Why Is Nimrod The Most Powerful Being In Armstrongism?

Anyone who has spent much time in the Church of God movement knows all about Nimrod. He was spoken about incessantly by almost every pastor out there, but never as much as Gerald Waterhouse and Herman Hoeh did.  Nimrod was the all-powerful god who was able to accomplish every desire he had, while the god of the Church of God seemed to be constantly quivering in the background.  During all my years in the church, I heard more about Nimrod than I did Jesus.

The only time the Church of God ever focused upon Jesus was around Passover time. But even then he only had value as someone to be killed, as the ministry (at least in Pasadena) loved to portray him by breaking matzo's in front of a microphone just so you could be made to feel like a filthy pile of crap for killing him each year in the college gym.  

We never heard much spoken about him, but sure heard all about Nimrod.

LCG Theme for the family weekend – trials are good – the longer you are in the church, the longer the trials!

This is a rather sad commentary about the Living Church of God.  Its members are gathering this weekend for its annual Winter Family Weekend.  One ould assume it is a time of fun activities and great fellowship.  Imagine kicking off a weekend with the following.  Truly sad!

LCG Theme for the family weekend – trials are good – the longer you are in the church, the longer the trials!

Instead of an uplifting Bible Study, LCG starts off with more of a sermon with the theme of trials are good, the longer you are in LCG, the longer your trials will last – maybe they will never end until you are dead. 

Have a heart LCG – you have families coming in looking forward to an uplifting joyful weekend of activities, of meeting and making new friends – the children and teens especially. This theme is a killjoy. 

Instead of a kick off Bible Study showing how God loves His people getting together and rejoicing, you hit them with a gloom and doom sermon. 

Ecclesiastes says there is a time and place for everything – this was not the time and place.
Jesus (remember Him?) started off His ministry at a wedding feast and turned the water into wine. Jesus knew how to celebrate and have a good time, and make people happy at a joyous occasion. 

The problem with being a prophecy first church is you are always seeing the bad behind every event. 

Lighten up – church services can be fun and inspirational.

submitted by TLA

It's About Truth

The ideology that Herbert Armstrong has dictated in his doctrines, ideas, predictions, speculations, and heresies is morally, spiritually, and ethically reprehensible in every sense of the world. The very core of his work goes undeniably against the very fruits of the Spirit of God and the very core of the heart and soul of what Jesus came to reveal, to accomplish, and ultimately, to give His life for. 

Jesus did not come to bring one set of people to abject poverty while another set of people rob, steal, and dine on their dimes. Jesus did not come so the little children had to sit silently and listen to their ministers talk about death, destruction, false prophecies, corrections, rebukes, and absolute lies. Jesus did not come to enable abusers to abuse. Jesus did not come to promote racism, white supremacy, bigotry, Gulfstream Jets, mansions, and GQ suits. Jesus did not come to advance a religion of arrogance, greed, chauvinism, and bullying. 

Jesus did not come to this Earth 2,000 years ago to advance the causes of uncontrolled and unchecked power. Jesus did not come to this Earth 2,000 years ago with a weak, powerless, dismal Gospel that was just waiting for a worldly-oriented businessman to raise up a scheme that would collapse in just about 50 years. None of these reasons are why Jesus came. 

When we look at the legacy of Herbert Armstrong, and it's splinters, we can, without any effort, bring forth volumes of information of the lies, the falsehoods, the distortions, the cover-ups, scandals, misrepresentations, and harm that have disseminated from the "House of God" in Pasadena for decades upon decades. We can, without any effort, bring forth volumes of testimonies - painful, real, honest testimonies of the chains and the shackles that the doctrines of Armstrongism - taught by biblically and theologically illiterate leaders - that prove not only the dark and wicked attitudes that prevail in the thick sewage of Armstrongism, but prove the spirit of evil that has shattered and broken thousands upon thousands of lives in it's destructive wake. It's not isolated. It's the force, and the strength of destruction that to the end, even decimated itself into slivers and shards, where little remains of what once was. 

Now, today, we have a few that continue to believe - some wholeheartedly and with sincere conviction - that somehow they and they only hold the keys and the answers to life. Answers that not only completely trample and trash everything that Jesus ever came to accomplish, but hold people in chains of bondage, ruining families, destroying relationships, destroying opportunity, causing division and separation time and time again. Now today, we have a few that are divided amongst themselves, making merchandise of the brethren to advance their own miniature empires led by men thirsty and hungry for power and control - lying, deceiving, and destroying without regard to reach their own ends and to maximize their own schemes. 

