Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Saturday, March 13, 2021

PCG On Babies: Satan literally stands before the expectant mother, seeking to devour that little one’s mind as soon as it is born.


 

Nothing describes the perverse teachings of the Philadelphia Church of God, or the COG movement as a whole, than some of the asinine teachings on child-rearing. It's no wonder the church is filled with such disgusting man/boys in leadership positions that are a result of that "child-rearing" training. They were robbed of their youth and still act like little whiney children when things don't go their way.

PCG's Ron Fraser writes:

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). This verse is simply the starting point in understanding how to raise your children. We need to understand the nature of what we are dealing with! 

What chance does a child have when this is what they are faced with on a daily basis? They grow up hearing that they are deceitful and desperately wicked. In their teen years, this is overemphasized and then as adults, this is beaten into them very year around Passover time. No one is are worthy in the sight of the god of the PCG or many of the other COG's.

God created the human mind, the intellect, the process by which we think, conceive our plans, imagine about the future, reason back and forth, and the process of taking given facts and deducing or predicting certain outcomes. The Eternal God created the mind of man for a brilliant purpose. 
 
“So mark well this super-vital truism—that perfect, holy and righteous character is the supreme feat of accomplishment possible for Almighty God the Creator—it is also the means to His ultimate supreme purpose! His final objective! But how? I repeat, such perfect character must be developed. It requires the free choice and decision of the separate entity in whom it is to be created” (Mystery of the Ages). 
 
God created law—law is good (1 Timothy 1:8). Submission to God’s law brings the excellent, profitable and blessed results that God intended for human beings, and which ultimately leads to eternal life.

Why is it that most of the abusive COG's out there claim the law is good when scripture itself says that the law is an instrument of death? "NIRV He has given us the power to serve under a new covenant. The covenant is not based on the written Law of Moses. It comes from the Holy Spirit. The written Law kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Yet there is an opposing law that impacts our minds to lead us to disobey God’s law. Paul called this “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). He contrasted it to “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus which sets us free from the law of sin and death.” The Apostle James elsewhere calls God’s law “the law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12).

Yes, Christians do believe in the fact that the spirit gives life. The problem with the COG, particularly the larger abusive sects, is that they deny Christ and everything he stood for and accomplished. These groups have no idea what the spirit is that they claim to be the sole possessors of. 

Fraser then lets it be known that little babies are already in the gripes of Satan himself the second they are born.


So our starting point in understanding God’s method of child rearing is to deeply understand just what it is that we are dealing with. We are dealing with fresh, young human minds. Minds that are automatically tuned in to Satan’s wavelength from birth! “The human spirit within each human is automatically tuned to Satan’s wavelength. It seems as if Satan has surcharged the air over the entire Earth with his attitude of self-centeredness and vanity” (ibid). Here is the source of the law of sin—that great fallen Lucifer who was the first living entity to sin (Ezekiel 28:15-17).

Why does everything that to be a"law" in the PCG cult? It does keep the blinded under control though. 

That nature of Satan is the law of sin. It opposes and seeks to exalt itself above all that God’s perfect law of liberty, the law of love, stands for. It is a law of corruption which leads to chaos in any human mind unable to resist it. It is full of pride, vanity, jealousy, lust and greed. It is selfish to the core. It is anti-love, anti-life, anti-God!

Never has there been a COG that has exalted itself above all others than the PCG. God's Liberty in love is totally missing from the PCG leadership. The pride, vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed that fill the current leadership have turned many of the leaders of the PCG into some of the nastiest people ever. Remember, this is the same group that told a family to take their mentally challenged daughter to the mall and leave her there so that the state could take care of her.

Fraser continues:

That’s the challenge you face as a parent! As the umbilical cord is cut and that little baby is laid upon its mother’s breast, already Satan is intent on tuning in to that mind. We may picture the drama of Revelation 12:4 applying to the children in God’s firstfruits Church. Satan literally stands before the expectant mother, seeking to devour that little one’s mind as soon as it is born.

He next blames the mother for allowing satan to enter the baby while still in her womb! 

And it even starts before birth! This precious little life is drawn from the womb of its mother with a mind already impacted, even in its fetal stages, through the influence on the mother of the war between the law of sin and the law of life!

PCG members are encouraged to have "good breeding" skills:

Many studies have proved that the state of mind, body and general circumstances of the parents at the time of conception of the child have a bearing on the general well-being of the fetus developing within its mother’s womb. “Good breeding” in the physical sense starts with two healthy bodies, those of the mother and the father. Congenital defects and weaknesses in children simply can be sourced at the breaking of God’s laws at some point in the ancestry of the child.

