Brad Macdonald, one of the Philadelphia Church of God's more abusive ministers and not known for being the brightest bulb in the pack, delivered a sermon a while back which had as its main focus Laodiceans. It doesn't take much of a long shot to figure out that this is this epithet that Flurryism dumped upon all COG members in other groups.
Among his many points listed on Exit and Support Network was this section in which Macdonald claims that scores of LCG, UCG, and GlobalCG UK members, are reaching out to the PCG. This is about as truthful as Bob Thiel's claims that he is a prophet.
Laodiceans Reaching Out to the PCG
BM: “I think more and more Laodiceans are willing to think about some of these prophecies, expressing interest in the PCG.” “PCG is experiencing a growing number of Laodiceans reaching out to the PCG. Across the world. We are seeing more from LCG, and United and Global [Global UK] call us up and want a visit and it’s really, really wonderful and it’s really, really positive.”
BM: “When I talk to a Laodicean I am amazed at how damaged that Laodicean mentality is.” …” These people are just so casual and so relaxed.”
BM: “I have yet to see a Laodicean that comes in and says, ‘I have rebelled and I need to repent and I need to change my behavior and I’ve been fighting God all of these years and I cast his Truth to the ground, and I’ve been repenting about that and now I want to change my way.'”
BM: “They don’t come in with that mentality, but that’s where they try to get them to.”
BM: “Some of these Laodiceans are paying tithes to PCG but still attend their Laodicean church.” … “They are trying to rescue themselves, but it doesn’t work.”
BM: “Understanding Vs 11 of Isa 22 is the key to understanding chapter 22.” … “This truth [about it not being enough to just read and study] is the key in understanding the whole Bible.” … “Receiving new revelation is a mind-shaking miracle of God.”
15 comments:
Poor Bob Thiel. All of these people church hopping and none of them care about Booby. Thiel was always be known as "always the bridesmaid and never the bride." Try as he can he cannot ever seem to succeed.
The church eras doctrine is a false narrative and even if true, has nothing to do with one's personal salvation and repentance. Ron Dart and even GTA said as much. It always got to me as a level of self righteousness that clowns such as Flurry would crown themselves as the "Righteous Philadelphia Era." Wouldn't that be up to Christ? Pack and Flurry are false counterfeits and it is too bad they have never had to get off their pampered a$$e$ and had to go out and work for a living like the average church member.
The various splits, splinters and slivers multiply themselves by the division of others and add to themselves only by subtracting others from those divisions.
It's A Small Cult
From the Cult Dizzy ride in the Magic Kingdom
It's a world of crazies
A world of tears
It's a world of jerks
And a world of fears
There's so much that they share
That it's time they're aware
It's a small cult after all
It's a small cult after all
It's a small cult after all
It's a small cult after all
It's a small, small cult
...
The PCG literature claims that the whole church fell away on HWAs death except their little group. So in their eyes, they alone are the one true church. I find it hard to believe that they sincerely believe this.
Dictating others self image, eg laodicean, converted/unconverted etc, is a cult trait. The leader and his minions determine how members view themselves and the typically demonized outside world. Even though that morally this is a personal responsibility.
BAD CHOICES
The PCG and the UCG and the LCG all seem to be working together to try to destroy former WCG members.
Some people see how godless the UCG is and want something better. They might be at some risk of getting suckered into something like the PCG, which appears to be more serious and strict. The problem is that the satanic people in the PCG are even more serious about doing evil than are the godless people in the UCG. People who know what Herbert W. Armstrong had taught should know better than to go with the PCG, especially at this late date and with all the information available on the Internet.
It is a bad choice that the PCG and the UCG try to give people. Choose either the godlessness of the UCG or the really satanic behavior of the PCG. Both the PCG and the UCG have perverted old stalkers, and both the PCG and the UCG will kick out the victims and keep the stalkers. There is not much practical difference between these two evil groups, except that the PCG forces its members to worship Satan's false prophet Gerald Flurry and breaks up their families and friendships. The PCG forces its members to accept its massive doctrinal changes to what HWA had taught, while the UCG just lets its people ignore what HWA had taught.
The correct answer is: none of the above.
It's A Small Cult
Brilliant! - it reminds me of my trip to Disneyland almost 60 years ago. Or was it the Simpsons at Duff Garden over 6 years ago.
Yes, poor Bob. Perhaps those who come across his websites and videos realize it's a dinky DIY outfit. They may expect those at 'home groups' just sit there falling asleep to Bob's tiresome sermons followed by a potluck of health food and supplemental nutrition pills.