And then there are those who finally wake up to the realization that they were involved in a world of darkness pretending to be light. These come out of the dense fog of Armstrongism in a world of trauma, hurt, and disbelief. Many even have come to reject Christianity itself, and embrace the concepts and notions of a godless universe. Others have retreated into a world of reclusive living, untrusting and unwilling to allow themselves to submit to such a scam ever again. - subject to lie after lie after lie, over and over again. 

There is no doubt as to what they - the perpetrators of Armstrongism and all of it's injustices - want those who shine light on the problems - to do. They want us to "get a life", to "shut up", to "grow up", and to roll over and play dead, and not say anything about the abuses that continue unabated. They want those who see, who hear, and tell others to "mind their own business". Then, they accuse the ones who speak out of being blasphemers. Of being haters. Even of being devils. They accuse those of the same attitudes they have no problem displaying, while making themselves out to be the bearers of light and hope. Many have cast judgement against them, without authority, up to and including their eternal lives, without realizing or knowing that only God holds the keys of life and death in His hands - or the one who came to save us. They don't acknowledge the depth, the width, the height, and the length of the love of God in Christ our Lord that exceeds the pathetic boundaries created by that businessman, Herbert Armstrong, who only understood the physical realms, and even then, didn't have a clue. 

If your watched your son or your daughter - with so much potential to live - get involved with a man or a woman who constantly oppressed them. Who constantly told them everything they were doing wrong in every area. Who stripped them of their ability to make decisions. Who stripped them of their responsibilities. Who eventually would take as much of their rights, responsibilities, and income as possible - and then that man or that woman who did that went out and built a house, living off their income - lying to them, over and over again - promising them the world while they were chained up in the basement, living off whatever they could scrape out - would you not be outraged? would you not want to tell someone? Would you not want to do all you could to help that person understand their situation? Especially your son and daughter? Or would you expect them to sit down, shut up, and bask in willful neglect and disbelief about the whole thing? Would you be on the side of your son or daughter, or the abuser? 

What would Jesus do?

What would YOU do? 

For all the time we spent in Armstrongism, we heard four words in our hearts and minds throughout the whole experience: Tithe, Pray, SHUT UP, and OBEY. Today, those same leaders WISH we would tithe, WISH we would shut up, and despise our "rebellion" against their tyrannies. We got up, and we said "NO MORE". We ignored their constant threats against our eternal lives, and cast them aside as worthless. We rejected their nonsense, their false prophecies, their lies, their arrogance, their abuse, their judgemenal attitudes, their greed, their sneers, their cold, heartless attitudes of worldly gain and greed, and their shouts of powerless authority. Make no mistake - their words are powerless. They have been disarmed. They hold no power - except on those who give them such power through fear. 

Let me be clear on this: None of them hold any power over ANYONE, except the power of fear and deception. Not oneof them has uttered one prophecy of truth, one speculation of substance, one word of power - just disappointment and lie after lie. Who remembers the guy who "cursed" his detractors to no avail? Or the guy who made up such ridiculous prophecies about 2013 and ended up proving himself a liar? Or the guy who believes he was ordained and never was? What about the man who started it with over 200 false speculations, a man with rage, temper, and in his own words, an "evil nearly impossible to overcome"? The only power they've ever had over anyone are those who believe they have power. 

We don't. We have been freed. We're here. They are powerless. We have a voice. It's not hatred. It's standing up to the Lectern of the Internet through the Banned By HWA Arena in front of a crowd bigger than any Feast of Tabernacles site with volumes of information and indisputable facts. It's booming the truth of what Armstrongism was really about "AROUND THE WORLD", And really is. Not one person has EVER been able to refute any of the claims that have been revealed. Because they cannot. Because it's truth. And truth is all it's ever about.

submitted by SHT

On a Personal Note:

NOTE:  I post this simply because it is a way that many who knew Karen could find out that she had passed from the brain cancer that presented itself in August. Karen was a very fine and loving person who spent many years going where I went and supporting me during all the drama and trauma that came to us while pastoring in those 14 congregations scattered over five states and 26 years. My sons have been wonderful in their care for their mom right through the end of life. I am very proud of them as they too were dragged all over the country , changing schools on a moments notice and giving up their friends. In spite of all that, they have turned out as excellent sons, husbands, fathers and friends for which I am very grateful.  

This is not to not acknowledge all the also fine Church members who have passed in this life having also been through much in their WCG/COG experiences 

Thank you in advance for those who have made kind and supportive comments. 

Karen Fuessel Diehl

July 17, 1950 -December 19, 2018

Journal entry by Chris Diehl — Dec 19, 2018

Moms struggle is over and she is at peace. Mom passed away at noon today in her sleep. She was in no pain and was not alone. My brother Jeff and I were with her the whole time. We we're able to hold her hands and be right next to her up until her last moment.

Moms service

Journal entry by Chris Diehl 

Moms service will be Friday December 28th at Kornegay and Moseley Funeral Home here in Columbia. Visitation will be from 1pm to 2pm.

UCG Declares Year End Fast After Income Drops 8%. Will The Boys Of Cincinnati Take A Pay Cut To Set The Example?

Preaching the "gospel" is a hard business for United Church of God. After dumping a bunch of money into a new recording studio and other pet projects, UCG has discovered its income is down 8%.

We are all products of the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God—given to us free of charge. It’s the convicting Word of God and the Holy Spirit that have done this. But it was not free to produce. It costs a lot of money to accomplish all the things that the United Church of God produces. There are writers, pastors, television presenters, Ambassador Bible College staff, Internet costs, and much, much more that goes into supporting our collective efforts.

And so, now I come to you with a matter of concern. While we have had steady, but modest growth over the past several years, you may have read in the report from the December meeting of the Council of Elders that the Church’s income for the current fiscal year is about  8 percent under budget.There are a number of possible factors contributing to the lower amount of received donations—including uncertainty about U.S. tax law changes introduced for 2018 (including changes affecting deductions for charitable contributions), and the ongoing correction in the stock market (which Reuters has described as the “worst December performance in 16 years” for U.S. stocks).

Notice the one thing that UCG leaves out as a potential reason for the downfall.  Have they ever considered people find their canned 1970/80's sermons and same silly exegesis methods as Herbert used as producing sermons that have no relevance to people living in the 21st century?  Just how many times do people need to hear anti-Christmas, Easter, Halloween sermons or see slick videos? How many doom and gloom sermons need to be preached picturing the end times in the same brushstrokes Herbert did in the 1930/40's?

So brethren, as UCG looks forward to setting 2019's budget you had better make damn sure you have upped your giving so that they can do what they want

With this in mind, we would appreciate your prayers that we see our income trends clearly as we prepare an appropriate budget. I’d like to request that you please join me in prayer and fasting to our great God on a day of your choosing between now and the end of December. Please ask God to not only bless the United Church of God, an International Association, but for Him to show us how we may be the wisest of stewards with the income and blessings He has given us.

Here's a suggestion for the big boys in Cincinnati.  Why doesn't the top leadership take a dramatic pay cut and set the example of true leadership instead of soaking the members for more money?

Even better, why lie to them that you are preaching some kind of gospel message when you really are doing no such thing!

Prayer and fasting are tools that God gives us to humble ourselves and seek His presence among us. Biblically, prayer and fasts have been called for safety, repentance, mourning, and before making an important decision. Again, I am asking that we all fast and seek God collectively in earnest between now and the end of the December.

When has there EVER been a humble leader in the hierarchy of the United Church of God? After watching them all act like snakes in the grass while plotting to lead people away from WCG into their new money ensuring adventure, they disfellowshipped and treated people like dirt who did not agree with the changes.  Then once they had money in place to ensure a good financial changeover and a steady paycheck, they jumped ship.

If they want to recoup 8% missing income, let these weasels set the example and donate their salaries.

A Glimpse of HWA's Compassion and Care for his Co-Workers

From Co-Worker Letter August 15, 1949

Was there any concern with Herbert Armstrong about the well-being of those who contributed to his projects? Read through this and see this, and more observations I've noted in yellow and bold. 

When our Co-Workers either grow careless or forgetful of God's Work, I wonder if you realize the criticism it heaps on me, and the desperate predicament I find myself in? 

When we begin to fall behind in paying the bills for carrying on this work---bills that have to be paid for carrying the true MESSAGE OF CHRIST to millions---bills for that which has resulted in HUNDREDS of precious converted souls and changed lives---you know, I am sure,
what those we must do business with in the world for God's cause think of me, and say to me and about me. And all the more, because we are CHRIST'S representative. They persecuted Christ. Just let a known representative of Christ get behind in paying a bill to a worldly man, and can you imagine the condemnation that man heaps on God's servant, the names he calls him? It becomes a reproach to the cause we are devoting our very lives to promoting. But not only that---when I have to send out urgent appeals to our Co-Workers, then even many of our perhaps less-Spiritual Co-Workers point a finger of accusation against me personally---and begin to PUT THE BLAME ON ME, or imagine that in some way it must be my fault.[The measure of spirituality was directly proportional to the level of loyalty to HWA.]

These occasional lapses on the part of our Co-Workers ARE IN NO MANNER A CASE OF IMPROPER BUSINESS MANAGEMENT IN OUR OFFICE. The truth is, it requires just so much every week, and every month, to conduct this great work; it is MOST carefully managed and is geared to a fixed rate of expense well UNDER the normal income of the work. We cannot reduce expenditures without upsetting or completely paralyzing the work. But when, at times, our Co-Workers grow careless[are struggling] and FAIL TO KEEP UP THEIR PART, and the income drops to around HALF the normal rate, we find ourselves heading for
financial trouble, getting behind in current payments which we try to keep paid PROMPTLY, or even in advance, we get telegrams from radio stations threatening to put the program off the air. TODAY I RECEIVED SUCH TELEGRAMS FROM TWO OF OUR THREE BIGGEST STATIONS!

....

Yes, GOD IS DOING HIS PART---and we here in Pasadena are putting our very UTMOST effort, almost night and day, into this work---we are DOING OUR PART! Many of our Co-workers are making great sacrifice, and are diligent and faithful in sending in generously of God's money---DOING THEIR PART. But MANY of our Co-Workers, on the other hand, have been growing careless, or forgetting [struggling]---AND THEREIN LIES THE TROUBLE WHICH MAKES US SUFFER, BRINGS REPROACH ON THE WORK [HWA], AND THREATENS TO STOP IT ALTOGETHER!

.....

Pray with me that God will, through our Co-Workers, literally open the windows of heaven and send upon His servants here in Pasadena a veritable DOWNPOUR of dollars---for His glory, and to lift His work from reproach, and to keep it going---week by week, and month by
month! Surely, among all our Co-Workers, there is at least one who is able, if willing, to send us that entire $3,000 to pay off that loan our Co-Worker made for us. [!] Surely there are beside, at least two or three who can send in a thousand dollars each to pull this
work out of its slump, help us get bills paid up so we can owe no man anything! And I know that EVERY ONE OF YOU can send in at least the poor widow's mite---just $2! And most of you can spare God and His work considerably more than that!

In addition to this financial crisis, we need extra funds quickly to print and mail the August-September PLAIN TRUTH, now almost ready for the printer.

NOTE: $2.00 in 1949 is equivalent to $20.00 in today's money. 

NOTE: $3,000 in 1949 is over $30,000 in today's money. 

ADDENDUM: The practice of asking for a loan of 30K, and then being unable to pay the loan back, and then placing the burden on ANOTHER Co-worker to pay off the first Co-worker's loan?  What do you call this?  And Herbert says there was no "mismanagement"? Mismanagement is asking for loans when there is no funding to pay back loans!

submitted by SHT

Welcome to the Place of Safety

submitted by SHT

The moment when all the COG leaders who claim exclusive rights to the place of safety all arrive at the same time. 

But it was too cold for the sheep....

Christ was not born at winter time because 

it's too cold for sheep to be in the field.

How many times have we heard this crap in the Church of God?  The myths that were taught be theologically ignorant men was appaling.  Just because one man in Pasadena made a dumb statement, the entire church was treated to this nonsense as fact.

The person who posted this on Facebook said:

Consider the fact that Bethlehem shares about the same climate as Jacksonville, FL. Mild winters. Sheep have a lot of wool which keeps them nice and warm. In the Navy I was stationed in Iceland and saw sheep out in the winter months. 

I remember thinking I've been lied to.

Bethlehem Weather

Behold!!!!! The Bridegroom Cometh - But ONLY for the ZEALOUS and NOT for you LAZY backsliding COG members!

The Great Church of God Pharisee, James Malm,  has laid down another timeline for the end of the world events. Oh, the joy.

A lot of it contains the typical COG speak for the abomination of desolation, the pope, and other pesudo-scary shit.

The children of light are pillars who stand unalterably on every Word of God like the Thessalonians did, they are zealous and faithful to God and his Word. 

Having been warned and being the children of LIGHT through their zeal to live by every Word of God, they will see and understand the signs and will NOT be taken by surprise. 

The sinners of the world’s nations and the spiritually lukewarm and spiritually blind children of darkness, including many in today’s spiritual Ekklesia, will reject the scriptures and insist that Jesus was wrong in Matthew 24:15; and that there must still be 3 1/2 years before the tribulation, or that some physical temple must first be built, and so will be deceived by their own false traditions and beliefs. 

First the abomination, the man of sin will be set up in the Vatican and then within about 75 days he will go to the holy place. 

The world’s peoples and the worldly brethren will not believe the warnings and will be caught completely by surprise. 

Only the pillars of today who are like the zealous of Thessaloniki will be alert and aware and will understand and will NOT be taken by surprise; they have been forewarned and when peace is about to be declared and the man of sin schedules his visit to the holy place; the children of light will know that the tribulation is about to begin.

So who exactly are we to believe when certain COG leaders spout off that the "brethren" will be caught unaware when the troubles start because they have refused to listen to these great Pharisees, self-appointed prophets and other hand tools of Satan?  Just who is right?

Malm claims only followers who are zealous will not be caught unawares, while Bawana Bob Thiel claims all other COG members, except for his African tribe, will be caught unawares.  Add to that mix the sheer lunacy of Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack and it soon turns into one frightening scenario as they all end up arriving at the narrow gate into Petra at the same time.  Just imagine the shit storm that will go down over who is the rightful COG leader or who gets to set up his HQ outside the gate in the Petra Marriott.

The sign of the beginning of the tribulation is the setting up of the final miracle working man of sin in the Vatican and his visit to the holy place about 75 days later.

24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

This abomination is set up as pope in Rome and then goes to the Holy Place [the whole Mount is Holy] within about 75 days, triggering the tribulation.

When the abomination [the final false prophet] is set up in Rome, he has only a total of 1,335 days before he is destroyed (Dan 12, Rev 19:20).

1,335 minus 1,260 for the tribulation, begins the tribulation about  75 days after the final abomination is set up in the papacy in Rome.

When you see the abomination set up in Rome, and recognize him by his miracles and his call for a New Europe; then know that the tribulation is imminent and will begin when he goes to the Mount. 

When we understand that some will leave the land to run to safety and some will not, it should be self-evident that a split between the zealous for godliness, and the lukewarm [Cold for God, hot for men] of Revelation 3:14-22; is inevitable. 

It should also be self-evident from the obvious apostasy in the Ekklesia today; that the prophesied falling away of many from any zeal for God, has and is taking place. 

The spiritually wise will know that the tribulation will begin within 75 days, when they see this abomination set up in Rome. After that God will send his Two Servants who will take the zealous to God’s refuge as one of their first acts.

The scripture rejecting wicked in today’s Spiritual Ekklesia will not understand until the tribulation begins with the occupation of Jerusalem.

Who would have thought the official Two Witless Witnesses, Ron and Laura Weinland, would be the ones leading the ZEALOUS COG members into the place of safety. That must cause Pharisee Malm major butthurt!

The beginning of the great tribulation and the time of the coming of Christ will not be concealed from God’s faithful zealous pillars. They WILL KNOW, because they are the wise in Christ; for they have been warned and they have BELIEVED the warnings and they are faithful and zealous to live by every Word of our God!

It still amazes me that these spiritual terrorists always place so many burdens upon their followers instead of relying on this:

Matthew 11:28-30 The Message (MSG)

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

As the dining-room table prophet continues to extol his amazing revelations to his ZEALOUS followers, he reveals the date the shit hits the fan:

IF these things take place in 2019 as they are lining up to do, the only issues will be how long it will take to reach an agreement on the Peace Initiative and exactly when a man is set up in the Vatican doing miracles. 

If these things go more slowly and it takes a little longer for peace talks, then the tribulation will begin late in 2020. 

However IF the tribulation is to begin in 2019 then this man will be set up in the Vatican doing miracles in September or in October 2019, and God’s two servants will be revealed within days of the Feast of Tabernacles, with the tribulation beginning in December 2019.  

I am quite sure that after a summer of the fulfillment of these things and articles on reviving the brethren, that these things will be the focus of conversation at the Feast of Tabernacles; which will set the stage for the appearance of God’s two servants a few days after the Feast.  

Brethren, the time is at hand, “Behold the Bridegroom Cometh!”  I will be doing everything I can with the help of God the Almighty, to prepare the brethren for the advent of God’s two servants.  God is watching what we do!  

How many years now have the great prophets of Armstrong been saying "IF"?  For 80 some years now they have had to reset the date of the coming of Jesus Christ. Every single COG leaders, prophet and self-appointed guru has been proven to be a liar, over and over and over.  With a 100% failure rate a person would assume that modern-day COG leaders would keep their fly traps shut.  But no...

How The Church Denied What Jesus Accomplished And Made Available For All

Collosians 1:3- 14

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— ⁵ the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. ⁷ You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, ¹⁰ so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, ¹² and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^{f]" data-mce-style="line-height: 0;">[}to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)

Colossians 2: 13-15

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.(NIV)

Colossians 2:10

¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

Submitted by SHT

Richard Ames: How Dare You Give Christmas Gifts When You Should Be Tithing On That Money To Us!

It is that time of year when Churches of God moan and groan about the date of Christ's birth and how everyone goes into debt buying gifts.  They are conveniently quiet on how COG members go into debt each year in order to travel to exotic Feast sites that many are still struggling to pay off.  It is more important to malign Christians than it is to see their own excessive spending habits, but that is another story.

Richard Ames has written a letter to the co-workers where he chides them on buying gifts for family members when they should be sending on that money to the Living Church of God or sending all of that money in so LCG can do its ministry.

Most of this end-of-year shopping is supposedly done to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, even though we know from the evidence of Scripture that He was born several months before December. Imagine how powerfully we could reach the world with the true Gospel message if even a tithe of that misguided holiday spending went instead to God’s Work!

In our Tomorrow’s World personal appearance presentations, I often emphasize the sins of America, Canada and other nations, including the national sin of robbing from God. The prophet Malachi indicts our Western nations for their selfishness and covetousness, and their choice not to honor God for His abundant national and individual blessings. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” (Malachi 3:8–9). 

Another uplifting co-worker letter! it is more important to make his readers feel like the worthless worms they are instead of being grace-filled. Oh, wait.  There is a reason for that...sigh. Damn inconvenient dude!

Notice that the penalty for robbing God is not only individual, but national! We have been warning our Western nations that there is a cause for every effect, and we will reap what we have sown nationally and individually (Galatians 6:7). We can be thankful for the time being that the U.S. economy has been healthy, even with a third-quarter slowdown and volatile stock market. While the European Union unemployment rate remains above 8 percent, unemployment in the United States earlier this year reached a 49-year low at 3.7 percent. Yet, we know from God’s word that the situation will be reversed, as social and economic devastation in the U.S. and British-descended nations contribute to a “famine” of the preaching of the Gospel. The prophet Joel records a plea for repentance during a future time of scarce resources (Joel 2:12–17). And eventually our work of preaching the Gospel will come to an end, leading to a famine of the word (Amos 8:11) just before the two witnesses powerfully prophesy during the three and one-half years leading up to the seventh trumpet proclamation, announcing the Kingdom of God on earth (Revelation 11:15). As our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). So, we must fulfill the Great Commission while it is day! Many of God’s people are now being blessed financially and choosing to contribute generously to the Work, according to their means. Thank you for your continuing support in spreading the light of God’s truth!

You worthless worms!  Some of your fellow co-workers are sending us their money, but you are not, They are generous, you are not!

You dumb Christians!  REAL bible scholars only reside in the Living Church of God!  Everyone knows that but you!

As all reputable Bible scholars know, Jesus Christ was born in the autumn season and not on December 25. Many professing Christians do not know, or do not care, that the Christmas date was based on the celebrated birthday of a pagan sun god. 

When will these faithless Churches of God ever step out in real faith and stop demanding people tithe of their hard earned money?  If people are truly blessed by their work, then they will freely give.

We all saw how well that worked when the Worldwide Church of God freed its members from the tithing requirement! They expect money to flow in from people who were richly blessed by its message. LCG and the rest of the tithe demanding COG's prefer to lay the unscriptural demand of tithing on their members as a requirement as they know that they refute the tithing command, they too will be bankrupt.

PCG on Disciplining Children in Church

Joel Hilliker is back again telling Philadelphia Church of God member show to discipline their children and train them to be submissive in church.

During Sabbath services in a congregation with children, life happens on two levels. One carries on at the adults’ eye level. But there is another world happening a few feet closer to the ground. 

If you’re not paying attention, this very active world is easy to overlook—until its sounds and possibly its fury rise to the level of breaking your and others’ concentration on the sermon or interrupting your fellowship. 

Every member of God’s Church should try to bridge the gap between these two worlds. Children need regular, positive interactions with adults who show interest in them and include them within God’s spiritual Family. 

But the ultimate responsibility for children at services lies squarely on those of us who produced these children. We must avoid becoming so engrossed in our adult world at services that we lose track of what our children are doing. 

Each parent must ensure that his or her child upholds God’s Philadelphia standards at Church services. This requires diligence, consistency and firmness, as well as some creativity and understanding.

Notice these are not Godly standards but PCG's expectations.  The word "firmness" is not something to dismiss, given the track record of child-rearing teachings of the Armstrongite COG movement.

Hilliker trots our Apostle Paul as the standard to measure up to:

What would the Apostle Paul say if he walked in on one of our Sabbath services? 

He wrote that members of God’s Church should know “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15; Revised Standard Version). 

In those congregations blessed to have children, the behavior of those young ones can make all the difference in whether the services really represent the name Philadelphia Church of God. That is, whether they uphold the Philadelphian standard; whether they befit the very elect, called-out ones; and whether they honor the Being whose name we represent.

No fussy kids in church, no crying, no passing notes to friends, no laughing at stupid comments by the preacher. Nothing, other than sitting there and being submissively quiet. The key word is submission.  If a child is not submissive in church then the child is not being trained right at home.

Paul said a leader in the Church should be “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence” (verse 4; New King James Version). Every parent should be striving for this godly, loving discipline at home. Our children’s Sabbath behavior is an excellent indicator of how well we are living up to this biblical admonition. 

As usual, PCG kneels at the altar of Herbert Armstrong's writings as if God actually spoke them. They quote HWA and his abusive tactics of child-rearing enforced by his son Richard.

“[M]any of our brethren … may not fully realize the seriousness of strict training and vigilant enforcement of the behavior of children at Church services,” Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in the Good News magazine, May 1981. “God is holding every one of you parents responsible!” 

For his article, Mr. Armstrong reprinted a 1958 letter that his son Richard David wrote to Church members in one congregation where children were misbehaving at Sabbath services. “I do not think my son really wrote this letter, except as God’s instrument. The living Christ, I feel, actually authored it,” he explained. “But it contains a dynamic sermon on the responsibility of parents for the training and the behavior of their children at Church services.” 

What an endorsement from Mr. Armstrong, God’s end-time Elijah! This Christ-authored letter is instruction we parents must study closely.

Lest you forget, here are the words of Richard Armstrong and how he expected children to behave in church.  Its no wonder Garner Ted come up with his nonsense later on, he had two abusive teachers!

“[A]ll the children without exception have been too noisy, have been left to run free to themselves at services, and this must cease,” wrote Richard Armstrong. Reading these words makes me wonder just how bad those children were by our society’s loose standards. What would Mr. Armstrong think of the behavior of our children at services today? 

Emphasizing that the Sabbath commandment includes “thy son” and “thy daughter” (Exodus 20:10), Richard Armstrong wrote, “The Sabbath is holy time, sacred to God, and as such our children should not be allowed to run loose like so many wild animals. … Your children must be in church, and they must keep the Sabbath holy the same as you do.”
This is the overarching principle we must remember as we govern our children’s behavior on the Sabbath: This is holy time. Isaiah 58:13 commands that we all—including our children—refrain from doing our own pleasure to ensure the Sabbath is “holy of the Lord, honourable.” 

This means no running, throwing objects, noisily rolling cars around, or being overly loud. Boys are especially prone to such behavior. We must direct them toward appropriate alternatives. 

At the same time, this verse in Isaiah shows that God wants the Sabbath to be a “delight” for the whole family, including our children. Twenty-four hours of being expected to be quiet, sit still and do nothing won’t be a delight to even the most mild-mannered child. We must train our children to uphold the standard—while we provide suitable activities and opportunities that fulfill the purpose of the Sabbath and that they will enjoy. 

Be sure to give your children appropriate ways to make this weekly holy time special and enjoyable for them, whatever their ages. Spend extra time with them. Read Bible stories and books about creation together. Talk with each other about God, His way of life, His laws, His creation, His plan for all mankind. Walk down the street or through a scenic place together. Make Sabbath meals special with foods and decorations you don’t usually have during the week. Have special quiet toys, dolls, books or activities that children get to enjoy only on the Sabbath. Make the ride to and from services enjoyable by discussing God’s creation. Present them with a nice backpack, handbag or briefcase for their supplies for services. 

Be sure they understand what is appropriate at the meeting hall and what isn’t. “Of course your children can play with the other children when services are over,” said the August 1965 Good News. “They should look forward to and enjoy the Sabbath when they see all their friends again. But this is not license to sail airplanes out of restroom windows, wrestle on the floor, or bang chairs around ….”

Can you imagine Jesus ever doing this when he gathered the little children around him as he had them set on his lap?  PCG has to have higher standards.  Members are to not be distracted by a gurgling baby or a happy child during those SERIOUS church services. Nothing can be more important that the words being spoken by the preacher! It is more important for members to listen to words that drive them to suicide than it is to be bothered by a happy child in services.

Teaching your children how to behave during the Sabbath service itself requires special effort and attention. And your expectations must fit your children’s ages and maturity levels.

When you have very young children, your first goal is to ensure that you and others around you can receive the instruction during services with as few interruptions as possible.
To that end, very young children must be blanket trained at home. Select a time and set the blanket on the floor. Tell the child that everything beyond the blanket is “no.” Train your child to play silently on the blanket without getting off. Discipline quickly when the child tests these boundaries. Establish a routine so the child can fall asleep by himself on the blanket even while someone is speaking. These habits simply cannot be taught at services.

They must be trained and enforced in your own home during the week.

After all, it is not about what would Jesus do, but what their law requires:

Rewards for Law-keeping

As is the case with behavior during services, the time to train our children how they should behave before and after services is during the week. Anticipate. Prepare. Establish firm rules. Tell them in advance the rewards for right and the punishments for wrong. Practice in whatever ways are possible. Do your work during those six days, and you will be able to rest on the Sabbath as your children behave appropriately.

While you are establishing these good habits, you might consider establishing a happy tradition—perhaps enjoying ice cream as a family after services—for when the children behaved themselves well in the household of God, the Church of the living God.

Let’s diligently work with our children to keep God’s Sabbath holy and honorable—and at the same time make it a delight. This will do much to bring us peace, build God’s Family, and strengthen the Church in the eyes of the world and of God. It will help life in our congregations meet God’s standard—both at eye level and at the level closer to the ground. And it will prepare our young people for a lifetime of joy-filled Sabbath-keeping!  

Of all the Churches of God out there the Philadelphia Church of God is the LAST group of people you should look to for child-rearing advice.

Do I Hate/Despise Bob Thiel?

Charlie says:

"Anonymous Charlie said...
I used to think Gary had a hatred for what Bob Thiel but it has become obvious it’s a hatred for not only what he says but a hatred for the man himself that seems to go way back and can do nothing but slam him in everything he says about him, name calling like a little child to other childish comments."
 

I have absolutely no hated towards Bob Thiel as a person.  He may be a wonderfully nice person, as some here have claimed. COG members who have been conditioned by church leaders to regard anyone who left the church as bitter or under the influence of Satan, so that is what people immediately assume.  Nothing could be further from the truth. These lies were only methods of control they used to keep church members in line and spouting the party line.  

If you read the horrific stories on Facebook groups of the vile actions of COG leaders and ministers in how they treated members, it is quite obvious God was never part of their lives or the church they represent. 

I have spent over 40 years here in Pasadena watching various men and women come and go as they set themselves up as prophets, apostles and church leaders.  Every single one of them have been inveterate liars and frauds.  I have watched as these liars have ripped churches, families, and marriages apart all for their own self-serving glory. God was no more a part of placing them in those positions than he was in doubly blessing and setting Thiel apart as a new splinter group leader.  

Rod Meredith was quite specific in ensuring that Thiel was NOT to be ordained.  He knew where Thiel’s heart ultimately lay. Rest assured, Meredith's character was not one with outstanding virtue either. We watched in Pasadena as he horrifically reigned as head of Church Administration and how he ripped marriages apart, destroyed families and humiliated ministers and members with outrageous lies and claims as he disfellowshipped people on a whim.  

There is not one single shred of evidence that God had anything to do with Theil's self-ordination or setting him apart as a leader of the end time church.  All of the dreams in the world by nice men and women do not make them God’s instruments. Sadly, the god of Armstrongism has been relegated to a position of sheer impotence as these men and women have designed him/it into what they imagine him/it to be. They have prostituted themselves out to the law while denying Jesus and anything he came to do. There have been a lot of graceless religious groups in the world over the years, but Armstrong’s hundreds of groups seem to consistently top the list.

Thiel writes about hundreds and hundreds of ultimately useless topics each week that he believes his followers need to know about. All this has done is prove he has no Godly focus other than his desire to be known as an authority on every esoteric point imaginable, EXCEPT  of course, for that inconvenient dude that embarrasses the hell out of him and most COG leaders.

The sad part is that he has conned over 3,800 African followers with his nonsense.  These are people who could care less about 99% of the silly topics he writes about every week. They face lives of struggling to feed themselves, keep roofs over their heads, and surviving tribal warfare from other groups or Muslims. Do they really care if the Boy Scouts may be headed to bankruptcy or whether the Swiss may be descended from Gad? Yellowstone geysers leading to Gog and Magog?  WTH!!!!  WHO CARES! Jesus doesn't!

Those that came into the presence of Jesus were overpowered by grace, they melted at his grace and mercy. Do you see any of that coming from Bob Thiel? Did Jesus spend his time being interviewed on conspiracy theory networks talking about useless crap? 

It is really no wonder that Thiel is only able to garner less than 200 people from COG groups in the United States, Canada, Europe and South Africa.  COG members have seen numerous other false COG leaders like him rise up over the decades and lead people astray.  It is hard enough dealing with the leaders of their own groups than to put up with the heretical nonsense of Bob Thiel.

So, no, I do not hate or despise Bob Thiel, but you can rest assured I and many others here will continue to call him out for his steaming pile of heretical crap and label it for what it truly is. 

Bullshit!