For over 60 years now we have had the unfortunate pleasure of having to listen to Rod Meredith run off at the mouth that the world is coming to an end, that time is short, and that it is time to step up the game and preach a forceful message. Like Bob Thiel, James Malm, Gerald Flurry and Dave Pack, its been one lie after another. Endless false prophecies and wildly absurd speculations.
Meredith knows that the old guard are quickly dying off and that his life is soon to come to an end while his kingdom still has not come. As his life winds down he still feels the need to get a "forceful" message out to the world. In other words, since time is short, it is the duty of the members to send in all the money they can so the greatest work ever can get its final message out.
Dave Pack his own version of an end time message that has failed for three years in a row now. Bob Thiel has a bastardized Catholic/Mayan version. James Malm, the professional Judaizer, pretends that the knows the date of the end, Gerald Flurry is ready to dig up the Ark of the Covenant so he can get his final word out. Don Billingsley is so crazy that he has become the laughing stock of the church due to his absurd ads in The Journal. Which end time version is the correct one?
With literally thousands of failed prophecies uttered by Church of God leaders over the decades the church has lost all credibility, except in the eyes of a few die-hard believers. Unfortunately we may soon see some of these die-hards do horrendous things in order to bring in the end times they fervently desire. Or, they may suffer horrendous abuse at the hands of certain leaders. Mass deaths and suicides may be on the horizon.
How many more lies will these men need to proclaim till people wake up?
Frankly, brethren, I deeply feel that the next two to three years of your life will see big changes—perhaps more than any we have seen in modern times. It looks like many massive changes are beginning to come together in our society—new leaders with drastically different ideas taking over the United States, big changes coming in Europe and a possible disintegration of the entire European Union, along with increasingly dangerous threats from China and the Far East. We need to realize that more and more reports are coming out almost every month about the threat of the Zika virus and a “new” virus against which there are apparently no defenses! So it is possible that the massive disease epidemics prophesied in the Bible are slowly beginning to develop. Also, bigger upsets and natural disasters than ever before will occur, including powerful storms, fires, earthquakes and other events of increasingly unprecedented magnitude.
All of this certainly indicates the need for us to “step up our game” and have a real impacton this terribly deceived world while we have the opportunity. It means each of us whom God has called needs to realize that our lives are short and we need to act to do God’s Work while we have the opportunity. As you know, many of our older ministers and brethren are dying. Each of us still living needs to truly go “all out” to seek God like never before, as the final years of this society close in upon us. Are you, personally, truly seeking God and His power? I know that most of us are sincere, and are attending Sabbath services and tithing regularly. But, in many of our personal habits and ways of life, are we just drifting rather than powerfully growing and “crying out” to God for all of us to have a much bigger impact on this sick world?
35 comments:
Sorry, Rod. Who even cares, so long as there's good music to listen to, like the new stuff by Shooter Jennings and Lukas Nelson? Your fear and pain gospel has already taught us that death is really nothing to fear, let alone something we'd need to warn the world about. After a while, humans become immune, realizing that some peoples' "solutions" or "rewards" are actually worse than death.
im sure noah warned his contemporaries for many decades; christ and his followers warned the jews of the temple for decades that no stone would be left standing...
The words cited seem to be especially targeted at the "elderly".
It seems he is adressing the "elder who are still living" who are called to make an impact.
That means he is after their estates.
nck
The old classic emphatic-pronouncements-with-wiggle-room :-)
"I deeply feel that the next two to three years of your life will see big changes—perhaps more than any we have seen in modern times!"
If something happens, "See! we were proclaiming that something big would happen in a few years!
Nothing (probably) of import happens? Well, it "felt" that way and we said perhaps. Oh, and by the way, something big is still going to happen in another 2-3 years now...!
At some point, the members must tire of this constant crying of wolf, you would think.
Love this old canard too:
"We need to realize that more and more reports are coming out almost every month about the threat of the Zika virus and a “new” virus against which there are apparently no defenses! So it is possible that the massive disease epidemics prophesied in the Bible are slowly beginning to develop. Also, bigger upsets and natural disasters than ever before will occur, including powerful storms, fires, earthquakes and other events..."
That's what they were saying about AIDS, MERS, Ebola, and every other periodic health threat that arises. Not that they aren't threats to be dealt with, but they see every budding epidemic as the much awaited White Horseman.
And natural disasters? Really, give it a break already. This planet has been prone to natural disasters for all of its 4 billion year history. The only difference being that now humans continue to develop technologies that allow us to escape, predict and recover from such disasters to a certain extent that never existed before. Hopefully this ability will continue to improve in the future so such disasters will claim ever fewer victims....
