Fake COG Prophet Upset Over Another COG False Prophet

People should not support leaders that claim to be faithful, 

yet have the fruits that they are of the synagogue of Satan 

(so says Bob Thiel - prophet and savior of Africa and 299 Caucasians)

It's a sunny day here in California and the Great Self-Appointed Prophet of Grover City and Dreamy Overseer of 3,000 Africans and a mere 299 Caucasian members worldwide, has his holistic buckwheat kernel knickers in a twist over Gerald Flurry.

Bob Thiel is mocking Gerald Flurry for his failed prophecies concerning Trump regaining power after Biden was elected President. Add to that mix the absurdities coming from Dave Pack over the imminent return of his creature called "christ" and Bob is in his element in comparing these two men as bumbling idiots compared the holy and righteous endtime leader to the Church of God that Bob Thiel dreams he is. No COG leader has ever been more perfect and accurate than Bob Thiel.

I have long expected that the mistakes of PCG’s Gerald Flurry and also RCG’s David Pack would become more obvious (David Pack did not make a wrong election prediction to the best of my knowledge, but made several last year that Jesus would return which never happened–and years ago he seemed to me to have blamed God for being wrong on one or more of his predictions). We have seen this over the past several months. As I have publicly written before, I do not believe that PCG’s Gerald Flurry and RCG’s David Pack are truly Christian–they claim to be in the Church of God, but I do not believe that they are. I believe that the following are applicable to them:

Bwana Bob then goes onto quote scripture to prove that they are wrong, but what he actually does is slap himself right across his self-righteous face with the same verses. 

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2 Peter 2:1-3) 

 

9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie — indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. (Revelation 3:9)

Never have two verses described Bob Thiel more than these do. He self-appointed himself so he could rise up among the Living Chruch of God as the true end-time leader of the church. He has spent years preaching heresies and outright lies meant to deceive sincere people.

He then makes this priceless comment:

People should not support leaders that claim to be faithful, yet have the fruits that they are of the synagogue of Satan (cf. Deuteronomy 18:17-22; John 8:44).

For once I have to agree with the apostate Thiel. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE should be supporting this foolish man. Add to that he had to anoint one of his African leaders in order for the man to anoint him as a prophet and leader of the church. Talk about ass-backward!

Bob technically has no standing in the COG ordained stratosphere. He was never ordained by any minister over him who had been ordained through the succession from HWA's ordination process. If one wants to say Bob lacks apostolic succession, they would be absolutely correct.

Just weeks before he started his own splinter personality cult, he spent over a week haranguing Rod Meredith DAILY with calls trying to get Meredith to change his doctrines and church stances on prophecy. In a bitch slap heard across the COG landscape, Rod Meredith kicked him out of the Living Church of God.

...I have been trying to resolve many matters with those in Charlotte and telephoned Dr. Roderick C. Meredith every day this week. 

 

Instead of speaking with me, a few hours ago I received a factually incorrect letter from Dr. Roderick C. Meredith. Based upon its tone, numerous inaccurate statements, accusations, and his unwillingness to address the real issues that I wanted to bring up, this letter is 100% proof (to me at least) that my view that the Living Church of God lost the ‘Philadelphia mantle’ in 2011 or 2012. I am saddened by this development and had hoped to avoid having to make a variety of decisions. But, God’s will is to be done (Matthew 6:10; 1 John 2:17).

"God's will" was never part of the start up of the improperly named "continuing" Church of God.  That was just one more subtle deception used by apostate Thiel.

At that time even James Malm saw through Bob's lies:

It appears that Bob Thiel has received a letter from Rod Meredith disfellowshipping him, and Bob never a man to admit coming in second is saying that he left LCG months ago.

Bob just cannot stand playing second fiddle to anyone. Nothing irritates him more than someone more powerful than he is. With his African followers and leaders looking to him as the Great Bwana and savior of the truth, Bob is in his highest glory. He has always demanded respect and received nothing by derision from other COG members, so now he has reached the pinnacle of his greatness.

The problem with Thiel, in most people's eyes, is that his ministry is all about himself. Never have we seen such a converted and educated prophet in the church than we have in him. Even Jesus pales in comparison if he is ever mentioned.

Notice this justification on why he started his personality cult. It's all about him and NEVER about following Christ.  Everyplace Bob talks about himself, in the 3rd person, it will be highlighted in yellow. Everywhere he talks about Jesus and the gospel will be highlighted in green.

