Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Saturday, September 16, 2023

CGI’s Adrian Davis Is Experiencing Déjà Vu, and I Am TOO!





CGI’s Adrian Davis Is Experiencing Déjà Vu, and I Am TOO!

Lonnie Hendrix

In a message that lasted about one hour and twenty minutes, Church of God International’s Pastor Adrian Davis of the Burlington, Ontario congregation delivered yet another broadside against those nasty Globalists! Apparently, since the next election cycle is rapidly approaching, he felt that he should warn God’s people to be on their guard against the wiles of these power-hungry, malicious folks!

According to Mr. Davis, last time around, some of God’s people were duped by the wicked Globalists into following public health guidelines! The good pastor can hardly contain his disdain for those who would have the audacity to practice social distancing, wear a mask, or receive a vaccination! Surely, this time around, God’s people won’t fall for such nonsensical policies! Hopefully, they’ve learned their lesson, and this time will be different!

Indeed, to hear Pastor Davis tell it, the Globalists can’t wait to try to exert their power over all of us once again. He says that they are all motivated by a thirst for more power and love to manipulate all of us like puppets on a string. According to Pastor Davis, these folks don’t care about us, and they can’t wait to crush and control us! He went on to say that it is an ABOMINATION for any minister to persuade his flock to support the Globalist’s agenda and/or policies.

He said that God’s people must not allow themselves to be filled with anxiety over their health and absorb the fearfulness of the people around them. Moreover, Pastor Davis went on to suggest that anyone who adheres to public health measures is exhibiting an evil heart of unbelief. In other words, if we truly have confidence in the immune systems which God has given us and faith in his ability to preserve and protect us, we won’t be getting any injections or participating in any of the practices that the world employs to try to mitigate the spread of disease!

According to Adrian Davis, anyone who accedes to the demands of these Globalists has departed from the Living God! Indeed, he suggests that anyone who would embrace their measures is a “Judas” – a betrayer of the brethren! He asks: Are we going to comply? OR Are we going to exhibit a little backbone? He went on to say that we shouldn’t be censoring each other or trying to persuade anyone to get one of those nasty injections! Indeed, the good pastor suggests that anyone who did anything like that the last time around needs to repent and make sure that they don’t do it again! In other words, everyone in God’s Church needs to be on the same page with Mr. Davis!

Finally, just to be clear, Mr. Davis informed his audience that he isn’t here to make friends! He said that he was going to go right on telling the “truth,” and that he wouldn’t support the lies of those nasty Globalists – no matter the consequences (that must be why his messages appear on Rumble instead of YouTube). He went on to suggest that the science behind the Covid vaccines is sorcery, and that they are slowly killing the folks who have received them! Davis went on to say that the current administration in Washington (Biden) is destroying America, and that public health measures are a form of idolatry! Clearly, Mr. Davis believes that those pantywaists in CGI leadership and those snowflakes within the local congregations need to get with the program and stop dividing the brethren! Are you listening, Vance Stinson and Jeff Reed?

 

 

 

 

 

The Sagan Standard: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" and there ain't much.



The application of James 5:14 in the Churches of God to divine healing with or without, most without, medical interventions, was always controversial. Some, of course, will claim   Well, I..." or some family member was miraculously healed by just being anointed, as per James 5:14.  Others, such as myself, after having anointed hundreds for various maladies, most rather harmless but many lethal if not healed, did not experience seeing anyone, and I mean, anyone, dramatically and unquestionably healed by the practice of anointing with oil and the expression of simple faith that it would occur. That is my experience. Your experience may vary. 

I have watched many die in their faith refusing all medical interventions because of the clear mandate in James 5. The problem is with the scripture and the promise, not the ministry who applies it or the person who receives it.

At times, I endeavored to get the member to seek medical attention in addition to "the prayer of faith."  Some were relieved thinking, as I knew they would, they weren't "allowed" to seek medical attention and be a "good and faithful Christian". Privately they felt they needed to, but that "going along to get along" kept them from taking full charge of their health as they sought fit.   I know there were a few who wanted to turn me in for encouraging them to violate their "faith" by suggesting they consider medical attention. I never cared if they did. But it never happened to my knowledge. I did get turned in once for not wanting to attend the happy slappy million man march with Promise Keepers, but that's another tale. 

Others understood and practiced as a matter of course, both anointing for their maladies and medical attention. I and my family fell into this category. It was how I grew up and frankly never could see the topic as being either/or.  

I had a ministerial assistant once who announced to the church in one of his first sermonettes that he would either anoint them for healing or visiting them in the hospital, but not both.  I asked him to retract that the next week. I don't recall if he did or not but the congregation knew that I was not going to put up with that approach. 

