The Gospel of Herbert W. Armstrong?
How Armstrongism Replaces Christ with a Cult Leader
If you wander into an Armstrongist congregation expecting to hear about Jesus Christ, you may be in for a disappointment. Sure, they might sprinkle His name in here and there for good measure, but let’s be honest—Herbert W. Armstrong is the real star of the show. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was the one who died for your sins, not Jesus.
From the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) under Bob Thiel to the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) led by Gerald Flurry, the Church of God, The Eternal (COGTE)under Jon Brisby, and the Restored Church of God (RCG) led by David Pack, one thing is certain: the message they preach is Armstrongism, not Christianity. Their pulpits are not occupied with the gospel of Christ, but rather with an endless homage to Herbert W. Armstrong, the self-proclaimed "End-Time Apostle."
A Gospel Hijacked by Herbert
What happens when you listen to a sermon in one of these groups? You’ll hear countless references to "God's end-time work under Mr. Armstrong," "God revealed truth through Mr. Armstrong," and "We must hold fast to what Mr. Armstrong taught." But what about Christ? Oh, He gets an honorable mention—as long as it doesn’t take the spotlight away from Armstrong.
Take a look at the sheer volume of sermons, booklets, and articles these groups produce. They churn out material exalting Armstrong as if he were the sole custodian of truth, conveniently ignoring the fact that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Armstrong, by contrast, was a man whose theological errors were so vast that mainstream Christianity has rightly rejected his teachings as heretical.
The Books That Worship Armstrong
If you need more proof that Armstrong is their real gospel, just look at how these groups produce full-length books about him. Jon Brisby has written extensively about Armstrong’s supposed prophetic significance, while Stephen Flurry (Gerald Flurry’s son) penned Raising the Ruins, an entire book dedicated to portraying Armstrong as a persecuted prophet. One would think that Jesus' life, death, and resurrection would warrant more attention, but no—the real tragedy, according to PCG, was that "Satan" attacked Armstrong's legacy!
Imagine if Paul the Apostle spent more time writing about Peter than Christ. That would be absurd! And yet, these Armstrongist groups spend their time lionizing their dead cult leader instead of proclaiming the risen Christ.
A Legacy of Self-Appointed Successors
Since Armstrong’s death in 1986, his followers have fractured into competing sects, each claiming to be the one true continuation of his legacy. Gerald Flurry claims to be Armstrong’s successor, even referring to himself as the “Elijah” of our time. David Pack, not to be outdone, asserts that he is God’s chosen leader, continually "refining" Armstrong’s doctrines to serve his own insatiable appetite for control. Bob Thiel? Well, he’s still trying to convince people that his dreams make him a prophet.
And let’s not forget Jon Brisby, who has seamlessly transitioned COGTE’s devotion from Armstrong to himself, ensuring that his authority remains unquestioned. Much like Raymond Cole before him, Brisby demands unwavering loyalty, proving yet again that Armstrongism thrives on cultic allegiance to human leaders rather than faith in Christ.
Conclusion: Christ vs. Armstrong
At the end of the day, the fundamental issue with Armstrongism is idolatry. Jesus Christ has been reduced to a side character in the grand drama of Herbert W. Armstrong’s so-called "end-time work." Instead of proclaiming the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, these groups preach Armstrong's law-keeping, hierarchical control, and apocalyptic fearmongering.
To any Armstrongist reading this: It’s time to leave behind the idol of Herbert W. Armstrong and turn to the real Savior—Jesus Christ. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. Armstrong is dead, but Christ is risen. Who will you follow?
The Gospel of Herbert W. Armstrong? © 2025 by Ai-COG is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0
8 comments:
Growing up in Worldwide, I guess you could say I tried to be a true believer for a while but something just seemed off. I was really put off by some of the "big wig" ministers who were just overtly brown nosing HWA in their sermons and messages. It seems as if the majority of the spin offs are withering on the vine as they try to recycle a message not based on Christ but of HWA and their own legitimacy as a prophet or HWA successor.
Continuing Church of God is not even really about Herbert Armstrong, even though he is quoted incessantly. It's all about Bob, all the time.
All the Armstrongite cults are about the current leader in charge.
As I've been saying on all our Armstrong-recovery sites for the past 25 years, HWA reinvented himself as a quasi-Biblical character, "God's Apostle". In an early article in one of the mags, he stated that to disagree with him is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (the 1/3 of God that he clearly did not understand!).
This is one cat who really $hit the bed! I mean, like righteously $hit the bed!!! When God failed to validate HWA in 1975, my personal sentence in Armstrongism was over, and I gratefully accepted parole. I will never in my life understand how so many voluntarily accepted a whole new indeterminate sentence, and numerous ones (including my alleged parental units) actually died, still imprisoned! And, this has gone on for 50 years now! Hello!!! Even if we allow two 19 year time cycles for the Laodiceans, the plane is way overdue. But, I guess there are still some who believe Amelia Earhart's plane is going to come in, having been flying around on fumes in the Twilight Zone for all these years!
In the interest of accuracy, the Wikipedia article on HWA should be required to describe him as a bender of the prophetic time/space continuum! The nice thing is that my parents have probably come to their senses and are hopefully enjoying some good beer and chips with all of our departed "unconverted" relatives, and enjoying some Lynyrd Skynyrd concerts and Stevie Ray Vaughan!
BB
Cultic worship of a leader has been a common occurrence in the history of humanity. Our first inkling of this in the pages of the Bible has to do with Nimrod. His charisma seemed to emanate from his skill as a hunter. As the KJV says, “he began to be a mighty one in the earth.” This statement has a disturbing ring to it. Nimrod was not a follower of God yet was a great leader of men. The Jewish Study Bible (JSB) characterizes Nimrod as a kind of emperor who consolidated different regions of Mesopotamia under his rulership.
Though Nimrod is the archetypical rebel, Genesis makes an interesting statement about him. It says that he was a mighty hunter “by the grace of Yahweh.” You will find this in the JSB. Genesis is not stating that Nimrod was a leader by the grace of God but is stating that this is what people said about him (Genesis 10:9). No doubt this is what he came to say about himself. As such he was perhaps the first leader of a large-scale false religion who an association with Yahweh, the true God. Nimrod was a religious man .
I mention Nimrod because the idea of a personality cult predicated dubiously on God is not new – it is rather classical in human history. I would speculate that HWA did not start out to create a personality cult focused on himself. I recall that he did not originally think he was an Apostle but others in his entourage talked up that idea until he accepted it. (I have no documentation on this – just my own recollection of a statement made by HWA.)
Finally, I get to the observation I wish to make. If the adulation of HWA is not personality based, why is there no mention of other people who figure prominently in the development of Armstrongism? For instance, the ardent followers of HWA never mention G.G. Rupert. Many of HWA’s core beliefs came from Rupert, so much so that HWA’s beliefs should really be called Rupertism instead of Armstrongism. But Rupert and other Millerites that contributed to the development of Armstrongism get no air time. This leads me to believe that it is really not the broad ideological movement that is important to followers of HWA but rather the narrow focus on one person - HWA.
Note: It is a long story that I cannot address here but Nimrod was not a Black African unless somewhere his family married out. The descendants of Ham are y chromosome haplogroup J just like most other Near Easterners.
Scout
SOOO GLAD to be done and free of any type of Armstrongism. I went to AC and learned what not to believe! Thank you Lord, for letting me SEE and understand your Word so I could obey You. Your yoke is light indeed.
All these people and their personality cults! Every time I hear about the emergence of yet another splinter leader, I picture the reaction of some old, spittle-bearded back woodsey type dude exclaiming, "Why he done ordained hisself as a prophet!" That would be a profound observation from an unexpected source, meaning that some ignoramus even managed to miss the presumed target of his new ministry.
Depends on which splinter group a person has resided in. G. Rupert and others alongside the Salem Conference Armstrong attended got discussed alot in 80s & 90s.
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