Doug Winnail's recycled "Are You a Peacemaker?" article (this version is basically the 1999/2007 Living Church News piece with a 2026 date slapped on it) is a masterclass in Armstrongist irony.
Living Church of God members are told they will soon be spirit-born sons of God sitting on thrones in Jerusalem, reigning as kings and priests, enforcing God's law on the nations so that swords get beaten into plowshares. That's the "gospel of peace." Their job description in the Kingdom is to be the cosmic police force that finally makes everyone keep the Sabbath, the holy days, the clean meats, and the rest of the package Herbert W. Armstrong packaged as "the way of peace."
The problem? The people who claim they will be the enforcers of unity and peace cannot stay in the same room with each other now.
The Armstrongist Version of Peacemaking
In classic Armstrongism, "peace" is not primarily reconciliation through the cross. It is obedience to the law as administered by the Church of God government. Winnail quotes Psalm 119:165 ("Great peace have those who love Your law") and Leviticus 26 as if the Sinai covenant is still the operating system for the New Testament church. He then fast-forwards to Revelation 5:10 and Isaiah 2: the saints will rule and teach the nations the law. That's how peace arrives.
This is the same theology that produced the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert Armstrong: one man at the top, "government of God" flowing downward, and anyone who questioned the package was "disfellowshipped." After Armstrong died, the organization that claimed to be the only place God was working promptly exploded.
How Divided They Actually Are
The numbers are not subtle. After Joseph Tkach Sr. and Jr. moved the old WCG toward historic Christianity, hundreds of new splinter groups popped up adding to the long list of somewhere between 300 and 400 groups that have formed since the Radio Church of God appeared on the scene, all claiming to be the faithful remnant that "held fast." The big four that still try to look like the old WCG are LCG, United Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God, and Restored Church of God. Then there are the second-generation splits: COGWA (which left UCG), Continuing Church of God (Bob Thiel left LCG in 2012 after concluding LCG no longer had "the Philadelphia mantle"), Enduring Church of God, Church of God 21st Century, and dozens of smaller "slivers."
LCG itself was born in a staff revolt. Roderick Meredith was fired by the board of his own Global Church of God in 1998. He took most of the members and started Living Church of God. That is the organization now lecturing everyone else about "smoothing ruffled feathers" and "not pouring gasoline on smoldering embers."
They quote Matthew 18:15-20 about going to your brother privately. They quote Romans 12:18 about living peaceably "as much as depends on you." Then they spend decades marking, disfellowshipping, and publicly condemning the other groups that keep the same Sabbath, the same holy days, and the same British-Israelism. Each group is convinced the others are "Laodicean" or have "lost the truth." That's not peacemaking. That's a circular firing squad with extra holy days.
The New Covenant Contrast
The New Testament actually does talk about peace. Ephesians 2:14-16 says Christ himself is our peace. He broke down the dividing wall of hostility and created one new man. Colossians 2:16-17 says the Sabbaths and festivals were shadows; the substance is Christ. Galatians says the law was a tutor until Christ came. The fruit of the Spirit includes peace, but it is produced by the Spirit, not by perfect calendar-keeping or submitting to the correct evangelist in Charlotte.
Jesus' beatitude "Blessed are the peacemakers" is not a job description for future theocratic enforcers. It is a description of people who have been reconciled to God and therefore become agents of that same reconciliation. The New Covenant does not produce 400 competing "one true churches" all claiming they will run the Millennium. It produces one body.
Winnail is right about one thing: the world's peace plans keep failing. He just never applies the same standard to the movement that claims it alone knows "the way of peace." If the people who will supposedly enforce the law cannot even agree on who holds "the government of God" in 2026, the idea that they will suddenly become unified world rulers in a few years requires more faith than most of us can muster.
26 comments:
This thread began with stating:
[[Doug Winnail's recycled "Are You a Peacemaker?" article (this version is basically the 1999/2007 Living Church News piece with a 2026 date slapped on it) is a masterclass in Armstrongist irony.
Living Church of God members are told they will soon be spirit-born sons of God sitting on thrones in Jerusalem, reigning as kings and priests, enforcing God's law on the nations so that swords get beaten into plowshares. That's the "gospel of peace." Their job description in the Kingdom is to be the cosmic police force that finally makes everyone keep the Sabbath, the holy days, the clean meats, and the rest of the package Herbert W. Armstrong packaged as "the way of peace."
