Ai COG: Hotel Armstrong: You Can Check Out, but You go to the Lake of Fire

 

The Cult’s Favorite Tactic: Blame the Exiles

In an August 1980 Good News Article, the Ol’ Herb was on a mission to demonize anyone who dared leave his flock. In a piece that reeks of desperation, he claimed ex-members—those “embittered” dissidents—spend their days obsessing over what’s “wrong” with the WCG, conjuring up “monstrous, impossible, filthy lies” about the church and its leaders. Their minds, he said, are consumed with negativity, twisting facts into falsehoods, spreading rumors, and fueling their “vengeful bitterness.” Meanwhile, loyal members focus on the “wonderful truths” of God’s work—see the difference? If you don’t, you’re in danger of becoming one of those satanic exiles. It’s the WCG’s favorite gaslighting trick: don’t question us, or you’ll end up like them—cursed, miserable, and doomed.

We show how Armstrong and his demonic decedents shamed ex-members and current ones alike to silence dissent, all while ignoring the real reasons people left—like the WCG’s corruption, failed prophecies, and predatory leaders. In an unsurprising reveal: those “dissidents” weren’t the problem—the entire religious system of Armstrongism was.

Painting the Villain: Ex-Members as Satanic Liars

The article kicks off with a vicious attack on ex-members, claiming their “principal purpose in life” is to “expose the evils” of the WCG. The founder paints them as bitter haters whose every thought and conversation revolves around what’s “wrong” with the church. They’re not just critical—they’re liars, twisting facts into “filthy” rumors about the WCG and its leaders. He quotes Jude 8-19 to seal their fate, calling them “filthy dreamers” who “defile the flesh,” “speak evil of dignities,” and are destined for “the blackness of darkness forever.” They’re “raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame,” driven by “ungodly lusts,” and lacking the Holy Spirit. In short, they’re not just wrong—they’re satanic, and their fruit is chaos, leading splinter groups that fight each other and drag others away from Christ entirely. If you’ve been in any of the WCG’s offshoots for any length of time, you have probably seen similar letters and sentiments expressed in a similar fashion.

This is gaslighting at its ugliest. The WCG didn’t just excommunicate members—they vilified them, turning them into cartoonish villains to scare the flock into loyalty. But ex-members weren’t making up “filthy lies”—they were exposing real ones, like the cult’s failed prophecies (1972 Tribulation, anyone?), the triple tithes that bankrupted families while the Armstrongs lived like kings, and scandals like Garner Turd Armstrong’s college harem at Ambassador College, which we covered in “Suspicious Lies.” The WCG couldn’t handle the truth, so they smeared the whistleblowers, gaslighting members into thinking criticism was satanic. It’s a classic cult move: don’t fix your problems—just blame the ones who call them out.

The Warning Shot: Don’t Join the Damned

The dear leader doesn’t stop at ex-members—he turns the spotlight on you, the reader. He warns that their bitterness could infect your heart, urging you to “think no evil” and set your mind on “things above” (Colossians 3:1-3, Proverbs 23:7). The WCG, he says, is the “Body of Christ,” preparing to be Christ’s spotless Bride at His soon return, so forget the past—your sins are covered if you repent. But ex-members? They’re not blessed like the WCG, which is “back on track,” growing, and knit together with Christ. He tells you to pray for them, that they might repent and return, but also to pray for each other to endure to the end, now “near.”

Here’s the gaslighting twist: if you even think about sympathizing with ex-members, you’re at risk of becoming one of them—bitter, cursed, and lost. The WCG framed itself as the pure, blessed church, while ex-members were miserable failures leading doomed splinter groups. But the reality? The WCG was bleeding members because of its own failures—financial exploitation, authoritarian control like the Visiting Program we exposed in “Gestapo in God’s Name,” and leadership scandals. Ex-members weren’t “unblessed” for leaving; they were free, while the WCG was the one fighting to survive, hemorrhaging followers to those “eight or 10 little splinter groups” that wouldn’t have existed without the cult’s own dysfunction. The founder gaslit members into thinking the problem was the dissidents, not the cult that drove them away.

The Real Lies: The WCG’s House of Cards

The article’s biggest lie is its refusal to admit why ex-members left. Herbie claims they’re just bitter and satanic, but let’s look at the facts. By 1980, the WCG was a mess—GTA had been disfellowshipped in 1978 for his Ambassador College harem, a scandal that confirmed members’ worst suspicions about the leadership’s hypocrisy. The cult’s prophecies kept failing (no Tribulation in 1936, 1951, or 1972, no Petra escape), yet they still preached the end was “near,” keeping members in fear, The triple tithes left families broke while the Armstrongs lived in luxury, pulling in $200 million a year by the 1980s (over $600 million today).

Ex-members weren’t “conjuring up lies”—they were telling the truth, and the leadership couldn’t handle it. The splinter groups the founder mocks? They formed because people saw through the cult’s facade and wanted out, even if they didn’t fully escape Armstrongism’s grip. The real “fruit” of the WCG wasn’t growth or peace—it was broken lives, financial ruin, and a pipeline to atheism for those who, as the article admits, “departed entirely from Christ” after leaving. The WCG gaslit members into thinking ex-members were the problem, but the cult’s own corruption was the root of it all.

