. Aside from that, Meredith isn't fit to head the Church going back to HWA's pronouncement 35 years years ago. That's not including the approximately 15 years in between when Bitter Bob personally recognized Meredith as heading God's Church on Earth.
I like how HWA writes, dated February of 1972:
ReplyDelete"Emphatically I am NOT a prophet, in the sense of one to whom God speaks specially and directly, revealing personally a future event to happen or new truth, or new and special instruction direct from God — separate from, and apart from what is contained in the Bible. And I never have claimed to be. There is no such human prophet living today!"
...and then on March 14 of 1980 HWA also writes:
"Your [Rod Meredith's] letters of February 1 and March 7 show, I am sorry to say, that either you still cannot understand WHY the living Head of God's Church, Jesus Christ, had you sent to Hawaii, or you are unwilling to see or admit — and I prefer to believe the former."
Now, let me get this straight...
Who was it that exiled RCM to Hawai'i? Was it HWA, or was it "Jesus Christ"?
Did HWA receive "special instruction direct from God" to exile RCM to Hawai'i, or didn't he? Was HWA a "prophet" of "Jesus Christ" or wasn't he?
Well, of course he wasn't. HWA wasn't an "apostle" or anything else of "Jesus Christ" either. Bitter Bob certainly isn't a prophet. That's a ridiculous claim too. But saying that HWA wasn't a prophet is absolutely the wrong reasoning to use to reliably reach the conclusion that Bob isn't a prophet! I'm afraid Wallace Smith hasn't got much of a leg to stand on, quoting HWA giving a definition of a prophet and then saying he (HWA) was not one. HWA liked have his cake both ways, as you can see.
Bitter Bob is merely choosing to have the cake less traveled by, not that it makes any difference. If you still buy this whole bollocks cake, which Wallace Smith still does, you can't really strip Bitter Bob of his piece of that cake, now can you? Bob is doing no more and no less than what HWA did, as insane as that was. By the rules of logic, Wallace Smith is admitting to being no less self-deluded and speaking on behalf of authority that is no less false.
HWA was the founder, city planner, architect, and first Mayor of Crazytown. RCM and Bitter Bob are just two of it's 700+ current competing Mayors, and Wallace Smith just one of its several thousand card-carrying citizens. And once you're in Crazytown, since all the roads are circular, it can be difficult to find your way out.
If Dr. "Prophet" Thiel ever had any credibility he has "lost" it now.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I am tired of all these so-called COG prophets. They start out supposedly teaching what HWA taught (even his errors) and then it becomes all about them.
I am still waiting for the living Head of God's Church, Jesus Christ, to send me to Hawaii. All expenses paid I hope and preferably during the cold dark winter months of December, January and February.
ReplyDeleteDamn that must have been tough for the Rod of God being exiled to the sunny beaches of Hawaii.
Richard
Connie Schmidt,
ReplyDeleteHWA had to constantly refer to The Church of God, Seventh Day as "Sardis" and a "Dead Church" right up until the time of his death because it legitimized his claim that God used him to raise up the Philadelphia era in the successive Church era belief. It was a foundation belief of HWA and gave reason for the the RCG/WCG's existence.
From HWAs perspective, he taught that the COG7D rejected "new biblical truth" of British-Israelism and the annual Feast days, and were not producing any fruits. Therefore, they were the biblical dead Sardis era. It was very convenient for HWA to make that conclusion if he wanted to convince people his ACOG movement was the good Philadelphian era right before the Great Tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ.
In Thiel's case, he asks his tithe slaves to accept on faith that he is a Profit (OOps, I mean prophet). On faith you must accept his "double dose" of receiving extra holy spirit. Other than that, there really isn't much to hang your hat on in the Thiel Church of God - unless of course Thiel finally woke up to what I've known for 40+ years. That Rod Meredith is an idiot!
Also, in the 1950s and into 1960s, HWA allowed Radio Church of God converts to attend COG7D services in cities were there were no RCG congregations. That doesn't sound like someone who was obsessed with the Church of God, Seventh Day.
Richard
...Seven, that magical number in Armstrongism of perfection...
ReplyDeleteI always knew I was perfect (born on Feb. 7).
...as for for Bitter Bob...Waaaaaa, get some self control boy!
The Adventist movement, which I believe was the original source for the theory of church eras, heard and saw William Miller teach that the so called Laodicean era began in the 1840s!
ReplyDeleteThis is a quasi-doctrine that lends itself to being applied fast and loosely, to say nothing of being used in self-serving ways. There was much angst and dismay amongst the membership of COG-7, being tarred and feathered with the label "Sardis". This is something which they have written about. I remember eating lunch in the student center at AC with one of the coeds, years ago, asking her which church area in which she had attended. She replied that she had been involved with the Sardis church, and you could tell by the way in which she expressed this that she saw that as being "less than".
For people who complained about the theory of evolution, WCG people certainly maximized the usage of just about any theory that supported their existence, justified their message, and authenticated their timeline. You have the doctrine of the church eras, British Israelism, the borrowing of Hillel II's calendar and 19 year time cycles, but the rejection of his chronology (creation at 3761 BC), Simon Magus allegedly starting the Catholic Church, and the tracing of little groups which supposedly kept the basic tenets of Armstrongism juxtaposed against the teaching that the gospel had been largely lost for over 1900 years. Looking back on the fact that we actually bought into this stuff, what a strange kettle of fish! It would have made Occam's head spin.
BB
The reason HWA wrote that article in Feb 1972 denying that he claimed to be any sort of prophet was that January 1972 had just come and gone without the church fleeing as he and the church ministry had so long speculated on. So the article was HWA's first shot at weaselling out of being called a false prophet. He was feeling the heat and said, in essence, I can't be a false prophet because I am not any kind of prophet at all. He was a master at making weasel arguments.
ReplyDeleteTheil got nothing more than a double dose of crap! We see the proof of that every time he speaks.
ReplyDeleteMy hypothesis is that whenever a person starts a sentence with "Seventhly", 99 percent of the time there's a problem in the person's head, and sadly and of course, Bob Thiel helps to confirm my hypothesis.
ReplyDeleteThere's something sooooo Armstrongist to have "Firstly" through "Seventhly", with nothing beyond those included.
I can just imagine Booby tossing and turning in bed as an "Eleventhly" point comes to him in a dream.
The more realistic "Eleventhly" point that he's wrong might just freak him the f*** out!
So, please go back to sweet sweet sleep, my Booby,... and only have dreams of nice 'seventhlys' and lower numbers (and may God protect you from higher numbers with POPPIES...).
SLEEEEEP, My Booby, SLEEEEEEP!
Worry not about the Yellow Brick road ahead...
ReplyDeleteBob Thiel is bitter because he wishes HE'd been sent on a Hawaiian vacation, too, by God's Apostle Herb.
BITTERNESS INCREASING ALERT!-
Hawaiian Airlines just emailed Bitter Bob and said, "Dear Mr Thiel, We regret to inform you that we cannot accept all those Reynolds Wrap coupons (that your members sent to you in lieu of tithe monies) as payment toward the first class flight to Hawaii that you requested. And no, delivering a crooked bookcase to your travel agent will not 'cover the tax', either. Perhaps you can stick to a single dose in the future, and contact a different airline if you need further assistance.
PS: I will be contacting the NSA and FBI about your suggesting that you can adjust the pilots' and stewardess' necks in mid-flight."