It's just disgusting how he continues to milk those who fear that his dire proclamations just might come true. He is but a false prophets. His words will never come to pass.
Like a broken record he regurgitates the same exploitative tale of woe and promises to protect his followers from a catastrophe that never occurred. Back on May 18, 2011 he wrote that he expected "truly awesome events" to take place within three to six years [2014-7].
"My friends, I am excited as never before. For so many of the prophetic events we have talked about or written about for many decades either have already happened or are right now in the process of happening! ...
"Meanwhile, remember, my friends the speculation about “2012.” Millions have been deluded into believing that the “end of the world” will occur then. Or that the “Age of Aquarius” will begin then. Yet, the Bible does indicate that the rebellious wicked spirits who followed Satan do know certain things beyond what we humans sometimes know. And this is certainly indicating that next year, 2012, may be a very exciting year! Even apart from that, as a minister of Jesus Christ in His true Work for over 58 years, I clearly perceive that within the next three to six years truly awesome events will begin to take place! By this time six years from now I feel—based on my decades in God’s Work—that the “world” around you will be vastly changed from what it is today. I do not predict that the Great Tribulation will have begun by then, or that Christ will have come by then. But prophetic happenings will be bringing us “very close” to those events, and enormous changes will already be underway beyond anything you have ever experienced in your life!"
Oops, seems that would be the pale horse, not the white horse ..
Getting rusty on my apocalyptic horse colors here :-)
"Frankly, brethren, I deeply feel that the next two to three years of your life will see big changes..."
You don't say, Rod.
Frankly, I deeply feel that the next two to three years will NOT see big changes.
I admit I could be wrong, but so far, my prophecies so far have come to pass every time!
Redfox wrote (quoting RCM):
"By this time six years from now I feel—based on my decades in God’s Work—that the “world” around you will be vastly changed from what it is today."
Well, he was right! The world is vastly different from 2011.
Go outside and see hundreds of people diligently engrossed in playing Pokemon GO (forcing them to get outside and get some exercise :=)
We now live in a Pokemon GO world... Things will never be the same again---
"we need to step up our game". "We need to cry out to God". How does one cry out? Is God hard of hearing. If Rod is going to shake the world why not do it now. What is he waiting on? Why do people stay in LCG and listen to his worn out messages? Too bad Rod never got a real life.
Time IS short... for the elderly, sickly and desperately frightened Rod Meredith!
He knows he will likely be dead in "two to three years."
He knows that Gerald Weston is already disobeying him and making him irrelevant.
He knows that, despite all his ambition, he never outdid Herbert W. Armstrong. He didn't even prove HWA wrong in what he wrote to Spanky in 1980: "You have a WILL to lead, but not the qualifications."
But this doesn't make Rod any different from the millions of Christians who do their best, fail as often as succeed, and know that they have a hope for eternity. Millions of Christians who are in situations much like Rod's are at peace, knowing they have a Savior and that their soon-coming death is simply a transition to a much better eternity.
So, why is old Rod so afraid?
Seek God like never before because the end is coming and you don't want to be caught with your pants down rather than
Seek God because it is good and right to do whether the end is in sight or not.
"The bible warns against teaching against Gods laws."
It also tells us it is true because it says it is true right in itself.
"So it is possible that the massive disease epidemics prophesied in the Bible are slowly beginning to develop."
"...slowly beginning to develop"???
Is Rod nothing but a COMPLETELY IGNORANT BUFFOON, devoid of the ability to fathom world history, and ignoring much of it unless it suits his crazy ideas????
Here's a few examples which blow Rod's idiocy out of the water-
* Plague of Athens, 429–426 BC (75,000–100,000 died)
* Antonine Plague, 165–180 (5 million died)
* Plague of Justinian, 541–542 (25-50 million died)
* Black Death, 1346–1350 (75–100 million died)
* Cocoliztli- viral hemorrhagic fever, 1545–1576 (17.5 million died)
* 1918 flu pandemic, 1918–1920 (75 million died)
These are just a few - out of many - examples, to show what a mega-moron Rod Meredith is.
(And in case anyone still wants to think of Rod Meredith as some kind of "expert" on diseases, here's a dandy little piece of history: Rod laughed about his first wife Margie's cancer, calling it "only a skin condition", and then, later, Margie died from that cancer that Rod Meredith had laughed about.)
In 1969 the group Zagler and Evans had a one hit wonder song called "In The Year 2525".