Satan has so impacted the mind of man as to greatly corrupt the good Earth and its air, water, produce and livestock, designed by God for the sustenance of healthy life. Whatever we breathe, drink or consume as food has inevitably been weakened or warped by man’s interfering, law-breaking hand to the point that congenital problems related to heredity and environment are escalating dramatically. Those couples contemplating having children would do well to ensure that their physical fitness and health is at its peak when endeavoring to conceive.

The craziness continues:

Again, in this masterful exposé of human nature, Mr. Flurry states, “Our educational system looks upon man as being basically good and trustworthy. That philosophy destroys institutions and nations! We must see the evil in human nature, or we can never solve our problems. That is where man’s false hope lies—in an incredibly deceitful mind that is terminally ill! Here is where men generally place their trust. What deadly deceit!” (ibid). 
 
That is why we reject the human ways of psychology, psychiatry and sociology in coming to understand human nature, human interaction between God and man and between human beings. Godly parenting is only possible with godly revelation. It takes converted minds, converted parents, tuned in to God’s wavelength, daily—and aggressively tuning out Satan’s wavelength—to comprehend the vision within which our child rearing must be conducted. We are accountable to God to understand how to apply the God-given method of training up those children in the way that they should go. 
 
As parents, the key is to not “let a day pass without intense Bible study and repentant prayer to our God. Only He can save us from our incurably sick minds” (ibid).

This is bullshit. While the spiritual life of a Christian is important, one does NOT need INTENSE daily Bible study nor does one need to continually be obsessed with repentant prayer. Because the PCG and the COG have made themselves prostitutes to the law, there is no other avenue for salvation for them unless they keep it perfectly so that God might let Christ save them because nothing Jesus did was ever good enough to do that!

There is much, much more craziness in the article, which is in three different parts.

Understanding the Method (The Missing Dimension in Parenting, Part 3)


Friday, March 12, 2021

LCG: Gerald Weston...COVID hits close to home




From an LCG source:




Dear Brethren and Fellow Servants of God,

Here in the United States, as in some other areas of the world, governments are beginning to ease up on COVID-related restrictions. Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s directive to leave it up to each business to decide on what to require regarding face coverings has obviously put pressure on other states to do the same and several have followed suit.

Leaders here in Charlotte met with Texas pastors Gary Stein and Rick Stafford on March 4 to discuss what to do going forward. We had a free discussion, hearing all sides of the question, and decided it would be best to bring all U.S. Regional Pastors into the discussion. We held that meeting this past Wednesday, March 10.

I opened both meetings by reviewing how the Church, once we understood more about what we were dealing with, opened up for services everywhere we could. Where possible, we chose to continue with planned summer camps for our children. The Feast of Tabernacles was a success, in part due to decisions made early on that were not popular with all, but which, in retrospect, made it possible for the greatest number of brethren and families to attend a wonderful Feast. We have been in favor of opening up as much as we can, while still streaming services for individuals and areas where needed. We have left the decision to attend in person during this difficult time to the individual to make based on personal concerns and risk factors.

Most areas where we meet require social distancing, size-limited groups, and face coverings. Those requirements are being relaxed by some governments, but not necessarily by our meeting facilities. Whatever the requirements or lack thereof, our main concern is the health and well-being of our members. We have many elderly and others with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, heart issues, and obesity. In discussing our path forward with the Regional Pastors, we found that we have a variety of circumstances in the Church, but many of the men felt it was a little premature to drop our COVID-related protocols too quickly. While we are not aware of members getting sick from attending our live services, members and their extended families are still getting sick.

Let me add a personal comment here. My wife takes a 31⁄2 mile walk most mornings with several ladies in the neighborhood and was exposed to the virus from one of them. Several days later, Carol did not feel well and tested positive for COVID. I was tested the next day and came back negative. Carol felt a little under the weather for about a week, but is now back to her long walks and doing well. Our neighbor who unknowingly exposed her is back to normal, but her husband is not doing well. It has been about 11 days since I was clearly exposed, and I have had no symptoms that would indicate a problem, other than what appeared to be my usual seasonal allergies.

Carol and I have self-quarantined for two Sabbaths and, unless I can get tested in time, will probably miss attending in person for one more Sabbath. I have not made this generally known until now as I did not wish to cause concern among any of you. While my wife and I are in a risk category due to age,
God seems to have been merciful to both of us. The point I want to make is that COVID has not gone away just because a few government mandates have. Even now, new, more contagious strains are beginning to circulate and bear watching.