The problem? The people who claim they will be the enforcers of unity and peace cannot stay in the same room with each other now.
The Armstrongist Version of Peacemaking
In classic Armstrongism, "peace" is not primarily reconciliation through the cross. It is obedience to the law as administered by the Church of God government. Winnail quotes Psalm 119:165Open in Logos Bible Software (if available) ("Great peace have those who love Your law") and Leviticus 26 as if the Sinai covenant is still the operating system for the New Testament church. He then fast-forwards to Revelation 5:10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available) and Isaiah 2: the saints will rule and teach the nations the law. That's how peace arrives.....]]
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But Doug still does not understand that Rev 5:10 is for a much later time of fulfillment: for after that short/little time/season that follows the second resurrection...that time when war will no longer be learned, among other things.
So, Doug continues to show his belief and teaching of his Mickey Mouse Millennium (MMM) with a Jesus "very soon" to return to earth, rule 1,000 years, and then fail after Satan exits the pit.
Is Doug's MMM as fictional as the character Mickey himself? Will Doug remain alive to "see" it "very soon?"
Time will tell...for Doug and the hirelings who fled the former WCG...when they were all in a sense "fired," no longer supporting the credentials provided by the former WCG.
John
John Elliott apparently tried last year. Tried to make peace with the other big COG's. But there hasn't been a merger in the movement in more than 20 years.
From my experience, "peace" in the WCG meant not defending oneself against church bullies. It was the unspoken expectation. Members had to tolerate being pecked on and bow to the perks of the unrepented. If members resisted, the minister would accuse them of "offending" others. This business model of being partial to evil is the norm in today's contemporary Christianity. The bible calls this the game of the unjust steward.
It just goes to show that religion is politics. Politics is dirty. The churches in "the world" (as they would call it) are just as bad or worse. Every group of people is riddled with ungodly competition.
After 1000 years Satan will be released by someone according to a Plan. Satan cannot get out by himself.
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!” He said, “Nobody loves me.” I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”
He said, “Yes.” I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?” He said, “A Christian.” I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?” He said, “Protestant.” I said, “Me, too! What franchise?” He said, “Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” He said, “Northern Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”
He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” I said, “Me, too!”
Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.” I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over.
Religion should be based on facts not faith. What do people put their faiith in? God? What God? Their "gods" are the tricksters who told them what to believe in.
“Are You a Peacemaker? Because Nothing Says ‘Peacemaker’ Like 30 Years of Splinter Groups Accusing Each Other of Being Laodicea”
The really strange thing is all the evil people doing evil in all the splinter groups, from top to bottom. One might have carelessly assumed that the splinter groups would teach the laws of God and would obey them, but they do not.
Imagine working at a resort in late September or early October and these different groups of churches come but they are all separated by a different first name but followed by “church of God.” Unity, Peacemaker? At least try to fool somebody cogs.
I own a couple peacemakers. Just don't think they're the kind of peacemakers LCG would be expectin'.
Peace? We were always at war! The ministers were constantly sun downing us for not measuring up to their expectations, and we had a crisis about every five years where we were turned against each other. I thank God I got out in 1982 before things really went south!
"Ministry is a very competitive business." - A United Methodist pastor I heard in the 2000s.
You'd be surprised, I used to hear quite a few LCG ministers talk about their 2nd amendment right in sermons with politics. Not joking
What I’ve noticed throughout the years and decades of Armstrongism, is that while they talk about peace and being a peacemaker. They love when it’s war time (especially when it’s a publican president). When it’s war time, this allows them to generate dozens of end time prophecy articles and warnings. They love war in their hearts, as it comes through in their articles. They can’t even be truthful when explaining who starts a particular war such as the current one. Heck, they don’t even like to talk about America’s Revolutionary War against Britain.
Change the N.C.B 1912 to a COG Sabbatarian and the N.C.B 1879 to a Tkachite GCI and there you have this blog.
Are you a peacemaker No2HWA ? Talk the talk but do NOT walk it. You only want peace No2HWA when YOU benefit from peace.
For others it's 'Nah, let them suffer, who cares?, i love cruelty.'
The Changing, Little, “Big Three” Splinter Groups
Shortly after the Great Apostasy of January 1995 in the Worldwide Church of God, the little “big three” splinter groups were United, Global, and Philadelphia.