The song goes through a litany of predictions for various years centuries in the future. One of the lines says...
In the year 7510
If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then
Maybe He'll look around Himself and say
Guess it's time for the judgment day
So I place the Zagler and Evans prediction at least "on par" with the credibility of either Thiel, Pack , Flurry or Meredith, IMHO!
6.54 AM 'right in itself?' Hmm, some philosophers would debate that vague statement. Something is true if it is in alignment with what God created. Something is morally correct if it is in the category of 'choose life,' (ie, preservation of life and achievement of success) and morally sinful if in the category of 'choose death.'
Cheers TradingGuy
From my limited perspective, it seems that there are many who have grown tired of all the self-proclaimed prophets like William Miller, Ellen G. White, Herbert Armstrong, Rod Meredith, Harold Camping, Dave Pack, Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry, etc., but there are also many who prefer to ride it out with their "old proven belief system", whatever it may be.
It would be interesting to know how many are in the various camps. It is obvious that some are becoming aware of the purpose and result of cults and religion in general.
Is there a splinter leader out there anyone would recommend as being level-headed, loving, intelligent, open-minded and wise? It fascinates me that we can't bring ourselves to admit we may have jumped aboard the wrong train twenty to fifty years ago, and it is time to ask for directions from someone who has GPS access.
Freedom from religion is a tremendous feeling, and it is real. I know old habits die hard, and BEING RIGHT is very important for people who are desperate to know they have THE TRUTH.
I'm no prophet and I don't believe in any prophets, even those in the Bible. But, I can predict that, one of these days, Rod Meredith is going to stop breathing and that none of the things he prates about is going to have happened. It's happened before, ala William Miller, Herbert Armstrong, etc. Anyone who listens to his "wolf, wolf" shouts is going to be mightily disappointed, but it will make no real difference. They'll just shrug their shoulders and go looking for some other cocksure deceiver to grab their imagination.
Allen C. Dexter
Like the radio show host who asks his guest a question and keeps interrupting him with "We only have a few minutes left..."
In the end-time timetable, the building of a Third Temple is usually a marker, but not elaborated. In 1967, HWA mentioned that now that Jerusalem had been captured, a temple could be built, but time is short (meaning 1972). Bob Thiel goes to great lengths to show that a temple isn't necessary, an altar will be sufficient. Besides, building a temple takes too long, and he claims HWA never taught a temple was required.
Dave Pack switched thinking on the temple, first saying it would be impossible to get the land because it was under Islamic control. After his "come together" prophecy, when no one came together, he changed is view to claiming a temple must be built. So Dave is buying himself some time, during which he can enhance his end-time empire.
"Freedom from religion is a tremendous feeling, and it is real. I know old habits die hard, and BEING RIGHT is very important for people who are desperate to know they have THE TRUTH."
How true! Those who went galloping off to the crusades were absolutely sure they had "the truth." The Pope himself had assured them of the fact. The followers of William Miller were absolutely convinced they were in the "last generation," so they abandoned all the wealth that would have helped them in their declining years and ended up penniless and destitute, dependent on public charity. Those who are absolutely sure this is the end are likewise giving all, including their retirements, for the "final push."
Same old same old. They're all going to wind up in the same boat of regrets and penury. Meanwhile, the con artists who follow in Herb's footsteps have made as sure as they possibly can that they will be abundantly cared for in their final years.
Time to wise up, folks!
Allen C. Dexter
"Is there a splinter leader out there anyone would recommend as being level-headed, loving, intelligent, open-minded and wise?"
If I had to choose from amongst the HWA scattered flock, that would have been Ronald L. Dart.
"It fascinates me that we can't bring ourselves to admit we may have jumped aboard the wrong train twenty to fifty years ago, and it is time to ask for directions from someone who has GPS access."
We need to grow up, spiritually. From what we know, we have one life to live. It would be such a shame to let others live it for you. Especially, when they have proven that they can't speak for God.
DBP
So nice to see that there are some posting to this blog who are on the train moving away from cults and self-appointed religious leaders. Gives me a momentary sense of gratitude and hope.
May sanity and awareness engulf our thinking!
"...that would have been Ronald L. Dart."
Ron's Born to Win was my last ride before jumping off the train. The Armstrongismometer reading was around 15% hooey, and I decided even that was too much. But it was a pleasant trip while it lasted, much better than ICG!
Gerald Bronkar wrote:
"... but there are also many who prefer to ride it out with their "old proven belief system", whatever it may be."
Seems to be the general trend.