It is and always will be an emotional topic in the COGs and in the lives who passed through them. Regrets abound in many lives with the unchangeable decisions and naivete of the past haunting many. There are many tragic stories in church history, and I suspect going all the way back to when James wrote his formula for divine healing with the seeming absolute, "and the sick shall be made well". It does not say, "maybe".  James was sadly mistaken in this simplistic view.  

There are a myriad of arguments on and about this topic, but how it was applied in WCG and yet in a number of WCG debris is still in the classic sense. Some have matured and I suspect as the ministry got older, "God revealed to them that it was ok to seek medical attention as well as be anointed for healing. Herbert Armstrong came to this realization for himself in his final years. 

Personally, the application of James 5:14 never was a safe or even a common sense way to address the afflictions common to man, "even" church members. It was lesson learned the hard way, but I suspect that, like the lesson in the NT that Jesus is coming soon, yet didn't and wasn't, one that hindsight would prove to be less than the only way to go when actually and seriously ill in an effort to exhibit and prove one's faith. 

Perhaps this was only James' opinion. Paul had Luke, whatever kind of physician he was. And it is obvious in NT scripture those two never saw eye to eye on much of anything. 

So if some here are still befuddled by this scripture, it's ok if you don't see eye to eye with your faith only for healing splinter. Take care of yourself and your family and always be willing to remind anyone who thinks they know how you "must be" and how you must practice your faith there are those three classic places they can stay for free.

In your own lane...

Out of our business...

and

Over there...

===============================

Cochlear Implants - 1

Faith Only - 0

I also realize that there are apologetics for James 5:14 that relate it to a spiritual weakness but that does not actually seem to be what was meant by James and physical healing was what he did have in mind. 

https://www.bibleref.com/James/5/James-5-14.html

What does James 5:14 mean?

Verse 14 and 15 have been the source of controversy among Christians. The question James is asking is how should believers respond when we are "sick," and what result should we expect when we take action. Most translations render the Greek word asthenei here as "sick," and many Bible scholars agree that James has in mind a physical illness. Some scholars, however, suggest that James is referring to a spiritual weakness or lack of faith. The Greek word is sometimes translated in that or a similar sense (e.g., Romans 5:6). The word carries mostly a sense of weakness, or being feeble.

If James has spiritual weakness in mind, his instruction is directed at someone who does not feel firm in his faith. This might be because of ongoing suffering or some other cause. Such a person should to call for the elders—the spiritual leaders—of the church to pray for him. This instruction comes with the promise that the Lord will reestablish his faith. And, that any sin responsible for his spiritual weakness will be forgiven.

The other possibility is that James simply means for someone with a physical illness to do the same, with the promise of eventual physical healing and the assurance of forgiveness of sins. Whatever the case, the elders are called to anoint this unwell person with oil in the name of the Lord.

To anoint someone with oil in the culture of the time meant to pour oil over them for one of four possible purposes. Oil was sometimes used in the ancient world as a general medicinal cure. At other times, it was used to express concern, as a physical demonstration of emotional care for a person. Or it's possible that James meant for the oil to be part of a sacrament of healing or a physical symbol that someone was being set apart for God's purposes.

Whatever the specific answers are to these questions, we can all agree on several things from this verse: First, God doesn't intend for Christians to suffer alone. Nor does He want them to pray for themselves in private without ever revealing their problems. Second, God does intend for the spiritual leaders of local churches to be ready and willing to pray together for the struggling people in their congregations.

Friday, September 15, 2023

Gerald Weston Compares Maui Fire To Lot's Wife and Sodom


 

Why is it that COG leaders have to be such total jerks? 

Their minds dwell in a constant state of death and damnation. Utter destruction is constantly present in their graceless minds. 

Just imagine you were a resident of Maui and lost family members or friends in this tragedy and then read what Weston wrote below. 

What can we expect though when Weston and his band of merrymakers look at everyone outside their little enclosed group as so-called or even pagan Christians. Because they don't follow the teaching of Herbert they are blinded sods that will suffer fiery punishment either now or in the future when the angry god of Armstrongism unleashes hell on earth while Weston and his followers picnic in Petra.

Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ, 
 
We are all saddened by the fiery devastation that hit the Hawaiian island of Maui. Thousands lost virtually every possession they once had, and the death toll continues to rise. As I write, 99 are confirmed dead, but only 25 percent of the homes and businesses have been searched, so the death toll will almost certainly rise. 
 
We can only imagine the terror of those fleeing the rapidly moving flames. One lady described telling her children to “run and don’t look back.” She then told them not to worry about her. “Just run for your lives.” I could not help but to think of Lot and his family as they were told to flee from Sodom and not to look back. 
 
