God Isn't Going to Condemn You for Being Wrong!

Dennis Diehl recently posted an article as part of his "Adult Sabbath School" series over at Banned by HWA that was subsequently withdrawn. In the post, he asked for advice to help folks who may now feel trapped within one of the descendants of the Worldwide Church of God. In addition to offering some of my own advice along those lines, it later occurred to me that this phenomenon touches on a much broader problem within the Christian community. In short, there are a lot of folks out there who have serious doubts about their beliefs and/or have profound disagreements with some of the teachings of the church/group with which they're associated; but they feel compelled to keep those doubts/disagreements private.

Whether they're motivated by a desire to conform, preserve unity, a fear of damnation or a combination of all of these, I suspect there are a great many folks who have simply chosen to go along to get along. In some cases, they have seen the ridicule, abuse and rejection that folks have experienced who didn't toe the party line. In other instances, folks genuinely feel that expressing their doubts and disagreements will result in the loss of their salvation (or cause someone else to lose theirs) - that those doubts and disagreements must be the product of some faulty reasoning on their part. As a consequence, they push down the feelings of cognitive dissonance and pain that their thoughts have engendered within them. For many of these folks, there is TRUTH and there is ERROR; and they must be on the wrong side of the equation!

The problem is that this amounts to a suppression of conscience. Scripture tells us that fear and doubt are NOT good motivators, and that anything that doesn't spring from personal conviction is basically useless (even sinful). In the fourteenth chapter of his epistle to the saints at Rome, Paul said that everyone should be "fully persuaded" in his/her own mind, and that anything that isn't motivated by faith is sin! In other words, your behavior and salvation should NEVER depend on the acceptance of what other people believe to be true. And, as Martin Luther is reported to have said long ago still applies today, it is DANGEROUS to go against one's conscience.

There are folks out there who will tell you that the Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle, and that the pieces can only be made to fit one way - meaning their way. They present this as a question of whether or not you have God's Holy Spirit - the evidence that you do being your complete acceptance of the way in which they have assembled the puzzle.

Nevertheless, Scripture clearly states that God is NOT going to condemn anyone for their failure to comprehend or understand "His" will in some matter. Jesus spoke in parables, so that only his disciples would understand his message. He also said that no one could come to him unless the Father draws him/her to Christ. Paul said that God had concluded everyone together in disbelief so that "He" could have mercy on everyone. Hence, if God truly is the revelator, then doesn't that make "Him" responsible for what is revealed and to whom it is revealed?

Moreover, doesn't true comprehension/understanding involve acceptance and integration of that knowledge by the person receiving the information? In other words, if you don't really see or believe what has been revealed, how can you be held responsible for rejecting it? Doesn't condemnation require complete understanding/acceptance/integration at the time of rejection? How is it fair and just to condemn someone for rejecting something that they don't believe? Doesn't the anonymous epistle to the Hebrews teach us that belief is a necessary prerequisite to pleasing God? And, if that's so, doesn't that suggest/imply that anyone who lacks that belief hasn't even begun the process?

I remained within the Armstrong Church of God for much longer than I should have for a number of reasons that obviously seemed legitimate to me at the time. For a long time, I repressed/suppressed my doubts, questions and disagreements about/with Armstrong's theology. For a long time, I was even in denial about my feelings - I couldn't even acknowledge them to myself. When I finally came to terms with the cognitive dissonance (the disparity between my own experiences/knowledge with the "TRUTHS" of the church), I was finally able to begin the process of resolving those disparities to my own satisfaction/relief. Likewise, coming to terms with my own turmoil, finally gave me the strength and ability to face/confront the hostility of others within my community.

Still, even after I had reached that level of personal resolution, I lingered for several years. Like many of the folks before me who have continued to participate in groups/organizations in which they've lost confidence, I continued to work within the community in the hopes of ameliorating the negative consequences of those teachings or trying to persuade my associates that those teachings were flawed and unworthy of their allegiance. Over the years, I came to understand that this was a fool's errand. The old adage that "one convinced against his will is of the same opinion still" is absolutely true.

In the final analysis, our relationship with God is a very individualistic one. And the more collective in nature that we attempt to make it, the greater the potential for cognitive dissonance. If you believe in something, then live it! That also applies to me. I'm not going to reach my potential by trying to live your beliefs, and you're not going to reach yours by trying to live by mine or anyone else's!

Lonnie Hendrix

Wade Cox: COG member wrote the Koran

Over its many decades of existence, the Church of God has produced many crazy leaders who have set themselves up as God's right-hand men here on earth and who see themselves as chosen by some creature they call god.  Every single one of them has ended up being raving lunatics. especially Wade Cox.  The craziness from him even makes Bwana Bob, the 1st Savior of Africa, look "normal."

Cox, the other great white Bwana to Africa, claims he has had at least half of the content of Africa join his cult.  With a few loony Americans who spend their time threatening people who speak ill of their Dear Leader, most of his followers are Africans, much like Bwana Bob Thiel's membership.