Yet, brethren, we cannot hole up in caves forever. We have over 200 members now meeting safely here in Charlotte, some with a variety of pre-existing conditions and risk factors. Not a one of us wants to wear a mask indefinitely, yet we must also keep in mind that our decisions affect others: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3–5).

By the meeting’s end, we decided to meet again in three to four weeks, after the Days of Unleavened Bread, to consider modifying our current protocols, based on how things develop. In the meantime, we continue opening up areas for services wherever possible, planning for summer camps, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Thank you for your prayers and let us continue to stand together as we see this challenge through.

Sincerely, in Christ’s service, Gerald E. Weston

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Dave Pack Member/Co-worker Letter: Christ could come TONIGHT or at any point up until April 3, 2021


 

On March 5, Davey sent out a member/co-worker letter to his dwindling faithful. It was the typical COG member letter straight out of the official style guide for prophetic letter writing.

The world is falling apart around the Restored Church of God. The nation is divided, politically and culturally and then there were riots at the U.S. Capitol. First amendment freedoms are at risk, which may soon inhibit Dave in saying the crap he does. Newly elected President Joe Biden has been a failure so far. Ebola has returned to West Africa, Muslims are rampaging in Nigeria, COVID-19 is leading to suicides, and Russia hoping it will weaken the United States. Iran is flexing its muscle, and much more mayhem, famine, and death.

In spite of all of this trauma surrounding the Restored Church of God Dave says:



The rapid defection of RCG members out of the Restored Church of God is totally the opposite of what Dave says above. Almost all of his original ministers who helped start RCG have left, including his legal counsel. The longer he keeps setting dates that fail the more members who will leave and take their money with them. He is now unable to spend money on his miniature auditorium and instead tells his few followers that the money now needs to go to the final "push". It is an easy diversion away from the money problems plaguing the RCG right now. 

An even bigger diversion away from HQ problems is the imminent return of the creature Dave is calling "christ". Dave has made so many specific predictions over the last few months that people are starting to laugh at him. The goal post keeps moving around because God was apparently too stupid to deliver to Dave the correct prophecy timeline. 

Now Dave claims, this creature called "christ" is set to appear anytime from tonight till the end of Unleavened Bread, April 3, 2021.



I can state for a FACT that Dave's creature will NOT return TONIGHT or by April 3, 2021, or at any point this entire year. Dave will make more excuses and set more dates. It will be Pentecost next and then the fall Holy Days. The Feast of Tabernacles will come and go and 2022 will be here. The Giant Eagle will still be open, Wadsworth, Ohio, will still be here, and Dave will be holed up in his office waiting for his god to send him the CORRECT prophecy this time.


Dave Pack says ALL who leave his church will be "maimed, and broken, and mutilated and their eyes gouged out."



 From an RCG source:


Anyone who Leaves Armstrongism (or RCG) Will be maimed, beaten, with their eyes gouged out


“But who may abide the day of His coming? Now that's talking about the Father's coming, because the Father's going to cut asunder He's going to cut away. Certain people "blew it in their life." There are a great many people we know alive on earth, I know vast numbers of them who used to believe "God's Way" and blew it off, fell into heresy and they're gone. I've been watching it for 55 years. The last 28, working here and 6 in a group that formed after the Worldwide Church of God began to break up. So I've seen a great many people who would probably still have been alive and who are going to be cut away. They will not abide the day of this coming.”


They shall be beaten with many stripes. They're going to be maimed, and broken, and mutilated and their eyes gouged out. It's still ahead. How do you read that if it's now behind them? So the people who were beating their fellow servants are cut away. They're going to see the "kingdom of God" came, the greatest world government or world dominant government that has ever been seen. They're going to know what they missed out on. They're going to see it all around them for a month.


Dave Pack Moves The Goal Post Again, Now Says His Creature Called "christ" Is Returning During Unleavened Bread This Year


 Dave Pack...constantly moving the goal post

From an RCG source:

We are done Preaching and now must “Watch!” ... Wait no, NOW we are done Preaching!


Dave states in 293:


“He's found watching, [watching as of March 2] almost as though he comes to know when this Series is over, and he knows it's time to "watch" and no longer preach because he finished a commission. "Of a truth. I saying to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has." Well, that sounds like Elijah out of the gate...So all these things are now clear. And if I'm back tomorrow, I'll pick up with some more, some more interesting details, but essentially the mystery of God is cleared up. 


Then a couple days later, when Christ didn’t return, he decided, that he had to actually keep preaching. This means Dave can literally “reset God’s timing” by goofing up the message God is trying to tell him. This has caused God and Christ (whichever Dave decides is going first) to delay now for a couple years. It’s probably ok though since patience is a virtue. By leaking out this information and warning the world, we are spoiling God’s plan for them but continue to watch for the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, as the Day of Christ will happen then.


