Double Minded (Part 1)
David C. Pack keeps the brethren of The Restored Church of God on an unhealthy cycle of religious confusion so bizarre that a rational explanation as to why people stay defies logic. A reasonable answer regarding what keeps people attending evades the understanding of the discerning Bible-literate.
David C. Pack is a documented false prophet, false apostle, and blaspheming hypocritical liar. The happenings behind the security gates of the Headquarters Campus are a case study of self-delusion.
The Pastor General is self-deluded that God is using him to teach anything during “The Greatest Untold Story!” Series. The hirelings at Headquarters are self-deluded that their blind allegiance to a corrupted, broken-headed man somehow helps protect the flock. The members of The Restored Church of God are self-deluded that if they just hang on a little bit longer, David C. Pack will finally be proven correct, and the Kingdom of God will arrive just as they have been taught.
I would be self-deluded if I believed I could bring down that vile organization. God willing, when The Restored Church of God implodes, it shall be due to the efforts of David C. Pack. Not me. He is his own worst enemy. He is his own worst critic. Only a “hate website” would dare document what he said and remind everyone later when those words prove to be terribly inconvenient.
James 1:8
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
No one in the Church of God landscape is more unstable in all his ways than Pastor General David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God. Wade Cox might feel pretty good about himself reading that, but the border of Kookyville extends far beyond the bounds of Wadsworth. It reaches all the way to Australia.
Despite the constant stream of toxic malarkey spilling from the sewers of the Headquarters Campus onto the streets of Wadsworth, my brief personal hiatus from writing articles has revealed a beneficial result. Much like during the RCG Ministerial Conference, letting Dave blather uninterrupted for a few messages reveals patterns you might otherwise not see.
David C. Pack has an embarrassing habit of validating exrcg.org. Quippy observations, such as, "Dave spends half the Series revising the other half," prove an on-the-nose reality. The past few weeks solidified that.
Part 480, on November 18, “proved” that the Kingdom of God would begin on Abib 1 (April 8, 2024) and “proved” that the First Kingdom to Israel is one year long before the other three Kingdoms. The Kingdom structure returned to four instead of three.
Part 481, on November 21, “proved” Nebuchadnezzar was the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Kings of Revelation 17. An Elijahn Period was “proven” to be before the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God structure was “proven” to be 1-1-7-1000 instead of the previous 1-7-1000.
But…
Part 482, on November 30, "disproved" the First Kingdom to Israel lasts one year. The Four-Kingdom structure was “disproven” and returned to three. Even the new First One-Year Kingdom of God was “disproven” and is now less than one full year. The Elijahn Period before the Kingdom of God was “disproven.” The Kingdom of God arriving on Abib 1 was “disproven” and then “proven” to be on Tevet 10 (December 21), which happens to be the Winter Solstice.
Part 483, on December 2, "disproved" Nebuchadnezzar was the Sixth King of Revelation 17 and “assumed it had to be” Russian President Vladimir Putin. Again. Cheshvan 1 was “proven” to be a biblical mimic of Tevet 10 that God used to hide His true intent. A year was "proven" to be calculated by measuring the earth's rotation around the sun instead of the lunar cycles.
Parts 482 and 483 dismantled Parts 480 and 481. This necessary exercise must be more drills by Dave's god to ensure his gullible blind worshippers are adequately prepared for more electrifying nothing to happen on December 21, 2023. This is an upgrade from the further-out stunning nothing previously scheduled for April 8, 2024.
The Kingdom of God Arrives*
Tevet 10 – December 21, 2023
At 11:35 PM ET
*Subject to frequent change.
While examining the content for Parts 480–483, going back another week exposes more uncomfortable David C. Pack moments.
Part 479 – November 11, 2023
@ 11:21 So, it's worth considering how much restoration has occurred. Certainly, there's been no Kingdom. We know there aren't four kingdoms.
@ 11:48 We're waiting for a year. We're gonna have to look at that for a final time and see if we can eliminate all doubt. And I mean, once and for all. And I'm gonna make a prediction. I'm gonna predict if I could. There will not be a single one of you in this room today or ever after. Not one of you. Not one of you. And I mean, we will have even a half a doubt about exactly when the First Kingdom of God arrives. It will be impossible for you to doubt it. I'm gonna destroy every single point of resistance in your mind…
@ 59:45 What I could do without giving you a lot more material, I could just say, “Let’s have dinner right now.” There is no way in this life the Kingdom is gonna come before April 8th. There’s no Fourth Kingdom…we’re not waiting for the Kingdom until April 8th…But, I wanna remove all doubt.