12/28/12 p.m. For the past year or so I have wondered if perhaps the Living Church of God had lost the Philadelphia mantle.  To be 100% certain, I have been trying to resolve many matters with those in Charlotte and telephoned Dr. Roderick C. Meredith every day this week.

Instead of speaking with me, a few hours ago I received a factually incorrect letter from Dr. Roderick C. Meredith.  Based upon its tone, numerous inaccurate statements, accusations, and his unwillingness to address the real issues that I wanted to bring up, this letter is 100% proof (to me at least) that my view that the Living Church of God lost the Philadelphia mantle in 2011 or 2012.   I am saddened by this development and had hoped to avoid having to make a variety decisions.  But, God’s will is to be done (Matthew 6:10; 1 John 2:17).

About an hour ago, I signed various notarized documents to declare the start of a new organization.  It is legally to be called the Continuing Church of God Overseer and successors, a corporation sole.  Next week, the corporate documents are to be filed–but legally it now exists as a real church.  The late Herbert W. Armstrong formed a corporate sole in the 1970s and this seemed to be the best available option for me in California.

We expect to best represent the true remnant of the Philadelphia era of the original Church of God that began on Pentecost in Acts 2 (c. 31 A.D.). Beliefs of the ContinuingChurch of God.

The following may help show how I could be possibly qualifiied to do this:

• The Apostle Paul wrote, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).  This is something Bob Thiel has attempted to do, as well as pray about, for decades.  
• In 1996/1997, the then local GCG minister figuratively twisted Bob Thiel's arm to get him to start the website that is now COGwriter.   In 1998, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith and others with LCG encouraged Bob Thiel to expand and continue COGwriter, etc.   It later became the most popular member website of any associated with the COGs and has long functioned as an evangelistic tool.  COGwriter, directly, as well as indirectly, has helped bring many to the COG in general and LCG specifically.   Since 1998, the website’s focus has been to support the Philadelphia remnant and to expound prophecy.  It has produced fruits (Matthew 7:15-16). 
• On January 6, 2007, after hearing about a reference to a Catholic prophecy about a former Roman Catholic rising up and causing the Church of Rome problems at the end times, Dr. Meredith told Bob Thiel, “That is you.”  During this particular visit to Charlotte, Dr. Meredith discussed both the evangelical and other fruits of Bob Thiel’s writings.
• In August 2008, Bob Thiel told Davy Crockett, that if LCG was not going to deal with certain matters that he felt needed to be corrected (and that Dr. Meredith had seemingly agreed to  correct), that part of its top leadership (likely Dr. Meredith) was about to be hit with something bad.
• In September 2008, Dr. Meredith had his mini-stroke.  Davy Crockett seemed to feel that this could have fulfilled Bob Thiel’s warning.  
• On October 3, 2008, Dr. Meredith (who was unaware of that August 2008 warning), told Bob Thiel, “God may consider you to be a prophet.”  This came from the Presiding Evangelist of the Living Church of God.
• Later in October 2008, Bob Thiel tried to counsel with Dibar Apartian and Dr. Jeff Fall about this.  Dibar Apartian initially strongly denied Dr. Meredith said this (but of course, as he was not part of it; he did not hear the conversation).  A couple of days later, he calmed down, came up to Bob Thiel, and said that he was either “the one” or the “biggest threat to the church.” 
• In January 2009, Dr. Meredith told Bob Thiel over the telephone that if he (Dr. Meredith) was raised to the office of apostle, he was considering ordaining Bob Thiel as a prophet.
• On February 4, 2009, Dr. Meredith told Bob Thiel over the telephone, “You have an in-depth understanding {of prophetic matters}—you could be a prophet.”   
• After Bob Thiel asked him for a reminder announcement related to a fast, Dr. Meredith sent out a Church Fast Reminder email to ministry, March 20, 2009, which stated: 

Also, we are told to pray for the Holy Spirit. And God shows us in His Word, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:7-10).

