Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
C S Lewis would be appalled to know that his book, Mere Christianity, led a person to consider the cult of Bob Thiel a legitimate Christian belief system. Mere Christianity's focus is upon Jesus, not on the mindless rants of Bob Thiel who is embarrassed by Jesus. It is shocking to see how easily this person threw any belief in Jesus out the door in order to believe the rants of Theil, the Great Savior of Africa, and now 304 Caucasians.
Thiel's attempts to claim Christian legitimacy by tossing in Lewis to bolster up his miserable belief system is pathetic.
You do not know me or my family but way back when we were called I began a search for truth.
This lead me to reading Mere Christianity then on to understanding the ten commandments and finding a “church” that still followed those commandments which led me to a cross road of Ellen White or HWA.
Before we were baptized by Mr. Way and Mr. Milliach of KC LCG in 2008 you played a pivotal role in my path to finding the Truth of Gods word and HWA.
I bought your book way back when, thought so much of your inspired works. For many of years I had not followed your work as LCG was adamantly opposed to your work to eventually me seeing for myself that I could no longer subject my family to LCG and since having left we have been without sound teachings UNTIL your sermons lately where I found you teaching relevant truths in bwhich we find ourselves today while ALL are obsessed and purposefully ignorant of many things but you have boldly proclaimed truth.
A little later he starts ragging on the Living Church of God again for refusing to join up with him. The Great Bwana still does not realize that 99% of LCG members know him to be a liar and false teacher. Given that, why would they join up with Bob?
If those once part of my prior group were aware of the truth, more would be with CCOG (note: I do not believe that the current top leader in LCG actually knows the truth about this, so it is little wonder that almost no minister, etc. with them do as well).
Also, earlier this month someone from Arizona also emailed and said he was now going to support CCOG. Furthermore, a couple in the Netherlands who expressed interest earlier, emailed and said they were now convinced to be part of CCOG and asked to be considered as part of us.
We are reaching people, and having people respond around the world.
5 new potential members and Thiel is bragging about how awesome his "work" is growing. So pathetic.
A Reflection on Communication by Analogy in Scripture
By Neo
“And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.” Exodus 3:20
I have written two short op-eds that appeared on this blog concerning whether God has a body. The titles are “A Brief Meditation on God’s Transcendence” and “The Transcendence of God and the Ontological Nose.” My position is that God in his essence does not have a body and the Old Testament language that suggests that is just a type of metaphor called anthropomorphism. But does this view excoriate God and the Bible in some way – perhaps raising the issue of misrepresentation? Some may think so and this third op-ed is a clarification of my view – a view which is really the mainstream Christian view.
My viewpoint is that the verse cited above does not mean that God has a hand as a part of his essential nature. And my viewpoint requires some qualification. There are a couple of questions that should be asked as a beginning point for this reflection. If God says he has a hand and he actually has no hand, isn’t that lying? If the Bible states that God has a hand and he really has no hand, does that not make the Bible a non-literal document?
First, if God says he has a hand and he actually has no hand, isn’t that lying? The answer is “No.” There are at least two conditions under which God may correctly use this reference to a hand. First, at the time he spoke the words in this verse, he may have been presenting himself as a theophany. A theophany is a form that God may use to appear to human eyes. In a theophany God may appear in a number of different forms including a human form, a pillar of fire, a burning bush or a whirlwind. If he were presenting himself in human form at the time he spoke these words then he could rightly be said to have a “literal” hand. But having a literal, yet theophantic hand is different from having an essential hand. (We could argue about the difference between the terms “literal” and “essential” but not now.) Second, God may have been using this reference to a hand as a metaphor. The hand is a symbol of his power and ability to act in the Cosmos. God can use metaphorical language to communicate. He used anthropomorphism regarding himself throughout the Old Testament. That is his prerogative. That is how he decided to communicate with human beings for optimal effectiveness. Metaphors create pictures in our minds that we can understand. It’s like if someone said “As soon as I heard the bell, I flew down here as fast as I could.” Everybody knows the person can’t fly but the image communicates, it depicts. In this case, the hand is not literal but literary. The communication is rhetorical but it aptly conveys truth.
