The Book of Pack 6:66: Thy Priests and Thy Servants Shall Be Fed By The Eagle

"And Lo, and Behold, Thou hast looketh unto the East, towards the Giant Eagle, and Said unto thy sheep, "Mine Stomach Hast Thou Gurgleth! Go Unto Thy Giant Eagle and Purchase unto Thyself Thy Folgers Crystals and Thy Krispy Kreme! Go Thou, Forth and Forward, and Exit this Land of Common, For Thou Shall bring forth thy Pastries into Thy Storehouse. And So the Priests and the Servants shall Be Fed By the Eagle. 

And Lo, the servant shall rise up, on the hills toward the Upside-Down Wedding Cake Building, toward the Temple of the Pack, and Shall Place Thy Krispy Kreme on The Desk of Absolute Magnificence. And Lo, and Behold, It was heard within Thy Temple a sound within. 

For what shall we Compare Thy sound To? What shall we behold? For The Apostle Picketh Up the Folgers and Thy Krispy Kreme. And Lo, It was Eaten. And I heard a sound like "Nom, Nom Nom." And Thus, the Apostle Had the Energy to Write Forth another Booklet, A Scroll of Such Magnificence, to be delivered Unto All Nations, and Peoples, and Tribes, and Tongues, that All shall know Who Is Pack. 

I'm Pretty Sure...

...the currently known Universe has never heard of Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry or Ron Weinland .

"We're gonna need a bigger Gospel"
Or
"When the Son of Man comes, forget faith, will he even find the earth?"

If they have persecuted ME, they will persecute YOU!

I was browsing through one of David C Pack's booklets today.  OK, I know, what a dumb thing to do, but...oh is it ever entertaining!  The booklet is, "Should Accusers Be Answered?"

One thing the various COG leaders of various personality cults receive is a LOT of criticism.  In the Internet age of today, as soon as they open their mouths or put pen to paper, everyone knows what they said.  It happens so quick sometimes that they are left stupefied.  Then, after being endlessly mocked and ridiculed, they attempt to pull their articles and sermons from the web (as Dave has done) trying to cover their tracks and save face.

Every single one of them blames dissidents, whom they imagine are influenced by Satan, as "persecutors of the brethren." None of them can ever stop and take an inventory of their words and actions and realized that much of what they say is a load of bull and they are being called out for their abuse of the brethren.

Most of them have told so many lies now that their brains cannot even grasp what it is to be an ethical, moral and grace-filled minister.  From outright lies about how God had placed them in their leadership rolls, to wild and blatantly idiotic prophecies, and to their sick whoredom to the law, the false leaders of the Church of God have become blind to their own perversions.  It is easier to blame the other than to examine their actions.

Christ described our time as the age of hatred, betrayal, offense and lawlessness (Matt. 24:10-12). Many today use and promote innuendo, rumors, outright lies and other forms of deception to confuse and divide God’s people, and defeat their confidence in Christ’s ability to govern His Church. When presented with such information, what do—what will—you do?

Christ said, “If they have persecuted ME, they will persecute YOU!” This means attacks, sometimes vicious, are a fact of life for God’s people. The true Church and especially its leaders stand squarely in Satan’s crosshairs. It will receive the brunt of persecution prior to the Tribulation, when Satan will turn on the “remnant” of Laodicea (Rev. 12:17). Should Accusers be Answered?

I don't think any of the so-called "dissident" sites have ever accused the brethren of things, but have held their leaders accountable.

We have leaders in the Church of God today, like Dave Pack, who wants all of his members to give them all of their money while making outlandish prophetic claims.  Gerald Flurry forbids family member from having contact with former members which immediately wrecked marriages and familial ties, while claiming he is in possession of the new coronation stone of Jesus Christ. Bob Thiel lies about God setting him apart to do a final work, after suffering major butthurt by being rejected by his "daddy" Rod Meredith, that will be greater than anything Meredith could ever have imagined.  James Malm has made a business of whoring himself out to the law so much that he has become blind to the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Gerald Weston expects church members to support him for a final push as he carries on envisioning the world filled with depravity while his own headquarters is a quagmire nepotism and spiritual depravity. Vic Kubik leads a church that is now known as the wishy-washy Church of God which cannot take a stand on anything because they still live in the past.

