The action or practice of allowing oneself to believe that a false or unvalidated feeling, idea, or situation is true.
"‘The Atlantic’ ran an article titled “Quit Lying to Yourself.’ It explained that this was not good and does not lead to happiness. The BBC ran an article about dangers of self-deception. The Bible warns about lies, self-deception, and pride."
Dr. Robert Thiel
"Several years ago I had a dream, which while I did not understand it at first, as it became more and more fulfilled over the years, I began to understand it and believe it was from God.
I was about 50 at the time (which essentially makes me an ‘old man’ per Numbers 8:25; cf. John 8:57). At first it made little sense. Yet, the Prophet Jeremiah at least once wondered about a message he received and later determined it was from God (Jeremiah 32:6-8), and the Apostle Peter at least once had a vision that he did not understand (Acts 10:9-17) until later as well (Acts 11:5-17). The same goes for Daniel (Daniel 8).
In my dream, there seemed to be two parallel lines. The presiding evangelist of the Living Church of God (LCG) Roderick Meredith was on the top line and I was on the line much below. In the dream, I kept calling up to Dr. Meredith, but he never would respond. This lack of response made no sense to me during the dream. Then after what seemed to be a long time, the lines-crossed with his line dropping and my line going up.
One reason that I did not understand it at the time was that I was on relatively close speaking terms with Dr. Meredith then (he repeatedly told me he considered me to be his friend, plus he had appointed me an adviser to LCG on matters of doctrine and prophecy), so that aspect made of the dream made no sense. Also, since I had no intentions of leaving Living Church of God then (and certainly no plans to start a separate church), it was not clear what the dream was saying. Another reason I was unsure about the dream then was that I had not had any anointing for the Holy Spirit beyond baptism when I had that dream.
But these matters changed eventually. For one, I was unexpectedly anointed for a ‘double-portion’ of God’s Spirit (cf. 2 Kings 2:9) on December 15, 2011 by an LCG minister named Gaylyn Bonjour who suggested that the passing of the mantle may had taken place.
Furthermore, over time, Dr. Meredith became more distant from me, would not keep various promises to me, and ultimately stopped speaking with me. And after I got a letter from him on 12/28/12, it was clear to me that there was no way that the Philadelphia mantle could be with him or any of his remaining leaders. These subsequent events showed me that the dream was being fulfilled. This dream gave an outline of what would happen in the future and that has happened.
Notice also:
28 The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. (Jeremiah 23:28)
I also had another dream (and do not recall precisely when, but it was prior to 2012) reminiscent of a vision that Isaiah. In that dream, I recall responding to a request from God and saying, “Here I am, send me” (cf. Isaiah 6:8). I have spoken God's word faithfully.
I told LCG leaders of both dreams per Jeremiah 23:28 though they did not ask for the details, thus they had that witness, before I had to leave (and no, I did not ask for recognition nor make any personal demands, other than urging them to keep their word and correct literature/doctrinal/prophetic errors that they acknowledged they had).
In time, and partially because of statements from Gaylyn Bonjour about the passing of the mantle, it occurred to me that the dreams were showing that the mantle would (or had) pass."
Chart of Some CCOG-Related Dreams
Date | Given to | Dream(s) | Fulfillment |
2003 | K. Sani Mao | One dream was on the validity of the Sabbath, but the second showed a ‘C’ meaning CCOG or COGwriter to align with. | Became part of the CCOG in November 2018. |
c. December 2008 | Bob Thiel | The dream showed evangelist Roderick Meredith, who had long called Bob Thiel a friend and who he was on regular speaking terms with, would stop speaking with him. He would drop down as Bob Thiel rose and their lines crossed--seemingly a mantle passing. There was also another dream related to Isaiah 6:8 and apparently the passing of the mantle; the precise year unclear. | Dr. Meredith stopped speaking with Bob Thiel in the Spring of 2012. CCOG formed December 28, 2012. The mantle seemingly passed sometime between 2009-2012. The passing of the mantle potentially related to Bob Thiel was specifically brought up by Gaylyn Bonjour in 2011 and 2012. |
December 8, 2012 | Fesilafai Fiso Leaana | Approximately 10 people would separate from LCG, including Shirley Gestro and go to a group. A second part was related to the Ark of the Covenant. | The fulfillment related to departure from LCG and 1o people going to CCOG occurred within several weeks of the dream and included Shirley Gestro (CCOG did not form until weeks after the dream). The part related to the Ark of the Covenant was partially fulfilled during September 2013. |
c. November 2013 | Frederick Ochieng | God wanted Frederick's father Evans to join with Bob Thiel to do the work that would grow. Also, this work would have involvement from New Zealand. | The number of CCOG Africans went from a dozen to the almost three hundred (that had been with Evans) in 2014, to over 5,000 by 2021. Also, Frederick said he was unaware that CCOG had any New Zealand component before having that dream and New Zealand has played important roles in supporting CCOG. |
c. March 1, 2014 | Senhor Pires | Bob Thiel would be speaking to a large group that would all be black, with him the only white person. | Fulfilled March 17, 2014 when Bob Thiel spoke before church leaders in Nairobi, Kenya.. |
c. January 2017 | Nimrod Ondigo | Bob Thiel would anoint him with oil. | Fulfilled on February 9, 2017. Nimrod did not have any reason to know that he would be ordained by Bob Thiel as a deacon as Bob Thiel did not do any ordinations in his previous trips to Africa. Also Bob Thiel did not learn of his dream until about two weeks later. |
January 2019 | Premkumar Ninthoujam | Alexsandar Veljic would get to Manipur, despite visa and travel issues that looked to prevent him, plus Sani Mao would be anointed with oil. | Alexsandar Veljic arrived in Manipur on January 10, 2019 and ended up anointing Sani Mao as a deacon on January 12, 2019 as Bob Thiel had tentatively authorized (but had not let Sani Mao know). |
The Continuing Church of God is the only COG organization with so many of the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18.
Can you believe?
If so, are you taking the steps to support the work confirmed by dreams that came to pass?
BOOB THIEL WROTE: "Furthermore, over time, Dr. Meredith became more distant from me,..., and ultimately stopped speaking with me."
ReplyDeleteMY COMMENT:
Well Rod Meredith had at least this one right! Maybe he had a "DREAM" that told him to do that! ;-)
I had not had any anointing for the Holy Spirit beyond baptism when I had that dream.
ReplyDeleteDoes Bob mean that after decades in WCG and LCG he had never before asked to be anointed for an illness?
Or is Bob saying that there's a special kind of prayer that can make you into a prophet?
If that really was Bob's first anointing, did he misunderstand Gaylon Bonjour's words and think they indicated something more grandiose than Bonjour intended?
Or, if there's a special kind of anointing prayer that makes you a prophet, why hasn't Bob started saying that prayer over every CCOG member, so God can work more powerfully through the church?
Either way, whether he's hoarding prophethood for himself or whether his inflated ego misunderstood Bonjour's prayer, Bob comes out looking like a serious narcissist.
Dreams result from our minds processing our life experiences. The experiences one has as a member of a COG are frequently off the scale, and so bizarre that they will affect one's dreams in very weird ways. As we age, dreams and the way in which we perceive them or even remember them change. When I was much younger, I remembered the entirety of my dreams from each night. They were very vivid, and I regarded sleep as being an alternative life, eagerly anticipating that life every night as I was drifting off to sleep. It was pure escape, like watching a riveting TV program. The exceptions to this were the occasional dreams that were Armstrong-based, nightmares actually, in which I was back at home having the living crap beat out of me by angry WCG parents, being chased down by the Germans, or being attacked by demons. Thankfully, those nightmares gradually went away probably about twenty years after I stopped being exposed to Armstrongism. And now, I generally only recall the last few moments of the last dream right prior to my awakening.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine the surreal experiences Bob Theil had in his daily life routine, courtesy of Rod Meredith and LCG, especially given Bob's particular personality, and motivations. When I first became aware of COGwriter shortly after the turn of the millennium, I realized that he was way out there, and foresaw a time in the future when his mentor would offend his ego. Bob has pretty much followed the pattern that I imagined he would, based on watching certain church members with similar penchants over a period of years. So have others with similar egos such as David Pack and Gerald Flurry. I wasn't aware of Ron Weinland at that time, however, there's another one with the same basic predilections.
A distorted life is going to distort one's dreams. That is unavoidable. This is why psychiatrists analyze dreams as they attempt to assist their patients to a better and more productive life. They are very telling, and often provide insights into one's world view, and the way in which one sees oneself. That is the real meaning of the dream, and not the fantasies a person with hyper ego weaves around them.
Bob Thiel hasn't told the truth since he was part of LCG. He lied so much in LCG that the ministry totally ignored him and then Rod Meredith totally dissed him big time. Since Meredith kicked him out of the church Theil has been telling all kinds of lies. God is no more blessing him than he is the Taliban. As for his so call dreams they are nothing more than wild imaginations of his delusional brain. God is not involved and never has been.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree.
DeleteDecember 5 at 11:15:00 AM PST said "God is not involved and never has been."
ReplyDeleteA profound statement, 11:15. It applies in many other contexts besides your comment.
I wonder if someone who understood the need and mentality of another could tell them "I had a dream about you" and ingratiate themselves to that person and their ego for their own ends?
ReplyDeleteA fox warning chickens to beware of foxes.
ReplyDeleteit sometimes works in the seduction of the fairer sex, 11:56. Drawing another into a cult, philosophy, or line of thinking is not all that different from seduction. So, as you say, subject to the mindsets and mentalities involved, the dream thingie will probably work a fairly good percentage of times.
ReplyDeleteThe four biggest liars in the Church of God right now are Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel and Ron Weinland. These guys are agents of darkness that do their best to deny Jesus Christ and his works.
ReplyDeleteI can explain the vigorous growth in Africa:
ReplyDeleteThere is a paper shortage there, and they use his free literature for Shithaus-paper
Ministers of religion lie as much as politicians and used car salesmen.
ReplyDelete"Doctor Bob" could sure use some expert audio engineering help to get rid of the noise and echo.
ReplyDeleteOn second thought, even if that happened you'd still just have noise.
Dreams aren't a premonition!
ReplyDeleteOur dear doctor seems to assign meanings to dreams the way he chooses events to satisfy prophecies and natural disasters.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, he disqualified himself by his manner of doctrinal choice: you can't simply choose which Torah laws are to be kept and which are "abolished". His reasoning shows he has decided the matter and is only propping up the rationale of his choice by selective references ("quote mining").
CCOG may well be the "closest" to the "Philadelphian" standard (just as HWA claimed CG7 was the "closest" to his ideal "True Church") but that standard appears to differ from the holistic understanding of scripture.
The magicians in Egypt had power to do miracles. Miracles prove nothing.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to believe in miracles, visions, and dreams you have to believe in Fatima. Weren't there thousands of witnesses? Bob has no witnesseses to his dream.
I had a dream too. I dreamed that the COG was all just a bad dream. Ya gotta believe me because I say so.
8:24
DeleteHow godless.
I love that song! "Dreams" by the Cranberries. Sure do miss Dolores O'Riordan. That's some bitchin' Irish stuff there. Wonder why Flurry doesn't get into that?
ReplyDelete3.47 PM
DeleteDolores was rich and famous. And drowned in her bathtub while alcohol intoxicated. She was 6 times over the legal blood-alcohol content for when driving a car in my state. Alcoholism destroyed David Cassidy's liver, resulting in his early death. So many lives lost to various addictions.