Church members have been taught, thanks to the perverse "church government" teaching, that ministers are there to make your decisions for you. Making your own personal decisions is treading in dangerous waters and will possibly lead one away from the "truth" and into a different church or even apostasy. UCG recently reinforced this belief when they said that ministers are there for correct advice.
Ever since the Worldwide Church of God imploded into an appalling mishmash of hundreds of splinter groups, members' secure worlds have been ripped apart. Fearful that they see their salvation slipping away, they reach out to various whack-a-doodle church leaders for advice.
This brings us to today, when our resident whack-a-doodle and self-appointed false prophet posted a letter he "claims" was written by a concerned COG member to him about which COG to join. They cannot make a decision because they admit they are so easily deceived.
I AM CONCERNED ABOUT SOME ISSUES OF MR. …. BELIEF AND APPARENTLY YOU DON’T AGREE WITH. I DON’T THINK THAT ANY OF THESE CHURCHES AGREE WITH OTHER SO WHO DO YOU GO WITH? …
SOME OF GERALD FLURRY’S TEACHINGS ARE COMPLETELY WRONG AND HE’S GONE FAR OUT ON SOME THINGS SUCH AS ARMSTRONG’S STONE REPLACING JACOB’S. MANY, MANY PLACES IN THE BIBLE STATES THAT CHRIST IS THAT ROCK AND IT’S SPIRITUAL. CHRIST DOESN’T NEED A ROCK. FLURRY BASED HIS THEORY ON THE IDEA THAT COME KIDS STOLE JACOB’S ROCK FROM ENGLAND. THAT’S AMAZING SINCE IT WEIGHS OVER 350 LBS. I’VE READ OTHER LITERATURE THAT THE STONE IS STORED IN SCOTLAND.FALSE PREACHER #1
I SAW A DAVID PACK SERMON ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THE 2 WITNESSES . HE SAID THAT THEY ARE IN HIS CHURCH RIGHT NOW. I BELIEVE HE’S NOW PULLED THAT SERMON BECAUSE I COULDKN’T FIND IT NOW. FALSE PREACHER #2
I SAW A SERMON BY THE LIVING CHURCH OF GOD ABOUT THE MARK OF THE BEAST AND THE PRESENTER SAID WITHOUT HESITATION THAT THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS SUNDAY WORSHIP. PERIOD.. HE MADE NO MENTION OF ANY MARKS ON YOUR BODY OR 666. SABBATH MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT, BUT THERE WILL BE OTHER FACTORS. YOU LEFT BECAUSE OF DOCTRINE. I’LL ????????? ….
NOW I COME TO … A FALSE TEACHER …
YOU SEE HOW A PERSON COULD BE DECEIVED?
PLEASE ADVISE
Imagine being this helpless! Yet, they were able to see that Flurry and Pack are lying frauds and yet they are so immobilized by fear that they cannot make a decision on what to do, so they reach out to the biggest liar and fraud of them all, the Great Bwana Bob Thiel, for wise counsel.
God's greatest gift to the Churches of God had this as his response:
Dear …:
As I have repeatedly written at COGwriter, I doubt that David Pack or Gerald Flurry are converted.
I consider that the only COG that is Philadelphian is the CCOG–though not all in CCOG are Philadelphian and there are Philadelphians not in CCOG–but no other COG represents the continuation of Philadelphia.
You should use God’s criteria, and none other to decide.
Here are two links you should read and pray about if you are truly serious:
How does the Continuing Church of God differ from other Sabbatarian COG groups?Does the CCOG have the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18?
But most refuse to believe and use their own standards.
Best regards,
Bob Thiel
The Great Bwana feels that most COG members are too stupid to use the right criteria in determining which COG to join:
Many have been confused and used the wrong criteria to assess churches.
Sadly, in the end time, in Revelation 3:14-19 Jesus revealed that even most real Christians would use their criteria, not God’s as they would be part of the “people decide” churches (which is basically what Laodicea means).
P.S. The same former WCG member sent me a follow-up email after I posted this. Here is some of what he wrote (Note: This is a different Mr. … in a different COG than the one alluded to above):
ALSO, I’M NOT HAPPY WITH … IN THIS RESPECT—–I’VE BEEN IN THE CHURCH FOR A WHILE AND ONE OF THE 1ST THINGS I NOTICED IS THAT THEY HAVE LEFT OUT 1/3RD OF THE BIBLE AND THAT PERTAINS TO PROPHECY. I KNOW THIS PANDEMIC CAUGHT THEM UNAWARE AS MR. … DIDN’T CALL FOR A PRAYER AND FAST INTIL THE PANDEMIC WAS IN FULL FORCE. SOME WATCHMANI WROTE A PERSONAL LETTER TO MR. … ADVISING HIM THAT ALL SCRIPTURE IS TO BE TAUGHT, AND HE NEEDS TO CRY OUT AND SPARE NOT. THE LATEST ISSUE OF OUR MAGAZINE FINALLY WOKE THEM UP AS THERE WERE SEVERAL MEANINGFUL ARTICLES REGARDING THE TIMES AND PROPHECY ALSO, HE SAID THAT THEY NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB IN BEING A WATCHMAN. THIS IS THE 1ST TIME IN 25 YEARS THAT THEY STARTED TO WAKE UP ON PROPHECY.
It is really sad that church members look at ministers and church leaders for advice on prophecy when, for over 80 years now, the church and its leaders have been 100% wrong! Not one single prophecy has ever come true. Yet, even with this dismal track record lying at their feet, they continue to place their faith in theologically bankrupt leaders who continue to lead them astray.
Instead of placing their faith in Jesus, the one they SHOULD be following, they run to these whack-a-doodle lying false prophets for advice.
23 comments:
Had to chuckle over this one! How did these people miss us, and end up going to Theil? 0migosh! The answer would seem to be that some ACOG members are only open to a little micro-tuning of the basic Armstrongism, leading them to consult amongst similar groups, not realizing that all of the groups have evolved in accordance with the influences of the ACOG leader or leaders' own personality and character. I feel for these disenfranchised little people, I really do, because they are never going to find precise Armstrongism from the era they remember. All have gradually made changes, which over the years have accumulated in such a way as to produce noticeably large changes. This, in combination with the constantly changing world around us, has produced a reality embodied by the Pretenders' early hit "My City Was Gone!" Only in this case, it becomes "My Church Was Gone!"
Probably, what will happen is the next time Bob makes comments at COGwriter about Banned, and Gary, it will arouse the curiosity of these stragglers, and they'll end up here. We know this because people are constantly coming here asking the same questions which have been asked and answered over and over. And, we have to realize that though they post questions as "Anonymous" they are actually newbies, and will ask questions which are old and stale to us, but new and fresh to them! Time to buckle up and put on our gracious caps.
BB
Parody post. Who's fearful ? All this gaslighting talk of fear has no roots. The spirit of God is a holy spirit of courage.
No, man! Parodi post. It's a post you can feel so good and thankful about stuff you are no longer being harmed by that you can fire up a good Parodi Cigar as you savor the freedom!
Even if a parody post, it's true. Members under Herb the Great were taught to switch off their brains and let the big people do all their thinking for them. There must be many members who still secretly dread making significant decisions.
Who's gaslighting? This is the sad mindset of Armstrongism and how it taught members not to think. If any of them had really exercised their brains, they would NOT be in a splinter group today, especially in Thiel's group.
Only corrupt ex ministry or current ministry think so lowly of members. You expose yourself without realising.
Then why are you an employee of a splinter group ?
All the people you complain about are dead. Yet only living on in your mind. What use is that mindset to God and Chrstians today ? Can you not make that difficult decision yourself to be responsible for your own actions?
Here are some questions that all should ask their ministers.
1. What is the Father's Name?
2. What is the Son's Name?
3. Why do all these organizations use the term 'Church' when the Father's Son never did?
4. Why do they preach that the Most High was speaking to the members in the Book of Malachi when it is plain that He is speaking to the leaders?
5. Why do they preach that one must belong to a ministry when the ripping of the curtain in the temple shows that all have access to the Father without having to have a human being/organization to belong to?
11.33 and 1.09, all bullies secretly believe that other people are worthless objects that they own. This was part of Roman culture where by the father viewed his family as rightless chattel. Some narcissists even introject people, seeing them purely as figments in their own minds.
These attitudes persist in the ACOGs, otherwise this blog would be dead.
Why are you in the Epstein Files, 11:35??? You deserve to be disfellowshipped for that!
It's not as if we're in Red China having secret meetings, worried about being jailed or having our Bibles confiscated, but Satan is certainly lobbing a few softballs our way this morning as we do God's work, warning the world about toxic cults and their dastardly leaders.
It amazes me. We have ethics and always try to sack the cults the clean way. Expose the truth. Satan's people invent lies about us. I'm sure the readers recognize that for what it is.
~Mickey D
3. Jesus the Son DID say "church" (well, maybe not in English) - Matt. 16:18 and 18:17.
Anon, Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 1:17:54 PM PDT, wrote:
"Parody post. Who's fearful ? All this gaslighting talk of fear has no roots. The spirit of God is a holy spirit of courage."
******
There is something else besides the Spirit of God and the Fear of God, and it is another fear, which does have roots. The Apostle Paul was inspred to write this:
Hebrews 2:15 "And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Might that fear and death have some roots, some common denominator?
Hebrews 2:14 "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;"
Paul also mentioned elsewhere that one does not wrestle flesh and blood, because in actuality principalities (Eph 6:12) are working "behind the scenes." For example, Jesus was addressing Satan, not Peter, when He said: "Get behind Me!" Peter didn't have a clue.
Another example is Matthew 23 where Jesus is addressing the religious leaders, but Jesus understood flesh and blood wasn't the problem:
Matthew 23:29 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar."
Which scribe or Pharisee in Jesus' audience existed back in the days of Abel? Zacharias?
James warned fellow Christians that there was another spirit in existence, when he wrote the following:
James 4:5 "Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?"
If that spirit existed, dwelled in Christians, might it be that another spirit dwells within scribes, Pharisees, religious leaders, perhaps all inhabitants of the world (????), including all those writing Bob Thiel, and yes, even Bob Thiel himself? May we know them by their fruits?
Time will tell...
Oh, and Miguel de la Rodente, in his comment, mentioned: "...Satan is certainly lobbing a few softballs our way ..."
Could there be billions, if not millions, of those like Satan and angels, those principalities scattered all over this earth impacting human beings, unknown to them, impacting, influencing, controlling nations with their fear, deaths, wars, etc., not allowing human beings (including professing Christians), even sealed Firstfruits (James 4:5; Rom 7:17, 20-21), to know and enjoy the way of peace?
Satan just lobbing a few softballs our way? Does Mickey D know what he is talking about?
Time will tell...
John
Threatening disfellowshipment? Must be desperate times. I"m not afraid of your threats. Haven't i already proved that.
I'm 1:09 and thanks for the comment. I wholeheartefly agree that people are treated as worthless objects in Churches. I think it's across the whole of Christianity, including Sunday churches. And it's gone much worse in the last twenty years. But this blog is as much a part of the problem, whilst it alludes to having the answers.
You only have to look at the obscene obnoxious remarks, that are allowed to be thrown around on here, to see it's got the same abuse problems as the very people they complain about.
What is the Father's Name?
Jesus called His Father "Abba" (Mark 14:36), therefore we can join with Him in not worrying about the Hebrew pronunciation of a proper name, as confirmed in Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6.
Bullying deflecting tactics to call the truth a lie.
Bullying tactics to call Sabbath Christians Satan won't intimidate. Be very careful who you label Satanic as Jesus Christ will judge your words.
We can be certain that while the Father and the Son have names you can pronounce in Hebrew, those names are neither the original nor best names for Them. We know from archaeology and linguistics that the Hebrew language evolved from earlier languages. So, as God existed before Hebrew existed, He obviously had a name before He had a Hebrew name. Obsessing about Hebrew names amounts to making Hebrew your god instead of God Himself.
Yours, too Buckwheat! And, for your information, you can keep the sabbath, and still be as evil and toxic as hell. Youse gotta look at the entire panorama. The sabbath isn't a secret shield that blocks all the evil out, ya know.
Never wrote or said it was 4:41.
Luv me sum sabbatarian Christians! Just don't fancy the ones who have the stink of Armstrongism on it!
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