Stop Falling for the Shame Game

The WCG’s gaslighting in “How Ex-member Dissidents Fill Their Minds” was a desperate endgame: smear ex-members as satanic liars, shame current members into silence, and pretend the cult is God’s pure church—all while ignoring the scandals, failed prophecies, and control tactics that drove people away. The founder wanted you to believe dissidents were the problem, but they were just the ones brave enough to speak the truth about the WCG’s rot. Stop falling for the shame game. Your doubts, like those of the ex-members, aren’t satanic—they’re a sign you’re waking up. Ditch the cult’s lies, and walk out of the trap for good.

Hotel Armstrong © 2025 by AiCOG is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0

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In Defense of Rendered Righteousness: Concerning the Holy Inquiry into Beef Tallow

 

In Defense of Rendered Righteousness: 

Concerning the Holy Inquiry into Beef Tallow

By Elder Rev. Dr. Percival Thaddeus Grone

Brethren, Saints, and Those Who Sauté Without Understanding,

It has come to my attention, with no small measure of grief, that the recent doctrinal clarity offered by the United Church of God concerning beef tallow has been met not with reverence, but with ridicule. A certain blog, frequented by the spiritually unrefined and the casually blasphemous, has seen fit to mock the sacred labor of the Doctrine Committee (DC), reducing a matter of considerable theological weight to the level of fast food and pop health fads.

I write not to rebuke the DC – for their forthcoming work will certainly speak for itself, glistening with unction – but rather to issue a gentle but firm reminder to those who dare to question the legitimacy of this fat-based inquiry, who dismiss as trivial what may yet prove to be a hinge upon which great eschatological truths swing.

Let the mockers take note: it is no light matter to despise the day of purified truth.

Of Tallow and Torah

The Levitical code – often skimmed, rarely digested – makes frequent and solemn mention of the handling, burning, and prohibition of certain fats. (Leviticus 3:16-17, 7:23-25). It does not distinguish, as modern man does, between “culinary” and “ceremonial” uses, nor does it shrink from specificity.

If the Law devotes multiple verses to the fat upon the inwards, is it so far-fetched that a Church born of Scripture would pause to consider whether piping hot tallow may cross the invisible boundary from cooking aid to covenantal compromise?

This is not pedantry. This is Adipotheology – the study of sacred fats and their role in the moral metabolism of the faithful.

The Problem of Unfiltered Commentary

I have read the remarks. “Who has even heard of beef tallow?” one anonymous scoffer asked, perhaps while microwaving seed-oil-drenched remnants of Babylonian Cuisine. “Do we really need doctrinal statements on these things?” cries another, forgetting thatdoctrinal papers are the very medium by which councils preserve the faith once delivered.

Even more troubling is the implication that such inquiries are mere busywork for Church administrators – something to “justify their existence.” I ask you: Did Moses not receive detailed instructions for tabernacle measurements, curtain colors, and priestly undergarments? Shall we now accuse him of time-wasting?

This same nameless critic – whose credentials remain as elusive as their courage – likened this holy inquiry to “studying the sex lives of gnats.” I would caution such individuals to reflect more deeply on the plagues of Egypt, in which the Lord made abundant use of small insects to reveal the hardness of men’s hearts.

Clarification, Not Control

It has also been suggested that such discussions are meant to cow the brethren into submissive dependence. This, too, is a theological offal – malnourished thinking dressed up as discernment. The aim is not control, but clarity. A member who inquires whether their use of tallow aligns with divine expectation is not a slave, but a seeker.

And if a minister lacks the discernment to answer such a question, then yes – a study paper is needed.

One does not dismiss the map simply because the road is narrow.

What the Scoffers Miss

Amidst the scoffing, a pattern emerges: a refusal to believe that small things matter. That fats, genealogies, shadows of the Law – while perhaps minor in caloric content – may carry theological weight. These are not the concerns of fluffy-minded milquetoasts. These are the concerns of covenant-keepers, watchmen on the dietary walls.

The idea that “we eat fat every time we eat meat” is presented as a trump card. But this is like saying “we sin every day,” as though frequency excuses gravity. Even if true, it calls not for mockery but for mindfulness.

A Final Word to the Theologically Lean

To the bloggers and commenters who see tallow as a distraction from greater suffering in the world: it is possible – indeed, necessary – to care about both. The Church is called to live in a state of faithful fatfulness – not gluttonous, not ascetic, but watchful. Whether in the pulpit or the pantry, righteousness requires attention to detail.

The Doctrine Committee, in its deliberations, has dignified the question. The bloggers, in their derision, have revealed something altogether more concerning: a tendency to laugh where trembling would be more appropriate.

May the saints consider carefully what is offered, what is received, and what is scorned.

Elder Rev. Dr. Percival Thaddeus Grone

Percival Thaddeus Grone

Senior Fellow of Sacrificial Nutrition and Theological Lipidology at the First Antioch Institute of Levitical Wellness
Certified Liturgical Edibility Analyst (C.L.E.A.N.)

Still Watching Since 1844

Pondering the Armstrongist Torah Redo: The Confessions of a Former Festival Advisor

 

Staircase to the Southern Gate of the Second Temple (Fair Use)

 

Pondering the Armstrongist Torah Redo

The Confessions of a Former Festival Advisor

By Scout

לָשׂוּם אֶת שְׁמוֹ שָׁם (Hebrew, “to place his name”)

 

At one time, I was the Festival Advisor for the small WCG congregation I used to attend.  I was a part of the regime.  It is now high time for me to do penance.  This is the time of year when many of the little apocalyptic Millerite denominations that cascaded from the collapse of Armstrongism will encourage members to start festival planning.  So, it is the season.  In this writing, I refer to the Feast of Tabernacles (FOT or Sukkoth) because it illustrates some of the issues with the way that Armstrongism re-implemented the Torah in a new rendition. 

