For a movement that claims to represent the one true Church of God and restored 1st-century Christianity, its ministers seem to spend an astonishing amount of time talking about someone other than Jesus. You would think that a religion supposedly centered on Jesus Christ would devote most of its energy to discussing his teachings, his sacrifice, his mercy, his love, and the New Covenant. But apparently, those subjects are too mainstream Christian for the Armstrongist prophetic entertainment industry. Instead, its ministers have developed an almost obsessive fascination with Satan, demons, conspiracies, mysterious spiritual forces, and the endless machinations of the devil. If something goes wrong, Satan did it. If someone disagrees with the ministry, Satan is involved. If a member leaves the church, Satan has deceived them. If a website criticizes the organization, the devil must be behind it. If the world experiences political turmoil, religious confusion, or social problems, you can be certain that another satanic conspiracy is waiting to be exposed.
One has to wonder whether Satan ever gets a vacation. Listening to Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry, Gerald Weston, Samuel Kitchen, Alton Billingsley, and Dave Pack, you might conclude that the devil is the busiest, most successful, and most powerful spiritual being in the entire universe. God seems to spend most of his time reacting to Satan's latest scheme, while Jesus is apparently waiting backstage for his eventual entrance into an apocalyptic production involving enormous destruction and a very unhappy humanity. Welcome to Armstrongism, where Satan gets the starring role, Jesus gets the angry cameo, and the ministry gets to explain everything else.
Satan: The Real Star of Armstrongist Theology
Although these ministers have their own peculiar theological obsessions, they share a remarkable tendency to portray the world as one enormous battlefield of satanic interference. Everything is connected, everything is a conspiracy, and virtually every unpleasant development is interpreted as evidence that Satan is working behind the scenes to frustrate God's purposes. Bob Thiel deserves particular recognition for his seemingly endless interest in identifying the devil's activities. His broadcasts and writings repeatedly return to Satan, demonic influence, deception, persecution, and supposed spiritual attacks against his ministry. One almost expects him to announce that the local grocery store has changed its opening hours because Satan is attempting to undermine the restoration of the true Church of God.
Gerald Flurry has his own elaborate collection of prophetic enemies, conspiracies, and end-time threats, with a theological universe populated by sinister forces and an endless succession of people and institutions that must be exposed. Gerald Weston and the Living Church of God likewise devote considerable attention to Satan's influence, worldly deception, and spiritual dangers lurking around practically every corner. Then there is Dave Pack, whose prophetic pronouncements have turned anticipation of Christ's return into a seemingly perpetual exercise in apocalyptic expectation. With prophetic timelines repeatedly requiring explanation and adjustment, one wonders whether Satan has been given responsibility for maintaining the church calendar.
The common thread is that Satan receives an extraordinary amount of attention. Rather than encouraging members to concentrate on Christ and the freedom found in the New Covenant, these ministries repeatedly direct their attention toward the devil's supposed influence over virtually every aspect of human existence. Apparently, keeping the membership frightened, suspicious, and constantly alert to satanic interference is considerably more exciting than teaching people how to live like Jesus.
The Most Powerful Being in the Universe Is Apparently Satan
Here is where Armstrongist theology becomes particularly amusing. Ministers routinely describe Satan as the god of this world, the great deceiver of humanity, and the master manipulator of governments, religions, education, science, politics, and practically every institution that fails to agree with their interpretation of Scripture. Satan has supposedly infiltrated everything, and the world is portrayed as one enormous demonstration of his influence. Yet these same ministers insist that God is sovereign, all-powerful, and ultimately in control.
There is a rather obvious contradiction in the way this is presented. If Satan is so extraordinarily successful at deceiving humanity, manipulating world affairs, corrupting religion, and frustrating God's purposes, one might reasonably wonder what exactly God is doing while all this is happening. Does God have a plan, or is he simply waiting for Satan to finish his latest project? Has the devil established a competing universe with a larger staff, better public relations, and a more effective communications department? Armstrongist ministers would undoubtedly object to such questions and explain that God permits Satan to influence the world for a specific purpose. Fine, but that still doesn't explain why their preaching seems to give Satan more attention than the very God they claim to represent.
The New Testament repeatedly directs believers toward Christ, yet Armstrongism seems determined to keep everyone's attention fixed on the devil. Instead of celebrating Christ's victory over sin and death, members are continually reminded of the devil's supposed victories over practically everything else. If one listened exclusively to these ministers, it would be easy to conclude that Satan is winning the battle and God is still trying to figure out how to get things back under control.
