Church of God Spiritual Terrorist Blames Fires In California and Deaths Upon State of California Attacking the WCG in 1979

The liars and self-appointed spiritual terrorists that make up the leadership of so many of the Churches of God love to lay the blame on others for all kinds of ills in society when their own churches are cesspools of corruption and spiritual deviancy.

From Dave Pack to Bob Thiel to James Malm to Gerald Flurry, these spiritual terrorists work overtime to devalue God, their followers, and especially Jesus by taking no accountability for their own spiritual perversions that they try to pass off as truth every time their open their mouths.

This is the latest from the deluded liar based into Edmond Oklahoma, Gerald Flurry.  Every disaster that happens in California happens because the State of California dared to file a lawsuit against the church in 1979.

The Camp Fire is hardly a campfire, and Paradise does not quite live up to its name. The town in Northern California has been almost completely burned to the ground in less than a week.

Starting on November 8, the Camp Fire has scorched almost 120,000 acres in Butte County. However, it is not the size of this blaze that has attracted so much coverage and attention. Previous fires, such as the Carr Fire earlier this year, have charred more than double that area of land. What makes this fire stand out is its deadliness.

The fire has killed at least 42 people, making it the deadliest fire in California’s history. The previous record was 29. The official death toll could yet rise, as hundreds of people are still missing. Most of the bodies found have not yet been identified. Of the three whose names have been released, the average age is 63. Paradise is mostly a retirement town, making it likely that the average age of victims will remain high.

Beyond the Camp Fire’s deadliness, its destructiveness has also set a new record. The fire has reduced the town of Paradise to ruins, destroying over 7,000 buildings—the vast majority were homes. To put this into perspective, the previous record for destructiveness was set only 13 months ago. The Tubb Fire of October 2017 destroyed more than 5,500 structures—1,500 fewer than the Camp Fire.

Fires further south are also posing grave threats. The Woolsey Fire near Los Angeles has killed two people and burned over 90,000 acres. Smaller blazes, such as the Hill, Lynn and Rocky Peak fires, have also started recently.

President Donald Trump announced in a tweet on November 12 that he has approved a major disaster declaration for California, allowing the state to use federal money to fight the flames.

“I just approved an expedited request for a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of California. Wanted to respond quickly in order to alleviate some of the incredible suffering going on,” the President wrote. “I am with you all the way. God Bless all of the victims and families affected” (emphasis added).

What the president and many others do not realize is that God will not bless California or save the state from its fiery plight at this time. In fact, He is doing the exact opposite. California has been experiencing one disaster after another for decades.

In his 2003 article “Is California Under a Curse?”, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry pointed out that California’s problems go much deeper than wildfires. Multiyear droughts, crippling debt and eruption of racial tensions in the early 1990s are just a few of the problems that California has struggled with. Out of all the states in the union, why is this state especially suffering so intensely?

In his article, Mr. Flurry pointed to the unfounded lawsuit that the state launched against the Worldwide Church of God and Pastor General Herbert W. Armstrong in 1979:

In an overt attack against Mr. Armstrong, the state of California, through the attorney general’s office, launched a massive lawsuit against the wcg in 1979. On January 3, that office initiated a sudden, armed assault on the Pasadena headquarters in an attempt to claim ownership of the Church’s property and assets as well as its continuing income—in violation of the U.S. Constitution. A receiver, secretly appointed by the court, tried to take over and operate God’s Church. Completely false, outrageous and baseless allegations of financial mismanagement were made—despite financial and all other required records having been regularly and voluntarily filed. No evidence of wrongdoing was ever found, and on Oct. 14, 1980, the attorney general dropped all charges and dismissed the case. Later, the higher appellate court ruled that the lawsuit was without foundation.

California is the only state that ever attacked Mr. Armstrong and his work. Actually, it attacked a lot more than that. California really attacked the living God!

The wcg was headquartered in Pasadena, California. While the wcg was under Mr. Armstrong’s leadership, God’s message was preached in California more than anywhere else in the world. But California rejected that message and actually attacked the Church! After Mr. Armstrong died, the very Church that he raised up rejected the truth that God had given through him.