@ 1:24:29 And, obviously, God allowed me to go down that road or we’da been looking for the wrong year or the year (we could say), the right year at the very very wrong time.
Empty Promises of Bigger, Better, and More Accurate
Part 480 – November 18, 2023
@ 02:32 I wanna take you on a journey today. I’ve mentioned to some people this might be the most interesting of the Series. I’ve said that. I don’t know if I’ve said it quite that way, but it’ll certainly be (arguably) the most important and I guess (arguably) the most interesting. We’ll see.
@ 03:53 Because those who have waited a long time and good things come to those who wait, get to hear those kinds of things…and what we're going to hear tonight. Not for me. Not I'm bringing you wonderful things. I'm a vessel. That's all. And I truly do mean that.
David C. Pack is a vessel. Just not for the spirit he assumes.
Part 481 – November 21, 2023
@ 28:56 …because the Mystery of God has been ending. And, so let’s continue to end it.
Part 482 – November 30, 2023
@ 00:03 Well, wonders never cease (in a way) in this Series. We’ve seen big things happen.
Pause.
RCG has seen nothing happen. Zero. Zilch. That is the problem. There has been unceasing talk with no actions behind it. Not a single manifested moment since 2013 suggests God is backing David C. Pack or his hireling enablers in The Restored Church of God.
Continue.
@ 00:10 And we suddenly discover in the Scriptures didn’t didn’t know them. Today will be no exception. In fact, you’ll hear a couple today.
@ 00:43 We're gonna learn much more, including more simplicity. I wanna say that word slowly. Simplicity. And simplicity came to turn on one enormous transcendent discovery that almost clears up everything in one stroke.
Sounds like the Swiss Army Knife of discoveries. It is hard to know if he meant dissolving the Four-Kingdom structure, switching from Abib 1 to Tevet 10, or the One-Year Kingdom is not a year.
@ 01:09 After eight years, there it was. The problem becomes when the final correct picture emerges. As it will largely today. There'll be some follow-up Sabbath. The whole Bible lines up around it [chuckles]. And what verses and clarifications to bring out is a real challenge because everything lines up and lined up suddenly in a way I never expected.
The words "final" and "correct" need to be permanently removed from the RCG nomenclature.
Part 483 – December 2, 2023
@ 00:39 We’re gonna essentially undo one more thing today. Or maybe that’s a wrong term. Clear up a very powerful point on everybody’s mind. I wanna show you what I discovered about the only day that the Kingdom to Israel or Kingdom of God can begin...I wanna show you there’s only one possible day this can happen. I would say I’m quite certain it will happen on this day. I believe that the Bible always said if the Goodman of the House knew what day it was, he would tell the church. I believe I now know, and I'm gonna tell you.
@ 01:32 This will be this I hope you will find this beyond riveting. The Bible is a complex book. I’ve learned that with prophecy, you almost cannot be careful enough. No matter how hard you try.
@ 02:42 So, let’s now be more careful with perhaps the most central topic on every mind in the room. Slow and easy does it.
@ 07:12 But, if God wanted us to know He would have to put it in His word and then He would have to lead me to find it. I believe I have completely broken the code to knowing when and how long is the Acceptable Year and, therefore, the length of the First Kingdom.
@ 1:03:36 If I’ve got this right, there’s not a chance in the world Christmas will ever be kept again.
Using his god’s authority and the perfection of which his uttered statements become facts of history, you can guarantee we will all experience the December 25, 2023, Christmas holiday in full, peaceful glory thanks to David C. Pack never being able to get anything right.
Happy Birfday, Dave
For a church that shuns the observance of birthdays as being non-biblical and dabbling with demons, David C. Pack seems to find a way to mention it each year.
Part 480 – November 18, 2023
@ 04:13 I should just tell you my birthday ended about 50 minutes ago. You know, you learn about Abib 1 and how God sees years, and I was born on Kislev 5. So I'm 75 today. I thought I could get all the way to December 7th before I was 75. But you know, if God were counting it, those would be my years.
It was poor timing that smiley Stepford Prime Edward L. Winkfield made a critical comment about how unstable people in the church can see the Hebrew calendar.