Bob Thiel and His Never-Ending Satanic Detective Agency
Bob Thiel deserves special recognition in this department. His ministry seems to have developed an almost encyclopedic interest in identifying Satan's influence in the modern world. One can easily imagine his followers waking up each morning wondering what fresh satanic conspiracy has been discovered overnight. Perhaps another church has been deceived, another government agency is being manipulated, another religious organization has failed to recognize Bob's prophetic importance, or another website has published something critical of his ministry. Naturally, that last possibility must be particularly important.
It is difficult not to notice how much attention is devoted to the devil compared with the actual teachings of Jesus. Where are the extended discussions about loving one's enemies, forgiving others, caring for the poor, showing mercy, and refusing to judge people hypocritically? Where is the enthusiasm for the Sermon on the Mount? Where are the discussions about the grace of God and the sufficiency of Christ? Apparently, those subjects cannot compete with another thrilling installment of Satan's Secret Operations Against Bob Thiel.
One almost wonders whether the devil has established a special department devoted exclusively to monitoring the Continuing Church of God. With the amount of attention devoted to supposed attacks against the organization, Satan must have an entire office building somewhere, complete with a dedicated communications team and a department responsible for keeping track of Bob's latest broadcasts. Perhaps the ministry should publish a weekly intelligence report detailing the latest satanic operations, complete with charts, maps, prophetic interpretations, and an announcement that another person has disagreed with Bob. It would certainly give his followers something to look forward to.
Jesus: Apparently Not Much to Talk About Until He Starts Destroying Everyone
And then there is the rather unfortunate place Jesus occupies in Armstrongist theology. You would think the central figure of Christianity would receive considerable attention, considering that his teachings are supposed to establish the foundation of Christian living. His death and resurrection are central to the New Covenant, and his example is what believers are supposed to follow. Yet in much Armstrongist prophetic preaching, Jesus often seems to be waiting backstage until the exciting destruction begins.
When ministers finally get around to discussing his return, the atmosphere changes dramatically. Suddenly, Jesus is presented primarily as an angry returning conqueror preparing to unleash devastating judgment upon a rebellious world. There is no shortage of enthusiasm for the catastrophic passages in biblical prophecy, and the more frightening the prediction, the more animated some presentations seem to become. The charts come out, the prophetic timelines are dusted off, and the ministers begin explaining who will suffer, who will be punished, who will be destroyed, and how much of humanity will be left standing.
Some Armstrongist interpretations emphasize the biblical language concerning two-thirds of humanity being struck down in end-time judgment. Rather than treating such passages with solemnity and humility, certain prophetic presentations seem almost exhilarated by the prospect. One would think they were announcing the opening of a new amusement park rather than discussing the suffering of billions of human beings. Apparently, the greatest Christian excitement is not the prospect of humanity being reconciled to God but the opportunity to explain how thoroughly God is going to punish everyone who failed to listen to the ministry. Naturally, the ministers themselves will have been among the select few who understood everything correctly. What a remarkable coincidence!
Whatever Happened to the Jesus Who Actually Taught People to Love?
Consider the Jesus presented in the Gospels. He taught his followers to love their enemies, pray for those who persecuted them, forgive others, care for the poor, show mercy, and treat their neighbors with compassion. He criticized religious leaders who burdened people with demands while neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He repeatedly challenged religious arrogance and self-righteousness, demonstrating that genuine spiritual leadership was about serving others rather than exercising authority over them.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells stories about the lost being found and the joy of restoration. In John 10, he describes himself as the good shepherd who cares for his sheep, and in Matthew 11, he invites the weary and burdened to come to him for rest. This is the Jesus Christians are supposed to follow. But where does that Jesus fit into the Armstrongist prophetic circus? Apparently, he is the fellow who occasionally gets mentioned between lengthy discussions about Satan, the Beast, the Great Tribulation, world government, religious deception, and the latest conspiracy supposedly proving that the ministry was right all along.
The contrast is extraordinary. The Jesus of the Gospels spent considerable time demonstrating compassion toward people, while the Jesus presented in some Armstrongist prophetic preaching seems to spend considerably more time being discussed in connection with how many people will be destroyed when he returns. One wonders whether these ministers have ever considered that the purpose of the Gospel is not to cultivate an audience that delights in imagining the destruction of everyone outside its religious organization.
