Herbert W Armstrong: 30 years later and the Church of God is a complete mess

Thirty years ago Herbert Armstrong died.  Thirty years later the Churches of God are one complete mess with hundreds of different leaders, with hundreds of different opinions and revelations, and countless prophets and apostles, yet none them are doing a "work" that has had any impact whatsoever. This country and the world at large have no idea who or what the Church of God is.

Dave Pack has lied for four years now that three Church of God leaders would be struck dead by his god and tens of thousands of their members would suddenly jump ship to the Restored Church of God with all of their money.

Gerald Flurry has never had an original concept seep through his alcohol drenched brain.  Building a mini-me Ambassador campus has done nothing except drain money from his dwindling coffers.

Rod Meredith's health is rapidly declining as corruption rips his headquarters apart because he refuses to do anything about abusive ministers that are treating members like dirt.

Ron Weinland is resting in a half way house after his 3 year stint in prison for tax fraud. His jailhouse prophecies have been an absolute failure leading hundreds of dissatisfied members to leave his cult as he and his nutty wife claim to the two witnesses.

United Church of God has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in tithe money to fund worthless campaigns that have produced no results.  Thousands of members split off a few years ago to form another splinter group.  The men now in charge in UCG were Tkach yes-men when the changes came down and disfellowshipped hundreds and hundreds of members while they plotted to start a new church to keep their pay checks coming in.

COGWA split off from UCG claiming to carry on the torch of the true faith.  The same abusive ministers in charge at COGWA were the same abusive ministers in United where they were the same abusive ministers who disfellowshipped hundreds of members in the Worldwide Church of God as they pretended to be "new covenant" while still not the payroll.

Thirty years later and the church is one of the most screwed up messes  the world has ever seen. Liars, abusers, false prophets, pedophiles, and rapists have had free reign with almost no accountability.  Tens of thousands of members have left over the last three decades for greener pastures and freedom.

The worship of Herbert Armstrong exceeds anything the Church of God has ever done with Jesus.  Just look at Rod Meredith's latest comment about HWA.  HWA is the source of knowledge while Jesus gets zero credit for anything in his entire article.

So let us all remember the one whom God used to teach all of us about the Sabbath, about the Holy Days—about the entire purpose of human existence—Herbert W. Armstrong. -

With such a misguided focus how can the Church of God last much longer?

Satan (YouTube) Attacks Bob Thiel! YouTube Deletes One Of His Heretical Videos

Satan is on the warpath and he is NOT happy with Bob Thiel.  Satan was sooooooooo incensed by one of his sermons that he influence dYouTube into deleting one of his videos.

Brethren, the FAMINE OF THE WORD is here!  Bob's holy message is being censored!  Oh the tragedy!

Hi ContinuingCoG,
The YouTube community flagged one or more of your videos as inappropriate. After reviewing the content, we’ve determined that the videos violate our Community Guidelines. As a result, we removed the following videos from YouTube:
Are we saved by faith? Or are we saved by works?Please note that this removal has not resulted in a strike.
- The YouTube Team

Thiel then reacts with holy indignation and outrage!  Thiel is blaming those  nasty "so called Christians" for having his video deleted.

This email and the related removal are outrageous.  Because YouTube did not count this censorship as a ‘strike,’ so far, we have not found a way to appeal this. Nor did they tell us what they considered wrong–all we got was the above. 

The sermon that YouTube censored was by Steve Dupuie and was given at the Feast of Tabernacles in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in in 2015. He sent me his notes before and after the sermon, and I see nothing in it that warranted it being pulled by YouTube. 

It appears to have been pulled because someone (likely from a Protestant faith) claimed that doctrinal differences were offensive.

Prophet/Apostle/Chief Overseer/Thiel then says he has been preaching this would be happening to his message, though he wasn't expecting it this soon.

I have been warning for some time that since the Bible tells of a coming ‘famine of the word’ (Amos 8:11-12), that we should expect YouTube censorship to be part of this.

Anticipating more persecution from YouTube, Thiel is setting about backing up all of his videos and trying to move them to other platforms.

Because of that, before this censorship, I asked Bill Wedekind to back-up every sermon and sermonette we had on YouTube, and last month he did.  So, we have copies of everything, including the video sermon that YouTube censored. 

I have spoken to Bill Wedekind, Steve Dupuie, and two of our sons about how to proceed.  At this moment, because YouTube is free, YouTube is available in multiple formats, and YouTube sometimes helps us get viewers, we plan to remain on YouTube. However, we are continuing to look into alternatives in case YouTube ultimately pulls us completely off. 

YouTube has NOT threatened to remove us. But since we have what they would consider to be more ‘controversial’ videos up than the one that Steve Dupuie was in, it remains a concern that some day we may be forced to abandon YouTube.

Life is so tough in COGland.  No church on earth has ever been more persecuted.

A video was pulled and the world becomes a horrible place.

Christians are being slaughtered in Iraq and Syria and Thiel calls them all frauds and fakes.  Only true Church of God members blood is worthwhile.

The end times is here brethren.  The end times is here.

Ron Weinland's Words Come Back To Bite Him

The Only True COG Prophet and Apostle Says His Family Is A Foretaste Of The God Family

Ron Weinland, the recently paroled felon, is declaring to the world the he is the apostle and prophet to the Church of God and the world.  Life caged up with Big Bubba for the last 3 1/2 years has left Weinland with lots of time to write and plan his miraculous ministry once his ankle bracelet is off and he has left the half way house.  During his prison sentence he has begun to write another book.  His previous two were epic failure sin prophecy with absolutely nothing he wrote came to pass.  Weinland is right up there next to Dave Pack in prophetic failures.

It one of his latest entries to his blog, he declares to the world that he is a prophet and an apostle. Apparently we should be paying attention to him and what he is preaching.

He writes:

So yes, I am both an apostle and a prophet of God and of Jesus Christ to the Church of God, and to the world, in this final period of the end-time. I am the last apostle in this age of mankind’s self-rule. 

Yet even more, I am the counterpart of John who wrote the Book of Revelation. He was the only other apostle whom God also made a prophet. John wrote the book, but did not understand the revelation it contained. It was not for his time, but for the end-time that would lead up to the return of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God that will reign over all mankind for 1,100 years. Nearly all of the Book of Revelation is about those things that would occur in the end-time which lead to the Kingdom of God being established on earth for 1,100 years. 

Just as John was imprisoned and placed on the Isle of Patmos and then given the contents for the Book of Revelation that he wrote, I too am currently in prison and writing this book. 

The government of the United States has convicted me of willfully and purposefully evading paying taxes. It doesn’t really matter what I say about it, as people believe what they choose. I have stated some about this on the book website. There is no purpose in trying to unravel all that has been twisted and misrepresented concerning what is true. God will do that soon enough.

Why is it that some many of the dingbats of Armstrongism have to declare themselves to be prophets, apostles, Elijah's, John's, and a myriad of other biblical characters?  Every single one of them, from Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel, and others have been proven to be liars and false prophets.  Weinland contuse this rather pathetic line of mentally disturbed men who al claim allegiance to the Church of God.

Weiland takes his prophetic nonsense one strep further the other COG apostles an prophets.  He has named his crazy, diamond hoarding wife to be an apostle and one of the two witless witnesses.

Revelation 11 is a prophecy about two prophets of God who will finish His work that leads directly to the coming of Jesus Christ. The primary work of these two people will be conducted within a very specific timeframe. It is the 7th and last period of 1,260 days that are contained in the complete count to Christ’s coming. These two prophets are also given the title of God’s two end-time witnesses. I am one and my wife, Laura, is the other.

Weiland still believes the myth that his god is reproducing himself to make one big happy family.  Ron and his wife are the epitome of what a REAL apostolic family should be like, thus the are the perfect example of what the family of God will be  like.

Family is going to learn to be structured and live 

the way God intended from the beginning. True husband and wife teams are going to become the norm as they learn to work and share life together the way God has always intended. The woman is not servant to the man! That struggle is about to end, and thank God for that! 

My wife and I have been a team in God’s Church for right at 40 years now, and I am thankful to say this is just barely the beginning. We have served in God’s Church together within the ministry for 34 years. We have been exceedingly blessed and now God has given both of us a work to fulfill together as a team. It is our commission and one that God and Christ will fulfill through us that will lead up to Christ’s literal return, and finally, the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.

I know for a fact that God is not using one of the most corrupt families of Armstreongism to be the example of what the God family will be like.  If this were true then humanity is seriously screwed!  

Bob Thiel Struggles to Prove He Is A Prophet After Doug Winnail Deflates His Bubble Again

Doug Winnail of the Living Church of God has taken another broad swipe at the outrageous claims of Bob Thiel.  This is just the latest in a series of smackdowns by Rod Meredith and the Living Church off God to discredit Bob Thiel.

As usual, Thiel takes it personally and lets his bitterness shine forth.  It must really be frustrating  for Bob to have imagined himself all these years as Rod Meredith's confident and spiritual advisor and  then to have Meredith turn his back on him and mock him.

Thiel writes:

12/13/15 a.m. LCG had the following announcement read in services yesterday from its Dr. Douglas Winnail:

Some of the strongest condemnations delivered by the Hebrew prophets were against the leaders of Israel who “cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness” and “who try to make My people forget My nameby their dreams” (Jeremiah 23:13, 26-27, 32; see also Isaiah 3:12; 9:16).

Normally, I would have not mentioned something like this, but coming relatively close after the recommended CCOG sermon Dreams, COGs, and One Man Rule, perhaps it should be commented upon. 

Thiel is under the impression that his nightmares have spiritual significance.  Following in the footsteps of Herbert Armstrong, who started his version of the Church of God movement based upon the nightmares of Loma, Thiel bases his entire movement upon his own nightmares and the "double blessing" he received.

Thiel tries uses the Bible to back up his claim of being an "old man" who dreams dreams:

The Bible teaches the following: 

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18) 

Is the Bible true? 

Of course it is. 

Why ask that? 

Because that verse says that in the latter days, old men would have dreams--this means dreams for God. And that some with God's Spirit would prophesy. 

No leader currently in the Living Church of God has claimed that prophetic dreams happened to them. The same is true for all the leaders in groups once part of the old GCG, except the Continuing Church of God. 

I had two dreams. I was about 50 at the time of the first one, which essentially makes me an ‘old man’ per Numbers 8:25; cf. John 8:57. And about 52 at the time of the second one.

Having dreams can lead to people mocking you, especially when you make these dreams public claiming that God told you to do something.  Thiel knows he is routinely mocked by LCG members and hierarchy and by others. He has this to say:

Some people want to discount dreams, but notice what God taught:

6 “Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)

While it seemed to me that from my dreams God was calling me to be a prophet, I was not sure at first that the message was from God. Lest that seem unusual, Jeremiah the prophet sometimes wondered as well--he, like I, realized the message was from God when the message was confirmed (see Jeremiah 32:6-8). Also the Apostle Peter at least once had a vision that he did not understand (Acts 10:9-17) until later as well (Acts 11:5-17). 

Thiel then claims that all of the upper brass at Living Church of God were beginning to realize that he was prophet as early as 2008.

On October 3, 2008, Dr. Meredith (Presiding Evangelist of the Living Church of God) called me and said to me, “God may consider you to be a prophet.” Notice that this came from a long-time evangelist and did not first come out from me. It was Dr. Meredith who first brought up the topic about Bob Thiel being a prophet. In January 2009, Dr. Meredith told me over the telephone that if he (Dr. Meredith) was raised to the office of apostle, he was considering ordaining me (Bob Thiel) as a prophet. On February 4, 2009, Dr. Meredith told me over the telephone, “You have an in-depth understanding {of prophetic matters}—you could be a prophet.” In the Summer of 2009, Dibar Apartian told me, in quite a positive tone, that Dr. Meredith had been stating in top level meetings that Bob Thiel may be a prophet. Because of Dibar Apartian's statements, later that Summer or perhaps early Fall, I asked Dr. Douglas Winnail, if he was part of top LCG level discussions stating that Bob Thiel may be a prophet. He said yes.

Thiel is doing all he can to make people believe he is a prophet.  Next, he drags Gaylyn Bonjour back into the mix.

I prayed in November/December 2012 that on my next trip to Charlotte, NC, that God would, one way or the other, make the prophet matter clear to me. On the morning of December 15, 2011, upon arriving at the Charlotte HQ of LCG, I asked to meet with Gary Ehman as I wanted to get anointed for some non-debilitating matters as well as to ask him to pray that I be granted wisdom for my meetings with the HQ evangelists. But Gary Ehman was not in.  So instead, I asked to meet with Gaylyn Bonjour (with whom I never had any discussions prior about me possibly being some type of prophet). I asked Gaylyn Bonjour if he would do the anointing and pray that God would grant me wisdom for the meetings. He agreed. But while laying hands upon me, Gaylyn Bonjour also happened (it was not planned nor did I say anything to encourage this) to ask God to grant me a “double-portion” of His Holy Spirit and anointed me with oil. I asked him if he had ever prayed for a a double-portion anointing before, he said he had not, and that the only 'double-portion' he knew of was when Elisha received the double-portion and the mantle in 2 Kings 2. I then attended a meeting with the evangelists and did not then have time to discuss more of what this might mean with Gaylyn Bonjour. On Sunday 12/18/11 night at a family wedding reception, without discussing the matter, I stared at Gaylyn Bonjour for a few moments, without saying anything and then asked, “Do you have any idea of what you may have accidently done?”  Gaylyn Bonjour said, “Yes, I think so.”

Another proof Thiel drags out is the fact he is an old man who dreams.

Within two weeks of my leaving LCG, on January 7, 2013, Dr. Douglas Winnail sent me an email, which included the statement, "we made comments to you  that 'you may be a prophet.'" 

As far as I am aware, I the only COG leader who met the criteria of being an 'old man' who had a dream that was confirmed as well as a prayer answered about being given an anointing reminiscent of being a prophet. 

Thiel claims that ever since he left the Living Church of God it has sunk unto apostasy.

Since the time of my departure from LCG, it has promoted more and more doctrinal and prophetic errors as it refuses to believe the Bible and the power of God  

In spite of Winnail's smack down, Thiel trots out the following as proof he is a prophet.

Few will believe:

1. Dr, Meredith on more than one occasion stated that God may consider me to be a prophet.

1. That God speaks to His prophets in dreams (Number 12:6).

1. I had two dreams that were confirmed by subsequent events, thus confirming they were from God (Jeremiah 32:6-8; Acts 10:9-17, 11:5-17).

1. Dreams and prophets are required in the last days (Acts 2:17-18).

1. God answered my prayer (cf. Psalm 65:2)

1. God does not always get anointings done the way people think they should be (Genesis 27:25-37; 2 Kings 9:1-3).

1. Therefore my anointing was a real answer to prayer and God's intervention.

Fortunately, Thiel ranks right up there with the other false prophets of Armstrongism. His nonsense is just as appallingly bad as Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Gerald Waterhouse, Dean Blackwell, Herbert Armstrong and many others.

Living Church of God Members Must Forsake All

Living Church of God members are being encourage to forsake all, families, friends and money.  Naturally this does not apply to the ministry or LCG HQ folk.  Can you imagine Lil'Jimmy forsaking all? Gerald Weston? Or Rod McNair?

I feel sorry for LCG members, nothing they can do ever seems to please Rod Meredith.

Stop Playing Church!The time for “half-hearted” Christians who “play Church” is over! We must truly seek firstthe Kingdom of God and His righteousness. And we must want to be in God’s Kingdom so much that we can “taste” it. Therefore, we must be willing to totally surrender the self, lose (if need be) part or all of our families, friendships and physical possessions, and literally “forsake all” to gain eternal life in the glorified Family of God. As Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24–26). 

Let us daily give our lives to God as living sacrifices. And let us so walk with Him and with Christ in living faith that at the end of our physical lives—whenever or however that may be—we may say what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7–8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Rod Meredith Is Tired of Competitive, Bickering, and Accusatory Brethren

One of the most effective tricks of Armstrognism was to instill fear in its members.  That fear kept the membership obedient and submissive. Fear of losing ones salvation or being persecuted for ones beliefs was the favorite control mechanism of the Church of God.  Rod Meredith's god has always been eternally pissed and angry at everyone.  From regular church members to the pagan heathens in lost corners of the world.  His god has been ready to SPANK everyone into submission.

In his January/February editorial, Rod's god is ready to wreck havoc upon an unsuspecting world, BUT before it does so the Living Church of God will face INTENSE persecution of its FORCEFUL message. 

Brethren, with the entire panorama of prophetic events surging ahead more than ever, I deeply feel that I should once again give you “proper warning” about what to expect in the years ahead. We often emphasize the blessings and the opportunitieswe will surely have in God’s Work—and, later on, in Tomorrow’s World. Our reward will be awesome. However, it is very clear in the New Testament that many true Christians will be persecuted—even before the formal Tribulation begins. So it is imperative that you understand this, pray about this, and are not “shocked” or disillusioned if the world begins to savagely turn on us at some point before the end of our ministry!

While LCG members are not being persecuted for their faith, fake Christians are dying around the world.  Meredith and other COG ministers (Thiel) love to smear Christians as "professed" or "so-called."  These people apparently are too stupid to know that they are not real Christians like LCG members are.   Rod somehow thanks that the LCG will soon be restricted and banned around the world for their message.  Its laughable to think that such a thing will happen to them considering the cesspool the LCG leadership is currently swimming in.  They have not set any example to the world other than what NOT to do in a church.  Instead of being persecuted they are being laughed at and set forth as an example as to how not to treat ones members.

