Gerald Flurry and The Blood On The Prayer Rock

Gerald Flurry launched the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) in 1989 after being disfellowshipped from the Worldwide Church of God amid its doctrinal shifts following Herbert W. Armstrong’s death. He positioned PCG as the sole faithful “Philadelphia era” remnant of Revelation 3, with himself as the end-time “That Prophet” — God’s exclusive messenger receiving fresh revelation. What began as a tiny splinter meeting in a home has ballooned into a high-control, authoritarian empire sustained by mandatory three-tithe demands (roughly 20–30% of gross income, plus endless “special offerings,” “sacrifices,” and guilt-driven pledges). This funds an opulent headquarters in Edmond, Oklahoma, featuring Herbert W. Armstrong College and the $25 million Armstrong Auditorium — a gleaming performing-arts venue critics universally label a lavish money pit that drains members while leaders live large.

PCG’s foundational “revelation” — Flurry’s booklet Malachi’s Message to God’s Church Today — launched the group by denouncing WCG changes. Yet documented evidence from ex-members and Jules Dervaes himself shows Flurry plagiarized large portions from Dervaes’ earlier Letters to Laodicea (seven letters mailed 1986–1988 to 237 WCG ministers, including Flurry). Dervaes sent Flurry a certified letter on September 26, 1990, with proof of delivery, accusing him of direct plagiarism. Side-by-side comparisons reveal verbatim and near-verbatim lifts. PCG still markets the book as pure divine prophecy from God.

Flurry’s “new revelations” have escalated into outright megalomania. In 2002, PCG retrieved Armstrong’s humble Oregon prayer rock. By 2017, Flurry announced it is now the new Stone of Destiny, replacing Britain’s traditional coronation stone. Citing Micah 2:12–13, he declared the Throne of David has physically and spiritually relocated to Edmond, Oklahoma. Flurry himself is the literal “king” on this throne until Christ returns to it for coronation as King of Kings. He claims he will personally deliver the final message to Jesus at His return, has asserted he will still be alive then, and touts “prophetic accuracy” as proof of his office — despite a long trail of failed predictions (Obama as America’s last president, specific Trump timelines retrofitted after losses, Benedict XVI’s end-time role derailed by Francis, repeated “no gap” Amos 7 timelines quietly revised).

Minister’s Advice on Disabled Child and Tithing

Yes, this incident is documented in critical Armstrongist sources. A PCG minister reportedly told a family with a disabled/special-needs child to take the child to a shopping mall and abandon him/her there so the state would assume care—freeing up the family’s money for tithing to the church instead of medical/support costs. Critics cite this as an extreme example of tithing pressure (PCG requires first, second, and third tithes—roughly 20-30% of gross income—plus offerings and “sacrifice” for special projects). PCG has not publicly addressed this specific allegation, but tithing is non-negotiable and framed as obedience to God.

Financial Exploitation, Nepotism, and Lavish Hypocrisy at Members’ Expense

PCG extracts tithes even on pensions and pressures families relentlessly. Ex-members describe door-to-door tithing collections when you fail to mail in tithe checks promptly and sermons linking non-payment to curses or disfellowshipment.

PCG owns a Gulfstream G450 private jet (the “Righteous Ride”), acquired in the mid-2010s so Flurry and top leaders never have to sit next to the “public” on commercial flights. The same jet shuttles son Stephen Flurry, his wife Amy, and their children (including star dancers and choreographers Jude and Vienna Flurry) worldwide for Irish-dance competitions and Celtic Throne performances — a costly road show the church ties to “King David’s dance” and British-Israelite claims. Professional Irish dance coaches are hired, and Flurry’s grandchildren Grant and Paris Turgeon have been employed full-time as “airline stewards” on the jet, complete with PCG-paid training vacations. Ex-members call it blatant nepotism while ordinary members are told to “sacrifice.”

The money pit deepens: Armstrong Auditorium alone cost $25 million. In 2014, PCG bought Edstone Hall in England for $4.5 million (after locals blocked purchase of the old Bricket Wood Ambassador College site due to “cult” concerns). Extensive renovations (tennis court, soccer field) followed, yet by 2025 Edstone was quietly listed for sale at £6 million amid financial strain. Flurry continues promoting excavations at Ireland’s Hill of Tara for the buried Ark of the Covenant as end-time “proof.”

Flurry’s Personal Hypocrisy: The 1993 Drunken Arrest and Church Cover-Up

While preaching strict Sabbath observance, sobriety, and moral purity, Flurry himself was arrested in 1993 for public intoxication. Oklahoma police report #93-090-5282 details Flurry found drunk on the Sabbath, passed out behind the wheel of his car. Beer cans were piled outside the door, an open one in his crotch, and more scattered on the seat. He attempted to bribe the arresting officer $25 (some accounts say $20) to avoid jail. He was booked, taken to county jail, and faced charges.