The fun thing with Cox is that he continues to be taken to the cleaners by these church-hopping believers.  They go from one COG to another seeking dumb leaders that will continue to give them money, seeds, computers, and money.  When these things start to dry up, out the door they go to greener pastures.

Cox, in his delusional glory, lets his madness blossom even further into lunacy.  He is now claiming that the Koran was written by a Church of God member.

There was certainly a major preacher (mursal) to Arabia who introduced the Surahs of the Koran to the paganised Arabs and around whom most of the Ahadith are based. His original name was referred to as Qasim sometimes as Abu Qasim or Father Qasim although attempts have been made to suggest that it might mean Father of Qasim but that seems very unlikely. It appears that he may have been a Monophysite Christian Priest before he was baptised a Sabbatarian, which the Koran indicates he was. He was one of the Arabian Sabbatarian Church. In writing about him, it would be more appropriate not to refer to him as The Prophetsince this term refers specifically to the genetic descendants who have best claim (Q3:68) to the Abraham nation (Q6:161, Q16:120). Along with their grafted members, these descendants inherited the authority of the religious reformation that commenced with the teachings of John the Baptist, and which was taken up by Christ and the apostles. This reformation led to the founding of the Churches of God in their various locations and administrations. It is this organisation that is the Nasraani (Q3:67) AhlulBayt (Q33:33) of Rasulullah's brides (Q33:53) – the Mursalin (Q2:252) possessing the Spirit of Prophecy. They are also known from the text as Al-Ansaar.

Whoever dictated the words that make up the original Koran was a prophet to the Arabs. If we can tie his message directly to the Bible we can then term him a prophet of God to the Arabs. God said through the prophet Isaiah that if they do not speak according to the law and the testimony then there is no light in them (Isa. 8:20). That has been the standard test of a prophet during the revelation of God to man through the recorded and accepted prophets. Thus this man, and the message of the Koran (Qur’an) that he dictated, must agree with the Law and the Testimony to be considered inspired by God, or God breathed. The Koran certainly claims that to be the requirement of the faith in the various surahs, or chapters, which make up its text (e.g. Q3:3, Q4:82, Q5:47). The work enjoins its followers to heed the writings of the Bible including the Gospels and the writings that make up the accepted canon of Christian Scriptures (Q5:68). No person can claim to be a follower of Islam and ignore the teachings of the Bible, as we will see from the words of the Koran itself.

The Koran is thus a commentary on the Scriptures of the Bible in the same way the New Testament (NT) is commentary on the Old Testament (OT) Scriptures, and which forms a record of the struggles and problems of the early Church, as recorded by the disciples of Christ under the inspiration of the Ahmed, the Praised One, or Holy Spirit. The critical test of inspiration is that it confirms and builds on the Bible text and does not contradict the inspired works that precede it.

The name of the preacher in question is not to be confused with the use of the term Muhammad since this is just a seal or title. It is like calling someone Nobility or Royaltymeaning that body of people advocated by the Ahmed (Advocate), the spirit of Jesus the Son of God. Muhammad is actually “The Seal” of the 144,000 prophets. 

Arabia's Apostle was probably a Monophysite Nasaari when he married his Christian first wife. It is most probable that the man we are dealing with was one of the Christian faith educated by members of his family, either directly or through marriage. The early traditions hold that it was his wife’s uncle who taught him the Scriptures. His serious interest in the Scriptures led him to become known as Father Qasim, which is a title forbidden to the true faith by Christ unless Abu Qasim means “father of Qasim”. Soon his earnest desire to seek the truth in the Scriptures brought problems to his attention with the Monophysite Nasaari doctrine, which seemed to contradict the original texts themselves. Basically the Spirit was beginning to call him through the veil, which was termed the “Evangelion”. He sought the true Church. Purana scriptures from India indicate that he became known to the Churches of God based there. The Church's Muhammad called out to him in a dream, and Arabia's Apostle had a vision during his meditations in the cave. It terrified but inspired him. Thus he became a Sabbatarian Unitarian from the Church there in Arabia, being baptised (again) prior to his mission. Not being genetically of Aaron or Levi, he was grafted into the AhlulBayt of Rasulullah's brides as a Nasraani Sabi (TheoSebes/QEO-SEBHS/sebovmenoi = God Worshipper) Mursal. Several Hadith attest to the fact that he became a Sabi. As a Mursal (Bride of Rasulullah) he received more and more insight. Eventually, from his baptism, he was strengthened in The Holy Spirit (Ahmed) and reached the Mahmoodan state becoming Muhammad as a true Christian in the Churches of God. Commentary on the introduction to the Koran 

Cox is just as self-absorbed as Bwana Bob Theil.  Neither of these men has the
bolas de testículo to talk about Jesus, that inconvenient dude that embarrasses the hell out of both of them.  Both of them spend their days talking about irrelevant topics that no relevance to one's spiritual journey.

United Church of God: Why Does It Even Exist?

