Undiscovered Country: Soul Sleep or the Intermediate State?

 

The Resurrection of Lazarus (Fair Use)

                                     

Undiscovered Country

Soul Sleep or the Intermediate State?

By Scout

“The undiscover'd country from whose bourn, No traveller returns, puzzles the will…” — Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1)

 

If you receive your resurrection body at the return of Jesus but you die well ahead of that time, what happens to you during the interim?  Mainstream Christianity supports the idea that you continue to be conscious and live in Paradise but in a disembodied stated.  This condition is referred to as the Intermediate State. An assortment of small sects (prominently, Armstrongists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Christadelphians) believe that you are unconscious during this interval.  This condition is an unconscious state called Soul Sleep.  Herbert W. Armstrong stated that he died and assured his followers that there was no consciousness in the state of death but I always thought that was tongue-in-cheek rather than doctrinal.  

I can’t say that I align neatly with either view.  I believe in a variation of the Intermediate State view.  This is because I do not believe that God designed us to live without a body.  So, I agree with the standard Intermediate State view but I think we will have some kind of a preliminary body after death but prior to final resurrection. (This intermediate corporality is seen in Matthew 17:3 where Moses and Elijah appear.  Jesus refers to this as a vision (Greek, horama) but the term means spectacle and does not automatically suggest that what was seen was unreal.). 

In considering such questions, it is useful to be familiar with the terminology used in the Bible.   In this writing I am going to use the model of a human being that was widely accepted during the period of Second Temple Judaism.   This would be a tripartite model that consists, in Greek terminology, of sarx, psuche and pneuma.  These three terms correspond respectively to the flesh, the lively implementation of the body and the spirit.  While there are various ways that the body might be mapped to these three elements, these are the general categories. (Atheism, of course, would assert a different model in which there is no such thing as spirit and the three elements are really just a single chemical product.  A discussion of these manifold variations is beyond the scope of this brief essay.)  

The next two sections discuss what I feel to be solid support for the intermediate state. I will not discuss the arguments that favor Soul Sleep.  I will let the proponents of that idea respond.  I am interested in what they will assert. 

The Support of the Intermediate State from the Pattern Set by Jesus

Jesus is the forerunner (Hebrews 6:20).  He is the firstborn among many brethren and we are to follow in his footsteps. This of course does not mean that each of us will be nailed to a cross, at least physically.  While there is no precise conformity to the experience of Jesus, the essential steps in the process of salvation, the general ordo salutis, are very unlikely to be radically different from what Jesus experienced.  So, it is reasonable to look to the pattern of events in his life in the flesh to see reflected the unfolding of events for us.  To put a fine point on it, Paul wrote in Romans 6:5, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”  

An important part of this picture is to recognize that the spirit or pneuma is separable from the sarx and psuche.   The latter two are regarded as mortal by scholars of Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity.  And the pneuma is regarded as ever-living.  The idea that “man is a soul” found in the language of the Old Testament is much more nuanced in the New Testament. As in many cases, the New Testament unpacks the Old.

Jesus referred to this separability in Luke 23:46 when he said, “’Father, into your hands I commend my spirit (pneuma).’ Having said this, he breathed his last.”  So, his sarx and psuche were going to cease operation and be entombed.  But his pneuma had a different destination.  And we can know more about that destination.

At death, Jesus did not slip into some kind of existential coma for three days. (Please don’t start figuring out how many days and nights.  This is not about calendar antics.)  The pneuma is made to give mental life, personality and sentience.  It is not a sleeper. Consonant with this we find that Jesus was active during the three days his physical body was in the tomb. In the doctrine of the Harrowing of Hell, Jesus preached to “the spirits in prison.”  (There are alternative interpretations of this but the Harrowing of Hell was advocated by many of the Patristics.  Armstrongism also holds the view that Christ preached during this period (R. McNair, Good News, December 1979). This view will be supported further in the next section.) 

So, Jesus did not experience Soul Sleep.  If he is the pattern for us, then this pattern does not support Soul Sleep for us. 

The Support of the Intermediate State from Scripture

There are a couple of scriptures that have direct application to this issue.  The scriptures are not without controversy and alternative interpretations.  The first is Jesus’ statement to the Thief on the Cross.  The interpretation of this event is colored mostly by the Comma Placement Theory.  Since Greek lacked punctuation that argument will spin perpetually.  I would like to instead look at circumstances.  Here is the scripture from NRSV:

“Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”  He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

The Thief introduces a time element: when you come into your Kingdom.   The Thief in effect serves the ball into Jesus’ court. And Jesus responds with a time element that is an answer to the Thief’s time element.  Jesus does not tell the Thief that “it’s going to be a while before I am resurrected, so it will be a few.”   Jesus does not say, “You are going to be unconscious for a long, long time and then be in Paradise.”  Jesus gave a direct, unadorned, unqualified answer.  It was not Jesus’ purpose to obfuscate but to clarify.  Jesus was not the artful dodger who was trying to divert someone off the path of truth.  This timing also comports with the fact that Jesus said in Luke 23:46, at the moment of his death, that he was committing his spirit to the Father.  The timing language expresses immediacy and not delay.  From other scriptures, his ascent to the Father may not have been immediate but his ascent to Paradise was.

The second scripture I will consider is a watershed in this debate.  In the “Parable” of Lazarus and the Rich Man, Jesus describes the two characters as being in a state of bodily existence in the afterlife but before the resurrection. This would be the Intermediate State with, I believe, some kind of intermediate body.  I have enclosed the term “parable” in quotes because I do not believe this is a parable.  I believe it is a narrative.  It may be parabolic in the sense that the two characters are fictional, though even that is not certain.  But there is no need for the entire setting to be deemed parabolic because on aspect is. 

Consider that Jesus knew that this passage would be read by the others who were members of the Elect in the future.  Would he construct a fiction that misled readers about the nature of the afterlife?  No, he would use the real circumstances.  To construct a fictional setting would cast a light of theological uncertainty on the entire testimony.  If there is anything that Christ intended you to believe, it is the circumstances.  The characters can be fictional archetypes and it diminishes nothing. But the circumstances speak meaning. Jesus did not craftily and deceptively set out to pull our legs.  My conclusion is that this passage should be classed as a narrative and not a parable.  Calling it a parable is a license to grant a few people encouragement to fictionalize the whole account.  

Finally, Lazarus

At one time I thought that the man that Paul described in 2 Corinthians 12 as having gone to Paradise was Lazarus.  But the timing for this, though somewhat vague, does not seem to work.  What I can say, is that I don’t believe the popular view that Paul was talking about himself.  If there were ever a chance to bring clarity to the issue of the afterlife, the case of the resurrection of Lazarus would be the best.  We could have a few neat verses where someone asked Lazarus where he had been and what he saw and heard while dead in the tomb.  And Lazarus could give us some useful and no doubt absorbing information.  Maybe some information that is not privileged but just some general logistics.  But nothing is preserved for us.  Without a doubt someone asked Lazarus about his period of death but whatever he said did not enter scripture.  Like Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12: “a person … was caught up into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat.”  It is interesting that God did not use the case of Lazarus to explain the afterlife.  My guess is that in the great array of pressing issues, it is not that important in the present context.  One day we will all find out.  In the last analysis, I think the data supports the idea of the Intermediate State best. Yet, if I miss the mark and I awaken in the next life and someone tells me that I have been asleep for thousands of years, like some mighty Rip Van Winkle, I won’t stress.

UFO Files To Soon Be Released - Bob Thiel Has The Answer

The US Government is set to soon release its UFO files to the public and God's greatest prophet to ever walk this earth has the answer! He will once again regal us by claiming to have solved the universe’s greatest mysteries with his trademark brilliance. Forget decades of eyewitness accounts, radar data, and government reports — those pesky UFOs and little green visitors aren’t extraterrestrials at all. No, according to our fiery crackpot preacher, they’re just demons in fancy dress, zipping around in flying saucers like the ultimate cosmic cosplay prank.

In Crackpot Bob's worldview, what gullible people call “advanced alien technology” is really just fallen angels showing off their Hollywood special effects. Satan, that crafty old devil, apparently runs an entire demonic air force, complete with the ability to stage convincing “signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9–11). And of course, the Prince of Darkness can even dress up as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14) — or, when the mood strikes, a gray alien with a probing kit. How terribly convenient.

This theory slots perfectly into Crackpot Bob's grand prophetic saga. While the rest of us are out here wondering about the vast universe and daring to ask questions that don’t have easy answers, Crackpot Bob steps in to declare that this mystery is easily solved and he has the answer! Instead of pondering whether intelligent life might exist elsewhere or that there are some things we do not need answers to, we should apparently just accept that every strange light in the sky is a personal demonic deception designed to lead us astray from the one true holy, but improperly named, "continuing" Church of God. How terribly convenient for his theology.

To be fair, Crackpot Bob isn’t the only one peddling this supernatural spin. Plenty of other Christian UFO researchers have examined abduction stories full of occult weirdness and concluded the same thing. But Crackpot Bob delivers it with that special brand of unshakable Armstrongist confidence only a true modern-day crackpot watchman can muster — urging his small band of followers to ignore the stars, clutch their Bibles tighter or their village witchdoctor, and never, ever consider the terrifying possibility that the universe might be bigger than his narrow theology.

In the end, there’s a delicious irony to Crackpot Bob's crusade. While the world excitedly scans the heavens for signs of intelligent life, our fiery crackpot preacher insists those twinkling lights and saucer-shaped visitors are actually demons having the time of their eternal lives — shape-shifting, abducting, sticking probes up humans butts, and spreading confusion just for the fun of it. Whether you view his warnings as profound spiritual insight or gloriously unhinged, one thing is certain: according to Crackpot Bob, the truth is out there… and it’s always demonic.

So next time you spot something strange hovering in the night sky, remember: don’t wave. Just wave your Bible and yell, "Get behind me, Demons!

Even If You Never Heard of HWA, If You Follow Christ Perfectly You Will Come To The Worldwide Church of God Identity. Really?

Here is a taste of how perverse the teachings of Armstrongism are and how it distorts people’s thinking.

Samuel Kitchen claims that Christians who have a deep relationship with God will automatically be drawn to Herbert Armstrong’s words and into the New Worldwide Church of God:

If no one knew of the Worldwide Church of God and never knew of Herbert W. Armstrong, if they grew in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and continued to build a stronger and deeper relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, they would eventually come into the identity of the Worldwide Church of God! They themselves would be walking and talking examples, and through their deep spiritual relationship with God they would automatically take on the identity of the Worldwide Church of God, even if they never knew of the WCG or Herbert Armstrong!

If someone were a follower of Jesus Christ, they would not be drawn to the reincarnated Worldwide Church of God. It ceased to exist and does not exist, no matter how much wishful thinking tries to will it back into being.

According to Samuel, you are doomed to the Lake of Fire if you ever step outside of the WCG—where all splinter groups now reside—because that sin of leaving has totally separated them from God.

If we take even a tiny step away from Jesus Christ and what He has restored to this Church in the Philadelphia era through His apostle, we step outside of the Church. Then Christ changes roles and begins to work with us to bring us to repentance! He is no longer able to work through us effectively, because of the sin that separates us from God!

Kitchen’s statement is a classic example of Armstrongist ecclesiology taken to its illogical extreme. It makes organizational identity the automatic, inevitable fruit of a genuine relationship with God. In other words, true spirituality must eventually lead you to Herbert W. Armstrong’s doctrines, the restored “Philadelphia-era” church structure, and the specific group that claims to be its continuation.

This is not a minor side issue. It turns a human-led organization (or its modern splinter) into the exclusive visible expression of the true Church on earth. It elevates Armstrong to the status of a latter-day apostle whose “restored truths” become the litmus test of whether someone is truly “in Christ.” If you have the Holy Spirit, Kitchen insists, you will eventually embrace the Sabbath, Holy Days, clean/unclean meats, British-Israelism, tithing, and submission to the “government of God” as defined by the WCG tradition—even if you started with nothing but a Bible and a sincere walk with Jesus.

This is spiritual totalism: the idea that all roads that truly lead to God must eventually merge onto the Armstrong highway. Anything else is labeled rebellion, sin, and separation from God.
The New Covenant directly refutes this claim with crystal clarity.

Jesus Himself said, 

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). 

 

He never said, 

No one comes to the Father except through me and the Worldwide Church of God or any  Philadelphia-era church organization.

The apostle Paul warned the Galatians in the strongest possible language against any “different gospel” that adds anything to simple faith in Christ:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel… If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:6-9)

Paul did not say, 

As long as you keep the Holy Days, don't eat pork and shrimp, and stay in the one true organization, you’re fine. 

He said the moment anyone adds any requirement—whether circumcision in his day or Sabbath-keeping, dietary laws, tithing, or organizational loyalty in ours—they have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4).

By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (Hebrews 8:13)

The old system—with its temple, priesthood, sacrifices, feast days, and strict physical requirements—has been fulfilled and superseded in Christ. The true Church is not an organization with a headquarters, a human apostle, or a required set of rituals. The true Church is the body of all who are born again by the Spirit of God, regardless of denominational label (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:19-22).

Jesus is the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18), not Armstrong. Not Bob Thiel. Not David Pack, Not Gerald Flurry. Not any successor. Not any splinter group. The moment any man or group claims to be the only channel through which Christ works, they have usurped Christ’s place.

The Holy Spirit does not lead sincere believers into Armstrongism or back into the law. The Holy Spirit leads sincere believers into Christ—into freedom, not bondage; into grace, not law-keeping as a means of salvation or favor with God.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

Samuel Kitchen’s teaching is the very opposite of the New Covenant gospel. It is a sophisticated form of spiritual blackmail: “Stay in our group or you are cut off from God and headed for the Lake of Fire.” That is not the voice of the Good Shepherd. That is the voice of the hireling who scatters the sheep.

The real test of a relationship with God is not whether you end up in the “New Worldwide Church of God.” The real test is whether you love Jesus, trust His finished work on the cross, and walk by the Spirit. Millions of Christians around the world have done exactly that for two thousand years without ever hearing of Herbert W. Armstrong—and they are safe in the arms of the Savior.

You do not need to “come into the identity of the Worldwide Church of God” to be a true Christian.

You only need to come to Christ.

And He has already promised: “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). No organization required. No apostle’s approval required. No splinter group membership required.

That is the glorious freedom of the New Covenant.

Silent Pilgrim

LCG’s Latest Prophecy Update: Same Old End Times, Fresh Headlines

Living Church of God has issued its latest semi-annual/co-worker letter, and surprise—it’s 2026, but the script hasn’t changed since Herbert W. Armstrong was pounding the typewriter in the 1930s. The Middle East is on fire again (Iran, Israel, proxies, exploding pagers—very cinematic), U.S. pride is peaking, and therefore the Great Tribulation is right around the corner. Again.

The letter checks every classic Armstrongist box with impressive efficiency. British Israelism gets its mandatory plug: the United States is Manasseh, Britain et al. are Ephraim, tiny Israel is just Judah, and God is about to “break the pride of your power” (Leviticus 26:19) any minute now. Current events are dutifully slotted into the template: “Peace and safety!” will be declared, then—bam—sudden destruction (1 Thessalonians 5:3). YouTube subscribers are up (yay!), magazine circulation is down (but that’s strategic, of course), and the faithful are reminded they’re special co-workers in “the Work” that will save them from the very doom they’re being sold.

It’s almost comforting in its predictability. For ninety years, Armstrongism has run the same profitable racket: take today’s headlines, slap on Genesis 49 and Daniel 7, warn that human peace efforts are doomed, and pass the collection plate. The 1940s version said Nazi Germany would conquer Britain and the U.S. would lose the war. The 1970s bestseller 1975 in Prophecy! guaranteed nuclear fire before 1975 and Christ’s return right after. When those dates sailed past without so much as a trumpet blast, the response wasn’t “oops”—it was “the big picture is still correct; watch the news!”

And here we are, still watching. Still being told the latest Gaza/Iran flare-up proves everything is on schedule. Still hearing that any actual peace would only be the calm before the real storm. The pattern is so reliable you could set your doomsday clock by it.

Here’s the brutal reality Armstrong’s heirs keep dodging: their entire prophetic system is a self-licking ice cream cone of confirmation bias, where every fresh crisis is hailed as divine proof while decades of spectacular flops are flushed down the memory hole faster than a failed Plain Truth prediction. British Israelism—their foundational fairy tale that magically turns Anglo-Saxons into the lost tribes—has been demolished by DNA, archaeology, and basic history, yet they clutch it like a security blanket that somehow “unlocks” whatever CNN is screaming about this week.

The real miracle isn’t biblical foresight; it’s the psychological grift. Sell anxious folks a starring role as the enlightened remnant, convince them every war and stock dip is validation, and watch the donations and YouTube metrics roll in while the rest of the world shrugs and moves on. After nearly a century of breathless “any day now” that has delivered exactly zero fulfillments, the only prophecy Armstrongism has ever nailed is this one: another urgent co-worker letter will arrive right on schedule, fear freshly repackaged for the latest headlines.

The emperor’s prophetic wardrobe isn’t just threadbare—it’s been stark naked since 1934, and the faithful are still pretending not to notice.

---------------------

April 15th, 2026

Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ, 

 

The world is watching the Middle East. Events happening halfway around the world are impacting us just about anywhere we live. What will the price be at the pump next week? How will this affect food prices? Will acts of terror be unleashed beyond the Middle East? How long will this last? 

 

We are living in interesting times. The world has changed dramatically since COVID became a household word in 2020. The manner in which the United States pulled out of Afghanistan brought shame to the country and may have encouraged Russia to start a war in Ukraine. The October 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas upon the State of Israel stunned the world, as has the aftermath in Gaza. 

 

The enemies of Israel might have thought twice before poking the lion had they understood what Jacob foretold concerning the Jews in the last days. “And Jacob [Israel] called his sons and said, ‘Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days…. Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies…. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?’” (Genesis 49:1, 8–9). 

 

The ferocity with which Judah responded surprised many. Not only did the Israelis devastate Gaza in going after Hamas, but—in a move that would normally be seen only at the movies—they decapitated Hezbollah by assassinating its leaders with exploding personal communication devices. Virtually all senior leadership in Hamas and Hezbollah have been eliminated. 

 

However, sooner or later the head of the snake had to be addressed, and Israel and the United States have been doing that with military precision and power never seen before. Iran has lashed out in response by attacking Israel directly but has not stopped there. It has also unleashed drones and missiles against refineries, airfields, and civilian targets of its Gulf state neighbors: Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Even far away Cyprus in the Mediterranean has been targeted. The failed attack on the joint U.S. and U.K. military base on Diego Garcia some 2,000 miles away left no doubt that Iran was working on larger missiles with which to strike targets at greater distances. 

 

Where will this end? Will the U.S. and Israel bring peace to the Middle East? Not according to Bible prophecy. Let us not make the same mistake Iran and its proxies made by not understanding what the Scriptures reveal. 

 

At the end of World War II, the United States was riding high and proud of its military. Even so, all the great powers of the day were beaten up and ready to move on. But when has the U.S. expressed more pride in its power than right now? This should trouble Americans and the rest of the world—for when America stumbles, as it surely will, it will not be for the long-term good of the world. When God said, “I will break the pride of your power” (Leviticus 26:19), it was more than a prophecy for the ancient Jews. The Jews represent only two of twelve Israelite tribes—Judah, where they get their name, and Benjamin. Most people do not know the Bible or history and fail to see—even to ask the question of—who the other tribes are. As explained in our free resource The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy, the most prominent tribe today is that of Joseph and his two sons. Manasseh was Joseph’s older son and is today the United States, while his other son Ephraim fulfills the prophecy of the company of nations: the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa (Genesis 48:8–20; 35:11). The tiny modern State of Israel, though central to end-time events, was never destined by God to fulfill the birthright promises given to the sons of Joseph. “Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph,the son of Israel… yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s” (1 Chronicles 5:1–2). 

 

Pride in one’s power requires two obvious conditions: power and pride, both of which are currently in abundance in the U.S. and the nation of Israel. Instead of repenting of our individual and national sins, we continue to rely on our own strength. No one knows yet how this current war will turn out, what twists and turns there may yet be, but it will not be a lasting peace. God’s word tells us that there will be a time in the future when it appears that peace has finally been achieved, but when that happens, there is another scripture we will do well to remember. 

 

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief…. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:1–4, 6). 

 

We must not be taken off guard as the world will be. Pride goes before a fall, and God will break the pride of our power (Proverbs 16:18; Leviticus 26:19). Any humanly devised peace will not last. Sudden disaster will follow not long afterward. The only source of lasting peace is by way of the Prince of Peace, who will prevent human annihilation (Matthew 24:21–22). Thankfully, Christ’s intervention is just as sure as are the other prophecies referred to in this letter. 

 

The Gospel of the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed for three and a half years prior to His crucifixion included that of world peace under His rule. That rule will include those who fully submit to His will today. Those who do—hopefully you and I—will be resurrected from death, or changed instantly at His return, to be part of that rule. “Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:27). Those who overcome now will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years on this earth (Revelation 20:4; 5:8–10). 

 

Meanwhile, we continue to do the Work. We preach that good news as far and wide as we are able, with God’s help. Our YouTube presence continues to grow, adding about 30,000 new subscribers each month in the English language. Our current total is 730,000 in English, 450,000 in Spanish, and 58,600 in French. 

 

Some have noticed that our Tomorrow’s World magazine subscription list has dropped from 600,000 copies down to 374,000. This was deliberate on our part due to rising costs in postage and other factors. One way that we manage the number of subscribers is by sending renewal letters to those who may no longer be interested. Our magazines will always be sent free of charge, but we want to know whether people are still interested. We value a large readership more than a large subscribership. 

 

Dear brethren and co-workers, thank you for your part in this Work of God. The world is realigning geopolitically and gearing up for war, just as foretold regarding the time leading up to the great conflict between mankind and God at the end of this age (Joel 3:9–16). Our staff here in Charlotte and our offices around the world are working diligently to fulfill God’s commission to preach the Gospel to all the world as a witness. We greatly appreciate the Work that you are doing on your knees beseeching God for guidance and with your financial support. God is building a great team with all of us! 

 

Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald E. Weston

The Shepherd's Heavy Mantle - To Help You Keep Your Mouth Shut!

The Shepherd’s “Heavy Mantle”: How COGWA’s Dave Myers Used “Loving Correction” to Justify Disfellowshipping the Hendersons — Then Got Promoted

In early 2023, longtime COGWA minister David J. Myers posted a Facebook statement framed as a compassionate glimpse into the burdens of pastoral leadership. What it really was: a direct defense of his decision to disfellowship Aaron and Mary Henderson for “causing division.” The Hendersons had encouraged independent Bible study, personal spiritual growth, and home gatherings focused on Christ rather than strict ministerial oversight — activities the Armstrongist system views as existential threats.

When the Hendersons shared their side publicly, Myers responded with the now-familiar rhetoric of “loving correction,” warning that ex-members’ accounts are “slanted” and “inaccurate,” while the church’s loving silence protects the disciplined person’s “dirty laundry.” He cited Proverbs to justify non-engagement. The post, far from abstract pastoral wisdom, was damage control for a specific case — and it backfired.

DAVID J. MYERS

4 h  · 
Any time a pastor has to ask a person not to fellowship with the flock due to such things as doctrinal disagreement, causing division, derogatory accusations, or the like, it is a sad and heartrending time for that pastor (and many others). He hopes and prays with all his heart that the person will come to see themselves accurately and be able to change their way. His action is done out of love to spur the person to deeply examine themselves and help them to change. The mantle of shepherding in these instances is quite heavy and frankly, unpleasant. If the person does not accept this loving correction, sadly, social media provides a platform for the supposed 'offended' to tell their story widely - from their perspective - which is usually found to be quite 'slanted' and often just plain inaccurate. Good-hearted people can read these 'posts-of-the-offended' and be misled as to what actually went on. Some might think, "If their post doesn't reflect what really has happened, the pastor would defend his action by posting the truth, wouldn't he?" But consider this: I, for one, am thankful that the 'church' does not post its 'side' of the story revealing all the details as to why this painful action has had to be taken. Love and respect for the person being 'disciplined' means that the 'church' would not reveal their personal problems or lay out all the ugly details that led to this necessary action. We all know that the scripture teaches "Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins" (Proverbs 10:12) and "He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends" (Proverbs 17:9). So you will not read the pastor's 'rebuttal' because he loves the person and does not wish to 'air their dirty laundry.' So, a pastor does not post on social media, but rather, prays that the 'offended' comes to his senses and is able to repent. I hope this small window into the shepherd's mantle of responsibility is helpful.

The Henderson “Crime”: Independent Thought

The Hendersons were not charged with immorality or outright heresy. Their offense was fostering exactly what high-control Armstrongist groups fear most: members thinking for themselves, studying Scripture independently, and prioritizing relationship with Christ over organizational tradition. In Myers’ framing, this became “doctrinal disagreement” and “causing division.” Disfellowshipping followed, complete with the expected social shunning.

Myers’ Facebook post doubled down: the pastor’s action is heavy-hearted love meant to spur self-examination. Social media, he lamented, lets the “supposed ‘offended’” tell their slanted story while the church nobly refuses to air ugly details.

Public Backlash and Matthew 18 Pushback

The post drew sharp criticism in comments and on this blog and other sites. Readers repeatedly pointed to Matthew 18:15-17, which outlines a clear, congregational process for handling offenses:

• Private confrontation.
• With witnesses.
• Then to the ekklesia (the assembled congregation), not a unilateral ministerial decision.

Commenters argued that COGWA and similar groups bypass this biblical model, centralizing power in ministers and headquarters. One noted: “The authority to remove does not lie with you but with the congregation.” Others highlighted how failing to follow Christ’s instructions leaves members wondering whether the disfellowshipped person was truly in the wrong or simply wronged by leadership. Several long-time members admitted they had never seen Matthew 18 properly followed in COG groups.

Myers shut down the conversation after intense backlash. The organization offered no public rebuttal — exactly as his post had pre-justified.

David J. Myers

May 4, 2023

As if often the case with social media, it can easily devolve into squabbles between people who use the platform to proclaim their particular opinions, complaints, and troubles. Since this has become the case with my most recent post, I have decided to delete it and try to follow the admonition found in 1 Timothy 1:3-7. Warm regards

The “Atta Boy” Promotion

In August 2023, COGWA announced that Doug Horchak had moved to an international role, opening the position of Ministerial Services Operations Manager. Dave Myers was selected as the “perfect replacement,” with Texas administration fully backing the choice. Critics immediately called it the “good old boys network” in action — a reward for effectively silencing dissent and defending the system on social media.

We later highlighted the irony in COGWA’s own bylaws, which require extensive prior service for administrative roles (often 15+ years). Even Jesus and the apostles would not qualify under such corporate criteria. The promotion sent a loud message to ministers and members alike: enforce control aggressively, and the organization will protect and advance you.

The Control Mechanisms at Work

This episode perfectly illustrates Armstrongism’s self-preservation tactics:

• Weaponized “Love”: Disfellowshipping and shunning are recast as painful but necessary acts of shepherding. The burden is placed on the member to “examine themselves accurately.”
• Narrative Control: Ex-members are preemptively discredited. The church claims moral superiority for its silence while training insiders to dismiss outside accounts.
• Bypassing Scripture: Top-down ministerial authority overrides the congregational accountability Jesus described, protecting leaders from scrutiny.
• Reward System: Promotions for enforcers reinforce loyalty over reform or member well-being.
• Self-Policing Fear: Members witness the consequences of independent thought and learn to stay silent.

The Human and Spiritual Cost

The Hendersons lost their spiritual community and faced family pressure from shunning. Questioning members watching the saga internalized the warning: think independently at your peril. Legitimate concerns about doctrine, leadership, or policy get labeled “division” and quashed. The system remains sealed against reform.

David Myers’ 2023 post was never generic pastoral reflection. It was targeted justification for a specific exercise of control — followed by institutional affirmation through promotion. What he called the “heavy mantle of shepherding” is, in practice, the machinery of a high-demand group protecting its hierarchy.

When “love” demands silencing critics, rewarding enforcers, and bypassing Christ’s own instructions for handling disputes, it ceases to be love. It becomes institutional self-preservation. The Henderson/Myers case, documented in real time on social media and critical blogs, shows that machinery is still operating smoothly — even as more members notice the gears.

Read more here:

COGWA's Dave Myers Talks About How Heavy His Shepherds Mantle Is When He Has To Disfellowship Members And Then Watch Them Get On Social Media And Tell THEIR Side Of The Story.

A Response to Dave Myers - Take it to the presbyteros or take it to the ekklesia?

God hates Division - The couple Dave Myers is upset about

How God Moved Us Out Of The Church (COGWA)

COGWA Shenanigans: After Dave Myers Recent Facebook/Henderson Disfellowshipment Debacle He Is Promoted To Ministerial Services Operations Manager

LCG's Endless Stream of Doom and Gloom Articles Repelling Readers

The Living Church of God (LCG) proudly proclaims that its "earth-shattering work marches forward with power." In official communications, leaders highlight growing YouTube channels and a continued global outreach. Yet behind the optimistic rhetoric lies a quieter reality: a significant drop in magazine readership and a deliberate effort to trim their subscriber list.

LCG’s flagship publication, Tomorrow’s World, once distributed up to 600,000 copies monthly. In reality, the active, interested readership was far smaller. When the church began sending renewal letters asking recipients whether they still wanted to receive the free magazine, over 220,000 people chose not to renew. The subscription list has now officially fallen from 600,000 to 374,000.

In a recent co-worker letter, LCG addressed the decline directly:

“Some have noticed that our Tomorrow’s World magazine subscription list has dropped from 600,000 copies down to 374,000. This was deliberate on our part due to rising costs in postage and other factors. One way that we manage the number of subscribers is by sending renewal letters to those who may no longer be interested. We value a large readership more than a large subscribership.”

While rising postage costs are real, many former subscribers and longtime observers point to a deeper issue: fatigue with the endless stream of doom-and-gloom messaging that has defined Armstrongism for decades.

LCG’s publications and sermons consistently portray a world spiraling into moral and physical collapse. Nearly everything and everyone outside the church is depicted as corrupt, sinful, or part of a satanic system. Mainstream Christianity is false, governments are doomed, society is evil, and only the tiny “Philadelphia remnant” (LCG itself) holds the truth. The tone is relentlessly negative: “You are bad — we are good.”

Many people grow tired of this constant diet of fear, condemnation, and impending catastrophe. After years of hearing that the end is near, that Europe will rise as a beast power, that America and Britain face imminent national punishment, and that only strict obedience to LCG’s teachings can save them, a large number quietly walk away or simply stop opening the mail.

This pattern is not new. It is a recurring legacy of Herbert W. Armstrong’s theological system. Multiple splinter groups that emerged after the Worldwide Church of God breakup have faced similar attrition. When the message is dominated by crisis, judgment, and exclusivity, it may initially attract a certain personality type, but over time, it exhausts and repels many others.

Meanwhile, LCG emphasizes its digital growth:

“Our YouTube presence continues to grow, adding about 30,000 new subscribers each month in the English language. Our current total is 730,000 in English, 450,000 in Spanish, and 58,600 in French.”

Online metrics can appear impressive, but they often include casual viewers, algorithm-driven recommendations, and people who subscribe out of curiosity and then never engage again. A shrinking, carefully culled magazine list of genuinely interested readers tells a more sobering story.

The church concludes its letter with familiar appeals:

“Dear brethren and co-workers, thank you for your part in this Work of God. The world is realigning geopolitically and gearing up for war, just as foretold… God is building a great team with all of us!”

For those who remain committed, this narrative provides purpose and urgency. For many others, however, the endless cycle of dire warnings that rarely materialize has become wearisome. The deliberate downsizing of the Tomorrow’s World subscription list may be presented as prudent stewardship, but it also serves as an unintentional admission: large numbers of people have grown tired of the doom and gloom and have simply tuned out.

This episode stands as yet another example of the long-term human cost of Armstrongism’s apocalyptic focus — a movement that continues to lose subscribers while insisting its work is advancing with divine power.

Dave Pack: The Prophet Who Never Fails…to Fail

What a masterclass in cult leadership we’re witnessing with Dave Pack of the Restored Church of God. For years now, the man has been running the same tired con with the precision of a Swiss watch—except instead of gears, it’s powered by pure, unadulterated narcissism wrapped in a cheap humility costume.

Pack’s latest sermons follow the predictable script: he acts shocked—positively floored—by these fresh “revelations” about his own towering prophetic destiny. In his April 18, 2026 sermon (Part 632 of The Greatest Untold Story!), he declared himself “1000% certain” that the Kingdom of God and Christ’s return would arrive precisely at sunset on the Second Passover, Friday, May 1, 2026 (Iyar 15 on the Hebrew calendar). He tied it all together with an “avalanche of proof”: Daniel was finally understood (again), RCG was founded on the Second Passover (again), and—get this—his own last name “Pack” was no coincidence but a divine sign linked to Passover itself. He even called it the last date he would ever teach. “If it’s wrong, then it’s wrong,” he shrugged with theatrical finality. His thoroughly marinated followers ate it up like it’s gourmet. The already-indoctrinated nodded sagely and thought, “I knew Mr. Pack was Elijah. We just have to let the poor guy discover it on his own.” How generous of them.

Any future escalation—whether he claims to be one of the Two Witnesses or the next best thing—will be swallowed just as smoothly. All he has to do is drop a vague “That’s interesting…” or “This is big,” and their well-trained brains fill in the blanks faster than you can say “cognitive dissonance.”

May 1, 2026 came and went like every other “unassailable” date before it. No trumpet blast. No Kingdom descending on Wadsworth, Ohio. No Christ appearing to validate Pack’s endless self-promotion. Just another ordinary Friday that exposed the 140-plus failed prophecies he’s racked up since 2013. This wasn’t some minor miscalculation; it was the capstone of a years-long parade of flops: March 29, 2025 (Jesus’ birthday, naturally), August 4, 2025, October 6, 2025, December 5, 2025, December 19, 2025, and earlier whispers of February 1, 2026. Each time Pack went “all in,” called it “impossible to be wrong,” and assured everyone this was finally the one. When the dates sailed by without so much as a whisper from heaven, he simply laughed it off, pivoted to the next “revelation,” and reframed the failure as “progress” or “God working things out in real time.”

Here’s how the deception works with surgical precision. Pack doesn’t just predict dates—he weaves a personalized gospel around himself. He compares his “journey of discovery” to biblical giants while insisting he’s only reluctantly accepting his role as the modern Elijah, greater even than Herbert W. Armstrong (whom he once idolized as Moses to his own Elijah). He floods members with marathon sermon series that reinterpret Scripture to fit his ego, then demands total loyalty. Doubt? That’s Satan attacking. Questions? That’s disloyalty. Leaving? That’s shaking the tree—his term for the “natural selection” that culls the weak and leaves only the most devoted enablers. The transcripts are public, the failures documented, yet he spins every external criticism as proof he’s right: “They hate me because I’m God’s man.” It’s gaslighting on an industrial scale.

And yet his shrinking membership continues to forgive him. Why? A toxic cocktail of masterful grooming, sunk-cost fallacy, and apocalyptic FOMO (fear of missing out). Many have sacrificed careers, families, and savings to follow him. Admitting Pack is a false prophet would mean admitting they’ve wasted years—or decades—of their lives. Instead, they reframe every flop as “Mr. Pack carefully working through his destiny with an abundance of caution.” The more dates fail, the more “elite” the remaining few feel: pioneers in the “true” church, dining at Christ’s table while the world burns. Pack nurtures envy of Armstrong’s early glory days, turning RCG into a delusional fan club of the “chosen few.” Critical thinking is reframed as satanic; persecution from outsiders (including ex-members exposing the lies) is proof of demonic activity and prophecy. They’ve been conditioned so thoroughly that even 140+ documented failures become evidence of his humility, not his fraud.

Finally, a prophet who’s opening up his innermost feelings! How humble. Never mind that it’s the spiritual equivalent of a selfie stick—everything always circles back to how special he is. To the faithful, this isn’t pathological self-obsession; it’s endearing vulnerability. They love him for it. They reciprocate. And Pack just keeps tightening the screws.

The paradox is delicious. Outsiders look at Pack and see a textbook arrogant false prophet. Insiders look at the same man and see the very model of modesty. When he compares himself to Herbert W. Armstrong, members don’t roll their eyes—they beam with pride at their leader’s restraint.

This isn’t isolated to Dave Pack. It’s the rotten core of the entire Armstrongist Church of God splinter world—a toxic ecosystem of self-appointed prophets and apostles chasing the ghost of Herbert W. Armstrong. Bob Thiel of the Continuing Church of God claims dream-inspired prophetic status and has his own trail of unfulfilled dates. Gerald Flurry of the Philadelphia Church of God crowns himself “That Prophet” while peddling failed timelines and relic worship. Ron Weinland of the Church of God – Preparing for the Kingdom of God once set dates for 2008 and 2012, declared himself one of the Two Witnesses, and even led his remnant from prison, with his followers welcoming him back when he was released as a martyr for the truth. They all stand on the shoulders of earlier giants of failure: Armstrong’s infamous 1975 prophecy flop, Gerald Waterhouse’s tireless promotion of Armstrong as the end-time apostle, and Rod Meredith’s own unheeded warnings and date-setting in the Living Church of God. The pattern is identical—charismatic control, endless “new truth,” failed dates reframed as growth, and a shrinking faithful core convinced they alone are the elect.

The Bible is crystal clear on such men. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 warns: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” Jesus Himself cautioned in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Pack, Thiel, Flurry, Weinland, and their predecessors have produced nothing but rotten fruit: broken families, financial ruin for members, and a trail of dashed hopes. Their “fruits” are not souls saved or lives transformed—they’re loyalty tests, fear-mongering, and ego-stroking empires built on sand.

Escaping this devious thinking is simpler than the cult leaders want you to believe. First, read the Bible for yourself—without the leader’s 600-part sermon filter or a Church of God booklet by your side. Test every claim against plain Scripture (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Pray for wisdom without prejudice (James 1:5). Recognize the pattern: repeated failed prophecies are not “refinements” or “deeper understanding”—they are the biblical definition of a false prophet. Talk to ex-members who’ve left and thrived; their stories dismantle the “no one leaves and stays faithful” myth. And walk away. Real faith doesn’t require surrendering your mind, money, or family to a man who keeps moving the goalposts while calling it humility.

In the end, Dave Pack isn’t building a church. He’s curating a doomsday cult of the most devoted enablers imaginable—and he’s just one high-profile symptom of a larger epidemic rotting the Armstrongist world. The remaining members see themselves as brave soldiers of the Kingdom, ready for whatever glorious (or catastrophic) command comes next. They’ve already proven they’ll believe anything—including the 140th (and counting) date for Christ’s triumphant arrival in Wadsworth. When the final crash comes—and it will—they’ll either follow him into something darker or shatter completely when their “biblical parallels” turn out to be nothing more than the delusional ramblings of very clever, very arrogant men.

The saddest part? They’ll still call it humility. But the rest of us can call it what it is: a warning. And a call to break free.

The New Pentecost Weekend COG/Sabbath Keeper Festivals

Festival of Weeks – Pentecost Weekend 2026

Pentecost Sunday is observed by both mainstream Christianity and many of the scattered Churches of God, unless you are still one of the hard-core Monday Pentecost COG groups. In Christianity, it commemorates the dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 2)—wind, fire, tongues, and power that launched the New Testament Church fifty days after the resurrection.

In the Churches of God, Pentecost remains one of the commanded Holy Days, counted fifty days from the wave-sheaf offering. It is meant to picture the very Spirit that unites God’s people.

Yet this year, the “one true church”  will have several groups meeting for a two-day weekend (Sabbath and Pentecost) and will look like this:

• Growing in Torah at Safe Haven Farms in central California.
• United Church of God in the wooded hills of Nashville, Indiana, for worship, hymn singing, and fellowship.
• Church of God Ministries International in Syracuse, Indiana.
• Intercontinental Church of God is holding two-day weekends across Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia.
• Seventh Day Church of God in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Some of these groups are meeting in the same general regions—sometimes within an easy drive—yet not one extended an invitation to the others. No joint services. No shared hall. No communal breaking bread together in a meal. No humble attempt to let the Holy Spirit actually dwell among unified brethren. They will celebrate the feast of the Spirit while keeping that Spirit boxed up in their separate little camps.

And the real tragedy? This is only the beginning.

Come the Feast of Tabernacles—the week-long celebration they all claim pictures the coming Kingdom of God, a time of unity and peace—the same farce will repeat on a grander scale. Different COG groups will book separate feast sites, often in the same states or even the same general areas, then pat themselves on the back for their “purity” while refusing to fellowship with anyone outside their shrinking circle. Same story for the Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Passover, and every other one of their self-commanded Holy Days. Year after year, they will scatter like proud, stubborn sheep, each little flock convinced it alone is “Philadelphian” while everyone else is Laodicean.

How delightfully special they all must feel. How Holy Spirit led.

This is the enduring, bitter legacy of Armstrongism: a system that preached unity within, but engineered endless division. Keep the members isolated, convince them their tiny group is the only safe place on earth, and they will gladly pay three separate tithes to support the illusion. Nothing says “We are the true church” quite like refusing to break bread with your own spiritual cousins while the world watches the spectacle.

Pentecost is supposed to be about power and one Body. Instead, these groups have turned every Holy Day into a monument to their own disunity—proving, with exquisite irony, that the Spirit they claim to follow has never truly had a home among them.

Truly, a masterpiece of self-righteous fragmentation. Well done, gentlemen. The Kingdom must be so impressed.

Step Out of the Wilderness of Striving

How Armstrongism Misses the Mark: 

Clinging to the Law Instead of Resting in Christ 

(Hebrews 3–4 and Galatians)

The book of Hebrews was written to first-century Jewish believers who were tempted to slip back into the old covenant system of law-keeping for security and acceptance with God. Chapters 3 and 4 deliver a powerful warning and invitation: Jesus is superior to Moses, and the true “rest” is found by faith in Him alone—not by ongoing ritual observance of the law. The apostle Paul makes the same case even more forcefully in Galatians, confronting any “different gospel” that adds law-keeping as a requirement for salvation or Christian living. Herbert W. Armstrong’s teachings (Armstrongism), which insisted that Christians must keep the seventh-day Sabbath, holy days, clean/unclean meats, and other elements of the Mosaic law to “qualify” for the Kingdom, directly contradict this biblical message. By clinging to the law, Armstrongism turns the gospel of grace into another form of the very bondage the New Testament warns against.

Jesus Is Greater Than Moses—the Son Over the House (Hebrews 3:1-6)

Fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest,” the writer urges. Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s house. But “Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house—and we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory (Hebrews 3:6, NIV).

Moses represented the old covenant and the law given at Sinai. Jesus is the divine Son who built the house. Armstrongism elevated the law (especially the Sabbath command) as an unchanging requirement for true Christians, treating it almost as co-equal with Christ. Hebrews flips this: the servant (law/Moses) has been surpassed by the Son. Clinging to the old system after the Son has come dishonors Jesus and risks the very unbelief the chapter condemns.

The Warning from Israel’s Wilderness Failure (Hebrews 3:7-19)

Quoting Psalm 95, Hebrews recalls how the Israelites saw God’s miracles for forty years yet hardened their hearts in unbelief. They never entered God’s “rest” (the Promised Land) “because of their unbelief” (3:19). The application is urgent: 

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God… We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end (3:12, 14).

Armstrongism often flipped this warning to mean that breaking the weekly Sabbath was the ultimate rebellion, like Israel’s disobedience. But the text is clear: the sin was unbelief—refusing to trust God’s promise and instead relying on their own efforts or rituals. Insisting on law-keeping as a qualification for rest is the same heart-hardening unbelief.

The Superior Sabbath-Rest Available Now by Faith (Hebrews 4:1-13)

The promise of rest remains open. Joshua’s generation entered the land but never experienced the ultimate rest, so “God again set a certain day, calling it ‘Today’” (4:7). Then comes the key verse: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their own works, just as God did from his” (4:9-10).

This is not primarily a command to keep Saturday. It is the spiritual rest believers enter today by faith—ceasing from self-effort, law-keeping, and striving to earn God’s favor, just as God rested from creation. The weekly Sabbath was a shadow pointing to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17); the reality is the Son Himself.

Armstrong and his followers taught the exact opposite. They interpreted “a Sabbath-rest” (Greek sabbatismos) as proof that Christians must continue “a keeping of the Sabbath” literally each week as a type of the future Kingdom rest. Without it, they claimed, you could not qualify for salvation or enter God’s rest. This misses the entire point of Hebrews: the rest is entered now by believing the gospel, not by ritual observance. The chapter ends with an exhortation to “make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience” (4:11)—disobedience defined as unbelief, not calendar-keeping.

Galatians: No Other Gospel—We Are Not Under the Law (Galatians 1–5)

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is even sharper. False teachers were pressuring Gentile believers to add circumcision and law-keeping to their faith. Paul calls this “a different gospel” and pronounces a curse on anyone preaching it (Galatians 1:6-9). He writes:

• We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ… because by the works of the law no one will be justified (2:16).
• I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose (2:21).
• The law was added “because of transgressions” and served as a guardian “until Christ came” (3:19, 24). “Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (3:25).
• You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (5:4).
• If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law (5:18).

Armstrongism attempted to escape this by claiming Paul was only condemning ceremonial laws while the “spiritual law” (Ten Commandments, Sabbath, holy days) remained binding. But Paul makes no such distinction. He says the entire old-covenant law system—including the commands given at Sinai—acted as a temporary tutor that pointed to Christ. Once faith in Christ has come, believers are no longer under it as a covenant. Justification, sanctification, and the Christian life are all by faith, empowered by the Spirit—not by mixing in law-keeping as a requirement.

Galatians 4’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah drives it home: the law is the slave woman producing bondage; the promise is the free woman producing heirs. Armstrongism’s insistence on law-keeping as essential for Christians puts people back under Hagar—slavery—when Christ offers sonship and freedom.

The Heart of the Issue: Law vs. Grace, Shadow vs. Reality

Armstrongism’s core error was treating the old covenant law as still binding in its details while claiming to believe in grace. Hebrews 3–4 shows the law (through Moses) could never give true rest—only Jesus the Son can. Galatians proves that adding any part of the law as a requirement for justification or ongoing acceptance with God is “another gospel” that nullifies grace and makes Christ’s death meaningless.

The weekly Sabbath and other commands were good shadows, but the substance is Christ (Colossians 2:17). True rest is not earned by perfect calendar observance; it is received today by simple, ongoing faith in Jesus’ finished work.

The Invitation Still Stands Today

Hebrews 3–4 and Galatians do not merely critique a first-century problem or a 20th-century movement—they issue a timeless, Spirit-empowered call to every generation tempted to trade the simplicity of the gospel for the security of rules. The law was never meant to be the final word; it was a faithful servant that exposed our inability, drove us to our knees, and pointed ahead to the One who could do what the law could never accomplish (Romans 8:3-4). Armstrongism, with its heartfelt zeal for obedience and its deep respect for Scripture, tragically stopped short of the finish line. By insisting that Christians must still “keep” large portions of the old covenant to remain in God’s favor or “qualify” for the Kingdom, it recreated the very yoke Paul condemned and the very unbelief that kept Israel out of the Promised Land.

Yet the author of Hebrews refuses to leave us in despair. He repeatedly shouts the word “Today!”—the day of opportunity, the day of grace, the day when the promise of rest is still wide open. This rest is not a future reward earned by flawless Sabbath observance or dietary law-keeping. It is a present reality entered the moment a weary soul stops striving and simply believes that Jesus, the faithful Son over God’s house, has already done everything required. It is the soul-level sabbath where we cease from our own works the way God ceased from His at creation—fully satisfied, fully accepted, fully at peace.

For anyone who has carried the heavy tablets of Armstrongism—or any form of legalism—the message is liberating and urgent: You do not have to qualify. You only have to believe. The chains of “Sabbath & Works” shatter not by greater effort but by looking to the radiant Christ who stands with open arms. Galatians 5:1 rings like a victory shout: 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

True obedience does not disappear in this rest—it is transformed. No longer motivated by fear of disqualification, it flows from love for the Savior who fulfilled the law on our behalf. The Spirit who lives in every believer now writes God’s character on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27), producing fruit that the law could only demand but never create.

If you are reading this and sensing the Holy Spirit stirring your heart, hear the final invitation of Hebrews: 

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). 

Step out of the wilderness of striving. Leave the shadows behind. Fix your eyes on Jesus—the better Moses, the better High Priest, the better Rest—and enter the superior, permanent Sabbath-rest that Armstrongism, by clinging so tightly to the law, sadly missed.

The old covenant has served its purpose. The new has come. Rest is here—today—in Christ alone. May you receive it, walk in it, and proclaim the glorious freedom of the gospel to everyone still bound by the very system the New Covenant came to release us from.

Silent Pilgrim

Worlds Most Accurate Prophet Claims He Has Been Proven Right Once Again

The Church of God’s Greatest Prophet Since Enoch (and by “greatest,” we mean the most deluded keyboard warrior the movement has ever spawned).

Ladies and gentlemen, behold Bob Thiel, more affectionately known as Crackpot Bob — the singular, heaven-sent, 100%-accurate prophet who was apparently pre-programmed into the universe at creation just so he could grace us with his endless stream of “maybe,” “possibly,” and “could be” hot takes. Forget Moses, Enoch, Elijah, or even Armstrong himself. This guy’s so supernaturally gifted he can spot a trade deal that’s been crawling through negotiations for a quarter-century and declare it a personal revelation from on high. Truly, the apex of divine insight.

Because, of course, the internet was custom-engineered by the Trinity exclusively for Bob. Printing press for Herb? Check. Television for the Worldwide Church? Obviously. But computers, Google, Harbringer's Daily, and NewsMax? Those were lovingly crafted so our resident Crackpot Prophet could cherry-pick headlines, slap a thin COG eschatological glaze on them, and crown himself God’s Most Miraculous Voice in these perilous end times. What a breathtaking cosmic coincidence!

And today — on God’s Holy Sabbath, no less — while normal people might dare to rest, pray, or (gasp) spend time with their families, Crackpot Saint Bob was once again hunched over his glowing altar of a computer like a man possessed, frantically banging out another sacred “proof” of his prophetic majesty. Family? Relaxation? Mere distractions. Real prophets don’t take days off when there’s fresh prophecy-adjacent news to misappropriate!

In his latest act of self-congratulatory brilliance, Bob triumphantly revealed that the European Union is… pursuing international trade deals. Stop everything. Alert the angels. Sound the shofars. The EU — a massive economic bloc whose entire purpose involves trade — is trading. And somehow this is brand-new, earth-shattering fulfillment rather than the most predictable thing on the planet since sunrise.

He breathlessly quotes:

After more than 25 years of negotiations, the trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur countries — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — took provisional effect on Friday.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed ahead with provisional application despite a legal challenge before the Court of Justice of the European Union, effectively sidestepping a parliamentary vote on the deal’s full ratification.

“Provisional application will show the agreement’s tangible benefits,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

“And how legitimate sensitives have been addressed.” …

The The agreement eliminates tariffs on a majority of trade between the two sides, therefore creating a free-trade zone of more than 700 million people between the EU and Mercosur countries.

On Thursday, the EU Chief described the deal as “good news for EU businesses of all sizes, good news for our consumers and good news for our farmers, who will gain valuable new export opportunities, with full protection for sensitive sectors.” The EU-Mercosur free-trade deal took provisional effect on Friday despite a legal challenge before the Court of Justice of the European Union. 

 

He then triumphantly points to the provisional EU-Mercosur trade deal (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) that took effect after more than 25 years of negotiations. A deal that had been in the works long before Donald Trump’s 2024 election. But according to Bob’s special prophetic insight, this happened because Trump talked about tariffs. Next, he’ll predict that water is wet and demand you acknowledge his 100% accuracy. Properly understood biblical prophecies are coming to pass, he intones — which in Thiel-speak means “I read something on the internet and now I own it.”

This trade deal was predicted here. 

 

On November 6, 2024, I posted the following predictions on this COGwriter Church of God News page:

Donald Trump’s pointing to tariffs as the answer for US trade imbalances and manufacturing decline will incense the Europeans. Some type of trade war is coming. Europe will get more serious about trade deals with others internationally, such as being more motivated to approve the trade deal with the Mercosur block of South America. (Thiel B. Media declares Donald Trump won the election–now what? y Donald trump y eventos para observar. COGwriter, November 6, 2024)

Properly understood biblical prophecies are coming to pass.

What I predicted was the the re-election of Donald Trump would motivate the Europeans to agree to the trade deal with Mercosur. That has happened.

I also predicted that the Europeans would seek other trade deals–that also has happened and is happening.

Like every other self-appointed “prophet” in the modern Churches of God (of which there are zero real ones, because the New Covenant rather decisively ended that office), Crackpot Bob is simply a news aggregator in a suit who desperately wants to be something he is not. The Churches of God have never had a genuine prophet in their 90+ year existence — only a parade of self-proclaimed ones peddling half-truths, exaggerated “fulfillments,” and just enough fear to keep the more gullible members convinced they’re part of a special remnant.

But hey, at least Bob’s consistent. In a world full of actual events, he’ll always be there to declare “I told you so” about things that were already happening. Truly, the most accurate prophet money can buy.

The end times must be near — after all, how much more of this comedy can the universe possibly tolerate?

Armstrongism: still amazing after all these years.