God tells the people of Israel—the modern-day nations of America and Britain—that if they obey His law and live according to His way of life He will pour out great blessings on them. On the flip side, if they reject His way of life, terrible curses will come upon them. (Read Mr. Armstrong’s free book The United States and Britain in Prophecy for proof of the modern identity of Israel.) These blessings and curses can be found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Some of these blessings have to do with the weather. For example, in Leviticus 26:4-5 and Deuteronomy 28:11-12, God promises favorable weather conditions like rain in due season and productive farmland. But if the people do not follow God’s way of life, then God says that He will inflict drought and other weather-based curses (Leviticus 26:19-20; Deuteronomy 28:16-18, 24).

In Isaiah 29:6, God says that He will punish Israel “with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.”

We see a “flame of devouring fire” in California today! We have also seen curses in other states, such as hurricanes Michael, Harvey, Sandy and Katrina. Mr. Flurry warned in his article that the intensity of the curses on California are a sign of things to come for the rest of the peoples of Israel—and the whole world. He wrote:

When meting out punishment, God begins at His sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6). The Church Mr. Armstrong founded no longer follows most of the doctrines he taught! In principle, God begins where His own sinning Church is, especially their headquarters in Pasadena. And in general, that principle applies to the state where God’s sinning headquarters is. So it is fitting that God begins the worst part of His punishing America in California. The headquarters of God’s own sinning, Laodicean Church is there.

Is there a connection to what is happening in California and God’s work through Herbert W. Armstrong? The whole world must come to see that there is! California was saturated with God’s warning message more than any other state. Mr. Armstrong also warned the whole world. Now God is going to humble Israel and also all of mankind.

If Gerald Flurry would stop whoring himself at his altar to Herbert Armstrong and started to actually follow that dude he is too embarrassed to even mention, he might find a saviour filled with mercy, grace and peace, all qualities totally missing in his church. If Flurry actually knew that inconvenient dude he would not feel the need to constantly be proclaiming his creature "christ"  is coming back because it is really really pissed and wants to kill off most of humanity because the world has rejected Mystery of the Ages and Herbert himself.

The same goes for Bob Thiel, the biggest psychotic narcissist the church has seen in decades.  Even the vain-glory of Dave Pack and Herbert Armstrong combined cannot match the putrid narcissism of Bob Thiel who has never seen such a magnificent COG leader in church history as he does every time he passes a mirror.  Thiel, like Flurry, believes that every fire, hurricane, volcano, tornado, and earthquake that happens is a sure sign his god is pissed at humanity.  Like Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel has whored himself out to the erroneous teachings he learned from the past and thus envisions his god as this pissed off old dude parked on his ass in the third heaven who is just itching to obliterate all of humanity in order to prepare  a place for Thiel and his minions to rule the world from.

These spiritual deviates spend every waking minute terrorizing their followers with lies and new ways to bastardize scripture in order to use it as a weapon for their eternally pissed-off gods. This is what happens when all of these legalistic fools masquerade as God's most favorite men as they reject the very one they should be following.

Can you imagine any of these fools practicing love, grace and mercy? Can you imagine any of these spiritual terrorists getting off their self-appointed delicate asses and getting their hands dirty helping clean up Paradise, Malibu and Thousand Oaks? There were homes of church members and former members in all of these places that burned to the ground.  What greater way to show love than to go help a former COG member reconstruct their lives? What a shining example these men and their churches could make.  Do any of them have the balls to do such a thing?

The Power of Belief

Did you ever stop to think about just how much control the Churches of God ministry has attempted to exert upon your life? 

Have you ever stopped to ponder the extent of their will upon your lives? 

How did this happen? How is it that we could have allowed men to convince us that they had that kind of authority over us? What was it that allowed us to lower our guard, to lay down on the floor, assume the fetal position, and allow these men to trample on us, to kick us, to beat us, to rob us, and to dictate to us - and take it for year after year after year? 

What was it that made us believe that they were our adult parental units - who told us exactly what to do, when to do it, how to do it, where to do it, and why we should do it? How is it that we rationalized such thinking as actually the right way to live? 