United Church of God continues to struggle to be relevant in 2020. As they meet year after year to define why they exist, they just plod along expecting members to pick up the slack and give more and more money so the boys in Cincinnati can have their pet projects struggle along.

UCG is now looking to find a major donor to dish out tens of thousands of dollars to provide new housing for the students at their most superfantabulous "university."  Open your wallets, suckers!

Education Committee—Aaron Dean

The Education Committee (EC) has not been assigned any special work at this time. Mr. Dean took the time to give an update on continuing education items. ABC already has 18 applications received for the 2020-21 school year. There may be a housing problem next year. Mr. Dean is looking at the feasibility of putting together a group to buy some housing. He is looking to find out who would be interested in loaning funds for this purpose.

Their statistics are not much brighter either.  Most of their statistics are in decline.

Media and Communications Services—Peter Eddington

Peter Eddington went through some of the following statistics as of November 30 this year:

United News circulation is currently at 17,743, just below its all-time high of 17,795 and 5.7% more than this time last year.

Our coworker count is now at 6,525, our highest ever (and 3% higher than the same time last year).

Our donor list now includes 7,350 people—1% higher than this time last year. (Our all-time high was 9,564 in June of 2016.)

Total Beyond Today magazine circulation worldwide is at 294,703—which is 5% less than the same time last year and 9% less than two years ago.

U.S. magazine subscribers are at 241,014. This is 7% less than the same time last year.

The December subscriber development letter from Victor Kubik was sent to 179,166 subscribers. It offers the booklet, What Does the Bible Teach About Grace?

Responses are expected to begin coming in during the third week of December. This December letter is also designed to encourage end-of-year tax-deductible donations.

Those people on our U.S. file associated with the Church (teens, members, associated) is at 12,261.

The number of telephone and website responses from Beyond Today TV since 2006 stands at 341,773.

The number of Google, Yahoo and Bing advertising impressions since 2004 stands at 12.26 billion.

UCG.org is currently ranked the 16th highest Christian denomination website in the world by Alexa (in the past we have been as high as #9), and #46 among all Christian-related websites.

Beyond Today Results on YouTube:
13,052,761 = Total number of Beyond Today video views on YouTube since inception. (This includes BT programs, Dailies, Bible Studies and BT related videos.)
2,300,957 = Total number of Beyond Today video views on YouTube in past 12 months (December 4, 2018 – December 3, 2019).
Roku App Advertising Results:
221,290 channel installs (26% increase over last November).
536,969 unique viewers (45% increase over last November).
735,016 videos watched (40% increase over last November).
We have an average of 25,914 ads running per day and 665 videos being watched per day.

AmazonSmile Donations: The United Church of God continues to receive checks from the AmazonSmile Foundation. The amount donated to the Church as of November 30 is $10,496.

Hallelujah! God has a plan on getting his word out even if the governments censor COG leaders

Hallelujah!  God is powerful and on his throne, as he patiently waits for COG leaders to get their acts together and their "gospel" message out. Sadly though, the vile unclean spirits that run governments and internet providers are censoring COG leaders from preaching the truth.  SHOCKING!   I know!  Who could have ever imagined????????

Never fear though, Wonder Bob is here!  Swooping down with his arms flailing about as he holds his big thick bible up to guide his way. COG members stand in awe at his world-class video productions that use the finest handcrafted bookcases, elegant linens for curtains and brass doorknobs, as they eagerly mail in request cards to join up.  After all, God has a plan and it does NOT involve you!  There is only one true man doing a work today. There is only one true man who is continually persecuted!  Satan is surely angry!

Prepared to be amazed and frightened at the same time!

12/06/19 a.m. LCG sent out the following today:

“Hate speech” is a rapidly spreading international catchphrase that is gaining traction in legislatures around the globe. As a result, freedom of speech clauses in constitutions and legal codes all around the world are coming under attack. Words and phrases that were considered fair and legal for many decades or centuries are being challenged and declared threatening and illegal.

Now, as a reaction to the way social media has been employed to foment violence across the nation, Nigeria is poised to become one of the leading nations in the “hate speech” movement. The senate of Nigeria has proposed a law that says any individuals who are convicted of spreading certain kinds of speech could be jailed for life—even resulting in their execution by hanging if it is judged that their speech caused loss of life (Deutsche Welle, November 26, 2019). Severe hate speech laws will also be drafted and applied to the broadcast media—especially independent media sources.

While these laws can be formulated with a sincere desire to prevent stirring up hatred and violence, there are also more ominous ramifications. “Hate speech” laws in some nations are now being used by some activists and politicians to silence any reference to biblical moral values that clash with their licentious and immoral agendas. In such countries, this means that preaching the Gospel and spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ or making any reference to end-time Bible prophecies will become increasingly difficult. The Bible foretold that the time will come when there will be “a famine… of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). The appearance and rapid spread of these “hate speech” laws could be one tool used by some to fulfill this ancient prophecy.

Surpression of speech is happening more and more. Someone who was speaking out against vaccinations was recently arrested for doing so in Samoa. 

