Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Saturday, August 17, 2024

David C. Pack is Elijah the Prophet...because he says so

 

Prophet David C. Pack

David C. Pack declared himself a prophet, and all members of The Restored Church of God are also prophets. During "The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 526)" on July 27, 2024, the Pastor General spent one hour circumventing clear Bible passages by inserting his own presumptuous biases by denying what they really say.

Proving he cannot rightfully divide anything, he rejected doctrines in his literature and The World to Come programs, contradicted his own words, and recreated biblical understanding into his own image.

David C. Pack is Elijah the Prophet
because he says so.

David C. Pack had declared this before and then walked it back. The Bible does not leave room for that. He said he was not Elijah while winking to those paying attention because he never stopped believing he really was.

David C. Pack’s mouth and mind do not often align. Well-documented in the public record, he exposes his obvious lies and hypocrisy that leaves his worshippers without excuse.

Accurately quoting David C. Pack is labeled as an attack by enemies. Faithful men of God have nothing to fear when others remind them of what they said. We shall all be judged for every word that comes out of our mouths. Some should fear more than others.

Flashback Part 520 – June 22, 2024
@ 1:36:50 I won’t I I I won’t claim to be a prophet. “Well, you should, Mr. Pack!” Well, maybe I should. Then, pray for me because I’m not gonna do it.

Flashback Part 512 – May 11, 2024
@ 1:14:32 I’m not prophesying now. Nobody’ll ever get me to say that.

Flashback Part 190 – June 29, 2019
@ 04:00 I’m not a prophet. If I were, I’d be a false one because I’ve prophesied the end of this Series a number of times, and they were all failed prophecies, and you'd have to stone me. But I was smart enough to come into it as an apostle and stay there. I’m not a I’m not a prophet. But I know there were false apostles, too, but I’m teaching you the truth, so I’m not a false apostle.

Flashback Part 8 – December 26, 2015
@ 32:31 “When a prophet speaks in the name the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that’s the thing which the Lord has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him.” And other places say he dies. That doesn't seem to make some people afraid. Some people still go out and prophesy. They'll say things that don't come to pass. They're false, and they get the death penalty because any true prophet knows he never speaks on his own.

 


A complete PDF transcript of Part 526 with timestamps and highlighted moments of interest is available for download HERE.

   


Part 526 – July 27, 2024
@ 44:46 The Bible the Bible has is coming clearer than it ever has before. You know, I've reached that stage in my life. I just read things for exactly what they are. I know my office and and I'm I'm authorized to teach these things.

The Greatest Untold Story! runs on the fuel of NOT reading things for exactly what they are. David C. Pack is legendary for adding to and taking away from the words in the Bible. He authorized himself and carries no divine authority.

The desperate presumptions of David C. Pack’s logic cannot endure mild scrutiny.

@ 1:03:24 “As is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” So, Paul was guided by God's spirit. There's nowhere that I see in the Scriptures. Maybe he did, but it's certainly not in the Scriptures, where it says God talked to him directly. For instance, in the same way that He did with with John the Baptist. However, He spoke to John when it said he heard an utterance, and He said, it's tie–it's go time. And and and off he went to to to to speak.

The account of Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:3-6 and while he was held inside the castle in Acts 23:11 must not count. After all, the Bible is a big book, and it is challenging to keep all the relevant verses in your head simultaneously.

For a man who claims he reads things for exactly what they are, Dave performs some pretty incredible logistical gymnastics slathered with verbal sophistry to make his points appear plausible. Reading a verse as is and accepting what the book says is out of the question.

@ 1:07:36 But so far, so far, we paved the way to understand that you can have prophets in this age. Certainly, a man can be a prophet without getting an utterance from God. I mean, in a direct way where I'm gonna I'm gonna open your mouth. Put my words in there. 

David C. Pack knows he is Elijah but will not say it plainly in 3…2…1…

@ 1:08:44 I don't think any of you believe for a minute that I'm gonna have to actually or Elijah would have to actually physically eat the book of Revelation.

 


One way to keep a dwindling membership from bailing out is to spread the wealth around.

@ 1:09:44 God cannot bring this Kingdom unless there's at least one prophet on earth. But it says prophets. So, I mean, I have no idea. If you're gonna go first, every one of you may be considered a prophet.

@ 1:10:10 What if, right now, one prophet is telling another large number of prophets? What, what if he's doing that?

@ 1:11:23 And that may may be, by the way, encouraging to the degree that if if a prophet if the one who's gonna be Elijah, gives you a final date, once he's sorted through everything, it might mean it carries a little extra weight beyond anything we ever talked about before. But not if you don't absolutely know that he's a prophet, but also maybe you are. Or prophetess.

A certified doctor with a mental health degree would be able to accurately identify the array of psychosis expressed in the Main Hall at Headquarters. Deep down, Dave must know what he is doing but cannot stop himself. His pathology leaks out in the most bizarre ways.

@ 1:18:29 Why were they [disciples] doing that? No man can know the day or the hour. Well, they didn't have the New Testament, so they tried to find it out. I hope I could be forgiven if if I am Elijah and you, if you're prophets, too, in a sense, some of you. All of you. Most of whatever it is, however God will use us in that way. You could be forgiven for wanting to know the date.

Nobody needs to “be forgiven” for wanting to know when the Kingdom of God will arrive.

@ 1:50:05 The Mystery of God should be finished as He has declared to His servants, the prophets who are alive. I'm not talking to any dead prophets. Who are the prophets that I'm talking to? But God works through one man, this messenger. And he declares to others. So when we were looking for who Elijah is, we were looking for when you would be and who else could be prophets.

@ 1:50:30 I and I thought. Apologize for that. Mr. Armstrong thought he was Elijah. Nobody thought, well, how how? What do you mean? And I thought I was in 2015. Then then, I pulled back from that. I wasn't surebecause I knew that we didn't have it wasn't a church figure in the way we thought, but it turns out he was. And we'll come in a moment to when it may have happened.

The following quote is lengthy, but this would be worthwhile for those interested in observing the decay of a man's speaking abilities. David C. Pack’s stammering is nestled between moments of clarity.

@ 1:54:03 A twig went forth. I'll send my messenger. You know, so he I've been I'm, you know, been around a few years. Zechariah 3:1. When Elijah when when when Juh–Joshua the High Priest is standing in front of Christ, how is he already Joshua the High Priest with filthy garments on? How did he get to be Joshua the High Priest, called a messenger and a prophet in Haggai? How did he get to be a a a a a a the high priest before he walked in white and got a clean martyr mire, and was handed control over the temple in the house? Is it for the same reason he was Elijah? Before he comes to that same moment? He's called a messenger in the book of Haggai. And he goes to people in big houses, which I did starting 11 years ago. And in some ways, 25-plus years ago. I've been going to them. Any I–der I learned I was Joshua 15 years ago. I started going almost 12 years ago. 11 years ago, to Laodicea and trying to apply these verses to them. Some few listened. Not many. Those that feared and obeyed God came, and the rest didn't.