Nor could I help but to think of a time in the future when the Church of God will flee from Satan’s persecution. “Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time [three-and-one-half years], from the presence of the serpent” (Revelation 12:13-14).

He then continues on with this drivel by saying that LCG members and lazy Laodiceans in other COG's will not make it to Petra where he and the truly righteous will receive their final training to be future gods.

While some will flee to a wilderness hideout, we see that other true Christians will hesitate. “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17). These are those described in chapter 3 as being neither cold nor hot. “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (Revelation 3:16-18). 
 
Sadly, many will be caught off guard and will be too spiritually blind to see the danger. As with Lot’s wife, they will look back, not wanting to leave what they have. Jesus speaks of this coming time. “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ‘In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back’” (Luke 17:28-31).

Weston then brings us back to the Maui fire and talks about Lot's wife, again:

He then gives us this warning. “Remember Lot’s wife [who turned back]. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:32-33). There will be no secret rapture at the time of Christ’s return. There is a time of fleeing—a time to “get out of town” and leave everything behind, just as the people of Lahaina had to do. We do not yet know when that time is.

What happened in Maui was not the time, prophesied in Scripture, of God’s servants fleeing from an enraged Satan, but it holds a lesson for all of us. As in so many disasters, such as 9/11, the difference between immediate action and hesitation may mean the difference between life and death. Tragically, in the case of Lahaina and elsewhere in Maui, the clear path to safety was not always obvious and many innocent lives were lost in the confusion.

Weston cautions to not believe that the Maui residents were worse sinners than the rest of humanity, though secretly LCG members are many steps above those grievous sinners. 

There is another lesson we may learn from this tragedy. We read that, “There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices” (Luke 13:1). Jesus asked this important question: “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (vv. 2-5).

Weston brings up other human tragedies. Tragedies that he and the LCG used to their own benefit as examples of God spanking the world for failing to see that the Living Church of God is the one true church with the one true doctrine that impotent god had lost for 1,900 years. 

Human tragedies occur every day, but occasionally one is so great that it captures widespread and historical attention. Such is the case of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that took an estimated 3000 lives, or the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which claimed some 300. We likely remember the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the 2011 tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant along with thousands of lives. The Maui firestorms will no doubt be etched into our memories.

Weston ends with this:

We look forward to and pray for God’s Kingdom to come. In the meantime, our hearts and prayers go out to the people traumatized by the Maui firestorms.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,

Gerald E. Weston

You can read the rest of his letter here:  August 15, 2023 Co-worker letter



Bricket Wood England Campus Farm Info Solicited



 

I received the following today soliciting information and photos from anyone who worked on the Ambassador College Farm in Bricket Wood:

Good morning to you, 
 
please forgive my unsolicited email, but I came across your website/blog that has much content relating to an area of Hertfordshire that I am researching of former farming activities from the 1950's through to the 1980's.

I fully approciate that my ask may not be considered , however I would like to ask you and your forum if there are any photos and materials relating to the farming that the college conducted during its ownership of the Bricket Wood campus.

Any and all information relating to the farming activities will be of great interest to me and I do appreciate that it may well not be of interest for you to support my request.

I am not posting his email address here due some of the crazies that may cause issues. If you have information/photos and want to converse with him, email me and I will connect the two of you.

no2hwa@yahoo.com



 

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Dave Pack: The Messenger of the Covenant Lashes Out At Gerald Flurry


The Kettle Black

 

The lunacy of David C. Pack continues to unfold. The Pastor General of The Restored Church of God realized that if he can get away with being Jesus Christ a little, he can get away with being Jesus Christ a lot.

 

Evolving beyond being the Branch and Shepherd of Israel, during “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 466),” on September 7, 2023, David C. Pack added more names under heaven by which he shall be called.

 

David C. Pack is The Messenger of the Covenant

David C. Pack is The Star Out of Jacob

 

With all the name-claiming, it is easy to forget that tomorrow, September 15, at sunset, is when the Feast of Trumpets will begin.

 

The Kingdom of God WILL NOT Arrive

Friday, September 15 at 7:36 PM ET

 

This will be another occasion when David C. Pack exposes himself as a biblical fraud and prophetic liar who has no idea what he is talking about. There is no amount of clarifying he can vomit on the brethren during Part 469 today to erase that as a fact of history.

 

 

David C. Pack reminded the audience how important he is in God’s plan for all mankind. This would ward off any doubters who might throw shade on his glory.

 

Part 466 – September 7, 2023

@ 01:14 In Zechariah 3, we finish with the subject of Joshua, who is the Branch.