The History of Re-imagining the Torah

I will first discuss Rabbinic Judaism. I believe this is an important preface because I think many Armstrongists view the observance of the Torah as what happens in their local Jewish Congregation.  The Jews keep all the Holy Days locally.  But that was forced by the Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD during the Great Tribulation. 

The Torah is bound to a gathering place for worship.  The place was a tabernacle in the wilderness and then it became the First Temple, then the Second Temple.  The watershed event in the history of Torah observance was the loss of the Second Temple to Roman destruction in 70 AD, well after the introduction of the New Covenant.   The Judaic response to this truncation was to repackage the Torah sans Temple for local synagogue praxis.  This was inaugurated by prominent Pharisee Yohanan ben Zakkai (lived circa 1-80 AD; there are various spellings of his name) who had the endorsement of the Roman conquerors, particularly Vespasian.  Ben Zakkai had credibility because he and his faction were not seen by the Romans as a part of the Jewish Revolt.  Ben Zakkai assembled the Bet Din in Jamnia, a city to the west of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean coast and they repackaged the Torah to function without a Temple for synagogue liturgy.  One of Ben Zakkai’s guiding principles was that “deeds of love” had replaced sacrifices. 

Then, for Rabbinic Judaism, there is the issue of God having placed his name at the now destroyed Second Temple.  The placing of God’s name at a particular location is referred to by scholars as “the centralizing formula.”  According to researcher Zvi Koenigsberg the rabbis noted that the locations (called “high places”) varied in the time prior to the Temple and saw that as a principle that permitted multiple locations to be chosen. 

This collection of events, briefly stated, is the source of Rabbinic Judaism that most North American Gentiles are familiar with. A further sidebar issue is whether in the formation of Armstrongism the praxis of Rabbinic Judaism was copied, explicitly or implicitly, or if a separate but similar repackaging of the Torah sans Temple occurred.  I will not seek to address that issue in this writing.  What is known is that how God placed his name on the worship location to which the Torah is bound was of a different character among Armstrongists than what is depicted in the Bible.  The Bible asserts a high revelation in which God himself spoke the place where his name would dwell.  In Armstrongism, there was a low revelation in which HWA saw that circumstances were pointing to Big Sandy (also referred to as Gladewater) as the place where God’s name would dwell and this provided a valid location for Sukkoth observance.  The former revelation is documented in the Bible and the latter is documented in Armstrongist literature and, if it is credible at all, has only denominational scope. 

In both Rabbinic Judaism and Armstrongism, the Torah was uncoupled from the Temple without a precise Biblical model that I can discern to support this action.  Scripture does not anticipate the need to reassign the placing of God’s name.  The leaders of the Bet Din sat in Moses’ Seat but how did that authority extend to this uncoupling?  And where is the Biblical authority for Armstrongists to tamper with the placement of God’s name?  These are questions that need answers from those who would perpetuate Torah observance without the Temple.  The uncoupling of the Torah from the Temple seems to be a case that is yet to be built.

The Problem of the Temple-centric Torah

The Armstrongist rendition of the Torah fails the jot-and-tittle test (Matthew 5:18).  When Jesus made that well-known jot-and-tittle statement, he was referring to the full law as delivered in the Pentateuch.  This was a practice that was Temple-centric.  The FOT involved Temple sacrifices which became no longer binding under the New Covenant after the sacrifice of Jesus, but the Torah also prescribed that this was one of three occasions when the Israelite males were to come before God for worship at the location where he placed his name and this requirement would not have been abrogated by the sacrifice of Jesus.   And God placed his name at the Temple in Jerusalem.  So, if you believe the Torah is still binding on Christians, the sacrifices became passé under the New Covenant but the command to appear at the right place did not.  So, a big jot passed from the law in the Torah sans Temple repackaging by Armstrongism. 

The Temple-centric Torah still exists.  It lies fallow in everyone’s Bible.  Nobody can fully observe the Torah because the Temple is gone and has never been rebuilt.  And the Temple in Jerusalem was the place that God placed his name and this continued until 70 AD and that designation was never rescinded.  In fact, God stated the following in 2 Chronicles 7:16 regarding the placement of his name: “For now I have chosen and consecrated this house so that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”  In these prophetic words, God apparently did not anticipate placing his name in Big Sandy, Texas or Squaw Valley, California.

I cannot find any place in scripture where the placement of God’s name in Jerusalem is rescinded.  2 Chronicles 7:16, quoted above, refers to the First Temple.  God abandoned that Temple (Ezekiel 10:18) and it was destroyed by the Babylonians.  But God’s name was still placed there even though God’s presence was not there and there was no physical structure.  We know this name placement had continuity because Darius stated the following concerning the proposed Second Temple (Ezra 6:12): “And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem.”   The continuity of the name placement extends into the New Heavens and New Earth because in Rev. 21:22 it states that there will be a New Jerusalem and God the Father and God the Son will be the Temple in that city.  A city that is eternal.  The placement of the name in Jerusalem survived national upheavals, destructions, captivities, loss of physical structure but it will continue into perpetuity.  Given this history and prophesied future, it is staggering that some believe that God would place his name at Wisconsin Dells or Tucson. 

