PCG Writes A Hilarious Article: Are You Tired Of Being Lied To?

 

Those funny folk over at the Philadelphia Church of God cult compound have an article up on their website asking: "Are You Tired of Being Lied To?". 

Seriously? This is the PCG writing this!  A church that has told more lies than even Bob Thiel has, which is hard to believe!

Apparently, none of those fun boys at the Compound want to take credit for the article, Gerald and Lil'Stevie sure did not.

Anonymous writes:

We live in a time when truth is becoming very rare and precious. What is the truth about covid-19? Are masks helpful or harmful? Are vaccines saving lives or killing people? What is the truth about the United States presidential election? How about global warming? Or is it global cooling? What is the truth? And do you really want to know? 

 

Jesus Christ said the truth will make you free (John 8:32). Just think about how much easier and less stressful life would be if people told the truth—all the time! Surely everyone would want to live in a world of complete honesty. Or would they? Would you?

The question that should always be asked is, "would you want to live in a world ruled over by the Philadelphia Church of God people"? The answer to that is NO!

The sad truth is that people lie, even though the Ninth Commandment forbids it. Romans 3:4 says, “[L]et God be true, but every man a liar ….” Many studies show that people typically lie to get out of trouble or to make themselves look good.

Never has this been more evident than what we see in the current leadership of the Churches of God. From Gerald Flurry lying about the coronation stone, Lil's Stevie about Mystery of the Ages lawsuit, Bob Thiel and his double blessing and dreams he has had, to Dave Pack's creature Jesus supposedly coming back to Wadsworth to walk the hallowed grounds of the cult compound and his all things common teaching. The liars that now make up the leadership make Herbert Armstrong and Gerald Waterhouse look like saints!

The anonymous writer continues:

But did you know that most people actually want to be lied to?

Well, YES, we do! Look at the followers of Flurry, Pack, Thiel, and Weinland. Deep down some of their followers have to know their leader is bat-shit-crazy and a certified liar, but yet they sit there, week after week, feeling special and called out. Who cares if the leader lies, God will work it all out in the end.

God inspired the Prophet Isaiah to record, “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:9-10).

This is a specific prophecy of what would happen to God’s own people in our time. Many of them would reject the truth of God, preferring to hear smooth-sounding lies. This attitude is rampant in the modern nations of Israel—specifically the United States, Britain and the Jewish nation in the Middle East.

The anonymous writer is right! COG members have rejected truth for the smoothing talking lies of today's COG leaders. 

No wonder lies are growing in politics, medicine and the media! The ground is fertile for planting the seeds of deception. The peoples of physical and spiritual Israel prefer to be lied to. Why?

Sady, Armstrongism has been fertile ground for liars to easily dupe members with smooth-sounding lies and half-truths. The entire COG belief system has been built upon a lie, half-truths, and crafty words from smooth-talking charlatans.

Christ gives us the answer in John 3:19-21: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

The men leading various COG's today love the darkness of their lies and have no problem in lying with compunction. Just look at Dave Pack and Bob Thiel. There is no end to the lies these two will tell.

We cannot pick and choose when it comes to the truth. We need to accept the full truth on every issue—including ourselves. And the real truth is founded on God’s Word.

The Church of God has always held up the standard and waved it high as they craftily picked and chose what they wanted to do and what they didn't want to do. They should have called the COG the Half-assed COG, because none of them ever did anything fully. 

Psalm 111:10 shows us that if we are to have a good understanding, we must keep the commandments of God. God’s Ninth Commandment forbids lying. Every time we tell a lie or accept a lie, we move further away from God’s truth.

The COG has been on a downward slippery slope for decades. It has been moving away from the truth for decades since it rejected grace, justification, and sanctification.

The choice is yours. If you are tired of being lied to, choose to live the way of God’s truth in your life. “Remove from me the way of lying … I have chosen the way of truth …” (Psalm 119:29-30). 

Since the lying false prophets of the COG will not leave, their members are abandoning them with vigor. They have chosen to remove themselves from the liars. 

Do you really want to know the truth?

Will, you choose to stop being lied to by Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, and the host of other COG leaders?

A Bunch of Bull-a! PCG's Gerald Flurry "Reveals" How an Ancient Clay Seal Heralds The Return of Donald Trump

A Bunch of Bull-a! 

PCG's Gerald Flurry "Reveals" How an Ancient Clay Seal 

Heralds The Return 

of 

Donald Trump

A Tiny Artifact Proclaims a Powerfully Encouraging Message

In the same publication of "The Trumpet" as previously posted, an article by PCG leader Flurry delves deeper into his manufactured reasons for connecting Jeroboam II in 2 Kings, with former President Donald Trump, who was democratically elected out of office last year.

