“Now, this new revelation about the prayer rock brings these prophecies into sharper focus. I was wrong in thinking the way I did about us getting that stone. God had a better stone in mind—one superior to that stone!
God is making this significant change for a good reason: We are ready to go to the place of safety, and we now have the stone of destiny! This is much more practical than what we thought would have to happen. THIS SIGNIFICANTLY HELPS OUR JOB OF PREPARING THE WAY FOR THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST!
A PURER SYMBOL
Hosea prophesied of a time when Britain would be “without a king, and without a prince … and without an image”—referring to the stone of destiny. We are in that time now! Britain doesn’t possess the image, or the stone, any longer. We in God’s Church now have an even better symbol of King David’s throne.
THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTS. I realize it is radical to say that there is a new stone of destiny. But it is also radical to say that God’s people will have the throne of David, and that is straight out of the Bible! And the stone is a symbol of the throne. God used Mr. Armstrong to prepare the way for Christ’s Second Coming (e.g. Malachi 3:1; 4:5-6; Matthew 17:10-11).
Mr. Armstrong also received the key of David vision (Revelation 3:7) and was a physical descendant of King David. It would be logical for Mr. Armstrong to have a personal connection with the rock that symbolizes the throne of David that Christ will rule from. Mr. Armstrong had a special calling, and you have to be impressed with all that he accomplished.
These are the twisted and perverted words of Gerald Flurry, the leader of the dangerous Philadelphia Church of God cult based in Edmond, Oklahoma.God wants us to learn even more from what he did. Jacob’s pillar stone ties back to Jacob when he was unconverted. God changed his name to Israel upon his conversion (Genesis 32:28). That stone has been witness to generations of coronations of unconverted men and women who have carried on the royal line of David. Perhaps, in the final phase of His Work in this end time, God wanted to have a different stone—a purer spiritual symbol with God’s Church, where His people possess the Holy Spirit. This symbol embodies so much more. I believe that is why God made the change. God’s faithful people today are following through on what Mr. Armstrong did as he prepared the way for Christ’s Second Coming. We are raising up the ruins of his work, and magnifying him and what God did through him.”
Flurry had originally dreamed that the PCG would walk into Edinburgh Castle in Scotland and take possession of the Stone of Scone. The Scottish nation would be so impressed by the glorious work of Flurry that it would willingly hand it over to him, or to Lil'Stevie, the heir apparent. That is one of the reasons they bought the mansion in England to establish a "college" extension office there and to provide easy access to the Stone of Scone and the Hill Tara in Ireland where they plan on digging up the Ark of the Covenant that they believe is buried there.
It is also interesting to note that both Herbert Armstrong and Joseph Smith claim their god spoke to them as they wandered in the woods around where they lived. Both of these men created distinctly unique American religions that both had their roots in the Great Awakening and Millerite movement that swept the Eastern States in the 1800's. Both men also believed the erroneous fallacy of British Israelism. Armstrong also was influenced by the Mormons with is teaching that COG members would become God.
Why is it the so many of these delusional men who lead various splinter personality cults believe their god has "spiritualized" all kinds of physical things and has to label false prophecies as spiritual prophecies? Every time they are caught lying, their gods miraculously turn their mistakes into 'spiritual' imagined versions of reality.
The good thing in some of this is that even some of Flurry's own members think he's lost it. Most COG members think he is a candidate for the loony-bin, so it is good to see present PCG members starting to open their eyes...though don't hold your breath as corporate COG memory is short-lived.
27 comments:
Can't believe that anyone follows him. I remember Andrew Hessong from Pennsylvania. He's a minister with PCG and I wonder how long he will keep going for such as this.
Epstein, many of us have seen people move to their church HQ and undergo massive personality change. The lure of power, and of being part of an elite, is a powerful drug that intoxicates many who were pretty good people before their HQ experience.
What I find the most interesting is that everybody at HQ eventually discovers much of the same deception and corruption, but people react very differently. A very few run away before they are too badly corrupted themselves. Most, however, either remain as "true believers" and rationalize/spiritualize away the evil, or become sociopaths and set about trying to get ahead the best they can in the evil environment.
Why don't more run away? Are the seeds of corruption already in place when the come to HQ? Are people already committed to relationships and livelihoods at HQ by the time they discover the deception and corruption, so they feel they can't leave without hurting their loved ones? You might think that the Bible's counsel of being willing to love family less than God would mean people would stand up for the Truth and endure the no-contact ruling, but in real life it doesn't seem to work that way. People want to hold on to families, even if this means participating in things they don't believe in.
"We are ready to go to the place of safety..."
Does this foretell the soon-coming "So long, and thanks for all the cash"?
Sounds like Gerald is getting ready to croak and he knows his time is short.
I think Flurry's attitude is reflected in the words of Rabbi Yosef. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, one of Israel’s most prominent and influential Jewish religious leaders, says that non-Jews (Goyim) exist only to serve Jews. “Goyim were born only to serve us,” said Rabbi Yosef during a sermon in October 2010. “Without that, they have no place in the world"
-- "Gentiles exist only to serve Jews,” The Jerusalem Post (Israel), Oct. 18, 2010.
(http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=191782)only to serve the people of Israel.”
I have a friend who is brainwashed in the PCG. He talks about Gerald Flurry like the man is a god.
That makes me want to dry heave.
James Tabor and Phillip Arnold recognized that Vernon Howell and the Branch Davidians were being approached incorrectly by FBI negotiators. The FBI was unable to make sense out of the fact that the driver behind their actions was the strange religious world that Branch Davidians lived in. The FBI thought they were really a bunch of secularists involved in a religious con game.
This FBI approach can also shape our reactions to the odd things that Millerites do. We must understand that these strange beliefs and behaviors happen inside a malformed and delusional world of obsession with OT prophets and prophecy. For the inhabitants of this world, all this makes sense and we are the crazy ones - we are the lost ones that need their help.
That is the way the Armstrongists see this blog - as a "hang out" for people who lost the faith once delivered. They cackle at our silliness and our wicked tongues. They have a pent up desire to preach to us their Millerite message if we would only listen seriously. James Tabor and Phillip Arnold offered to listen to David Koresh's interpretation of the Seven Seals. This was the first time there was progress in negotiations.
The impediment for us that prevents us from using the Tabor approach is that we have been on the inside. It is very difficult for us to listen seriously to all of this. I have noticed that Millerites who contribute to this blog don't seem to recognize that we are dealing from the perspective of insider knowledge.
This is getting long ....
When is Flurry going to discover and repurpose one of HWA's old commodes?
James Tabor and Phillip Arnold had one advantage over those of us who try to reach the Millerites here. They were kind of on the inside of the outside. The Branch Davidians would have recognized a familiarity with their beliefs (had it gotten that far), but might not have realized that this familiarity had come from Tabor and Arnold having been part of, and having left, a parallel group. As such, the B/Ds might have seen them as sympathetic outsiders who “got it” and had the ability to “translate” their existence and plight for the FBI.
It was a one-off opportunity that never came to fruition, and probably doesn’t work both ways. I seriously doubt that if Branch Davidian survivors posted here, they could make the Armstrong-Millerites understand reality any better than we have been able to do. Let’s face it: A returning Jesus would probably become exhausted if He had to
face the hard-core rejection from all the people who would tell Him “But, Mr. Armstrong said.......”
BB
There is a lot that Tabor writes that I like, but my problem with a lot of his stuff is that he still defends Armstrongism. Some of the things he says on the AC Alumni site demonstrate that. He knows the problems in the church and still finds much to value.
"... a "hang out" for people who lost the faith once delivered."
that pretty much sums it up....the confusion here is so thick, and so easy to spot for those with eyes to see.
it breaks my heart at times, especially when I read the long posts of those suffering great inner turmoil...
but then I remember, no one here is condemned, all will have their eyes opened at the proper time.
Baruch HaShem
No2HWA.
What church? You are using present tense.
What alumni site are people like tabor and dean participating?
When reading NEO's comment I found it interesting that people are finding the level of sources I access. Also his use of the word millerites instead of eschatological or messianic belief systems, which are as old as christianity. (the expectation of his return ushering in a better world)
BB is actually answering one of my problems with neo's approach. The fact is that not many and I expect NEO too is not an insider to pcg or any of the splinters.
Now to have epitaths like branch davidians put upon you while your kid is at summercamp, you are enjoying a feast in sunny florida or you enjoy the nice pictures of a g3 acquisition makes the commenter look like a total outsider. UNLESS there is clear and present danger as was the case with the Davidian cousins of SDA.
Look, my point is, even when talking to pre 1974 wcg, radiocg kids one could have a hard time realizing we are speaking of the same church.
So as ridiculous as an oregon stone presented as jesus coronation seat may sound, it is not a clear sign to draw comparisons with the wacco distant cousins from waco. Although it might be a clear sign of further detoriation of the armstrong belieg system and certainly the mental faculties of anyone buying into that crap.
One must be quite desparate to follow such logic as displayed in that book. But not necessarily unhappy.
Nck
Yes, nck, but in invoking Waco, what is being warned, considering the horrible abuses that the more authoritarian splinter leaders are inflicting upon their members on ever increasing levels is that “This could be your church, tomorrow!” And it could! The doctrines that corrupt normal human beings, and turn “leaders” into abusive monsters were present at Waco, and they are present in the ACOGs in a way that they are not in the people some seem to like to invoke by mentioning TBN. We’re talking about a movement that causes death here. The end result is the same whether one’s followers are subjugated to the point of allowing themselves to be burned to death, or allowing themselves to die because of medical or other doctrines. It is not right or natural that humans have such a level of authority over one another. If this were being done on a secular level, with no religious influence, observers would be mentioning names like Hitler, Stalin, or Pol Pot.
A stone being given such ridiculous status in an indicator of a dearth of basic mental health. It is part of a total package. PCG is using it as their conch or sceptre, to intensify their status or authority. This is bogus, or an illusion.
BB
A counterfeit stone for a counterfeit holiness. A diversion from the stone they SHOULD be embracing. I Peter 2:4.
BB,
I understand. And if such situation develops it should be reported on. I certainly do not agree with the shunning of medicine as if that signals a greater belief in God than people stopping for a traffic light.
When I was a kid I read a lot of material on cults in our local library. Everytime I noticed inaccurate reporting on the religion of "Plain Truth" I remember it was a major put off and signalled an agenda to me, even as an 11 year old.
It's a bit like a hiring process. When you have that resume and spot some major spelling mistakes, a major put off.
I even remember watching documentaries about Jimmy Jones with my kin, which in our understanding at the time was so far fetched and removed from our lifestyle, while poor old granddad would probably worry and not see so much difference between Guyana or Petra from the booklets he monitored.
To be able to make the mental shift from a precious guarded item kept in a vault in a castle in Scotland to a slab found in Oregon and turn that mentally into one of the most precious items on earth could indeed signal the possibility of making a mental shift from Armstrongite (5 star hotel currently) Petra to any shabby compound on any location in the world.
Flurry has proven over time that his mental leaps are getting further removed from the original wcg teachings. His "new understandings" should be carefully monitored.
When one monitors that organization, so far it seems that the crazy mental leaps and departure from the original teachings are usually framed by the older generation of leaders. The younger generation of leaders seems to be followers rather than originators of the evil departure of sanity. For now I am counting on the younger generation having a longer timeframe for reference, albeit being loyal but more mentally stable and perhaps more systematic and practical in their approach.
Weinland and Pack do not seem to have the advantage of Flurry of having a larger body of advisors around. In that sense having a college is some kind of sanity check to have young people around with dreams and hopes for the future, even if it's teaching is warped or a play ground for authoritarian leadership.
But hey, keep us posted on any deviation from sanity in a way that did not make me shrug my shoulders when I was a kid reading up on cults out of interest. I wish the newsmedia would be accurate and objective too in their reporting on politics instead of continually feeding the "fake news" narrative.
nck
BB captured the essence of it. I am saying that kind of bizarre stuff has happened in the Millerite community - and we are likely to see this go on in the Armstrongist fragments. Some of it could be dangerous because:
If you keep the Sabbath,
If you keep the Holy Days,
If you believe that your leader has a great ecclesiastical role (like Apostle),
If you believe that only your leader can interpret the Bible correctly,
If you believe anything your leader does is endorsed by God,
If you believe that your leader(s) can actually be found in the pages of the Bible,
If you believe that the KJV is the only reliable, inspired translation,
If you believe you have a ringside seat on the end time events,
If you believe the Gospel is about predictive prophecy concerning the Millennium,
If you believe the Book of Revelation is where all the action is,
If you believe that your church will be taken to a place of safety,
If you believe that you should not eat pork, etc.,
If you believe the Trinity is wrong,
If you believe the US Government is a source of many conspiratorial evils,
If you believe that your leader, alive or deceased, had sex problems but you are willing to over look them in your magnanimity,
If you belong to a Millerite splinter of a Millerite splinter, etc.,
YOU just might be a - redneck? - sorry - I mean - A BRANCH DAVIDIAN!
So next time you're are in the neighborhood of Waco, stop by for Sabbath Services near Mt. Carmel where your brother Millerites are waiting expectantly for Vernon Howell to be resurrected and strike his enemies down.
Makes as little sense as a holy stone someone dug up somewhere and is hoping to make a buck off of it. Remember the "Pet Rock" craze?
Baruch HaShem. Why are you using a Jewish name when you are not a Jew. Are you a Sacred Names Millerite or just another one of the many, many Millerite wannabe "Jews"? You should not use the name Hashem as your name because that is the utterable name of God.
Near Earth,
Hashem is not the UN-utterable name of God at all but a substitute for it so that you don't say the name represented by yud hey vav hey which is also never said . In prayers the word is adonai or adonai elohenu but Orthodox will not even use that and substitute Hashem for those words as well. Even God is usually written out as G-d.
Hashem literally means "the name".
Baruch means blessed but in actuality baruch hashem is used by orthodox Jews daily as a way of thanking God.
If you are writing something you might place a B"H at the top meaning b'ezras hashem or baruch hashem. b'ezras hashem with the help of God and baruch blessed or thank God.
Sometimes you will see B"D but this is Aramaic for b'siyata dismaya, with the help of heaven.
Just some FYI for you Near Earth
And oh by the way, I am born and raised Jewish in Lakewood NJ, just not the person who wrote the anonymous posts you are referring to.
AJ:
Please re-read what I wrote. I said that Hashem was the utterable name of God not the un-utterable name as you wrote in your response. To get rid of the double negatives - Hashem may be spoken.
So Baruch Hashem has named himself "Thank God." Still not a good idea.
I tend to challenge these names because some Millerites have a unhealthy fascination with Judaism. They get deeply into the OT prophets and soon they are wearing a Star of David and calling themselves Ariel ben Hashkol. It's wearing.
I have both Ashkenazi and Sephardic descent, although the latter is yet unconfirmed.
I have been familiar with the COG's since my childhood in the early 1970's. Ever since he formed his on cult/sect, I have always saw Flurry as one of the most dangerous and unbalanced of all the splinter groups. Didn't he kicked out of Jordan and given persona non grata status? Seems completely focused on a Stalinist type of authority with some of the most grandiose delusions of grandeur seen outside of a state mental health hospital. Maybe he needs to go get drunk at a college female dorm parking lot.
Whoa.
Neo's dna fits the perfect mormon picture. Israelite tribes being american native. Just the means of transportation is off.
Ah those american religions and their search for a lost and a replacing identity. The fate of a wandering people.
Nck
Anonymous 11:57. I think you are spot on and sympathetic.
well I'm sorry if anyone thought I was signing my name by putting Baruch HaShem at the end of my post....I could have just as easily written Praise God.
taken in context, you would see that I was thanking God that everyone will have an opportunity to see...
I had a friend about twenty years ago who was both ethnically Jewish and also part of the Chabad movement. Whenever something went his way, like making a huge sale, he would look upwards, smile, and proclaim “Baruch Hashem!”
BB
NCK: I do not fit the Mormon model because my Ashkenazi ancestry does not come from my Native American side. And, further, the Mormon model, now out-dated I believe, would have my Native side be 100% Jewish.
Anonymous 11:07: I am sorry I mistook your "Baruch Hashem" for a name. I am accustomed to seeing Millerites who have devolved into Judaism weenies use bogus Hebrew names.
Amen! ;-)
They’re looking to physical rocks instead of the spiritual Rock of Israel i.e. Lord Jesus Christ.
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