• Shortly afterwards that fast, perhaps after gaining more wisdom and prophetic gifts, during the Spring of 2009, Bob Thiel acquired a difficult to attain book that he did not know existed previously (not available in regular bookstores or Amazon) on Byzantine (Greek Orthodox) Catholic prophecy.  While he had been aware that certain old Roman Catholic prophecies seemed to possibly point to him personally, one or more ancient Byzantine ones, combined with certain biblical ones, seemed to be too specific to ignore.  And they got him to look more into related biblical prophecies on the subject.
• In late Spring/early Summer 2009, Dr. Meredith told Bob Thiel he was praying for the success of Bob Thiel’s prophetic book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect.
• In the Summer of 2009, Dibar Apartian told Bob Thiel, in quite a positive tone, that Dr. Meredith had been stating in meetings that Bob Thiel may be a prophet.
• Because of Dibar Apartian's statements, later that Summer or perhaps early Fall, Bob Thiel asked Dr. Douglas Winnail, if he was part of top LCG level discussions stating that Bob Thiel may be a prophet.  He said yes.
• Around this time Bob Thiel had an apparently prophetic dream perhaps reminiscent of Joseph's dreams (Genesis 37:5-11) and Isaiah's vision to be sent (Isaiah 6:1-8), that somewhat like Peter's vision (Acts 10:17) he did not immediately understand, but like Peter (Acts 11:4-17), it seemingly became clearer once circumstances in the time since presented themselves and began to confirm it.  
• To reduce the possibility of misunderstanding the Catholic and Byzantine predictions, as well as biblical prophecies related to the King of the North and God's witnesses, Bob Thiel asked all the HQ evangelists as well as his then pastor (Dr. Fall) if they thought that it was possible that Satan or some of his demons could have seen any of Daniel’s visions or the revelation that the Apostle John observed.
• Sometime after he got “possibly” or “perhaps” as an answer, in 2010 Bob Thiel mentioned to Dibar Apartian that there seemed to be certain Roman Catholic and Byzantine prophecies, viewed in the light of Bible prophecy, that pointed to himself personally.   Dibar Apartian then instructed Bob Thiel to speak to Dr. Meredith.  So, he contacted Monica Cormier who arranged for Dr. Meredith and Bob Thiel to later have a private lunch meeting at the Feast of Tabernacles in Panama City.
• In the late Summer of 2010, Bob Thiel asked Dibar Apartian if he still thought Bob Thiel was “the greatest threat to the church or 'the one.' “  He said Bob Thiel was not the threat and said that he would try to talk to Dr. Meredith about Bob Thiel’s prophetic situation, but it is not clear how, or even if, he did before he died later that year.   But what was clear to Bob Thiel was that Dibar Apartian believed then that God had a top prophetic role for Bob Thiel.
• In Panama City in October 2010, Dr. Meredith and Bob Thiel met.  In that meeting, Bob Thiel mentioned one or two of the non-biblical prophecies to Dr. Meredith that seemed to point to Bob Thiel—and Dr. Meredith advised caution (basically waiting for additional confirmation).
• At the Feast of Tabernacles in Glenwood Springs in a private meeting related to literature corrections that Bob Thiel requested, Bob Thiel and Dr. Winnail also discussed the idea of Bob Thiel being a prophet and one of the two witnesses (Dr. Winnail mentioned he had felt that he once thought that he, Doug Winnail, would be one of the two witnesses).  Dr. Winnail stated that he wanted to see additional confirmation related to Bob Thiel and that this should be clearer over time.  Dr. Winnail also commented that he felt his evangelical fruits were comparable to the evangelical fruits of Bob Thiel.
• In November and December 2011, Bob Thiel counseled with his pastor Dr. Fall and Gary Ehman about these matters.  Bob Thiel told both of them that he thought that he needed to have hands laid upon him again in order to validate the view that he might be some type of a prophet.  They both told him that, in their view related to being a prophet, baptism was scripturally sufficient.  While that sounded logical, the statement from the Apostle Paul to Timothy about getting hands laid upon him (1 Timothy 4:14) gave him personal pause.  And that caution led to him pray more about it.  Thus, instead of concluding that he had sufficient anointing, especially considering the relative enormity of some of the ramifications of this as a conclusion, he searched the scriptures and concluded that, perhaps like Gideon (Judges 6:36-40), that he would seek further outside confirmation, and preferably God would provide that from Charlotte.  
• On the morning of December 15, 2011, upon arriving at the Charlotte HQ of LCG, Bob Thiel asked to meet with Gary Ehman as he wanted to get anointed for some non-debilitating matters as well as to ask him to pray that he be granted wisdom for his meetings with the HQ evangelists.  But he was not in.  So instead, Bob Thiel asked to meet with Gaylyn Bonjour (with whom he never had any discussions prior about him possibly being some type of prophet).  Bob Thiel asked Gaylyn Bonjour if he would do the anointing and pray that God would grant him wisdom for the meetings.  He agreed.  But while laying hands upon Bob Thiel, Gaylyn Bonjour also happened (it was not planned nor did Bob Thiel say anything to encourage this) to ask God to grant Bob Thiel a “double-portion” of His Holy Spirit and anointed him.  Bob Thiel then attended a meeting with the evangelists and he did not then have time to discuss what this might mean with Gaylyn Bonjour.