 

@ 04:28 You know, the Bible says that this Fig Tree will shoot up. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the Olivet Prophecy. So, that helps you appreciate that Elijah is this Fig Tree.

 

Wow, Dave. Are you sure you want to be a Fig Tree in the New Testament?

 

Matthew 21:19

And when [Jesus] saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on you henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

 

Mark 11:20-21

And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saying unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away.

 

If David C. Pack is referenced in the Bible, it is in ways he cannot begin to fathom. He is undoubtedly a fig tree with no fruit. Might he someday regret calling himself that?

 

@ 05:26 So, that’s a powerful corroboration of what the Branch is. That it could never be Christ, the Vine. 

 

@ 07:08 Now, I want to explain a principle of what I would call "Cascade Learning." If ya learn something big, then it cascades.

 

Dave really loves his little catchy phrases. In this way, he convinces himself how “clever” he is.

 

@ 07:24 …if the Branch is not Christ in the First Year in His Kingdom and His Kingdom moves here [Second 7-Year Kingdom], there are other things that flow with that…well, there are other things that tend to line up.

 

Error begets error. Once you throw out the true Gospel, the true Jesus Christ, and the true God, then, yeah…other things tend to line up. This cascading pattern has been on a downward trajectory ever since Dave announced himself as an apostle in 2005.

 

His personal Bible studies this past month must have given him seizures of ecstasy.

 

 

@ 08:59 So, here's the related question: Who is the Messenger of the Covenant in Malachi 3:1? Who is the Messenger of the Covenant?

 

Based on his long-documented history of behavior and techniques, we already know the answer because of the question. David C. Pack is telling the Restored Church of God members that David C. Pack is the Messenger of the Covenant.

 

@ 09:13 I’ve assumed it’s one of the other names for Christ. Did he sort of was the Branch? Well, no, He’s not.

 

Nobody assumed Jesus Christ was the Messenger of the Covenant. Malachi described John the Baptist announcing the Messiah. Moses presented the Old Covenant. Jesus Christ came to present the New Covenant. These are not assumptions.

 

@ 09:30 Is that true? Can we prove who the Messenger of the Covenant is? I’ll just say this issue has given US fits. Trying to figure out when this Messenger of the Covenant appears, for instance.

 

The only person suffering fits in The Restored Church of God over this is David C. Pack. There is no “us” in there. The Messenger of the Covenant already came. He was documented in the New Testament.

 

For all his assertions that the Worldwide Church of God assumed and he assumed, Dave has the same challenge to prove he is the guy rather than Jesus Christ. The same “assumption” obstacles block his direct path to the “I AM” declaration. Yet, he suggests, hints, and implies his way through the Bible to nail down that he is the Messenger of the Covenant, not Jesus Christ.

 

@ 24:52 “And the Messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in.” We gotta talk about that.

 

@ 42:48 God’s people delight in a coming Elijah. We all talked about him. This is a man that people delight in.

 

This is a malignant narcissist’s wet dream. If you play the video in slow motion, you might find the moment Dave soiled himself with rapturous anticipation of the masses delighting in him.

 

Nobody who spends any significant time around David C. Pack delights in him. Nobody.

 

The All-Believing Zealots do not count. They only get transient moments of his fleeting attention here and there. The misguided, unhelpful brethren in the field who write those “This will get Mr. Pack’s attention” love letters to a man they never met do not count, either.

 

Those who know David C. Pack do NOT delight in David C. Pack. Ask any of his kids.

 

The folks stuck on the third floor of the Hall of Administration can testify to this. That place is never more lively and full of laughter with a casual atmosphere than when Dave is not around. When he is away on vacation, you would think everyone on that floor sipped Mai Tais instead of coffee.

 

When David C. Pack is in the office, that place is a morgue. Try calling me a liar on that one, Brad.

 

 

This strategy of spreading the wealth will appeal to the egos of some.

 

@ 27:02 Now, that’s an example of further cascading knowledge. If this is not Christ appearing because He’s revealed a year later, and it’s Elijah appearing, then you’re gonna appear with massive power, and hundreds of millions or potentially even billions under you will see you.

 

@ 27:22 You see why it’s important to see this? And this is part of why I’m so excited at the end of the Series.The Mystery is going away. It’s just getting plainer and plainer. But not just about Elijah. You’re all branches.

 

Brethren, do not accept the promised fruits of David C. Pack. He is a man who cannot deliver.

 

Matthew 21:38

But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

 

Matthew 4:8-9

Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And said unto him, All these things will I give you, if you wilt fall down and worship me.