Herbert Armstrong's Theological Inheritance
Of course, this obsession did not appear out of thin air. Herbert W. Armstrong established a theological framework in which Satan's influence over humanity was central to understanding practically everything. The world was supposedly deceived, traditional Christianity was supposedly corrupted, mainstream religion was supposedly part of a counterfeit system, and governments were influenced by satanic forces. Education, science, politics, and culture were all viewed through the lens of a cosmic struggle between God's government and Satan's government. Armstrong's followers inherited a worldview in which the entire planet was essentially under the control of the devil, while their own organization represented God's restored truth.
That is a remarkably convenient arrangement for anyone who wants to insulate a religious organization from criticism. If outsiders disagree, they are deceived. If members question leadership, they are rebelling. If critics expose embarrassing problems, they are being used by Satan. If the organization fails to achieve its predictions, the devil is still working against it. There is always a supernatural explanation available, and the ministry never has to seriously consider that perhaps its own teachings are mistaken, its leaders are fallible, or its prophetic interpretations are simply wrong. Why examine human mistakes when you can blame a supernatural conspiracy?
This worldview also creates an environment in which members are encouraged to distrust practically everyone outside their particular church organization. Mainstream Christianity is deceived, secular society is under Satan's influence, other religious organizations are counterfeit, and critics are spiritually compromised. The result is a self-contained theological bubble in which the ministry becomes the only supposedly reliable source of truth. It is difficult to imagine a more effective way of keeping members dependent upon religious leadership.
The Great Christian Irony
Here is the irony Armstrongist ministers seem to miss: Christianity is supposed to be about Christ. The name itself gives away the central figure. Yet Armstrongism has managed to construct a religious culture in which Satan receives an extraordinary amount of attention, the world is portrayed as one enormous satanic conspiracy, and Jesus is frequently discussed in connection with the destruction awaiting everyone who refuses to follow the ministry's instructions.
Where is the emphasis on the grace of God? Where is the celebration of Christ's victory over sin and death? Where is the assurance that believers are held in God's hands rather than living in perpetual terror of demonic interference? Paul wrote in Colossians 1:13 that believers have been delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. That is a rather different emphasis from spending one's religious life obsessively cataloging everything Satan supposedly controls.
In Colossians 2:15, Paul describes Christ's triumph over spiritual powers and authorities. Christ is the victor, not Satan. The Christian message is not that Satan is so powerful that believers must spend every waking moment worrying about his latest conspiracy. It is that Christ has accomplished what humanity could never accomplish for itself. Yet apparently, that message doesn't generate enough excitement for the Armstrongist prophetic entertainment industry.
Perhaps It's Time to Put Satan Back in His Place
At some point, one has to ask why these ministers seem so preoccupied with Satan. Is it because fear is an extraordinarily effective tool for keeping people dependent upon religious leadership? Does constantly warning members about deception make them less likely to trust outside information? Does portraying the world as hopelessly corrupted make the organization appear indispensable? Whatever the explanation, the results are remarkably consistent. Members are taught to distrust outsiders, fear spiritual contamination, question mainstream Christianity, avoid supposedly dangerous influences, and remain dependent upon the ministry for explanations of practically everything happening in the world.
Meanwhile, the simple teachings of Jesus about love, mercy, forgiveness, humility, and compassion frequently receive considerably less attention than the latest prophetic warning. Perhaps that is the greatest tragedy of Armstrongism. It has taken a religion centered upon Jesus Christ and turned it into a never-ending investigation of Satan's activities, complete with prophetic detectives, conspiracy theories, end-time countdowns, and ministers who seem positively delighted whenever another catastrophe can be squeezed into their interpretation of biblical prophecy.
If Satan really is as powerful as these ministers make him sound, perhaps they should stop advertising his accomplishments so enthusiastically. After all, why give the devil free publicity? And perhaps someone should remind Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry, Gerald Weston, Samuel Kitchen, Alton Billingsley and Dave Pack that Christianity actually has a central figure. His name is Jesus Christ, and he isn't a supporting character in Satan's biography. He is the one Christians are supposed to follow.
Maybe the next great Armstrongist restoration shouldn't involve discovering another satanic conspiracy, identifying another prophetic enemy, or announcing another impending catastrophe. Maybe it should involve rediscovering Jesus Christ and actually paying attention to what he taught. That would mean spending less time obsessing over the devil and considerably more time demonstrating the love, mercy, and grace that Jesus commanded his followers to practice.
One can only imagine the ministry-wide emergency meeting that would follow.