Understanding New Moons – November 14, 2023
@ 02:34 In many ways, before God revealed the truth of New Moons, how many of us probably approached the calendar. God’s sacred calendar. I’ve seen people personally I’ve seen people get very buggy when it comes to the calendars.
Brad might have whispered this into Dave’s ear because Dave did a complete reversal on his birthday point a few days later when he realized a year is not measured by the moon but by the sun.
Part 483 – December 2, 2023
@ 12:58 I’ll go back to my birthday for a moment. Was my birthday Kislev 5 a couple weeks ago? Or is it this Thursday on December 7th?
If brethren brought up their birthdays as much as Dave does, the local hireling would have to have a sidebar with that person and tell them RCG does not celebrate birthdays, and focusing on it too much shows signs of a wrong spiritual condition.
@ 13:07 I’m now, I mean, it’s a funny question. I’m either 75 or not as I’m sitting here. If I went by lunar years (and nobody does), I’m a 75-year-old man. But, if you go by solar years (and everybody does), I’ve got five days to go before I’m 75.
@ 13:38 So, I could not technically go out there and honestly tell people I’m 75.
David C. Pack is incapable of being honest even when he tries to. Ed, please test my theory.
James 1:8
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
The Three-Four Kingdom Shuffle
The state of RCG theology is visually displayed on the Tammuz Cooking Table.
If Dave wanted to be technically honest with the Part 482 table, “1” should not be in front of the First Kingdom glass because it is not an entire year.
This issue of whether there are three measures of the Kingdom of God or four has been a tug of war for a long time. Just to add a little more context regarding this elusive Kingdom to Israel:
Part 437 – 10 days
Part 438 – 4 months
Part 440 – You cannot know
Part 441 – 6 months
Part 442 – 10 days
Part 443 – 29 ½ days (3.5-2-14-6.5-3.5)
Part 445 – 1 month (18-2-6.5-3.5)
Part 446 – Does not exist
Part 447 – 10 days
Part 448 – 1 month (18-2-6.5-3.5)
Part 451 Part 1 – 3 months
Part 452 – Does not exist. There is a Sixth Head “breakout” period instead.
Part 463 – IS the Kingdom of God now called “the Initial Kingdom.”
Part 464 – There is an unnamed First Fourth Kingdom.
Part 465 – There is no First Fourth Kingdom.
Part 479 – There is no Fourth Kingdom.
Part 480 – The Kingdom to Israel is the First Fourth Kingdom.
Part 482 – There is no First Fourth Kingdom.
This is how David C. Pack wants everyone to believe the True Living God operates and that He is behind the babblings of “The Greatest Unending Story!”
Part 480 – November 18, 2023
@ 47:41 It’s just this no longer can be the First Kingdom. There has to be one in front of it. And you’ve seen me go for years trying to figure that out. Because the Bible is written in a curious way. It’s just in a curious way. In a book where SOME PEOPLE can think THEY see one Kingdom, my struggle was always, Are there three of four? Three or four? Three of four? Four-three-three-four and back and forth. I never could figure out where's the gold standard. I need a smoking gun, not a smoking cigarette butt. I need something that's really strong that says the Kingdom of God starts the year. Christ seemed to say it. And that’s one of the things that just would never stop haunting me.
@ 53:28 So, no. There would not be sacrifices in a Kingdom before that. And I didn’t really think that through.
The entire Series could be framed by Dave not really thinking that through.
@ 1:10:46 Maybe there'll be some still dumb enough to quit because we go back to Four Kingdoms.
It would have been dumb to leave RCG over Four Kingdoms because that only lasted twelve days. Would those people beg to return after Dave proved them right?
A few moments gave the impression that David C. Pack was capable of mild self-awareness.
Part 482 – November 30, 2023
@ 01:47 There are two mistakes I really wish I could undo. I’ll come to those. They’ll become clear. But, it will take several messages to clear everything up to this place of absolute simplicity.
The place of absolute simplicity for The Restored Church of God is that David C. Pack has no idea what he is doing and is not being led by God. He is a blaspheming liar and hypocrite teaching antichrist theology. He is a false apostle, false prophet, and false teacher. He is an angel of light so terribly bad at his fundamental purpose that his incompetence is more transparent than the glass on the table.
@ 09:27 But, let’s just at least acknowledge. So, the First Kingdom is not a year. Or they [disciples] wouldn’t have thought it wasn’t.