 

Genesis 3:12

And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

 

Why does all RCG Bible study lead to revealing more and more Dave?

 

It is not like he discovered the Branch was actually Paul. Nor does he realize the Messenger of the Covenant was maybe Peter this whole time. Dave’s focus is never on some important yet unidentified biblical church figure in our future who will do all these great things the Bible foretells.

 

No. Every road sign in the Bible points in the same direction: David C. Pack. And at the same time, the signs just so happen to point away from Jesus Christ. That should deeply concern the brethren of The Restored Church of God. Do they even consider what they are actually hearing?

 

Dave is the explorer who plants his flag atop Mount Dave in the name of Dave for the Kingdom of Dave, commissioned by the Ultimate King Dave.

 

For far too long, too many people have wrongly thought about how important Jesus Christ is in the Bible. It took David C. Pack to come along and straighten all that heresy out. It also insults Christ to keep believing the old ways.

 

David C. Pack is a coward who lacks the conviction to declare what he is really saying:

 

“I must increase while Christ must decrease.”

 

@ 41:24 There’s no way the Messenger of the Covenant could be Christ.

 

Dave projects the desired result of his self-aggrandizing blasphemy onto his audience in 3…2…1…

 

@ 48:28 So, by now, I gue-there can’t be a single person in here who believes Christ is the Messenger of the Covenant.

 

Well, that’s over. No need to examine this topic again in the future.

 

Oh. The quippy "Cascade Learning" led Dave to realize he is also the Star of Jacob in Numbers 24.

 

@ 1:00:42 “…Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion” in the Last Days when the mountain of the Lord’s House is set up. That cannot be Christ. So, we cascaded from the Branch to the Messenger of the Covenant to what's a Star. We’re all of all of those things.

 

More Jesus Christ-centric title evictions are coming in the subsequent Parts. That is some Error Cascade.

 

 

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

“The expression the pot calling the kettle black is an idiomatic phrase that people sometimes use to point out hypocrisy. It means that someone is criticizing another person for a fault they have even though the criticizer is also guilty of doing the same thing.”

 

“It means a situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault which the accuser shares, and therefore is an example of psychological projection or hypocrisy. Use of the expression to discredit or deflect a claim of wrongdoing by attacking the originator of the claim for their own similar behavior (rather than acknowledging the guilt of both) is the tu quoque logical fallacy.”

 

God has a sense of humor and is a fan of irony. During Part 466, listeners were bestowed with one of the most beautiful moments of irony in the entire Series. David C. Pack reminds the audience about the shortcomings of Gerald Flurry of The Philadelphia Church of God.



Dave's distaste for Gerry was so vitriolic he had to write a book refuting him titled Is “That Prophet” Alive Today?—The Rise of False Prophets. That book is often quoted on this website and is still crucial reading material for all current members of The Restored Church of God.



After establishing Gerald Flurry as an untrustworthy source of information, Dave offers keen insight only he is qualified to levy.

 

@ 32:57 …and his whole thing was Malachi’s Message. And he believed that Malachi’s Message was a message to the ministers of The Worldwide Church of God…”

 

Said the pot to the kettle in 3…2…1…

 

@ 33:05 …which is lunatic. It’s lunatic.

 

David C. Pack is too arrogant and too utterly blind to see how Part 466 is his own personal version of Malachi’s Message. He literally reads from Malachi, teaching Malachi’s message that he, David C. Pack, is the Messenger of the Covenant…in Malachi. I can barely fathom the perfection of this.

 

Dave continued to ignore the image staring back at him in the mirror. I truly hope these words rang in the ears of the brethren of The Restored Church of God.

 

@ 33:23 And thousands followed that false prophet.

 

Dave could now only wish he had “thousands” in the plural. RCG is less than 1,500 and falling.

 

@ 33:34 Every word he uttered about it, every word, was false.

 

I wonder what standard David C. Pack employs to label Gerald Flurry a false prophet today. When he wrote the book, it was because Gerry claimed he was That Prophet. Since Dave took that away from him, what measure does he use to level that kind of judgment now?

 

David C. Pack has surely forgotten the metrics he used years ago to weigh such a matter and come to that logical conclusion. He cannot remember why he knows, only THAT he knows. To ponder the reasons at this point would be too painful and self-realizing to consider.

 

If in 2023, Gerald Flurry is still considered by David C. Pack to be a false prophet, why does RCG no longer distribute the landmark literary masterpiece, Is “That Prophet” Alive Today?—The Rise of False Prophets

 

Hey, Brad. What are the legitimate RCG standards now for discerning whether a man is a false prophet or not? If the Pastor General can set dates, change doctrines daily, and take upon himself the names of Jesus Christ, what else could he possibly do to cause concern for the enabling hirelings at Headquarters?