So just who are those that persecute the brethren?  Is it the "dissident" blogs and websites, or the corrupt leaders of the various Church of God's today?  None of us directly picks on members of the various groups, but we do have a fervent desire to see those people freed from the lies and vile abuse their leaders dish out on an hourly basis. There are may COG groups out there who are not even on our rader because they actually doing some good in peoples lives.  They don't make extreme demands or utter wild prophecies.  They actually seem to care for those who are part of their groups.

If you are a Christian, you know that there is an accuser of these men who is greater than Satan or some dissident web site. These men don't fear that One, because their narcissistic arrogance has blinded them as to whom the real abuser of the brethren is.

Dave Pack: I Know More Than Apostle Paul and I Am Here to Warn The World About A 15,000 Foot Mountain That Is Coming Down To Earth From Space

Dave Pack:  I Know More Than Apostle Paul and I Am Here to Warn The World About A 15,000 Foot Mountain That Is Coming Down To  Earth From Space

It is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread and EVERY COG Leader and Member Has Sinned

It is hard to imagine that just a short week ago that every COG leader and member was washed clean of sin, and now 8 days later, they are inveterate sinners once again. Not a single one of them overcame anything, even as hard as they tried. The very moment they walked out of that high school gym or Masonic Lodge on Passover night, sin entered their lives.  

They worried and fretted over finding leavening in their homes or cars.  And yet tonight, just a few seconds after sundown, COG members will be scrambling for some fresh hot bread at dinner or some luscious chocolate cake.  Sin draws them back and runs their lives once again.

Almost-arrested but not-arrested Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Joshua, Habbakuk, and perpetually bitter, Bob Thiel has words of wisdom for those sinners now that the DUB are over.

Do Not Put Yourself in a Place that You Are as Tempted to Sin 

There are also practical, physical, considerations that can help you overcome sin. 

When you pray, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13, KJV), the implication is that you do not intentionally place yourself in areas to be tempted. 

For example, if one is inclined to overly gamble, one should avoid going to casinos or visiting cities such as Las Vegas. 

One who is inclined to smoke should not hang out with others who smoke. Nor should they ever buy cigarettes. However, since smoking is a very difficult habit to break, sometimes one may find replacement behaviors or some other physical item helpful to break the habit. But if someone wants to stop smoking, they really need to stop buying cigarettes. They should also repent and ask forgiveness of their sins each time they smoke (or commit any other sin). 

As far one’s diet goes, God tells His people to “eat what is good” (Isaiah 55:2), thus Christians should be careful about their diets and not eat that which is not good for them.

When it comes to alcohol, one should not hang out with those that overly drink.  

Christians are not to run with the crowd and go along with the world. Sin grows (James 1:15) and spreads (Romans 5:12).

One flees sexual immorality by not getting oneself in a situation that could be somewhat expected to possibly lead to it, or immediately leaving a situation if it appears possible.

It is still quite obvious that Thiel, along with most other COG leaders think their followers are ignorant morons and too stupid to know how to manage their lives.  Members have been conditioned to expect such guidelines from their overlords.  It is much easier for someone else to do their thinking for them.

Even as a member separates themselves from bad influences there is one major sin that all church members are guilty of, at least in the inveterate liar Bob Thiel's eyes.  There is one more grievous sin that COG members routinely fall into. If you fail to support his work, you have sinned.

As Christians, it is not just enough not to sin, we are to do the work of God. Furthermore, consider that when you pray God is not limited to what He can give you–in other words do not neglect to pray for major change, not to just not sin, but to do and support His work.

Nowhere in any scripture can it be found that if one fails to support a COG leader and his ministry that one is committing a sin. Nowhere.

If Bitter Thiel knew anything about the New Covenant, he would know that the battle has been won and the struggle is not a day to day task of mercilessly beating one's self up for some indiscretion. 

What Bitter Bob should have said is this:

"If one is inclined to follow lying Church of God self-appointed false prophets, one should not associate with such people."

No Mention of Sabbath Untill Into Exodus Journey?

The Hebrews left Egypt on a Thursday night and marched and camped for a total of 38 days before they kept their first Sabbath, treating all the previous days of their journey the same in regard to travel and work. One week before observing the first Sabbath ever kept by anyone, they marched 20 kilometers from their camp by the Red Sea to the edge of the Wilderness of Sin, trampling on the 7th day of their week, arriving around 5 pm on the 31st day of their journey late that “Saturday” afternoon. That evening, God introduced the Manna Obedience Test to Israel, instructing them to gather daily an amount sufficient for their needs for one day, and that on the sixth day they were to gather a double portion in order to provide them with manna on the Sabbath, seeing as there would be none provided on that day. Critical thinking elicits the fact that you cannot keep the Sabbath holy without a preparation day before it. All the work has to be completed before sundown on the 6^th day.