@ 20:53 So, we’ve destroyed two things in one. We’ve destroyed two things in one. The idea that there is a full year before another year is destroyed. They’re all here together. The second thing that’s destroyed is this [Second 1-Year Kingdom] iddn’t a year. It can’t be because we’re not allowed to know how long it is. Or at least they weren’t. Maybe we are. Maybe we aren’t. But, there’s no possible way you raise all Israel and have two kingdoms before the Day of the Lord. That’s ludicrous. Nobody could think that.
Except for David C. Pack while teaching Part 481 three days earlier. Since all the hirelings and members of The Restored Church of God walk in perfect unity, they were also dupable idiots for thinking that on November 30. Well, unless they secretly disagreed with that heresy and faked agreement with their fellow brethren, choosing to keep their mouths shut and just go along with it until Dave changed his mind again.
@ 21:49 We outta go back to the old glass because it’s not a year either. This year’s gone [First Kingdom to Israel]. And this [First Kingdom of God] year is less. And I barely nudged into the edge of the proof I’m gonna give you.
All of Dave's lists and proofs and metrics and stone-cold math amount to nothing because he proves them to all be worthless when he changes his mind. This is the pattern of “The Greatest Unending Story!” Series. Dave will spend hours and hours proving nonsense. Then, spend hours and hours disproving his own hours and hours of nonsense. This is all done with the approval of the cowards at Headquarters.
Confusion and uncertainty are the hallmarks of The Restored Church of God. David C. Pack is the chief buffoon misleading a den of willful buffoons as they roll toward the cliff of disaster. There is nothing too bizarre to teach, and no doctrine is too outlandish to adopt with feigned wide-eyed enthusiasm.
James 1:8
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
It appears that David C. Pack is in the Bible, after all.
Marc Cebrian
Just try reading the NT without HWA’s interpretation and read it for what it says. If you are honest, you’ll start to realize what cognitive dissonance is. pic.twitter.com/L8Gsif2LZ2
— Philadelphia Church of God - (parody account) (@PCGparody) November 8, 2023
Another great source holding the crooks at the Philadelphia Church of God accountable.
You can also follow Gerald Flurry's flight on his jet and his grandchildren traveling to Irish Dance competitions.
October 18, 2022
— pastorplanes (@pastorplanes) October 19, 2022
G. Eagle Mountain Intl Church (Kenneth Copeland)
H. Philadelphia Church of God pic.twitter.com/Y3XRY5QXRE
Is it any wonder why the Church of God is such a messed up pile of rotting garbage in 2023? Today's Church of God ministry is the product of this kind of thinking in the church. Since they were treated as wanton sinful "criminals" as children they lash out today as adults to demean their followers by attempting to lower them as chattel beneath them while warning members to keep their emotions stifled and thus compliant to proper church government.
For years, I have insisted HUMAN NATURE IS CRIMINAL. Sometimes, people are shocked to hear me say a baby is BORN "criminal." Sweet, precious, lovely though he may be to his parents — a tiny, struggling, helpless little life. He is nevertheless capable of huge passions — and unacceptable behavior.
Every baby must be TAUGHT self-control. He is not born with any instincts of kindness, patience, goodness, love, understanding, emotional control, honesty, integrity, faithfulness.
He is born, rather, with a pull in his nature toward SELF. His first instincts are totally SELFISH — directed inwardly.
Each individual child, black or white, must be TAUGHT everything from control of his bodily processes to control of his emotions. (quote from here)
The Great Bwana to Africa and 100 Caucasians has been tooting his little horn for years on how his dreams and the dreams of a few others PROVE that he is the chosen one to lead the chosen Church of God as the one true Philadelphian Church of God. We have watched him over the years brag about his dreams and get royally ticked off that no one in the Church of God movement gives a rat's ass about those dreams or about him. American, Canadian, and European COG members widely ridicule his nonsense. He has found some limited success in Africa with the church-hopping ministers there who lead their congregations into whichever current SDA/Church of God meets the assistance they think they will get from "rich" American religious con-artists.
Today the trumpets are blasting around the world declaring the good news from Africa about a new convert acolyte who's swallowed the Great Bwana's malarkey as supposed truth. This guy let his imagination run wild in a dream where some entity spoke to him telling him that Bob is THE man!
Check it out:
Dear the called people of God (John 6:44,65) and others
REF: CCOG IS THE CONTINUING PHILADELPHIAN CHURCH
I have come from a long journey in my spiritual journey from Sunday, SDA churches of God , the general conference church, and finally the continuing philadelphian church (CCOG).