Second, If the Bible states that God has a hand and he has no hand, does that not make the Bible a non-literal document? The answer is “Yes.” That should come as no surprise. The Bible is full of literary constructs. “The Lord is my shepherd” makes you into a sheep. But you are not really a sheep. That is only a metaphor. Otherwise, you might be just another hooved herd animal in God’s eyes.
And, in some cases, what was contemporary language to the ancients may now be literature to us. For instance, in the first chapters of the Book of Genesis, God does not speak of String Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Dark Matter and Black Holes. Instead we find a scenario that seems a lot like ancient Semitic cosmology. That is how God chose to communicate to ancient Semites – communication in context, communication encultured, communication humanized. The point is God can communicate to us as he wishes. Literalism implies that we have created a standard in the use of language and we are going to sit in judgment on the words of God using that humanly devised standard. Where do the proponents of literalism acquire that authority?
Herbert W. Armstrong did not recognize theophany or metaphor. He thought anthropomorphism was accurately describing the essence of God. Likely, he mistakenly thought literalism and truth were the same thing. So he converted God into an analog – an analog that was actually used only to enhance communication. HWA sought objective reality but found metaphor. (This statement may alarm some but everything we know about God we know through analogy.) And HWA’s belief that analogy is essence unintentionally demoted God to mere superhuman status. HWA’s theology did not measure up to his vision, I believe. He envisioned an awesome, great God but his theology pointed to a much smaller version of god that is both immanent and contingent. And his followers do not have a process of doctrinal review and revision so they are left to defend the indefensible.
A theophany or a metaphor does not make a statement about what God is in his essence. He is Spirit in his essence in the words of Jesus. The use of a theophany or metaphor does not make God a liar or the Bible a fraud. It rather makes the Bible communicate effectively to its human audience in a way that God chose.
One of the great hallmarks of the Christian faith is placing one's faith in Jesus Christ. When resting in that faith, trials and troubles tend to not be such a big issue that the COG claims them to constantly be. It has been ground into members' heads that God is constantly testing them to price themselves worthy to be able to squeak by into some glorious kingdom to come. Some church members love to trot out troubles and issues in life as badges of honor that they are being tested. It makes them look "strong" to other church members who need to be impressed by them.
Doug quotes this scripture but ignores the last part:
“Let no one say when he is tested (tempted), “I am tested (tempted) by God”: for God cannot be tested (tempted) by evil, nor does He Himself test (tempt) anyone” (James 1:13).
And this:
James 1:13-15 New International Version 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Doug writes:
Trials Test Our Faith: The Apostle Paul warned, “Know this, that in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1). Jesus predicted that the end of the age would be marked by increasing trials and turmoil on a global scale (Matthew 24), and He wondered aloud, “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). When the challenges of life begin to mount, we need to remember that faith is one of the fruits of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and that God gives His Spirit to those who trust Him and obey His instructions (Acts 5:32). However, we must also do our part to stir up God’s Spirit (2 Timothy 1:6–7). We need to remember that we can ask for more faith (Luke 17:5), and that faith comes from hearing (and studying) God’s word (Romans 10:17). God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9), and He is like a rock and a fortress that protects His faithful people (Psalm 31:3, 23). James wrote, “the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:3–4). Let’s remember to study the examples of faith in Hebrews 11 as we work through the trials we face in our lives.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
In Church of God speak, whenever God is testing you it is because you have sinned and need to be corrected.
I was just cleaning my desk out and found an old CD of one of Dave's sermons. I miss Dave, so I had to play it.
What did Dave have to say? He asked do you know what makes God's church different than all the other Christian churches? We obey all that God commands us to do including obeying the traditions established by the righteous servant and apostle Herbert Armstrong.
He then went on to explain that a number of ministers and members had left the church in the last two weeks. One of the ministers was found to be quite bad in his conduct but Dave and headquarters never knew.
To fix this situation from never happening again, he went on to quote Paul who told the brethren to mark them that are disorderly and sow division. This is a command the THEY have to obey he told them, even if that person is a minister.
It only takes one quick glance into the RCG to see who is perpetrating great disorder and division.
For the past 10 years the "all brethren reunited" and "greatest story never told" series has amounted to at least half of all of those sermons being either completely thrown away or completely reinterpreted. I would say that is division.
For the past 10 years Dave has defined himself as the person or role fulfillment of at least a dozen named individuals in the Bible. That means 12 people just got kicked out of the Bible to make way for Dave. I would call that division.