At this point in the Exodus journey, the Sabbath represented nothing more than the second of two obedience tests. It was not until a few weeks later when, at Mt. Sinai, the Sabbath was incorporated into the treaty between God and Israel known as the 10 Commandments. Like the ordinance of circumcision and the Jewish dietary laws, the institution of the Sabbath was designed to set the Hebrews apart from every other society on Earth, forming a protective social barrier that would severely restrict their interaction with the Heathen. Regarding these cultic Jewish rituals, a scholar once observed that people who do not eat together seldom become friends. If the Sabbath were a Creation ordinance with truly moral qualities, God would not have led His children out of Egypt without provision for keeping it every step of the way. Once, because of their sins, God seems to have threatened to take Israel’s Sabbaths away.

Hosea 2:11 (NIV) - ¹¹ I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.

There is some evidence that this text may merely represent a prophecy of what would become of Israel’s sabbath system as a result of their disobedience, rather than an actual statement that God would specially intervene to take away their sabbaths. During their various captivities, Israel undoubtedly experienced disruptions of their Sabbath-keeping. In either case,  the adoption of the fixed calendar by their conquering nations made it impossible to keep the Sabbath as is was specified in the Law of Moses. In effect, they were forced to keep “Saturday” rather than the “Sabbath.” All of this Sabbath chaos illustrates the fact that the Sabbath is characteristically ceremonial rather than moral. For example, if Israel was committing adultery and fornication “too much,” God would not suspend the parts of the Law of Moses that forbid these sins. Not even God Himself can set aside or suspend moral laws because such laws are based on the natural laws of cause and effect.

Before the Hebrews left Egypt, the instructions God gave them regarding the keeping of the Passover Feast suggest that no Sabbath existed at that time. This feast was to last seven days, so whether a fixed or lunar calendar is used for our calculations, one of those days would have to have been a Sabbath-- if there had been a Sabbath in existence at that time. The preparation of food was allowed on all of the seven days of the Passover feast. By contrast , cooking on the Sabbath was forbidden. For the Sabbath, the cooking must be done on the Preparation Day, or the sixth day of the week. If there was no sixth day of preparation, there could be no seventh-day Sabbath because food would have to be prepared for the people on it. While permission to prepare food on the Sabbath may have been granted in connection with some of the Jewish feast celebrations that God added later, the only national feast week God had given them up to the time of the Exodus was the Passover.

As our study unfolds it will become painfully clear that Exodus 16 provides water-tight proof—not merely evidence--that no Sabbath existed before the giving of the Manna. We do not use the term, proof, loosely. What this fact means is that any argument for the existence of the Sabbath prior to the Exodus must be remarkably clear, or it is hardly worth discussing. Also, any pro-Sabbatarian arguments must be able to stand on their own with evidence gathered only from Genesis 1 through Exodus 16. In view of the absolutes of Exodus 16, Sabbatarians should not expect to be taken seriously if their approach involves taking references to the Sabbath from beyond the account of the Exodus journey and stuffing them back into Genesis 2. In order for them to provide meaningful support for their agenda, they must demonstrate clear Sabbath content in Genesis 2.

All it takes is a brief survey of Genesis through Exodus 16 to see that there is nothing of this sort available to Sabbatarians. At the same time, there is only a limited amount of evidence available to anti-Sabbatarians, such as the four of us, to actually prove that there is no Sabbath content in Genesis. This evidence in found in part in that Moses used special literary devices to limit the blessing, hallowing, and sanctifying (the setting aside) of that day to that ONE day ALONE. We will explain these indicators and how they work subsequently. Meanwhile, let us turn our attention back to the Exodus journey. God introduced the Sabbath to Israel as something new. The people acted as if it were something new— a stiff-necked and stubborn people testing the boundaries. Some individuals gathered firewood on that first Sabbath. They did so publicly. If the Sabbath had existed prior to Exodus 16, these offenders would have been stoned. The stubborn nature of the Hebrew people strongly suggests that if there were Sabbaths before Exodus 16, some of them would have tested God by breaking the Sabbath every chance they got; yet there is no record that God ever rebuked them for Sabbath-breaking prior to Exodus 16. Here is what the Law of Moses has to say about Sabbath-breaking:

Num 15:32 - 36 (NIV) ³²While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, ³⁴and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Think how bad the Exodus journey would make God look if the Sabbath had originated at Creation! Was He not powerful enough to control the events of the Exodus to provide for Sabbath-keeping, including, in each case, a Preparation Day? What kind of example would He have set for His people? Do God’s children only have to keep the Sabbath when it is convenient? Clearly, there was no Sabbath to break until day 38 of the Exodus. Sabbatarian apologist, Brendan Knudson, suggests the possibility that if there was Sabbath-breaking involved under God’s direction-- “The ox is in the ditch” principle excusing God for leading His people to trample on it. Our position is that God had enough power to halt all the forces of Evil and Nature to enable them to keep the Sabbath if there had been a Sabbath to keep, and that as a cognate requirement, He would have also given them preparation days to assure that they could keep their Exodus Sabbaths without preparing food or gathering firewood upon it. People get hungry on Sabbath whether food was prepared the day before or not.  

Everything we know about God’s character screams out that He would not lead His people to break an eternally binding moral law. This fact explains several mysterious things that honest-at-heart, thinking Sabbatarians have secretly pondered. Why is there no mention of the Sabbath in Genesis? Why did God give Abraham a surgical procedure (circumcision) as a “seal” for his descendants instead of the Sabbath, which was never even mentioned? Why was Sabbath-keeping not included in a list of basic laws that God gave to Noah around the time of the Great Flood? Why did St. Paul instruct the early church not to require Sabbath-keeping of the new Gentile converts (Colossians 2:14-17)? And why did St. Paul not list Sabbath-breaking in any of the several lists of sins he discussed in his writings? In Galatians St. Paul discusses the Christian's freedom from the “LAW,” and it is clear he is discussing moral, rather than ceremonial, laws because the example he cited was adultery. Yet in the same breath he explained that the Christian is not subject to the LAW, he gave a list of 15 sins that he said would keep a person from entering Heaven. Robert K. Sanders observes that in Romans 1:28-32 he listed 16 sins that were not mentioned in Galatians 5 and that he listed still more sins in Ephesians 4:25-32-- and that in all of these lists there is not a single mention of Sabbath-breaking. With all the sins that Paul’s writings mention-- which included sins of motive and omission in addition to the sins of commission that are the focus of the Decalogue-- it is difficult to imagine how an objective Bible student could think that the 10 Commandments were intended to represent a complete guide to morality or that the Sabbath-keeping should be transferred from Judaism to Christianity. Apparently God didn’t think so either because he gave additional moral laws to Moses after He wrote the 10 Commandments in stone, including prohibitions against fornication (a very different sin from adultery in Hebrew thought) and homosexual relationships.

------------------

Thanks to advanced studies in Hebrew linguistics we now know that there is no possibility that the Sabbath ordinance was imposed on God’s people until the time of the Exodus. We also know that Heathen societies that predated Exodus Era Israel had a “sabbath” concept based on the four phases of the moon and fertility themes. The next logical step requires the obvious conclusion, and that  is that the sabbath of propitiation and fertility associations that was so prevalent in the societies that predated ancient Israel could not have developed as the result of some kind of “dim memory” of the “original Sabbath” in the Garden of Eden. No such thing ever existed!  Additionally, some historians see evidence that this lunar-fertility sabbath was part of the Egyptian culture when the Hebrews were their captives.

The next logical step is to conclude that the evidence available to us suggests that when God gave Israel its sabbath system, His thinking was that He would take a useful but purely heathen concept, redeem it, wash it clean of its fertility and superstitious connotations, and present it to Israel in the glorious and holy form in which came down to them from Mt. Sinai-- The Mountain of the Moon.  It would appear that while it was washed of its Heathen connotations, its association with the four phases of the Moon was retained. After all, in Genesis, Chapter One, God stated that the sun and moon were given to the human race to determine “sacred times.” The lunar connection with the Sabbath, then, did not need to be cleansed as it reflected His provision for time-keeping for all peoples for all time from the beginning of time. The earliest societies on Earth had retained the memory of the lunar method of time reckoning that God had given to the world in the very beginning. And this memory was not a “dim” one either.  With each appearance of the Moon, all the people on the Earth recognized the existence of God's long-lasting timepiece.

From: Lying for God: What Adventists Knew And When They Knew It!

Gerald Weston: The World Is Depraved. Time Is Short. Give Us Your Money And Claim Your Heavenly Reward

From Gerald Weston's last co-worker letter.

This record has been skipping in the same spot for 70+ years now.

Nothing new is ever mentioned, even though we are in the 21st century now.

Same tired and worn out words. 