There is something seriously wrong with him, and it is only getting worse.

 


The brethren of The Restored Church of God must reject their Bibles to continue attending. The hirelings at Headquarters must sear their conscience with a hot iron to continue to support that spiritually corrupt organization. Paying David C. Pack to lie to them is a betrayal of all they claim to love.

@ 2:00:59 The big reason I looked for a Third Kingdom for so long is I could not see where I had first prophesied. Now I do. So if you reject that I'm a prophet, you better look in the mirror and ask, what are you?

@ 2:01:29 So, like Elijah was over the school of the prophets, I'm doing the same. You know, one of the proofs that I'm a prophet, and I'll come to the end, and you and this this this applicable to you, too. So, get in the saddle with me, or get in your own saddle.

@ 2:01:58 A prophet is not without honor, and the word should be travel–despised. But in his own country, kin and house. I am despised in my house and my kin and my country. It's actually proof of being a prophet.

That is not a proof. It is a condition. But Dave cannot tell the difference. Proof of being a prophet is when you say something will come to pass, and it does. Being despised for being a jerk is not biblical evidence.

God backs up His prophets. God does not back up David C. Pack.

@ 2:03:09 The ancient Elijah was res–despised. He was not accepted. That's what it says. I've been despised at a level you cannot imagine. Don't try. I brought the most wonderful message one could bring, and I've been hated for it. It's almost a proof in itself.

The perceived "hate" focused on David C. Pack does not originate from him bringing "the most wonderful message." Those who despise him have a good reason: He is a false apostle, false teacher, and false prophet. He is an arrogant, narcissistic, blaspheming, hypocritical liar teaching antichrist theology, keeping his members trapped with fear.

Another aspect that does not help his likeability factor is that David C. Pack is an awful human being. The line of people who would testify to that in a court of law goes out the door and down the street. The enablers at Headquarters know that is true and cannot call Marc Cebrian a liar.

The men who have worked closely with him have their personal horror stories.

@ 2:05:31 But, I do not tout myself now any more than you should go out here and start telling people you're a prophet. It might not work. Reconsider.

Being despised for being a jerk is not biblical evidence of being a prophet, Dave.

 


The man does not hear what comes out of his mouth sometimes. God has a sense of humor and is a fan of irony in 3…2…1…

@ 1:18:58 Matter of fact, I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna show you that one of the things the false prophets will do is they say they know the Day of the Lord. I'll show you that in a minute. So I finally, finally know. But these verses also help for our purpose here per when Elijah rises because he has to have finished a Series before the first season arrives.

False prophets know when the Day of the Lord is. So does David C. Pack. Ponder that.

For those who wonder if David C. Pack is aware of what he is doing, let his own lips bear witness to what his mind knows in 3…2…1…

@ 2:06:02 It’s just, I'm gonna give this message and and the enemies will attack me. And they'll say, you know what he said? 'cause there are people listening to this, “You know what he said? He he flattered him and told them they were all prophets. What a wicked man.”

Thou hast said.


Marc Cebrian

See: Prophet David C. Pack

Friday, August 16, 2024

True History of the True Church??








True History of the True Church??


What I am about to show you are a few examples taken from my recently completed review of a booklet by Herman Hoeh titled “True History of the True Church” 1959 edition. (My deepest thanks to my friends who helped me edit this project.) Hoeh's booklet attempts to build a lineage back through time from Herbert Armstrong to the Apostles. It cites real history books and makes real falsifiable claims on history. This is not some debatable bit of doctrinal curiosity here. This is history – supposedly the “TRUE history.” We can look at this and see without a doubt if it is true or if it is not. If what Hoeh says is not true, then it cannot possible be the "true history." I think you will be shocked by what I have found.

I would like to share these few examples with you since my overall study is far too large to post here and let you see for yourself whether or not Hoeh was being truthful. These are some of the most blatant examples, but I assure you the rest was no different.

How this works is I am going to give you a "claim", which is a quote from Hoeh's book. Then we'll review the facts behind the claim. Then I'll summarize.


CLAIM:

“But how did Nimrod – ‘Peter’ – become associated with Rome? Because it was to Rome that Nimrod fled from his persecutors. The ancient name of Rome was ‘Saturnia,’ recorded by Pliny in his Natural History, bk. III.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.15

FACTS:

In The Natural History of Pliny (the Elder), Volume I – which contains Book III – starting on p. 191, Pliny begins describing the regions of Italy. He mentions various areas and cities until, on page 202, Pliny begins describing the city of Rome. On page 203, he states that within the massive walls of Rome there were 14 districts. The metropolitan area grew, however, and eventually spilled over all bounds and engulfed several surrounding towns. On page 204, Pliny mentions that within the first district, within the bounds of the then current city of Rome, there was one town engulfed which was called Saturnia. Pliny also mentions Janiculum (formerly Antipolis) which also forms part of the then current city of Rome.

The translators write in the notations on page 204, about Antipolis:

“Said to have been so called from having been ‘opposite’ to the ancient city of Saturnia. The Janiculus or Januculum was a fortress on the opposite bank of the Tiber, and a suburb of Rome, connected with it by the Sublician bridge.”

CONCLUSION:

This claim is false. Hoeh distorts what Pliny said. Rome was not formerly known as Saturnia. Rather, Rome had grown to engulf Saturnia and many other small towns.


CLAIM:

“Anacletus, an elder or bishop in the apostate church at Rome, dedicated the ancient shrine of the pagan Peter (or Nimrod) to the apostle Peter around 80 A.D., according to a record in the Liber Pontificalis (I, p. 125).”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.15

FACTS:

Anacletus, aka Cletus, lived during the time of the Apostles. Some records say Anacletus was bishop of Rome in 77-88, others say 80-92. The records just aren’t entirely reliable. There are even some records that split Anacletus into two different people (Cletus and Anacletus). But we should ask ourselves, why were these records so spotty? Simple! The persecution of Christians that began with Nero was still going strong, and it was deadly to be a Christian out in the open.

