It should never come as a shock to anyone even remotely familiar with the Armstrongite Church of God movement that its focus is NOT on the One they claim to follow but upon the law and other personalities they deem of great importance.
Leave it to the Philadelphia Church of God to take this to the extreme, once again. That most inconvenient dude they know nothing about is once more relegated to the rear of the room so that Noah can shine forth as the great savior of the world, as the one who led people to safety.
The Philadelphia Church of God is not known for having any great theologians who actually understand the Bible and the works of Jesus. It instead has a poorly trained group of man/boys who were trained at the feet of Gerald Flurry, who himself was so poorly trained that he based his entire movement upon Malachi's Message, a book he stole and plagiarized from Jules Dervaes, The Letter to Laodicea. The very same book that Stephen Flurry had a mystical vision about while at a PCG weekend at Robber's Cave in Oklahoma. Robber's Cave was the site of an event so sacred to the PCG that the student body of Herbert W Armstrong College make yearly pilgrimages to gaze in wonder at the very cabin Stephen stayed in as he read Malachi's Message, thus validating his father's madness and the establishment of the Philadelphia Church of God cult.
In a letter sent to Exit and Support Network a few days ago, Stephen Flurry has given us proof once again on how theological bankrupt he really is. This time he is praising Noah and how he set the example to save the righteous.
SF Talks About “Our Noah Like Work” and Going to the Place of Safety:
September 5, 2021
SF gave a Bible Study on August 20 at HQs entitled, “Our Noah Like Work” in which he compared GF’s “work” to “Noah’s work” and talked about members going to the Place of Safety. Below are some of the things he said.
He said Joel Hilliker had a Trumpet Brief on August 18 (“Prophecy is Fulfilled in Afghanistan”) and he [Hilliker] “talked about these people desperately clinging to those cargo planes, even on the outside and he said that it brought to mind images of people clawing at the sides of Noah’s ark when God sent the flood.” [Those who read The Bible Story books in WCG will remember Basil Wolverton’s frightening cartoon depiction of that scene.
“We in the church know the flood is coming.”
“And in a lot of ways, the pictures of those people all sitting on the bottom of that C-17, crammed in there– that may be something that we experience ourselves at some point. We don’t know exactly what it means to be lifted away to the place of safety on the wings of a great eagle. But somehow or another, we are gonna to fly to the Place of Safety. And as Amos 7 says, we’re gonna be escorted out, or asked to leave. … There might be some government jets that are part of that massive transport operation. … 10,000 saints headed off to the Place of Safety. And then when you look at the outside of the vessel, when the people know the rain has set in and it’s not gonna stop–it’s a pretty sobering visual.”
He referred to GF’s Peter booklet several times and said “We’re like the family of Noah. Hard at work during these final days of the present evil world. And soon we are going to be flying right into another world, a new world.”
He referred to 9-11 as the time they [PCG] “entered into the Last Hour.”
“Noah and his family were a type of this church; a type of this work that we are engaged in. A Noah like work. We are facing universal destruction.” … “God promises to save us.”
“If we are supporting God’s preacher of righteousness [i.e., GF] [Noah was called a preacher of righteousness in II Peter 2:5], then God promises protection; God promises to save us.”
“This present, evil world is almost over.”
“When we are lifted over to the Place of Safety, that is the new world; that is the World Tomorrow.” … we are IT. We’re the hope of this world. This Noah-like work.”
“Noah had to go out and build for God for a century. Then the rains came. … He had to plan ahead.”
“It’s been almost a century since God opened the mind of Herbert Armstrong. And here we are–right where God prophesied.”
“We’ve got to support our preacher of righteousness.” [i.e., GF]
“We are here to tell this world that is about over.”
He quoted from GF’s Peter booklet and said “You can look at Noah’s example and see that God saves a few. God is going to save us; He’s going to rescue us. He’s going to protect us. He promises that. We’re His children and He’s our Father. He’s going to look after us.”
“God is still teaching us. The new revelation just continues. We haven’t even gotten some of the finer points or details regarding the Place of Safety and our flight and how that operation is going to be carried out. That is going to be exciting, getting some instructions in sermons from my father–‘Hey! We’ve got to be ready. God has shown me this and this and this about this verse here or this verse over there.’ Selling off our belongings. And being air-lifted out of a dangerous world.”
Reading from the Peter booklet again, “Noah and his family were spared. A big benefit of doing God’s Work as He commands. Rewards always accompany obedience to God. … all the way to the end.”
He read I Peter 3:19-21 “This age is about over. … God tested Noah to make sure he would wait and endure until the very end.”
“Eventually, we’re going to be packing our bags–for good!”
–Bible Study critiqued by Anonymous
Looks like the same demon that occupies Bob Thiel is now working inside Stephen Flurry!
ReplyDeleteDeath from old age is also a place of safety.
ReplyDeleteSooner or later, Flurry will lead his followers into a Jonestown type of event. He already has caused untold number of suicides and broken families. I am afraid he will do some drastic action as he sees his own "greatness' go unfulfilled that will cause loss of life.
ReplyDeleteBy resorting to the belief of the place of safety so often goes to show that the main purpose of a member is to save one's own ass. What is wrong with this picture? Have we not read that the consequences of seeking only physical deliverance are to ignore Yahshua's words that if this is your priority then you will die, for our will is to do the will of Yahweh.
ReplyDeleteHas any noticed that the place of safety is nothing but a protection racket? Tithes are nothing but protection money and that ministers are the lieutenants of the mafia don? Oh what fools we become when our whole purpose is to save our own ass.
ReplyDeleteTrue love is to accept our predicament and pray that Yahweh's will be done.
Stephen Flurry is quoted as saying, "We don’t know exactly what it means to be lifted away to the place of safety on the wings of a great eagle."
ReplyDeleteIn Exodus 19:4, God says to Israel, "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself."
So, according to the Biblical exegesis principle, "the Bible interprets the Bible" as ACOGs like to say, it's probably not talking about government jets.
Do the Flurry's actually believe their own nonsense, or do they wiñk at each other about the con they're pulling on their peoole?
ReplyDeleteNope, the demon occupied Gerry first, then Stevie, then Bobba.
ReplyDeletePlease make sure, from now on, to accurately refer to them as the Pagan Cult of Gerry. No God in that group, just paganism and being cult-like, and all pro-Gerry.
ReplyDeleteHighlights that modern Armstrongites *must* believe the literal Noah/Boat story because HWA gave it the imprimatur!
ReplyDeleteAccording to Flurry & Flurry, everything in the Old Testament is a type (and most of those types are about PCG and Trump)! They are ridiculous. Not satisfied with those areas of Scripture which actually deal with the end times, they've turned the Bible into wall to wall prophecy (and they say that most of it is about the last 100 years and Armstrongism - more particularly their brand of it)! And, if Gerry and company are correct (don't worry, they're NOT), we're all screwed! In fact, if Herbie, Gerry and Stephen end up at the head of the table, I suspect they'll be a whole lot of folks flinging themselves into the Lake of Fire! That's a tomorrow I certainly wouldn't want to be any part of!
ReplyDeleteThe fable of The Place of Safety is probably the most dangerous delusional belief pushed by those who say they are Apostles and are not. The members, by far, are frightened by it, yet say nothing and do not challenge the foolishness of it.
ReplyDelete“If people will lie about Christ’s Return, they will lie about anything!” by David C. Pack (Should Accusers Be Answered?)
" Selling off our belongings. And being air-lifted out of a dangerous world.”
ReplyDeleteJust hope nobody's serving any kool-aid on the plane at least.
HWA wasn't quite crazy enough to ever actually implement some mass exodus of all the members to Petra, since at heart he was more interested in growing the church as his financial base and ego support.
But I wonder about the Flurries, really. With their eagerness to jump onto any wild pet idea about prayer stones or military coups, the day may just come when he gives the order for the all the members to squeeze into some aircraft (but not his Gulfstream, no way!) and drop them into the middle of the desert in a foreign country after having sold their homes and belongings -- this level of craziness I can almost tangibly imagine.
Noah didn't have a very successful ministry - only he and his immediately family were spared destruction. "This Noah-like work" - yeah certainly sounds appropriate!
ReplyDeleteZippo
DeleteNoah was a builder and animal expert not an evangelist. Only Noah's family being saved from a wicked evil world that we have no idea how wicked and how evil was God's goal.
Zippo
DeleteNoah's ministry was to warn his evil generation. Just like Jonah warning Nineveh. People repenting or not repenting was out of his hands.
FUND RAISING IDEA FOR FLURRY...
ReplyDeleteCreate "Frequent Flyer Miles Credit" for every dollar donated to him. Once you hit one million, you get bumped to FIRST CLASS for your Petra journey, complete with peanuts and a diet coke!
The photograph you have representing PCG on a plane is about 99 percent men.
ReplyDeleteThe elephant in the room -
ReplyDeleteThe word elephant makes me think of my cousin's pronunciation of this word when he was a toddler: an elephant was an "a-ment." To my son it was an "eff-fent." No matter how it might be pronounced, if there is one in the room you will know about it - but might not say anything. Because the thing that is larger and more powerful than an a-ment is denial.
The fact that apocalyptic Millerites can repeatedly enact the same patterns of belief and behavior has always puzzled me. In the past, I found in this pattern of bogus prophecy, earnest belief, white-knuckled waiting and final disappointment a kind of liturgy. It seemed to me to be an act of worship - like singing songs from the purple hymnal - repeatedly. And like old songs, these ideas have been "sung" for years - since the mid-Nineteenth Century. Last century I heard Gerald Waterhouse say long ago that Stanley Rader was going to do all the brilliant legal work necessary to get big transport planes to take the WCG membership to the place of safety. What goes around, comes around. But maybe this is not liturgy - maybe it is something less theological.
There is another way of viewing this unending cycle which never seems to convey any kind of a lesson to those who experience it. It is found in these defintions from the Healthline webpage:
"Addiction is a brain disorder involving compulsive substance use despite negative outcomes."
"Dependence refers to the process by which your mind and body come to depend on a substance so you keep feeling a certain way. This tends to result in withdrawal symptoms when you stop using the substance."
In this case the "substance" is predictive prophecy. Addiction and Dependence are well documented disorders. And maybe my theory of liturgy does not carry water. Maybe this phenomenon is something far more mundane than high liturgy. Something that everyone on the street knows a little about - some more than others - but seems to be a little too tawdry to talk about.
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I wonder if Stevie "wonder" Flurry had a flashlight, a candle or some kind of light when he was reading Malachi's message in that cave, because if it was a real cave it had to be real dark in there?
ReplyDeleteI wonder about what Stevie "wonder" means here writing this:
"...We don’t know exactly what it means to be lifted away to the place of safety on the wings of a great eagle. But somehow or another, we are gonna to fly to the Place of Safety..."
Well, duh! Didn't God xplain some of this mystery by providing the following information?
Deuteronomy 29:5 "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot."
Stevie, wonder no more! When out of your own mouth you say you don't understand what it means, then why go on and speculate? Duh!
Looking at other places, besides this verse just cited, it appears that those Israelites burned up a lot of shoe leather, but not enough to wear them out: thanks to God, of course!
It appears that God may have just used some figure of speech to explain how He cared for (unlike so many former wcg hirelings who left their credentials behind in Pasadena and abandoned the sheep, which got scattered and really didn't care for them sheep all that much, because they cared more for their paycheck, the position, and the power they think they had to rule over others, and themSELVES (James 4:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15, 4; John 10:12-13; Matt 23:33-35)) and took care of those Israelites during the 40 years after being released from being oppressed and held hostage in Egypt about 400 years.
Now, time will tell but, if nothing else, all of those Israelites will come up alive in the second Resurrection in the Great Last Day (pictured by the Eighth Day Holyday) and they'll be able to personally tell you how God did it.
Now for that, if you still wonder then: time will tell...
John
"The photograph you have representing PCG on a plane is about 99 percent men."
ReplyDeleteWhiney readers here are fascinating! You totally missed the point.
Anon 7:56 Hey, brother Noah...
ReplyDeleteSorry. I guess preachin' Noah was a phony factoid I picked up somewhere. Maybe from GTA, or Bill Cosby.
But then, Peter (2 Peter 2:15) wrote that Noah was a "Preacher of righteousness".
Still my sarcastic sentence was comparing Noah's family getting the preferential treatment to Flurry's family.
10,000 “saints”. That’s funny! They better hurry up and get some new baptised member ship here real fast. They only have three more years max, before trump starts a war and kicks them out! And right now they only approximately 4000 people including children and babies so MAYBE 3300 baptised “saints”.
ReplyDeleteThis is funny stuff
Overwhelmingly patronizing 9:21. It must be a recurring problem when you jump to conclusions about others and it turns out to be otherwise.
ReplyDeleteGerry and his lot will of course move aside for Dr Bob and his lot and hangersoners from Africa who will of course move aside for Dave Pack who will of course move aside for The Living CoG who will of course move aside for the……..fill it in.
ReplyDeletePlace of safety is going to be pretty filled up.
Going to be a great fight for the best ‘places’.
Roll up roll up roll up and
place your bets folks on who will come out on top.
Might even be on SkySports.
We might mock them but they have made a mockery out of the Gospel.
The fable of The Place of Safety...
ReplyDeleteBack in the days when I followed ICG, GTA had a whole sermon on the origin and fallacy of the Place of Safety doctrine. As many of us know, the doctrine took root after Loma read a National Geographic story about the city of Petra.