The world is still depraved, the same begging for money, the same "final push" malarkey.

I think we all know that our world is in trouble. Stock markets around the world may be up for the time being, people in some countries may have full wallets and purses, but this does not indicate all is well. Precious few people are alive today who remember the “Roaring ’20s” of the last century, but we might do well to remember that those days were followed by the Great Depression and World War II.

We are living in a world filled with conflicts, moral degradation, and in our Western World, a lack of awareness of God. God is lampooned at every turn, and those who stand up for morality and godly values are equally despised and put down. Where this is leading, is not good! God will not put up with this depravity forever! “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10).

Dear brethren and co-workers, let us work while it is day, for “the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). Jesus referred to His own Work, but if He is living within us, it must surely be a message for us to take to heart. The Work He refers to is “the works of Him who sent Me….” God calls us to do a Work. It is difficult to see in every detail how events will play out, but free speech is under assault, and there is this sobering prediction: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). Is this a warning for us? 

Let us work the Work of God while we have time. And thank you for your prayers and generous support. I look forward to that day when we will stand together before the throne of God and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servants!” May that day come quickly!

Sincerely, in Christ’s service,

Gerald E. Weston

Life in a Cult

A reader here sent in this link to Radio National (Australia) concerning a program on cults that aired on Thursday.

You might think cult members are naive and easily led, but the psychology and group-think that holds the collective together is extremely powerful.

We examine how and why people get involved in a cult, what keeps them there and what happens when they finally leave.

Tore Klevyer spent a decade living in a Christian cult, and later trained as a counsellor who helps others recover.

Mary Garden is a former cult member who explored various sects in India during the 1970s and has written extensively about her experiences

Life in a cult: how I got in, how I got out

Oh No you don't.....Not here Buster.

No Ron Weinland or Gerald Flurry type is ever going to get anywhere near Jerusalem to act out the role of the Two Witnesses.  Dozens of Two Witnesses, no doubt, have already had their say in Jerusalem to no effect.  Most end up for a check up at the local psych ward and if warranted are deported back to where they came from.  Israelis don't put up with much monkey business in one of the worlds most dangerous religious cities.

Perhaps Dave Pack has figured out he has no hope to ever get into Jerusalem as both of the Two Witnesses so has moved the entire operation to Wadsworth where he can continue to deceive his gyrating members with his delusional perspectives about himself and his utter importance to the success of Jesus ever returning a second time.

I imagine Dave also will declare Wadsworth the Place of Safety  out of sheer convenience to him and the fact that , as with Jerusalem, no God-Haunted prophecy hounds from the United States are going to get to move in to a World Heritage Site, which Petra is,  without being confronted and sent home.

Jerusalem Syndrome

The temporary psychiatric condition-characterized by patients
believing that they have become biblical figures such as Jesus, John
the Baptist, or Moses-has been known to Israeli psychiatrists for
decades. It affects mainly Christian pilgrims but is occasionally
diagnosed in Jews who tour holy sites. Those affected begin to act
strangely, sometimes proclaiming that they are ancient religious
figures sent on a holy mission. Apocalyptic Christians expect the next
millennium to herald the second coming of Jesus on the Mount of Olives
in Jerusalem, so experts have warned that the number of patients may
increase sharply.

Professor Eliezer Witztum, a psychiatrist at Jerusalem’s Herzog
Memorial Hospital, explained that many Christians view Jerusalem as
the site of the Armageddon and the second coming. When they visit
Jerusalem, they may experience cognitive dissonance because of the
conflict between their mental image of ancient Jerusalem and the
reality of the modern city. Religious Jews with the syndrome may
believe that the building of the third temple is imminent, that the
ancient animal sacrifices will be restored, and that their own Messiah
will soon arrive.

Types

The classic Jerusalem syndrome, where a visit to Jerusalem seems to trigger an intense religious psychosis that resolves quickly or on departure, has been a subject of debate in the medical literature.^[2][3][6] Most of the discussion has centered on whether this definition of the Jerusalem syndrome is a distinct form of psychosis, or simply a re-expression of a previously existing psychotic illness that was not picked up by the medical authorities in Israel.

In response to this, Bar-El et al. classified the syndrome^[1] into three major types to reflect the different types of interactions between a visit to Jerusalem and unusual or psychosis-related thought processes. However Kalian and Witztum have objected, saying that Bar-El et al. presented no evidence to justify the detailed typology and prognosis presented and that the types in fact seem to be unrelated rather than different aspects of a syndrome.