I was confirmed by God that I am a called servant in a dream that I was shown in Micah 7:8 .Prayer has really assisted me for I have been praying for a true church .All the churches have entered have not given me peace
I have been meeting very proud and arrogant leaders. As a professional teacher the lord humbled me to the extent of being fed by God. After preaching I was used to get money being on my way then I collect and use with my family .I have come to learn that the plan of God is good ,the purpose is clean and the program is mysterious .I had become fed up with the leadership of the churches of God I had encountered ,I have been ordained two times in cogmers and the general conference but have had no peace in them .My conscience was not comfortable in this churches .i like reading the bible so much and this is what has helped me to be on the safe side in confronting heresis . I love prayers.
When I was tired in these churches ,I continued in prayer for a true church .it happened that when I was in our main town (Lodwar) I entered one of the cybers where I told the worker to google for me Church of GOD and the spirit of God led me to CCOG where I got the history and the teachings of God which made me to learn a lot including dreams.I downloaded and went home to read deeply and out of discernment I came to learn this was the true church
I communicated and I was welcomed according to the will of God our God can never forsake any prayerful person. I now call upon all my friends in the name of our lord Jesus Christ that the church of the current age is CCOG under Bob thiel.Since I entered CCOG,I have undergone dreaming of success in preaching.My younger daughter of Grade 5 dreamt of Bob thiel coming to my home,slept there and went with the daughter to see her school and she was given scholarship and she bid farewell to us.My wife when I was sitted with her in a room one of the afternoons told me that to my surprise,that CCOG is the true church and I learnt that God was confirming to me about the CCOG which was the Philadelphian church.I am comfortable to be under Bob Thiel.Bob Thiel is always ready to answer anyone despite of class.
Comparing Bob thiel and the leaders of other churches I have come across,Bob thiel is an humble servant of God .
He is paul of the current age. I hail from a minor pastoralist people from northern part of Kenya who were said to be very primitive and vulnerable but I thank God for remembering me to be under the leadership of Bob thiel. The spirit in me tells me that Bob thiel is the man to give direction at the current age.
I call upon the doubting Thomases to put their pride aside and support the servant of God.
-I pray for the ladies who participated in prayer in the birth of CCOG.
-I also pray for all the worshippers of CCOG in the world. We also in need your prayers.
-Pray for the people living in dry areas like us and God to open for the true church(CCOG) reach our neighbors and unreached
-I pray for all who support CCOG and I also pray God to call many to come and support God’s work,in Africa,Asia and other parts of the world.
-May God bring all his remnants to CCOG.
-I also welcome all the called to listen to the true word of God.
I have no doubt that this man is very sincere and wants to serve his God to the best of his ability, but doing that under the auspices of Bob Thiel is seeking damnation. Bob is no more a "Paul of this age" than Herbert Armstrong was an apostle. This letter now fellates Bob's ego even more. I doubt he ever imagined himself a "Paul" since Paul deals with New Covenant which Bob despises, but hey, any new title he can add to his already-growing list of superlatives is always most welcome.
Arianism would resurface in the West once more in Protestant America. In the fertile soil of American religious-pluralism, entirely new religions sprouted in the nineteenth century. One of them was called the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, otherwise known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This religion is closer to classical Arianism, teaching the Jesus pre-existed before his conception and birth through the Virgin Mary. The Jehovah’s Witnesses identify this pre-existing Son (Word or Logos) as the Archangel Michael. Like the Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses reject the worship of Jesus Christ, but like the ancient Arians, they regard Jesus as a demigod who is godlike in power and ability. In the twentieth century, Arianism saw another American manifestation in the churches founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, in what Protestants refer to as “Armstrongism” which is really just a modern American form of Arianism, similar to the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Arianism, in a nutshell, is the rejection of the Trinity. In Arianism, the Trinity is broken down as follows…
1. God the Father is the only God. There is no other.2. Jesus Christ is not God. He is at most a demigod, or a highly powerful angelic-like being, who pre-existed as such before he was born of the Virgin Mary, and was created as such eons ago, before the primordial universe was created. Or, he could be something lesser than that, either a normal man who became a demigod by God’s adoption, or just a highly favored prophet. It all depends on what form of Arianism we’re talking about here, but it’s all Arianism. In ancient Arianism, Jesus Christ was worshiped alongside God the Father. While in modern Arianism, Jesus Christ is respected and revered as “Lord” or “Prophet” but not worshiped in the same sense God the Father is.3. The Holy Spirit is not a Person, but rather the “force” of God, or his “power” moving in the world. Therefore, the Holy Spirit (being just the “force” of God’s power) is not worshiped either. On the Arian Heresy
As Berans Did, a Church of God related site has this:
SEMI-ARIAN
I love history, and this is my blog post, so we're starting with some history. I promise to keep it simple.
