Mark Armstrong, the son of undead Garner Ted, and leader of the Intercontinental Church of God is very disturbed by the upcoming Jade Helm exercises in the West. He is not alone as conservative and liberal groups alike see a police state forming. None are more concerned about this though than those in Church of God groups. To them it is a forerunner of the round-up of Sabbath keepers so they can be shipped off to concentration camps and a police state where true believers will not be able to buy food because they refuse the mark of the beast.
Mark writes:
Closer to home, we have for the first time in our history U.S. “unconventional warfare” exercises about to kick off around urban areas and on private land in Texas! (It will be with landowner permission or payment; there is no Federal land in Texas.) Probably no other state in the Union can top Texas for its participation in and support of the U.S. military. But you’d be hard-pressed to find another state as incensed by Federal mandates, from obamacare to the influx of illegal aliens to queer matrimony and on and on. It is in this environment that so-called “Jade-Helm 15” unconventional military exercises are coming, not only to Texas but also Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. But reaction in Texas is getting all the media attention.
Fraught with uncertainty and mixed emotions, Texans firmly support the U.S. military but are beyond suspicious about the intentions of the current administration. They also realize that the U.S. military has borne the brunt of outlandish social experimentation; queers being queer in the barracks, often promoted to positions of command; lesbians commanding units of men; military bases hosting “queer matrimony ceremonies”; chaplains forbidden to use or quote from the Bible; and morale as low as anybody has ever seen. The rules of engagement in the Middle East have hurt morale as well as the fact that the administration always makes excuses for acts of terror, and refuses to acknowledge that Islam drives terrorist fanaticism.The idea that the “Jade Helm 15” exercises are intended to intimidate civilians, or are practice for the institution of martial law have been roundly ridiculed by nearly all respected media outlets and most politicians as well. But the current administration’s thinly veiled contempt for patriots, for “those who cling to their guns and Bibles” has not gone unnoticed. Surely those military conscripts and members of Special Forces are incensed at the suspicion that they would ever act against the interests of American citizens. But then they take orders from a civilian administration that acts against the interests of citizens all the time, sometimes in contravention of law (in the case of transporting, establishing and supporting millions of illegal aliens); in coddling and excusing some of the worst actors on earth (the Iranian ayatollah, the Castro regime to name a couple). So what are we supposed to conclude?I conclude that the military men and women are sincere patriots who want to keep their oath to defend the Constitution, and that their Commander in Chief exhibits no such inclination.
The COGs have been jumping up and down since 1945 hoping to get "rounded up" and sent off to those "Sabbath keeper camps" and it still hasn't happened. The most they can get is the occasional unfavorable news report and confused-but-disinterested shrugs from most of the populace. Even a lawsuit by ex-members resulted in nothing more than a brief receivership.
ReplyDeleteCalm down, guys. Very few are remotely interested by you, much less some European "superman".
The fact that ICG actually acquiesed to Mark Armstrong running their church after GTA said "Goodbye, friends" for the final time is an indication of how devoid that organization is of leadership.
ReplyDeleteOr, to put it another way: "Did you hear the one about Mark Armstrong leading a church?"
No punchline needed.
It sounds like he has a political gripe as much as anything. He brings up patriotism, "codling" enemies and constitutional worries. Of course being sent to a concentration camp can't be left out.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious little Marky doesn't have the speaking or even the writing skills of his father.
Make no mistake about it: The government has secret underground bunkers complete with death chambers that Satan himself has designed, to kill all Sabbath keepers.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHA!!!
ReplyDelete“Mark Armstrong Disturbed By Upcoming Jade Helm Exercises”
Mark Armstrong and his Incontinent Church have worse things than that to worry about. Even more disturbing than the Jade Helm Exercises was Garner Ted Armstrong's extramarital exercises.
Ambassador Report had an interesting article by Al Carrozzo called The Profligate Son that mentioned GTA's incontinence.
http://www.hwarmstrong.com/ar/Profligate.html
Why is Mark Armstrong now yapping about immorality in the military and trying to “traffic in other people's sins” as his father Garner Ted Armstrong used to call it whenever anyone mentioned GTA's own sexually immoral behavior?
I can see where anyone to whom conspiracy theories seem logical and valid would find these exercises troubling. We know one small religious movement, as an example, where conspiracy theories are virtually written into their DNA.
ReplyDeleteTen or fifteen years ago, the Haliburton camps were all the rage amongst the Armstrong prophecy mold set. People on pro-Armstrong sites were even speculating about which camp they could end up in if they didn't qualify for the place of safety. So sad to ruin your present by undue worry about prophecies that have continuously failed.
There are a lot of talk show hosts that get caught up in the same weirdness that Armstrongites do. I remember that when W got Homeland Security started, and the Patriot Act in place, these talk show hosts felt that if such things ever got under the control of the Democrats, our freedom was probably pretty much shot. Most of these guys are fear mongers, who use irrational fear to motivate people to vote hard right. I like a more moderate approach, and was greatly interested in what Michael Medved had to say today. He felt that Rand Paul was making a complete ass out of himself by filibustering in favor of sunsetting the Patriot Act even as we face the greatest threats since the Nazis during WW II via this ISIS phenomenon.
Sorry ACOGs. You and your sabbath will have to take a back seat to the people who pose a real threat. The government isn't worried about a bunch of pacifist conscientious objectors who run and pout over the horrible persecution of having their cars egged at the F/T. They are concerned about radical jihadist terrorist cells, the militias, radicals who start riots, members of street gangs, and probably even outlaw motorcycle clubs after this last weekend. I dare say that some Armstrongites in the future might be thanking their lucky stars for trained individuals who protect the public from the violent radicals amongst us.
But, who knows? Sometimes things do actually go sideways. Problem is, you can know that Armstrongist clergy have no special insights into these things, and generally the opposite of their prophecies ends up becoming reality. Mark Armstrong is more likely to be taken to task for using the term "queers" than for anything related to the religion his grandfather started!
BB
I am very suspicious of it also; as all U.S. citizens should be. this administration (as others before have) have been slowly stripping away the rights given to us by the Constitution. Whenever the Federal Gvt starts telling State Gvts what to do, watch out. States have right to set their own laws. I will not be surprised if this operation stays longer than it is said it will -- that is, the Fed Gvt continues to hold the land. Everyone should be watching this closely -- not just COG people. And what about elections in 2016? Will there even be any -- or will we be under martial law? Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteMark has a closet full of GTA tapes that can be broadcast to bring in enough money to pay the bills. ICG income is less than a million dollars a year, enough to take care of Mark and his two brothers. So, GTA is still providing for his family.
ReplyDeleteOf all the persistent myths out there believed by these poor COG fools (of which I was one for a while), is there now any so pathetic as that any "ministry," with Garner Ted associated, has anything worthwhile AT ALL to offer anyone?
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard Gerald Waterhouse, he proclaimed that Garner Ted, though out of WCG (for good, as it turned out), would surely come back to us and that Scripture backed him up on that.
Well, how'd that work for everybody?
NO2HWA, "undead" might be the perfect adjective for GTA. Thanks.
So far, the only real persecution of Armstrongist churches of God seems to come from other Armstrongist churches of God.
ReplyDeleteExpect the trend to continue.
It should be noted that going to prison for felonies is prosecution not persecution.
What hubris -- expecting to be even noticed?
ReplyDeleteExtremely unlikely.
"And what about elections in 2016? Will there even be any -- or will we be under martial law? Only time will tell." Yawn
ReplyDeleteOh, that a splinter could be the Ship of Fools of the Armstrong movement! Or that GTA could be the ACOG equivalent of the Grateful Dead! You gotta wonder what Pigpen would have done with those old Dwight Armstrong apocalyptic hymns.
ReplyDelete~Miguel de la Rodente
The Armstrongist would surrender their faith rather than die if it came down to it.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Jade Helm Exercises are disturbing and the reason I say this is that I have a good command of history. It is what it is (as much as I hate that term) and when the time comes, if it comes, will be a time of choices for those who have figured out that the government is no friend of the Amerikan people.
Such as it is, the COG cults will exploit this type of fear for financial benefit.
It is what they do best.
I share your concern about Jade Helm. I follow finance & economics pretty closely, & it seems clear to me that either the gov't is training us & gov't personnel for a national collapse, or they expect or are planning an event which they think will cause a collapse. It seems strange to me that the COGs in some ways have become super-"patriotic" when the issue is Islamic violence, while at the same time they seem to want or expect persecution from the gov't. Lots of confusion or cognitive dissonance!
ReplyDeleteMilitary juntas have reigned in South American countries for years, and people have been able to thrive and raise their families under them. The likelihood is that even if martial law needed to be implemented following a collapse, worst case scenario would probably not happen. Obviously, it would be preferable for the freedoms we know today to continue indefinitely.
ReplyDeletePeoples' minds have been conditioned by Armstrongism to expect the worst. This fear continues decades after people have obtained their freedom from it. You can screw yourself up this way. If you visualize becoming a helpless victim sometime in the future, then that's probably going to become your very own self-fulfilling prophecy.
BB
" And what about elections in 2016? Will there even be any -- or will we be under martial law? Only time will tell"
ReplyDeleteCalm down, Bob Thiel.