Type 1

Jerusalem syndrome imposed on a previous psychotic illness. This refers to individuals already diagnosed as having a psychotic illness before their visit to Jerusalem. They have typically gone to the city because of the influence of religious ideas, often with a goal or mission in mind that they believe needs to be completed on arrival or during their stay. For example, an affected person may believe himself to be an important historical religious figure or may be influenced by important religious ideas or concepts (such as causing the coming of the Messiah or the second coming of Christ).

Type II

Jerusalem syndrome superimposed on and complicated by idiosyncratic ideas. This does not necessarily take the form of mental illness and may simply be a culturally anomalous obsession with the significance of Jerusalem, either as an individual, or as part of a small religious group with idiosyncratic spiritual beliefs.

Type III

Jerusalem syndrome as a discrete form, uncompounded by previous mental illness. This describes the best-known type, whereby a previously mentally balanced person becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious character and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks or after being removed from the locality. It shares some features with the diagnostic category of a "brief psychotic episode", although a distinct pattern of behaviors has been noted:^{[by whom?]}

1. Anxiety, agitation, nervousness and tension, plus other unspecified reactions.
2. Declaration of the desire to split away from the group or the family and to tour Jerusalem alone. Tour guides aware of the Jerusalem syndrome and of the significance of such declarations may at this point refer the tourist to an institution for psychiatric evaluation in an attempt to preempt the subsequent stages of the syndrome. If unattended, these stages are usually unavoidable.
3. A need to be clean and pure: obsession with taking baths and showers; compulsive fingernail and toenail cutting.
4. Preparation, often with the aid of hotel bed-linen, of a long, ankle-length, toga-like gown, which is always white.
5. The need to shout psalms or verses from the Bible, or to sing hymns or spirituals loudly. Manifestations of this type serve as a warning to hotel personnel and tourist guides, who should then attempt to have the tourist taken for professional treatment. Failing this, the two last stages will develop.
6. A procession or march to one of Jerusalem's holy places, ex:The Western Wall.
7. Delivery of a sermon in a holy place. The sermon is typically based on a plea to humankind to adopt a more wholesome, moral, simple way of life. Such sermons are typically ill-prepared and disjointed.
8. Paranoid belief that a Jerusalem syndrome agency is after the individual, causing their symptoms of psychosis through poisoning and medicating.^[7]

Bar-El et al. reported 42 such cases over a period of 13 years, but in no case were they able to actually confirm that the condition was temporary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome

Darris McNeely and Days of Unleavened Bread

There is another excellent article on As Bereans Did concerning the Easter/Unleavened Bread teachings of the Church of God.  In the article is a section on the baseless claims if Darris McNeely about what Easter supposedly does not teach to Christians and what keep9ng Days of Unleavened Bread supposedly do.

I think it's safe to say that things haven't changed much since I left the COGs. I recently read the March-April edition of the United Church of God's “Beyond Today” magazine and, predictably, saw these regurgitated claims and more in Darris McNeely's article, “What Easter Doesn't Tell You.”

Here are the downright absurd things McNeely claims Easter fails to teach:

1. “Only God coming in the flesh could open the door of salvation for the human creation.”

2. “What's missing is understanding the way to eternal life through Jesus Christ, the Son of God!”

3. “Jesus Christ tasted death for every man so that God might give eternal life to those who call on His name.”

4. “You are missing out on the wonderful meaning of Passover and the death and reconciliation of Jesus Christ. Jesus suffered, died and was resurrected once for all time so that men might have the opportunity to enter into eternal life. Easter obscures the truth about that.”

Some other things mentioned that are worth conversation are:

2. Physical acts don't factor into your salvation.

Try as the modern COGs might, it's hard to get around the fact that the Days of Unleavened Bread focus on the physical. For days, weeks, and sometimes months, you focus on getting physical leaven out of your home. You pause to celebrate the Passover, and then the Night to be Much Observed – a lavish celebration not observed by Jesus' disciplines and AT LEAST as extra-biblical as Easter – then continue avoid leavening for the next seven days. Do you do it because you WANT to, because it's time to clean out the house, or because you want to try a low-carb diet? NO!!! You do it because you believe that not doing can keep you out of God's Kingdom. Yes, it was commanded – for Israel – and we have record of a few New Testament congregations like Corinth keeping it. It's likely that Christians like Peter and Paul observed it, although they certainly knew that doing so neither secured nor disqualified them. I get the distinct feeling that's not the impression members of UCG, COGWA, LCG or PCG get.