Back in the early 200s AD there started an idea that says there is only one God, while the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are just three different ways that this one God presents Himself to us; "modes" if you will. This idea is called by many names today, among which are Sabellianism, Modalism, Monarchianism, Patripassionism, and etc. One of the main teachers of this view was Sabellius. If you are new to Christianity or maybe you are really trying to get away from the Trinity doctrine, this view of God might even make logical sense to you. Good thing is most people eventually give this up. Maybe some day we will go into detail on why this view of God cannot work. If you really want something right away, read Tertullian's "Against Praxaes" and Hippolytus' "Against Noetus" (and keep clearly in mind that these were written in the early 200s). But for the purposes of this blog post, let's just say that the early church was very much opposed to this view.
In the early 300's, along comes a guy named Arius. Arius was one of many Christian leaders around the world who were passionately opposed to Sabellius and his Modalism. So Arius came up with his own view to oppose Sabellius. He went too far in the other direction. According to Arius, Jesus is a created being and is completely separate being from the Father. This view of God started to attract attention and eventually Christianity was split over the nature of God between those who agreed with Arius and those who had a more Trinitarian position. Both halves were opposed to Sabellius. It was this division that motivated Constantine to call the Council of Nicea to settle the issue and reunite Christians. Arius actually accused Niceans of Sabellianism. The decision came down against Arius.
After Nicea, Arianism changed and blended with Trinitarianism. Since all were required to abide by the decision at Nicea, people who still held to Arianism (including Arius) had to try and force their views to make peace with the decision of the Council - at least on the surface. This new view has the Father and the Son as separate beings, but they share a similar substance. The Son is like the Father. They are two separate Gods who consist of the same kind of stuff. This new view is given the name Semi-Arianism. The West held to Nicea but there were so many people in the East holding to this new Semi-Arian view in violation of Nicea that another Council was called, this time at Constantinople.
And the view was indeed new to the fourth century. It was not old or original by any means, as some COG writers might have us believe. Such a claim is simply not true.
In summary, anyone who believes that the Father and the Son are two separate God beings but consist of the same sort of stuff fall into the Semi-Arian category. This is the official view of Armstrongism. The COGs teach the Father and the Son are two completely separate beings and the same stuff that the Father and the Son consist of is called the Holy Spirit. I want to point out that there are two Holy Spirits here - the Father's and the Son's.
Armstrongism is Semi-Arian. Professing Polytheism
Another site had this:
Armstrong accepted a modified Arian view of the nature of God; this was a teaching by Arius in the late third century CE. They believed that deity consisted of a dual divinity: The Eternal (their translation of the Hebrew name of God (Yahweh) and Jesus. He taught that the Holy Spirit is a power, not a person. He promoted the concept of the "Family of God", which consisted of Jehovah, Jesus and human believers in the WCG who became Gods; in other words, a plurality of personal gods. Jude Ministries: Armstrongism
Herbert Armstrong and most Chruch of God leaders loved to mock Biblical Higher Criticism which is the foundation of the anti-intellectualism of the Church of God movement:
The Trinity Debate
The same thing happens for the Trinity debate. The Higher Critics began to publish books on Marcion, Mani, Arian, and the various Gnostics, all who had non-traditional views on what Jesus was, and how he was related to the Father and the Holy Spirit. The problem of the nature of Christ (and thus the Trinity) was obviously a hard one, because it took Christians nearly four centuries to get anything which looked like a consensus on the issue—and even then, it took a Roman Emperor (Constantine) to essentially make it all happen.
I’m not going to act like the non-trinitarian tradition didn’t exist all the way throughout Christian history. Obviously, it did. John Calvin killed Michael Servetus in the middle of the Reformation just for preaching about it. The Higher Critics just gave us a lot more information about the atmosphere and arguments of the New Testament period. And Armstrong, like always, took that history, selectively ignored everything that went against his interpretation, and proclaimed The Truth had been discovered. Was Armstrongism Just a Misreading of Higher Biblical Criticism?
More on Armstrong's interpretations and how error-filled they are:
“Chapter 1: Who and What is God?” (Referring to Mystery of the Ages)
Herbert Armstrong’s teaching
Once again, Armstrong establishes that not only the world in general, but also all professing Christians do not understand who and what God is. Only Armstrong, to whom God has given the special revelation of truth, knows the answers. The answers are in the Bible, of course, but no one knows how to put the Bible’s jigsaw puzzle pieces together except Armstrong. Consequently, whatever Armstrong says about God must be true.
In Armstrong’s view, which we have learned earlier in the book must be equated to God’s view, there are two Gods: One is God and the other is the Logos, or Word, who was is God. They are composed of spirit, and have the form and shape of a human being. The Logos, or Word, is the one through whom God created the universe and the one who became Jesus Christ, at which time the first God became the Father and the Word became the Son. God is in charge and the Word is under him in authority, but still fully God and of the “God kind.” The two of them are eternal and have co-existed together in perfect love eternally. Together they form the one God Family, and their goal is to create other Gods to join them as part of their God Family.
The Holy Spirit is not a third God, but rather the power and mind of the God Family, which emanates from them and which they project in order to create and to exercise their will over the creation.
This means that the Trinity doctrine, which limits God to only three Beings, is a satanic, false and pagan doctrine designed to deny the truth about the real God Family and the plan for humans to enter that Family as full God Beings who are children of God after the God kind. The Trinity doctrine did not come from the Bible, but from Satan, who established the Roman Catholic Church through Simon the Sorcerer. By A.D. 70, all of Christianity was corrupt and following the ways of Simon the Sorcerer. The Sabbath and Passover were exchanged for pagan Sunday and Easter, and in the early A.D. 300s, “Dr. Arius” and other bishops were having to oppose the false Trinity idea. But the pagan Emperor Constantine had the last say, and the Trinity, along with pagan Sunday and Easter Sunday worship, were forced on the church.
Through all this, the tiny true church stood for the truth, but could not prevail against the powerful false church and Roman emperor. All this was prophesied in Revelation 12 and 17.
Problems
Herbert Armstrong claims that God revealed this “truth” to him. Only on the basis of faith in that claim could anyone embrace such “truth.” The Bible supports no such thing. The Bible declares in no uncertain terms that there is one and only one God, not a “God Family” composed of two and ultimately billions of God Beings.
In his attack on the doctrine of the Trinity, Armstrong ignores its actual history, resorting instead to blustery, pseudo-authoritative language to convince readers of his conspiracy theory. The doctrine of the Trinity was developed over many decades of diligent Christian study of the Scriptures, bringing together the apparently paradoxical biblical assertions that there is one God and yet that Jesus Christ is both divine and human in one person. The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as doing those things that only God can do, attesting its divinity. The Bible also describes the Holy Spirit as speaking, sending and revealing, attesting that it is personal. The doctrine of the Trinity is a human explication of biblically revealed truth: 1) God is one and only one; 2) The Father is God; 3) The Son is God; and 4) The Holy Spirit is God. Together these plain, Bible truths mean that the one true God is one in three and three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church does not attempt to explain how this is so, but only that it is so. Armstrong’s so-called revelation denies the biblical record.
Armstrong’s assertion that Simon the Sorcerer founded the Roman Catholic Church and his interpretations of the confrontations between Polycarp, Polycrates and bishops of Rome are historically inaccurate. Overview of Doctrinal Errors in Herbert Armstrong’s Mystery of the Ages
...the “real St. Nicholas” was said to be at the Council of Nicaea, where a major theme of the debate was whether Christ was “homoousios”–meaning “one substance”–with the Father, or “homoioousios”–of similar substance with the Father. In other words, is Christ truly God, as St. Nicholas and the other orthodox bishops believed, or is He just similar to God, a very special creation, but just Man and not God, as Arius and his faction believed.
St. Nicholas was so zealous for the deity of Christ that he actually is said to have assaulted Arius. Advent, St. Nicholas, & the Deity of Christ
The ACOGs Celebrate Christ’s Second Advent and Ignore the First One!