Part 294:


“So the "mystery of God" was not done without today's sermon, the proverbial, "No Way!" It just wasn't. And it resets timing! Because there's one last message. Everybody's going to need to hear this, a loving God does not want us to fear or to be shocked or hit by a snare because there's, there's about 7.8 billion human beings on earth today who have no, idea what's going to hit them! But there's a little flock that has served Him and obeyed Him and waited. I wouldn't care if I had to wait another year or three years for this because our timing was wrong. I know one thing the "day of Christ" is during the Days of Unleavened Bread and there are many, many metrics of course, to tell us it's this year.”



BREAKING NEWS! Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, and Gerald Flurry Admit They Are False Prophets and Shut Down Their Churches!!!!!...Oh, wait...wrong guys...

 


A reader sent in a link tonight about an evangelical pastor who is shutting down his ministry because he made false prophecies that Trump would be reelected. 

Can you imagine a Church of God minister having that much integrity? 

Here is a "worldly" so-called Christian in the eyes of COG leaders, and yet this man has the integrity to do so, particularly after receiving a huge back lash from his followers.  Which is something COG members don't do. They sit there like compliant frogs waiting for the hot water to start boiling and never raise a hand to complain. It is only after they leave their respective groups that they dare to complain and speak ou ton how incredibly stupid their leaders were.

Can you imagine Dave Pack doing such a thing? Or Bob Thiel? Imagine Gerald Flurry shutting down his cult and college and admitting he is a liar and a false prophet. It will never happen. The leaders of the Churches of God are too narcissistic and self-righteous to admit they are liars and false prophets.

A prominent evangelical Christian "prophet" has decided to shutter his ministry after apologizing for incorrectly predicting that former President Donald Trump would be re-elected in the 2020 election.

Jeremiah Johnson, who founded Jeremiah Johnson Ministries, made the announcement via his public Facebook page on Monday after receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback from followers after he apologized for his inaccurate prophecy. The Christian minister had apologized in a YouTube series he titled "I Was Wrong," Religion News Service first reported. 
 
"After much prayer and the clear direction of the Lord, we are officially terminating, 'Jeremiah Johnson Ministries.' All of our social media accounts will be deleted over the next week. We fully understand what a shock this will be to many on numerous levels," Johnson wrote in an open letter to his followers posted to Facebook.

Christianity Today (Bob Thiel's FAVORITE magazine that brings him such profound embarrassment) also has an article up about Johnson and details how he is taking his focus in a completely new direction, which is away from prophecies. Trump Prophet Enraged His Followers by Apologizing. Now He’s Shutting Down His Ministry.

Imagine Thiel, Pack, Flurry, Weinland, and the other COG whack-a-doodles that preach false prophecies stop doing so and actually become followers of Christ and be men with integrity! Shocking, I know!

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Dave Pack: I am this "burning shining light" that Christ described!


 


From an RCG source:


John the Baptist--background player, Elijah--ran some small colleges but Dave Pack, he is the burning shining light!


If you want to know how Dave sees himself, the following quote from 293 sums it up well. John the Baptist (Mat 11:11) even though he was the greatest messenger even born, pales in comparison to Dave’s splendor, a shining light who Christ Himself commends.

“John, the Baptist stayed in the background his whole life, about 30 years, until God showed him. The ancient Elijah was sort of up in Tishbe running some colleges, and the modern one is not thought of as anybody special... and of course he isn't special but I'm trying to explain...Until he just showed up, "Bang!" There he was. And EVERYBODY went to see him because he was this "burning, shining light" that Christ described!”


RCG: God’s Latest Revelations to RCG, were already revealed...2 years ago….


 

From an RCG source:

God’s Latest Revelations to RCG, were already revealed...2 years ago….

So while members in RCG are still waiting for Christ to return, there has been another upset in their prophetic picture. Dave after claiming the “Mystery of God” had been revealed and that there were no more messages, starts ANOTHER message with this:

“Now I wondered last week, if I should have closed with something like this, "If anything is yet to be explained, I reserve the right to come back and do this or correct a point or two when the series ended." But nothing, nothing, a move from what we learned there, there were nothing changed. Then something Titanic truly was added and I then knew one more message was needed.”