Let's see if we can follow his iron-clad logic here. It seems that, during the 1980s, a "bulla", a type of clay seal, turned up in Israel in the possession of a Bedouin antiquities dealer, the seal bearing the words: "Belonging to Shema the servant of Jeroboam", together with an image of a roaring lion. Please remember the roaring lion.

The artifact was originally suspected to be fake, as is often the case, but careful examination has been carried out recently over the last 5 years and has led experts to conclude last December that it is, in fact, authentic. Interestingly enough from an archeological standpoint, this indicates that someone named Jeroboam seems to have existed and had at least one slave.

But for Gerald Flurry, this is so much more than an interesting ancient artifact - it's a strategically timed sign from God, that his wacky connect-the-dot style prophetic ideas are all true!

"For more than four years, I have explained that United States President Donald Trump fulfills a role prophesied in the Bible of an end-time King Jeroboam."

Hold on, let's hear him out... Pastor General Flurry knows this must be true because... lion on the bulla and Twitter memes!

"To many of his supporters ... Donald Trump possesses the qualities of a lion. Last year, one of these supporters posted a photo on Twitter of the president casting a shadow of a lion. (Remarkably, the shape of the image was similar to the one inscribed on the Jeroboam seal.) The message praised Mr. Trump as having “the courage of a lion.”

There we have it, folks, and after all who could argue against some random Trump supporter posting something on the internet? If they say Trump is a lion, and this ancient bulla seal has a lion image on it, well, that pretty much wraps it all up, doesn't it? Trump must be Jeroboam, it's just obvious.

And if this isn't already enough solid rock evidence, Flurry also seems to think that Trump has actually, in fact, been roaring like a lion since he left office!

"In spite of what virtually everyone believes, Mr. Trump’s job is not over. Since the 2020 election, he has been roaring like a lion. This is the message God wants us to take from the Jeroboam bulla: God is not done using Mr. Trump!"

Yes, roaring, my friends, whatever that means! Therefore, the bulla is a message from God to us, about Trump! How could we have been so blind?

And finally, he repeats his previous prediction that Trump will be back (probably by mutiny of the military and secession of Red states as he has "explained" previously):

"Donald Trump is going to return. When he does, a lot of people, especially the Jews, will be pleased. But when this happens, we must remember Amos 7 and 2 Kings 14. God will be the one behind Mr. Trump and what he accomplishes!"

So again, it seems that concrete predictions have been made. But he who makes predictions must also answer for them when they don't come to pass.

And while Flurry seems to be quite excited about this tiny little clay seal, it's not like similar such finds with various ancient names aren't found all the time in archaeological digs. What if this bulla seal is just another old bulla which happened to be found in the 1980s, and not some invented prophetic signal? And what if Flurry's enduring hope that Trump is reinstated by military insurrection is just a wacky idea that has more "bull" in it than bulla?

Submitted by Michael

Philadelphia Church of God: "We’re the hope of this world. This Noah-like work."

This is how Stephen Flurry imagines PCG members 

will soon be transported out of the United States 

 to the Place of Safety. 

It should never come as a shock to anyone even remotely familiar with the Armstrongite Church of God movement that its focus is NOT on the One they claim to follow but upon the law and other personalities they deem of great importance.

Leave it to the Philadelphia Church of God to take this to the extreme, once again. That most inconvenient dude they know nothing about is once more relegated to the rear of the room so that Noah can shine forth as the great savior of the world, as the one who led people to safety.

The Philadelphia Church of God is not known for having any great theologians who actually understand the Bible and the works of Jesus. It instead has a poorly trained group of man/boys who were trained at the feet of Gerald Flurry, who himself was so poorly trained that he based his entire movement upon Malachi's Message, a book he stole and plagiarized from Jules Dervaes, The Letter to Laodicea. The very same book that Stephen Flurry had a mystical vision about while at a PCG weekend at Robber's Cave in Oklahoma. Robber's Cave was the site of an event so sacred to the PCG that the student body of Herbert W Armstrong College make yearly pilgrimages to gaze in wonder at the very cabin  Stephen stayed in as he read Malachi's Message, thus validating his father's madness and the establishment of the Philadelphia Church of God cult.

In a letter sent to Exit and Support Network a few days ago, Stephen Flurry has given us proof once again on how theological bankrupt he really is. This time he is praising Noah and how he set the example to save the righteous. 

SF Talks About “Our Noah Like Work” and Going to the Place of Safety: 

 

September 5, 2021 

 

SF gave a Bible Study on August 20 at HQs entitled, “Our Noah Like Work” in which he compared GF’s “work” to “Noah’s work” and talked about members going to the Place of Safety. Below are some of the things he said. 

He said Joel Hilliker had a Trumpet Brief on August 18 (“Prophecy is Fulfilled in Afghanistan”) and he [Hilliker] “talked about these people desperately clinging to those cargo planes, even on the outside and he said that it brought to mind images of people clawing at the sides of Noah’s ark when God sent the flood.” [Those who read The Bible Story books in WCG will remember Basil Wolverton’s frightening cartoon depiction of that scene. 

 

“We in the church know the flood is coming.” 

 

“And in a lot of ways, the pictures of those people all sitting on the bottom of that C-17, crammed in there– that may be something that we experience ourselves at some point. We don’t know exactly what it means to be lifted away to the place of safety on the wings of a great eagle. But somehow or another, we are gonna to fly to the Place of Safety. And as Amos 7 says, we’re gonna be escorted out, or asked to leave. … There might be some government jets that are part of that massive transport operation. … 10,000 saints headed off to the Place of Safety. And then when you look at the outside of the vessel, when the people know the rain has set in and it’s not gonna stop–it’s a pretty sobering visual.” 

  

He referred to GF’s Peter booklet several times and said “We’re like the family of Noah. Hard at work during these final days of the present evil world. And soon we are going to be flying right into another world, a new world.” 

 

He referred to 9-11 as the time they [PCG] “entered into the Last Hour.” 

 

“Noah and his family were a type of this church; a type of this work that we are engaged in. A Noah like work. We are facing universal destruction.” … “God promises to save us.” 

 

“If we are supporting God’s preacher of righteousness [i.e., GF] [Noah was called a preacher of righteousness in II Peter 2:5], then God promises protection; God promises to save us.” 

 

“This present, evil world is almost over.” 

 

“When we are lifted over to the Place of Safety, that is the new world; that is the World Tomorrow.” … we are IT. We’re the hope of this world. This Noah-like work.” 

 

“Noah had to go out and build for God for a century. Then the rains came. … He had to plan ahead.” 

 

“It’s been almost a century since God opened the mind of Herbert Armstrong. And here we are–right where God prophesied.” 

 

“We’ve got to support our preacher of righteousness.” [i.e., GF] 

 

“We are here to tell this world that is about over.” 

 

He quoted from GF’s Peter booklet and said “You can look at Noah’s example and see that God saves a few. God is going to save us; He’s going to rescue us. He’s going to protect us. He promises that. We’re His children and He’s our Father. He’s going to look after us.” 

 

“God is still teaching us. The new revelation just continues. We haven’t even gotten some of the finer points or details regarding the Place of Safety and our flight and how that operation is going to be carried out. That is going to be exciting, getting some instructions in sermons from my father–‘Hey! We’ve got to be ready. God has shown me this and this and this about this verse here or this verse over there.’ Selling off our belongings. And being air-lifted out of a dangerous world.” 

 

Reading from the Peter booklet again, “Noah and his family were spared. A big benefit of doing God’s Work as He commands. Rewards always accompany obedience to God. … all the way to the end.” 

 

He read I Peter 3:19-21 “This age is about over. … God tested Noah to make sure he would wait and endure until the very end.” 

 

 

 

“Eventually, we’re going to be packing our bags–for good!” 

 

–Bible Study critiqued by Anonymous

PCG's "The Trumpet" Trumps Again: Donald Trump To Be Reinstated As President By Mutinous Military Leaders!

One thing most Americans can probably agree on, whether left or right on the political spectrum, is that the entire 20-year engagement in Afghanistan was a huge monumental failure, a waste of money with little to show for it but a 2 trillion dollar windfall for the military industry.

Nevertheless, it has ended, and while there's plenty of blame to be assigned, Gerald Flurry's Philadelphia Church of God has one of the more nutty interpretations, as usual, making wild guesses disguised as prophetic predictions in their flagship publication, The Trumpet:

You see, this ending of the war is likely going to provoke a "military uprising" by the US military against the Biden administration, leading to a military action that will reinstate Donald Trump as the rightful President, or possibly with him leading a secession of states from the union! ("President Trump could also lead some states to secede from the union. That would lead to some kind of warfare.") "How Afghanistan Could Help Donald Trump Return to the Presidency"

Yes, you read that correctly.

Now, this is not a political post, as I understand that Banned is not a political blog. And Flurry can have his political views as he likes, but he goes far into crazy land when he writes things like this. And, unbelievably, he goes digging for scriptures to somehow support his wide-eyed theories [as quoted in the article]:

“Verse 28 of 2 Kings 14 strongly indicates that Mr. Trump recovers his presidency by some kind of warring—not voting,” Mr. Flurry wrote. “It seems certain to me that this will happen before the next presidential election in 2024—unless there would be some kind of war and voting combined.”

Really, if he thinks the scribal writers of 2 Kings had the slightest interest in trying to guess, or even conceive of, what would happen over 2000 years after their time, he might as well read The Hobbit and try to map events in Middle Earth to modern world events.

 

"It seems certain to me that this will happen before the next presidential election in 2024", Flurry says.

The only thing that we can say for sure is that 2024 is definitely going to come along. So we expect a full retraction from the PCG and The Trumpet if (when) no such civil war takes place and Trump is NOT the president, because their private interpretation of scripture is just nutty and wishful thinking on their part.

 

If the COG splinters would stop trying to shoehorn ancient writings to make them somehow portray whatever the current event of the day is, they would look a lot less ridiculous than they do. The writers of 2 Kings wrote in their time, about their time, and for their time, not about our time. How much clearer could 2 Kings 14:28 be? [as quoted by Flurry]:

“Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?”

Are the writers not clear enough that this is what "Jeroboam ... did"? Not what Trump or any other celebrity "will do". The writers are explicitly saying that all that "Jeroboam" did, how he warred, recovered "Damascus", for "Israel", is what we wrote here and in the other chronicles. How silly do you have to be to think they're talking about Donald Trump? They clearly specified who they were talking about. Obviously, they were writing history (whether accurate or not is another issue), for purposes relating to their own time and their own issues and problems. 

But no, Flurry breathlessly insists, this verse says that Mr. Trump will recover his presidency!

I hate to break it to him, but it doesn't indicate what anybody does in the future. Read it, Gerald - notice that it's written in the *past tense*.

"Jeroboam ... warred... recovered". NOT: "[Some end-time] Jeroboam ... will war .. will recover". Past history, not future prophecy.

In WCG circles you might be able to get away with this, but people who haven't been conditioned to read past tense passages in some sort of superimposed future tense way [why, he's a TYPE of Jeroboam!], can see how ridiculous you sound, Trumpet publishers. You're not going to grow your tithe base that way, at least not in today's world.

On second thought, keep it up, as it will help those all-important tithes to shrivel up...

Submitted by...Michael

Depression in the Churches of God due to constant prophecy fatigue

When Herbert Armstrong was rebelling against the COG 7 and dreaming up his splinter group, he was also reading numerous books by the Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, and the Mormon Church. In his downstairs basement, in the old walk-in safe, were numerous books from these groups with sections marked up, underlined, and with copious notes in the margins. Of these groups, the Jehovah's Witnesses' literature made up the largest quantity of these books. Of any of the Millerite splinter groups out there, the JW's are the closest to Armstrongism in their beliefs and in the number of failed propechies. Surprisingly these failed prophecies follow almost identical Worldwide Church of God/Armstrongite prophecies. By now we have all seen the 200+ documented failed prophecies of Armstrong and his minions. Armstrong's failure rate in prophecy is identical to the JW's failure rate, particularly when it comes to the 1971 - 1975 prophecies. Both churches failed miserably in their predictions.

Like all churches out there that utter predictions that never come to pass, they fluff it off as a timing mistake or that God was not ready or it happened spiritually. Even today in 2021, the church is filled with many false prophets uttering asinine predictions and outright lies to their members. Just look at Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, and Ron Weinland and you can see this in action today.

None of these buffoons ever take into consideration what happens to members when they are subjected to their prophetic lunacy that fails every single time. Some members become numb to it and just fluff it off as not really important to worry about because even HWA made mistakes and he was still God's apostle. Others sink into depression due to these constant moving of goal posts. Marriages suffer and frustrations are taken out of family members with all kinds of abuse happening. Others, like Terry Ratzmann are so damaged by the words of COG ministers that they lash out in violence and kill members. Sadly, as more and more COG self-appointed prophets make more and more public lies, I am afraid that we may soon see a member in Restored Church of God or Philadelphia Church of God crack under this pressure and resort to some kind of violence. It is only a matter of time. Then, watch as their leaders leap into action to delete sermons, backtrack, and portray the members as the disturbed ones instead of taking any responsibility.

I have to hand it to Jeff Reed of the Church of God international who recently wrote about the current spate of false prophets in the Church of God. In his article, The Dangers of Headline Theology, Reed said,

We in the Church of God International may occasionally look at world events and examine them through the lens of God’s law or prophecy. Still, we carefully avoid making dogmatic statements and identify our observations as speculation. Those who practice “headline theology” go much further. They may predict specific days or years as an absolute fulfillment of prophesied events. Or they may suggest that the end is only a few years away. 

 

One of the dangers of this mindset is paranoia. We are told in Philippians 4:6-7 to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Looking at every new war, earthquake, natural disaster, social trend, or political change as a fulfillment of prophecy can cause anxiety.

Armstrongism is filled with prophecy addicts who have a field day by looking at every war, earthquake, natural disaster, social trend, and the political minefield as somehow relating to Bible prophecy. Most of the time, these fools are pulling predictions out of their sanctimonious privileged derrieres which have absolutely nothing to do with end-time events.

Of course, some of them only say they are speculating and if it doesn't happen then they are off the hook. In a comment on The Painful Truth website there is this comment by a woman named Kathy regarding COG prophets and those who make excuses for their lies:

Re: whether or not the Armstrongs claimed to be prophets, It's all semantics, my friend. Catch-phrases, such as "we're now in the gun-lap" "eight or nine short years to go", "in five or six short years from now", "last dying gasp of this wicked society," "God's apostle for the "end-time," etc. etc. ad infinitum, do have a certain prophetic ring to them. Both Garner Ted Armstrong and HWA have been more careful, at least since 1972, when their credibility was slightly damaged by the non-fulfillment of their predictions, to make it abundantly clear that they are not "prophets"-all the while continuing to "watch," or as a cynical person such as myself might put it, to prophesy. 

 

If you are a sincere person, and I have no reason to doubt that you are, I suggest that you go to a university (a "worldly," accredited one, please) and take some basic history courses, beginning with the History of Western Civilization. I especially recommend this if you think you already know this history, based on what the Armstrongs taught you. The reason that "not many wise men now are called" is because educated people, generally, simply know better than to fall for the histrionics of the proclaimers of the end of the world. They've seen this sort of thing through the ages and they understand the motive behind it. (And yes, I do remember what the New Testament says about people who say what I've just said. I don't care, so don't quote it to me.) Garner Ted Armstrong's Myrmidon Replies To Questions

Back to Jeff Reed's observations:

Another danger with “headline theology” is that it may cause some to lose their faith. Many over the years have put their hopes in a prophetic fulfillment that never comes to pass. Church leaders have unwisely predicted specific dates for the return of Christ or have implied that it would occur within a certain number of years. This date-setting has caused disillusionment in many former Christians. Faith in Christ becomes entwined with faith in their leader's predictions. Once these predictions ultimately fail, they can have a devastating effect on those who gullibly believed them.

William Miller predicted that Jesus would return to earth by 1844. He was so wrong in his calculations that the ensuing failure has been labeled the “Great Disappointment.” This failed prediction caused many to abandon their faith entirely and others to refer to this event as a reason to not even consider Christianity. Since then, many others have made similar predictions based on faulty calculations and their perceptions of world wars, disasters, and other dramatic events. They have all been wrong, and some of the fallout has been many people losing faith entirely. This also hurts the credibility of organizations and preachers, making their ensuing evangelistic efforts less effective.

One of the great things about Reed's article is that he used outside sources to support his viewpoints. Most COG members never look outside their insular worlds filled with pastor generals, chief apostles, and overseer's booklets, sermons, and articles as all the proof they will ever need. Besides, those so-called Christians of the world are losers and fake so why care about what they say!

One of the links Reed used was about what failed prophecy does to the mindset of members of these cults and in this case, it was a Jehovah's Witness. They too had the same end of the world scenario that was supposed to happen in 1975 that Armstrongism did. Here is how it affected one of its members:

A DEPRESSED JEHOVAH’S WITNESS 

Since 1975 when the Witnesses predicted the arrival of God‘s kingdom on earth there have been numerous problems in the Watchtower congregation. These problems have included dis-fellowshipping, doctrinal disputes, and the aftermath of recurring prophetic speculation failures (Hickman1992). In 1966 the Watchtower society issued a number of statements predicting the significance of the new date 1975 for the heralding of Christ Millennial Reign and the catastrophic implications for non-believers. The prediction was based upon biblical chronology which predicted that 6,000 years from man‘s creation will end in 1975 and the seventh period of a thousand years of human history will begin in the fall of 1975. This prophecy had a significant effect on the movement which was galvanised and proselytisation increased substantially. However, 1975 passed without incident leaving the Watchtower vulnerable and open to claims of prophetic disconfirmation. The leaders responded through invoking a number of rationalisations, denial and purges and blamed the rank and file membership for misreading the organisation‘s interpretation. The initialrationalisation of the failure of Armageddon to arrive emphasised the time lapses within the creation of Adam and Eve. This had been miscalculated.

In his ethnographic study of Witnesses Sociologist Andrew Holden (1992) presents a number of testimonies of ex Witnesses who believed the world would end in 1975. 

 

"I said it from the platform. We told everyone the end was near. When I became a Witness I gave up my insurance policies, I cancelled my insurance endowments, I never bought a house because I knew I wouldn‘t need one. We didn‘t even want to put the kids‘ names down for school". 

 

Holden notes that the governing body of Watchtower regarded the failures as a test of faith. In agreement with Brian Wilson‘sjudgement many did not abandon faith because of disappointment about a date as this would be too traumatic an experience to contemplate. Like many other prophetic groups disconfirmed prophecy does not necessarily lead to the dissolution of the group (Stone 2013). 

 

In my own work I have treated one man who lived through the anticipated apocalypse in 1975. Martin is a 70 year old man. Martin was born in the north of England. He first encounters Jehovah Witnesses while he was growing up as an adolescent in his home town. He started to attend Kingdom Hall and to read Watchtower. Very quickly he became hooked and begun to believe their prophecies about Armageddon. In 1974 the year before the expected arrival of Armageddon he was very excited. Much of his time was spent in Kingdom Hall and the discussions there centred round the arrival of Jesus‘ reign. He had no doubt in his mind that this would occur. He left his employment as a chef in anticipation of this prospect. He remembers for several days before the expected arrival he could not sleep. Every morning he awoke in eager anticipation of the end.

But the expected date arrived and nothing happened. How did he respond? Like many other Witnesses he knew at the time, he developed a depressive disorder. For several months he was low in mood. He was bewildered and could not understand why things had happened as such. His sleep was poor as was his appetite. He lost a considerable amount of weight. He begun to doubt the views of the Witnesses and debated with them as to why their prediction had failed. He became angry when one Witness explained to him that it was the fault of the believers who had miscalculated the date. He began to feel that life was hopeless and even seriously contemplated suicide. He ended up in psychiatric treatment where he was prescribed antidepressants. Over several months he improved and shortly afterwards left the Jehovah Witnesses movement. Much of the psychotherapeutic work with him focused upon his anger pertaining to this disconfirmed prophecy. In retrospect he felt he was ̳naive‘ to be taken in by this prophecy and cautioned me never to get involved with them. He is no longer religious although he considers that God may exist but for him no one can know when the world will end. Prophecies are Dangerous Things: Mental Health Implications of Prophetic Disconfirmation

Depression in Armstrongism has been rampant but leaders and ministers sweep it undercover as they label such depression either a sign that a person has been sinning or even demon possessed. Never do they consider it is because of their lies. Sadly in the Churches of God today there are few if any, ministers who are trained to deal with depression or are even trained as real counselors. Their only training is from a minister above them or the current church leader and not by real clinical therapists who teach proper counseling techniques.

As more and more Church of God leaders make more and more asinine prophecies or speculations as they call them, more and more COG members will be suffering from deep depression and hopelessness. None of this needs to happen if these ministers and leaders actually followed the Christ they claim to follow. If they did they would stop the prophecy crap and teach their members about the present rest one can have in Christ and a peace that passes all understanding.

Matthew 11:30
The Message

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

John 14:27
The Message

25-27 “I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

John 14:27
New Revised Standard Version

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

 

LCG Members Are Still Deemed Too Dumb To Know How To Dress For The Feast

The overlords of the Church of God have always tried to dictate what was right and what they deemed to be wrong. From clothing colors and styles to colors of cars, the control church leaders have had over members is appalling. The church has built a religious empire out of majoring in the minors while ignoring the important things that Christians should have faith in.

Here we are in 2021 and church leaders still think their members are too stupid to know how to dress. 

Dave Pack demands of his men:

RCG requires white shirts, no other color and ties of course, suit needs to be dark preferably black or grey

White shirts...or light blue is acceptable, but not every week. French cuffs if you are a minister or "ministerial material." Also, those ridiculous shirts that have a white collar but blue body are acceptable, but not on the same day the Pastor General is wearing one. Jos. A Banks or Brooks Brothers are the only accepted retailers if you are HQ or a minister. Just like what Jesus Christ wore!

No orange or green ties, only dark blue, red or gold. (recent comments on Facebook)

Gerald Flurry states: 

“Are some of our members going to be kept out of the Kingdom of God because of the way you dress for Church services?” Mr. Armstrong asked members in the Worldwide News. “THIS IS SERIOUS! In some of our churches, members never think of dressing up, but come in slovenly attire, overalls, blue jeans, tennis shoes, any kind of slouchy sports clothes” (May 21, 1979). 

 

For members of God’s Church today, coming to Sabbath services in jeans or sportswear seems unimaginable. However, after Mr. Armstrong died, the Laodiceans returned to those lower standards: Many of them now wear casual clothes to their services. They willingly rejected the Philadelphia standard (Revelation 3:14-20). They have chosen the liberal worldly standard over God’s spiritual standard. 

 

Mr. Armstrong’s writings on dress are not just a matter of opinion. God led him to establish the Philadelphia standard. The godly example the end-time type of Elijah strove to set has been revealed in this last hour as a prophetic SIGNET STANDARD for God’s final Church era to emulate. “In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:23).

Today, as the various COG's get ready for another round of Feast of Tabernacles superspreader events, the Living Church of God is telling its members how to dress for services and playtime.

FEAST OF TABERNACLES Appropriate Dress for Feast Services 

 

While Scripture teaches that God looks on the heart, dress and outward decorum are also important (Matthew 22:8–14). As we prepare to be “lights to the world” at the Feast, it’s good to review some basic principles for attire at Feast services. For men, in most modern cultures, coats, collared shirts, ties, and nice slacks are considered appropriate on special occasions. This may vary somewhat in tropical climates. For ladies, 1 Timothy 2:9–10 explains that dress should be “modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.” Short, tight, form-fitting dresses, necklines flaunting cleavage, bare shoulders, backless dresses, belly-baring tops, etc., are not appropriate for Church services. We come to services to worship God, not to display our bodies. Our challenge as Christian men and women is to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17) and be lights to a world that has lost its way (Matthew 5:14–16). This is especially true as we gather to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles—picturing Christ’s glorious reign on earth! 

 

What About at the Beach? 

 

Appropriate beach attire for women and men at the Feast of Tabernacles is swimwear that is modest and in good taste. We should be guided by the two great commandments—to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39; Mark 12:29–31)—so as not to offend God or neighbor in our dress at the Feast. Accordingly, following our Living Youth Programs policy, beachwear at the Feast for ladies should be a modest one-piece or a modest tankini (covering the mid-section), and for the men, no Speedo-type suits (unless pool facility rules require them, as is the case in some countries). Fathers and husbands have a responsibility to be leaders in their families to teach and guide regarding what is appropriate and what is not (Ezekiel 22:26).

All of this silliness over what people wear to services at the Feast when they love to forget that David danced naked before the Ark of the Covenant (The Seat of God). Imagine Dave Pack, Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry, or Gerald Weston dancing with delight over the Lord! 

Commercial Break: Are The Elijah to Come Dr. Robert Thiel, The Elijah to Come Gerald Flurry, and Elijah to Come Dave Pack Using Their Bibles, Like a Crystal Ball, to Practice Fortune Telling???

"As I see it, YES"

MAGIC 8 BALL

Prophecy 

...or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a "miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human sagacity to foresee, discern, or conjecture."

Prediction

A statement about what you think will happen in the future

"Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life.^[1] The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination. The difference is that divination is the term used for predictions considered part of a religious ritual, invoking deities or spirits, while the term fortune-telling implies a less serious or formal setting, even one of popular culture, where belief in occult workings behind the prediction is less prominent than the concept of suggestion, spiritual or practical advisory or affirmation.

Historically, Pliny the Elder describes use of the crystal ball in the 1st century CE by soothsayers ("crystallum orbis", later written in Medieval Latin by scribes as orbuculum).^[2]

Contemporary Western images of fortune-telling grow out of folkloristic reception of Renaissance magic, specifically associated with Romani people.^[1] During the 19th and 20th century, methods of divination from non-Western cultures, such as the I Ching, were also adopted as methods of fortune-telling in western popular culture.

An example of divination or fortune-telling as purely an item of pop culture, with little or no vestiges of belief in the occult, would be the Magic 8-Ball sold as a toy by Mattel, or Paul II, an octopus at the Sea Life Aquarium at Oberhausen used to predict the outcome of matches played by the Germany national football team.^[3]

There is opposition to fortune telling in Christianity, Islam, Baháʼísm and Judaism based on scriptural prohibitions against divination.

Terms for one who claims to see into the future include fortune teller, crystal-gazer, spaewife, seer, soothsayer, sibyl, clairvoyant, and prophet; related terms which might include this among other abilities are oracle, augur, and visionary.

Fortune telling is dismissed by the scientific community and scientific skeptics as being based on magical thinking and superstition

Critical analysis

Fortune telling is dismissed by the scientific community and skeptics as being based on magical thinking and superstition.

Skeptic Bergen Evans suggested that fortune telling is the result of a "naïve selection of something that have happened from a mass of things that haven't, the clever interpretation of ambiguities, or a brazen announcement of the inevitable."^[26] Other skeptics claim that fortune telling is nothing more than cold reading.^[27]

A large amount of fraud has occurred in the practice of fortune-telling.^[28]

Fortune telling and how it works raises many critical questions. For example, fortune-telling occurs through various methods such as psychic readings, tarot cards, and more. What is similar about many of these methods is that they are based on random phenomena. For example, astrologers believe that the movement of stars in the sky can have implications on one's life.^[29] In the case of tarot cards, people believe that images displayed on the cards have significant meanings on their lives. The problem is that there is a lack of evidence to support why such things, such as the stars, would have any implications on our lives.

Additionally, fortune-telling readings and predictions made by horoscopes, for example, are often general enough to apply to anyone. In cold reading, for example, readers often begin by stating general descriptions and continuing to make specifics based on the reactions they receive from the person whose life they are predicting.^[30] The tendency for people to deem general descriptions as being representative to themselves has been termed the Barnum effect and has been studied by psychologists for many years.^[31]

Nonetheless, even with a lack of evidence supporting the various methods of fortune-telling and the many frauds that have occurred by psychic readers, for example, fortune-telling continues to become popular around the world. There are many reasons for the appealing nature of fortune-telling such as that people often experience stress when there is uncertainty and thus seek to gain deeper insight into their future. 

It is certain-It is decidedly so-Without a doubt-Yes, definitely-You may rely on it-As I see it, yes-Most Likely-Signs point to yes-Most likely-Outlook Good-Reply hazy, try again -Ask again later-Better not tell you now-Concentrate and ask again-Cannot Predict now-Don't count on it-My reply is No-My sources say NO-Outlook not good-Very doubtful

Why Do the Members of the Restored and Philadelphian Church of God Cults Stay Gyrating in Their Seats?

How Authoritarians Leaders Get Away with It

The one psychological move that frees followers from doubt.

How Authoritarian Leaders Get Away With It

(read the complete article here)

Excerpts from the article:

Experimental psychologist Bob Altemeyer spent his entire career studying authoritarians, both the leaders and the followers. In 1998, he wrote:

“Wanna-be tyrants in a democracy are just comical figures on soapboxes when they have no following. So the real…threat lay coiled in parts of the population itself…ready someday to catapult the next Hitler to power with their votes.”

His and other’s research yields this list of conclusions about authoritarian followers whether they follow tyrants on the left, right, religious, spiritual, whatever:

1. They are highly ethnocentric, highly inclined to see the world as their in-group versus everyone else. Because they are so committed to their in-group, they are very zealous in its cause. 

 

2. They are highly fearful of a dangerous world. Their parents taught them, more than parents usually do, that the world is dangerous. They may also be genetically predisposed to experiencing stronger fear than most people do. 

 

3. They are highly self-righteous. They believe they are the “good people” and this unlocks a lot of hostile impulses against those they consider bad. 

 

4. They are aggressive. Given the chance to attack someone with the approval of an authority, they will lower the boom. 

 

5. Their beliefs are a mass of contradictions. They have highly compartmentalized minds, in which opposite beliefs exist side-by-side in adjacent boxes. As a result, their thinking is full of double-standards. 

 

6. They reason poorly. If they like the conclusion of an argument, they don’t pay much attention to whether the evidence is valid or the argument is consistent. 

 

7. They are highly dogmatic. Because they have gotten their beliefs mainly from the authorities in their lives, rather than think things out for themselves, they have no real defense when facts or events indicate they are wrong. So they just dig in their heels and refuse to change. 

 

8. They are very dependent on social reinforcement of their beliefs. They think they are right because almost everyone they know, almost every news broadcast they see, almost every radio commentator they listen to, tells them they are. That is, they screen out the sources that will suggest that they are wrong. 

 

9. Because they severely limit their exposure to different people and ideas, they vastly overestimate the extent to which other people agree with them. And thinking they are “the moral majority” supports their attacks on the “evil minorities” they see in the country. 

 

10. They are easily duped by manipulators who pretend to espouse their causes when all the con-artists really want is personal gain. 

 

11. They are largely blind to themselves. They have little self-understanding and insight into why they think and do what they do.

Why would people be like this? Lots of reasons that are hard to distinguish. There are probably evolutionary origins beta males subordinating themselves in species with alpha males. Upbringing and social context play a role. We could list benefits of being a follower, for example, that self-certainty is fun. We could also list the costs of the alternatives, for example, that self-doubt, changing one’s mind, or admitting you’re wrong is uncomfortable.

Then there are those who aren’t choosing to be followers but can’t help it because they actually can’t think hard enough to make their own big choices. And then there’s an often overlooked factor: The more complicated the world becomes the more appealing it is to give up on thinking and put trust in an authority who speaks with confidence.

We need to know what motivates authoritarian followers in order to figure out how to deal with them. Demanding that someone think harder will backfire with people who can’t. Calling them con-artists when they’re simpletons or simpletons when they’re con-artists will backfire too. Still, it’s hard to discern true motives, especially with authoritarian-followers, people who don’t know their own motives and so couldn’t or wouldn’t report them.

Here then, rather than focusing on what motivates them, I’ll focus on how they can justify and rationalize believing anything their leaders say and do. I’ll call their approach "machine envy.” They act like they think life’s questions can be answered by a machine that they have discovered and become. Input anything into the machine, you get the one reliable true output.

An algorithm is basically a reliable machine made of numbers, for example, 1+X=Y. Whatever you put into X, you’ll get a reliable output for Y.

Authoritarian followers pretend life is reducible to machine-like cause and effect algorithms. It is the alternative to thinking, defined as doubting, wondering, struggling with ambiguity and ambivalence. Computers may be “intelligent” by some definitions of the term, but they do not think as defined here. They don’t strive to discern differences as though their lives depended on it. Humans think, not that we love having to do it. Still, our lives depend on it.

With authoritarian followers, the thinking is already over. They’re not guessing at what’s true. There’s no interpretation left to do. They and their leaders have already done all the interpretation necessary. They discovered the truth, embraced it, internalized it, and now only have to act on it like machines. They see reality clearly, truly and purely through their unambiguous mechanistic world view.