How many marriages, how many families and how many homes did Dave divide in half for his take of the money via "Common"? That is called division.
How many people were terminated, excommunicated and publicly humiliated for calling out his lies? That is disorder.
Who has unashamedly led his membership on a wild farcical Adventist ride that has been nothing short of shameful? That is a disorder which creates much disorder.
According to the master, prophesy is an "enigma" and an "obscure saying". So, I suppose this means that God was simply drawing our attention to these enigmas for the last six years, not actually solving them through His chosen apostle of glory. Huh, you still get disfellowshipped for respectful disagreement with his interpretations. I'm confused, is God's authority behind His word or the man He so obviously has chosen? Interesting times.
Also of note, shout it to the whole world... we are "swimming in metrics"... we are IN the season of the anti-christ. But not to worry, 100 Billion people will soon be resurrected to face the judgment of David C Pack in a 75 day window in an environment of paradise.
We are left to ponder the addition of a new glass to the table and an ominous question mark indicating its time signification.
A personal note: I know most of the people sitting in that hall, attending these insane Bible studies. They are in a hopelessly trapped position, unable to speak anything that would even remotely undermine the authority of the series while at the same time planning Church events months into the future, ie into a time which they are duty bound to believe and speak as though will be a time of prophetic fulfillment.Many of these individuals/couples/families have liquidated their assets and given the proceeds to the Church. They now live in homes owned by the Church and they derive their household income from the Church. One misstep or misspeak and they lose it all... they're out on the street with nothing. They have fallen into a trap that is very difficult to get out of. Pack has them right where he needs them, constantly lending their credibility to the derangement of the RCG with no ability to escape.
Yesterday, (November 17th), morning, before work, I attended The Willamette Riverfront Sunrise Church of God. The Homily was taken from Malachi 4:22But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.
I waited and waited wondering where the Sun was and when it would rise and then it dawned on me!
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
So beautiful! The Sun of God arrived with calming healing in its wings/rays and
Walked right across the water to the very spot on the beach I was stood to tell me He loved me!
Let’s see… the archaeology is being undertaken by Zionist extremists, the City of David Foundation and Christian Zionist students at an unaccredited college of the Church of God, under the leadership of Eilat Mazar, who holds a Bible in one hand while she digs with the other.
Is it any wonder that the excavation comes up with the oddball proclamations they do, when they involve such one-eyed zealots? Unfortunately, their utterly unfounded proclamations are then uncritically accepted by an ignorant and profit-driven mainstream media, a gullible Christian public, and an equally gullible and also nationalistic Israeli public.
Given such a widespread dissemination of misinformation, it is well worth pointing out the highly suspect groups behind the dig, the routine failure to apply accepted archaeological method, and the completely fanciful and wishful nature of their identifications of archaeological sites with biblical stories.
Why is it that Armstrongism has so many bloviating fools who think they are authorities on everything and that they need to "educate" the world? The world is too dumb to understand things and certain COG leaders feel the need to run off at the mouth about how they think things should be.
Gerald Flurry in his attempt to imitate Herbert Armstrong, searched for years to establish a connection in Israel in order for his HWA College students could participate in an archeological dig like the Ambassador College students participated in in the 1970s. He soon found that person to work with, Dr. Eilat Mazar, in various digs in Jerusalem.
There is a huge archeological park in Jerusalem called the City of David and has been the site of archeological digs since the 1800s. Flurry was anxious to get this college and church involved in the digs there:
Before she died this past May 25, we had worked for years with archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar in and around the City of David and had developed a very close relationship with her. (If you don’t have one, we would be happy to send you a free copy of our latest Watch Jerusalem magazine, which we devoted entirely to Dr. Mazar and her findings.) There are some very talented archaeologists in the world, especially in Jerusalem, but I believe Dr. Mazar will be remembered as one of the greatest archaeologists of all time.
A few years ago, we reached out to Dr. Mazar to see if she could arrange a meeting for us with David Be’eri. Mr. Be’eri established the City of David Foundation and is renovating the City of David archaeological park. His foundation also purchases properties and owns a lot of real estate in the City of David. He is quite an authority over that area, and we wanted to see if we could talk with him to understand his plans for future archaeological excavations, when those would occur and who would be involved. We have always felt that excavation of the palace of David is incomplete. We wanted to help finish it, and we wanted to see if Mr. Be’eri and others were thinking the same way.