In general, Dave's latest prophetic messages show that he (Dave) is actually "a messenger" (about to be Elijah, even though he has already declared himself Elijah two other times, he rescinded those claims) preparing the way before the Father, (not Jesus Christ) who will come and setup a kingdom. Many of those who have left Restored (and Armstrongism) will be maimed, beaten, eyes gouged out by the "man of sin" and then some (many?) will be consumed in fire by the Father at the end of this period. This will all be proceeded by a "cloud of darkness" that will cover the whole earth and signal to the True Church that all this is about to happen.

Dave's "Gateway Prophecy" of last year, is essentially in shambles, since he taught Christ was supposed to return last year as Dave had prepared the way for Christ. Since Christ hasn't returned, Dave now understands that it's actually the Father, who is returning. That's why nothing happened last year (or any of the other times). However, now that it's being taught properly "the way is prepared."

While it’s unclear, it also seems like the 1,335 prediction from earlier in 2021 will be abandoned also, even though it was ironclad revelation from God. Time will tell.

For those of you who haven't followed Dave's ever changing predictions, he began claiming that the Father came first in June of 2019. In fact at the beginning of June, he predicted the Father would come as a "thief in the night," on Sabbath. Then, when Christ didn't show up Sabbath, he claimed Christ would be back Pentecost.

The morning of Pentecost, when Christ still wasn't there, he rushed out another message stating: "I want to go on the record and say that I knew nothing would happen today (Pentecost)...and I could tell that last night....Now that I know the FATHER IS COMING, that changes everything!" Then around 2 months later at the beginning of August 2019, it was decided the Father wasn't coming first (even though this was revealed to him by God) Christ is actually coming first again. Then at the end of August, after the picture was rearranged again, Dave declared the "Mystery of God has been revealed!"

Now, 2 years later, he is literally making the same claim again! Using the same verses. And the same reasoning. With the same ironclad logic. With God's authority. You really can't make this stuff up (but wish you could).

It’s hard to believe Dave keeps saying this despite it being unbiblical and other cult leaders using the same logic to support their peculiar teachings but he does: “The Bible is an "enigmatic book," but when God guides us to see things, then it's like, "Wow, how did we never see that? And now you can't see anything else?" It's so clear.!” I wouldn’t trust his track record of “clearly reading” the Bible.

The drama of an ever shifting prophetic picture has already played out in RCG, literally. The same points Dave uses today, he used years ago. Unfortunately, most don't remember, (or try not to remember) that all of this material was already revealed. Dave already “revealed the mystery” and already ended the series.

I am curious why the God of the universe would reveal not only false timing to His chief apostle but also juggle around the entire prophetic picture on a regular basis to "reset the clock."

Monday, March 8, 2021

CGI: Bill Watson continues to bow down at the altar of a certain political party - even after his members complained



Here We Go Again 

If anyone was hoping that the Church of God International might have learned a few lessons from its recent obsession with things political and the group’s unequivocal support for Donald Trump, their latest offering from Pastor Bill Watson should be sufficient to exterminate any such optimism. 
 
Watson’s A Beast on the Move? (part of CGI’s series on “Biblical News Updates and Commentary”) criticizes the Biden Administration’s rolling back of Trump’s policies and warns that those nasty globalists are back! 
 
Interestingly, the pastor does interrupt his attack to admit that the church has received some negative commentary regarding their coverage of geopolitical subjects, issues, current events and governmental policies. Apparently, there are folks out there who believe that Christians really shouldn’t be engaged in these types of discussions – that there should be more sermons about Christian living. Watson, however, is having none of this line of reasoning! 
 
Instead, he repeats Herbert Armstrong’s often stated claim that more than a third of the Bible is prophecy. He says that’s a lot of material and goes on to specifically cite the books of Daniel and Revelation in defense of his position and says that they are full of information about the “beast” and how it is going to rise in the End Times. Pastor Watson says that this is obviously information that God wanted us to have. “Why else would God have instructed John to right all this stuff down?” 
 
Mr. Watson goes on to say that he’s amazed that some folks consider this stuff unimportant or that we shouldn’t be talking about it. He claims that we “undermine” God when we fail to appreciate the amount of work and effort which God undertook to give us this information. The pastor also states that it is obvious that we are living in the End Times, and that it is important for Christians to take the time to understand the prophecies which deal with this period. 
 
But what about these claims? Is Pastor Watson right about this Biblical emphasis on prophecy? Does God expect “His” people to closely follow current events, government policies and the machinations of the governments of this world? Are those of us who oppose this kind of messaging from the Church dismissing prophecy as unimportant or unworthy of our attention? Are we living in the End Times? Should we be focusing on prophecies dealing with that period? 
 
In attempting to answer these questions, we should begin by acknowledging the fact that there are many opinions and interpretations extant within the Christian community about Biblical prophecy. Most students of the Bible who have taken the time to consider the question of just how much of the Bible is devoted to prophecy put the figure somewhere between 27 and 33 percent of the whole (see How Much Of The Bible Is Prophecy?). There is also fairly widespread agreement that the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel and the twelve “minor” prophets are all considered to be prophetic literature. In the New Testament, the book of Revelation is likewise widely acknowledged as being prophetic in nature. Now, unless my math is incorrect, that means that 18 of the 66 books of the Judeo-Christian Bible are devoted to prophecy (we should also all be willing to acknowledge that other books contain some prophetic material within their texts). 
 
Hence, if we accept that roughly one-third of the Bible deals with prophecy, we must also acknowledge that two-thirds of the subject matter deals with other topics. This is not to say that prophecy is unimportant – we’re just attempting to put some perspective on the issue. Moreover, it should also be pointed out that students of the Bible estimate that somewhere between 50 and 80% of the prophecy in the Bible has already been fulfilled (by the Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Jesus Christ, etc.). Again, to put that in perspective, we are really talking about 20-50% of one-third of the Bible that applies to the future. Furthermore, one source estimates that 150 chapters of the Bible deal with the period known as the “End Time” (see 150 Chapters on The End Times). That’s 150 chapters (where the author estimates more than 50% of the material in the chapter deals with this subject) out of 1,189 chapters in the Bible which specifically address the “End Times.” So, yes, the subject of prophecy is important, but we must not lose our perspective that MOST of the Scriptures which God has made available to us deal with other topics! 
 
Pastor Watson goes on to quote Proverbs 24:11-12 and Ezekiel 33 as justifications for his obsession with current events and policy. He claims that he has an obligation to warn people about what’s coming, and that God will hold him responsible for not doing so. What about the obligation to preach the gospel and discuss the Christian way of life? And, what if (like Paul and the other First Century Christians) Mr. Watson is wrong in his assessment of the fact that we are currently living in the time of the end? What if Christ’s return is still hundreds of years in the future? 
 
In his commentary, Watson goes on to applaud Catholic Archbishop Carlo Vigano’s letter of last October to Donald Trump in which he asserts that the world is being threatened by a global conspiracy. Vigano claims that he is the voice of one crying out in the wilderness against the forces of evil who are opposed to the children of light. He claims that these folks want to destroy the basis of society and promote the suicide of Western culture. The good bishop goes on to assert that the current health crisis is being used to establish a tyranny over people. Never mind that the Armstrong Churches of God have always been extremely anti-Catholic. In this instance, Mr. Watson sees a kindred spirit in the archbishop. 
 
Watson then interrupts his praise of Vigano’s letter to compare its contents with Chuck Todd’s Meet the Press interview in February with Dr. Michael Osterholm warning about the surge in deaths and illness which we might experience if we aren’t diligent in addressing the pandemic in the present. Osterholm pointed out that “we’re good at pumping the breaks after we’ve wrapped the car around the tree.” Pastor Watson seems to think that this is proof that the archbishop’s assessment of the threat of a globalist conspiracy to institute a tyranny over all of us and destroy our individual liberty is real. Watson also quotes the archbishop’s statement that Pope Francis has betrayed his office and is supporting the Globalist agenda. Vigano goes on to suggest that Trump is an “instrument of Divine Providence.” 
 
For his part, Watson equates globalism with the Beast. He claims that Biden’s executive orders are implementing this globalist agenda. He cites the fact that the new president has rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, instituted restrictions on the increased production of fossil fuels, stopped construction of the Keystone Pipeline and Trump’s border wall, revocation of the travel ban against Muslim countries and his commitment to rejoin the World Health Organization as evidence of Biden’s complicity. Watson then proceeds to warn us that, if the United States goes globalist, the rest of the world will follow. According to Pastor Watson, this Beast is going to persecute Christians – which he insists means that “government is the enemy of Christians.” To be fair, he does finally admit at the end of his message that Jesus Christ’s offer of eternal life in God’s Kingdom is what really matters (I’m thinking that should have been the bulk of his message). 
 
Anyway, bottom line, the folks within CGI who were hoping for a return to a more spiritual message are going to be sadly disappointed with this latest offering from Pastor Watson. Maybe it’s time that these folks start looking for a different church home? Oh, sorry, I forgot there’s no where for them to go – the other Armstrong Churches of God are just as bad or worse! If you’re not a Trump supporter (or worse – if you support Biden), it’s becoming clearer and clearer that you’re not welcome in the Church of God International. 
 
Miller Jones

"RCG is the only extension of the one Church Christ built." Best joke of the day!