But, God has a plan to get His word out, despite, actions from various governments--and we in the CCOG are working on it.

Bwana Bob is working on it!  Hallelujah!

(Behar, D. 2010)

Genetics and the Case against British-Israelism

…Enjoin certain persons not to teach different doctrines,

Nor to devote themselves to myths and interminable genealogies

Which produce curious inquiries rather than God’s stewardship in faith.

                     1 Timothy 1:3-4, Translation by David Bentley Hart

The belief that the people of Britain and the United States are descended from the Biblical patriarch Jacob (Israel) is a fundamental tenet of Armstrongism. This arcane knowledge has been characterized by Herbert W. Armstrong as the key that unlocks Biblical prophecy. The case based on genetics against this idea, however, is strong. That case will be presented in this essay.

At the outset, I must state that my background is not in genetics or any of the biological sciences. I have a technical background in a quantitative field. There is no information written by professional geneticists on the British as descendants of Israel. It is likely that no geneticist has encountered and explored this unconventional idea. So the literature research is mine and I have endeavored to convey the underlying data with fidelity. 

Identity of the Jews the Cohen Modal Haplotype

It is surprising to me that I must include this subtopic in this essay. HWA never doubted that he was dealing with authentic Jews when he visited Israel. But now there are Armstrongists that call Jewish identity into question. Some Armstrongists wish to defend British-Israelism by identifying a European people as the true Jews in order to posit a Jewish genetic profile that is compatible with the British. In so doing, they have gravitated toward other interest groups that wish to see Jewish identity altered. The groups include principally: 1) Atheists who wish to deny that the Jews ever really existed at all and 2) White nationalist and supremacist groups who want to recast Christ as Western European racially. 

At the center of Jewish genetics is the Cohen Model Haplotype (CMH). CMH is a high frequency genetic configuration that is associated with those Jews who by tradition are descended from Aaron the brother of Moses. These Cohens are the priestly class within the Jewish community. This configuration is a special version of haplogroup J1 and is regarded as the predominant, original Israelite haplogroup. How this was determined can be found on the internet in an article by Ellen Levy-Coffman entitled “A Mosaic of People: The Jewish Story and a Reassessment of the DNA Evidence” (https://jogg.info/pages/11/coffman.pdf). The information is contained in the section of the article entitled “The DNA Evidence for Israelite Ancestry: The Jewish Priests and Cohanim DNA Study.”


I will not go over the detail of this text here because of the length of such a presentation but I will respond to a statement made by a critic of this research. The person stated in a blog post directed to me that I should be apprised that the idea that Jews are haplogroup J originated from a mere claim made by some guy that the researcher encountered. The full story on which this criticism is based is related in the section of the article by Levy-Coffman cited above. But the “guy” was not just anyone and his words were not just frivolous hearsay. He was a Sephardic Cohen who was conducting services in a synagogue. This Cohen had behind him the full weight of the history of the Sephardic Jews, their culture, their traditions and their continuous occupancy in Palestine prior to the Diaspora. As Paul stated in Romans, “…unto them were committed the oracles of God.”

In brief, here are a number of reasons why the people we call Jews are actually Jews:

1. According to Dr. Spencer Wells, a popular Harvard educated geneticist, the Ashekanzi and the Adnani Arabs both claim descent from Abraham. Both groups share haplogroup J which tell us that Abraham and his antecedents were haplogroup J. The claim of the Ashkenazi and the Adnani is consistent with the Biblical record.

2. J1 is shared by the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim with the same frequency. This means that this genetic signal was present in the Pre-Diaspora Jewish population in ancient Israel and is a founder haplogroup. It was not a later acquisition. Levy-Coffman states of haplogroup J1: “Its presence among contemporary Sephardic and Ashkenazi populations indicates the preservation of Israelite Semitic ancestry.” Note: There are other founder haplogroups: J2, E and G.

3. J1 anchors the Jews in the Middle East because J1 is restricted almost completely to Middle Eastern populations such as the Bedouins and Palestinians – geographically near to the ancient Jewish homeland. Haplogroups G and E are much more widespread and may have resulted from incursive populations.

4. Autosomal Principal Component Analysis (PCA) charts (see the graphic accompanying this essay) indicate that the Mizrahi Jews (Jews living in Iraq (Babylon) and Iran (Persia) who never entered the Diaspora), cluster in the middle of other haplogroup J peoples of the Middle East. The Ashkenazi cluster is between the Mizrahi and Europeans as one would expect because of their admixture with Europeans. 

Haplogroups are just one piece of genetic data. Autosomal studies augment haplogroup studies and take into consideration the entire genome. Autosomal studies are used by genetic testing services to indicate what percentage of various ethnic groups one might be. PCA is a mathematical means of representing similarities in autosomal data graphically.

5. John 1:11 states of Jesus: “He came to those things that were his own, and they who were his own did not accept him.” Jesus did not come to a group of Celts living in the Britain. He came to a group of people who have lived continuously in Palestine and elsewhere in the Middle East prior to the time of Christ until modern times.