 

Instead of criticizing, Dave should consider Flurry a brilliant innovator. After all, he thought of taking all those names away from Christ years before Dave did. Even in this, Dave is just a less successful copycat wannabe.

 

 

For the brethren of The Restored Church of God who do not fret over words and accept the false dates as part of the prophetic-unveiling process, what are YOUR standards for discerning a false prophet? The Bible gives clear warnings and descriptions. Based on only biblical parameters, what would it take for someone to say or do to cause you to conclude that man is a false prophet?

 

How well does Pastor General David C. Pack stand up to that kind of honest scrutiny?

 

Consider your ways, brethren. Consider.

 

While preaching from the Book of Malachi, David C. Pack calls Gerald Flurry a false prophet and a lunatic. Meanwhile, David C. Pack is the false prophet and lunatic. What a gift of a moment in the Unending Series.

 

@ 40:22 This is far from one-man show, which the guy who spews out this baloney about Malachi’s Message always wants it to be.

 

One man’s malarkey is another man’s baloney, I suppose.

 

Since David C. Pack molests the Scriptures but is generous enough to offer the brethren a turn, how does that make his words any less false?

 

@ 1:38:10 He's gonna hasten His word, and it starts at Trumpets. And enjoy your life until that time.

 

Enjoy your life until…? What an odd thing to say.

 

The Feast of Trumpets will come and go this weekend. David C. Pack will still be left standing on the platform, waiting for his false christ to bring a false kingdom commissioned by a false god, and it will not come.

 

Brethren, discern the pot from the kettle. Both of them are black.


Mark Cebrian

See: The Kettle Black





Wednesday, September 13, 2023

PCG Losing Control of its Members


 


Those merchants of joylessness in the Philadelphia Church of God are throwing more obstacles up at members. Almost everything PCG members do nowadays is regulated by some idiot or closet case at the Edmond, OK compound.

Following is a little blurb from Exit and Support Network about a young woman who met a "worldly" man at a bar. Hats off to her for going to the bar in the first place, WITHOUT any minister's permission, and more kudos for finding the love of her life. 

Given how miserable so many of the marriages are in the upper echelons of the PCG, the fact that this woman is happier than they are really frosts their self-righteous butts. I hope she did what was right and left the PCG as soon as she could.



Unmarried People No Longer Permitted to Go to Bars:
September 12, 2023 
 
The PCG just announced that unmarried people are no longer permitted to go to bars. This hammer was thrown down likely in response to a young lady who recently met a “worldly” man in a bar. Losing one member is more than the organization can afford. After cracking down on social media use, smart phone ban for all children and adults, restricting the places of business that teens can work to shield them from people who may pull them out, and now restricting where people can go unwind and enjoy a drink is just the latest attempt at controlling the lives of their members. The PCG is losing control! –[name withheld]

We Need To Get Back To The Worldwide Church of God!

 


More words of wisdom from Samuel Kitchen who claims to be the TRUE Worldwide Church of God.

He starts off by criticizing ministers who split off and started new Church of God's under their own self-appointed authority.

Where did these men receive their ordination into the ministry? They received it by Herbert W Armstrong, or by ministers ordained by him. The men ordained, believed that it was TRUTH being taught by Herbert W Armstrong, and that the true Church was the Worldwide Church of God. 
 
Now if they didn't believe that, why were they there, and why would they be part of the ministry there? 
 
They made a covenant at baptism and at ordination with God and Jesus Christ, to teach to the congregations what they had received from the apostle! 
 
So they told God "I believe this is YOUR CHURCH"! 
 
Otherwise they wouldn't be a minister of that church would they! Unless they was in it for some other reason. 
 
No, they all believed it was God's true Church! 
 
Now, when it has been established where the true church is, there is no need to go and start another one. 
 
Christ already started one. He sanctioned it. 
 
Simon Magus started a second Church of God! 
 
Was that sanctioned by Christ? Just because he called it a Church of God? 
 
No. 
 
It was heresy.

Kitchen is right that these men were ordained into the Worldwide Church of God by either HWA or someone ordained vicariously through him. That ordination was only valid within the Worldwide Church of God. Once they left that organization that ordination was technically invalid, though the history of the church for decades prior to the great upheaval prove otherwise. The church used to revoke the ordinations to prevent apostate renegades from starting new churches using their ordination status. That quickly fell by the wayside in the 1970s when so many were being kicked out and were starting new groups, including Garner Ted's various groups.

We need to get back to being the Worldwide Church of God. These organizations are establishing a heresy, which is different churches apart from the apostle.