Even apart from the true Church, professing Christians around the world are suffering increased persecution. News reports tell us of more and more horrifying instances of their being tortured, killed, raped or even sold into slavery in many non-Christian lands.
And now there is a movement in many European countries to crack down on virtually all religious groups that are not in the “mainstream.” These groups include Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and others. Clearly, as the Living Church of God gains worldwide recognition and prominence for doing the Work of God, we too will be restricted—maybe banned!—and eventually persecuted in many nations around the world. 

The Living Church of God has been facing lots of criticism over the last few years as abusive ministers are placed in positions of authority where they treat members like dirt, with the full blessing of LCG HQ.  (Just look at Rod McNair's track record and what he has done.) Yet, Meredith places that criticism into the category of "persecution."  Members have never had the right in the Church of God to have the ability to ask for justice.  Mistreatment by the minister was always turned around to be a "test" to see if the members were worthy.  That's why the ministry has always gotten away with its grievous abuse of members.  It was Satan the accuser at work, never sick and degenerate men who who should never have been ordained.

Truly, we all will need to “stand tall” against the storms of criticism, hatred and persecution that Satan will hurl at us, both from within and from without. For Satan will attempt to “break” us. He and his untold legions of demon spirits (Ephesians 6:11–12) will try to divide us, pitting brother against brother, even in God’s Church! He will attempt to discourage us profoundly, through repeated attacks, accusations and persecution. Eventually, after his “frontal assault” on God fails, Satan will “come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12). 

Will you be ready? The time for us to be bickering, competing and accusing one another must quickly come to a close, brethren! For we have a far greater enemy in the “prince of darkness” than many of us may fully realize. And we will need all the love, encouragement and support of our brethren that we can possibly have during the trials ahead. 

Sadly the persecution of the brethren has come from within, not from Satan or the world who is upset with their message. The persecution is coming from men who do not follow Jesus or even know anything about him.  When ones own leaders cannot talk about Jesus, his message, what he accomplished, grace, justification or any other new covenant teachings, what more can one expect?   When the message is about the law, death and doom, how can grace ever shine forth?  Reading through  any missive by Rod Meredith, particularly his editorial, you can see how graceless the man truly is and what what he preaches.

Is God Punishing the LCG Leadership With Strokes?

Bob Thiel had a comment up today about another leader in the Living Church of God who has had a stroke.  This is apparently the third leader to suffer a stroke.  You can see from Thiel's comment below that he feels his god is punishing the LCG leadership.  Thiel has been bragging over the past few days  that his "work" is the ONLY Church of God group growing and actually preaching the gospel. Theil feels that LCG is rife with sin.

Bruce Tyler is the third high-level LCG leader that comes to mind being hit by a type of stroke. LCG's Presiding Evangelist Roderick C. Meredith and his assistant, his son Jim, are the other two. Bruce Tyler

Rod Meredith and entire LCG ministry to sell homes and give the millions in dollars in income they have been sitting on back to the Work.

Every since Rod Meredith wrote his latest letter to the Living Church of God membership,  complaining about how they are sitting on millions of dollars sin income, he has taken a lot of flack for it.  Always the one to set the right example and do what is right, Rod Meredith has decided to sell his own home and give the money back to the church.  His shining example has so impressed the cold hearted ministry of the LCG that they too have decided to sell their homes and give 100% of the proceeds back to the church.  The gospel message is so important to them that they want to set the right example and put the millions of dollars in income they have been setting on back into the work. Feeding the poor, taking care of the widows, orphans and the disinherited is now the focus of the Living Church of God.  Now we will see it grow as never before! The Kingdom of God will truly break forth in our lifetime!

He knows he has a short time to get the church for the soon coming Kingdom. He sees thousands of dollars sitting idle and he needs that money to get the church ready. So here is his plan. He knows you have to lead by example. He is going to ask all the top ministers to put their homes up for sale he also will put his home on the market Can you imagine the impact this will have on the brethren once the top ministers donate the proceeds from their homes and donate their savings then the brethren will want to follow their example. Now those ministers will rent apartments. With this new money Dr Meredith can begin to follow Jesus's words. Feed the hungry, look after the homeless, and visit the sick. Ministers will roll up their sleeves and work the soup lines at the homeless shelter owned by LCG. 

In our dreams....