It is a hard thought to really invest time in thinking about without some degree of self-deprecation. One of the things that is stressed in cult deprogramming is to avoid the trap of negative thinking that cults - and abusers - trap you in. So, let's just jot down many of the things that convinced us that they had authority over our lives.  

1) We believed they were who they said they were. 

2) We believed what they said would happen, will happen. 

3) We believed that Herbert Armstrong was divinely inspired and appointed. 

4) We believed that because Herbert Armstrong was divinely inspired and appointed, then those who he ordained were also divinely inspired and appointed. 

5) We believed that because those who were ordained were also divinely inspired and appointed, then their words were as good as from God Himself. 

6) We believed that the judgements that the ministry handed down were bound in Heaven, therefore, they had to be right, even if we knew they were not. 

7) We believed they knew what they were talking about - in bible knowledge, in counseling, in marriage, in child rearing, in life. 

8) We believed in the reality they wrote for us. 

It all came down to one word - belief. We believed what they said. We believed what they taught. We believed in the power they told us they had. We believed their explanations, we believed their arguments, we believed everything they handed down to us - the how's, the why's - and the authority behind every decision they made. We believed it all. 

There is a lot to be said concerning the power of belief. Belief affects every single part of your life - your mood, your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations, your abilities, your successes, and your failures. Belief affects your fears, your anxieties, your insecurities, your doubts, and your thinking in every way. When we were convinced that what they were saying was true, we believed. 

We believed every prophecy, speculation, prediction, and fantasy they ever said or published. We believed in the method of biblical understanding - bible reading - that they handed down. We believed in the master plan of salvation they taught us. We believed their dilution of the Gospel of Christ. And we believed in how they magnified the power of Satan. We believed what they said about what defines the world, what defines idolatry, what defines paganism, evil, worship, and churches. We believed that we had to give up the rights of adulthood - our political, marital, relationship, family, financial, social, and employment decisions - to the total control of our minister parents. And because we believed this - this belief became real. What was once just the vision of Herbert Armstrong and a few other men turned into an alternate reality of - for those affected - gigantic, life-changing proportions - and for those not affected, an invisible part of the world we all live in with absolutely no power or authority. We believed. 

This power of belief - this power of delusion, which is what it was - was a chain of bondage that wrapped tightly around us, tightening it's grip with every sermon, with every counsel, with every interaction, with every bound friendship, relationship, doctrine and dogma. What they said for us, is what it was. And because of this, we gave up who we were for their lies, for their scams, for their pocketbooks, and for their lives of luxury. 

We know for an absolute fact now that our belief was wholly and absolutely incorrect. British Israelism has been thoroughly and scientifically refuted in irrefutable analysis. Herbert's "world tomorrow" which was guaranteed to come in the 20th century did not. The church that "no man could shut down" was shut down by one man. The Worldwide Church of God as it was is no more. None of us were supposed to be here right now. Right now, we were supposed to be with Christ on this earth, cleaning up the tribulation, well into the first 40 years of "The World Tomorrow". We would have 30-40 year-olds who only knew life in this Millennium, with tame tigers and lions, spirit beings judging and disciplining, and lots of fountains and floral gardens everywhere under crystal clear skies - all singing "Praise Ye The Lordo" and "Holy Mighty Majesty". This is what we believed. 

And yet the one thing we were supposed to BELIEVE, we did not. 

That God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For everything we believed, the one thing we did not, could not, and would not believe was the Gospel of Jesus Christ - who He was, what He did, and what He accomplished. And everything the Gospels said was true, which we as a church denied, denied, and denied again. 

Because if we had believed that - we would never have believed anything else that has been proven to be lies. 

There is much truth to the words of the old song:

On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, 

all other ground is sinking sand. 

And because we didn't believe the one thing we should have believed - it all sank.

submitted by SHT

The perfect solution for COG's to keep members in check.

BAN THE BIBLE

The COGs keep having problems with members reading the Bible and coming up with questions they do not want to answer.

Instead of being so negative, I would like to help them out.