• At another meeting with the evangelists on December 16, 2011, Richard Ames prayed, with “Amen” concurrence from Dr. Meredith and Dr. D. Winnail, that Bob Thiel would continue to do the work that God has had him do, etc.  He also specifically called Bob Thiel's writings/work “an additional witness.”  Hence, there was a concurrence with the evangelical and prophetic fruits of that work.  The Charlotte evangelists again promised to get to certain literature corrections that Bob Thiel had brought up repeatedly over the years.   
• At this 12/16/11 meeting, other matters related to Bob Thiel and prophecy were discussed, including the fact that by then world events had already aligned with at least 20 predictions in Bob Thiel’s book 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect.   Additionally the fact that some of his speculative predictions about Karl Guttenberg and Julia Gillard that had come to pass since the October 2011 meeting with Dr. Winnail was also brought up.  Since Dr. Winnail asked the most questions related to the prophetic fruits, he and Bob Thiel also met privately about it.  Bob Thiel's private comment to Dr. Winnail was that perhaps the evangelists should consider if those accurate speculative predictions are just coincidental or possibly the fruits of a prophet.  Dr. Winnail seemed to discount that then, and later, despite the biblical admonition to not despise prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:20). 
• From sunset 12/16/11 to sunset 12/17/11, the able faithful in LCG fasted, etc.  A passage of scripture that Bob Thiel read and re-read then was 1 Timothy 4:14-16 which he felt was more personal than ever then.  
• On Sunday 12/18/11 night at a family wedding reception, without discussing the matter, Bob Thiel stared at Gaylyn Bonjour for a few moments, without saying anything and then asked, “Do you have any idea of what you may have accidently done?”  Gaylyn Bonjour said, “Yes, I think so.”
• The following Monday morning was Bob Thiel's first opportunity to speak with Gaylyn Bonjour privately for more details about the anointing.  Bob Thiel asked him if it was his practice to pray that God grant a double-portion of His Spirit to people that he anoints, he said, no he had never done that for an individual before.  Bob Thiel asked him if he had any idea of what he may have been inadvertently led by God to do, and he said yes.  Gaylyn Bonjour also said that the only “double-portion” he recalled from the Bible was when Elisha became the replacement prophet and ecclesiastical leader for Elijah (2 Kings 2:9)—Bob Thiel told him then that this was his recollection as well.  Notice it was Gaylyn Bonjour, and not Bob Thiel, who first stated this as a conclusion.
• Later on 12/19/11, Bob Thiel felt compelled to try to meet with Dr. Meredith and tell him that it seemed his wife was to be hit hard with something and to discuss other matters.  Because of other meetings he and Bob Thiel both had that day, this type of meeting did not happen.  
• A few weeks later (Dr. Meredith’s letter dated 1/12/12), Bob Thiel learned that Dr. Meredith's wife was stricken with stage four cancer.  This seemed to confirm his earlier view (cf. Jeremiah 32:6-8). 
• In March 2012, it seemed time to mention the 12/15/11 anointing and what Bob Thiel had tried to tell him about his wife to Dr. Meredith and he was able to do so in telephone conversation.  Yet, first Bob Thiel called Gaylyn Bonjour to let him know that someone may end up talking with him about the anointing.  Gaylyn Bonjour was fine with that and also said that he felt that the “double-portion” was related to “the passing of the mantle.”  This gave Bob Thiel a lot of pause to consider since that time.
• On March 23, 2012, Dr. Meredith called Bob Thiel and Bob Thiel mentioned the anointing, some of Gaylyn Bonjour’s comments, and the prediction related to Dr. Meredith's wife.  The biggest concern Dr. Meredith seemed to raise was that the anointing was from someone below evangelist or regional pastor level.  But biblically, as he knows, only a member of the eldership is required to anoint one as a prophet (cf. 1 Timothy 4:14) or apostle (cf. Acts 9:10-17). 
• In April 2012, during normal personal Bible study, Bob Thiel was reminded about the time when Jehu dismissed an anointing to become king by one of God’s servants because he thought the man was some kind of a nut (2 Kings 9:11).  There were apparently higher ranking ecclesiastical authorities at that time that God did not as directly use.  Yet, that did not change the fact of the ordination, and Jehu became king (and no, this document is not trying to say that Gaylyn Bonjour is some kind of a nut, only that when he performed the anointing he was a duly ordained minister of the Living Church of God and once hands are laid upon someone, this cannot be undone)—hence Bob Thiel concluded that it would be wrong and quite presumptuous of him to overlook or somehow discount what was done.  He personally had been cautious about whether or not he was possibly some type of an evangelizing prophet and getting an unexpected anointing suggesting that role from someone who had no idea that Bob Thiel was praying about that, or possibly in that role, indicated that this could not be ignored.  This seemed to be God’s timing and answer.  Especially because Bob Thiel had prayed about this so much in November and December 2011.