I’ve searched the Liber Pontificalis for entries about Anacletus dedicating a shrine, and I have found nothing. Nothing in volume I page 125. Nothing in the entire thing. I did, however, find reference to Anacletus building a tomb in Volume I, p. 9:

“He built and adorned the sepulchral monument to Peter, forasmuch as he had been made priest by the blessed Peter, and other places of sepulcher for the burial of bishops. There he himself was likewise buried near the body of the blessed Peter…”

Vatican hill was an ancient cemetery used by both pagans and eventually Christians. It was also used as farmland. It also housed the Circus of Nero (an arena for races and gladiator fights). Given that, it is impossible that an ancient shrine could have survived from Nimrod’s day for Anacletus to rededicate.

CONCLUSION:

This claim is false. Hoeh, I suspect willfully, misquotes the Liber Pontificalis. This tomb was built by Anacletus; he did not dedicate an ancient shrine.


CLAIM:

“Anacletus claimed to be the sole successor to Peter. He insisted that Rome should be the new headquarters of all the churches.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.15

FACTS:

History is so spotty that there are several versions of his placement in the Catholic list of Popes. Hoeh gives no source for this claim. I suspect there is no source. Hoeh only invents this claim to take down Anacletus, and that solely because of his involvement with Peter’s tomb.

CONCLUSION:

This claim is manufactured. There is absolutely no record of Anacletus making this claim. Later Popes (much later) made this claim, but that is no proof at all in regards to whether or not Anacletus made this claim. The notion that the Bishop of Rome would have made a claim like that in those days is laughable and betrays a complete lack of understanding of the order of things in the early church. In fact, at that time, it was the Greek east that was dominant – not the Latin west. And all Bishops were considered of equal rank.

I would remind you that the list of Popes is an attempt to link the Catholic Pontiff to the Apostles - and that is precisely what Hoeh is doing in this booklet. This claim is meant to discredit his competition.


CLAIM:

“This church [Smyrna] claims they are spiritually Jews.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.17

FACTS:

Here is God’s word:

(REV. 2: 9) …I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

They do not at all claim to be “spiritually Jews.” The Bible neither says that, nor does it intend that as its meaning. None of the most respected Bible commentaries support Hoeh. This is a blatant rewriting of the Bible. Hoeh inserts the word “spiritual” so that in your mind you will equate this to the phrase “Spiritual Israel.”

CONCLUSION:

This claim is false. Hoeh has added to the words of the Bible in order to change “Jew” into “Gentile Christian.”


CLAIM:

[Hoeh quotes Eusebius:]

“But before this time another most virulent disorder had existed, and long afflicted the Church; I mean the difference respecting… Easter. For while one party asserted that the Jewish custom (as to time) should be adhered to, the other (did not).

Accordingly, the people being thus in every place divided in this respect… no one appeared who was capable of devising a remedy… BECAUSE THE CONTROVERSY CONTINUED EQUALLY DIVIDED BETWEEN BOTH PARTIES… Constantine appeared to be the only one on earth capable… He convoked a general council…”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.18

FACTS:

When I read this, I get the sense that Eusebius is an indifferent reporter of benign fact. I showed this quote to a neutral third party, without any commentary from me, and their conclusion was the same as mine.

Here are the actual words of Eusebius’ Life of Constantine, book III, Chapter V, in section “Of the Disagreement Respecting the Celebration of Easter”. I will underline the areas that Hoeh left out.

“But before this time another most virulent disorder had existed, and long afflicted the Church; I mean the difference respecting the salutary feast of Easter. For while one party asserted that the Jewish custom should be adhered to, the other affirmed that the exact recurrence of the period should be observed, without following the authority of those who were in error, and strangers to gospel grace [Jews].

Accordingly, the people being thus in every place divided in respect of this, and the sacred observances of religion confounded for a long period (insomuch that the diversity of judgment in regard to the time for celebrating one and the same feast caused the greatest disagreement between those who kept it, some afflicting themselves with fastings and austerities, while others devoted their time to festive relaxation), no one appeared who was capable of devising a remedy for the evil, because the controversy continued equally balanced between both parties. To God alone, the Almighty, was the healing of these differences an easy task; and Constantine appeared to be the only one on earth capable of being his minister for this good end. For as soon as he was made acquainted with the facts which I have described, and perceived that his letter to the Alexandrian Christians had failed to produce its due effect, he at once aroused the energies of his mind, and declared that he must prosecute to the utmost this war also against the secret adversary who was disturbing the peace of the Church.”

Not only did Hoeh leave out all that I have here underlined, he added two sections in parentheses, and a third section at the end.

CONCLUSION:

What Hoeh does here is strategically rewrite Eusebius in order to cause it to say precisely the opposite of what it does say. Hoeh would leave us to understand that the static dating of Easter was disturbing the church. Hoeh removed or rewrote all of the references to how his own position is considered to be “evil” and “disturbing” in Eusebius’ sight.


CLAIM:

“Not even the persecutions of pagan Rome matched the terrible slaughter of Constantine’s ‘Christian’ Rome. From the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) to about the death of Constantine, the persecution raged for 10 long years as prophesied (see Rev. 2: 10, where a prophetic ‘day’ represents a ‘year’ in fulfillment – Numbers 14: 34).”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.18

FACTS:

Once again we see Hoeh’s claims are factually erroneous. The Great Persecution under Diocletian was the worst Roman persecution by far – even worse than that of Nero. Galarius and Constantine ended that.

In 311 AD, Galerius issued an Edict of Toleration, ending the persecution of Christians. Constantine restored confiscated property to Christians in the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. There was now religious freedom in Rome. He outlawed crucifixion in favor of hanging, he restored property to Christians, he freed Christian slaves, he allowed the Christian bishops to decide their own policy (he then enforced their policy in an effort to maintain peace and unity), and many other such benevolent things.

CONCLUSION:

This claim is shockingly false. Hoeh would paint Constantine as a horrible butcher. And why? He does this for no other reason than to invent a history favorable to his flawed presuppositions.


CLAIM:

“The names given to these people of God by their enemies were ‘Athyngani’ – meaning ‘those who understood prophecy’ – and ‘Paulicians’ – the followers of the apostle Paul.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p.20

FACTS:


"Athyngani" means “untouchable.” Sándor Avraham, in his online study titled Myths, Hypotheses and Facts Concerning the Origins of Peoples, under section heading The True Origin of Roma and Sinti, says this:

“The Athinganoi were given such name in connection with their ritual purity laws, that regarded impure any contact with other people...”

Vasile Burtea's "The Roma in the Synchrony and the Diachrony of the Contact Population" [say that 5 times fast], under section 1.2 "The Motives and Passages of Migration" claims the phrase "Athinganoi" comes from the Greek and means, roughly, "untouchable."