The Temple Returns

In 1 Chronicles 7:16 quoted above, did God disclose that he could not really tell the future?  Did he not foresee the destruction of the first Temple or the Second Temple?  God actually creates reality so it is impossible that he would not see down the corridors of time and into the future.  God’s name continued to be placed in Jerusalem even though the physical structure of the Second Temple was destroyed in the Tribulation.  There has been a replacement for the Temple that was destroyed in 70 AD.  We are told of this in John 2:19-22 that Jesus said: “’Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.  The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”  How about that? The disciples did not, with a spirit of unbelief, turn to the Book of Ezekiel chapters 40 through 48 and tell the resurrected Jesus that he was wrong – that there was going to be another physical Temple building.  Since the Gospel of John and the Epistle to the Ephesians were roughly contemporary, it is like that the early church understood the full import of Jesus as the Temple. To seal the deal, the Levitical Priesthood, based in the Temple, was replaced (Hebrews 7:12).  And further, Christ as the Temple was attested by Jesus himself in John 2:19-22, Christ as the Temple was attested by Paul in Ephesians 2:20-22 and by John of Patmos in Revelation 21:22. In the mouths of two or three witnesses a thing is established.  

In spite of all this evidence, amazingly, there are those who claim the Torah is forever and written on their hearts (Hoeh says that the eternal law of God includes the Ten Commandments and also the “statutes and laws” derived from them in his article titled “Which Old Testament Laws Should We Keep Today?”) and that the Levitical Priesthood and the sacrificial system will be restored (Ezekiel 44:15) in the Millennium all based on the idea of Ezekiel’s Temple. So, it is worth having a look at Ezekiel’s Temple.  The account of it is starts in Ezekiel 40 but finishes in Revelation 21 and 22.  I will turn to that topic next. 

Ezekiel’s Temple and the Apokatastasis

Ezekiel delivered a lengthy prophecy (Ezekiel 40-48) that is a detailed description of an unbuilt Temple.  The passage describes a being giving the description of the Temple to Ezekiel.  The being says the message of the description is for Israel which was then in exile in Babylon.  Otherwise, the being does not provide any information about the purpose of the description. In particular, the being does not assert that it is a plan for a future physical Temple.  Consequently, there are many interpretations of this passage. 

The meaning of the passage about this imaginary Temple is problematical.  I will present what I think is the most plausible theory. Briefly, at the close of Ezekiel’s description of the Temple, he describes a river of healing waters that proceeds from beneath the threshold of a door to the Temple (Ezekiel 47:1-12). This description is repeated by John of Patmos in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 22:1-5).  Ezekiel and John are using the same imagery.  The connection is undeniable. John seems to provide a gloss on Ezekiel’s Temple writing.  But John of Patmos, a few sentences earlier in Rev. 21:22, makes an explicit statement about the Temple: “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”  What this means is that Ezekiel’s imaginary Temple is a symbol of God the Father and Jesus Christ according to John of Patmos.  In the Apokatastasis, there is the renewal of all things prophesied by Jesus when he walked the earth (Matt. 19:28).  Jesus is the Temple renewed, and this renewed Temple in the person of Jesus is not attended by the Levitical Priesthood but the Elect are the priests of that Age (1 Peter 2:9). 

Where the Data Leads

My penitential confession. The Torah has an unbreachable linkage to the Temple through Holy Day observation. The three major Holy Days required sacrifices and that all the males of Israel appear before God at the place where he put his name. The curtain fell on the Torah in its physical implementation in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed in the Tribulation.  The physical Temple in the interval after the Crucifixion and before 70 AD had already been superseded by Jesus as the new Temple.  The physical destruction of the Temple just underscored this supersession. So, then the Torah as an integrated package of liturgy and praxis could no longer be kept.  All subsequent renditions of the Torah innovated by men are partially truncated without the Temple.  (Somebody needs to convince me that re-inventing the Torah sans Temple is a God-ordained directive rather than a pathology.) Proclaiming that the Temple is no longer required because there are no longer any sacrifices overlooks the fact that there were other Temple activities that are still executable.  Abrogating the sacrifices does not uncouple the Torah from the Temple.  The Torah and the Temple stand together or fall together. Ezekiel’s Temple does not proclaim a revitalization of the Torah, sacrifices and Levitical Priesthood but symbolizes God the Father and the Son who gave us the New Covenant with a new High Priest and a new priesthood and the Law of Christ.

 

Note:  Let me hasten to add that it is my exegeted position that there is nothing wrong with keeping any of the Holy Days. Knock yourself out.  I feel that it is highly probable that the Jerusalem Church in the First Century observed the Holy Days and some Temple worship prior to 70 AD.  Observation of a Holy Days can have pedagogical value if observed from a New Covenant perspective.  What is blatant heresy is to declare that Holy Day observance is required for salvation.  Circumcision is the canonical case against this view.  

UCG Trying To Determine If True Christians Can Use Beef Tallow

 

Why do Church of God leaders have to continually stick their noses into what church members do? They have no excuse for doing so, and that is why they have to constantly trot out submission to church government. Keep the members cowering in fear of losing their salvation, and church leaders and church councils can decree all kinds of idiotic nonsense like the use of beef tallow and British Israelism.

Unfortunately, this topic probably came up because some church member who had no discernment skills felt they had to ask a minister if they could use it. Church members are not encouraged to use their own wisdom and discernment in making decisions on their own. Sadly, this has been ingrained in COG culture for decades.

Now, we have those fun boys in Cincinnati, who recently unceremoniously kicked Rick Shabi to the curb, feeling they have to weigh in on various topics that most members couldn't care less about.

Empowering members to think for themselves is a dangerous predicament for church leaders.

Doctrine Committee (DC)—Mario Seiglie

Mr. Seiglie presented the following items that have been assigned to DC and their status:

• DC has completed a question-and-answer topic on the use of beef tallow. This subject was researched, sent to the COE for edits or comments, and then sent to the Media and Communications Department to be used as a PCD letter.
• The Prophecy Advisory Committee (PAC) has completed its research on the topic of carrying guns at work and having leadership responsibilities at Church services, such as leading songs and speaking. The DC is now reviewing this. 
• New Project: A study paper on the “Eighth Day/Last Great Day.” The paper will be presented for discussion during these May meetings.
• The PAC is reviewing a new project concerning the United States and Great Britain in Bible prophecy.
• DC is discussing questions that were submitted by MMS concerning the timing of the Night To Be Much Observed meal.

Mr. Seiglie then opened the floor for any comments or questions.

Members of the DC: Jorge de Campos, John Elliott, Mario Seiglie (chair) and Rex Sexton.

Dave Pack's Latest Lie...It's June 11 and he is Elijah!

 

British Israelism Debunked: Matt Baker

 

I grew up in the Worldwide Church of God cult, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong. In this video, I discuss one of the cult's main beliefs - British Israelism - and why it is wrong. Chart & Narration: Matt Baker https://usefulcharts.com/

LCG Asserting That Former WCG Members are "Returing to the faith"

Gerald Weston wants to give the impression that there are a lot of former Worldwide Church of God members returning "to the faith". Which "faith" is that?  Traditional Christianity? 1st Century Christianity? Other Church of God movements? To Theilism? Traditional Armstrongism?

Former church members who never really abandoned Armstrongist teachings are those minuscule numbers that may be returning. Many left WCG searching for the one true church and became wanderers in a sea of church splinters, filled with self-appointed men thumping their puny little chests about how great they are. Those wanderers then discovered that none of the groups really captured the lost fantasy they still held up as the standard.  So, they dug out old literature, watched online videos of HWA sermons, and kept flipping the pages of worn-out color-coded Bibles with a booklet next to it that claimed to PROVE how things were supposed to be. After many years of this lonely lifestyle and an occasional undercover visit to a COG Feast site, a few have returned to LCG and other COG groups seeking missing fellowship. That doesn't last long till they discover the same old crap that destroyed the Worldwide Church of God still infects the current COG movement. Soon, they will leave again and become stay-at-home true believers.

The nineteen men on our Council of Elders gathered this week for three days of deliberations. The first day was mostly devoted to updates from the men regarding their areas of responsibilities, and the reports were overall very encouraging. One trend we notice is that people with a past Worldwide Church of God association are returning to the faith after being away from it for several decades. We are also seeing people who never had such association coming along and progressing toward baptism. We had lively discussions on how better to reach the world with the message of the Gospel and with a warning of where our world is heading. Much focus was on how to broaden our appeal to a larger demographic and how to cut through the clutter of information available today, while realizing that our message will be rejected by the majority, just as was the message of the prophets of old. Some very interesting ideas were presented, and I am truly grateful to have these men of wide experience to give good counsel going forward. Thank you for all your prayers regarding these meetings. Due to the time-consuming nature of these council meetings, there will be no video update this week.
—Gerald E. Weston

The Didache: Church of God International and Armstrongism

The Didache According to CGI

As we have pointed out numerous times over the last decade plus, the Armstrongist historical and Scriptural narrative about how the vast majority of Christians came to observe Sunday as their day of worship does NOT fit the evidence available to us. Generally speaking, Herbert Armstrong and his followers have completely ignored this evidence; because it so clearly contradicts the narrative which they have created. Hence, imagine my surprise when the Church of God International (CGI) recently published an article by one of their ministers addressing the existence of an early Church document known as The Didache.

In an article for the latest edition of CGI's The International News, Horane Smith asked, "Does the Didache Support the Eucharist and the Sunday ‘Lord’s Day’?" The author began with a brief background of the document itself. He acknowledged that the writing belongs to the First or Second Century but went on to point out that it was eventually excluded from inclusion in the Christian canon of the Bible. Next, Pastor Smith shifted his attention to placing the document within the context of the Armstrongist view of early Christianity.

He wrote: Historians and Bible scholars generally agree that the primitive church of the first century was Hebraic in nature regarding its doctrines and practices. If the Didache was written in the first century, then in all probability, much of what it was conveying would be from a Hebraic perspective. The document has a lot of biblical quotations. And even if it was written in the second century, chances were some of those Hebraic practices would be followed as Christianity and Judaism didn’t part ways until after the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE under the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

To those of us who are familiar with the history of the early Church, a number of problems with this paragraph will be immediately apparent. First, historians and scholars are generally agreed that the first decade of the Church's existence was decidedly Jewish in character. After all, the original disciples of Christ were ALL Jewish! Even so, the book of Acts informs us that the Church eventually began to expand into Gentile lands beyond Judaea. Then, about the middle of the First Century, the early Church was forced to confront the issue of whether or not Gentiles would be required to observe the tenets of God's covenant with Israel (Torah). According to the book of Acts, a great council of the Church was held at Jerusalem to settle the matter. The fifteenth chapter of that book informs us that the council decided NOT to require Gentile Christians to follow the commandments of Torah.

Moreover, Pastor Smith's statement that "Christianity and Judaism didn’t part ways until after the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE under the Roman Emperor Hadrian" is blatantly inaccurate! For some reason(s), Horane Smith completely ignored the events of the year 70 CE (when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple). In other words, to suggest that the great council at Jerusalem and the Roman war of annihilation against the Jews didn't constitute a parting of the ways for Jews and Christians seems naive at best or downright deceptive at worst! Hence, the more prudent conclusion about the role of the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE would be to say that this event reinforced a parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity that had happened many decades before it.

Indeed, concerning the lasting legacy of 70 CE, a History Tools article titled The Destruction of Jerusalem: Inside the Brutal Roman Siege of 70 AD offered this assessment of that event:


The fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD marked a decisive turning point in Jewish history with profound and lasting consequences:

End of the Second Temple Period: The destruction of the Temple permanently ended the system of priestly rule and ritual sacrifice that had defined Judaism for a millennium. Rabbinical Judaism emerged to fill the void, emphasizing synagogues, scripture study and religious law.

Rise of the Diaspora: The Great Revolt accelerated the growth of the Jewish Diaspora across the Mediterranean and beyond. Millions of Jews would face centuries of persecution, massacres and oppression as a stateless minority, prefiguring later calamities like the expulsions and pogroms of the Middle Ages.

Reshaping of Judea: The Romans annexed Judea as an imperial province and initiated a crackdown on Jewish institutions. Much Jewish-owned land was confiscated, the Sanhedrin was abolished, and the Temple tax was diverted to rebuilding a pagan shrine in Rome. The very name Judea was erased when the Emperor Hadrian crushed another Jewish revolt and renamed the region Syria Palaestina in 135 AD.

Anti-Semitic Propaganda: Roman propaganda used the Jewish defeat to promote negative stereotypes of Jews as treacherous, fanatical and misanthropic. The Arch of Titus, still standing in Rome, depicts the sacking of Jerusalem and Jews as vanquished slaves paraded in a triumphal procession. These images would feed anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish subversion and greed that persisted for centuries.

Jewish-Christian Schism: The flight of the Judeo-Christian community before the siege, along with the elevation of Gentile converts and the repudiation of the Mosaic Law, marked a decisive break between Judaism and Christianity. The New Testament authors‘ vilification of Pharisees and blame of Jews for killing Christ inflamed theological hatred. Jews came to view Christians as heretical traitors; Christians came to see Jews as accursed Christ-killers.

Moreover, a number of other early Christian writings affirm this history. In The Epistle of Barnabas (80-120 CE), we read: He says to them, "Your new moons and your Sabbath I cannot endure." Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is which I have made, [namely this,] when, giving rest to all things, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead. And when He had manifested Himself, He ascended into the heavens. Likewise, in his Epistle to the Magnesians, Ignatius of Antioch (35-108 CE) wrote: Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be. Therefore, having become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this, is not of God. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the sour leaven, and be changed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be salted in Him, lest any one among you should be corrupted, since by your savour you shall be convicted. It is absurd to profess Christ Jesus, and to Judaize. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity, that so every tongue which believes might be gathered together to God.

In his Epistle to the Philadelphians, Ignatius had this to say about the Eucharist: Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to show forth the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever you do, you may do it according to the will of God. Likewise, in his First Apology , Justin Martyr (100-165 CE) had this to say about the Eucharist: And this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.

Interestingly, Justin's First Apology also establishes that Sunday observance was a well-established tradition among Christians by the middle of the Second Century. He wrote: And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons...But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

Thus, we have established that Christianity's estrangement from Judaism was a fact of the latter half of the First Century, not the Second. As a consequence of this historic fact, we know that the scholarly window for the authorship of The Didache (50-120 CE) did NOT correspond to a period of Christian history which could be characterized as "Hebraic in nature." This is critical in refuting Horane Smith's interpretation of The Didache's mention of the Eucharist and Lord's Day.

Hence, the statement which has been translated into English as, But on the Lord's day, after that you have assembled together, break bread and give thanks, having in addition confessed your sins, that your sacrifice may be pure, must be understood in this historical context. Moreover, its context within the sentence makes it analogous to other mentions of the "Lord's Day" (including the one in Revelation 1:10).

Likewise, The Didache's statement about the Eucharist is subject to the same considerations. We read there: But concerning the Eucharist, after this fashion give you thanks. First, concerning the cup. We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine, David your Son, which you have made known unto us through Jesus Christ your Son; to you be the glory for ever. And concerning the broken bread. We thank you, our Father, for the life and knowledge which you have made known unto us through Jesus your Son; to you be the glory for ever. As this broken bread was once scattered on the mountains, and after it had been brought together became one, so may your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth unto your kingdom; for thine is the glory, and the power, through Jesus Christ, for ever. And let none eat or drink of your Eucharist but such as have been baptized into the name of the Lord, for of a truth the Lord hath said concerning this, Give not that which is holy unto dogs. Moreover, while this characterization of the Eucharist is different from that which is portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels and Paul's letter to the saints at Corinth, it is certainly consistent with John's characterization of those symbols (see John 6:22-58 and 15:1-8).

Thus, our exploration of the available sources stands in stark contrast to the conclusions which Pastor Smith reached in his article. He wrote: How should we see the Didache then as it relates to these two modern-day teachings—the Lord’s Day and the Eucharist? The evidence is clear that it cannot be taken for granted that it’s an all-clear-cut proposition that the Didache indicates that the concept of the Lord’s Day being Sunday came as early as the first century. First, no one can say for certain that the Didache is a first-century document, and second, the insertion of the word “day” to read Lord’s Day robs the phrase of authenticity or accurate translation, because “On the Lords of the Lords,” the literal translation of the phrase, seems to have no link with a day, or a day of worship for that matter. For this researcher, the evidence suggest that The Didache provides clear evidence that the traditional view of the Lord's Day (Sunday observance) and the Eucharist began in the First Century, NOT later! What do you think?

 Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix

Crackpot Prophet Commands Tithing While Prominent Evangelist Admits Commanded Tithing Is Wrong

The Great Bwana Bob Mzungu Thiel and his sidekick Steve Dupuie are back once again, lying to Continuing Church of God followers that tithing is a New Covenant command. This kind of convoluted reasoning comes from people entrenched in the law and the Old Covenant, and who do not recognize what was accomplished by Jesus with the New Covenant. Following the law brings comfort and stability to those weak and unable to think for themselves. The need to teach others what and how to believe is a powerful drug that the die-hard Armstrongists wallow in and so they will lie to followers day in and day out giving them all kinds of lists and things to do to make the god they claim to follow like them and given a "get out of jail pass" into the kingdom. Fear and guilt are the two main tools of control COG leaders have over members. It is time to break free from those shackles.

You need to throw away every book, booklet, article, and video made by any Armstrongite minister or church leader telling you that tithing is commanded. They are liars if they do.

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The prominent African-American Creflo Dollar has admitted his tithing requirements were wrong. Those tithes bought him jet planes, fancy homes, etc., with which he has been widely mocked.

Listening to him below, he admits he woke up to the freedom of God's grace instead of being under the Mosaic covenants. 

The concepts he brings across are the same revelation that the Worldwide Church of God came to understand about tithing. It is not commanded in the New Covenant under grace. People give because they understand they are blessed by God. Tithing was used as a tool of guilt and fear in the church.

Dollar says: Religion is sustained by two factors: fear and guilt.

Challenging popular Evangelical belief, controversial televangelist Creflo Dollar, one of America's most flamboyant proponents of the prosperity gospel, has renounced tithing and all his previous teachings on the subject as "not correct."

He also urged his followers to "throw away every book, every tape and every video I ever did on the subject of tithing" but says he will not apologize for his error. 

 

In a Sunday sermon billed "The Great Misunderstanding," the founder and senior pastor of the nearly 30,000-member World Changers Church International headquartered in College Park, Georgia, said he is aware that his declaration will cause him to lose friends and invitations to speak at other churches. 

 

However, he said he is convinced, after studying Romans 6:14, that tithing is an Old Testament concept that has been retired in the dispensation of grace in which Christians should now be living.
"I want to start off by saying that I'm still growing, and the teachings that I've shared in times past on the subject of tithing were not correct," Dollar began in his June 26 sermon.

 

"And today, I stand in humility to correct some things that I've taught for years and believed for years but could never understand it clearly because I had not yet been confronted with the Gospel of grace, which has made the difference." 

 

"I won't apologize because if it wasn't for me going down that route, I wouldn't have ended up where I am now," he continued. "But I will say that I have no shame at all at saying to you, throw away every book, every tape and every video I ever did on the subject of tithing unless it lines up with this." Televangelist Creflo Dollar says teachings on tithing ‘not correct’ but won’t apologize to followers

It is interesting reading the comments tied in with the video above by people who want to continue to live under the bondage of tithing and the law. Just like many in Armstrongism, tithing is the one thing that the church has brainwashed members into believing they are commanded to do.  Tithing makes the COG merry-go-round function. Without this lie funding their so-called ministries would not be around today.

Updated 6/2/25

David C. Pack’s Blacker Kettle

 

David C. Pack’s Blacker Kettle

What David C. Pack is doing in The Restored Church of God is turning more bleak, and the brethren would do well to start paying attention.

The Pastor General is determined to prove to the world that God’s Spirit is working directly with him, providing special hidden knowledge that must be haphazardly rushed out before Jesus Christ can return.

Can you imagine trying to work with someone for ten years and they still keep getting it wrong? Talk about an exercise in perpetual frustration.

If you were attending The Restored Church of God and happened to be locked in a time loop vacuum from April 26 to May 3, 2025, you would have been fully anticipating the arrival of the Kingdom of God today at dawn because during “The Greatest Untold Story!” Parts 573-575, Pastor General David C. Pack gave all the assurances it would come on Pentecost. In fact, proving it was just so darn easy.

Part 573 – May 3, 2025
@ 02:19 But proving it’s Pentecost is falling over backwards without even being pushed. I mean, it’s just that easy.

@ 44:43 …nowhere does God say, “It’s Pentecost.” But He duddn’t have to. He says it in so many ways it’s it’s [chuckles] it’s almost silly to say, “You’ve got to tell me it’s Pentecost.”

Part 574 – May 3, 2025
@ 51:59 Pentecost 2025 is the only date that cannot tarry.

David C. Pack is so spectacularly incompetent that he is incapable of following the laws of physics. Even "falling over backward" is a monumental challenge too daunting to be done correctly despite the proclaimed ease of such a maneuver.

David C. Pack
Failing at Easy Because Easy is Just Too Hard™

Despite his grandiose theological claims, David C. Pack is just a man and is subject to the psychological functions of the human brain. His brain may be utterly broken, affording him the self-permission to speak with ridiculous audacity, but his psyche has an understanding of what he really is.

David C. Pack’s personal psychological defense mechanisms occasionally surface during sermons, primarily when he attacks the nature of others that resides in himself.

Criticizing the behaviors of others that you hate within yourself is known as “The Pot Calling the Kettle Black.”

During “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 466)” on September 7, 2023, David C. Pack leveled substantial refutations against Gerald Flurry of the Philadelphia Church of God, even calling him a lunatic. While handing out disgusted proclamations for Flurry, Dave was preaching that the Kingdom of God would arrive on The Feast of Trumpets. In 2023.

Dave also capitalized on his sermon time to elevate himself as the Messenger of the Covenant and the Star Out of Jacob. The “Kettle Black” article documented the jaw-dropping blindness.

Flash forward to “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 577)” on May 24, 2025. PCG’s Pastor General escaped the deluge of ironic ire, but the Jewish scholars were taken to task.

Part 577 – May 24, 2025
@ 08:46 But the Jews saying that Exodus 19:1 is the New Moon almost made me doubt it. Well, I did more research to see where they came up with it, and it is really bad.

RCG’s resident false apostle is supremely insecure and craves attention like an 18-year-old Instagram influencer. Since his neurons fire along the same pathways as us all, he is a prisoner of his own psychology and has no control over how his psychosis manifests.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
A proverbial idiom from Thomas Shelton’s 1620 translation of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s “History of Don Quixote.” The phrase identifies a situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault that the accuser shares. Some resources claim this is an example of psychological projection.

Psychological Projection
As a defense mechanism, it helps protect the ego from anxiety-provoking thoughts or feelings. By attributing these unwanted aspects to someone or something else, the individual distances themselves from what they find unacceptable within themselves. This process helps reduce internal conflict and preserve a more favorable self-image.

Individuals attribute their own undesirable feelings, thoughts, or motives onto others. This process allows individuals to cope with their own insecurities by perceiving them in others instead.

David C. Pack is coping so hard during Part 577.

Spoiler Alert:
God has a sense of humor and is a fan of irony.

The Pastor General has a love/hate relationship with the Jewish people. He pivots from praising them for being the “oracles of God” to calling them Remphan-worshiping idolaters who killed Stephen for attacking their love of Christmas trees. Yes, he really said that.

Each highlighted point is precisely what David C. Pack does himself, but cannot see it. Read the highlights if you want to understand the broken mind of a self-delusional false apostle brimming over with self-righteous superiority.

Part 577 – May 24, 2025
@ 08:56 In fact, they actually have a false motive. Their goal is to put Pentecost on the 6th of Sivan every year. And so they they literally force the story of Exodus 19 to say that Pentecost comes on the 6th through a series of wild inventions. They're just inventions. But they're only made possible if you declare that to be Sivan 1 when Israel arrived at Sinai. You hafta do that. Then, you have to twist Moses' journeyings up and down the mountain and what happened to get to the 6th for the privilege of the Jews never, ever, ever keeping Pentecost [chuckles] on the right date. So, when when you when you when you pervert the story, I'm not saying they were they were corrupt to arrive at a perverted date for Pentecost. It makes me wonder if your understanding of Exodus 19:1 being a New Moon instead of the middle of the month is its own perversion that leads to to a worsening of the problem. So that was just suspicions. Well, after more time studying it, believe me, they are wrong. And you will not doubt it. You will not doubt it.

Dave was not done warming the backside of the Jewish scholars behind the woodshed. The exquisite blindness is almost divine as Dave acknowledges the blindness of others in 3…2…1…

@ 43:46 Now, I don’t know. I can't explain why the Jews don't see it, except there's a veil on their heads.They can look right at a series of miracles for years and say, “Kill the man who does that.” That’s the same mind. Yet, they’ll go on to be amazing people.

For the third whooping session, Dave took issue with how the Jewish scholars interpreted Ezra 3:8-10’s timing of the Temple being built.

@ 1:11:48 So, the Jews will tell you it was the third day. And you go read their their explanation for why it was the third day ‘cause it duddn’t say there. And I’ll be I’ll be I’ll be generous to their description. This–I’m gonna give them the I’ma put the best face on their description I can put on. This is the kindest I can be. It’s gobbledygook. That’s over, eh–I mean, it wuddn’t that good. They just invent a date.

Wow. Just…wow.

The Black Kettle Answers The Pot
The kindest I can be to David C. Pack is that he has been teaching gobbledygook for over 577 Parts. He just invents dates for the return of Jesus Christ and the arrival of the Kingdom of God. He provides his private interpretations of the Bible because he inserts what it duddn’t say there. He has false motives for preaching “The Greatest Untold Story!” which serves as a continuous self-focused platform to elevate himself. He literally forces the story of the Bible to fit whatever current narrative he desires through a series of wild inventions. They’re just inventions. He twists the verses to say what he wants, perverting the story of the Gospel into a corrupt present truth that is quickly abandoned despite claiming inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Believing he is David Passover, Elijah the Prophet, Joshua the High Priest, the Seventh Angel, the Branch, That Prophet, the Goodman of the House, the Messenger of the Covenant, and many others is its own perversion that leads to a worsening of the problem. His blasphemy against God’s Holy Spirit has reached astounding levels. Anyone in RCG studying their Bibles would know. Believe me, Dave is wrong. David C. Pack cannot see what he is, and his blindness is so complete and profound that he must have a veil on his head.

Luke 6:39
…Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Marc Cebrian

See: David C. Pack’s Blacker Kettle