The Worldwide Church of God is orientated towards Herbert W Armstrong. If anyone tells you it's orientation is towards heresy, their witness is false. Why would they not keep the orientation towards Christ's apostle? Ask yourself that!

This is where the start of the downfall of the WCG began. The church was oriented towards HWA instead of Jesus. Any COG that focuses on HWA instead of Jesus is false, plain and simple. 

Aren't they just wanting to direct it away from Christ's apostle, and leave it there, while they go off and do something else? 

Anything a real Christian church teaches is directly ONLY at Jesus, not some leader, apostle, bishop, or bumbling chief overseer. The focus should never be on the leader's teachings, his booklets, his articles, or his video programs. Church members should be able to dump all that literature in the trash and know exactly where they stand with Jesus and never have to reach back into the putrid pit of trash to search for an answer in a booklet. The entire focus of the church should be on Christ and the New Covenant.

Wasn't it their job to orient the people towards Jesus Christ and His apostle, to finish the job given the Church?

The only job the church has been commissioned to do is to direct people toward Christ and the rest that is found in him, not towards some apostle, pastor general, or god forbid, a chief overseer sitting in California bouncing in his chair. 

Instead, they orient the Worldwide Church of God towards heresy, and use that STORY to justify why they started a new church!

Splinter group leaders have always resorted to heresy to justify their new churches. 

Isn't they just completing the work of apostates, by providing another choice? 

Heretics oppose the apostle of Christ. True ministers orient the Church towards Christ and His apostles!

The church never was oriented towards the apostles. There was nothing sacred or important about them. It was their message that the people understood to be important. They were nothing more than human vessels delivering a message.

When humans look toward an apostle or pastor general they put that person on a pedestal above Christ, the New Covenant, or anything it teaches. They end up being the all-knowing ones, which soon goes to their heads and they turn into narcissistic assholes.

So heretics started new churches or at least put out that idea and made it more convenient for others to do that very thing.

These new churches, are founded on heresy. 

Agreed! 

Those who support the apostle, have to accept the reorientation of the Church.

Those who accept Christ understand that THEY need to reorient the church towards him and not some human leader. 

They teach the congregations to orient themselves to these new churches and their leaders. Then they use the history these leaders have with WCG, and that's what keeps them in the ministry!!!! They won't be ministers if that wasn't there for them to use!!! 

So if they gotta use Mr Armstrong and the Worldwide Church of God to stay ministers, to show they are ordained ministers, then it's gotta be important.

This is the only reason any of them have for justifying their present ordination status, except for Bob Thiel who was NEVER ordained by a Church of God minister. Worldwide Church of God, Global Church of God, and Living Church of God all refused to ordain him. All three found him unfit to be a leader in the church. So,

Go back to what was taught! Reorient yourself with that! These are new churches, using association with the Worldwide Church of God and with Herbert W Armstrong. 

No, there is no new church sanctioned by Jesus Christ!!!

God says to purge ourselves from this heresy that is DIVIDING THE PEOPLE UP!

Amen to that! 

New churches is heresy! 

Now is that truth or is that a lie?

The only name the Church of God can really use today is the Old Covenant Church of God as they do not recognize the New Covenant at all. Instead, the law reigns supreme while Christ is shoved into the back room and held hostage which he is dragged out occasionally to make them sound super religious and Christ-oriented. Then back into the dark recesses he goes, so that the slobber fest over law-keeping can rear its ugly head again. 

Why YOU Should NOT Be a Member of an ACOG



Why YOU Should NOT Be a Member of an ACOG

Lonnie Hendrix

This blog is devoted to exposing everything that is wrong with the Armstrong Churches of God (United, Living, Worldwide, Restored, Philadelphia, International, Eternal, Continuing, etc.). In other words, all of the groups which emerged from the disintegration of the old Worldwide Church of God. And, although all of these groups claim to represent the “truth” promulgated by Herbert Armstrong in the Twentieth Century, they are simultaneously known for their differences on various doctrinal issues (both in content and emphasis), and their intense competition with each other for the aging and dwindling group of folks who were part of (or exposed to) the mother church.

Over the years, many of the folks who have perused our critiques of what we refer to as “Armstrongism” have asked: “Why are you obsessed with attacking our/their beliefs?” The answer, of course, is that most of the folks who have contributed to this blog are motivated by a desire to help others who have been ensnared by the same heretical beliefs which once ensnared us! In short, once upon a time, we too “drank the Kool-Aid” that Herbert Armstrong was serving.