PCG never told members the truth. The official line minimized it to “a couple of empty beer containers in his car” and even suggested the officer was a disgruntled WCG member out to persecute God’s apostle. When the full police report surfaced in 2008 (via FOX25 news exposé), Flurry and the church downplayed it as an isolated incident from 15 years earlier. Flurry later admitted alcohol “was getting in his way,” but the cover-up exposed the two-tiered morality: members face disfellowshipment for minor infractions while the “That Prophet” gets a pass and a sanitized story.

Authoritarian “Gestapo” Enforcers: Ministers Who Destroy Lives

Flurry’s inner circle — routinely called “Gerald Flurry’s Gestapo” by ex-members — includes son-in-law Wayne Turgeon, Cal Culpepper, Fred Dattolo (Dattalo), Brian Davis, and others. These ministers read personal “sin files,” use abusive language, threaten disfellowshipment for questioning authority, and enforce total control over members’ lives (moves, dating, jobs, medical decisions, even home inspections).

Wayne Turgeon (Flurry’s son-in-law and headquarters minister) is a prime example: described as intimidating, reading Exit and Support Network letters aloud to mock ex-members’ pain, and blocking member relocations without headquarters approval. In one sermon, he ridiculed an anonymous letter about ministers acting like the “KGB,” then disfellowshipped the writer when identified. Ex-members report Turgeon’s hypocrisy — e.g., boasting about harassing airport workers while preaching obedience to government.

Cal Culpepper (longtime regional director) has a documented “trail of destruction.” He pressures divorces (including the publicized Scott Flory/“Cal Flory” scandal), conducts home interviews to assess finances, and ruthlessly enforces no-contact. Ex-members call him tyrannical; letters detail families shattered, members interviewed like suspects, and lives ruined by his interventions.

Fred Dattolo enforces no-contact with equal zeal, disfellowships members for “not having the Holy Spirit,” and coerces offerings in sermons that guilt-trip the faithful. He was directly involved in cases leading to suicides.

These ministers operate with impunity, enjoying luxury while members suffer. There are two sets of rules: one for the Flurry/Turgeon inner circle (jets, high salaries, special medical leniency) and another for the rank-and-file (no medicine in some cases, total financial sacrifice).

The No-Contact Policy and the Trail of Suicides

Flurry’s 2007 sermon hardened the policy: zero contact with disfellowshipped or “Laodicean” members — including parents, siblings, and adult children (spouses sometimes excepted). This “emotional murder” has destroyed countless families. Ex-members document relentless isolation, fear of the Tribulation, and ministerial overreach as direct contributors to despair.

The human cost is horrific and well-documented. In 2014, 30-year-old Janet DeGenero/Privratsky (Degenerro) committed suicide after Dattolo ordered her to move out and Culpepper enforced total family cutoff; her family blamed Flurry, the ministers, and the policy. In 2018, 25-year PCG veteran Mary Ann McCullough killed herself in Milton, Ontario, while her husband and son were at services; her family publicly condemned the church’s “vile doctrines” and “dictatorship.” Philippines cases (Errol Concepcion, Rodolfo Marquez, Orville Lilangan) and others (a young man named David in 2016) add to the toll. Ex-member networks describe “countless” more suicides and attempts, with PCG blaming “weakness of mind and character” or lack of the Holy Spirit rather than its own abusive environment.

Additional abuses include forcing women in abusive marriages to stay (or leave) on ministerial orders, disfellowshipping for doubting Flurry, and using end-time terror to extract funds. Ministers explode over minor corrections and label questioners “insubordinate.”

Aaron Eagle’s Wife Forced to Divorce Him

In 2014, PCG disfellowshipped Aaron Eagle. Flurry and minister Cal Culpepper reportedly pressured his wife to divorce him and offered her a job at headquarters to facilitate separation and keep her in the church. Ex-member accounts describe it as classic ministerial interference in marriages.

Cal Culpepper and the Scott Flory Divorce Scandal

Cal Culpepper (a high-ranking PCG regional director/minister) was involved in a publicized 2016–2017 scandal where he allegedly helped destroy the marriage of member Scott Flory. Critics accuse him of counseling or pressuring the. wife in ways that led to divorce, consistent with other accounts of ministerial overreach in PCG marriages. Culpepper hand-picked a new wife for Flory.

Herbert Armstrong’s Prayer Rock

In 2002, PCG retrieved HWA’s “prayer rock” (a large stone in Oregon where Armstrong said he prayed and received inspiration early in his ministry) and placed it on their Edmond campus. Flurry has since elevated it dramatically: through new “revelation,” he teaches it is now the new Stone of Destiny (replacing the traditional one in Britain/Scotland). Jesus Christ will return to this rock to be crowned King of Kings on the new Throne of David. It is treated with near-sacred reverence in PCG literature and sermons.

Desire to Dig at Hill of Tara for the Ark of the Covenant

PCG’s teachings (rooted in British Israelism) hold that the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments tablets were taken to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah and buried at the Hill of Tara with an Israelite princess (Tea-Tephi). They publish articles referencing this and prophesying the Ark will soon be found. Historical British-Israelite groups actually excavated at Tara (1899–1902) seeking it. Flurry has not launched a new dig, but the group keeps the Tara/Ark narrative alive in prophecy material as end-time proof of their Israelite identity.

The Edstone England Debacle

PCG tried to buy the old WCG Ambassador College campus at Bricket Wood, England, but the owners/lessees refused (local planning issues and residents opposed a “cult” moving in). Instead, in 2014 they purchased Edstone Hall (a large art-deco mansion in Warwickshire) as their UK campus, regional office, and student housing. It was heavily renovated but later put up for sale (around 2025) amid reported financial pressures. It has been for sale for some time now, but no one is willing to dish out  6,000,000 BPS. This location was also chosen because it would place them close to Ireland so they could start excavating Hill Tara when they would expose to the world that the Ark of the Covenant is there and that the Bible is true.

Celtic Dance Road Show (“David’s Dance”)

PCG produces and tours Celtic Throne, a large-scale Irish/Celtic dance and musical theater show performed by Herbert W. Armstrong College students, staff, and members. It is explicitly tied to King David’s biblical dance, where he danced naked “before the Lord,” and PCG’s British-Israelite heritage claims. They have hired professional Irish dance coaches and invest significant resources (critics say millions in tithe money) in productions, tours, and performances at Armstrong Auditorium and elsewhere. Ex-members have called it bizarre and extravagant.

Conclusion: The Real Danger — and the Real Hope

Here’s the brutal truth: Gerald Flurry’s PCG isn’t just another quirky splinter group — it is a spiritually and morally bankrupt cult that systematically destroys lives while dressing itself in the stolen robes of divine authority. Families are ripped apart by the no-contact policy. Marriages are dismantled by Gestapo-style ministers like Turgeon, Culpepper, and Dattolo. Parents have been told to abandon disabled children at malls for the sake of “God’s Work.” Young people have taken their own lives after being shunned, isolated, and terrorized with end-time fear. All while Flurry sits on his prayer-rock throne in a $25 million auditorium, jetting his family around the world for Celtic dance shows, covering up his own public drunkenness and bribe attempt, and demanding more tithes from the broken.

This is not God’s Philadelphia remnant. This is a man-made empire of control, greed, plagiarism, and hypocrisy — where one self-crowned “king” lives like royalty on the financial and emotional wreckage of his followers.

But here is the good news, delivered with zero Flurry-style drama: If you are in PCG, or have family trapped there, there is real hope on the other side of the door.

Leaving this cult will not cost you your salvation. The idea that only Flurry’s little group is God’s “one true church” is a lie designed to keep you afraid and obedient. God is bigger than Edmond, Oklahoma. He is bigger than a Gulfstream jet, a Celtic dance troupe, or a rock pulled out of an Oregon field. Countless people have left PCG and found freedom, restored family relationships, mental health, financial stability, and a genuine relationship with God — without the fear, the guilt, or the constant shunning.

The prayer rock may still sit in Edmond, but the throne Flurry built on it rests on nothing but sand soaked in hypocrisy and heartbreak. When members finally walk away, the “kingdom” loses its power — and real life begins.

If you’re reading this and feeling trapped, know this: You are not alone. Support networks like the Exit & Support Network, ex-PCG forums, and professional counselors are ready to help. Your salvation was never Flurry’s to give or take away. The only thing you’ll truly lose by leaving is the chains.

Silent Pilgrim

The Tender Mercies of Armstrongism: Threatening Widows and Lecturing Hysterectomy Patients

Here is yet another heart-warming tale from the annals of Armstrongism, that glorious beacon of Christ-like love and servant leadership. Far too many of these freshly ordained mini-popes apparently believed the second the ministerial hands were laid on them, they instantly became untouchable demigods whose every utterance was binding in heaven and on earth. How convenient! This is from The Exit and Support Network:

Minister Told My Mother He Would Have to Ask God to Kill Her: 

 

May 9, 2026

In 1969 a minister came to my house where my mother (a loyal member) was staying. She politely informed him she was done attending “church.” Right in front of me (a non-member) and the assistant minister, this paragon of spiritual maturity declared, “Then I will have to ask God to kill you.”

He also helpfully explained that because she had undergone a hysterectomy, she would need to fast longer than everyone else. Why? Because a menstrual period was how women’s bodies expelled toxins, you see. (I, being young and logical, immediately wondered how postmenopausal women and literally all men ever got rid of their toxins. Apparently God just lets them marinate in spiritual sludge. Deep theology right there.)

– J. S. B. (Former member of WCG)

Nothing says “God’s true church” like threatening divine assassination and peddling medieval nonsense about periods and fasting. The sheer arrogance, the casual cruelty, the unhinged confidence—it was never about truth or love. It was always about power, fear, and a bunch of small men playing big-shot with other people’s lives. The mountain of broken bodies, shattered minds, and destroyed families tells the real story. 

During the 1990s doctrinal meltdown, the WCG itself admitted that well over a million people had wandered through its doors. It’s an absolute mystery why the church boasted such a spectacular attrition rate for decades—truly baffling. Far more left than ever stuck around. At its proud peak, before the so-called “great apostasy” (cue dramatic music), they claimed 130,000–150,000 members. Most who escaped simply walked away quietly and tried to salvage what was left of their lives. Others, bless their hearts, got loud—and with good reason.

They were sick of watching people’s lives demolished by an abusive ministry and a pile of aberrant doctrines that were usually just Herbert Armstrong throwing a tantrum after getting pissed off about something and calling it “God’s new revelation.” Most had zero biblical backing, but that only emboldened the lesser ministers to spout their own idiotic opinions with impunity. Genius system!

Decades of needless deaths thanks to the “don’t trust doctors, trust God (and us)” policy? Check. A magnetic pull for mentally disturbed individuals plus a factory-like production of new mental illnesses? Double check. The predictable fallout was an endless parade of suicides, broken marriages, stalking, far too many pedophiles in leadership, and the occasional murder. But hey, at least everyone was gaslit into believing this was the one true church restoring pure 1st-century Christianity. How spiritually pure indeed!

It was a transparent lie back then, and it remains a pathetic, laughable lie today every time Bob Thiel, Samuel Kitchen, or the rest of the splinter clowns claim they are practicing 1st century Christianity and how they want to “restore the church to its former glory days so it can be a powerful witness”. Glory days? Please. Back in the golden era they could keep the scandals buried because the internet didn’t exist. Once members discovered AOL chat rooms and mailing lists in the mid-90s, the whole rotten facade collapsed faster than a cheap suit in the rain.

That same internet, of course, also spawned hundreds of tiny, feuding Armstrongist splinters almost overnight—each one convinced it was the real Philadelphia Church. How adorable. They too quickly ended up under the microscope as ex-members started comparing notes and shining lights on the same old lies, control, and hypocrisy.

And so it goes in the never-ending saga of “God’s one true church.” From ministers casually ordering divine assassinations over skipped services, to Herbert’s ever-shifting tantrum-based doctrines that racked up an impressive body count through medical neglect, shattered minds, and unchecked predators in the pulpit—Armstrongism didn’t just attract dysfunction; it mass-produced it while calling it righteousness. The same arrogant playbook that produced this 1969 horror story repeated across decades: power-drunk men in cheap suits playing God, gaslighting victims, and burying scandals until the internet dragged everything into the light.

Whether it’s the original WCG empire or today’s pathetic splinter clowns like Bob Thiel and Samuel Kitchen desperately LARPing a “glorious restoration,” the fruit remains identical—broken people, ruined lives, and a trail of unnecessary tragedies. They can slap on new logos, rewrite their history, and scream “Philadelphia era!” all they want, but no amount of nostalgia can polish this turd. The only thing truly restored in these groups is the same toxic blend of fear, control, and spiritual abuse that drove millions away in the first place.

Thankfully, their dream of a grand comeback is as dead as the doctrines that once demanded longer fasts from hysterectomy patients. Some churches deserve to stay in the dustbin of history—and this one earned its spot with interest.

The Sacred Light Switch of Salvation - On or Off?