"always the bridesmaid"
Obviously one of the foolish ones (Matt 25 NLT).
Notice that Brad McDonald uses the words "Across the world."
Which means Africa, India, Philippines , Mexico/South America. These are poor , less educated, and desperate people, who have a lot less access to the information about the brutality of a cult like PCG. Additionally, these type of groups will have a loose allegiance to SEVERAL groups at the same time in the hope that they will get some crumbs from the parent organization.
When PCG formed my contact with the Tkatch WCG had almost disappeared and I found out about PCG from a page ad in Readers Digest. Ironic as HWA's hopeless RD ad campaign was one of his excuses for the beginning of the "3rd time cycle" in 1972.
If GF had only fixed the problems that HWA left in the WCG and not elevated himself his group could have become a decent Sabbatarian church.
That means - in theory - that if we wait long enough, we will end up with thousands of splinters. And all of these splinters will only have one or two members, because there’s hardly any real new members joining (aka members are ‘cult-hopping’).
Can’t wait to see how that works out!
First of all, this sermon was given before inauguration. People have wised up since then and now know that Gerald Flurry is a false prophet. Secondly, Brad has exaggerated their interest. He says that there is so much interest coming from the Laodicean groups but are so casual and relaxed (probably cautiously skeptic more than anything).
It’s easy to claim that there is so much interest out there, yet he knows none will materialize. In other words, people see what you see but they won’t come into the church because they are so casual and relaxed.
Brad is so full of $&@“!
I took all that’s as him making excuses for why they AREN’T actually getting more “laodicean” members. Because they aren’t repentant and admitting their rebelliousness and aren’t conforming to what the ministry thinks makes a good obedient minion. They definitely are not growing their membership.
I've heard at least one veteran UCG Pastor admit we're in the "Laodicean era" of church history.
Of course, he stopped short of saying UCG is Laodicean.
I've heard at least one veteran UCG Pastor admit we're in the "Laodicean era" of church history.
And this cuts right to the heart of the problem with UCG. UCG refuses to acknowledge that they believe in church eras, yet they allow individual ministers to speculate that there are or that there aren't. It's an Unholy Confused Gathering, not a Church of God.
Brad Macdonald (BM), like a pot calling a kettle black, said the following:
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"...BM: “Some of these Laodiceans are paying tithes to PCG but still attend their Laodicean church.”..."
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What if the PCG people, like BM, are themselves, unknowingly, part of the Biblical Laodiceans with the following attitudes? "...I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:" Revelation 3:17 IF BM were blind, how would BM know? Could it be that some who think they may be laodiceans be philadelphians?
Once upon a time, 1997, a partical transcript of God's Government, Part 1, said the following:
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"...Satan’s ways don’t work and everything that United has proposed to be their foundation of government within their “church” is all devised by Satan. It will not work and you will see that!...I’m just trying to point out some of the things of the government. It wasn’t even started properly and there are many, many more. They’re over forty thousand people sitting at stay-at-home churches and they already know GLOBAL, and PHILADELPHIAN, and TRUMPET, and INTERNATIONAL, and UNITED and the Worldwide Church of God. They’re not right, and they know it! They know it and God’s just kind of holding them aside right now. So, you haven’t even convinced part of the Church that you’re right, obviously, because you’re not doing it properly!
Then, you have the PHILADELPHIAN church of god, Incorporated, I might add, so we distinguish between something that actually is happening in the Bible to what a physical organization may be. You know; they have the Sabbath. They have some truth too, but they concentrate purely on preaching prophecy, but as we know, from the True Plan of Salvation, Mr. Armstrong really didn’t understand prophecy very well. But now, they have established their church on his prophecy. So now they’re going out and they’re preaching even more bad prophecy. They’re even adding more to the wrong things that we knew before. Now, they’re going down a one-way street on this, on this prophecy and that’s the cornerstone of their whole church. They are, of course, trying to convince all of the Laodiceans to repent and they don’t realize that they are at least half-blind themselves. If they don’t come out of that organization, and they are still Firstfruits and, of course, they have no choice on this, but they also are blinded Laodiceans as well. So, it’s the pot calling the kettle black; however, that slogan goes. They still are. They too are trying to do a work, but it’s a work that God already stopped with Mr. Armstrong..."
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We're about 24 more years down the road since 1997. Will any of the United Ass. (name any xcog) leave and find any worthwhile increased understanding of prophecy in PCG via Flurry?
Time will tell...
John
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