The solution is obvious – ban the Bible.

It worked so well for the Roman Catholic Church for over 1,500 years, so try it out. Look at all the trouble the RCC had when people started reading the Bible for themselves.

The council of elders in each group have so much experience they can use to help and instruct the members.

Why confuse them by letting them read the scriptures for themselves.

When they read that Christ is the head of man, they really think that applies to them. It is obvious with our overwhelming knowledge and wisdom is that the head of the members is the local pastor, and the head of the local pastors is the COG president / presiding evangelist / apostle / prophet.

Even worse, when they read Timothy and see that Paul tells Timothy to rightly divide the word of truth – this only applies to the very top ministers, not the sheep.

The solution is clear.

Ban the Bible.

Provide the members instead with your well-written booklets, magazines, and sermons. Tell them this their bible study instead of the confusing Bible.

Excommunicate anyone caught reading the Bible.

If COGs will just do this, they can hang on to their members until death.

Submitted by TLA

No Moonies Allowed

Leave it to Armstrongites to be caught up in all kinds of silly conspiracy theories.  One of them has always been that Amercian astronauts never landed on the moon.  Various employees in Pasadena were really wrapped up in this one.

The Kitchen clan has now settled that controversy!  In between the slobberfest of bowing down at their Herbert Armstrong altar, fighting with the Scarborough's, and stealing copyrighted works to put on their site as if they owned them they, they get all giddy over chemtrails, germ spraying, and all kinds of early morning AM radio silliness.

The Winter Family Weekend Song

It is rapidly approaching that time of year when several of the larger Church of God's conduct their annual Christmas Family Weekend.

All of the groups have selected sites that are brimming at the seams with Christmas cheer and joyous music, but not a single COG member will ever hear the music, see the decorations and imbibe in the joy of the season.  Yucky-poo on those Christmas cookies!

In honor of that miraculous event, which is on par with the immaculate conception, SHT has composed a new song for United Church of God to sing on their weekend.

Have a holly, jolly weekend

It's the best time of the year

I don't know if there'll be snow

But ignore all the cheer.

Have a holly, jolly weekend

And when you walk down the hall

ignore people you don't know

You're better then them all

Oh, ho, the mistletoe

Is hung where you can see

Listen to ho, ho, ho

Lights surround that tree

Have a holly jolly weekend

And in case you didn't hear

Oh United, have a holly jolly weekend this year

Oh, ho, the mistletoe

Is hung where you can see

Listen to ho, ho, ho

Lights surround that tree

Have a holly jolly weekend

And in case you didn't hear

Oh United, have a holly jolly weekend this year

God #1 and God #2 debated in heaven over who would come to earth as Jesus and who would stay in heaven as the Father.

God #1 and God #2 debate over who will be the father and who will be the son

Anyone with the slightest bit of Christian understanding has been taught that God the Father and Jesus both eternally existed. Armstrongism has many different versions of these two, including Jesus being a created being who attained godhood after his death...like the Mormons believe.  But, leave it to the Chief Pharisee and bastardizer of the law to come up with a new belief of the eternal beings.  Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses have nothing on the complete lunacy of James Malm.

The Chief Pharisee made the following comments:

Greetings James,

Could you please explain from which scripture you derive the doctrine that at some point the two members of the Elohim family decided that one of them would become the Father and the other the Son. This belief implies that the one who became the Son gave up his equality and authority to the one who became the Father! I find this concept as confusing and illogical as the concept that God is a Trinity. And we know that ur eternal God is not a god of confusion!

Regards,

Didier

It is obvious that they had to be in agreement for the plan to succeed and that a decision had to be made as to which one would give up his Godhood to be made flesh and die for sin; and as to which one would be trusted to raise the other up. The decision placed one as dependent on the other.

Jesus said very clearly that he was subject to the Father: John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. . . Now if a person have a son then he is a father; and the God Being who became the Father was the one who placed the other Being in the womb of Mary as must have been predetermined: since otherwise who would fulfill each role?