 

Poor Bob Thiel, the little guy just cannot get ahead with anything in the church.  All of those claims that he is the only COG doing the work now flies out the window. 

There is not one single COG out there that is an "extension" of the "one Church Christ built. I hate to burst his bubble, but Jesus did not build a church. It was his followers that did that. If Jesus came back today he would be appalled at the Churches of God pretending to be authentic Christianity. He would be even more appalled at the state of disarray in the church. With somewhere between 400 - 700 different groups that have split off since Herbert Armstrong founded the church, the church is a moral cesspool of illegitimate leaders, corrupt ministers, and money-grubbing opportunists.

If Herbert Armstrong was alive today he would have kicked Dave's ass to the curb so fast that Dave's head would be spinning. Everything Dave preaches is against everything HWA taught, though Dave claims that God is personally delivering to him the things that He could not deliver to HWA. That's a load of bullshit. God is no more speaking to or through Dave Pack than he is through Bob Thiel, Ron Weinland, or Gerald Flurry.

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Stupid Things Stephen Flurry Says



We are heading into the most important and sacred time of the year in the Church of God as it celebrates its version of the Passover. It is a time of would searching and even fasting to makes sure one is prepared to partake of the bread and wine. It is the one night of the year when COG members feel washed free of their sins. Sadly, it is only that one night, and for some, the sin starts as soon as they get angry at someone in the parking lot who won't let them out of a parking space or cuts them not the freeway. Damn ti! Now they have to wait till next year to be cleansed of their sins.

That's the merry-go-round that COG members are condemned to by lackluster ministers who refuse to follow Christ and preach about grace, justification, and spiritual rest, but instead spend their every breathing moment finding something wrong that members are doing or wrong in society. It is the eternal condemnation that no Passover service will ever cleanse away.

From Exit and Support Network (links in the letter lead to articles on the E&S site and not the Flurry cult):

March 6, 2021 
 
[The following were notes were sent to us by a PCG source and L. S. has added comments.]
SF in a recent sermon “Focus on the Lamb of God” (which did not focus on the Lamb of God but on sin and the Law), was filled with what I call lies. He also quoted from HWA many times. 
 
SF says, “Jesus had to be crucified because God won’t compromise with his Law.” Lie. Christ willingly shed his blood on Calvary and rose again in order to pay for the sins of the entire world. He was foreordained (chosen) to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. I Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8. 
 
SF says, “The view [in the world] is that He [Jesus] did it all for us and that is a cop-out.” Lie. The truth is that He did do it all for us. Ephesians 1:7; II Corinthians 5:21, and many more Scriptures. This is the gospel of grace. 

Any Christian who understands grace understands this concept. It is finished. All of it!  

SF says, “What Christ went through is proof that God’s Law is active and valid and in force.” He added that Luke 24 says it. Lie. The Bible says no such thing. Jesus is telling His disciples in Luke 24 that Moses and all the prophets spoke of the things concerning Him—not the law. (See Luke 24:25-27) Read our articles: The Law of Moses and the Grace of God and Must We Keep the Law for Salvation? (many Q&A). 
 
SF says, “Jesus had to die because God won’t compromise with His Law.” Lie. Quoted HWA as saying it is false what “people in the world are saying that Jesus did these things for us because we can’t keep the law perfectly.” Quoted HWA as saying, “We have to keep the Law in order to be saved” and “God won’t receive you just as you are.” Lie. The Scriptures say “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) There are no works of the Law involved in salvation. It is a free gift. John 3:16. Read some of our articles in our section Law & Grace and especially many of Bob George‘s “A Closer Look” booklets. 
 
SF continually quoted words by HWA from his sermons and articles, which will always sound good and right until you exam them in the light of God’s Word. Read our article: Why Herbert Armstrong Could Not Have Been God’s True Apostle
 
SF says, “Young people have left PCG recently; they weren’t making the necessary changes they should have. In the end Satan overcame them.” Lie. Maybe these young people wanted out from under the burdens in PCG and to be able to make their own decisions. 
 
SF says, “If you don’t commit to a life of overcoming you will become calloused and drift away from God.” Lie. Victory comes by resting in Christ, not struggling. Go to our article: Must We Keep the Law for Salvation? and search for the word “overcome.” 
 
SF’s voice, the same as all top level PCG ministers I’ve heard gets very loud in the middle of this sermon. 
 
SF says,”We are living it first now and then will teach the whole world how to do it.” Lie. Members are not able to keep the Law perfectly so how can they teach the “whole world” in the future how to do it? 
 