The Incompatibility of Israel and the British

The founder haplogroups for the Jews are: J1, J2, G and E (Levy-Coffman). The principal haplogroup for the Western Europeans, including most of the British, is R1b. There are other haplogroups found in the British Isles such as R1a, I, E, A and traces of others. It is important to note that Britain does not have its own haplogroup. Besides Britain, R1b is largely represented in Ireland, Western Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, among the Basques and scattered elsewhere in Europe. These people are referred to by geneticists as Atlantics because they live on the European continent nearest the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantics have their own extensive history and archaeology (see Dr. David Reich, “Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past”). Their most common genetic configuration is called the Atlantic Modal Haplotype (AMH). I am haplogroup R1b-M269 and have the AMH. This is very common in Western Europe.

If Israel were haplogroup R like the British, he could not have fathered the Jews. If Israel were haplogroup J like the Jews, he could not have fathered the British. It is not possible for a man to produce more than one haplogroup. This is a simple and inviolable rule. Actually, for this thought experiment to work, we do not need to know that the Jews are haplogroup J1, J2, E and G and the British are haplogroup R1b. We need only know that the Jews and the British differ in haplogroup. The evidence as presently known is that all of the descendants of Israel are haplogroup J and are unrelated to the British. Likewise, this principle may be applied to all of the purported modern day “Tribes of Israel” living in Western Europe. For example, the Swedes, who are supposed to be the tribe of Naphtali, the brother of Judah, are haplogroup R1a and I. The Swedes do not have the genetic profile to be descended from Israel.

This can be seen by once again examining the autosomal PCA graphic that accompanies this essay. The French may be used as a surrogate for the British. Both are predominately R1b. Note that they do not cluster with the Jews at all. They cluster with other Europeans. The Ashkenazim and Sephardim cluster midway between the Europeans and the Mizrahi Jews of Iraq and Iran. This is because both the Ashkenazim and Sephardim have some admixture with Europeans.

A last point is that haplogroups exist in a hierarchy and are assigned letters of the alphabet. Though it is only a rough measure, the distance in number of letters is indicative of biological difference. Haplogroup A is much closer biologically to haplogroup C than it is to haplogroup Q. Haplogroup R is very distant from haplogroup J. The British people are about as distant from the Jewish people as Native Americans are. The effect of this is that the British people could not have mutated from J to R1b within the last few thousand years. Mutation is not a mechanism that works that quickly. 

Haplogroup R1b Among the Jews

Jews are not purely haplogroup J1 as we have seen. A substantial fraction of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews have the R1b haplogroup. Dutch Jews are about 25% R1b. Is this not an argument for Jews possibly being related to the British? Perhaps, the R1b Jews are the real Jews and the haplogroup J Jews are imposters.

This question can be resolved by comparing the Ashkenazi and Sephardim to the Mizrahi. The two former groups both entered the Diaspora and resettled in Western and Eastern Europe. The Mizrahi Jews of Iraq are in communities that date from the first Babylonian Exile circa 586 BC and have been continuously present in the Middle East into modern times. We know there are R1b Jews among both the Ashkenazi and Sephardim. But the Mizrahi have almost no R1b (https://jewishdna.net/R1b-Europe.html and Behar, “The Genome-wide Structure of the Jewish People", Supplementary Table 4). If the two groups that entered Europe have R1b and the group that did not enter Europe has no significant amount of R1b, then R1b was acquired in Gentile Europe. Doron Behar acknowledges that these haplogroups (R1b, R1a, I) were probably “indicative of European admixture” (Levy-Coffman).

Additional support for this data is to be found in the autosomal PCA graphic accompanying this essay. The Mizrahi Jews of Iraq and Iran cluster in the middle of other Middle Eastern Groups and are remote from the European haplogroup R clusters.

The Future of British-Israelism among Armstrongists

The future of British-Israelism is not bright. An area that has yet to be extensively explored is the archaeogenetics of ancient Israel. This would involve extracting and analyzing DNA from ancient bones whose in situ provenance can provide not only raw population genetics data but a fuller social and cultural context. I anticipate that based on what we know of current Jewish data we can anticipate that we will see no haplogroup R in ancient Israel and the presence of E and G may be explained. Archaeogenetics will simply strengthen the case against British-Israelism in the future.

The question that arises is “What is so bad about being Gentile?” Paul speaks of how the Gentiles have been grafted into Israel and have become “spiritual Jews” and the middle wall of partition between the Jews and Gentiles has been broken down. Yet for some Armstrongists there must be a racial component to their ethnocentric sense of self-esteem. For others, perhaps, the idea that the United States is just another Gentile empire, among the many other Gentile empires in the history of the world, and will have its moment in the sun and fade out is just unacceptable.