I suggest that you study the word “father” in the New Testament to see the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Father, is one as of father and son. James

In Honor of LCG's New Gospel Outreach: The Cowboy Channel

Ma! Pa! Git Out Here! Them Weston Boys Comin to Git Us!

courtesy of SHT

George Warner Adds Another Chapter To His Fascinating Life

There is more to the story about the UCG member looking for his grandfather, George Warner of Paradise, CA.  See this story:  A desperate search and an impossible Camp Fire escape: One family's fight to reunite

George was a former employee in Pasadena years ago and wrote a book about his life that was published in 2013.  It is a fascinating read on the adventuresome life of George.

He starts off rather quickly in his book describing his days in The Cult: The Worldwide Church of God and Ambassador College.

You can read parts of his story about life in the Worldwide Church of God at this link:

George Who?  The Life of a Common Man

Dear Church members: we realize you may be too stupid to realize this, but...........

submitted by SHT

Worldwide News, 9/1/75

Could the church be more condescending? The church never trusted members to do the right thing and had to spell everything out in articles and booklets. The problem with the above statement is that it was not the members "over doing" things, it was the higher up's, the church elite and their children. excess was never something that crossed the minds of some of these people.

UCG Members Never Stopped Searching For Grandparents In Paradise CA Fire

A desperate search and an impossible Camp Fire escape: 

One family's fight to reunite

JOHN WARNER NEVER STOPPED HOPING HE'D FIND HIS FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WERE MISSING AFTER THE CAMP FIRE DESTROYED PARADISE, CALIFORNIA.

John was working Thursday when he heard: Another California fire.

He stopped what he was doing. He listened. An evacuation had been ordered. People were trying to make it out of Paradise.

Paradise. No.

The scenic town of about 26,000 in the Sacramento Valley is about four hours from John’s home in Mi-Wuk Village, a scenic spot in California’s Gold Country east of Stockton

John calmed his frantic thoughts. He’d call his uncle and aunt. They also lived in Paradise and routinely checked in on his 96-year-old grandpa and his grandma, who didn’t like telling people her age. They would tell him not to worry. They would say: Everything is OK.

John had no idea what was about to happen. Soon the photos shot by trapped evacuees on their own cellphones would start flooding social media and news sites. People escaping in cars would post video of whole neighborhoods engulfed in a wall of flames.

The Camp Fire was the blaze everyone had always feared. It swallowed the canyon, moving through the North Central Sierra hills like a tsunami.

Read the entire story, with more pictures in the link above.

LCG: Our 15 Top men have been in the ministry for decades and have '"sound biblical understanding"

Gerald Weston is once again perturbed by the lowly members who send in papers concerning scripture translations and doctrine.  One must never forget that lay members are too stupid and not theologically trained like the LCG ministry...as if any of them have a sound theological training!  When one's theology comes from booklets, sermons, member letters, a few classes at the now-defunct Living University and/or the defunct Ambassador College/University,  or claiming to have been trained at the feet of Herbert Armstrong, how can they claim to be able to come to "sound biblical understanding?"

November 08, 2018

By Gerald Weston

Greetings from Charlotte, We finished a very inspiring series of meetings this week with the Council of Elders. The genuine dedication, unity, and friendship among the members is greatly appreciated. Over the years, I have come to value the advice given to us in Scripture regarding receiving a multitude of counsel (Proverbs 15:22). There truly is safety in doing so, as Proverbs 11:14 reveals. We so often hear of members coming up with different doctrines, fancying themselves as Bible scholars. By the time they come to the ministry, they are so convinced of their own rightness that nothing will persuade them otherwise. The issues raised are almost always peripheral, or doctrines contrary to our longstanding understanding. The Church’s Council of Elders often discusses subjects that may appear simple on the surface, but are frequently more complex than first thought. It is through thoughtful and prayerful discussion with the Bible as the foundation that 15 or more men, who have been in the ministry for decades, are able to come to a sound biblical understanding. Telecast responses are up the last two weeks, and we are adding a few new stations.  One is WNAB Nashville, which should begin airing on Sunday, January 6, at 8:00 a.m. Your prayers are requested for Mr. Martin Fannin, who is in hospital with pneumonia, and Mr. Ed Breaux’ wife Connie, who is hospitalized with blood clots in her lungs.—Gerald Weston

Schism In The Church of God

The Fragmentation of a Sect – Schism in the Worldwide Church of God by David V. Barrett: Book Review(available on Amazon) 

This book is based on his PhD thesis and is an independent look at what happened, what is happening, and how WCG is similar to other founder churches. 

