Pentecost Sunday is observed by both mainstream Christianity and many of the scattered Churches of God, unless you are still one of the hard-core Monday Pentecost COG groups. In Christianity, it commemorates the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 2)—wind, fire, tongues, and power that launched the New Testament Church fifty days after the resurrection.
In the Churches of God, Pentecost remains one of the commanded Holy Days, counted fifty days from the wave-sheaf offering. It is meant to picture the very Spirit that unites God’s people.
Yet this year, the “one true church” will have several groups meeting for a two-day weekend (Sabbath and Pentecost) and will look like this:
- Growing in Torah at Safe Haven Farms in central California.
- United Church of God in the wooded hills of Nashville, Indiana, for worship, hymn singing, and fellowship.
- Church of God Ministries International in Syracuse, Indiana.
- Intercontinental Church of God is holding two-day weekends across Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia.
- Seventh Day Church of God in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Some of these groups are meeting in the same general regions—sometimes within an easy drive—yet not one extended an invitation to the others. No joint services. No shared hall. No communal breaking bread together in a meal. No humble attempt to let the Holy Spirit actually dwell among unified brethren. They will celebrate the feast of the Spirit while keeping that Spirit boxed up in their separate little camps.
And the real tragedy? This is only the beginning.
Come the Feast of Tabernacles—the week-long celebration they all claim pictures the coming Kingdom of God, a time of unity and peace—the same farce will repeat on a grander scale. Different COG groups will book separate feast sites, often in the same states or even the same general areas, then pat themselves on the back for their “purity” while refusing to fellowship with anyone outside their shrinking circle. Same story for the Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Passover, and every other one of their self-commanded Holy Days. Year after year, they will scatter like proud, stubborn sheep, each little flock convinced it alone is “Philadelphian” while everyone else is Laodicean.
How delightfully special they all must feel. How Holy Spirit led.
This is the enduring, bitter legacy of Armstrongism: a system that preached unity within, but engineered endless division. Keep the members isolated, convince them their tiny group is the only safe place on earth, and they will gladly pay three separate tithes to support the illusion. Nothing says “We are the true church” quite like refusing to break bread with your own spiritual cousins while the world watches the spectacle.
Pentecost is supposed to be about power and one Body. Instead, these groups have turned every Holy Day into a monument to their own disunity—proving, with exquisite irony, that the Spirit they claim to follow has never truly had a home among them.
Truly, a masterpiece of self-righteous fragmentation. Well done, gentlemen. The Kingdom must be so impressed.
And the real tragedy? This is only the beginning.
Come the Feast of Tabernacles—the week-long celebration they all claim pictures the coming Kingdom of God, a time of unity and peace—the same farce will repeat on a grander scale. Different COG groups will book separate feast sites, often in the same states or even the same general areas, then pat themselves on the back for their “purity” while refusing to fellowship with anyone outside their shrinking circle. Same story for the Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Passover, and every other one of their self-commanded Holy Days. Year after year, they will scatter like proud, stubborn sheep, each little flock convinced it alone is “Philadelphian” while everyone else is Laodicean.
How delightfully special they all must feel. How Holy Spirit led.
This is the enduring, bitter legacy of Armstrongism: a system that preached unity within, but engineered endless division. Keep the members isolated, convince them their tiny group is the only safe place on earth, and they will gladly pay three separate tithes to support the illusion. Nothing says “We are the true church” quite like refusing to break bread with your own spiritual cousins while the world watches the spectacle.
Pentecost is supposed to be about power and one Body. Instead, these groups have turned every Holy Day into a monument to their own disunity—proving, with exquisite irony, that the Spirit they claim to follow has never truly had a home among them.
Truly, a masterpiece of self-righteous fragmentation. Well done, gentlemen. The Kingdom must be so impressed.
16 comments:
Really a good descriptive post. Could it be the actual message is wrong and thereby creates disunity? By that I mean focusing on on observance of days rather than belief IN Jesus Christ. While in prison , knowing that some are preaching ‘out of spite or strife, Paul was so dedicated that he rejoiced that CHRIST was being preached!
The state of Armstrongism today is the direct result of an inevitable force which many know as "karma". I do not lament the state in which it finds itself, in fact I derive deep solace from it. It's quarantined, limited and restricted in its ability to inflict damage, very fragile and mercurial. It is no surprise that there would be some who have a sense of nostalgia following its demise, but for those it remains, at worst, as its own punishment, and at best as a series of limitations. It is its own box, or prison. So long as its teachers remain in need of income, it will exist. For the most part, that is the only career these folks ever knew.
Strangely, some remain because of its emphasis upon prophecy. I say strangely because that is the movement's greatest area of ineptness. But then again, lab rats educate themselves sufficiently to navigate elaborate mazes to get to a bump of cocaine. The pursuit of what is presented as special, insider knowledge has always been a very powerful drug. It can be highly addictive, and is very difficult to shed in favor of normalcy (whatever that might be).
This post does a good job pointing out the carnality of division (1 Corinthians 3) , but the fact is, this is not just " the bitter legacy of Armstrongism ". Armstrongism is but a microcosm of what many call " orthodox " Christianity, which is also suffering from the same plague. I read recently where the count has increased from 41,000 to 45,000 denominations that call themselves Christian, which is increasing, not decreasing.
Christians have divided themselves over a variety if issues: the ordination of women, sola fida, predestination, lordship salvation, hell, does the spirit proceed from the Father AND Son or just the Father?, how to interpret the Bible, which version to use, and so on. It's a long list.
The Christian world is not watching the Armstrong spectacle for they have their own problems hanging on to what they have. It is also not likely any one is going to change their ways, considering what they already have invested, and of course, the money.
The post does make an interesting admission. When the 7th day churches observe the holydays, previous posts have suggested that the holydays are old covenant and not applicable for us now, , mere rituals, shadows and not reality, works, not faith, a temporary tutor, bondage, slavery, etc.
BUT
When mainstream Christianity observes a holyday (Pentecost), all is well and good, no problems whatsoever. Could somebody pass me a slice of "bias" over here?
Good post NO2HWA. Division is certainly a hallmark of the Armstrong movement. I have always puzzled at why feast sites that are so close to each other, have little if no connection/interaction between them. On such a happy occasion. Perhaps it is fear that some may like the ‘other’ feast sites more than their assigned one and might swap over? Who knows. But division is rife within this movement. And Christianity as a whole. And Judaism as well. Humans are tribal, and that goes for the religion they follow, for better or worst. Regardless keep smiling folks. Cheers.
repent all yous blasphemous snakes, dr bob is only true prophet he know final phase he teach us true gospel he gives us good gifts motorbikes, phonies to spread massages to all malawi pastor evans and mulowzoa promise me cause dey welcome me back for many times dr bob like jesus he forgive us from women and old ways of witchdoctors we repent and do great things dr bob is dreamer of dreams he shows us the way to blessing. praises to dr bob anens🙏
I think Mainstream observe Pentecost but there is a difference - it is not as a feast‑day observance as I understand. Rather, they keep Pentecost as a celebration of Acts 2, not as the Leviticus 23 festival.
This is different to Armstrong who makes it all a part of all annual festivals to be observed as holy days and thus all part of his theology that these things are required of Christians.
653
I appreciate your comment. I have a nagging feeling that the real reason Pentecost is observed by the mainstream is because it supports "Sunday" observance. If it fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday would it be emphasized to the extent it is now? Would there be church services and would anyone show up?
I know, I'm overly cynical!
Hebrew Roots is infiltrating these groups and it’s even more Armstrong than Armstrong himself. It’s a slippery slope back to Sinai
Yearly Pentecost calendar dates from the Hebrew calendar are not always the same day as calculated by on the gregorian calendar that other Christian denominations follow.
He who is without sin should cast the first stone NO2HWA. Have you never isolated yourself from others ? Have you done self-righteous fragmetation on others? Contributed to causing church splits? Are there any brothers in Christ you decided to seperate from ?
It is always the religious leaders who have kwpt the various COG groups seperate.
541 writes, "it's a slippery slope back to Sinai".
Returning to Sinai would not be a real issue if you have learned the lessons of Sinai. Such as . . .
--The law is not satisfied by human effort or self performance
--A man is not "justified" by works of law
--They that are " in the flesh" cannot please God
--Without "faith" it is impossible to please Him
There are more but I will stop there. Yes, many of the Hebrew Roots movements have picked up a lot of Armstrong bad habits! Not good.
Sorry folks. I've been watching too much HOUSE M.D. lately.
It's strange how most of the "Hebrew Roots" victims don't realize that until the 19th century Hebrew had basically been a dead liturgical language for nearly 2000 years until the modern Zionist movement in Europe decided to revive it as a spoken tongue. Yet when the Zionists revived Hebrew, they imported their Yiddish pronunciations! Most of the poor souls who get sucked into the idea that G-d will only hear you if you pronounce His name properly are settling for a Yiddish-flavored Hebrew, meaning that by their own logic G-d won't hear them any more than if they were praising "Jehovah"!
8:41 said: "Yearly Pentecost calendar dates from the Hebrew calendar are not always the same day as calculated by on the gregorian calendar that other Christian denominations follow."
True. The date of Pentecost depends on both the calendar used (eg Jewish, Julian, Gregorian) and the starting point for counting.
In Talmudic Jewish tradition, the count (the “Omer”) begins on Nisan 16 and ends at Shavuot (Sivan 6). In 2026, that falls on Friday May 22.
For Christians, Pentecost is the 50th day after Pascha/Easter. However, due to the different calendars used by Orthodox and Catholics/Protestants the dates usually diverge:
• Catholics/Protestants (Gregorian): Sunday May 24, 2026
• Orthodox (Julian): Sunday May 31, 2026
So while the method—counting 50 days—is consistent in all 3, the starting date and calendar used determines the difference.
Among COGs the count to Pentecost typically begins with “Omer Sunday”—the Sunday that falls during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15–21).
However, when Nisan 14 falls on a Saturday (Sabbath), practices differ:
• Some begin the count on Sunday Nisan 15
• Others begin on Sunday Nisan 22
The difference comes down to interpretation—whether the “Sabbath” tied to the count must fall within Unleavened Bread itself or whether it is the Sunday that must. And so you might have COG Christians observing Pentecost a week apart like we saw last year (2025) for instance.
Bp8,
The 45000 denominations is not the same as the divisions in Armstrongism. Many are called “denominations “ when really it is church simply based in a different region/state/country. For instance, there are 248 Roman Catholic “denominations” counted in the 45,000 but it is simply because they are in 248 countries but they are undet Rome.
BP8,
The giving and manifestation of the Holy Spirit is a momentous occasion for Christians. It would be widely celebrated no matter the day of the week.
"spread massages" -- what sort of church do you have?
Mainstream churches do not observe the Pentecost of the Bible. They count from Easter and many years they are observing it on a different Sunday from the COGs. And by the way, Pentecost isn't actually on Sunday, it is on the first day of the week, which is partly on Saturday and partly on Sunday.
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