Some years after leaving (not just WCG but religion) I had a conversation with a friend (post-Tkach change years) about how it was confusing and stressfull how all these changes were being forced in "God's church", even though he was HWA's appointed successor, and "how could God..." etc. etc.
To which I proposed that if you take the supernatural belief system out of it all, suddenly everything makes crystal clear sense. A humanly concocted belief system, with men doing what they've done for millennia: i.e. vying for power, control over others, trying to predict the future and, most of all, teaching that what they personally think is "righteousness" and the way to heaven is how everyone ought to be.
It's only when you try to attach some "holy spirit" or guidance from above to it all, that it seems surprising or confusing.:)
Even if these happened to be the end times, the Armstrong groups have spoken presumptuously, and have proven themselves to be untrustworthy messengers. Only a fool would base his life on what they say. I remember years ago, when Howard Stern had a TV program as a companion to his New York radio show. In one episode, he had a guest who was attempting to get into the Guiness Book of Records by becoming the person who had sequentially expelled the most flatus within a one hour time period. As I watched, the thought occurred to me that this attempt to break a world record was so much more edifying than anything I had ever heard from the Armstrong movement. It was about as meaningful, as well. The little prophecy Smurf (HWA) surely helped himself to our beer money, didn't he?
Michael,
You are one who gives me hope and boosts my spirit! Thankfully, some do wake up and become aware of their silly beliefs.
TradingGuy,
It must make you feel good to know everything and be so superior. You have already stated that you like living in la-la land, and your every post demonstrates it.
Allen,
I thought Laurel and Hardy were both funny and dead. TradingGuy must have us confused with someone else. Maybe Penn and Teller??
Just as an observation, I find it interesting that this site seems to have become almost as divisive and derisive as the many splintered COG's.
Instead of coming from the same basic original perspectives, as most, but admittedly not all of the various COG groups at least started from, you have here your basic atheists, those of the splintered and newly appointed and "I know better" atheists; those that have all the newest "truth" and those that counter that they have all the even more up to date truth.
You have your basic antagonists and protagonists, Connie, with her usual funny and often enlightening comments and others who never seem to make any sense at all, even after reading their posts several times.
Perhaps the only thing this site once had in common, at least in the beginning, was the disgust and angst with WCG and it's beliefs or perhaps the horrible conditions and corrupt leadership we all fell for at one point in our lives.
What you seem to have here now, at least as long as I've read this blog (about 2 years), is the same almost cultish, personal attitudes and beliefs that make occasional swipes at HWA / WCG, but seem to fall within the same confines of just as often being just as outlandish and full of childish gamesmanship that's still in the COG.
Instead of Meredith, Thiel, etc. and their magnanimous personalities and fractious beliefs, we have here, "fill in your own blank" names who seem no less as often self righteous, and bloviating as any COG minister or personality.
Sometimes the comments are funny, even on occasion enlightening, but truthfully, as some mentioned about Dennis Diehl's often long comments (which are often based on his experiences in the past, which he readily has shared about being in the ministry and not just about being an atheist) in another posting, he ain't alone....
The problem seems to lie in who can see themselves as just as guilty, for "preaching their own version of their gospel" and looking for their own converts. Maybe leaving the cultish attitude is harder than we think.
Neither of Roderick C. Meredith's two groups--his Global Church of God, and his Living Church of God--ever had even one-tenth of the number of people that Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God had in the past at its peak. For all of RCM's talk about how almost nobody had ever heard of HWA and his WCG, but that RCM and his churches were going to do a great work and “shake the nations,” it simply has not worked out. Now, RCM is so old that he will probably die “within the next 3 to five years.” Finally, the end really is in sight--for RCM.
Even the relatively few people that Roderick C. Meredith initially got to follow him had come from the Worldwide Church of God, especially after the Tkach's total and open apostasy in 1995. Without that sudden, initial influx of people, RCM would hardly have got anybody. Yet, from early on, RCM liked to talk about how totally new people who had never heard of Herbert W. Armstrong were joining his groups. But RCM's Global Church of God is now bankrupt and gone, and RCM's current Living Church of God still has not amounted to much either. Not enough new people have joined RCM's LCG.
The old geezers in Roderick C. Meredith's Living Church of God have to listen to RCM's doctrinal changes, which RCM calls “doctrinal upgrades.” RCM is still trying to outdo Herbert W. Armstrong, who died in 1986, and put his own stamp on his LCG. All of RCM's competitive striving for all these years and decades has not worked out the way RCM wanted it to. RCM always had a strong will to lead, but never had the necessary qualifications.