Part one discusses the doctrines (Sabbatarianism and Observance of the Law, millenarianism, the ten lost tribes and British Israelism, Church governance, and a comparison between Worldwide and Mormonism. Then continues with how WCG got started. Next it covers failure in prophecy, major doctrine changes (Pentecost, divorce and remarriage, and liberalism), sex scandals, ousting of GTA, and other problems.

Next a chapter on Tkach doctrinal changes, membership of WCG then and today.

The final chapter in Part one covers the schism, the schism of the schisms, smaller groups, and special focus groups.

Part two – Analysis 

First chapter – authority and governance in HWA and Tkach eras, and in the offshoots.

Second chapter – after the founder dies – examines other organizations as well as the WCG splits, plus looks at what happens when the split founder dies.

Third chapeter – who went where and why.

Finally, he covers his research behind the book.

For an unbiased look at what happened and how we compare to other groups, this is a book well worth reading regardless on whether or not you are a believer in the original WCG doctrines.

Submitted by TLA

My comments

David Barrett was given almost unfettered access to Worldwide Church of God historical archives and Herbert Armstrong's writings.  Of all the hundreds of books written about the WCG over the decades, this one has been deemed the fairest and most balanced.

Barrett also goes into depth the doctrine of British Israelism.

Living Church of God even quoted his book in their The Incredible History of God's True Church by Ivor C Fletcher, as did the United Church of God's Michael Snyder..

James Tabor had this to say:

Prof James D Tabor, Chair, Dept. of Religious Studies, UNC Charlotte, wrote:

“Millions around the world listened by radio or watched on television 'The World Tomorrow' program with Herbert W Armstrong or his son Garner Ted Armstrong, or subscribed to The Plain Truth magazine in the 1960s through the 1990s. Both were sponsored by Ambassador College and the Worldwide Church of God. The Armstrongs believed they had been raised up by God to warn the world before the final Apocalypse. In many ways they were the most successful such movement of our times. David V Barrett, a sociologist of religion with no connection to the Church, has provided us with the most thorough and objective history to date. From its inception in the 1930s to its schisms and transformations, Barrett weaves the fascinating story of faith, corruption, disappointment, and hope. His careful research and skillful analysis has not only advanced our understanding of the Worldwide Church of God and its history, but clarified the dynamics of such modern apocalyptic groups more generally.”

Oxford University Press had this to say about the book:

The Worldwide Church of God was a largely American 20th century Christian sect (or new religious movement: NRM) with heterodox beliefs and practices. It was Sabbatarian, millenarian, British Israelite and legalistic. After the death of its charismatic founder Herbert W. Armstrong in 1986 his successor changed the Church’s distinctive doctrines, leading it towards an increasing convergence with mainstream Evangelical Christianity. Ministers and members faced massive cognitive dissonance: whether to accept or reject the authority of the Church leadership which had abandoned the authority of the founder’s teachings. Groups of ministers left to form new Churches, taking thousands of members with them. These schismatic Churches in the “Worldwide family” in turn faced continuing schism, resulting in over 400 offshoot Churches by 2009. This sociological study examines some of the processes involved in schism, including the legitimation of authority, within both Worldwide and its range of offshoots, from hardline to comparatively liberal. Religions frequently face a period of turmoil and readjustment following their founder’s death. This book offers a new typological model for categorising various outcomes, including schism, and explores the usefulness of this model by applying it to both the Worldwide Church of God and a wide variety of other religions. It also extends Stark and Finke’s rational choice concepts of “social capital” and “religious capital” when people make religious choices, specifically reaffiliation between movements; it introduces a third factor, “moral capital”, covering for example past problems with leaders, and tests the relative strengths of these factors.

