Waiting for the King to Die: PCG’s Long, Awkward Interregnum

August 28, 2026, will mark a full twelve months since Gerald R. Flurry last graced The Key of David with a live appearance. One entire year of the “That Prophet,” the “end-time Elijah,” the man who wrote 70–80 books and booklets explaining how he alone continued Herbert W. Armstrong’s work… simply not showing up.  

The organization has lost Andrew Locher, watched more long-term members walk out the door, and watched those same departing members get publicly accused of “returning to the 6th Era teachings of HWA.”  

Meanwhile, over the last twelve months, roughly 90% of Stephen Flurry’s Key of David themes have been about… Herbert W. Armstrong.  

It is a masterpiece of contradiction so pure it deserves its own prophetic fulfillment chart.  

The ministry scolds leavers for supposedly clinging to HWA’s “6th Era” doctrines, while the heir apparent has effectively skipped the last 37 years of his own father’s writings. Those 70–80 books and booklets Gerald produced? Brushed aside like last week’s Philadelphia Trumpet. Why quote the man who claimed new revelation after revelation when you can just keep recycling the founder your dad claimed to succeed?  

It is almost as if the family is already rehearsing the post-Gerald era. Dust off the old HWA clips, soft-pedal the more embarrassing “new truths” that only Gerald received, and hope the remaining members don’t notice the stage is being reset while the original star is missing in action.  

Many inside and outside the group are, of course, waiting. Waiting for Gerald to die so that Stephen might “change things,” eliminate the most abusive doctrines and teachings, and usher in a gentler, kinder Philadelphia Church of God.  

How touching. 

How naïve.  

Even if Stephen decides to dial back the most theatrical excesses, the core remains the same. The PCG still rejects the New Covenant. It still demands Old Covenant-style law-keeping, hierarchical control, and the belief that this tiny group alone holds the “key of David.” Abusive structures do not evaporate because the aging founder finally stays off camera. A cult that insists grace is insufficient and that members must continue under a heavy yoke of performance will remain an abusive cult, no matter how many HWA reruns it airs.  

What will the next twelve months bring? More premature deaths, more quiet departures, tighter finances, and—according to one observer—the likely liquidation of the Edstone property in England for around £4 million to keep the lights on a little longer.  

Gerald Flurry is missing in action. Stephen is busy ignoring everything his father spent decades writing. The members who remain are holding their breath for a changing of the guard that will somehow make the whole enterprise less controlling.  

And the rest of us get front-row seats to the spectacle of a group that spent decades declaring “God is not the author of confusion” while its own succession plan looks like pure improvisational theater.  

The Key of David still opens the door, they insist. These days it mostly seems to open onto an empty set, a pile of ignored books, and a “For Sale” sign on the English estate.  Charming.

Twelve Months Since GRF’s Last Live KOD:
August 7, 2026 

 

August 28th will be 12 months since GRF’s last live Key of David program, and much has happened since then; e.g., the death of Andrew Locher and many more long-term members leaving the organisation. 

 

Many of these long-term-members have been publicly accused of returning to the “6th Era” teachings of HWA. 

 

Over the last 12 months, 90% of the themes of Stephen Flurry’s Key of David have been about HWA, which is a huge contradiction to the public accusations coming from the ministry towards those that have left. It’s as if Stephen Flurry has skipped out 37 years of his Dads teachings–70-80 books–almost entirely brushed over. Why would that be the strategy from Stephen? 

 

It’s as if they are already preparing for life after GRF. What will the next 12 months produce? I suspect more premature deaths, more members departing and more financial pressure. Edstone will probably be liquidated for around 4 million pounds to free up some much needed cash. –[name withheld]

COG Veritas: COGWA, UCG, Regional Pastors, Inappropriate emails, Coverups, No Accountability (Part 1)

 

It is not every day that women in the Church of God movement publicly speak their minds and expose deeply concerning issues in the church, but here we are with one brave woman. This apparently short-circuits the power-structure neurons in certain COG ministers’ brains—neurons that, one suspects, were never wired for much beyond “submit  to everyting I say, do not question me, and bring the casserole.”

After all, women in the Churches of God are expected to remember their place and never speak out against the ministerial overlords who micromanage them. These men, if given half a chance, would prefer women stay in the kitchen making sandwiches or cleaning the house rather than becoming outspoken confronting issues. Be the perfect helpmeet and walk three steps behind your husband. Thankfully, those days are swiftly coming to an end across the COG groups—much to the visible distress of men who once preached freedom from “Babylonian hierarchy” while quietly building their own.

This is particularly true in the UCG and COGWA empires—two sister organizations that themselves were born in rebellion, complete with passionate speeches about corrupt leadership and the urgent need for accountability. Now, private emails and a Facebook group exposing them are now circulating. How inconvenient.

What is the Purpose of COG Veritas?

COG Veritas will be a series of articles from interviews with the brethren of the Sabbath-Keeping churches.    The information & truth has been largely hidden from the congregations for a very specific purpose.   

Have you ever wondered why those that speak the truth are attacked?   Think of men ranging from Charlie Kirk to Jordan Peterson or Jesus Christ.   These men are savagely attacked or killed when they speak from a place of principle and truth.    

The Truth Threatens False Power.   The Truth Threatens those that gained powered through politics and lies.    This has happened in the Sabbath keeping churches.   Those in society that Threaten this power are sometimes killed.   In the COG world, those that speak the truth are often Disfellowshipped.   It is the same spirit.

COG Veritas is meant to share the truth about events that have been largely hidden, so that the MEMBERS can make an informed decision about who to trust for Spiritual Leadership.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The overlords will first attempt to control this woman and shut her down. Then they will deny any culpability in the issues raised. Covering up scandals has long been an important part of the Church of God movement—practiced with the same enthusiasm once reserved for criticizing the previous administration. Look at how well it worked—until the internet opened the floodgates and the underhandedness and lack of accountability were thrust into the limelight. Suddenly the same men who once thundered about “transparency” discovered that transparency is delightful only when applied to someone else.

Another roadblock is the idea of members offering solutions to the churches’ issues. COG members have never had a real voice in the operations of the church, in any aspect. In fact, in all COG groups that are registered as corporations, the ONLY members are the Board and no one else. Democracy is apparently a fine concept—until the congregation starts asking awkward questions about their shepherds. 

COGWA states this as the reason for the organization of the church:

The Bible teaches that the Church of God is a spiritual body of believers led by God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 4:3-5; Romans 8:9, 16). Each member has a part to play in the work of the Church, as do the parts of the human body (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). As we yield to God’s divine leadership, we collectively grow “into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21).

The Bible also teaches that Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church; and as the spiritual leader, He guides and directs His Church throughout all ages (Colossians 1:18). He has also provided human leadership for the Church since the time He walked the earth. “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-13).

The leadership of Christ and the teachable attitude of the ministry and membership are essential to accomplish the preaching of the gospel, caring for congregations and general running of the Church.

This all sounds fine in a perfect world—or at least in the brochure. But what happens when one of the church leaders goes astray and causes serious issues? Who holds anyone accountable? The chairman? The board? Regional directors or regional managers? The local ministers? Or the members holding their ministers accountable?

In almost every single instance, accountability is not something members are allowed to exercise toward those over them. They are told to submit and shut up, or they will be disfellowshipped—the COG equivalent of duct tape over one’s mouth. The same organizations that split because they could not stomach unaccountable leadership now treat the mere suggestion of accountability as spiritual treason. 

The first issue out of the gates is a whopper. It carries over from UCG pre-split into COGWA’s present-day operations.

COG Veritas reports this:

Doug Horchak and Dean A

Dean A was in the Dallas, Texas congregation and going through a divorce.   An already painful experience was magnified when he found something shocking….    Inappropriate emails going back and forth between his wife and his pastor, Doug Horchak.

The process to adjudicate these matters is to take these issues to the Regional Pastor. This was a man named Ken Giese out of Houston, Texas.   

In a Heartbreaking email to Ken Giese that these authors have seen, Dean A laid out what he found between Horchak and his wife.  He clearly articulated he was ready to share the emails and documentation with Ken Giese.   

He requested a meeting with Ken Giese.  

The unspoken message in Dean’s emails was a deep sense of betrayal by his Pastor.

His last line in his email was: “And, Mr. Giese, I HAVE PROOF”.

Ken Gieses’ response: “Dean, I am praying for you.”

That was it.   No meeting.   No investigation.  Doug Horchak was not fired.   Doug’s inappropriate emails and evidence would not be reviewed.  

Ken Giese buried it.    

Dean A followed the ONLY process a member had.   Guess what happened to Dean A?

Dean A was disfellowshipped.

How many people go to COGWA and listen to Ken Giese’s sermons, as if he has credibility?    Ken Giese is dirty.    If you attend COGWA, will you look the other way or find a way to justify this scandal?

Crowing Over a Cancelled Podcast: Bob Thiel Declares Himself the Undisputed Champion of Debates That Never Took Place

Two weeks of chest-thumping. Weeks of promising the world that the great Crackpot Bob Thiel—self-appointed guardian of “original Christianity,” tireless enemy of that pesky little doctrine called the Trinity—was about to educate some poor, unsuspecting Confessional Lutheran on a podcast. The topic? The Trinity, of course. The one thing Armstrongism has spent decades treating like garlic to a vampire.

Crackpot Bob was ready. Bob had the scriptures. Bob had the “historical facts.” Bob was going to gently (but firmly) dismantle centuries of Christian orthodoxy while the host sat there in stunned silence, taking notes for his eventual conversion. 

Then… nothing. 

The host delayed once to “prepare.” Then he simply vanished. No email. No explanation. Just radio silence. 

And what does our hero do? Does he shrug and move on like a normal adult? Of course not. Crackpot Bob does what Bob does best: he turns a cancelled appointment into a full-blown theological victory parade. 

In his own words: the host “backed out without informing us.” Why? “He probably could not handle the truth and was afraid his audience would have trouble with the truth about the trinity.” Further speculation: the man “may have seen that he did not have valid arguments against the scriptures and historical facts.” 

Translation: “I win because the other guy didn’t show up to lose.” 

This is the same energy as a kid who challenges the school bully to a fight after school, the bully never appears, and the kid spends the next week telling everyone he scared him off with his superior karate. 

Crackpot Bob even treats us to a little diagram of the Trinity (the classic shield) and smugly notes that “logic shows [it] contradicts itself.” Yes, Bob. The diagram that has been used for over a thousand years is the problem—not the man who thinks a cancelled podcast proves the early church was non-Trinitarian. 

And because the host’s “non-brave approach to cancelling” was just too much for Crackpot Bob’s delicate sense of justice, he is now adding extra sermons on the Trinity to his schedule. Nothing says “I have the truth on my side” quite like doubling down on a monologue after the other participant ghosts you. 

One can only imagine the scene in Crackpot Bob’s study: leather chair, wall of crooked bookcases, glowing Earth backdrop, microphone ready for action… and a man so certain of his own brilliance that an empty calendar slot is interpreted as divine confirmation. The arrogance isn’t just appalling. It’s performance art. 

Somewhere, a Lutheran podcaster is quietly enjoying his weekend, blissfully unaware that he has just handed Bob Thiel the greatest win of his debating career—by simply not showing up.  

And Crackpot Bob? He’s already polishing the trophy. 

No Trinitarian Discussion Podcast

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that I was supposed to be a guest on a Confessional Lutheran’s podcast. The host then delayed that to better prepare himself to read more of my writings, and he set up for us to discuss the trinity on his podcast yesterday. So, I agreed and that was scheduled. But he backed out without informing us or responding to emails from our team.

Why?

Let me speculate.

He probably could not handle the truth and was afraid his audience would have trouble with the truth about the trinity.

The fact is that I do NOT believe that one can have a rational scriptural discussion about the beliefs of the original Christians and conclude the Church was trinitarian if one can accept the plain truth on that subject.

I speculate that host may have seen that he did not have valid arguments against the scriptures and historical facts related to the Godhead.

Below is a drawing that trinitarians use to explain their faulty view, which logic shows contradicts itself:

(Public Domain via Wikipedia)

Anyway, partially because of the podcast host’s non-brave approach to cancelling, this motivated me to add some more to my sermon schedule. So, I plan to give a couple of new sermons on the trinity.

Send Your Tithes or Get Bundled: The Gospel According to Samuel Kitchen

Did you know that you are all nothing but tares that have been bound together and are ready to be burned? Ready to be fried to a crisp! All because you have joined one of the hundreds of splinter groups and are sending your tithes to them! How dare you! This is Samuel’s money.

Samuel has learned well from reading How to Start Your Own Church of God for Dummies. It was a bestseller for a while in the 1990s and has been well used by a myriad of current splinter leaders. Samuel has taken this to a new level—one that current splinter leaders thought they were achieving but have been failing at miserably. For some stupid reason, all of the splinter groups imagine themselves as the one true Philadelphian-era Church of God, when in fact they are nothing but tares! Tares, I tell you! Tares!

The only real Church of God group out there is the one that stole the name Worldwide Church of God and all of its literature and telecasts. All other WCG- and COG-related groups are nothing but cheap street-corner whores out seducing people into joining their groups. They are tares that have been bound together and are waiting for Christ to return and cast them all into the Lake of Fire. Burn, baby, burn!

Like all good graduates of the Church of God Splinter Leader for Dummies school, Samuel has set himself up as the only place tithe money should be sent. And if you do not send your tithes to him, then you are a tare, ready for Christ to return with His heavenly match to set your sorry ass on fire.

Armstrongism has not matured into fine wine but into slop that is not even worthy of the swine.

Now feast your eyes on the pure, uncut gospel according to Samuel himself—the latest self-anointed heir to the Armstrong franchise, who has elevated the classic “send it all to me” scam to Olympic levels of shamelessness:

Now since these original apostle died and fulfilled their jobs in Christ, then over a thousand years ago, Jesus had need to bring forth and send out another man in the 20th century, carefully preparing him and giving to him THE ENTIRE BIBLE AS WE KNOW IT. The Holy Bible is complete for this time, and it was given to Herbert W Armstrong to preach the true Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

So as he preached the Word of God, planting seeds in the field under the direction of Jesus Christ, congregations of the Church grew all around the world, first beginning on radio...then WORLDWIDE. The Worldwide Church of God could have never been possible if the gospel message was not first preached by Herbert W Armstrong all around the world as a witness to all nations. 

We therefore are the SEAL OF APOSTLESHIP for Herbert W Armstrong. We are the evidence Jesus Christ sent him forth with the gospel of the Kingdom of God! 

Now back to the parable of Jesus Christ. As the Church became READY FOR HARVEST, there were found people attending among the people of God, who had crept in unwares,(Jude 1:4) from Satan, infiltrated the Worldwide Church of God, and were not the real membership at all! 

They had come into the Worldwide Church of God, to take it over, and to govern the Worldwide Church of God at the highest levels!

Judas came among the disciples did he not? Eventually he was used to come with SOLDIERS to take the physical body of Jesus Christ, so he may be killed. Judas, was the treasurer of the work of Christ. He had the money bag. So he had a lofty position in the work of Christ. 

 

And while INSIDE that fellowship he went and JOINED with others seeking the demise of the Body of Christ. 

And there came a time where he stood with the enemies of Christ, not with Jesus and his other disciples.

After Mr. Armstrong died, what was taken but that which was materialistic, and physical? It was taken by a psuedo-membership and psuedo-ministry.

TARES. And they became BUNDLED TOGETHER.

Herbert W Armstrong said this on the World Tomorrow RADIO BROADCAST, called The Parable of the Tares" : 

"Now, this is in the Kingdom, the Kingdom age. Whenever the Kingdom age is they are both to grow together in and during the Kingdom age until the harvest. When is the harvest, my friends? Is the harvest the present time? Is the harvest the Second Coming of Christ? I want you to notice. "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them..." And notice they're gathered in bundles. Have you noticed how people are being gathered into bundles? Have you ever noticed that it is human nature that people want to belong? They just want to belong to something. They want to belong to a club. They want to belong to a lodge. They want to belong to some society. They want to belong to something they can join and feel that they belong—that's psychology. And do you know that the psychologists are teaching that today? Do you know that in nearly every college and university in our schools of higher learning where they are training the future leaders of this nation? The future leaders for the churches and church pulpits, the future leaders for business and commerce, the future leaders of our government and our statesmen are being taught and trained in these colleges and universities and they have a psychological idea—they feel there that, well, it's human nature, everybody wants to belong and so they say, "Let's encourage it. Let's have every kind of group and fraternity and society we can and let them bind themselves up in bundles." I wonder if you ever notice the significance of that and what is taking place today. "Let them grow together until the harvest..." Now, when is that harvest? Is that speaking of our age now or the age to come? Well, we're doing that thing now but specifically what was Jesus referring to? At the time of the harvest, whenever that is, He says, "I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them..." These bundles of human beings gathered together are being bound up in these bundles to be burned. I think, my friends, that's something worth looking into. I think that's something you might investigate and begin to think a little bit about. "But," He said, "gather the wheat into my barn." They weren't bundled at all. They come into the barn, in other words, that is the Kingdom of God and that is the place where you want to go, the wheat, that's what He's saving. But the tares, He's not going to save, He's going to burn. Now, the wheat is going to be saved, in other words, Salvation and eternal life is what it portrays there."[Herbert W Armstrong]

WE KNOW that those INSIDE the true Church of God in the period of time called the PHILADELPHIA ERA, will be spared and saved alive in a place of safety, while the Great Tribulation is waging in all the world! Why is it the Philadelphia Era? It is because THIS ONE TRUE CHURCH, which was raised up through an apostle named Herbert W Armstrong, is faithfully doing the work, and is simply remaining in patience AS A WITNESS unto all the nations!

See Revelation 3:10; Revelation 12:13-17. Matthew 24:14

They are NOT being bundled, you see? We remain as the Worldwide Church of God, serving as a WITNESS in all the nations.

When you look online what do you see? You see the Work of God that was done through the Worldwide Church of God DOMINATING and still persisting even after 40 years in the wilderness! 

What else do you see? You see the unrepentant, the rebellious, the murmerer, and complainer, BUNDLING TOGETHER INTO DIFFERENT GROUPS! They will go through the Great Tribulation! And if they won't repent THERE, God will have to place the Day of the Lord on them, and if they still won't repent He is going to throw them into the Lake of Fire!

Every group is wanting to look enough like the Worldwide Church of God to fool everyone, but not enough to actually BE THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD. They have taken so much of what they learned from God's true Church, and they try to recreate it but to no avail!

They are just mere counterfeits, who oppose Jesus Christ!

Websites and groups, who are taking the property of the Worldwide Church of God, all oppose the Worldwide Church of God. They merely use the publications and productions of the true Church of God, to fill in and HAVE THE APPEARANCES of a similar work. But they are working to lead people away from full obedience, and full adhearance to what we were taught from Christ through His apostle!

Notice the WHEAT COME INTO THE BARN. That is the storehouse of the Wheat!

Notice Malachi 3:7-11, "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

Wherein shall we return? Haggai 1:4-5 "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

Now, brethren THOSE INSIDE the TRUE Church of God will go into a place of safety, protected from Satan the Great Destroyer and DEVOURER! 

What is the deciding factor? BRING YOU ALL THE TITHES INTO THE STOREHOUSE. Where is the barn? WHERE THOSE OF THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD ARE GATHERED TODAY.

The purpose for this work, is to restore the Worldwide Church of God, and to STAND AS A PHILADELPHIA WITNESS. 

If you examine every group, every website, you find they are going to ANOTHER CHURCH OR GROUP. It is not the Worldwide Church of God!

There it is, folks—the full, glorious, completely unhinged package. Herbert Armstrong was the final apostle (never mind that the original ones somehow finished their jobs a thousand-plus years early so Jesus could wait until the radio age). The “true” Worldwide Church of God is whatever Samuel says it is this week. Every other group is a satanic tare-bundle headed straight for the cosmic deep fryer. And the only way to prove you’re wheat instead of combustible weed? Mail those tithes, offerings, and anything else that isn’t nailed down straight into Samuel’s personal storehouse/barn/Swiss account.

It’s classic Armstrongism, all right—every splinter has always claimed to be the sole Philadelphian remnant while branding the rest as Laodicean losers destined for the Tribulation. But Samuel has refined the formula into something almost pure: the name itself is the magic talisman, the literature is holy relic, and any dollar that doesn’t land in his pocket is proof positive that you are a tare already tied up and ready for the match. No need for actual growth, no need for a functioning congregation, no need for anything except the perpetual declaration that everyone else is fake and the check should be made out to him.

Armstrongism didn’t evolve. It just found a new depth of depravity, and Samuel is happily diving headfirst into the sludge while waving Malachi 3 like a divine invoice. Burn, baby, burn—just make sure the tithe envelope is postmarked first.

From Double Blessing to Double Delusion: Why Independents Are All Wrong

One of the biggest hypocrites leading a Church of God splinter today is Crackpot Bob Thiel. His little group has been focused entirely upon himself. Every single thing he posts points directly back to himself and none of them toward Jesus. 

In 2012, when he split off from the Living Church of God in a fit of rage over Rod Meredith and the church ignoring his admonitions and veiled threats to change their teachings, the focus has been entirely on himself. From using the imbecilic so-called “double blessing” that Gaylyn Bonjour supposedly gave him, he took it as a sign that God was now on his side and that the entire church needed to recognize just how important he was. He broke off as yet another independent COG group. The problem he faced was that the folks in LCG ignored him, as did 99.8% of the broader COG community. Only around a hundred fringe outliers bothered to join him.

Friday, the self-serving and self-appointed prophet sent out his weekly update from the mind-boggling world headquarters in Grover Beach, where he admonished his followers (and anyone unlucky enough to read his sophomoric-level theology) that it is a SIN to be an independent Church of God—or even a member following God at home.

Because of this “sinful nature,” you will NOT know when it is time to flee to Petra, where you will be held prisoner for 3½ years listening to Crackpot Bob elaborate on just how he thinks the world should be as civilization collapses around Petra.

Oh, and he tells you to seek humility—because he has never had a humble bone in his body. Taking on the names of numerous Old Testament prophets does not make Crackpot Bob a prophet. Heck, even his own adult son says the reason he is not part of his dad’s church is that he does not believe he is a prophet. And neither should you!

Here’s the latest installment of Bob’s greatest hits, straight from the man who never met a Bible verse he couldn’t twist into a recruitment ad for himself:

The prophecy Zephaniah was inspired to write: 

 

Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together,

O undesirable nation,

2 Before the decree is issued,

Or the day passes like chaff,

Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you,

Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you!

3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth,

Who have upheld His justice.

Seek righteousness, seek humility.

It may be that you will be hidden

In the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:1-3) 

 

Brethren, this is a prophetic warning to end time Christians that we are not to be independent at this time. It is telling us that those non-Philadelphians who think that they will be protected/hidden at the last minute from “the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10) are deceiving themselves. 

 

Support this end time Philadelphian work, uphold God’s justice, seek righteousness, and seek humility, then it “may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.”

Sincerely,
Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer

Notice the classic move: quote a verse about seeking the Lord, righteousness, and humility… then immediately pivot to “Support this end time Philadelphian work” (translation: send your tithes and loyalty to Bob in Grover Beach). The entire “warning” is just another commercial for the Bob Thiel Protection Plan™. Stay independent? You’re doomed. Stay home and follow God? Doomed. Fail to recognize Bob as the exclusive Philadelphia franchise holder? Doomed. Only by gathering under the one true prophet (spoiler: it’s Bob) might you—just might—get hidden. How convenient.

This is more of the same old lies. The “double blessing” was never a divine endorsement of a new denomination; it was one minister’s prayer that Bob twisted into a personal coronation. The claim that independents are automatically “non-Philadelphian” and therefore unprotected is pure invention designed to keep the tiny flock from wandering off. And the Petra fantasy? Bob has been selling tickets to the Jordanian rock city for years as the exclusive safe house run by… wait for it… Bob. You’ll get 3½ years of lectures on how right he was while the world burns. What a deal.

New Covenant Christians have zero reason to worry about this kind of slop. Under the New Covenant, Jesus is the Mediator, the High Priest, the Head of the Church, and the only One whose protection actually matters (Hebrews 8–10; Colossians 1:18). We are not saved or protected by aligning with the correct 21st-century American splinter group or by fleeing to a tourist site in Jordan under the supervision of a self-appointed overseer who still can’t get his own son to buy the prophet act. The “hour of trial” is handled by the One who already overcame the world (John 16:33; Revelation 3:21), not by a guy in a suit quoting Zephaniah while building a personality cult. True humility looks like following Christ, not demanding everyone gather under your personal brand. Bob’s entire message places the focus entirely upon himself and his cult, as usual. The rest of us can safely file it under “entertainment for people who enjoy watching someone argue with their own reflection.” 

Please, God, Just One Little Mushroom Cloud Over Washington So I Can Finally Be Right!

 

On August 6, 2026, Crackpot Bob of the improperly named "continuing" Church of God—that tiny, self-anointed remnant from the rebellious Armstrongist universe—published yet another article marking the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. One might expect a moment of sober historical reflection. Instead, we get the theological equivalent of a man jumping up and down on a street corner waving a “The End Is Nigh” sandwich board while secretly hoping the end hurries up so he can stop looking like a complete fraud.

Crackpot Bob does not merely note the tragedy. He practically salivates over the possibility that the same kind of devastation is finally, finally coming for the United States, Britain, and Canada. Why? Because according to the sacred cow of Armstrongism—British Israelism—those nations are the modern “lost tribes” of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh, naturally), and therefore every Old Testament curse of desolation, captivity, and city-wasting must apply to them. Nuclear weapons are just the convenient modern delivery system for the prophecy that has been stubbornly refusing to show up for decades. 

The argument is pure recycled Armstrongism. Leviticus 26:33 about cities becoming waste “wasn’t fully fulfilled anciently,” so it must be waiting for thermonuclear fireballs over London, New York, and Toronto. Herbert W. Armstrong’s 1948 and 1979 predictions of European “Beast” forces vaporizing Anglo cities overnight are lovingly quoted as if they hadn’t already expired more thoroughly than milk left in the sun for eighty years. Thiel even throws in Isaiah’s “land is burned up” language and Daniel 11:39, then plugs his own videos about German bombers and the “conquering” of the Five Eyes nations. The only thing missing is a pop-up ad for “Buy My Book Before the Fallout Hits.”

This entire performance rests on British Israelism—the thoroughly debunked doctrine that the British and Americans are the literal descendants of the ten “lost” tribes of Israel. Armstrong called it the “master key.” In reality it is the master excuse: a 19th-century piece of imperial fan-fiction that lets you take every curse aimed at ancient Israel and aim it like a heat-seeking missile at the English-speaking West. No evidence required. Genetics? Indo-European languages? Continuous European archaeological records? The fact that the tribes weren’t even fully “lost” in the Bible itself? All irrelevant when you have a good story and a desperate need to feel special. Without this teaching in the church it would have no reason to exist. None at all!

Armstrong predicted the nuclear fireworks for the 1930s, the 1940s, 1972, 1975… and then just kept moving the goalposts while the cities stubbornly refused to glow in the dark. After his death the main church finally admitted the whole prophetic house of cards had collapsed under the weight of more than a hundred failed predictions. But the splinter groups, bless their little residual hearts, simply declared themselves the true remnant and kept the same broken record spinning. 

Enter Crackpot Bob, who left the Living Church of God in a fit of rebellion and malice, declaring himself the recipient of a “double portion” of the Spirit (via a conveniently worded prayer that no one witnessed), started collecting dreams like trading cards, and now runs the improperly named "continuing" Church of God as the sole group that supposedly understands just how thoroughly America and Britain are about to get glassed. There are long lists of his own missed or massively stretched predictions. Thiel’s defense is the classic prophetic soft-shoe: “I never actually set a date,” “partial fulfillments,” and “I correctly said the tribulation wouldn’t start in those years.” Impressive. Most of us can also correctly predict that the sun will rise tomorrow.

Why keep doing this? Because the destruction of the United States, England, and Canada is not just a prediction—it is a requirement. If the Anglo-nations are not obliterated on schedule, the entire British-Israel identity scheme, the exclusive Philadelphian remnant claim, and Thiel’s own prophetic résumé collapse into the same radioactive dust he keeps promising everyone else. So every August 6 he dusts off Hiroshima, reminds the faithful that the real fireworks are still coming, and hopes no one notices that the fuse has been lit for the better part of a century without ever reaching the powder.

His article is not analysis. It is liturgical fear-mongering: a yearly ritual in which the prophet gets to feel important by contemplating the fiery end of nations that have the temerity to keep existing. Hiroshima becomes not a warning about the horror of nuclear war, but a teaser trailer for the bigger, better, God-approved version that will finally prove Crackpot Bob right.

Eighty-one years after the first bomb fell, the cities still stand. The “lost tribes” remain as lost as ever—because they were never lost in the first place. And Crackpot Bob is still in his study, gesturing earnestly at the camera, waiting for the mushroom clouds that will validate a lifetime of prophetic over-promising. One can only assume the disappointment is becoming radioactive by now.