Nobody in the scientific community is likely to look at the validity of British-Israelism directly. It is a fringe idea that would not be worth research dollars in academia. But as more genetic data is accumulated, the scrutiny brought to bear on British-Israelism will be increased. When this happens, people who find British-Israelism to be critical to their sense of self-worth will defend this idea. Very likely this will take the form of declaring that the real Jews are imposters and that Abraham and his family were all haplogroup R1b. In so doing, they, or perhaps the entire Armstrongist movement, will in viewpoint move towards the White Supremacist groups that now populate the American landscape in growing numbers.

However British-Israelism may be politicized or weaponized in the future, it will remain a mythology, a fairy tale, a fantasy, a footnote. The genetics demonstrates this.

submitted by Neo

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You'll have to overlook him...he was never converted and was never a real Christian

You'll have to overlook him! 

One of the most frustrating parts of my experience as a former member/associate/victim of two Armstrong Church of God organizations (Worldwide and CGI) is the condescending attitude of friends and family members who still belong to one of the splinters. "You shouldn't put much stock in anything he has to say - he's been hurt!" 

"Everything he says is based on emotion!" "His experiences have made him bitter and clouded his objectivity!" or (my favorite) "He probably never was a real Christian anyway because he's gay!"

To me, that's like saying you shouldn't listen to what that Jew has to say about the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazis) because he spent some time in a concentration camp. "His views are twisted by the suffering he endured there!" "He can't comment objectively on the party's policies and philosophies because he is bitter over what he experienced at the hands of some overzealous individuals!" "Just because some bad things happened to a few people, you can't condemn the whole organization!" 

I call bullshit! If someone has had a bad experience with some organization, you may want to listen to what they have to say about it. OR Maybe not! Some of us would rather learn the hard way and go merrily on our way - after all, we do all have the right to decide for ourselves! Like I said, I call BULLSHIT! (or is that just more proof that I'm overly emotional about all of this?)

Lonnie Hendrix

Reality Check for the Doubly Blessed

Dr. Robert Thiel is NOT a Biblical Prophet

Dr. Robert Thiel is a Prophecy Buff

Definition: A prophecy buff is a person who enjoys believing the Bible predicts the future and using the Bible and comparing it to local, national and international news, weather and sports, they can too,  a lot.

Send for your free booklet...and remember...

Gerald Flurry Expects All COG Members To Join Up With Him

If you have ever been associated with the Worldwide Church of God or one of its offshoots, I ask you to prayerfully read this letter.

So says Gerald Flurry • Dec. 6, 2019

It's between 25 -30 years now that numerous splinter cults of broke off from the Worldwide Church of God with men who had self-appointed themselves as church leaders and have spent decades lying to followers.  From Rod Meredith to Dave Pack; from Ron Weinland to Bob Thiel, Victor Kubik to Gerald Flurry, the craziness knows no boundaries of rational thought.  All of them imagine something they call god had appointed them as the one true heir to the COG. Every single one of them have been and still are, liars.

All of these lying con-artists believe that their message is important to the church and that as soon as COG members hear their message, they will jump ship and prostitute themselves at the feet of whichever guru you have joined up with.

Gerald Flurry, the goateed false prophet of the Philadelphia Church of God has a warning out to all of you Laodicean COG members. Shame on you for turning your back on God and joining up with Bob Thiel or Dave Pack!  Shame! Shame!

Gerald Flurry writes:

Herbert W. Armstrong was part of something great. That Church was a work of miracles. 

Do you remember that glorious history? Too many of God’s people don’t. God challenges us to always keep the big picture. 

Over Mr. Armstrong’s 55 years in Jesus Christ’s ministry, the work blossomed. It started as nothing and grew into a huge, Spirit-led work that spread God’s beautiful truth throughout the world. 

Mr. Armstrong oversaw a work that was based on the principle of give—which is what God’s love is. By the end of his life, each month the Church was giving 8 million free monthly copies of the Plain Truth newsmagazine (which the Trumpet magazine is patterned after). We gave 6 million copies of The United States and Britain in Prophecy, not to mention countless other magazines, newspapers, books, booklets, tracts and articles—all free. We made the World Tomorrow broadcast freely available on over 400 television stations. 

Do you remember that history? God put our tithes and offerings to magnificent use, and we were happy to be a part of such a noble cause.

Armstrongism has always been about the "numbers" and never about Jesus Christ.   Millions of magazines, booklets, articles, and offering totals, it was all about who was impressed and never anyone learning about grace, justification or mercy. God must have been so pleased.

The Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, which Mr. Armstrong founded in 1975, freely sponsored humanitarian projects including archaeological digs, schools and anthropological excursions. Its activities stretched from Bombay to Brussels; the Philippines to the Netherlands; Tokyo to Cairo. We hosted projects in Jerusalem, Jordan, London, Nepal and Okinawa. Why? Because Mr. Armstrong wanted to preach the gospel “for a witness unto all nations” (Matthew 24:14).