In his sermon, GTA went into detail on what the WCG had believed, and why he rejected the whole idea.
the real hope of the world is the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow Scotland in October. However, it is doubtful that any church rooted in Ammstrongism would recognize a competing end times reality. Thank God that Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterberry, and the leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church all stand behind reduction of greenhouse gasses.
ReplyDeleteGlobal climate change, and death of living creatures dependent upon a healthy planet is the theme of the prophecies of Revelation. The problem with the ACOGs is that ignorant goat herders of today insist on literal fulfillment of what ignorant goat herders of millennia past have written.
"The photograph .. on plane is about 99 percent men."
ReplyDeleteImmigrants in general are mostly male, such is the case of received numbers to extreme-immigration-destinations like USA, Canada, Australia, UK. It increases the incidence of assault & rape in said countries, as analyzed in a chapter of Ann Coulter's book "Adios America".
What rubbish.
DeleteAnon 10:57 - I heartily agree. However, not being called to heed, or not heeding the call, yes, it was out of Noah's hands, but either way, his ministry was not successful.
ReplyDeleteThe Divine Call is an interesting subject... In the WCG we were told we were 'selected' because we were called to be in the WCG. Could one be 'called' to join, say, UCG, and not CCOG, or Lutheran and not RCG?
I get annoyed at relatives/friends who wax anti-Semitic as say the Jews all should have known Jesus was Messiah and become 'Christians'. When I mentioned Paul writing some were 'broken branches' so Gentiles could be 'grafted in' -- well, apparently that didn't count. "They knew all the (Messianic) prophecies and should have converted". They're just opening new rabbit holes.
The harsh reality is that people believe stuff and it alters their perception of reality. In the past this was regarded as a source of error that needed to be guarded against. Now it is a kind of odd virtue. People speak of "my truth" and "your truth." People speak of "alternative facts." People call the actual and verifiable news "fake news." In this is a tacit recognition that people actively edit their view of reality. They want reality to support what they want to believe.
ReplyDeleteFor many who are not ahistorical, it has been a question as to how Romans could sit in the colosseum in Rome and cheer and laugh at the horrifying destruction of men, women and children. We have wondered why a whole nation of Germans could march to national destruction following a little non-Aryan paper-hanger named Adolf Schicklgruber. What belief-based interpretation of reality permitted all this?
I am not sequestered away from this. Atheists would say that I, as a Christian, fall into the same category as the glassy eyed goose-steppers. They believe that I believe stuff that is delusional. Ask Dennis. And I believe, of course, the converse.
So we live in the era of the emergence of ad hoc, customized "reality" that disrespects science. The LSD of our time. Truth is something that makes you feel good about yourself - the only important ego around. Into this era cult religions with one-off beliefs fit nicely. The Great Orange Disinformer fits nicely. One day the pendulum will swing in the other direction and science will become accepted by most again. But I expect that apocalyptic Millerism will always be apocalyptic Millerism. And The Great Tribulation and The Place of Safety will continue to have an avid fan base. Their "truth" will always be their "truth."
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The is truth is the opposite to lies. On judgment day only the truth will stand. The is much deception about these days. People who love to deceive must live very unhappy lives to commit their evil deceit in the first place.
DeleteAnon 9:56 pm
ReplyDeleteThe real hope of the world is another global cabal of eliteists who want to ban a gas that is fundamental to biological life cycles?
Hahaha!
You're on the wrong anti-cult blog my friend.
3:31 good reference to Exodus and wing's of eagles
ReplyDeleteAnon 956pm
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct!
According to its globalist founders, benefactors, and religious servants you mentioned, the United Nations IS the real hope of this world! I have no doubt that the future head of that system, the Anti Christ, will not only give us a healthy planet, but will cure diseases, establish world peace, and give us all the prosperity we can handle. The whole world, along with 956, will "worship him", "wonder after him" and proclaim "who is like him"??? And just as the universal proclamation of "Peace and Safety " goes out . . . .
Well, I dont want to spoil the party! No need to bore you with any more goat header nonsense!
ReplyDeleteGerald Flurry is the worst false prophet that Satan ever sent against former Worldwide Church of God people.
I love that picture of Gerry. He looks like he got caught on the toilet and is having a rough time due to constipation.
ReplyDelete@3:26
ReplyDeleteLOL. My thoughts exactly. He sure can't afford to disfellowship a laxative.
That picture of Flurry is some shit that needs to be flushed immediately. And he does look in pain in getting his crap out. Maybe he should try a laxative that's has a "No Contact" feature.
ReplyDelete