Flurry makes it sound like the folks doing the archeological digs there were too stupid to understand what was under their feet. However, as you can see in this video they are well aware of what is there.
Flurry continues:
We really wanted Dr. Mazar’s support, but she wasn’t totally comfortable with helping us arrange a meeting and did not want to accompany us. We prayed about it and tried hard to persuade her, but she remained unmoved.
But then, in February 2019, I visited Jerusalem. We met with Dr. Mazar and talked with her for probably an hour—and we saw her totally change her mind. She was now pleased for us to meet with Mr. Be’eri and arranged the meeting for us!
We met Mr. Be’eri at his office the following day. We quickly saw that he is a mover and a shaker in Jerusalem, even more than we were expecting. He trained with the Israeli commandos in the famous 1976 raid in Entebbe, Uganda, where 100 Jewish hostages were freed. One of the other commandos, the only one who was killed, was Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother. Mr. Be’eri is still close with Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr. Be’eri has accomplished some wonderful things in the City of David archaeological park. As part of his job, he goes to wealthy people and asks them to support his work in the City of David. When they ask, What’s in it for us? he tells them, I want to give you something that will give more meaning to your life. What a beautiful and noble answer! This man sincerely seeks to bring Christians and Jews and everybody else together. He even has a working relationship with archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, who disagrees quite a bit with Dr. Mazar’s findings and has serious doubts about David and Solomon’s presence in the City of David and on the Ophel. But Mr. Be’eri is a strong man, like Zadok, who was a warrior before he became a priest. He tells it like it is, and it’s refreshing to meet somebody like that.
We showed him pictures of Herbert W. Armstrong’s involvement with Prof. Benjamin Mazar and his meetings with Israeli prime ministers and presidents. He told us he expected excavations at David’s palace to resume in two years (this was before COVID-19 brought everything to a standstill in Israel). At that time, he told us Dr. Mazar would be the one doing the digging. And since Dr. Mazar said previously that she would not dig without Herbert W. Armstrong College participation, we hoped that we would be involved in this dig at the City of David.
But things have been in a holding pattern for some time because of coronavirus lockdowns. Then when Dr. Mazar died this past spring, we wondered how that would further affect things.
On the surface having an opportunity for his college students to participate in a dig is a worthwhile project, but being that Flurry is a megalomaniac COG leader, he has a deeper motive and that is to insert his biblical interpretations into what he thinks should be said about the archeological excavations. He also sees this as a prime opportunity to gain a footing in Jerusalem so that they are center stage when the battle of Armageddon happens and the two witless witnesses (always COG members - most likely Bob Thiel and Laura Weinland) will be preaching the message of Herbert Armstrong in the streets of Jerusalem. This will be the message that Herbert supposedly restored and not too much about Christ.
Flurry sees this as his mission now to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars in tithe money into establishing his presence in Jerusalem, because once again, he deems the Israelies too stupid to understand their own archeology. They need the COG version of archeology.
Of course, we want to be involved in this next phase of ongoing excavations in the City of David and would like to get there as soon as possible! We are working even now to visit Israel so we can meet and discuss how we can assist. But when great doors like this open, there is always great opposition. I’d like to ask that you be praying and fasting about this potential opportunity.
I believe that we are going to be moving more and more into Jerusalem to get involved in a dig very soon.
Israel is experiencing a lot of bad news these days. Many Israelis are in despair about their nation’s future. But there is a message of great hope in their own archaeology— and we want to do all we can to share this great hope!
I believe we can and must use ARCHAEOLOGY as a means of reaching the cities of Judah. Because we understand and believe the Bible, we can add incredible meaning to the archaeology of Jerusalem and Israel!
Flurry claims he will not be proselytizing with any of Herbert's theology and just wants to let the stones speak for themselves. We all know that is a lot of deceptive crap. Or maybe not, considering how Herbert Armstrong himself was too embarrassed to discuss Jesus Christ and could only talk about " a strong hand from someplace". Flurry is the same way. He can talk about Irish dance, Herbert's coronation stone, British Israelism, and loads of other non-essential crap, but rarely is Jesus ever mentioned.
During our meeting, Mr. Be’eri gave us approval to give tours of Dr. Eilat Mazar’s archaeological discoveries in the City of David and on the Ophel. We explained to him that we do not intend to proselytize or preach, that we simply want to take the history as it is recorded in the Hebrew Bible and put it alongside the archaeology. To use the words of Dr. Mazar, we simply want to “let the stones speak.” He agreed, and in essence supported us taking this message of Dr. Mazar to the cities of Judah.
Never fear though, the great Savior from Oklahoma, the anointed King of the Church of God and owner of the very throne that Christ will return to, is setting up a new foundation to educate Israel on how things should be:
For many years, I have talked with our Jerusalem department about the need for a new archaeological institute in Jerusalem. Based on feedback we have received from Dr. Mazar and others in the world of biblical archaeology, this field is presently in deep trouble. Biblical archaeology as a field of study is not growing—it is rapidly shrinking. Some of the great biblical archaeologists and professors, like Eilat Mazar and Hershel Shanks, the founder of Biblical Archaeology Review, have recently died.
Worse than this, the spirit of secularism and intellectualism so prevalent in the world has crept into the field of biblical archaeology. There are still biblical archaeologists working today, and some are very good at what they do—but some simply don’t use the Bible enough. Many don’t give it enough credibility or view it as a true authority in their work. In addition, the number of young people getting into the field of biblical archaeology is diminishing. Many just don’t see a future in biblical archaeology.
I believe we need to take action to help solve this problem: There is a desperate need now for some sort of institute or organization to come on the scene and revive biblical archaeology! We need an institution that promotes the Bible as a credible and essential historical source in the practice of archaeology in Israel. More importantly, this institution needs to make biblical archaeology available to the largest audience possible—especially the people of Israel!
I am pleased to say, we are creating just such an institute!
We plan to call it the Armstrong-Mazar Institute of Biblical Archaeology. Right now, our Jerusalem team is creating the website for this new institute. As you are probably familiar with, we already operate watchJerusalem.co.il. Soon we will have two websites for Israel: one that focuses on news and prophecy, and the institute website, which will focus on archaeology.
Church of God archeology and interpretations of that history through the lens of a COG cult leader. This is a train wreck ready to happen!
Flurry is changing the name of his current Watch Jerusalem to a new name to reflect this new education program:
In addition, we are planning some major changes to our print magazine Watch Jerusalem. Starting with the January-February issue, the magazine will be renamed Let the Stones Speak. This will be the magazine of the new institute, and it will focus solely on biblical archaeology.
He then adds this blatant lie:
Let me repeat this point because it’s important: The purpose of this new institute is not to proselytize or convert. The goal is to connect archaeology and the Bible and to show people how much hope there is in archaeology!
This is nothing more than a way to promote Armstrongism, though it will be the PCG version of Armstrongism which bears little resemblance to anything Herbert said or did now that Flurry has rewritten everything.
The Church of God has sadly become a clown show with crazy leaders saying and doing crazy things. As the years go by and they get older, the craziness will intensify till they reach a snapping point and COG members will feel the brunt of that craziness.
Isaiah 40:9 says, “Get thee up into the high mountain” to proclaim this message. The City of David area is mountainous. One time we were in a vehicle trying to navigate through the cars in a parking lot. As Dr. Mazar was trying to turn, she pulled right up to a cliff where you could look down, and it was scary how far down the cliff went into the Valley of Jehoshaphat! I BELIEVE THE PLACE OF THE DIG—INCLUDING EVERYTHING HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG WAS INVOLVED IN AND EVERYTHING WE ARE DOING NOW—IS THIS “HIGH MOUNTAIN.”
Open your wallets and checkbooks, boys and girls! It's time to give Flurry some more money! New buildings need to be bought, display cases made, a room for a library needs to be built, and more.
If we are going to create an institute in Jerusalem, then we really need a building or some sort of office space. We need a space to display our exhibits and to office our staff, who will be producing the magazine and website, as well as engaging in important research. We need a space where people can come and book tours of ancient Jerusalem.
Here is another reason I believe we need some real estate in Jerusalem: This summer we purchased the combined library of Benjamin and Eilat Mazar! This is an incredible blessing for us and a huge sign from God! When a scholar dies, it’s not unusual for his or her research library to be consolidated and then sold at auction. Many institutions and wealthy collectors are prepared to pay good money to own the personal library of an esteemed scholar.
Needless to say, we were thrilled when Dr. Mazar’s family agreed to sell us her library—without it ever going to auction! When we first purchased the library, we believed we were receiving around 3,000 books. As it turns out, the number was closer to 4,000.
Like Herbert Armstrong, Bob Thiel, and Dave Pack, the need to be seen as important weighs heavily on these cult leaders.
That’s not all: In October, Mr. Nagtegaal was at the archaeology department at Hebrew University and noticed boxes upon boxes of books on archaeology and the Bible. We told him to inquire about these books and see if they were available for purchase. Hebrew University gave them all to us free! The number of books in this collection totaled around 4,000!
Last spring, our office in Jerusalem had maybe a hundred books on archaeology and the Bible. By August, that number had grown to 3,000, by September it was 4,000, and by the end of October it had grown to 8,000!
Do you think God wants us to start a biblical archaeology institute in Jerusalem? Owning the library of Prof. Benjamin Mazar and Dr. Eilat Mazar will provide a massive boost to our credibility! This library will be an important part of our institute.
As part of the purchase, there is a stipulation that the libraries must be accessible to the public. This will again necessitate a larger office presence for God’s Work in Jerusalem. God will have to show us how to do this. But it does seem He is telling us to put more emphasis on the archaeology message! Because maybe that is going to be at the heart of what we do from now on, in the most efficient way we possibly can.
Flurry goes on to say:
We have to realize, as Mr. Armstrong said: God’s Church is a miracle! The PCG is a miracle! You are a miracle! Everything this Church is doing in Edmond and around the world and in Jerusalem is a miracle of God! How else could you and I be doing what we are doing? God must really be involved in this Church!
This has to be so humiliating to Bob Thiel, shuttered away in a dingey little brick building in Central CA and relegated to the sub-continent of Africa instead of in Isreal where they heed to hear his message.
Things may not go too well with Flurry's newest escapade.
The foolishness of our current leaders in the COG is appalling.
Birth of the Sun in the current morning sky and the inspiration to the Author of Revelation of the Constellation's of Virgo, Ophiuchus, Aquila Orion and Sirius journey in the November/December sky, playing out the birth of the Sun at Christmas or the Winter Solstice.
Prior to this scene, Orion had risen with it's three belt stars "seeing his star in the East", i.e. the very bright star Sirius to their East and stayed with it as it went West. These three stars went down together with Sirius and thus were said to have lost sight of Sirius and had to inquire as to where it went?
Higher Ups Know...
The birth stories of Jesus are constructed around these phenomenon at the Winter Solstice ( Sol=sun, stice=stand still) which it appears to do the three days prior to Christmas day when it begins to move from SE to East again taking away the darkness of the world which culminates at Easter when the days and nights are equal again at the Spring Equinox. Here to Sun gets cross-ified at the intersection of the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator (Whole other story)
On to Revelation...
12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a]And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days....
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
Looking Southeast in winter, just as it rises this morning. Here one will have seen Serpens, right of Virgo the Virgin, as it rose earlier and casting down a third of the stars, with daylight. This now defined same serpent in the story then appears to the right, waiting to devour the child of the woman (the Virgin represents Judaism and not the Church. Revelation is a Jewish Christian Book.
INTERESTING NOTE: In starlore BOTH Serpens and the serpent in Ophiuchus are called "Caput and Cauda" or Head and tale and considered ONE serpent, broken in two, that together cover 1/3 of the night sky and their stars.
Below...
1. Virgo the Virgin ready to give birth to the Sun
2.The Serpent front of the woman to devour the child
3. The Sun is birthed and rises to "Heaven" or eventually Noon to become "The Most High"
4. Aquila the Eagle that takes the Woman to her place for protection from the Serpent
This path of the rising of the Sun is from lower left to upper right
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east (sunrise) arrived in Jerusalem. (at sunset) 2 Asking, "Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the East (at sunrise) and have come to worship him. , 3When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
This idea of seeing something in the East and not going East to see what it was is solved by the fact that this is a East to West sky story. Only in the movement of the Constellations from East to West would characters see something in the East and go West to find it. This only would occur with the "rise" of constellations due to the rotation of the Earth East towards the Sun and setting in the West
Here, the three stars in the belt of Orion (1)and Sirius (2) having already risen before the previous scene of the birth of Jesus, sees his star, Sirius, rising in the East and then follow it west only to lose sight of it when they all go down in the West.
Note: Forgive it seems a repeat post along the way. Starlore as the origins of our literal Biblical stories simply explain a lot of where such fantastical stories come from in reality and how the human mind works in its search for meaning and where it looks for it.
It is almost that time of year when several of the Churches of God hold their annual Christmas weekend parties filled with lectures and sports activities in resort locations surrounded by glorious Christmas decorations, beautiful Christmas carols, and Christmas foods and desserts.
The Common Faith Network and Church of God Cinincatti has released the schedule of speakers that will be featured. Bob Thiel, the world's foremost theologian will be pleased that his Spiritual Advisor Norm Edwards will be featured. Bob has to get his theology from others since he seems to be incapable of coming up with anything on his own, but that's a story for another time.
Here is the list of fun things they plan on doing:
Every year at the Winter Family Weekend we are blessed to have 20 or more informative and instructive seminars on a wide range of subjects.
Seminars are presented by gifted and engaging speakers from a variety of backgrounds.
Here's a sneak peek at a few more seminars you can choose from at this year's event.
The Churches of God have an abysmal track record of keeping members engaged, actively contributing financially and time-wise, and remaining in the church.
Now they are looking at using psychology to influence members into remaining active. Shouldn't we call this "brainwashing"? I thought psychological manipulation was already well embraced by certain church leaders. Who knew!
Daniel Kaplan
Church Services 2.0
In the modern era people are getting more and more distracted with technology and Church attendance is dropping everywhere. Is there anything we can do about this? Let's look at best practices from psychology and presentation research and see what can be done to make engaging gatherings for the current time.
Daniel Kaplan is a lifelong Christian commandment keeper who learned under his father, Dr. Mark Kaplan. Currently, he works as a multimedia specialist and creative writing instructor.
Do you easily get offended by COG leaders and inconsiderate members who have turned into Gestapo agents for certain leaders? Have your parents turned their backs on you because you are in another COG group than they are? You will be taught how to improve your responses to these offensive people.
Linda Benton
A Christian's Perspective on Offense
Are you easily offended? Are you known to cause offense? Are you estranged from someone due to offense? Let's discuss the impact of offenses on our relationships and fellowship and how to improve our responses moving forward.
Linda is a native Texan who lives and works in East Texas. She is the Managing Editor for Christian Educational Ministries (CEM) and she is primarily focused on the Born to Winnewsletter, the annual radio programming, and the Youth Educational Adventures program. Prior to her work at CEM, Linda worked as a consultant specializing in team building and training for large call centers. Her passion for aiding and supporting orphans and widows in Kenya, lead her to start a small non-profit, Their Daily Bread.
Everyone knows by now how fractured the Church of God movement is. With hundreds and hundreds of offshoots led by self-appointed spiritual bankrupt gurus, the COG is now more divided than so-called Christianity is! Never fear though, you will be taught how to heal those divisions. I truly would like to wish them success in this endeavor but as long as there are men like Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel, Ron Weinland, and other dictators ruling their churches there will be NO unity in the church whatsoever!
Church of God Network
Approaches to Community Building: Healing Our Divisions One Person at a Time
Scripture is not ambiguous about God’s desire for His people to love one another and maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. However, when we see the current divisions within the Church of God, it’s easy to get discouraged. It’s understandable to wonder how we as individuals could possibly make a positive impact on such a big problem. Join Church of God Network Board members Daniel Russo, Chantelle West, and Corbin Rose as they discuss the work of CGN and how to find creative, non-threatening, and non-competitive ways to heal our divisions one person at a time.
Then we have Norm Edwards. Norm.
Norm Edwards The Elementary Doctrine of Christ Part 1
Most Christians cannot name all six of the elementary doctrines in Hebrews 6:1-2. Many churches are missing some in their doctrinal statements. Come to learn the first five doctrines and why they are the most important: 1) repentance from dead works, 2) faith toward God, 3) the doctrine of Baptisms, 4) the laying on of hands, and 5) the resurrection of the dead. This teaching includes answers to difficult questions asked by previous audiences. Your questions will be welcomed.
The Elementary Doctrine of Christ Part 2 This will conclude the teaching, questions and answers on the resurrection of the dead and tackle the least understood doctrine of eternal judgment. Most Christians view an individual's eternal judgment as either "heaven or hell" or "1st/2nd/3rd resurrection". Yet the Bible has numerous prophecies, parables and pronouncements of diverse eternal judgments, good and bad. We will all stand before the judgment seat of God (Rom 14:10, 2Cor 5:10). What does He expect of us to do now to obtain a more favorable judgment?
Still no teaching about basic Christian principles of grace, redemption, reconciliation, justification, sanctification. But, this is a COG production, after all.
Norman Edwards, 65, has run independent non-denominational Sabbatarian ministries since 1995, from Servants’ News magazine to a Port Austin Michigan homeless ministry which provided an average of three months housing to 639 people during its eight-year operation. He continues to write and teach on a variety of biblical subjects—including “Norman Edwards Bible Teaching” videos on Youtube and Rumble. He and Marleen are now semi-retired in Nashville, near their three married sons and nine grandchildren. They attend Mercy Collective, an independent Sabbath congregation where Norman is one of the teachers.
After Norm tells you you are not going to heaven you will be instructed on how to prepare for the end times.
Tom Kerestes The End Times – Planning and Preparing for Events Prophesied to Come
End Time events prophesied in the Book of Revelation, will result in mass deaths. Does planning and preparing a defense against such events beforehand ever enter your mind? How would one survive such catastrophes? The ant prepares for the coming winter, by instinct knowing it will need food. God provides and we rely on Him; yet He expects us to do our part and not be a sluggard. Our gardens grow by the sun and rain God provides, yet we need to work by planting, weeding, harvesting and storing the produce. There are even steps one can take to survive nuclear war, despite the “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) myth!
Tom and his wife, Marlene, live in West Central Wisconsin, attending God’s Church for over 46 years. They have three children and seven grandchildren. When not attending the UCG – Eau Claire Congregation, they enjoy participating and sharing in Studies with Independent Congregations.
Since the Church of God is now a senior church with most members over 60 years of age, what is the average member to do that can benefit one's spiritual life and others?
Diane Taylor Webb Even in Old Age They Will Still Bear Fruit Psalm 92:14
A testimony of how God can use us at any age to do His work.
Diane is now 80 years old.
She will share pictures and updates of the work being done with widows and the fatherless in Kenya that God called her to do at the age of 76.
She will share her personal testimony of how God opened doors for her to be able to serve him, as a woman of age! It is her hope to inspire others to use their talents as God leads them, no matter their gender or age.
Diane is a mother of 6, grandmother to 8 and great grandmother to 3. At the age of 76 she had a strong desire to serve God in her senior years. An invitation to visit Kenya in 2018 led to her current involvement with the fatherless and widows and the founding of a 501 C3 called the Tabitha Outreach Foundation.
Last but not least, it is vitally important for COG members to know just where the location was for the crucifixion of Jesus. I doubt many people ever think about this or truly care. It has no relevance if you are following a risen Lord who is leading one's life with grace and mercy. But, this is a COG after all.
Larry Carmichael The Significance of the Crucifixion Location
We know many specifics about Jesus Christ's life. Where He was born, His lineage, His words but where did He die? Does that location have Biblical, geographical or theological importance? Yes, it does!
Larry has been in the faith since the late 1960s. He and his wife regularly visit a number of congregations. Larry lives in Kentucky on a small cattle farm.
Overall, it sounds like a butt-numbing weekend. The sports activities sound more enjoyable.
"Louis Rubin discusses some aspects of preparation including one related to Herbert W. Armstrong’s list of success. He jokingly asserts that Dr. Thiel said “shape up or ship out” and that he must read the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God” booklet to become part of CCOG. He goes into reasons about preparing for the work to “instruct many” that Daniel 11:32 points to."
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(Note: I could be mistaken but it sounds like the above confusing and poorly written description of the sermonette, is also written to clean up a few comments that Bob may not have appreciated, gave a negative impression of him and thus wanted it understood the speaker was "just joking'. The "Gospel of Bob" is going to take a very long time, going him therefore into all the world, if this is the quality of presentation and truth he settles for. )
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