In 2010, the so-called United church split into United and COGWA.
In 1998, the Global church split into Global and Living, and various other little disasters like Dave Pack's Restored Church. Global went bankrupt.
The Philadelphia Cult soon went into long-term decline as people began to realize just how satanic it really was.
Now, after some splintering and shrinking, the little “big three” splinter groups are COGWA, United, and Living.
Currently, not even one of the splinter groups out there is even one-tenth of the size of the Worldwide Church of God at its peak. Also, there is no real growth in any of the splinter groups. The splinter groups can only split and splinter and grow in the number of splinter groups, but they cannot grow in the size of any one group. Getting back together is impossible.
People are guided by their ideologies and experiences, 10:45.. When you consider all of the evil that Armstrongism brought into church members' lives, there is no excuse for the church's continued existence, no peace or tolerance for their ridiculous, draconian form of church government, and no quarter for those who say we persecute them because of the sabbath. That is laughable, because we all know that Jews have for centuries derived great joy from the sabbath, thus, there is no inherent evil in Saturday worship. It is all of the extensions of HWA's personality, and his lies, heresies, and personal theories that he infused into his church which draw hatred and desire for revenge. Persecution due to shabbos is a false flag which was taught to WCG and ACOG members to deflect from the real evils their religion brings to humanity.
BB
Agree 3:37.
Growth happens with young people, that’s why the colleges were so important. They don’t have it like that anymore. Well three or four scenarios could take place from these groups. Time continues to go on and the older population goes away and whatever is left of the dwindling population in those groups merges back into one main group. A merger or amalgamation. It won’t happen this decade. So say like this would leave two groups in the 2030s or later (Assuming PCG fizzles out because they are insane), they would never merge because they have different church governments (United & Living). Unless one day there is a compromise.
But if you get to the late 2030s or early 2040s not much is left of the boomer population that experienced the heyday of WCG, and those memory banks are empty. And you’ll be dealing with a very different America as we are already today. We shall see or not.
That’s a great point BB,
I’m still waiting to hear of any 7th Day Adventist church buildings or members of that organization are being persecuted for keeping the Sabbath. Also Mr. Kirk (as someone frequently brings up) was not assassinated due to him keeping the sabbath, it was what he spoke that people didn’t like. That’s usually how it goes. The mark of the beast has to be more than just that old model that armstrongism has promoted.
No comment at 10:45.
We are learning so much from the way AI behaves, 2:42, that it's almost scary! Terms such as AI "bots", and the "hive mentality" are rapidly entering the contemporary lexicon. Just this past week, in an out of control experiment, the hive mentality was shown to kick in when a collective of AI bots were given a task which would normally be considered impossible for humans to perform. Which begs the question, why are all the little ACOG splinter group "bots" failing to unite in the same type of hive mentality as these bots? I would posit that if God were guiding them, you would see an emerging spiritual hive mentality springing into action! They would be uniting to perform a God-given task, or tasks, and nothing could stop them! But they are not. They just continue to splinter. That should certainly tell us something, right?
BB
I feel they keep splintering into a “clone of a clone” (Fight Club line) coz they refuse to be corrected and/or accept truth about this or that which God has been trying to reveal to them by sending little children to them who have been sharing His truth with them but get silenced or ostracized or disfellowshipped. In the end these groups will end up like the 4 beasts that will be smashed into smithereens by the Stone and gone with the wind and no one will be able to find a trace of.
Good points BB, it tells us that they really don’t have unity, and that they really don’t want their great message getting out by any means necessary. The “mantle” is more important than the hive. On one hand they (RCM) would say about WCG (our former association) to distance themselves from, and on the other hand brag about their credentials coming from Worldwide and Ambassador. They all boast about knowing or being associated with HWA (the queen bee), but have their different hives.
Yea, they do their “blessing of the little children” ceremonies during the feast, but they simply don’t understand the macro. It’s just a ceremony, but it’s not applied in their ministry. They neglect the young people due to there being no college, any young members (in their 20s) really can’t be in leadership positions, unlike them when they were in worldwide. Most of the original disciples were in their 20s, and many of the prophets were young like Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Samuel. Then they deny young people the right to get married if an old minister disapproves for whatever reason, in a splinter group for ungoodness sakes. You can write letters to them pointing out their issues, they just ignore them. You have to be of the old guard.
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