Will the Churches of God Unite Together For A Fast For California?

CA Deadliest Fire

I too have a dream - a dream that the COG groups will get together and have a joint fast. 

A fast for the people in California who in 1 week have suffered 2 huge wildfires and a mass shooting. A fast to beseech God for mercy, comfort, healing, and rescue for our fellow human beings. 

A fast for our divided nation that they will be more tolerant of our internal differences and stop attacking one another. 

A fast for the end of division in the COG groups. 

An immediate end to division internally and joint church services for COGWA, LCG, and UCG, plus all other groups who want to join. 

Because of the belief in servant leadership, an end to calling ministers Mr. - whoever heard of calling servants Mr. anyway?

TLA

Satan Attacks Petra In Order To Scare COG Members

According to the Church of God, a sure sign of the end times is when Satan rises up and attacks the Philadelphian church and the Laodiceans.  The Philadelphians are lucky though, they et to flee to Petra where they will live in millenial bliss for 3 1/2 years, making the deseret bloom like a rose. Satan is angry that the true church will possibly be taking shelter in Petra and somewhere else in Jordan that he will do all he can to thwart their journey there.

The BBC had this story today about how 4,000 tourists had to be evacuated from Petra and several Jordanians had died in flash floods:

Jordan flash floods: Eleven killed and tourists evacuated from Petra

Rescue teams and helicopters are searching for five people whose car was swept away in Madaba, south-west of the capital, Amman.

Downpours also triggered a state of emergency in the port city of Aqaba.

It comes two weeks after 21 people, mostly children, drowned in a flash flood in the Dead Sea area.

A civil defence spokeswoman told AFP news agency on Friday that a child was among those killed by floods in the Dabaa region, south of Amman.

A main road connecting the capital with the south of the country was also cut off, she added.

In Petra, floodwaters in some areas rose up to 4m (13ft), state TV reported. Footage showed people on the city's main road trying to stay clear of the water. 

Evacuated tourists were taken to safe areas, government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat said.

She said more heavy rain was expected on Saturday and residents in affected areas were being urged to evacuate their homes. 

Jordan has suffered weeks of heavy rain. There was a public outcry last month after 18 children on a school trip were swept away, leading to the resignation of the country's education and tourism ministers. 

This immediately set the official false prophet of the Church of God into meltdown.  Bob Thiel writes today:

Petra is considered by many in and out of the Church of God as being the place or near the place that God will provide protection during the Great Tribulation/Day of the Lord. 

The late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong thought it may be, but he was not definitive, as he wrote:

Petra may very well be the site for God’s protection of HIS PEOPLE—those who are counted WORTHY TO ESCAPE the terrifying GREAT TRIBULATION that is soon to strike an unsuspecting Israel! PETRA, an ancient Arab stronghold deep in the rugged mountains, is accessible only by traveling through narrow, twisting gorges on horseback! (Letter, April 15, 1956). 

Apparently many are carelessly supposing they are now SURE of being protected through the Great Tribulation (now ALMOST READY TO STRIKE!). Whether it will be Petra or another place, many feel carelessly secure, and, after that, entering God’s Kingdom with ETERNAL LIFE! But YOU DON’T HAVE IT “MADE.” You are still being TRIED — to determine whether you shall have this protection — whether you shall enter the Kingdom of God! It is those who are LED BY the Spirit of God — NOT those who are led by desire for more and more physical and material things!…SO, hundreds of you are SLACKING OFF in your RESPONSIBILITIES in GOD’S WORK!…SO, hundreds of you are SLACKING OFF in your RESPONSIBILITIES in GOD’S WORK! (Letter, September 1, 1968). 

Incidentally, I know many of you seem to have your hearts set on going very soon to Petra as “the place of safety” during the soon-coming Great Tribulation. Well, GET YOUR MINDS OFF PETRA. Brethren, I HAVE NEVER said that Petra definitely is the place of protection where God will take us. I HOPE IT IS NOT! One reason it could be the place is that it is a place NOBODY ELSE WOULD WANT TO GO. It would be the most UNpleasant, UNcomfortable, miserable place you could go! There is nothing to be desired there. But, just in case, God HAS miraculously given me very gracious favor in the eyes of King Hussein and also his brother, the Crown Prince. They are very friendly to me personally (Letter, July 16, 1982).

Philadelphian Bob loves to trot out Herbert's nonsense on this as PROOF that Philadelphian COG members will be the only ones going to Petra while the Laodiceans get left behind to serve as servants of the Germans or killed in concentration camps, which is what Thiel believes will happen to all LCG members for not following him into the one final true church.

(all hyperlinks have been removed to prevent exposure to further heresy)   

Thus, Herbert Armstrong thought Petra could be the place, but felt that those who slacked off in their responsibilities in doing God’s work, would probably not go. 

Here is a prophecy concerning some Christians being protected and others not so being protected:

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:13-17) 

Notice that there are two groups of end-time Christians according to Revelation 12:14-17–one group that is protected, and the other that is not. 

It is to the Philadelphian Christians Jesus promised protection from the hour of trial:

7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (Revelation 3:7-10)

I will give you one guess as to who the true Philadelphians are.  It is doubly cursed Bob's improperly named "continuing" Church of God.  No shocker there.  The prophet of paganism goes on to claim that the recent flood in Petra has already been written about in one of his previous articles.  It is all in Jeremiah...

Not what about the flooding? 

Does that eliminate Petra or some other Jordanian location? 

No. 

I have written about the floodplains of Jordan and the place of safety in the past. Here is something posted here over five years ago:

Interestingly, Jeremiah wrote:

You who dwell in Moab, Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, And be like the dove which makes her nest in the sides of the cave’s mouth (Jeremiah 48:28).
For thus says the LORD: “Behold, one shall fly like an eagle, And spread his wings over Moab…” (Jeremiah 48:40). 

It should also be noted that Petra is south, south-east of Jerusalem, which, as we saw earlier, is a possible direction for the place to be. Other than the aspect of caves (which does not mention the amount of caves), it should be noted, that many other areas in Jordan also are in the right direction and fit the description of the place–so it is possible that the Church may flee into Jordan and not stay in Petra, but somewhere else in Jordan or a neighboring area. 

It may be of interest to note that although Moab (somewhat associated with modern Jordan) is likely to somewhat support the upcoming King of the South (Daniel 11:40), Moab ends up escaping the punishment by the final King of the North (Daniel 11:40-43)–and possibly God allows this escape because the place of protection may be in their land (though the King of the North would likely believe that there are other reasons, including political ones). 

There is another passage of scripture that may be alluding to a Jordanian location for the place, which states,

5 If you have run with footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they have wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of Jordan? 6 For even you brothers, the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; Yes they have called a multitude after you. Do not believe them, even though they speak smooth words to you” (Jeremiah 12:5-6). 

The implication to God’s people is if you are having a difficult time living in a relatively peaceful land, what will happen to you when you are being pursued by ‘a multitude’ in the ‘floodplain of Jordan’? 

Remember, the serpent spews out a flood to try to destroy those who flee to the wilderness (Revelation 12:14-15). Thus it is possible that this is why Jeremiah is warning God’s people about how they will do in the ‘floodplain of Jordan’ (most any map suggests this floodplain looks like it is east of Jerusalem, God’s people would probably need to cross it if they arrive in Jerusalem and head towards Petra).  They will also have lessons to learn. (Thiel B. Philadelphian Christians may wander to get to the place of safety. COGwriter.com, September 17, 2013) 

Thus, a flood could be in Petra or on the way there, consistent with Revelation 12 and Jeremiah 12. 

Although most of the world does not consider a place in Jordan or that basic area as a place to flee to for protection, scripturally, the place in the wilderness God promised looks to be in that region.

I just can't what for Thiel to enter Petra and find Pack, Weinland, Flurry, UCG, COGWA, and the rest of the COG leaders already there arguing over who is going to be in charge.  It is not going to a pretty sight when Bobbie finds out that none of them will let him be in charge as none of them will pay him any attention.