• On June 3, 2012, Bob Thiel sent Dr. Meredith a letter urging him to get involved on various literature and other matters that he and the other Charlotte evangelists had agreed to in the December 2011 meetings (as well as earlier).  Dr. Meredith had Dr. Winnail respond, which he did with a letter dated 6/28/12, but which contained various improper statements (including improperly condemning Bob Thiel for improper presumptuousness), and which did not resolve the matters--Dr. Winnail suggested various officially published errors were unimportant (cf. Revelation 3:14-19).  
• On June 29, 2012, Bob Thiel conveyed to Gaylyn Bonjour, Dr. Winnail's written comment in that letter suggestion that the conclusion as to what happened when he was anointed by Gaylyn Bonjour on 12/15/12 was “presumptuous.”   Gaylyn Bonjour found it astounding that Dr. Winnail would have indicated that Bob Thiel may have been presumptuous about this.  Gaylyn Bonjour felt that Bob Thiel was exercising proper caution and that to ignore what happened would seem to be against the will, and possibly plan, of God.  Gaylyn Bonjour also stated to Bob Thiel that it is God, and not men, who “appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets“ (1 Corinthians 12:28).
• On July 14, 2012, Bob Thiel watched Dr. Winnail's “falling away” sermon, saw that Protestant commentaries were often the basis for many statements made, etc. and it made him more strongly wonder if the mantle had been dropped and passed.  Watching that sermon quickly resulted in changes at the COGwriter.com website and resulted in personal changes--including privately suspending my membership in LCG (he continued to cooperate with LCG and had hoped that they would properly address matters so that he could decide to reinstate his membership).
• Later, on August 1, 2012, Bob Thiel read a December 1986 Good News article by Leroy Neff who wrote how to tell the differences between a true prophet and an imposter; and the next week, he found a Q&A titled “How else can we know if a person is a prophet of God?” covered in the September 1965 edition of the Plain Truth and an article on the laying on of hands in the April-May 1965 Good News.  It seems that according to them, Bob Thiel meets the true, not imposter, prophet criteria.  Including having the fruits of a prophet like Jesus discussed (Matthew 7:15-16) (more on this matter is in an article at COGwriter.com titled How To Determine If Someone is a True Prophet of God).
• On August 7, 2012, LCG spent money in a seeming attempt to try to prevent Bob Thiel from possibly taking certain website steps, while Bob Thiel continued to try to assist Charlotte in making various literature corrections.
• On August 26, 2012, shortly after agreeing that a variety of errors that Bob Thiel brought up needed to be corrected, Dr. Winnail told Bob Thiel, “We all think that you might be a prophet.”  In order in order to determine who “We all” was, on September 7, 2012, Bob Thiel asked if this was a reference to all three of the LCG Charlotte-based evangelists and Dr. Winnail concurred.
• Yet, on September 6, 2012, with possible disregard of Matthew 18:15-17 and matters of prophetic authority (1 Corinthians 12:28), Dr. Meredith publically criticized Bob Thiel without previously discussing the related matters with him; nor did Dr. Winnail take certain steps related to promises related to doctrinal matters (Revelation 3:14-19).
• During the Feast of Tabernacles in October 2012, James Meredith made a public statement in a sermon that seemingly contradicted Dr. Winnail’s testimony on August 26 and September 7, 2012 regarding prophets.
• On October 8, 2012, Bob Thiel briefly met with Richard Ames to try to figure out how to get various matters (Dr. Winnail’s “falling away sermon,” literature errors, and the final phase of the work) dealt with.  Bob Thiel followed up and over the next two or so months provided information to Charlotte as he promised Richard Ames.
• On December 14, 2012, Bob Thiel sent the Charlotte-based evangelists an email, with an attached paper, on the Final Phase of the Work. (this was the last item to finish those that he promised Richard Ames on 10/08/12).  In the email, Bob Thiel asked if those in Charlotte would correct various errors and asked if they wanted to work closer together or become more distant.
• On December 15, 2012, Bob Thiel saw a sermon from Dr. Winnail titled “Watch and Get Ready,“ in which Dr. Winnail, after referring to Protestant “commentaries“ declared that those who did not agree with his “falling away“ position were “blind to reality.“  This resulted in additional changes to some of the pages on COGwriter.com, etc.
• Throughout the next week or two, Bob Thiel put together a variety of items that he wanted to go over with Dr. Meredith concerning improper statements to the members, literature errors, broken promises, etc. to give Dr. Meredith a last opportunity to try to explain how LCG could possibly have not lost the Philadelphia mantle, but the real issues were not dealt with. 
• By December 22, 2012, reported events in the news had aligned with at least 32 predictions in Bob Thiel's 2009 book titled 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect.  Many, many more, not in the book, but in various posts on the internet, have also been confirmed.  And while many (in the book or on the internet) would be considered common COG beliefs, many were more specific than the COG has tended to proclaim.
• After receiving a letter emailed to him from Dr. Meredith (12/28/12) where he denied making statements that Bob Thiel had documented in notes over the past several years, Bob Thiel informed the regional LCG pastor for the Arroyo Grande, CA area that he would no longer host a videogroup on behalf of LCG, other than to have a final service for those who are part of LCG on 12/29/12, as it was now 100% clear to Bob Thiel that the Philadelphia mantle was not with LCG.