3. You will never be good enough – and that isn't the point, anyway.

You must put leavening out of your house, your minister tells you, because it symbolizes sin. In fact, those that don't put out leaven are sinning. But don't go overboard, because it's not possible and your focus should be primarily spiritual anyway. Also, laugh it off when you find a sandwich crust wedged in the bowels of your recliner next week, because God knows how hard you tried and will give you a pass. That one wasn't really sin because, you didn't know it was there. Or you forgot. Or whatever.

Huh? NOW who doesn't understand the gravity of sin?

Read the rest of the article here:  What the Days of Unleavened Bread Don't Tell You

One Year Left Till Ron and Laura Weinland To Be Left Rotting In The Streets Of Jerusalem

There has been so much idiocy spewed out by Ron Weinland, aka Weinerdude,  that I forgot that the timing is now short for the end time Two Witless Witnesses.  In April of 2019, Ron and Luara Weinland will be breathing fire and turning rivers into blood as they preach for 3 1/2 days in the streets of Jerusalem.

Weinerdude and his loony wife will then be slaughtered and left to rot in the hot sun in the streets of Jerusalem.  Then they will be raised to life after 3 1/2 days to wreak vengeance and destruction in the name of their creature they call "christ."  All of this happens while his money laundering daughter and weasely son Jeremey are travelling around Germany and Switzerland in their BMW's withdrawing hidden tithe money and recovering diamond rings Laura had hoarded in various banks for the end times.

martin says:April 3, 2018 at 10:22Oh, by the way, Ron is supposed to martyr himself at the end of the 1260 days, he said it would be physical “this time”. So that means by next April, Ron will go to Jerusalem (I wonder if he’ll get approval for that), and then both he and laura are to be martyred by the beast.  from False Propeht Ron Weinland

David C Pack On Jesus Return: Where and When

Having Parents Who Still Defend The Past

Are Church of God Members TRULY Your Family?

There is an excellent post on The Painful Truth site about what really constitutes a family in the Church of God. Are you fellow church members your "new" family?

Will they truly support you in times of need?

Will they give you unconditional love and support?

Will they accommodate your beliefs and understandings?

Will they stand beside you at all costs?

What is your experience?

Joining the Worldwide Church of God meant major sacrifices. Being a church of God member made it harder to fit in with the outside world. Some things we had to give up entirely. Armstrong tried to provide substitutes for everything we lost when we joined the Worldwide Church of God, but they were poor substitutes indeed.

Armstrong deliberately structured his belief system to alienate his followers from their families 

and make them more dependent on the church. When I joined the Worldwide Church of God, all of a sudden I couldn’t participate in most family get-togethers because they were “pagan holidays,” I couldn’t eat the food on the occasions I could attend because it was “unclean,” and I offended family members, especially my mother, when I did not give gifts on Christmas and birthdays.

My family still gave me their unconditional love despite my beliefs. When I visited my mother, she would always make sure that there were no “unclean” ingredients in my food, and while I felt unable to compromise my beliefs by attending infant baptisms and holy communions, she would attend church social events occasionally. I couldn’t bend to accommodate her, but she did all she could to accommodate me.

Compare that to the so-called substitute “family” the church provided. The “love” the church gave had many strings attached. If you didn’t obey the ministers and submit to their authority, if you didn’t agree with “Mr. Armstrong” in every respect, you could find yourself kicked out, and all of your “family” members were forbidden to have any dealings with you. If you did not regularly attend all of the church’s activities, you were loved less. The more blindly you submitted, the less you complained, the more “love” you received. If you had any questions or doubts, all of a sudden the love was withheld, and if you weren’t careful the “love” disappeared altogether. Former church members were and still are shunned by those still in the Worldwide Church of God and its splinter groups. The church did not only encourage the shunning of disfellowshipped members, it required it. There were serious penalties for associating with disfellowshipped members.

Read the entire story here:  The Family
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One Hell of a Way to Insure Compliance and Obedience? (Warning: Graphic Images)

Nigerian Christians Burn a Suspected Witch

Let's get this part over with.  "There is a way that SEEMS right to a man...Dennis, but the ways there of end in DEATH....yours".  "The wisdom of man is FOOLISHNESS with God...Dennis...and so are your observations."  "God laughs at the wise...Dennis, and is laughing at YOU."   There...

Now....

As a child growing up in a rather mainstream Christian Church, the topic of Hell Fire was disturbing to say the least.  I had burned myself several times so equated the concept of an ever burning hell for those, at the time whom I assumed did not profess the Westminster Confession of Faith, as something quite horrific. 