Ambassador Foundation was one of the biggest con jobs the church fostered off on the world and the church, itself.  Tens of millions of dollars of tithe money were funneled into the Foundation in order for Herbert to never have to talk about his god to anyone. The good works of the Foundation trumped God and Jesus at every turn. Using tithe money to restore the Globe theatre in London, the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia, helping build the Ronald Reagan Library, operas erecting giant crucifixes in the Auditorium, ballet companies fornicating in the dressings rooms, to talk about a "strong hand from someplace" while witnessing to groups in the Philippines.  Yes, that is some gospel message. Jesus must have really been impressed.

Using the international contacts Mr. Armstrong established through the cultural foundation, God opened doors for him to meet high-ranking officials around the world. Mr. Armstrong was invited to speak publicly on many occasions, and he took those opportunities to preach the gospel—to tell people about God’s master plan and about their incredible human potential. These events opened the way for personal appearance campaigns, where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of leading people in various countries.

Those "doors" God opened were done by greasing the hands of world leaders with money and expensive gifts, all meant to impress. That backfired with Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth, two people Herbert most importantly wanted to impress. Through it all, he did make some important friendships with some world leaders, something that not one single COG leader today has ever done or will do.  Can you imagine Bob Thiel sitting down with the President/Leader of France, Egypt, or Japan?  Lord have mercy upon us all!

There is only one reason how Herbert was able to do this and that was because of government in the church.  Never has there been a COG so obsessed about government than the Flurry cult.

Now, did Mr. Armstrong do all that? Certainly he worked hard to implement God’s law and government and to walk by faith. But was the work so powerful and effective simply because of Mr. Armstrong’s intellect or advertising expertise? Did Mr. Armstrong swing open all those mighty doors?

No—the great God did that!

This is what "god" accomplished through HWA:

Family Education

What truly distinguished Mr. Armstrong’s accomplishments was that they were all built upon the foundation of God’s truth. God flooded Mr. Armstrong with biblical understanding, restoring all foundational true doctrine to His Church through that man. We learned and lived by the wonderful truths of God, and our lives were richer as a result.

Six months parked in a public library is NOT flooding him with the truth.  Plagiarizing other's writings, rebelling in anger with other church leaders, and not working to support his family instead of them living on handouts from others. Yes, that was some "family education".  It eventually led all of his children to turn their backs upon him and he died alone.

Right at the heart of Mr. Armstrong’s teaching was his instruction about the God-plane institution of family (Malachi 4:5-6). He taught us how to build beautiful marriages and to rear happy children. We educated our children with Youth Educational Services lessons; we provided our teens rich experiences through the Youth Opportunities United program—with its sporting events, talent shows and summer camps.

Due to insane divorce rulings, beautiful marriages were ripped apart by men like Rod Meredith and totally endorsed by Herbert Armstrong. Happy children had their lives destroyed by molestation and various forms of child abuse, including perverse child discipline polices. Children were sexually abused and beaten by various Imperial School teachers and administrators over the decades.  It got so bad HWA shut Imperial down and then later, tragically reopened it, where the abuse started all over again.

Do you remember what life was like in the Church under Mr. Armstrong? If you were applying God’s family education, then you have personally experienced the blessings that come as a result! Do you remember that?

All one needs to see is the various horrific stories shared on various Facebook groups of the disgusting behavior that went on in far too many families to know that what Flurry writes above is a bald-faced lie.

Of course, there was only ONE entity to blame:

Naturally, the Church wasn’t perfect; there were problems. Some members and even ministers did not implement God’s loving family government the right way. But the problem went beyond simple neglect. Revelation 3:9 tells us that “the synagogue of Satan” was actually at work within the Church of the Philadelphia era—under Mr. Armstrong!

All of the crap that happened to tens of thousands of members was for one reason only, and that was to test the members and the church.  Instead of following a God that lives in grace and mercy, Armstrongism followed a pissy god that was always mad and willing to push people over the edge just to test them.  How disgusting is that kind of teaching?  Not for the Church of God!

But never fear, there was a higher purpose going on. HWA was the Elisha/Elijah that had come in the flesh, just as Gerald Furry and Bob Thiel have taken on that mantle. Flurry now holds that "father" office and because of that, you too can now be a King.

Some people didn’t see Elijah’s office as one of importance, but Elisha saw that it was the only office that could lead and carry Israel forward! It was Israel’s only hope—then and now! He saw that, ultimately, all Israel would be governed by the teachings of Elijah. His statement, “My father, my father,” revealed a deep understanding and a beautiful attitude. God liked it so much that He used Elisha to succeed Elijah. God loved his attitude. 

Some people today scoff at such an attitude, but it is very biblical. The Apostle Paul told the Church members in Corinth, “I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you” (1 Corinthians 4:14). Paul considered his followers to be his spiritual sons. Why? “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (verse 15). Paul was their spiritual father because they came to God through him. He called himself their spiritual father.

Mr. Armstrong said the same to all of those who came to God, either directly or indirectly, through him. 

The original Elijah and the end-time Elijah held extremely important “father” offices for God. The Philadelphia Church of God, like Elisha, recognizes that fact. This is the foundational issue that sets the pcg apart from any other Church of God group. If you follow the Elisha example in this respect, God will make you a king with a headquarters position forever. Why? Because this foundational truth points us to God the Father.