The fact is, that unlike the self-appointed leaders with COG-ties (like Ron Weinland, etc.), Bob Thiel was told by the Presiding Evangelist of the Living Church of God that God may consider him to be a prophet, to continue his evangelical efforts (and was also told to do that by others, including Richard Ames), that he (Dr. Meredith) possibly should have anointed Bob Thiel to the office of a prophet.  It seems that, perhaps because Dr. Meredith personally did not anoint Bob Thiel, God took steps to get that anointing done by a properly ordained member of the eldership.  

While God did have Ananias (described with the title of “disciple“ in Acts 9:10, probably a minister-level individual) lay hands upon Paul, no title was recorded as being given to Paul at that time (Acts 9:17).  Yet later, Paul wanted to make it clear that he was an apostle because Jesus chose him, not any human organization (Galatians 1:1). Nor did he feel “inferior“ to the more “eminent apostles“ (2 Corinthians 11:5). Does this not have some parallels to what happened to Bob Thiel? No man or group had gotten together to agree to anoint him with a “double-portion” of God’s Spirit in December 2011, but it did happen.

Dr. Winnail and others have stated in the past that Christians should “connect-the-dots” and that is something that seems to make sense here.  

As far as “prophetic fruits” go, Bob Thiel has asked all the Charlotte evangelists, “How many accurate speculations does it take before it counts?,” without getting an answer.  He has also asked, “If I have ever shown myself to be a false prophet, please explain how or why,“ also without getting an answer.

What humans conclude related to Bob Thiel's role does not, in one sense, matter.  It is God who appoints true church leaders (Ephesians 4:11) “for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12).

What really does matter is God's will (John 7:17) and our submission to it (James 4:7).  And it has not totally unfolded how He will work all the details out—but God’s plan will be accomplished.

The Bible is clear, “God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets…” ( 1 Corinthians 12:28) “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11).

To the pure, all things are pure (Titus 1:15).

If you read through the list of justifications that Bob Thiel uses to justify his status as prophet and leader of a splinter group you will have been exposed to the biggest mess of outlandish speculations and lies that any COG leader has ever dreamed up. Even Pack and Flurry don't make this many excuses about why they started new groups.