The experience of burns in real life magnified over the entire self and for all eternity ever burning but never able to die or burn up did accomplish the intended goal of watching out that I did not do bad things that were unforgivable or leave the church. How one never burned up, however, remained for me as scientific impossibility.

The old feeling of I might be going to the ever burning Presbyterian Hell returned when I got a letter from the Board after having gone to AC reminding me I had yet to confess my faith even though they knew I had been home visiting.  I was to contact them as soon as possible.  I didn't of course.  I had found new truth. I burned but  not forever so I would not be confessing that faith.

The Presbyterian Version rarely mentioned

In this hell  I think I imagined people bobbing or doing everything to keep themselves afloat in molten lava, as if it mattered .  When National Geographic allowed me to look into the spewing heart of a churning volcanic magma chamber I recall having to put out of my mind just how would feel to fall into such a lake of fire. Recently a young Oregonian accidently fell into a hot water cauldron in Yellowstone and all they ever found of him was his wallet. The rest had dissolved away in a day. I imagined what those last "Oh shit" moments must have felt like emotionally and physically for that young man. The best solution is just not to think about in too much detail and stay on the pathway.

The price humans exact on Unbelievers

Then came the teaching of "Is There a Real Hell Fire" from the Worldwide Church of God.  Now this was better I reasoned.  We don't burn forever.  That's a plus.  We burn up!  But still we burn and it takes time to burn up.  Even as a minister for the Burn Up Church of God, I wondered if God would not better exemplify "God is Love" if  He just stopped their hearts like we do in executions of hardened criminals today.  But then I was I was told that God is a just God and can do as he wishes.  It would be a quick lesson and realization by the wicked of just how wrong they were.  For what purpose I still cannot come up with. I guess that was supposed to comfort and distract me from wondering or doubting that this truly is an example of "God is love."  It's certainly not the I Cor. 13 kind of love.

Both growing up and as a minster, I wondered why an all powerful God could not simply show up and have a one on one chat with the doubting sinner.  I promise, if a real God sat me down and conversed with me as in "Come let us reason together,"  I'd listen well.  It's the middlemen that muck up the message and fuel the doubts and skepticism.  God needs to rethink that middlemen thing as it doesn't seem to convince the masses very well on something as important as not being burned alive for not confessing the truth of it all.

I have probably had a dozen people, from the Churches of God, warn me over the years here that "You'll think differently when you are facing the Lake of Fire"  This does not concern me as I have long since gotten over the idea that there is a Lake of Fire to be thrown into regretting I had eaten pork, tithed more faithfully, put the leaven out better and admitted that I was rejecting the one true Church, split, splinter and sliver along with competing Apostles and Prophets each cosigning the other to the Lake of Fire for watering down the teachings of Herbert W Armstrong who was only guessing at best.

And I simply don't know how to repent of good science done well that contradicts the Biblical explanations for all that is actually true.

The concept of Hell and The Lake of  Fire is a human construct. The concept evolves even in scripture and the bottom line is that it has been used for 2000 years to keep the faithful organized, faithful, supportive and gyrating in their seats. It is a FEAR based threat for consequences of non-church compliance. And while perfect love may cast out FEAR.  Evidently it does not cast out this one Fear put into the hearts of men by the clergy or the God they claim to speak for.   It is the reason the philosopher Denis Diderot said:

"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."

So to avoid being told to get back to my On and On Anonymous meetings, let's let one picture be worth a thousand words and ask:

In what way is this the Love of God and the only way God , even the Church of God,  God, can deal with the skeptical and unbelieving?  My apologies for using such a horrific example in picture form to illustrate the obscene theological solution, portrayed to the faithful and unbelieving of that which I know the thinking Christian also wonders about but will not speak about in church of course.

But the fearful, (Can God not ask what they are afraid of?) and unbelieving, (Can not God find out why they don't believe?) and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, (Can God not find out why they are this way?) and all liars, (Can not God ask why they fear to tell the truth?)shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 21:8

The reality is that human beings of all creeds and religions have only been around the last 38 seconds if you portray the last 570 million years in one hour, and our individual lifespan of 70 years is just 0.00035% of the human experience. 
Yet are punished  for billions and billions and zillions of quintillions of years into eternity for not getting it right. 

Think about that!

The Jewish Christian Churches of God might do better at least to adopt the Jewish view of the topic but that's another story...