When we focus on the Law it arouses sin, and causes sin to have more power. See Must We Keep the Law for Salvation? and click on the question “Can you explain more about the works of the Law and salvation?” 
 
This sermon will keep members in bondage to the Law not cause them to focus on “The Lamb of God” who took away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) –PCG source (additional comments by L. S.)

The law has become the god of the Church of God. The law trumps everything, even Jesus Christ. Nothing is more important or more necessary than keeping the law and following proper church government. Jesus be damned! Obey your pastor general or chief overseer, bow at the feet of Moses and keep all 613 laws, follow church government, and read Mystery of the Ages, and you too can be saved.

Oh Noes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! United Church of God Is Facing Persecution! What has this world come to?????????


 

The boys in Cincinnati are tearing a page out of professional martyr, Bwana Bob Thiel's strategy book. The big bad meanies out there are persecuting them because they dare to say stupid things at the wrong times. They believe that their incessant flapping of the arms, thrusting their big thick bibles in the air and screaming condemnation is preaching the gospel. It's not.

Here’s what we need to understand. A most disturbing trend has arisen: indiscriminate censorship of online information is underway, including censorship both by national governments and by the Internet companies themselves! 
 
While we in the Church of God fellowship still print and distribute thousands of physical Bible study guides, magazines, booklets and letters, we today conduct much of the Work in this online environment that is now being subjected to capricious censorship. 
 
One of these alarming acts of digital censorship is called “de-platforming.” U.S. and European governments have severely criticized and investigated the tech giants of the Internet, including Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook and others for both allowing false, misleading, even harmful information to spread like wildfire and to indiscriminately collect and use data. 
 
These companies responded by independently censoring online information. Major figures have since been “de-platformed,” drawing criticism from world leaders in Europe and elsewhere. All companies, to one degree or another—and including the United Church of God—conduct major parts of their work online. 
 
Further, as has been established, these companies have also unilaterally censored or removed information that does not square with their political and social thought. 
 
This censorship has spread to disabling entire websites and social media platforms like Parler and individuals and organizations on Facebook and Twitter. Now, more and more people and organizations are silenced without warning. This includes churches who openly preach what the Bible says about certain sins. 
 
We have seen other evangelical organizations recently have messages “shadow-banned,” particularly on YouTube. The URL of the message remains online, but it is delisted so it cannot be found on search engines. Both being “de-platformed” and “shadow-banned” could happen to us. There are many who would want to silence our voice of “showing my people their sins” (Isaiah 58:1). 
 
Here in America, we have been blessed with the highest degree of protection for religious freedom in history, but it appears to be eroding rapidly. When I looked up a certain biblical phrase online in preparation for this column, I was advised by my browser that this was "content not suited for everyone”! 
 
In addition to Internet censorship, we are seeing new laws being considered in the United States and abroad that could have dramatic and far-reaching negative impacts on the Church of God fellowship.

And what is Kubik all in a twist over? He believes the state is going to turn UCG kids into transexuals.

Current federal legislation called the Equality Act is anything but that. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, it could deliver a stunning blow to religious freedom. 
 
Among other things, the Equality Act offers federal protection to those who would discard the biblical standards of man and woman, male and female. Under this potential law, so-called “gender identity” would be arbitrarily determined by individuals, not by physical genetics. It could throw all current standards into calumnious disarray. For example, boys who “identify” as girls could compete in women’s sports, despite physical differences. More ominously, men who “identify” as women would be legally free to use women's restrooms and other protected areas. This has already resulted in grievous harm. 
 
Further, some legislatures in Australia, Canada and elsewhere have adopted or are considering laws that legally prohibit any attempt to “deprogram” those who have artificially identified as a member of the opposite sex. Incredibly, in some instances, that ostensibly includes even praying for those individuals to recover! 
 
When people—even major figures—object, they are instantly subjected to vile derision and ad hominem attacks, which often follow a destructive pattern of “name, shame, cancel, repeat.”
I ask for your prayers that we as a spiritual fellowship be protected from this kind of legislation and societal trend that we may continue to do the work of the living God, and especially that our children be protected. Personal from the President

Not a single Church of God out there that is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is suffering any real persecution. Those that claim they are being persecuted, like Bob Thiel, LCG, and UCG, are preaching messages of condemnation. 

Woe is me, everything is wrong in the world and we have to be just as nasty as people in the world we delight in condemning. 

Those who are followers of Christ understand his message differently and don't spend every telecast, sermon, or copious amounts of time writing articles in vitriolic fits of condemnation. But since Thiel and the others are Christ deniers and instead Moses followers, they know nothing other than condemnation and damnation.