1.28 PM you have a black belt in being condescending and patronizing. I learnt nothing from reading your post. Why is division such a bad thing? Unity is a commie, not a biblical theme. Err, but wait, all you do is patronise. Why did I ask?
September 15, 2016 at 1:28 PM
"...people(')s relationship(s)" are; is to relate to other people! That's it. That's all we have right now. Choosing only to relate to your assumptions in your own head will turn you into a King Midas of intellectualizing, with nothing but lumps of gold everywhere and nobody except yourself to make use of it. If God ever does decide to come around, again?, I'll be waiting because that is all that I or you can do. Until then, we gotta make do with what we already got. Ourselves. Know matter how difficult that can be at times, learning to be more humane with each other is surely something God would be in approval of.
Anonymous said: "Just as an observation, I find it interesting that this site seems to have become almost as divisive and derisive as the many splintered COG's."
The armstrong experience worked so well at installing the armstrong attitude into us, that many have still continued to use the same tactics and attitudes(unconsciously) in trying to convince others of their new-found beliefs. Has confessions, ManPower meetings, gossip, misunderstandings, scapegoating, game-playing, backchannels ever been successful in building better character? I have never had any worthy insight or epiphany through someone else's persistent dogmatism. Have you?
This is not how we came into this church. We were lied to.
DBP
I agree that on this blog, it's not unusual to find the occasional persons trying to convince others of their new-found beliefs.
After all, since following HWA's teachings and it's legacy often results in mental tragedy, within many people's minds there's a compelling need to find "The Real Absolute Truth" to replace the old absolutes with.
Can anyone argue that many HWA-brainwashed people DIDN'T end up with holes in their brains that needed to be filled with THE TRUTH, no matter how dubious that new Truth was?
Trying to convince others of their new-found beliefs is easy to TRY to do, although
it comes down to the fact that they're desperately trying to gain validation.
IOW, they're trying to convince themselves via an external locus of control.
That renders their misguided efforts futile. But, it explains a few things related to some blog comments.
Comment was made saying:
"...How many more lies will these men need to proclaim till people wake up?
Frankly, brethren, I deeply feel that the next two to three years of your life will see big changes—perhaps more than any we have seen in modern times. It looks like many massive changes are beginning to come together in our society—new leaders with drastically different ideas taking over the United States, big changes coming in Europe and a possible disintegration of the entire European Union, along with increasingly dangerous threats from China and the Far East. We need to realize that more and more reports are coming out almost every month about the threat of the Zika virus and a “new” virus against which there are apparently no defenses! So it is possible that the massive disease epidemics prophesied in the Bible are slowly beginning to develop. Also, bigger upsets and natural disasters than ever before will occur, including powerful storms, fires, earthquakes and other events of increasingly unprecedented magnitude.
All of this certainly indicates the need for us to “step up our game”..."
Rod Meredith says: "STEP UP OUR GAME!" What game is Rod Meredith playing?
Could it simply be: "The Biggest Lie!"
What is the biggest lie? Is there such a thing?
One such big lie is telling us that Jesus Christ is "coming soon" at His "second coming" to establish His reign on planet earth for 1,000 years (a Mickey Mouse Millennium).
For one thing, Jesus Christ already came to earth for the second time AFTER His death, resurrection, visit to His Father and returning to earth for about 40 days.
Yet, He is not supposed to reign on earth until all enemies (e.g. Satan, death (that last enemy?)) are put down, subdued, overwhelmed, overcome by God the Father.
Satan exits the bottomless pit AFTER the MMM and makes a mess out of Jerusalem. Where was/is Jesus Christ then?
Satan involves the entire world in war again. Where was/is Jesus Christ then? Where was that "everlasting peace?"
And Rod also wrote another LIE: "...As you know, many of our older ministers and brethren are dying. Each of us still living needs to truly go “all out” to seek God like never before, as the final years of this society close in upon us..."
Somebody, please tell Rod he has a long wait, to stop thinking about God's work, opportunities to do this and that, and a society's final years soon to end...it's going to be a long wait!
And besides, a "famine of hearing the words of the LORD" has not even begun yet.
And time will tell...
John
I wholeheartedly agree. I'm no man worshipper at all. The ONLY one I really repected was Ron Dart. He said it how it was; 'you turn up to church feeling ok, youve had an ok week, and your fine, you arrive at church and it hits you, the atmosphere the way your trested and you leave feeling ten time worse than you ever did before....'
Oh how I miss Ron Dart.
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