Lonnie Hendrix
The Armstrong Churches of God teach that traditional Christianity’s celebration of Christ’s first advent (Christmas) has no basis in Scripture and is actually rooted in paganism. They point out that Christians are commanded to celebrate Christ’s death (Eucharist/Passover) and are no where commanded to celebrate his birth. They are quick to point out that we don’t even know the actual date of that event, and that only pagans and sinners are noted as celebrating birthdays in Scripture. Instead, they focus on Christ’s second advent – his return to this earth to defeat the governments of this earth and establish the Kingdom of God (which they associate with the Torah festivals of Trumpets and Tabernacles). Never mind that Christ’s second coming would NOT have been possible without his first advent! Indeed, they completely ignore the fact that Scripture has just as much to say about that first advent as it does to say about the second one.
First, the assertion that the celebration of Christ’s first advent has no basis in Scripture is a falsehood pure and simple! In the Gospel of Luke, we read: “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:8-20, ESV, here and throughout) I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like a celebration of Christ’s birth to me!
Likewise, in the Gospel of Matthew, we read: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him’…When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:1-2, 10-11) Once again, that sure sounds like a celebration to me! Sure, this celebration occurred after the event, but the context makes very plain that this was a celebration of his birth. Moreover, we all know that the passages quoted here are only a portion of the nativity narratives preserved in these two gospels! And, as we have already noted, there are a number of Old Testament prophecies specifically related to the birth of Jesus Christ (e.g., Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 11:1, Micah 5:2).
Second, it is impossible to overestimate the importance and necessity of that first advent! Remember, the angel told Joseph that Jesus would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Likewise, in the Gospel of John, we read: “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:9-14) Likewise, we cannot ignore that passage which is universally recognized among Christians as critical. I am, of course, speaking of the passage which quoted Jesus telling Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
In short, Christ’s birth was the essential precursor to everything that was to follow! We read in the epistle to the Hebrews: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:14-18) Later, in the same epistle, we read: “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28) In other words, that second coming is entirely dependent on the first one!
Finally, not only do the above referenced Scriptures underscore the lie that Scripture ignores and/or dismisses the importance of Christ’s nativity, they also disprove the Armstrongist narrative that Christ’s nativity was not celebrated by Christians for the first two or three hundred years of their history! Sure, history tells us that there wasn’t any day designated for celebration during that period, but that does NOT mean that Christians ever ignored Christ’s first advent. Indeed, in addition to the scriptures cited above, there are numerous references to Christ’s birth as an event worthy of celebration in early Christian writings. Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the saints at Ephesus about Christ’s first advent: “How, then, was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in heaven above all the other stars, the light of Which was inexpressible, while its novelty struck men with astonishment. And all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, formed a chorus to this star, and its light was exceedingly great above them all. And there was agitation felt as to whence this new spectacle came, so unlike to everything else [in the heavens]. Hence every kind of magic was destroyed, and every bond of wickedness disappeared; ignorance was removed, and the old kingdom abolished, God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life.” Likewise, Justin Martyr wrote extensively about the importance of that first advent in the Second Century.
Hence, we have demonstrated that the Armstrongist narrative about traditional Christianity’s celebration of Christ’s first advent is not consistent with Scripture, history, or logic. The TRUTH is that Christians have always celebrated Christ’s first coming to this earth. It is NOT a late development, and it is obviously NOT derived from paganism!
UCG's God is really getting angry. Forget all of today's doom and gloom climate change gurus and nincompoops and the fear they reign down. They are nothing compared to the god of UCG! He is coming back to whip all the sinners and those lazy Laodiceans and fry the earth with fire and brimstone.
UCG and other COG's eagerly look forward to this as vindication for the years they have cried wolf with their own tales of doom and gloom.
It would really frost the butts of COG false prophets if a Jonah/Ninevah scenario played out in the end times. Imagine if their angry god repents and preserves the earth. There would be great weeping and gnashing of teeth in COGland.
The Bible does say great climatic changes are coming. The reason: human beings reject God and His laws which govern life. The Earth’s inhabitants will be afraid and suffer because of forces beyond their control, and it will come not by climate change as man supposes, but from other means; and it will come because of sin. Isaiah 24:19-20 says: “The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again” (emphasis added).
Jesus Christ prophesied nearly two thousand years ago the signs of the end time: “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:24-26).
The apostle John wrote in Revelation 6:12-17:
“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'”
Man will suffer the wrath of God because of his lack of willingness to change and repent. The really big issue has been the stubbornness of people having a mindset to disobey God and reject Him altogether. Romans 1:22-23 states, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
The reality is many unknowingly worship Gaia and the Earth, and turn away from Almighty God Who created the Earth. Jesus instructed us to be aware of our spiritual condition in this evil time. He said, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36). Jim Tuck