It will be a cold day in hell for anyone who follows Gerald Flurry or any of the other liars currently leading the major COG's out there.  Not one single group points anyone to God the Father.  Not one. They can all lie, as they do without regret, that they are doing God's work and leading people to him, but they are not.  Self-appointed and self-absorbed men cannot do that.

Do you want to know how to do the work of God today? How to have doors open for you—even rivers, if necessary? Here is the formula. Elisha knew where the God of Elijah was, and he was following his spiritual father. So God opened up the river for him, just as He did for Elijah. 

Where is the God of Elijah today? Where is the great Almighty God who did that powerful work? 

Can you answer that question? Far too many of God’s people aren’t even asking it! 

God did not die with Mr. Armstrong! Yet none of the scattered churches of God have that kind of power. They don’t receive and proclaim God’s revelation. They don’t have the right government. And their works are frankly devoid of the kind of miracles and wonders that were almost routinewhen the work was led by Mr. Armstrong.

What power does Gerald Flurry have?  Or Stephen Flurry?  How many world leaders have they met?  How many "rivers" have opened for the Philadelphia Church of God?  Other than endless swarms of earthquakes, not one single spiritually good thing has ever come out of PCG.

 All baptized members of the Church of God during the Philadelphia era will be held accountable for the fact that they were with that God for so long. The tragic fact is this: Not only have most of God’s people left Him—most of them are not even interested in where He is! If they wanted to know, they would submit to God’s government and end up in God’s true Church.

Utter bullshit! No real Christian would be part of Gerald Flurry's group or any of the other major COG's out there today.  It is an impossibility to be Christian and be part of most of these groups. Submitting to Jesus Christ and resting in that grace will NOT lead anyone into an Armstrongite Church of God.  It just can not happen.

Notice the slick way Flurry deliberately lies to his floundering flock:

The Philadelphia Church of God, which prints the Philadelphia Trumpetnewsmagazine, has far fewer people than the wcg had in its heyday. But I challenge you to examine the miraculous work God is doing with this few! 

The Key of David television program is broadcast to a potential audience of over 400 million worldwide. The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine has a circulation of over 240,000 and its website, theTrumpet.com, receives more than 2.5 million visitors every year. With the Internet, the Trumpet reaches into nearly every nation on Earth.

400 million people have NEVER seen a Flurry program and ever will.   Just because a magazine is mailed to almost every nation or someone has received a letter does NOT mean any gospel message has ever been witnessed. It has never happened. Never!

Flurry continues on with more boasting.  Notice what is missing:

The pcg has revived Personal Appearance Campaigns in the tradition of Herbert W. Armstrong, hosting over 50 campaigns in United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Over half of those campaigns came after we acquired a Gulfstream G450 jet in 2017, demonstrating how the work of the pcg only continues to reach larger numbers with greater impact. 

We have four regional offices around the world located in Canada, the United Kingdom, Philippines and Australia. The headquarters of the Church is situated on a beautifully landscaped 170-acre property which includes a 22,825 square-foot administration building, Herbert W. Armstrong College facilities and the Armstrong Auditorium, the crown jewel of the campus. 

Armstrong Auditorium, with its Swarovski Strass crystal trimmed chandeliers, Baccarat crystal candelabra, Spanish marble, Azerbaijani onyx and world-class acoustics, is one of the finest performing arts venues in the world. 

Through the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, the pcgsponsors culturally enriching experiences, such as fine art performances and humanitarian projects abroad. The foundation sponsors archaeological excavations in Israel and has exhibited some of the most biblically important artifacts ever found in two exhibits, Seals of Jeremiah’s Captors Discovered and Seals of Isaiah and King Hezekiah Discovered. 

Since 2001, our college, Herbert W. Armstrong College, has graduated over 280 students, of whom over 80 have been employed full-time or part-time in the Work.

What you read above, is the exact same thing Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Vic Kubik, and others do.  Wild and outlandish boasting over physical works and not one single thing about that most inconvenient dude that embarrasses the hell out of them all.  It is that same guy they leave on a high school gym floor or the local Masonic Lodge until Passover next year. The only time he is ever mentioned is when they seek to kill him, over and over and over, year in and year out, never once recognizing what was actually accomplished and settled once and for all.

And—most importantly—God has continued to bless us, as He did Mr. Armstrong, with new revelation. The living God did not stop speaking to His people when Mr. Armstrong died. He has continued to give us “present truth” (2 Peter 1:12) that builds upon the foundation of the truth He restored through Mr. Armstrong. The pcg produces over 100 books and booklets, the large majority of which contain new biblical understanding from the great God. 

That is the single greatest proof that the God who inspired Mr. Armstrong is behind our work.

God is no more working through Flurry than he is with Bob Thiel. No new knowledge has been revealed, through dreams or visions to either of these self-appointed prophet wannabes.  Not one single thing!

You can read Flurry's heretical crap here:  An Open Letter to the Churches of God