Our favorite self-appointed illegitimate Church of God leader has been in a whirlwind of activity over the last 24 hours. From melting down over how evil New Year's is, Jesus not returning 2023/24 and worrying about the idiotic "doomsday" clock, it has been a productive weekend of writing about topics NO ONE gives a rats ass about.
First off, he has a typical Thielistic meltdown over how pagan New Year's is.
Does God begin His new year on January 1st? If not, what is the origin of January 1st and New Year’s?
Back in 46 B.C., Julius Caesar declared that January 1st would mark the beginning of the new year. January was named after Janus, the god of gates and doors in Roman mythology. People prayed to Janus when they wanted something new in their lives (such as resolutions). Janus is normally represented with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future (the two faces also signified change that Janus would supposedly bring in, see Burchett B, Janus in Roman life and cult: a study in Roman religions, p. 15). The first day of the month of January was sacred to him.
January first is Julius Caesar’s and Janus’ New year.
It did not come from the Bible.
No one cares. Saturnalia, Janus, ho-hum.
It is also appalling to the delicate self-appointed prophet that people actually have more fun-filled lives than he does. Some people eat special foods on New Year's. Oh, the humanity!!!!!!!!!
So, how is New Year’s celebrated? Well customs do vary around the world. Various cultures believe that meeting with people, eating certain foods, or consuming certain drinks will help insure good luck for the year.
Like any good Armstrongite booklet educated prophet, he writes that the real calendar begins in the spring, though since he is not talking about Easter, spring is ok in this instance. If it was Easter then spring is pagan.
January 1st is not the beginning of the year for the true God, but only of certain false gods. The last biblical new year actually began at sunset April 1, 2022 (and yes, being called an ‘April fool’ is related to those who stuck with a Spring-time beginning of the new year). In 2023, it begins at sunset on March 22.
Now perhaps it should be mentioned that other cultures also accept that the new year begins in the Spring. And while those cultures have various non-biblical practices, it is certainly possible that because God’s year begins in the Spring that perhaps anciently these people were aware of it, and retained the correct season, but not the practices.
Then, the illegitimate prophet gets his knickers in a real homeopathic twist over the possibility that Christ may return in 2023 or 2024. Of course, he is not in a twist of Dave Pack's predictions but is offended by people in the world making such claims. People that NO ONE cares about or even listens to.
Someone referring to himself as ‘Enoch the Witness’ falsely put out a video with the following title:
Jesus is coming soon, 2023 is Rapture
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/762726886871391189/ accessed 11/27/22
A place called Christian Video Magazine, put out a video with the following false title:
5 SIGNS that CHRIST WILL RETURN IN 2023 l The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz6VAu-H5eY accessed 11/27/22
No, not related to 2023 it was not. Jesus is not coming in 2023. Nor did the wrongly titled video actually state Jesus would return in 2023–thus the title and premise was wrong.
Next, he discusses the Doomsday Clock and the obsession some have over it.
Many events in the world are worrying scientists in the world–and for many of them, it is worse than it was decades ago. Of course, most scientists and leaders do not know that God has a plan. And that is s problem with the ‘Doomsday Clock’ people.
Now it should be conveyed that, to a degree, like Boris Johnson’s statement, changes to the ‘doomsday clock’ have mainly been meant to send a political message.
But are we closer to the end?
Certainly.
Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote:
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)
Everyday we are closer to the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the millennial kingdom of God, which will be preceded by a time called ‘the end.’
Are we at the end now?
Well, as Jesus stated in Matthew 24:6, “the end is not yet.”
But, since they are NOT the Bob, none of them know the correct time Jesus Christ will return. Only The Great Bwana to Africa and 150 Caucasians know that time. Even his brother Dave Pack can't figure that one out, but the Bob can.
20 comments:
Is Bob gaining weight? He looks chubbier in that photo than I remember. Is it time for a new nickname, Butterball Bob?
How fun to see "weighs in" in the title above a photo of a fat Bob.
If only tiny Tim had read the chapter before this, he would have gotten some very sound advice from a genuine Apostle, Paul. Romans 12:3 Paul writes, "I warn each of you not to think more highly of himself than he ought".
Once again, our littlest prophlet of all thinks he knows better than every other leader in cogdom, when in fact, almost without exception, every last one of them has prophesied falsely. Many, many times. HWA started a trend that these guys are all too pleased to copy.
Where is the "Thus saieth the Lord", Bob? You have NEVER ONCE uttered that phrase. Given the number of your prognostications, one would expect at least a few. Are your dreams God breathed? Are your prophecies God breathed? The genuine prophets visions were. Why do you never claim these dreams and visions of yours are accompanied with a THUS saieth the Lord, or BY God's authority, I, Bob Thiel, a prophet of God was shown x, y and z? Why not? I know the answer already. You are a deceived man who has become the deceiver and has no genuine fear of Almighty God. If you were a Christian, you would spend the rest of your life on your knees in repentance and sleep with one eye open.
I believe the Word of God. That is why I know you are a liar and not a prophet. I pity you.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of Booths were celebrated by the Canaanites long before Israel even existed. By Bob's reasoning, Christians should reject those pagan festivals. If we should simply do something because the Israelites did, we should worship the Golden Calf. But the Israelites rejected that pagan custom, and so do we. But now that we know that several Israelite holidays and customs came straight out of Canaanite paganism, aren't we duty-bound to reject them?
Armstrongism always hyped Spring as being a time of rebirth, and therefore the most logical timing point for the inception of the new year. However, the winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year, and is followed by the gradual lengthening of days, which is also totally logical as the beginning of a new cycle. And, it should be noted that both of these new beginning points are Northern hemisphere-centric. So, if any of this is truly God-ordained, did He ever plan for people to live in the Southern hemisphere? Or, are we looking back upon yet another "known world" phenomenon? If the fixing of spring as the new year is an absolute with God, shouldn't the Southern hemisphere have its own calendar, placing the holy days in phase with the proper seasons which provide the guiding agricultural metaphors?
During the time of Moses, and of Jesus, you could make the argument that if God lived amongst His people, it meant that He had bound His sense of time to their time. When the Temple was destroyed in '69 AD, and the diaspora began, this was no longer entirely possible. Many arbitrary practices came into play, such as keeping the sabbath when it gets to you, unless you happen to live in one of the polar regions in which case that becomes an impossibility. And of course the International Dateline has obfuscated matters.
There are enough questions that I believe it is not possible to speak in the absolutist terms which Bob Thiel and other Armstrongists always seem to need to use. But then again, I don't happen to believe Father God is colorblind, or fails to perceive shades of gray. Nor does He expect us to be limited in those ways.
He does love quoting Habakkuk's "Will not your creditors rise up..." line. The funny thing is that when you read the chapter, Habakkuk's oracle appears to be addressing the Neo-Babylonian Empire, not Israel!
Time flies, Bob's CCOG is 10 years old! Here's a link to his 10th anniversary sermon!
Traditionally the 10th anniversary gift is tin or aluminum. Don't you have a photo of Bob in a tinfoil hat?
Time flies, Bob's CCOG is 10 years old! Here's a link to his 10th anniversary sermon!
Traditionally the 10th anniversary gift is tin or aluminum. Don't you have a photo of Bob in a tinfoil hat?
Perhaps it is time for Banned to stop highlighting the antics of Dave Pack and gang ( PCG,LCG, crackpot prophets,etc). If all these loonies are given so much exposure in Banned, don't you think it is overkill? I am already getting fed up of all these almost daily lengthy Marc Cebrian write ups on Dave Pack/RCG. Marc has done enough of damage to Dave and if members of RCG still get hooked on him, only God can help them. Thank you, Marc. It is time to move on.
Have more of articles like 'God Is Absolute', for instance. Have debates on the Millennium. Which is the more probable or THE definite version, is it the SDA, Armstrongism or the anti Mickey Mouse Millennium version?
The above is typical COG-land harping on trivia. The "real" beginning of the new year has zero impact on peoples lives. Such church articles distract members attention from the fact that their churches are abusive cults.
7.05 pm
Your post is full of imperatives telling others what to do. I remind you that you are only the steward of your life, and your life alone. If this blog wasn't filling a need, it would not have over 10 million hits.
Btw, over the years, many topics like the millennium have beer debated to death.
(well, technically Judah not Israel, though I used "Israel" just because Bob wants to project that verse into the future to claim it'll happen to "modern Israel" (i.e. the Western nations).)
Is Bob "beefing up" to be able to join the local semipro football team??? ;-)
Is Bob "beefing up"...?
From the look on his face, I think he's shrugging, which gives that appearance. Bob was BSing up, not beefing up!
I think he's shrugging
Shrugging indicates uncertainty. Why would a prophet be uncertain?
Why would a prophet be uncertain?
Why indeed. In matters prophetic, when has Bob been certain? Tonto, for one, has frequently challenged Bob to make a specific prediction, not one couched in wiggle words.
Does anybody here know why Bob, arch-enemy of football, didn't use his Prophet hat to at least tell us in advance that the Bills-Bengals game would validate what he has been preaching? Instead of giving us a specific warning in advance, it seems he is afraid to say something yet, as he cannot prophesy whether the badly injured Hamlin will recover, or will die, or will live on as a paraplegic or a vegetable. Once again, we have a concrete example of Bob's uselessness as a Prophet. I am sure he has deceived himself into believing that Hamlin's injury vindicates the anti-football Bob as a Prophet, but sane observers can see exactly the opposite while Bob remains blind.
I'll give Dr. Thiel credit for showing a bit of respect. He's kept quiet for nearby 24 hours about what happened at the Buffalo-Cincinnati game - an incident that you'd think would be top-of-mind for him.
I'll give Dr. Thiel credit for showing a bit of respect. He's kept quiet for nearby 24 hours about what happened at the Buffalo-Cincinnati game - an incident that you'd think would be top-of-mind for him.
Shouldn't a prophet have told us about it BEFORE it happened? And now, after the tragic occurrence, Bob apparently can't even prophesy Damar Hamlin's health status and prognosis. Some prophet!
I think he said last year gold would rise (it fell) can we look up last year's list?
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