Johann Lorenz Mosheim agrees, in his book "Institutes of Ecclesiastical History, Volume II" chapter V. This author and book are quoted by Hoeh in his booklet.

As for the Paulicians, they got their name from Paul of Samasota, Bishop of Smyrna (200-275 AD). Not the Apostle Paul.

CONCLUSION:


This claim is demonstrably false. After all of the reading Hoeh did - especially reading Mosheim - I find it impossible to believe that he didn't full well know this.


CLAIM:

“They [the Henricians] were charged by the Catholic Church with remaining faithful to the whole law of God and of observing the Sabbath (Ecclesiastical History, by Peter Allix, pp. 168-169).

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p. 22

FACTS:

Hoeh quotes the book “Ecclesiastical History” by Peter Allix. This turns out to be “Remarks Upon the Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of the Albigenses”.

That’s Albigenses - not the Petrobrussians, Henricians, or Arnoldists.

The omission of the full title of this work seems utterly deceptive to me since Hoeh uses this quote in direct reference to Henry of Lausanne (founder of the Henricians) and Arnold of Brescia (founder of the Arnoldists) .. but the book is about the Albigenses. Peter de Bruys (founder of the Petrobrussians) and Henry of Lausanne (Henricians) are only mentioned in the book in regards to proving the Albigenses predated them.

To put it plainly, he is citing a book about one group and trying to apply it to other groups.

Hoeh only paraphrases, so there is no specific quote to confirm or deny. What I can do, however, is tell you that the word “sabbath” never appears in the work, and the “law of God” certainly does not refer to the laws of the Old Covenant (which is precisely what Hoeh understands this phrase to mean).

CONCLUSION:

I have found nothing in this book at all, or any other besides, to justify Hoeh’s paraphrase. All of these men were Catholic reformers, outraged by the excesses of the clergy. Peter de Bruys even sought the Pope's permission to preach.


CLAIM:

“Their [the Waldenses] enemies admitted that these people proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom of God, that they baptized repentant believers and obeyed the whole law of God.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p. 23

FACTS:

William Jones, in his book "History of the Christian Church", specifically says, on p. 80 of his book, that they did not tithe. In fact, Jones relates this to us on p. 82:

“An impartial review of the doctrinal sentiments maintained by the Waldenses; the discipline, order, and worship of their churches, as well as their general deportment and manner of life, not to mention their determined and uniform opposition to the church of Rome, affords abundant evidence of the similarity of their views and practices to those held by Luther, Calvin, and the other illustrious characters, whose labours, in the sixteenth century, contributed so eminently to effect the glorious Reformation.” [emphasis mine]

Note: This is a book Hoeh quotes often. Andrew Dugger and C. O. Dodd in their earlier work "A History of the True Religion Traced from 33 AD to Date" quote from it 33 times. They all refer to it as "Jones' Church History."

CONCLUSION:

Hoeh is obviously not impartial. His claims are false.

The Waldensian church still exists today. They are part of the Presbyterian church. Ask them what their history is.


CLAIM:

“Through the preaching of Lollard and other helpers, hundreds were repenting. Thousands were learning for the first time that baptism means immersion – that the world’s religious holidays came from paganism and that Sunday was not the Sabbath.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, P. 23

FACTS:

Hoeh goes into some specific claims, but backs them up with nothing.

He mentions the Lollards. What do we know about them?

The Lollards were followers of John Wycliffe, another early Protestant. They rejected the excesses of the clergy. Once again we have a group who opposed tithing – they wanted the clergy to live off their own labor. Wycliffe only wanted to reform the Catholic Church.

CONCLUSION:

This claim is false. John Wycliffe was a Catholic reformer; certainly not an Armstrongist.


CLAIM:

“Several faithful congregations did not become members of the [Seventh-day Baptist] Conference because they would not submit to the new Protestant doctrines being introduced (see p. 246 of Belcher’s Religious Denominations).”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, pp. 23-24

FACTS:

The book Hoeh references is The Religious Denominations in the United States: Their History, Doctrine, Government and Statistics with a Preliminary Sketch of Judaism, Paganism, and Mohammedanism by Joseph Belcher. Upon turning to page 246, as referenced, I found that Mr. Belcher was not at all speaking of the Seventh Day Baptists. He was speaking about a subsection of Baptists that he calls “Six Principle Baptists.” Mr. Belcher even lists these 6 principles, and contrasts them with the Associated Baptists and the Freewill Baptists, so it is obvious that he is not speaking of the Seventh-day Baptist church.

CONCLUSION:

Hoeh infers Belcher was speaking about the Seventh-day Baptists; he was not saying that at all. Hoeh infers that Belcher was saying certain independent seventh day Sabbath observing groups were refusing to join the Seventh-day Baptist General Conference; he was not saying that at all. Hoeh infers that Belcher was saying the issue was over the introduction of pagan heresies (ie. Protestant doctrines); he was not saying that at all. Hoeh infers the refusal was more specifically over the Sabbath, or naming, or some such issue; it was not. Hoeh didn’t get a single detail correct except that there was one group who refused to join another.

I can see no possible way that this was done without complete foreknowledge and willful intent. For it to be anything besides would mean Herman Hoeh is either not the author, or he was suffering from some form of dementia.


CLAIM:

“The original Church of God brethren generally did not go along with the ‘inspired restimony’ of Ellen G. White. Finally, a meeting was held by some of the members in Battle Creek, Michigan, September 28 through October 1, 1860.”

-Herman Hoeh “True History of the True Church.” 1959, p. 24

FACTS:

Hoeh is referring to Gilbert Cranmer and his rejection of Ellen G. White. Hoeh is attempting to sever all ties with William Miller and the Seventh Day Adventists.

According to the Ellen G. White official estate website, in an article titled “Ellen G. White: A Brief Biography”, under section “Marriage of James White and Ellen Harmon”, John and Ellen White accepted the Saturday Sabbath in the latter half of 1846. According to the Seventh Day Adventist website, in an article on the history of the church, it states the name “Seventh-day Adventist” was chosen in 1860.

It was at this conference in Battle Creek, Michigan that one of William Miller’s followers, Mr. Gilbert Cranmer (an elder in Ellen G. White’s Adventist church) publically aired disagreements with Ellen G. White and her visions. Afterwards, Gilbert Cranmer took a chunk of people in Michigan with him when he left, and he formed the group that eventually became known as the Church of God (Seventh Day).

CONCLUSION:

This statement is false. Generally speaking, for several years the majority did go along with Ellen G. White. If they hadn’t, there wouldn’t be any “Seventh Day” in “Church of God (Seventh Day)”. Only a handful eventually broke away, and that was due to her odd visions and prophecies. But Armstrongism is a branch of Adventism and a descendant of Ellen G. White’s church. (Technically they still go along with her to this day.) In trying to deny this link, Hoeh inadvertently admits it. That tie is impossible to sever.

In closing…

One person can show every last verse in the Bible on a given topic, and as sure as the sun rises in the east there will be someone bound and determined to argue against it. It is the nature of people to feel so highly of their own opinions that some will never be convinced otherwise by any evidence. Mankind would kill their Savior before they re-assess their opinions and beliefs.

But this information I have laid out here is not speculation. It is a matter of historical fact. In one place Hoeh quotes an author, and I have checked that quote, and in the vast majority of instances his quote was incorrect. Some were not just incorrect, but grossly so. In some cases he left whole swaths of information out. In some cases he claimed things were said that were not.

This is not a matter of opinion. Did Hoeh misquote or did he not? It is a fact that he did! Therefore it cannot be the "true history."

The works are there, I have provided links, check for yourself. I deeply suspect, given the rare and inaccessible nature of the source material, that Hoeh and Armstrong hoped no one ever could or would double check.

Dear reader, you will have to read the full version of my study to get the full effect of Hoeh’s errors (or do a study of your own.) Several times Hoeh misquotes his sources. Several times he invents history. Several times his information is blatantly taken straight from the grossly flawed and fully debunked works of Alexander Hyslop. Several times his inventions are obviously designed to justify Herbert Armstrong and the things he has said or did. Indeed, the whole booklet was written to this end.

Some of the examples are so blatant, so egregious, that there is no possible way they were not deliberate, premeditated, and done with intent to deceive.

Taking in to account my recent review of Herbert Armstrong’s “Who is the Beast?” –where I saw much the same thing as I found here - I have no choice but to look at every work from these two compatriots with the highest degree of skepticism.

Current members of a COG, deeply sought after by God, please take this information to heart and consider the methods of the men who gave you what you now believe. Was it honest what they did? How much of what you now believe is based on the booklets and articles written by these two men? Did you do as the Bereans did and verify the information for yourself? I did not – until recently. And I am ASTOUNDED by the mistruth I found. Is that Godly fruit you’re eating, or rotten?

May God lead you to His truth. And may God have mercy on these men who have foisted such terrible lies on so many tens of thousands of people.

Posted by xHWA at Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Are you tired, run-down, listless? Repent and return to the one true church to be restored!

 


Armstrongism has created a legion of religious addicts. Their lives are consumed by the church and they can't think of anything else. It has infected their souls so much that they are most of the time mentally unbalanced people. These are the ones who will do anything for the church. They are the ones who will stay in an abusive church such as the Restored Church of God or Philadelphia Church of God and think they are doing what God wants them to do. Their lives have no meaning outside the church.

"Religious abuse uses God, a church, or a belief system as an escape from reality, in an attempt to find or elevate a sense of self-worth or well-being. It is using God or religion as a fix. It is the ultimate form of codependency - feeling worthless in and of ourselves and looking outside ourselves for something or someone to tell us we are worthwhile... It is using God, religion, or a belief system as a weapon against ourselves or others.

Religious addicts use the accessory items of religion - rituals, dogma, and scriptural texts - to reinforce the dysfunctional message that all humans are evil, stupid, or incapable of merit. Thus, far from enhancing spiritual development, religious addiction stunts or paralyzes spiritual growth and creates a barrier to a healthy relationship with God." When God Becomes A Drug:  Breaking the Chains of Religious Addiction and Abuse

It is sad to watch the mental decline of Samuel Kitchen as he attempts to recapture the long-gone "glory days of the old corrupt Worldwide Church of God. It is an obsession that consumes him 24/7. It is an addiction that is entirely wrapped up in an old covenant theology. Rules and dogma reign supreme.

I am declaring the existence of the Worldwide Church of God. I am alerting the ministry of the dangers, and of the space in the Worldwide Church of God, where they can be restored if they repent. 
Because they more than likely sought to protect God’s people too. But Satan is clever, and now what has developed is a landscape of “other churches” and the Worldwide Church of God is lying in waste. Samuel Kitchen

 

 


 

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

The Paulicians Would Have Been Continuing Church of God Members, If They Could Have



Our most highly esteemed prophet sent by God in this violent end times age is once again trying to prove his ties to 1/2/3 century Christianity. He needs that to validate his reason for starting up a splinter group — as if the Churches of God needed another one! The Great Bwana will find anything in history that he thinks matches his convoluted ideas and latches on to them as his proof.

“Paulicians” were a label that Alexandrian and Roman supporters apparently labeled certain opponents with. Apparently those who were labeled as Paulicians did not accept the authority of the Bishops of Rome, were opposed to Sunday as the designated day of worship, were opposed to idols, eschewed certain Roman rituals, seemingly had binitarian views of the Godhead, considered that those who took up the title Pontifex Maximus took a title that would be associated with Antichrist, kept Passover on the 14th, and they were persecuted. 
 
Many, because of persecution and economic pressures apparently compromised, and some apostasized to the point of engaging in carnal warfare. While those who did that were not truly part of the Church of God, there were apparently some of the faithful amongst those labeled as Paulicians. 
 
And that is how it is even today. While we in the Continuing Church of God, for example, are not Protestant, Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics tend to lump us in with the Protestants as we do not accept the various doctrinal compromises that the Greco-Roman Catholics have made. (for documentation, please see the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?). While we, like the Protestants claim, do believe in sola Scriptura, do not endorse the use of statues in worship, and eschew certain ritualistic aspects of the Greco-Romans, this does not make us Protestant any more than having Church of God doctrines made people “Paulicians.” 
 
But it could be properly stated that we in the Continuing Church of God count among our spiritual ancestors some who were called Paulicians. And we believe that we have faithfully been carrying out the original Christian faith as was practiced by the original apostles and their most faithful successors.

The Great Bwana to Africa and his 100 Caucasians are competing with the Baptists in claiming a direct link to the Paulicians. Their link to the Paulicians would be considered far more legitimate than some little Armstrongite upstart from America.

Another group of our Baptist ancestors were called Paulicians. That there were some radicals among them we do not deny. Nor do we deny that there are radicals among the people called Baptists today. We again maintain that among the Paulicians we find the true churches of Jesus Christ just as we find the true churches of our day among the people called Baptists. 
 
In my research of the Paulicians it was found that the charges of heresy against them came from two men, Photius and Siculus. A great number of historians have followed these two men. These two men were Roman Catholics and bitter enemies of the Paulicians. I tell you of these two men before giving the history of the Paulicians, so the student may beware of those church historians who follow the prejudices of these two "enemies of truth."

And then Baptists mention this:

Paulicians Were Baptists

In giving the principles of the Paulicians, Orchard quotes several authorities: "In these churches of the Paulicians, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, they held to be peculiar to the communion of the faithful; i.e., to be restricted to believers" (Jones). 
 
"The Paulicians or Bogomilians baptized and re-baptized adults by immersion" (Robinson).
"It is evident", says Mosheim, "they rejected the baptism of infants. They were not charged with any error concerning baptism." 
 
"These people were called Acephali, or headless (from having no distinct order of clergy, or presiding person in their assemblies) and were hooted in councils for re-baptizing in private houses, says Robinson, and holding conventicles; and for calling the established church a worldly community, and re-baptizing such as joined their churches." Baptist History Homepage

The Great Bwana proof-texts history and church history as he does the Bible. Anything he can find that fits his confirmation bias is legitimate fodder for him to claim as his own. 

He conveniently misses the fact that they introduced the Demiurge god to Christianity.

Paulician, member of a dualistic Christian sect that originated in Armenia in the mid-7th century. It was influenced most directly by the dualism of Marcionism, a gnostic movement in early Christianity, and of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion founded in the 3rd century by the Persian prophet Mani. The identity of the Paul after whom the Paulicians are called is disputed, with sources commonly citing either St. Paul the Apostle or Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch.

The fundamental doctrine of the Paulicians was that there are two principles, an evil God, known as the Demiurge, and a good God; the former is the ruler of this world, the latter of the world to come. From this they deduced that Jesus did not take on human flesh because the good God could not have become human. They especially honoured the Gospel According to Luke and the Letters of St. Paul, rejecting the Letters of St. Peter and all of the Old Testament, except possibly the Septuagint. They also rejected all or most of the sacraments, as well as the worship and the hierarchy of the established church. Paulician

The Demiurge: 

The demiurge (Greek demiurgos,[1] “craftsman”[2]) is the being who created the world in Gnosticism. The Gnostics identified him with the god of the Old Testament. The Gnostic scriptures portray him as ignorant, malicious, and utterly inferior to the true God who sent Christ to earth to save humankind from the demiurge’s evil world. 
 
The demiurge is given many names in the Gnostic scriptures, but the three most common ones are Yaldabaoth (also spelled “Ialdabaoth”), Samael, and Saklas. “Saklas” comes from the Aramaic word for “fool,” and “Samael” is Aramaic for “Blind God” or “God of the Blind.”[3] The meaning of “Yaldabaoth” is uncertain. The Gnostic text On the Origin of the World fancifully translates it as “Youth, move over there,” but no word or string of words that sounds like “Yaldabaoth” meant that in any ancient Mediterranean language.[4] “Yaldabaoth” is somewhat close to “child of chaos” in Aramaic, but that’s still a stretch,[5] as is the intuitively plausible suggestion that it could be a condensed form of “Yahweh, Lord of Sabbaths.”[6] 
 
In the Gnostic creation myth, Heaven – which the Gnostics called the “Pleroma,” “Fullness” – was all that existed until a divine entity named Sophia tried to conceive on her own, without the involvement of her heavenly partner or the consent of God. Sophia gave birth to a son that was the product of the rebellious and profane desire that had arisen within her. 
 
This son of hers was the demiurge. The Gnostic text Reality of the Rulers describes “him” as an androgynous being, an “arrogant beast” that resembled an aborted fetus in both appearance and character.[7] The Secret Book of John adds that he had the body of a snake and the head of a lion, with eyes like lightning bolts.[8] (In ancient Greek philosophy, the lion was frequently a symbol of irrational passions. The Gnostics were steeped in the Greek philosophical tradition, so their description of the demiurge as having a lion’s head was probably intended to show that he was a being who couldn’t or wouldn’t control his base urges.[9] That certainly fits the demiurge’s personality as described in their texts.) 
 
When Sophia saw the horrifying, twisted being that had come from her, she was deeply ashamed and afraid. She disowned him and cast him out of Heaven. 
 
From his lonely position where his madness and conceit could go unchecked, the demiurge gave birth to the archons (“rulers”[10]), beings who were like him and could help him administer the material world. He then created the material world, which, like all creations, was a reflection of the personality of its creator. 
 
The demiurge then created Adam and Eve and imprisoned divine sparks from Heaven within them. He told them that he was the only god and issued the Ten Commandments, even though he himself broke each and every one of those commandments. For example, he lied when he claimed to be the only god and that Adam and Eve would die if they ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; he insulted his mother and father by refusing to acknowledge their existence; he made a graven image of the divine when he modeled the material world on his corrupt and ignorant misunderstanding of Heaven; and he committed adultery by attempting to rape Eve.[11] The Gnostic Demiurge

The Great Bwana Bob may be closer to the Gnostic Christian heresies than any true Christian teaching he claims.



Monday, August 12, 2024

Ron Weinland: Wherefore Art Thou?


 

Word is coming in that Ronnie Weinland, the only Church of God leader who is a convicted felon, was a no-show this past Saturday for church services. Usually, when he is missing action he lets his dingy wife speak or one of his ordained women. Not this week though. It was a complete no-show all the way around.

While those in COGland do not believe in the rapture, he could have been whisked away on the wings of a giant eagle to walk the streets of Jerusalem with his dingy wife Laura as the two witless witnesses. Or better yet, he could be on his way to Petra to prepare it for the arrival of the Great Bwana to Africa and his 100 Caucasians. Imagine what a fun time that will be!

I do hope Laura remembered to take all those diamonds so you can bribe the Israeli officials at the border to let you in the country to be the end-time witless witness along with Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, and Gerald Flurry.


 

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Dave Pack: The Dating Game


The Dating Game

For three messages in a row, starting with "The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 525)" on July 20, 2024, David C. Pack has been playing The Dating Game with the brethren. He absolutely knows the date that begins the Kingdom of God. But he will not tell anyone.

The members of The Restored Church of God are left to figure out what unseen beauty is hidden behind the curtain. Using verbal clues, biblical math, and a Hebrew calendar, the foolish in the audience who still believe David C. Pack has any idea what he is talking about opaquely evaluate lucky contestants for which date Jesus Christ will return.

The most viable options theorized by an unordained non-prophet, non-psychic would be Av 10, Av 15, or Av 30. The Hebrew date begins the night before at sunset, but for simplicity's sake, those dates fall on August 14, 19, and September 3. Dave is known for frequently moving the goalpost, and he could punt into Elul.

The last time Dave played the role of the smarmy game show host holding back vital, accurate knowledge, he received a prophetic cream pie in his face with his Sivan 1 debacle on June 7.

Flashback Part 512 – May 11, 2024
@ 1:40:22 I know the date this comes. It’s impossible that it’s wrong. Impossible.

@ 1:42:38 So, Godspeed the the day I know about [laughs], and if I sound like I'm teasing you, I partly am. But I just cannot tell you yet. I’m not gonna do it.

Flashback Part 513 – May 18, 2024
@ 00:22 I told ya that I know the date, and I'm three times more certain of it than I was when I told you it was impossible that it was wrong.

Stranded on his temptation island, Dave had to discover the hard way that love is not blind because even Pentecost was not his perfect match.

 


Prancing on his tippy toes after a recent string of failures, David C. Pack’s signature stalling tactics were giving him performance anxiety. Because he loves to have the preeminence of the best seat at Headquarters, Dave started hankering for more premature glory by implying he knows a lot more than he is willing to say.

The best way to appreciate David C. Pack’s speaking style is to consider him the Joe Biden of the COGs.

Part 525 – July 20, 2024
@ 00:43 I I’ve you I don’t have any new thing I can tell you other than when when enormous things are revealed in this incredible process toward the end, which was always to make things plain, God said, and to end the Mystery, there there are more things, and I didn't see them, and now I do, and so I think we will we will find more than fascinating what I’m gonna cover.

Every good public speaker knows you do not tell your audience at the start that they will not hear something new. Dave course-corrected mid-sentence. Or he simply lost his train of thought.

@ 01:12 If you could learn why you could never know the day and the hour, why you cannot know the time or the hou—or the watch, why? Why? You solved the greatest principle of timing in the Bible.

David C. Pack’s pursuit of the prophetic unicorn that begins the Seven-Year Kingdom of God leads him down all sorts of avenues in Imaginationland. A potential date hidden on the other side of the wall awaits him at each dead end. One of these days, he will discover “the one” that proves he was right all along.

@ 07:13 And again, knowing that one of these, potentially, we’ll just say that starts the Seven Years. Now, some of you, “Uh oh. He just switched everything to next month because he said it won’t be this month.” No, I didn’t. And just bear with me. No, I didn’t.

One of the enticingly-voiced ladies just out of sight is a New Moon. The other is a Full Moon. Dave deeply considers the potential Plain Jane weekly Sabbath. The Day of the Lord is hot but in an obvious, unremarkable way. Jesus Christ’s baptism day has a lot of potential, but she does not have the brown sugar voice of the Season of Harvest.

When you combine all the alluring-in-your-mind options, the handwriting on the wall writes out a biblical math equation, and Dave's inner Russell Crowe cannot let it pass unexplored.

@ 40:43 I’ve gone over and studied and studied this. I’m I’m, you know, my I’m a pro on how Christ’s ministry laid out and when the time was fulfilled and when John went to prison and before John went to prison and all a that. There’s every evidence that Christ was baptized sometime, maybe in Kislev [laughs]. Or or Tevet.

In David C. Pack’s expert opinion, Jesus Christ was baptized “sometime maybe” in Kislev. Or Tevet. Only a real “pro” could have figured that out. As long as his math continues to be flexible, his theory holds water.

@ 44:21 We acknowledge the 70th Week can be adjusted. And it better go long. And I can prove it does, by the way. So you don’t hafta just accept what I’m gonna tell ya. I’m gonna absolutely prove and and knock it out…

@ 45:11 How can you know how much time God needs to add to the Seven Years? ‘Cause I'm gonna tell you, absolutely flat-out, I'm gonna tell you, and it'll be impossible to disagree with, I know when that year those Seven Years end. 'Cause there's only one possible day in the calendar they end, and it's absolute.

@ 46:04 Now, nobody would—this is exquisite knowledge. Nobody, nobody has ever heard this or ever thought of it, and I didn't think of it. I was led to it because it's part of the Mystery.

After being proven biblically wrong since August 30, 2013, the brethren of The Restored Church of God should keep asking, “Led by what?” David C. Pack is not led by God and carries none of His authority.

Dave teased, probed, and fondled for 46 minutes, but he was still not ready to commit.

@ 47:04 I don’t wanna name the date yet.

Defying his self-proclaimed commission and charge by God, David C. Pack knows the date for the arrival of the Kingdom of God but will not tell the brethren. His sick game lingers for weeks.

 


During “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 526)” on July 27, 2024, David C. Pack kept up the teasing with hours of preaching with no date revealed. But he sure loved reminding people that he knows.

Part 526 – July 27, 2024
@ 16:00 We are on the edge of World War III. If this thing gets outta hand and God doesn't intervene soon, and I now know the day He’s gonna do it. So I'll just say that, and I'm not gonna tell ya. But I know absolutely and unequivocally, and we'll talk a little bit about it, and you can go out and see if you can figure it out. But I'm not gonna get into that. 

@ 49:19 So I'm, I'm gonna leave you again with, Are we absolutely sure we can't know that day? I spent my entire life completely unable to know a date I absolutely know. And you do, too.

@ 52:36 There there there's no possible way the Kingdom can come in Tammuz. So, if you're looking for a clue, that's a clue. Don't assume anything other than that.

@ 54:32 So, it's impossible for the Kingdom to come in some later year. We know the Series is ending.

@ 58:12 So, I I hope that inspires you. “Even though you don't tell us the date.” The answer's no, I won't. I've made that mistake before. I will when the time is right.

@ 1:04:40 Once you know the day that the Kingdom's coming, you can just take that number of days and count backwards from Abib 1, and you'll know exactly the day He [Jesus Christ] was baptized.

@ 1:04:57 It became one of the checks that I'd gotten it right.

David C. Pack sits tall with his chin up because he figured out the correct date for the return of Jesus Christ. It has not yet come to pass, but his self-certainty is already in the past tense.

@ 02:06:41 I wanna say one last time, I did time I did learn absolutely and unequivocally the date we are awaiting. I've told no one. No, I haven't told my wife. The two men I work with know. I was su–suspicious for a long time of a particular date that turned out not to be right. I looked at it a lot. But the time, the date that I have learned, the time to divulge it is not yet.

Why would he not tell his wife? Is that so when he fails, he can look her in the eyes when he has to eat his words again? Mrs. Pack is quite accustomed to her inept husband botching prophetic understanding. She is just as numb to his biblical fraud as all the other members.



 

Brethren may have been hopeful when CAD announced David C. Pack would deliver "The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 527)" on August 3, 2024. Despite the uninspired 85 minutes of preaching, he would not spill the beans.

Instead, he kept rubbing their noses in how much he secretly knows. Toying with their expectations, he opened with news of a possible conflict between Israel and Iran that might take place on Av 9, which was when the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem took place.

Part 527 – August 3, 2024
@ 03:31 Of course, in the back of your mind, “Mr. Pack, why are you reading this? Or we gonna get that far?” Well, I wanna get into the subject tonight. Despite that, you may want an answer. I am reading it. I will tell you I still absolutely know the day. I told you I did a week ago. I know it two-fold more than I did a week ago, and I'm not gonna get into it…

@ 03:59 You may you may it at a certain point, feel like you have enough information to pull the trigger on on your own your conclusion. But, in the meantime, I do want us to understand the world continues to descend into an ever-worsening hell.

@ 34:25 For the moment, we might say we have not more than another month. And we don’t have another month. I know the day.

At least everyone knows Jesus Christ will return before September 3, 2024. Mark your calendar.

@ 35:48 But God has to hit the day exactly. And once He once we learn the day exactly, I'll be able to tell you exactly, and you'll know it, and you won't doubt it. You will not doubt it. Trust me, you won't. I you’ll be able to know exactly the very day Christ was baptized.

David C. Pack has a history of twisting major biblical events around to bend to his will but quietly puts them back in their correct place through the RCG doctrinal-reversal process called Just Stop Mentioning It.

Dave moved The Last Great Day from the fall to spring. Jesus Christ was born in the spring, not fall. Brethren were to count fifty days to Trumpets, not Pentecost. The Second Passover was moved to Iyar 15 instead of Iyar 14.

The Headquarters hirelings were at least more transparent about moonwalking their New Moon observance, but only because the sudden absence would have flooded the unpaid field mollusks with nervous questions.

@ 1:17:29 That’s why knowing Cheshvan 1, 2031, is such precious and, I mean, indissoluble knowledge. You cannot you can’t dissolve it. It’s locked. The Season of Harvest is locked. The year is locked. And because of that, we can count back all kinds of ways to get to all kinds of points.

Dave has been preaching the end date for the Seven-Year Kingdom of God. The start date in 2024 is still unknown because God will cut short days that cannot tarry. According to Dave, those who really want to know can figure it out on their own.

@ 1:24:15 From today to the Day of the Lord is 2611 days. That’s you you you know it. I mean, there it is. I don’t cuh I don’t care who mocks. We know the formula. To know how long before the Great Tribulation comes, just subtract, you know, 1260. [taps table] There ya are. It leaves what? I guess 1351 days left. 1351 days left. Now, we’re waiting for a date that cannot tarry. This suggests one that’s known. Could it be simple math?Until next time, good night.

He has a documented problem with simple math and reading comprehension, so whether or not he finally got around to it this week with Parts 528, 529, and 530 does not matter in the long run.

David C. Pack loves to play the Dating Game. He basks in the preemptive glow of his projected certainty, deluding the brethren with perceived confidence that their false apostle, false prophet, and false teacher finally has it all figured out.

No matter how smoky the potential date’s voice is, no matter what keywords send shivers down your spine, no matter what blind promises of a better future she makes, know for sure that the only thing hidden behind the curved wall David C. Pack constructed is Huge Disappointment. That is no game.


Marc Cebrian

See: The Dating Game

When it involves the COG, Who's gaslighting who?



Who's Gaslighting Who?



CGI's Jeff Flanick (of Bill Watson's Medina, Ohio congregation) delivered a broadside against the Olympic games in Paris this past Sabbath. He joined the chorus of voices expressing disgust with the opening ceremonies of the 2024 games and claimed that it was the epitome of what CGI has been preaching against for years. According to Mr. Flanick, the ceremony underscored the pagan origins of the games and glorified those unsavory LGBTQ folks! You see, for Jeff and his peeps, those WOKE folks at the IOC are trying to gaslight an innocent and unsuspecting humanity.

Like his mentor, Pastor Bill Watson, Jeff is appalled at the fact that these leftist folks have the audacity to characterize Donald Trump and J.D. Vance as weird! Men dressed like women and competing as women - that's supposed to be normal and acceptable? Heaven forbid! is Mr. Flanick's response. He went on to suggest that the opening ceremony had desecrated Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting known as "The Last Supper." Although he went on to admit that this work of art may be inaccurate in its depiction of that event, he proceeded to suggest that an artistic interpretation of that work in the opening ceremony was probably sacrilegious - an intentional affront to Christians everywhere!

Indeed, he went on to compare the whole thing to what traditional Christians have been doing for years. According to Mr. Flanick, the vast majority of these people are among "those who think they are Christians" (implying, of course, that they are no such thing). He went on to say that these folks disregard scriptures which refute their errors. Flanick then proceeded to cite several examples of the clear evidence which these people fail to confront - like Matthew 5:18, which he insists proves that Christians should be keeping the commandments of Torah. He also quoted that favorite passage of Armstrongists to nail down his thesis: Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." In other words, if he gave it to the Israelites, he must have intended for Christians to have it to!

In similar fashion, Mr. Flanick attacked those traditional so-called Christians for their use of the cross as a symbol of their religion. He went on to liken it to someone deciding to revere the gun which had murdered their loved one! Do you suppose that Mr. Flanick is disregarding all of those New Testament references to the cross of Christ? OR Let's be generous, maybe he just forgot about those?

He went on to remind his audience that those traditional Christians also embraced those nasty pagan holidays like Christmas and Easter! Flanick pointed out that revelry and alcoholic beverages are associated with those celebrations, but he doesn't want you to look to close at how CGI folks celebrate their Feast of Tabernacles! He even proceeded to point out that true Christians are supposed to come out of Babylon and be separate, and he saw absolutely no irony in making clear that God really meant those nasty, leftwing globalists!

It occurred to me as I listened to Mr. Flanick's presentation, "I wonder if he's ever seen the classic movie which gave rise to the term "gaslighting"? Ingrid Berman's husband (Charles Boyer) embarked on a plan to make her think she was going crazy. "Paula, Paula, Paula, you are tired, you are weary..." In keeping with the custom of CGI ministers and speakers, Mr. Flanick was divorced and remarried; but those LGBTQ folks are insane - trying to make us all think that they can actually love each other and be faithful to one person! Yes, I'm wondering "Who's gaslighting who?"

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix