Saturday, December 15, 2018

Elijah Lectures PCG On How They Have It All Wrong



The Philadelphia Church of God has an article up in its January 2019 Trumpet magazine; Four Signs the Second Coming Is Near, by Joel Hilliker.

In it he says:
Weapons of mass destruction. An end-time Elijah. The true gospel preached around the world. The true Church splitting apart. These are four signs of Jesus Christ’s return that God inspired to be recorded and miraculously preserved in the Bible for 2,000 years. Today, they have all been fulfilled! These four specific signs, along with many others, show for certain that Jesus Christ is not just going to return, but He is going to return soon.
Gerald Flurry and the PCG has always claimed that Herbert Armstrong was the end-time Elijah, which is an end-all statement that rubs the present day Elijah with some major butt-hurt.  By proclaiming Elijah has already arrived and completed his ministry leaves no room for the various COG self-appointed Elijah's and self-appointed prophets to anoint themselves and expect adoration. That is a major bone of contention for our favorite self-appointed, doubly anointed and almost arrested prophet to the COG and the world, Tinfoil Bob Thiel.

He writes:
Notice that the Elijah is to come just before the great and terrible day of the LORD, and if he did not come, utter destruction would occur.

Herbert W. Armstrong died in January 16, 1986.

Now let’s see what Herbert W. Armstrong actually wrote about the timing of the final Elijah: 
"Also Malachi 4:5-6 pictures the Elijah to come at the very end of the Church age     (Mystery of the Ages. 1985, p. 349). "
When did Herbert W. Armstrong write that the Church age was over? 
Notice: 
At the end of the Church age and 6,000 years from Adam, Christ would return to earth as King of kings and Lord of Lords, ruling all nations, with the saints, for one millennium. (Armstrong HW. What If Adam Had Taken of the Tree of Life? Plan Truth, March 1983)
The “very end” of the Church age was not over nearly 33 years ago! The 6000 years has NOT yet been fulfilled. Since the “very end of the Church age” has not happened, and Herbert W. Armstrong died decades ago, his writings support that there must be another Elijah. And he was referring to an individual in the Mystery of the Ages. 
Then, as usual, Tinfoil Bob trots our Dibar Apartain as if the man was a legitimate validation for end time events.  Given how the COG ministry has been abysmal failures in prophecy, using Apartian as a source shows poor judgment. Apartian was as theologically bankrupt as Meredith and Thiel both are. Plus, Tinfoil Bob has made lots of claims about conversations and statements Apartain supposedly said to him, none of which can ever be verified as true.  Given how every single COG leader has lied to get himself in positions of authority, why should we believe any less of Theil?
That being said, sometimes Herbert W. Armstrong did think that he may have fulfilled the Elijah role, but he told the late Dibar Apartian (who told me) that he was NOT the Elijah. Furthermore, essentially on his deathbed, Herbert W. Armstrong admitted to his closest aide, Aaron Dean (who told me this multiple times) that there could be an Elijah to come after he died. 
This combined with what Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in The Mystery of the Ages and the length of time since his death demonstrates that Herbert W. Armstrong could not biblically be the final prophesied Elijah.
Next, our prophet wanna-be throws out some more scripture to PROVE he is the end time Elijah that was prophecied to come.
Since the Bible does teach that there will be an ‘Elijah’ who is alive right before Jesus returns (Malachi 4:5-6), it is not possible that Herbert W. Armstrong was the prophesied final Elijah.

Now, presuming Jesus will return within the next couple of decades, then that ‘Elijah’ would need to be alive now. And he would be part of the church that places the highest priority on the truth. 
Yet, most Christians seemingly refuse to accept that.

We in the Continuing Church of God are regularly restoring more truth about church history, doctrine, and prophecy. And we have done this more, by far, than any other group in the 21st century (COG or otherwise for that matter).
Woe to be to those in the Church of God community and the world at large that reject this end-time Elijah and his church message!  Woe brethren!  Woe!
Sadly, just as many would not hear Elijah’s nor John the Baptist’s messages, relatively few will pay much attention to the end time Elijah as well.

That is not a surprise as most Christians in the end times were to be Laodicean, and Jesus warned the Laodiceans since they would not ‘get with the program,’ that they would be punished (Revelation 3:14-18).
Of course, if you are willing to believe the truth and do what the Bible teaches, that does not have to include you.
Was that supposed to happen?

Yes.

Notice something that Daniel wrote:
4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4)
The end has not yet come. 
Therefore, Herbert W. Armstrong could not have possibly been the final Elijah and Matthew 24:14 has not yet been fulfilled. 
That being said, we in the Continuing Church of God are regularly restoring more truth, while we are reaching people around the world and preparing for the short-work (Romans 9:28), because Jesus will be coming relatively soon. 
It is just that on at least two points in Joel Hilliker’s article, the so titled Philadelphia Church of God is wrong.
Those poor deceived people in the Philadelphia Church of God just do not get it! Truth only lies in the improperly named "continuing" Church of God and NOWHERE ELSE!!!   The problem lies in the fact that if they join up with Thiel they are just jumping from one spiritual despot to another.  God has nothing to do with Gerald Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God anymore than he does with the improperly named "continuing" Church of God.  God never appointed Bob Thiel, just as he never appointed Gerald Flurry as a COG leader.  That is a fact that cannot be refuted.

Any deluded fool can claim his dreams are god inspired and then turn them into mythological status as Thiel has done. God did no such thing with Thiel and he cannot prove that He did.

So essentially we have one deluded man lecturing another deluded man on what he thinks is right.



Worst Sermon in the History of Christianity


Facts and Atheists' Delusions About Jesus


Truly the most disorganized, rambling,  poorly presented and boring sermon ever given "proving" his Faith.  Bob's proof of everything is to simply say it's true and those who say it isn't are wrong.  Now there's academic precision for ya!

And too...Jesus did not "fulfill 200 prophecies from the Old Testament"





Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On?


Friday, December 14, 2018

Bob Thiel's Prophetic Style




  A prophet that relies on question marks to state his case is no prophet like any prophet we have ever seen in history. Of course, straight out prophecies in the OT have failed time and again if one has eyes to see it. But at least the prophet stuck his neck out.  "Could it be?" "Perhaps this is it?" "Might this be important?"  "Is it possible I might be a prophet?" simply does not qualify as rough and tough prophet speak.  

Could it be that Bob Thiel is not a prophet?
Does a Double Portion bump you up from the common cold to Prophet?
My Dreams...Could they be the key to my prophetic self?
Does time really tell?

We'll see.....perhaps















Thursday, December 13, 2018

Bullshit Bob Asks.....





NO!

We all know that Bullshit Bob uses the Bronze Age concept of weather to assure everyone that his God uses it "to try and get people's attention."  A God that has to "try" is not much in the all powerful category. 

But " it's in the Bible" or " the Bible says"  mutter the God is Trying Haunted Weather Watchers.  In this case, as in many others, it does not matter what the Bible says, notes, warns, imagines or explains.  It is wrong, out of date and badly mistaken about the true nature everything from the "treasuries of the snow"  to the "windows of heaven." 

Today one can go through every "Where were you Job when, " or "Do you know...?" that Bible God throws at Job and give a perfectly good explanation for all of it. The answer to all of the "Do you know..." today is "Yes, in fact we do know." Most grammar school kids today know.  The speech of God to Job is badly and sadly out of time and date. Of course it was actually made up by a human being who could not imagine the answers to his own questions about the nature of things around him thousands of years ago, so.....It must be God knowledge!  You know....if you can't explain something yet, God did it! 

Or as some say,  "I don't know...therefore...ALIENS!"

 If Yellowstone blew sky high  tomorrow, or Mt Hood, St. Helens, Adams, Ranier or Jefferson in the PNW, it would have absolutely nothing to do with God or His trying to get anyone's attention for any particular reason.  It's pretty much connected to Juan De Fuca plate, heading East and  diving under the North American Plate, which is moving West.  It's just that simple. When, not if, the PNW has its next slip of the Cascadian Plates and the predictable 9+ earthquake to follow, which indeed will put Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma and Portland in the Stone Age in five minutes, it will have NOTHING to do with any God trying to get anyone's attention. It is simply how the planet works out here. 

Excerpt Most Stupid....
"...…..A mystic rabbi suggested that an alarming spate of recent geyser activity in Yellowstone National Park may be the precursor to the pre-Messiah war of Gog and Magog.  …

After four years of total silence, the Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in northwest Wyoming came back to life on Saturday, shooting steam 200 feet into the air. Steamboat  is the largest in the world with eruptions reaching up to 400 feet. This latest eruption set a new record for the geyser of 30 eruptions in one year. …

A correlation between geyser activity and earthquakes has not been proven, but some scientists believe that geological shifting may lead to increased geothermal events. The Yellowstone region has seen a period of increased earthquakes and swarms of minor tremors. In June 2017, the Wyoming area of Yellowstone was hit by a persistent swarm of approximately 2,400 tremors.  These swarms are continuing this year at a slightly lower rate.

Rabbi Yekutiel Fish, author of the Hebrew Torah blog, Sod HaChashmal, emphasized that forces of nature, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, are manifestations of God’s judgement, denoted in the Bible by His name ‘elohim.’  (THIS IS BALONEY! The "Elohim" are the Council of the Gods overseen by "El" the Chief God , first of the Canaanites and then of the Israelites with modifications. The Elohim are the "US" of "Let US make man in OUR Image.") The rabbi noted that the seismic aspect of God’s influence in the world was explicitly described in Psalms.
Therefore we are not afraid though the earth reels, though mountains topple into the sea. Its waters rage and foam; in its swell mountains quake. Selah. Psalms 46:3-4

“The entire world will be judged before the Moshiach (Messiah),” Rabbi Fish told Breaking Israel News. “Nature will change, be less normal, because God will be guiding it in a more direct manner.”
“This will be especially true during the War of Gog and Magog,” he said. “The war will be unique in that it won’t be simply a war between countries. God will play a major role via nature, through natural disasters.”
“The verse in Psalms is clearly referring to tsunamis which will increase in the days preceding Messiah,” Rabbi Fish said. But we also see that earthquakes will increase around the world.” …
In his weekly sermon last week, Rabbi Nir Ben Artzi predicted that all manners of natural catastrophes are going to increase in the coming year.
“God will judge, ‘who to life and who to death,’” Rabbi Ben Artzi said. He also predicted that international conflict will increase. “The heart of the king is in the hands of God,” he said.

In a previous sermon, he explained why God uses nature in this manner.
“People believe that nature just happens,” Ben Artzi said. “That is a mistake we make because we don’t always see or hear God. If God left the world solely in our hands it would have been destroyed a long time ago.”
Rabbi Fish emphasized that it is a mistake for men to think they can control nature.
“The only thing we can do is pray and do tshuva (repent),” Rabbi Fish said. “But these are the greatest acts a man can do. In our age, when the messsiah is imminent, this can save the world.” https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/118586/yellowstone-eruption-gog-magog/

The Bible is clear that God controls the weather and various calamities, but wants people to heed His prophets:...."


Only Bullshit Bob could connect Yellowstone and the groanings and mutterings of its internal world to Gog and Magog, as if he knew. Well actually he doesn't. He merely throws the question out there refusing to take responsibility of pre-dicting as Biblical prophets were wont to do. Bullshit Bob does not predict. He does not put his word on the line to see how well he is doing. He merely reads the news like it was the Bible, fills in the blanks with speculation and makes a non-critically thinking fool out of himself. 

 Bullshit Bob is as much a Prophet as I am an Apostle.   The point does not need to be proven over and over. Weather is just weather.  Volcanoes are all exactly where the shifting plates or rising magma chambers put them. Storms have NOTHING to do with any God trying to do anything. A low pressure system is not God ordained and earthquakes are just how it works down in the ground beneath our feet.  







Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg: Hail the King!



First, we had Tinfoil Bob Thiel getting all googly-eyed at Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg of Germany and now we have Gerald Flurry who's eyes are glazing over in orgasmic ecstasy.  Guttenberg is a wet-dream come true for these two.

Both of these self-appointed Laodicean leaders claim that Guttenberg will soon be the new King of Europe who will then immediately bring the armies of Germany and the European Union down upon the United States where they will slaughter a third of the nation and take another third hostage as slaves.  These two guys eyes glaze over in sheer ecstasy at that prospect. 

Not far behind these two is Gerald Weston and the Living Church of God which has been forever tainted by the illogical worldview of Rod Meredith and his fearmongering scenarios of Americans hanging from meat hooks in concentration camps and parents eating their children.

Never has a church been so consumed by death and destruction as the Church of God has been for the last 80 some years.

In our January 2011 issue, we wrote: “Under the leadership of Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the Bundeswehr is evolving into exactly what British and American leaders after World War ii fought so hard to prevent: a professional military subject to the influence of German elites.”
Daniel 8 tells us more about this coming leader: Verse 25 says that “through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand”—he is deceitful—“and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many.” In other words, this man talks about peace all the time, but then he launches battles and wars! Germany - A New King Is Immenant 

What it is like seeing the world in a new way after leaving the church


I think this best describes what it feels like for so many when they leave the church and suddenly realize that all of the malarkey we were spoon fed about the "world" was a load of crap. The beauty and complexity of the world is vibrantly fresh, rewarding, beautiful and challenging, all at the same time.

To experience that richness without having to find fault with ever thing is a scary thing for some and it is hard to deal with.  For others the world is waiting to be explored as a world full of grace and beauty.

This was posted on a Facebook group of ex-church members today.  I have permission to post this.

What it was like to leave the church for me and see vibrancy in 'the world' for the first time. When I realized the reality of the relationships I could have had and that I could have nurtured had we not been brain-washed to think we were were special, chosen and set apart. The world was grey, and deceived and they were all bad. They would see some day. 
I think I was more happy than sad though. I realized what lay ahead of me was going to be thousands of times better than what was behind me - but there were and still are some waves of 'could haves'.  
The relationships I have with those still *in* are still also in black and white. And today I realized that some in my life who have left the CoGs, are still steeped in that judgemental critical outlook in select relationships - at least I hope it is in select relationship, because if it is in all of them, their life is sadly miserable.  

Did you experience this bitter-sweetness when your vision altered the first time?

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Your Well Being As A Religious Person Does NOT Depend Upon Any COG Leader


From Exit and Support:
Thinking For Yourself
December 2,2018
I have for the longest time been monitoring your site to keep updated on what is going on with the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG). It would seem that over the years it has become so secretive that hardly any information is coming out about what's happening in the PCG. It only makes sense that the supposedly only one true Church of God which is the only one that has the truth would want to hide its operations from the world and even its own members. There are a lot of clues for those who are paying attention that the PCG is not what it claims to be. Nowhere in the Bible is there any indication that the members of God's one, true Church are to mindlessly follow whoever comes along and appoints himself as the one having "THE” truth. In fact, the members of the Church are repeatedly warned of false teachers arising right from within the ministry and that each and every member of the church is responsible for proving for himself using the Bible whether what is taught them agrees with the truth of the Bible. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that members are to mindlessly follow the leaders in the Church as all are but fallible men whose ways can become evil; having been honest in the past is absolutely no guaranty of continuing to be honest in the future. Men are not to be trusted; none of them; all their preaching has to be constantly verified against the Bible and if they cannot be proven with the Bible, they are not to be believed.  
Your well-being as a religious person does not depend on you finding the man that in your estimation looks the most trustworthy but in you personally and always verifying everything men say against your Bible. Your salvation does not and has never depended on any man. Your salvation is between you and God and your criterion for sorting truth from error is your Bible. Paul said, follow me as I follow Christ and if I am not following Christ then don't follow me.  
There are many lamenting that they have been misled for years and had to endure all sorts of abuse from the ministry and I am sure this is very true. However, there was never any need for them to let themselves be the victims of such abuse. Our salvation does not depend upon belonging to a specific organization which has somewhere in its title the words "church of God.” It is not a question of belonging to the "right” organization or of following the "right” man. God places squarely on your individual shoulders the responsibility for your salvation which is wholly based on your personal efforts to understand the truth as written in your Bible — not according to what men say is the truth — and your resolve to apply it in your life to the best of your abilities.  
You do not need to be at the mercy of men running organizations they call "churches of God” who abuse you (not very Christian to say the least) and who callously exploit you financially to provide a life of luxury for themselves and their inner circle supporters who are often family members and close relatives. 
If you are feeling miserable and hopeless, the key to your freedom is and has always been in your own hands.  
Your salvation is between you and God and not you and some organization or man who calls himself a prophet. God looks on the heart. Are you really trying to know and understand the truth and to follow it to the best of your abilities? Then there is a crown of glory reserved for you which Christ will bring at the time of His 2nd Coming for all those who will delight in his appearing. God's Church is not a physical organization but a spiritual organism made up of all those who sincerely are hungering and thirsting for the truth and who resolve to obey it when they find it whether they be by themselves or part of a group.  
Don't let any man make your life miserable by impoverishing you, disrespecting you and your family while claiming to be God's true servant. Their actions speak louder than their words and make plain the truth about who they really are and what they are doing. 
It just doesn't make any sense to believe that such an organization or person could be what and who they claim to be. 
You have it in your power to set yourself free; right now. God will not forsake anyone who sincerely wants to obey Him.  
--EX-PCG Member (left the PCG over 20 years ago and I'm still standing and YOU can too)

The Real St Nicholas Punched Arius


...the “real St. Nicholas” was said to be at the Council of Nicaea, where a major theme of the debate was whether Christ was “homoousios”–meaning “one substance”–with the Father, or “homoioousios”–of similar substance with the Father.  In other words, is Christ truly God, as St. Nicholas and the other orthodox bishops believed, or is He just similar to God, a very special creation, but just Man and not God, as Arius and his faction believed.
St. Nicholas was so zealous for the deity of Christ that he actually is said to have assaulted Arius. Advent, St. Nicholas, & the Deity of Christ
Almost-arrested tin-foil Bob has had another yearly meltdown over the original St. Nicholas and how he is tied to the Christmas tradition.  Since Armstrongism was considered at times to be Arian in its beliefs, Tinfoil Bob was none too happy to discover Nicholas assaulted Arius.

Notice the following from the St. Nicholas Center:
In 325 Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, which was the first ecumenical council ever held. More than 300 bishops from all over the Christian world came to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity, one of the early church’s most intense theological questions. Arias, from Egypt, taught that the Son Jesus was not equal to God the Father. This was the Arian controversy which shook Christianity’s very foundations. According to one account, when confronted by the unyielding Arias, Nicholas slapped him in the face. For such a breach of decorum, Nicholas was brought before Constantine, who stripped him of his office and had him thrown into prison. During the night, Jesus with his Mother Mary appeared to Nicholas: Jesus bringing the book of the Gospels, and Mary, the bishop’s stole which had been taken from him. In this way Nicholas was reinstated. (Bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas Center. http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/bishop-of-myra/viewed 12/05/14) 
While Jesus is God, since Jesus said, “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), this should help prove that Nicholas was wrong to punch somebody who claimed to believe something like that–plus Christians are not to be violent. 

Dear Brethren, We Realize You Are Too Stupid To Know How To Read, So Let Us Tell You How


How To Read: AC Correspondence Course 1970

In the Ambassador College Correspondence Course, Lesson 36, in 1970 - the Church told it's members and readers of the Correspondence Course how to read. Here's what they said: 

  • Don't waste time reading trashy novels filled with sex and filth. 
  • Don't read comic books filled with violence and gore. 
  • Choose profitable, useful, educational books. 
  • Choose books on history, ecology, pollution, the population explosion, and other world problems. 
  • Visit the non-fiction section of your local library. 
  • Read Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, Too Many, Famine - 1975, Our Precarious Habitat, The Hidden Persuaders
  • Read a weekly news magazine for reports on global affairs. 
  • Read books on getting things done like How To Get More Done in Less Time, The Technique of Getting Things Done, Streamlining Your Executive Workload
  • Read worthwhile books, magazines, and important news. 
After telling you WHAT to read, now they tell you HOW to read. 

  • Read with a purpose, not aimlessly. 
  • Concentrate.
  • Pause from time to time to summarize the material. 
  • Think about what you are reading. 
  • Read faster.
  • Skim unimportant sections and trivia. 
  • Take a reading course for faster reading. 
  • Mark the material. 
  • Underline the important sections. 
  • Put stars or asterisks in the margin. 
There. Now you can be perfectly assimilated on what to read and how to read it. Because you were never adult enough to make up your own mind or your own choices on reading. It was these doctrines that caused:

  • Parents to forbid fiction reading for children
  • Parents to think imagination or fantasy was wrong for children
  • Parents to forbid all comic books (even the tame ones!)
  • Married couples to be completely unimaginative and dull in the bedroom. 
  • The most marked up books ever found in Garage Sales ;) 
  • People to watch shows such as Wall Street Week or Washington Week in Review to fulfill their "watch" Obligations. 
Books they recommended: (Fear religion!) 


z
(Read the Reviews - Trash)

(Fearing Famine)

(Fearing the Germans)

submitted by SHT

Church of God Quality Control Form - Ministers



On a five grade level, A - F - Rate your minister on the following Biblical principles and qualifications for a Minister of Jesus Christ.

A = Yes, Absolutely
B = I Believe So, Mostly.
C = Nothing exceptional, or not sure.
D = He's pretty bad at this.
F = Absolutely not. 


The Pauline Principles (Titus 1:5-9)

1. Is your minister above reproach?

2. Does your minister have children who believe?

3. Is your minister the husband of one wife?

4. Has your minister been accused of rebellion?

5. Is your minister not self willed?

6. Is your minister not quick tempered?

7. Is your minister not addicted to wine (alcohol)?

8. Is your minister not pugnacious? ****

9. Is your minister not fond of sordid gain? *

10. Is your minister hospitable?

11. Does your minister love what is good?

12. Is your minister sensible?

13. Is your minister just?

14. Is your minister devout?

15. Is your minister self controlled?
Does your minister fit the criteria of "One who must be silenced"? (Removed from the ministry by their superiors) (Titus 1)

1. Is your minister upsetting whole families?

2. Is your minister an empty talker and a deceiver?

3. Is your minister rebellious?

4. Is your minister teaching things for the sake of sordid gain? *

5. Does your minister deny God by their deeds?

Does your minister exhibit the Fruits of the Spirit? 

1. Does your minister exhibit love?
2. Does your minister exhibit joy?

3. Does your minister exhibit patience?

4. Does your minister exhibit peace?

5. Does your minister exhibit kindness?

6. Does your minister exhibit goodness?

7. Does your minister exhibit faithfulness?

8. Does your minister exhibit gentleness?

9. Does your minister exhibit self control?

Does your minister adhere to the principles of Basic Christianity?

1. Is your minister sexually immoral?

2. Is your minister an idolater?

3. Is your minister an adulterer?

4. Is your minister sexually deviant?

5. Is your minister a thief?

6. Is your minister greedy?

7. Is your minister a drunkard?

8. Is your minister a reviler? **

9. Is your minister a swindler? ***
* Sordid: involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt.

** Reviler: to criticize in an abusive or hostile way, or to spread negative information about.

*** Swindlers are scammers who con people to make a buck. (Google def. throughout)

**** Pugnacious: quick to argue, quarrel, or fight.



How did your minister do? 

What was your minister's average score? 

What does this tell you? 

How should you respond? 

If you were their superior, would you fire him/her? 

If you would fire him or her, do you not know you still can - by ceasing your relationship with a person not qualified to spiritually advise you? 

Words to think about.