We understand the appeal to ego/vanity and the reasoning behind the teachings. We have experienced the feeling of having special insight – of being superior to all of the “so-called” Christians of the world – of being one of the chosen and privileged few! But, more importantly, we have also experienced the abuse and cognitive dissonance inherent to this experience, and the realization that we were wrong about so many of the things which we had accepted because of our failure to fully explore the evidence available to us.

Let’s be clear, there are many sincere and good people who are (or have been) a part of Armstrongism. Indeed, more than a few of them have participated in this forum over the years! Most of the folks who are/were a part of Armstrongism are/were motivated by a desire to be within God’s will – to serve and obey him. Many of them have also exhibited the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit and have professed their faith in Jesus Christ, and what he has done for all of us. Likewise, some of them have even acknowledged that their own works will never earn them salvation or a place in God’s Kingdom.

Unfortunately, like many of the contributors to this blog, however, too many of them are afraid to reevaluate and/or abandon beliefs which they’ve “proven” to be true. They are fearful about losing the “truth,” their salvation, protection during the Great Tribulation, or their place in God’s Kingdom! As many of us here have experienced, the prospect of abandoning something to which you have devoted so much of your time, energy and affection is frightening!

Even so, we must also acknowledge that there are a great many individuals within the ACOGs who are motivated by self-interest, vanity, greed, and blind hatred. These folks seek to promote themselves, their own agenda, aggrandizement, or source of income. Indeed, many of the leaders of these various organizations use some of the same “hooks” and marketing techniques employed by the founder of the movement. Unfortunately, some of these leaders privately acknowledge that many of the beliefs which are widely accepted within their culture are wrong, but they continue to preach or tolerate them for fear of losing members and/or income! And there have always been folks who have been willing to use the threat of severing familial and friendly relationships as a cudgel to keep potentially problem members in check.

Which, incidentally, gets us to the point of this present post: Why would anyone want to be a part of something which has generated so much hurt and divisiveness? Is it really enough to acknowledge that mistakes were made in the past administration of the system? Do you really want to be a part of something which has divided families, alienated friends, and provoked vicious personal attacks on other people? Do you really want to be a part of something that controls and/or absorbs so much of your time and resources? Do you want to be a part of something that you KNOW promotes values and beliefs that are hateful and heretical? Do you really want to be a part of an organization which claims to be Christian and isn’t focused on Jesus of Nazareth and salvation through him?

Even so, some of my ACOG friends will say: “BUT we are commanded to fellowship with other believers, Lonnie!” “I am convinced that Christians should observe the Sabbath and eschew PAGAN holidays!” “I reject the Trinity and believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, water baptism, and the Christian Passover.” My suggestion: Try a Church of God Seventh Day congregation near you! (By the way, I am NOT a member of that organization – I am NOT affiliated with them in ANY way.) There are Seventh-Day Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, and a number of other Christian groups who observe the Sabbath. The bottom line: You have options! Can’t find a group who believes everything that you do? Welcome to the worldwide community of Christians! There are many Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Baptists, etc. who do NOT accept ALL of their church’s doctrines/teachings (and we’ve already established that there isn’t any uniformity of belief within the ACOGs either)!

If you are truly motivated by a desire to serve and obey God, then you will NOT settle for something which clearly does NOT represent him. God is not the author of confusion – Satan (and the people who have been deceived by him) is/are the author(s) of confusion! By any objective standard, the ACOGs are awash in confusion, division, and failure! I believe that this reality provides the most compelling reason why you should NOT be a member of an ACOG!

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

LCG: Unable to resist temptation, LCG members are unable to persevere





Another day and something else LCG members seem to be unable to do. Apparently, many are no longer willing to run race set before them. Beaten down over the decades as totally incompetent, how can we blame them. Have church members ever been able to do anything right in the leadership's eyes?
 



Importance of Perseverance: Every year prior to the Holy Days, Satan stirs up trials to discourage God’s people. However, we are admonished to endure to the end to be in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 10:2224:13). Endurance requires perseverance. When Winston Churchill urged his countrymen to never, never, never quit, he was echoing biblical advice. When Joshua took over after Moses, God said “Be strong and of good courage”: trust and obey Him and don’t be afraid—and you will succeed and prosper (Joshua 1:5–9). Paul told Christians they must gain control of every thought, resist temptation, and finish the race to win the reward in the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 9:24–272 Corinthians 10:5). The Apostle Peter advised early Christians they needed to develop courage, self-control, and perseverance to obtain the precious promises of God (2 Peter 1:4–8). John wrote that only overcomers who persist in their mission will receive a reward in the Kingdom (Revelation 3:7–13). When trials come, let’s remember this important advice to persevere in our calling so we can reign with Jesus Christ in His coming Kingdom.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail