Gerald Flurry Cracks Down On Smartphone Usage By Ministers and Church Members

 

There is nothing that infuriates Church of God leaders more than people having access to the internet. The internet had a direct impact on the spectacular implosion of the Worldwide Church of God into hundreds of hundreds of little worthless splinter groups, starting in the early 1990s and onward. Various members started newsgroups on AOL, mailing lists like Good News Grapevine, and other sites. Church of God members could no longer be kept in the dark and church leadership no longer had control of how information was dispersed.

During the 1960's all kinds of books started being written about the church but they had little impact upon church members. Most never even knew they existed. That all changed with the internet. Information flowed freely and swiftly as more and more people began to own computers. 

Today there are numerous websites, blogs, and Facebook groups dealing with COG splits and spiritual abuse. All of those groups exist thanks to the groundbreaking work of the Ambassador Report starting in 1975. Church members were no longer afraid to spill the beans on anything happening in the church. 

The next big leap in information technology was cell phones with internet access. As primitive as they were earlier on, they still allowed quick access to information. Then, smartphones hit the scene. Who could have imagined that a little phone held in your hand was more powerful than the WCG/AC computer system at HQ that took up an entire floor of a building!

Smartphones have led to the dissemination of Church of God shenanigans faster than anything else. Members have instant access to the latest COG news, prophetic utterances, and some of the most idiotic ass-numbing sermons ever delivered.

In spite of all of this, most COG groups embrace this amazing technology and make use of it. Some don't though. Dave Pack has railed on and on about the internet and how demonic it is. Bob Thiel says the technology is tuned in to Satan's wavelength but yet he prostrates himelf at the feet of that technology multiple times a day as he ignores his family.  

And then there is Gerald Flurry, who is in a class all by himself.

Gerald Flurry has tried many times to get all the ministry and all members to stop using smartphones. Many have blatantly ignored him and continue owning them. In one of his fits of rage recently, he lashed out again at ministers and members using smartphones. Exit and Support Network has this up:

March 30, 2021 

 

Smartphones were forbidden to be used by those on campus last year (read November 19, 2020 letter: “PCG Ruling Says No Smartphones Allowed“). It was January 24, 2020 when Andrew Locher gave a sermon about “Technology Use” where he said using smart devices will “destroy our teenagers.” That was the time G. Flurry put in place policies that would eliminate Smartphones on campus to “set the example for the brethren,” even though some did not obey that policy at the time. 

 

The February 21, 2020 phone policy update said full time ministers were “expected to switch from their Smartphones to a future phone.” However, if some needed a Smartphone for their business, that was okay. G. Flurry “approved” the use of i-pads if you needed one. Then the April 2020 Pastor General’s Report reiterated again that the cell phone policy for ministers was that ministers should not be using Smartphones unless they were required to use one for their business. There were no exceptions for this policy. Minister’s wives were likewise expected to make the transition away from Smartphones. 

 

Not all members have been following this policy because this subject about Smartphones was brought up again at the recent PCG Ministerial Conference when Stephen Flurry gave a lecture. He talked about what he called “the signs of warning and danger” for the congregation if they used Smartphones. One of the warning signs he said was “too much technology.” 

 

Wayne Turgeon on day two of the conference gave a lecture on “Materialism” [Note by ESN: Why then did Turgeon in a 2021 sermon refer to all the materialism, riches and luxuries at HQs as “perks and fringe benefits” for being the few first fruits on this earth?] and said, “Materialism [not Charles Darwin] is the father of evolution and what we call human nature is really Satan’s nature. [Note by ESN: Human nature is that which makes us distinctly human] … People change a little at a time in the direction of the masses as they are influenced a little at a time.” This sounded to me exactly how PCG members change a little at a time as they are influenced by the leader’s mind control. 

 

I know several members in PCG who all have Smartphones. But if G. Flurry continues his crack down, the day could come when we’ll see them with a flip phone again. It’s ridiculous to what lengths PCG will go to in order to keep members from finding out the truth about PCG. I know GF is also worried about someone recording their sermons with these Smartphones. 

 

Members have been told that if they want to overcome they must hear what God (i. e., PCG government) is saying about this. 

 

Members, however, are still using Smartphones. –[name withheld]

PCG Wayne Turgeon: Christ died only for PCG Members Though Only After They Have Read As Much PCG Literature As Possible Which Replaces Their Sin

 

A Philadelphia Church of God insider sent Exit and Support Network comments from Wayne Turgeon's lastest sermon leading up to the COG version of Passover.

Turgeon exemplifies all that is wrong theologically with the PCG and demonstrates how poorly educated he is in theology. He is an AC graduate from Pasadena, a school not know for sound theological education, who is now fully embedded in the Philadelphia Church of God cult and married into the hierarchy of the leadership. It is no shock that Turgeon utters his blasphemies due to his bad theological training.

Items in blue are links to excellent articles on the ESN site.

He discounted Christ’s sinless life when he said Christ could die because His Father was God and Mary was his human mother and that he was “part God.” This was an heretical statement as Jesus was fully God and fully man. (Read: The Two Natures of Jesus) He said Christ came to earth with the “risk that He might fail.” HWA was known to say that Jesus “could have sinned.” 

This has been standard COG fare from the begging when HWA determined that his Christ was too weak and that with enough coaxing that he could have been tempted to sin.  This is not unique to PCG, but Bob Thiel, UCG, RCG, LCG all think this same thing.

 

He said Christ died only the members (in PCG) in spite of the Scripture that says Christ “died for all“; in spite of Jesus being the “Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world;” in spite of Jesus dying for sins “once for all“; in spite of how Jesus “put away sin.” (Read: The Sin Question) 

 

Referring to the Passover he made the bold claim that (members in PCG) could be keeping the Passover “for all eternity” and he would be fine with that. This was another Turgeon myth since to observe the Passover is to say Jesus never came. (See our Q&A “How can I observe Passover if I’ve left the group?” 

This too has been the standard teaching of the church that everyone would be keeping all the Jewish holy days in the Kingdom of God. If, as various COG leaders claim that the holy day's all point to the return of Christ and the kingdom, then why would people be still keeping that stuff with Jesus dwelling among them? There is no point in that happening. There is no point at all in keeping Passover for eternity. Just more bad theology. 

He let them know they were “guilty for Christ’s death” and when they sin they “put Christ to death.” In spite of Christ saying it is finished. (Refer again to The Sin Question) 

This too has been a regular church teaching through the last 8 decades. As COG members we were essentially told we were guilty of killing Chris over and over every year on the gym or masonic lodge stage. People would weep sitting there believing that they had killed him once again. The trouble was as soon as they left the gym or lodge, Jesus was left there too for another year, hardly ever spoken of again for another year. Ministers would take great glee in putting a microphone in front of the matzos as they broke them so that members could sit there in anguish and feel guilty. 

More idiocy was telling the members that reading as much of PCG literature as they can (which he referred to as “righteousness”) will “replace sin.” 

PCG believes that Mystery of the Ages is on par with the Bible and essential for salvation. <ost PCG members d not realize that Gerald FLurry thought Herbert made mistakes in the book and has rewritten those comments to fit the current understanding of the PCG. After all, God has revealed more stuff to Gerald than HWA ever received from God  

He warned them that if Satan could fall like he did, then they have to be “on guard” because “no one is indispensable and can be removed at any time”–if they don’t remain faithful. 

More scare tactics to keep the gullible compliant and submissive. Because they refuse to follow Jesu or acknowledge any of the things he did, this is their end result. 

He showed his lack of wisdom when he said that after Adam and Eve sinned God the Father decided to send Jesus to earth to straighten the mess out. This is an absolute lie because it was God’s plan from the very beginning to die for our sins, not just at the time Adam and Eve sinned. Before He laid the foundation of the world Jesus knew man would sin and perish without his help. See: “Was it God’s plan from the beginning for Jesus to die for the sins of mankind?” [offsite article] 

 

He revealed his true arrogance and hardness of heart when he admitted that he has a “knee jerk reaction when he is corrected” and that he will “never admit that he has done something inappropriately” and that praying for correction is “difficult for him.”

This is the same heretical crap that Rod Meredith said when he claimed he had never committed a major sin since he was baptized. 

This holier-than-thou attitude has been Turgeon's problem since he was in Pasadena. His arrogance and narcissism made it impossible for anyone to correct or even teach him. He knew it all and acted like it.  That's part of the reason he was never ordained till he left WCG and joined the Flurry cult. Now he is in England where his abusive tactics and heretical teachings will have new ground to take root in. More young people led down the path to hopelessness and mental anguish.

PCG's "Puny Little Men With Puny Little Brains and Puny Little Masculinity"

 

A former member of the Philadelphia Church of God does not think well of the men making up the organization. This is an issue that has been brought up here many times in the past.

When I was in PCG, I noticed that the fellowshipping was almost completely segregated among male-female lines. There were a few men in our area who insisted their wives stand right beside them every moment. The wife was not allowed to talk to another woman without her husband’s approval; he had to be right there to hear every word said to her, and she could not give an opinion unless it was his opinion. It was a horrible abuse of power from puny little men with puny little brains and puny little masculinity, who were big losers in real life, but on Saturday they could put on a polyester leisure suit and pretend to be important by browbeating their wives. In general, women just did not talk to men in PCG because men knew their brains were created superior, and that women did not have the reasoning ability they did, which is why God put them in charge. I also remember a lot of women reading plenty of “stand-by-your-man-right-or-wrong” books, which is absolutely the wrong thing to read in an abusive situation. –Former PCG member Exit and Support Network

 

PCG: "...you will find but one singular Church that has literally been flooded with divine revelation of end-time prophecy..."

Upon this rock, a cult will build a church...The Herb Stone

Stare in wonder and awe!

From PCG's lips to your ears....

I guess JC was really ticked off at the mother church and deliberately assisted in destroying the lives and faith of thousands of people.

Since the split in the Church of God, which occurred on Dec. 7, 1989, Jesus Christ has overseen the progressive shattering of the body that was once His Church. This was prophesied by God over 2,500 years ago! “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:7). 

Never fear though, the PCG is the one true restoration that holds fast to EVERY SINGLE THING that Herbert said or wrote. This is an absolute lie. Gerald Flurry and others have gone through all of HWA's writings and WCG literature that they paid3.5 million for rights to use, and edited things to fit PCG's current teachings, which constantly change with every bad nightmare Flurry has.  Even HWA's writings are not allowed to conflict with Flurry's imagination.

The Hebrew word for “scatter” literally means to break in pieces or shatter.The original corporate body of the Worldwide Church of God is now split into numerous enterprises ranging from a handful following one man to quite sizable bodies of ex-wcg members following others. Search as you may and you will find only one singular entity holding fast to all of God’s truths as restored to the Church by Jesus Christ, through His end-time apostle Herbert W. Armstrong. 

The crap that flows out of the PCG is supposed to be divine revelation. God no more speaks through Gerald Flurry than he does in the dreams of Bob Thiel. Yet, we are supposed to believe these apostate heretics. 

God reveals that where His lamp is burning brightly, one of the most powerful witnesses will be the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). Search again, and you will find but one singular Church that has literally been flooded with divine revelation of end-time prophecy since God split the Church. The Philadelphia Church of God, by its fruits, is proved to be the very Church which continues to revive and perpetuate all things that God restored to it through Mr. Armstrong. It is the true Church of the firstfruits.It has the law and it has the great vision of prophecy. “The firstfruits are being harvested now—this very minute! This is our moment in life. There will never be another like it throughout eternity! …

PCG claims to have the law. Note that, the law. No Jesus, but the law. It also claims to have visions of prophecy. That's a lie too. Not one single thing that Flurry has prophecized has come to pass. Much like the lies of Bob Thiel and Dave Pack. The COG movement is filled with outlandish blowhards that can't keep their mouths closed.

PCG On Babies: Satan literally stands before the expectant mother, seeking to devour that little one’s mind as soon as it is born.

 

Nothing describes the perverse teachings of the Philadelphia Church of God, or the COG movement as a whole, than some of the asinine teachings on child-rearing. It's no wonder the church is filled with such disgusting man/boys in leadership positions that are a result of that "child-rearing" training. They were robbed of their youth and still act like little whiney children when things don't go their way.

PCG's Ron Fraser writes:

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). This verse is simply the starting point in understanding how to raise your children. We need to understand the nature of what we are dealing with! 

What chance does a child have when this is what they are faced with on a daily basis? They grow up hearing that they are deceitful and desperately wicked. In their teen years, this is overemphasized and then as adults, this is beaten into them very year around Passover time. No one is are worthy in the sight of the god of the PCG or many of the other COG's.

God created the human mind, the intellect, the process by which we think, conceive our plans, imagine about the future, reason back and forth, and the process of taking given facts and deducing or predicting certain outcomes. The Eternal God created the mind of man for a brilliant purpose. 

 

“So mark well this super-vital truism—that perfect, holy and righteous character is the supreme feat of accomplishment possible for Almighty God the Creator—it is also the means to His ultimate supreme purpose! His final objective! But how? I repeat, such perfect character must be developed. It requires the free choice and decision of the separate entity in whom it is to be created” (Mystery of the Ages). 

 

God created law—law is good (1 Timothy 1:8). Submission to God’s law brings the excellent, profitable and blessed results that God intended for human beings, and which ultimately leads to eternal life.

Why is it that most of the abusive COG's out there claim the law is good when scripture itself says that the law is an instrument of death? "NIRV He has given us the power to serve under a new covenant. The covenant is not based on the written Law of Moses. It comes from the Holy Spirit. The written Law kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Yet there is an opposing law that impacts our minds to lead us to disobey God’s law. Paul called this “the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). He contrasted it to “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus which sets us free from the law of sin and death.” The Apostle James elsewhere calls God’s law “the law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12).

Yes, Christians do believe in the fact that the spirit gives life. The problem with the COG, particularly the larger abusive sects, is that they deny Christ and everything he stood for and accomplished. These groups have no idea what the spirit is that they claim to be the sole possessors of. 

Fraser then lets it be known that little babies are already in the gripes of Satan himself the second they are born.

So our starting point in understanding God’s method of child rearing is to deeply understand just what it is that we are dealing with. We are dealing with fresh, young human minds. Minds that are automatically tuned in to Satan’s wavelength from birth! “The human spirit within each human is automatically tuned to Satan’s wavelength. It seems as if Satan has surcharged the air over the entire Earth with his attitude of self-centeredness and vanity” (ibid). Here is the source of the law of sin—that great fallen Lucifer who was the first living entity to sin (Ezekiel 28:15-17).

Why does everything that to be a"law" in the PCG cult? It does keep the blinded under control though. 

That nature of Satan is the law of sin. It opposes and seeks to exalt itself above all that God’s perfect law of liberty, the law of love, stands for. It is a law of corruption which leads to chaos in any human mind unable to resist it. It is full of pride, vanity, jealousy, lust and greed. It is selfish to the core. It is anti-love, anti-life, anti-God!

Never has there been a COG that has exalted itself above all others than the PCG. God's Liberty in love is totally missing from the PCG leadership. The pride, vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed that fill the current leadership have turned many of the leaders of the PCG into some of the nastiest people ever. Remember, this is the same group that told a family to take their mentally challenged daughter to the mall and leave her there so that the state could take care of her.

Fraser continues:

That’s the challenge you face as a parent! As the umbilical cord is cut and that little baby is laid upon its mother’s breast, already Satan is intent on tuning in to that mind. We may picture the drama of Revelation 12:4 applying to the children in God’s firstfruits Church. Satan literally stands before the expectant mother, seeking to devour that little one’s mind as soon as it is born.

He next blames the mother for allowing satan to enter the baby while still in her womb! 

And it even starts before birth! This precious little life is drawn from the womb of its mother with a mind already impacted, even in its fetal stages, through the influence on the mother of the war between the law of sin and the law of life!

PCG members are encouraged to have "good breeding" skills:

Many studies have proved that the state of mind, body and general circumstances of the parents at the time of conception of the child have a bearing on the general well-being of the fetus developing within its mother’s womb. “Good breeding” in the physical sense starts with two healthy bodies, those of the mother and the father. Congenital defects and weaknesses in children simply can be sourced at the breaking of God’s laws at some point in the ancestry of the child.

Satan has so impacted the mind of man as to greatly corrupt the good Earth and its air, water, produce and livestock, designed by God for the sustenance of healthy life. Whatever we breathe, drink or consume as food has inevitably been weakened or warped by man’s interfering, law-breaking hand to the point that congenital problems related to heredity and environment are escalating dramatically. Those couples contemplating having children would do well to ensure that their physical fitness and health is at its peak when endeavoring to conceive.

The craziness continues:

Again, in this masterful exposé of human nature, Mr. Flurry states, “Our educational system looks upon man as being basically good and trustworthy. That philosophy destroys institutions and nations! We must see the evil in human nature, or we can never solve our problems. That is where man’s false hope lies—in an incredibly deceitful mind that is terminally ill! Here is where men generally place their trust. What deadly deceit!” (ibid). 

 

That is why we reject the human ways of psychology, psychiatry and sociology in coming to understand human nature, human interaction between God and man and between human beings. Godly parenting is only possible with godly revelation. It takes converted minds, converted parents, tuned in to God’s wavelength, daily—and aggressively tuning out Satan’s wavelength—to comprehend the vision within which our child rearing must be conducted. We are accountable to God to understand how to apply the God-given method of training up those children in the way that they should go. 

 

As parents, the key is to not “let a day pass without intense Bible study and repentant prayer to our God. Only He can save us from our incurably sick minds” (ibid).

This is bullshit. While the spiritual life of a Christian is important, one does NOT need INTENSE daily Bible study nor does one need to continually be obsessed with repentant prayer. Because the PCG and the COG have made themselves prostitutes to the law, there is no other avenue for salvation for them unless they keep it perfectly so that God might let Christ save them because nothing Jesus did was ever good enough to do that!

There is much, much more craziness in the article, which is in three different parts.

Understanding the Method (The Missing Dimension in Parenting, Part 3)

Stupid Things Stephen Flurry Says

We are heading into the most important and sacred time of the year in the Church of God as it celebrates its version of the Passover. It is a time of would searching and even fasting to makes sure one is prepared to partake of the bread and wine. It is the one night of the year when COG members feel washed free of their sins. Sadly, it is only that one night, and for some, the sin starts as soon as they get angry at someone in the parking lot who won't let them out of a parking space or cuts them not the freeway. Damn ti! Now they have to wait till next year to be cleansed of their sins.

That's the merry-go-round that COG members are condemned to by lackluster ministers who refuse to follow Christ and preach about grace, justification, and spiritual rest, but instead spend their every breathing moment finding something wrong that members are doing or wrong in society. It is the eternal condemnation that no Passover service will ever cleanse away.

From Exit and Support Network (links in the letter lead to articles on the E&S site and not the Flurry cult):

March 6, 2021 

 

[The following were notes were sent to us by a PCG source and L. S. has added comments.]
SF in a recent sermon “Focus on the Lamb of God” (which did not focus on the Lamb of God but on sin and the Law), was filled with what I call lies. He also quoted from HWA many times. 

 

SF says, “Jesus had to be crucified because God won’t compromise with his Law.” Lie. Christ willingly shed his blood on Calvary and rose again in order to pay for the sins of the entire world. He was foreordained (chosen) to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. I Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8. 

 

SF says, “The view [in the world] is that He [Jesus] did it all for us and that is a cop-out.” Lie. The truth is that He did do it all for us. Ephesians 1:7; II Corinthians 5:21, and many more Scriptures. This is the gospel of grace. 

Any Christian who understands grace understands this concept. It is finished. All of it!  

SF says, “What Christ went through is proof that God’s Law is active and valid and in force.” He added that Luke 24 says it. Lie. The Bible says no such thing. Jesus is telling His disciples in Luke 24 that Moses and all the prophets spoke of the things concerning Him—not the law. (See Luke 24:25-27) Read our articles: The Law of Moses and the Grace of God and Must We Keep the Law for Salvation? (many Q&A). 

 

SF says, “Jesus had to die because God won’t compromise with His Law.” Lie. Quoted HWA as saying it is false what “people in the world are saying that Jesus did these things for us because we can’t keep the law perfectly.” Quoted HWA as saying, “We have to keep the Law in order to be saved” and “God won’t receive you just as you are.” Lie. The Scriptures say “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21) There are no works of the Law involved in salvation. It is a free gift. John 3:16. Read some of our articles in our section Law & Grace and especially many of Bob George‘s “A Closer Look” booklets. 

 

SF continually quoted words by HWA from his sermons and articles, which will always sound good and right until you exam them in the light of God’s Word. Read our article: Why Herbert Armstrong Could Not Have Been God’s True Apostle. 

 

SF says, “Young people have left PCG recently; they weren’t making the necessary changes they should have. In the end Satan overcame them.” Lie. Maybe these young people wanted out from under the burdens in PCG and to be able to make their own decisions. 

 

SF says, “If you don’t commit to a life of overcoming you will become calloused and drift away from God.” Lie. Victory comes by resting in Christ, not struggling. Go to our article: Must We Keep the Law for Salvation? and search for the word “overcome.” 

 

SF’s voice, the same as all top level PCG ministers I’ve heard gets very loud in the middle of this sermon. 

 

SF says,”We are living it first now and then will teach the whole world how to do it.” Lie. Members are not able to keep the Law perfectly so how can they teach the “whole world” in the future how to do it? 

 

When we focus on the Law it arouses sin, and causes sin to have more power. See Must We Keep the Law for Salvation? and click on the question “Can you explain more about the works of the Law and salvation?” 

 

This sermon will keep members in bondage to the Law not cause them to focus on “The Lamb of God” who took away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) –PCG source (additional comments by L. S.)

The law has become the god of the Church of God. The law trumps everything, even Jesus Christ. Nothing is more important or more necessary than keeping the law and following proper church government. Jesus be damned! Obey your pastor general or chief overseer, bow at the feet of Moses and keep all 613 laws, follow church government, and read Mystery of the Ages, and you too can be saved.

Are PCG Members Too Dumb To Know Who To Invite To The NIght To Be Much Observed? The ministry thinks so!

Hiding from the death angel

 

The spiritual Gestapo agents in Edmond Oklahoma, at Gerald Flurry's command, have laid down the law on who is invited to The Night To Be Much Observed, a night of food and drink that was manufactured by Herbert Armstrong and not found in the Bible. (cue Bob Thiel meltdown right now...)

From Exit and Support Network:

For the days of Unleavened Bread, John Krueger, in a recent sermonette, decided to quote from an article by laughing Brian Davis in the Philadelphia News Nov/Dec 2010, “Who should Attend the Night To Be Much Observed?” Krueger quotes Davis [emp mine] as saying: “If individuals attend who would hinder this fellowship, or lackthis understanding, or in some cases could even be hostile to this type of fellowship, our observance would not be up to the standard that is pleasing to God. That is why it is imperative that we not only know how to observe this night, but also who should keep it with us.” 

 

In addition to wearing their very best clothing that night, paying careful attention to detail, and being “moderate in food and drink” (Note: We all remember far too many members getting high on alcohol this night and eating too much roasted lamb and rich desserts) here are the rules: 

 

Who should we invite to observe the night with us? 

1. Those in God’s inner circle

2. Members’ children who are sanctified

3. Those who attend church on a regular basis but have not yet been baptized but desire to be 

 

Who should not be attending?

1. Non-converted mates who do not attend services on a regular basis

2. Those in the outer court –the Laodiceans

3. Teens who have decided not to attend services

Herbert Armstrong never ever made such a command. If so-called unconverted spouses and non-attending children felt compelled to attend the meal they were invited.  And, what's with this Laodicean crap? This night meal is not a New Covenant command and is beyond the boundary of a minister telling people who can and cannot attend. Besides, nowhere in the entire Bible are Christians told to keep this night.

EXODUS 12:41-42, the scripture the COGs use to establish this fabricated celebration, tells us the observance in question is to be solemn. The Passover is unarguably solemn, because of what occurred that night - the slaughter of a lamb, and thousands of firstborns, and even moreso because of what it foreshadowed - the death of the Savior. This tone of the COG Passover service seems much more in line with what verse 42 describes than the alleged Night to Be Much Observed. It doesn't appear that the Israelites celebrated their deliverance until Exodus 15, after Pharaoh's army was drowned in the sea. Humanly speaking, this makes sense to me. Would I have been pleased the morning after the Passover, to learn we were leaving? Absolutely. But I can see myself a little shell shocked. Grieved at the deaths of so many Egyptians. A little post traumatic stress disorder from the plagues. And then there was the matter of the Egyptian army pursuing them. All in all, I suspect the day after the Passover was not a big party for the children of Israel. 

 

And really, it's not exactly a reason to party for Christians today, either. The COGs tell us that this supposed Night to Be pictures Israel's deliverance from Egypt and our deliverance from sin through Christ's death. It is a night to prepare an elaborate meal, gather with brethren and rejoice. The tone of this tradition is tragically incongruent with what the evening allegedly marks. 

 

What do the COGs tell us we are celebrating? Christ's victory over sin, achieved by His death. Is the end result of the story something to celebrate? Absolutely. But is His actual death something to celebrate? I think not. Do you start planning an elaborate party when a close relative passes? "Hey guys, Aunt Edna is dead, would you please pass the prime rib? And did you SEE the dessert table?"

Should Christians Celebrate the "Night to Be Much Observed"?

 

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Gerald Flurry: "The PCG has the New Throne of David and the New Stone of Destiny. That’s putting us in a pretty close proximity to God.” "

 

From Exit and Support Network

I had the “honor” to listen to Pt. 3 of his sermon “Where are We in Bible Prophecy?” and it was all I could stomach to listen to a few parts. He is getting crazier by the day. He focused on nothing but Tribulation, wrath, punishment, death, how many are going to die, how there won’t be many left, Germany is going to strike and kill, etc. I don’t know how members can sit there week after week and listen to this bull crap doom and gloom. 

Young Herbie at the rock

He said the Prayer Rock they are in possession of is “a symbol of Jesus Christ.” (A rock in the Bible is a symbol of Christ but not HWA’s prayer rock! As mentioned in the article Idolatry in the PCG, this rock is nothing but blatant idolatry!) 

 

Here are some other things he said: 

 

“Who are we that God would entrust us to deliver this message to this world and especially three nations of Israel and God’s Laodicean church most of all. The PCG has the New Throne of David and the New Stone of Destiny. That’s putting us in a pretty close proximity to God.” 

 

He was downright arrogant when he started criticizing Evangelicals and saying, “How much do those people who are following Trump–how much do they know about their Bible? You could almost say zero. They are getting further away from God all the time.” (Who is getting further from God? Isn’t it GF?) “We have to learn you can’t follow a puny little man [i. e., Trump]” (And who is following puny little Gerald Flurry??) “They don’t obey much of anything in the Bible. They don’t obey God and they don’t want to obey God. But they will follow Jeroboam [i. e., Trump] And that’s their great sin.” (What about those who are following GF? Isn’t that a great sin?) 

 

He raised his voice when he said, “God’s wrath is on this nation!” and “This is a strong message that we have to deliver to these people!”

PCG Joel Hilliker Has All The Answers On How To Be A Biblical Man.

 

Joel Hilliker has a funny little tidbit up on PCG's The Trumpet website about a new book he has written, Biblical Manhood: God-Given Roles For Men.

Joel writes:

What does it mean to be a man? In a society of same-sex “marriages” and transgender bathrooms, the answer to this question has never been more confusing. This generation has challenged, castigated and changed virtually everything that has defined manhood throughout human history. Biblical Manhood gets back to the basics.

Why would any man in the Church of God look towards their leadership for instructions on how to be a man, especially given how pathetic the leadership of the COG has been as examples of Biblical manhood? From adultery, wife swapping, pedophilia, stalking, sexual harassment, gay orgies, and much much more, WHY would anyone, particularly men look at the COG leadership and ministry as virtuous examples of masculine standards? Oh wait! those are examples of Biblical men! 

Since most of these guys cannot practice Biblical Christianity why should we expect them to be standard-bearers of Biblical manhood?

Hilliker  also says,

In a world of ambiguity, this book gives clarity. In a society overflowing with questions, this book supplies answers. It relies on the ultimate Source in pursuit of an enduring, reliable, rock-solid definition of what it means to be a man.

 

Why is it that self-appointed COG prophets and apostles and know-it-all always have to have the answer to everything? No one ever has a more perfect answer to societal "questions" than COG leaders. Considering how most of them reject a lot of what scripture says and redefine it to suit their mind-wanderings, why should we look to them for a "rock-solid" definition of what a man is?

Looking at certain COG leaders over the decades, particularly those in PCG and LCG, those that tooted the "true masculinity" horn were usually men with self-confidence and sexual identity issues. The more hyper-masculine they tried to appear, the sillier the character they created looked to everyone.

You too can recover your manhood by reading Hilliker's book here.

Gerald Flurry: I don't want to sound vain or proud, but...

 

From a comment on Exit & Support Network

PCG: Gerald Flurry Going Is To Be Crowned First And Then Christ Can Return And Get His Crown.

 

Can you imagine those early pioneers of the Church of God as they gathered in Belknap Springs envisioning what absolute vile filth that the Church of God would descend into with the current reign of apostate leaders (Pack, Flurry, Weinland, Thiel)? They would be appalled that people could descend to this level of spiritual degeneracy! 

Gerald Flurry has taken this spiritual degeneracy to a new low. He has crowned himself king. He dug up an old rock that Herbert Armstrong supposedly prayed at and has brought it back to Edmond Oklahoma where it is revered in awe by devotees as the very rock Christ will come back to sit upon...AFTER Flurry is officially crowned as KING before Jesus receives his crown.

This new throne changes God’s Work significantly!
The new throne elevates our royal standard.
Having this throne, we must come to think about ourselves in a royal way.

We have to think about and study this throne deeply to appreciate what God has given us. We possess the very throne from which Jesus Christ will rule, and the very law He will administer, in the World Tomorrow! God wants His Church today to demonstrate to the world as best we can what that rule will be like! That is quite a responsibility. But we are doing all we can to fulfill it. 

Notice what PCG has its focus upon...a dirty old rock. Not that dude they claim to follow, but a dirty old rock. Plus, Flurry is indoctrinating PCG members and his cult college students into believing they are "royalty". 

We must keep that new throne focus. We strive to make this Church as royal as we can. We have a royal Church, a royal Imperial Academy, a royal college. We have the only royal hope there is in this world: the new throne of David! 

 

That throne’s namesake, King David, loved music and dance. He was highly skilled at these arts, and used them to glorify God. When he brought the ark into Jerusalem, “David danced before the Lord with all his might” (2 Samuel 6:14). When King Saul called for some uplifting art forms, one of his courtiers described the young David as “a skillful musician, a fine dancer, a gentleman, a good reciter and a handsome man, and the Everliving is with him” (1 Samuel 16:18; Ferrar Fenton). Even in music and dance, David honored God. That is royal dancing and music!

HWA "college" students are not taught to be followers of Jesus and to share in that story, but they are being taught to dance and singing musicals produced by PCG.

Our young people are being taught these skills. God’s Church today has royal musicians and royal dancers. They are learning that you can praise and honor God with music and dancing. I believe much of David’s dancing was along the lines of Irish dancing today.

OCG students and members must strive to follow the rock. Not Jesus, but a dirty old rock. 

Always strive to fulfill the vision of the new throne. If you have this vision, it makes a difference in your music, dance, or anything you do. God wants us to lift everything to a royal standard and dance like David would dance with all his heart—and like we will in the World Tomorrow! In all we do, we must try to take it up to the royal level! We have a huge responsibility to uphold God’s standard!

PCG is teaching its declining membership that they too will sit next to Jesus upon that dirty old rock to be kings and priests. Can you imagine the living hell it will be for those under the thumb of these crazy people?

God is preparing us to be kings and priests! He is raising that standard and fashioning us into a supremely royal and majestic people who sit on the throne of David with Jesus Christ! We are contributing to the royal family rule of God!

Flurry's mental ramblings get even weirder:

What a wonderful honor for God’s Church to be given a dual crown from God now—the crown of a king and a priest! (Zechariah 6:11-12). No other era of God’s Church ever received what we have received. 

 

But think about this: The dual crown magnifies our reward after emphasizing Christ.

This all revolves around the Father and the Son. This prophecy is about Jesus Christ, and the king-priestly crown conferred on “The Branch.” Here you have an end-time Joshua receiving this dual crown, then right on the heels of that, Jesus Christ returns! This is a stunning turn of events! 

 

Also, Joshua receiving this crown signals the fact that all of God’s firstfruit saints will receive the same dual crown, the crown of a king-priest! What an exalted office! Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords! That is coming, and we are getting ready right now (Revelation 19:7). Christ’s Bride gets ready because she sees the reward: We will be kings and priests sitting with Jesus Christ and helping Him implement the royal law from the very throne of God! She sees the madness of this world, and yearns to stop it! We must hurry, because time is running out! 

 

This really magnifies you. God wants you to understand what your reward is going to be! He wants it to be real! He wants you to live like this is going to happen! The people serving Him today will have dual crowns and will sit on that throne with Christ for eternity!

No, they won't, and that is a FACT! 

Can the depth of wickedness get any worse in COGland with Flurry, Thiel, Pack, and Weinland? Sadly, every day is a new day of bizarre behavior and apostate teachings. As the years stretch on and their god has not returned, the weird crazy crap they preach will get worse and worse. 

 

Gerald Flurry: "...Satan has already been cast down to earth–but members have 'angelic protection.'"

Exit and Support Network had this up about Gerald Flurry's latest sermon.

February 17, 2021 

 

After the new U. S. president was sworn in GF gave another of his sermons with lunatic ideas and erroneous theology. Here are just a few: 

 

He believes Satan has already been cast down to earth–but members have “angelic protection.” However, Laodiceans (since they didn’t go with GF) are not so fortunate and Satan is “stamping all over them.” 

 

Only PCG can see the “vision” and “can prove it” since, as GF says, “We are a special people before God.” The world “has to listen to this one last message” from GF. You hear this in all his sermons. Everything is always one last–“one last chance,” “one last warning,” etc. How many one lasts are there? 

 

I had to shake my head when he said, “If you remain loyal to God, you are never going to be spiritually alone.” He won’t come out and say that what he really means is: “If you remain loyal to PCG government.” But even so, what does that have to do with being “spiritually alone”? Perhaps it means “alone” when you are thrown out of PCG. 

 

The word “loyal” isn’t even in the KJV which is what GF uses (except when he twists words from some other version such as the Moffat). What escapes GF is that loyal is primarily what God is to us. We are told in the Word of God that even if we are faithless, He remains faithful. (See II Timothy 2:13 NKJV:” If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”) Why is that not understood by those in PCG? 

 

I would say it is because members are not being taught that if they belong to Christ, nothing can take away their salvation. [Note: See Q&A: Can We Ever Lose Our Salvation?] The Word of God continually says God will never leave us or forsake us and that He continues to work in us until the end of our life. (See Philippians 1:26 KJV: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” and Hebrews 13:5 KJV: “…he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” 

 

GF said to “study the new Trumpet magazine…especially the feature articles as they are truly outstanding.” Folks, how about studying the book of Colossians without PCG literature and find the treasures in Christ? (Colossians 2:3 KJV: “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”) We have everything we need in Christ. But that isn’t enough for GF.

He quoted from HWA so many times that I lost track of which were HWA’s words and which were GF’s, He said we are “going to rule the Universe” and “restore the Universe” (this doctrine comes from the Mormons) and we need to “get our minds on the New Jerusalem.” How about saying “get our minds on Christ” who is our only hope. (See Colossians 1:27: “Christ in you, the hope of glory:“) 

 

Towards the end of his sermon he said, “This is our future”and talked about the “power” we are going to be given. It’s all about power with GF. –PCG source

Gerald Flurry Still Promoting His Failed Prophecy

Above is the screenshot of Gerald Flurry's January 1 prediction that Donald Trump would be reelected and that God was going to perform a miracle. It is now February 15 and the article is still up, apparently because Gerald did NOT make a false prophecy. His god is all-powerful and will still make this happen.

In his article he states:

The God of the Bible is absolutely trustworthy. When He makes a promise, He keeps it. When He issues a prophecy, you can stake your life on it coming to pass! 

 

I have lived my life by this truth for over four decades. And I have seen God deliver miracle after miracle. Never has God failed to do what He said He will. 

 

Back in November, I wrote an article titled “Why Donald Trump Will Remain America’s President.” This article is based on some prophecies in the Bible, and to this day I remain convicted that it is 100 percent reliable. All the evidence may look contrary, but that doesn’t shake my conviction. God will ultimately stop Joe Biden from being America’s next president. Read that article to see what God prophesied. Those prophecies are sure. Keep your eyes on events, and watch what God does!

All of the evidence has proven it to the contrary and yet Flurry is still convicted his words were and still are 100% reliable. Flurry is starting to sound as crazy as Bob Thiel! False prophets in the COG have a fertile ground to plant their batshit imaginations into. There is always some gullible fool that will believe them, though those numbers are rapidly diminishing as every day that passes their lies become more exposed.

Flurry continues:

In Amos 2:11-12, God condemns those who have a “prophesy not” spirit. Then in Amos 3:7-8 we read, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:7-8).

There are two opposing spirits here! One says “prophesy not.” The other says, “Who can but prophesy?” The Lion of the tribe of Judah—Jesus Christ—has roared! If you don’t fear God, then you will probably say, “Don’t prophesy.” But if you know God, and you listen to what He says, then you have an entirely different view. Who can but prophesy?

In the Bible prophets were usually men gifted by God to deliver a revelation to the church, but that ability to be a prophet carried tremendous responsibility: 

Deut. 13:1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 

 

Deut. 13:2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘ Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 

 

Deut. 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 

 

Deut. 13:4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 

 

Deut. 13:5 “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

The Bible says that true prophets of God have to be 100% correct in ALL their prophecies. Notice above that even if they are wrong just ONE time, they are to be put to death! that's a pretty heavy burden to carry for self-appointed COG prophets. They don't care however, their narcissism and mental imbalances cause them to believe they are set apart for an end-time witness. the sad track record of COG prophets is every time they are wrong, their god resorts to sending them a new revelation or understanding that they had been blind to before. That new revelation just keeps getting more outlandish by the day.

COG members have been conditioned over the decades to believe anything that COG leaders say, all because of the erroneous and absurd doctrine of church government. Look at all the times we were told that if a minister speaks it is as if God himself spoke it. To even dare question a minister was a sure ticket to the lake of fire. Because of that members failed to heed the very standards the scriptures told them about prophets it was easy for the current crop of buffoons to step forward and make their claims.

Plus, the biblical office of a prophet no longer exists anyway in the church since the canon of scripture has been completed. That reality is a common understanding in Christianity, particularly since Christ came and sealed the deal. the church does not need fools like Flurry, Pack, Thiel, Wieland, or any of the others if they are followers of Christ, as they claim.

Since COG leaders cannot look to anything Christ said and have to look backwards all the time, let's not forget what Jeremiah had to say about prophets. We quickly can see what frauds we have in the church today. 

Jer. 14:13 But, “Ah, Lord GOD!” I said, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

Jer. 14:14 Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.

Jer. 14:15 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them — yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’ — by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith 

by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 

through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared...

1 Timothy 4:1-2

 

Philadelphia Church of God claims Laodicean members from LCG, UCG, and GCG UK are reaching out to them.

Brad Macdonald, one of the Philadelphia Church of God's more abusive ministers and not known for being the brightest bulb in the pack, delivered a sermon a while back which had as its main focus Laodiceans. It doesn't take much of a long shot to figure out that this is this epithet that Flurryism dumped upon all COG members in other groups.

Among his many points listed on Exit and Support Network was this section in which Macdonald claims that scores of LCG, UCG, and GlobalCG UK members, are reaching out to the PCG. This is about as truthful as Bob Thiel's claims that he is a prophet.

Laodiceans Reaching Out to the PCG

BM: “I think more and more Laodiceans are willing to think about some of these prophecies, expressing interest in the PCG.” “PCG is experiencing a growing number of Laodiceans reaching out to the PCG. Across the world. We are seeing more from LCG, and United and Global [Global UK] call us up and want a visit and it’s really, really wonderful and it’s really, really positive.”

BM: “When I talk to a Laodicean I am amazed at how damaged that Laodicean mentality is.” …” These people are just so casual and so relaxed.”

BM: “I have yet to see a Laodicean that comes in and says, ‘I have rebelled and I need to repent and I need to change my behavior and I’ve been fighting God all of these years and I cast his Truth to the ground, and I’ve been repenting about that and now I want to change my way.'”

BM: “They don’t come in with that mentality, but that’s where they try to get them to.”

BM: “Some of these Laodiceans are paying tithes to PCG but still attend their Laodicean church.” … “They are trying to rescue themselves, but it doesn’t work.”

BM: “Understanding Vs 11 of Isa 22 is the key to understanding chapter 22.” … “This truth [about it not being enough to just read and study] is the key in understanding the whole Bible.” … “Receiving new revelation is a mind-shaking miracle of God.”