In the dimly lit echo chambers of Herbert W. Armstrong’s ever-shrinking empire of splinters, Samuel Kitchen has gifted us a quote so perfectly pickled in classic Armstrongism that it practically begs to be bronzed and mounted in a cult hall of fame. According to the gem below by Kitchen, any whiff of compromise instantly disfellowships you from the “one and only true Church.” Channeling the bombastic spirit of Gerald Waterhouse, Kitchen then delivers the coup de grâce: the second you dare walk out the door, you drop dead spiritually, your inner house swept clean of the Holy Spirit and promptly redecorated by “another spirit”—Satan’s own interior designer, apparently. From there it’s all downhill into self-reliant torment, fake piety, and predatory recruitment of fresh “Davids” to soothe your Saul-like misery. Ex-members, you see, are just hollow shells shuffling about in designer spiritual costumes, desperately pretending they’re fine while secretly unraveling. Only by repenting—translation: slinking back to the organization with tail between legs and checkbook open—can you be re-grafted into the true Vine. How convenient. How utterly, breathtakingly self-serving.

Oh, the sheer genius of this theological security system. It isn’t mere doctrine; it’s a masterpiece of thought-control engineering, engineered to make leaving feel less like a personal decision and more like cosmic suicide. Why bother with messy things like evidence, conscience, or actual Bible study when you can simply declare that the moment someone exits the sacred pyramid of “God’s government,” the Holy Spirit hits the lights and Satan moves in with his luggage? Doubt the leadership? Satan’s whispering. Read a critical book by an ex-member? Don’t worry, they’re just tormented demons in human form, their every word proof of the doctrine’s unassailable truth. It’s the ultimate circular firing squad: the group is always right, because anyone who says otherwise has already been spiritually executed and is therefore disqualified from having an opinion. Brilliant. Almost admirable, in a snake-oil-salesman-meets-apocalyptic-prophet kind of way.

And that Saul-and-David flourish? Pure poetry—if your idea of poetry is a forced metaphor stretched tighter than an Armstrong feast-day calendar. Ex-members aren’t reasoned dissenters who simply found the teachings lacking; no, they’re tormented kings groping for comfort from the loyal “Davids” still inside, all while hiding their seething inner void. Never mind that the actual biblical story has nothing to do with leaving a 20th-century church corporation. Details, shmetails. The important thing is keeping the fear fresh and the exits sealed. This isn’t Christianity; it’s spiritual real estate with a monopoly clause. Pay your tithes, salute the hierarchy, and stay put—or become a cautionary tale for the next sermon.

Theologically speaking, this whole construct collapses like a poorly built Feast site tabernacle in a windstorm. The New Testament, that pesky collection of documents the Armstrong crowd claims to love so dearly, knows absolutely nothing about a single human organization serving as the exclusive Holy Spirit vending machine. Jesus didn’t say, “Upon this Pasadena headquarters I will build my church.” The Spirit isn’t revoked like a library card the moment you resign your membership; He indwells every believer who trusts Christ, full stop. Paul would have had a field day—actually, he did, in Galatians—torching the exact same “right group, right government, or you’re cut off” nonsense that turns grace into a corporate loyalty program. Disfellowshipping in Scripture? A narrow tool for serious, unrepentant public sin, aimed at restoration, not this blanket declaration of spiritual death and demonic takeover. And redefining “abiding in the Vine” as “re-upping with our organization”? That’s not exegesis; that’s marketing with Bible verses.

In the final analysis, this Armstrongist classic doesn’t merely misinterpret Scripture—it hijacks it, slaps a fear tax on it, and uses it to prop up a dying empire of control. It trades the wild, scandalous freedom of the gospel—direct access to God, no gatekeepers required—for a paranoid clubhouse where the leadership holds all the keys and the exiles are conveniently demonized before they can even wave goodbye. How very humble of them. The delicious irony, of course, is that the very “compromise” they dread most is the one that sets people free: realizing the true Church was never theirs to own, dispense, or revoke in the first place. Step outside that stuffy little box, and you don’t enter Satan’s lair. You simply walk into the wide, ridiculous grace of Christ that no self-appointed apostle ever had the power to gatekeep. And that, dear lingering loyalists, is the one truth their entire system was built to prevent you from discovering.

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In compromising the truth, any compromise disfellowships us from the one and only true Church.

Gerald Waterhouse explained in one sermon, that when one leaves the church, they become SPIRITUALLY DEAD. They then work out of self-ability, self-knowledge, and talent. They often are fueled by “another spirit”, which often results in abuse.

Because their house is empty of the Holy Spirit, to alleviate their stress and torment, they have to APPEAR like they have it together, in order to assimilate blessings and peace.

The further they go away from this self image, the more tormented they are.

So we see people APPEARING as true ministers and true members of the one and only true Church, in order to gather around them today’s “Davids”, as King Saul also sought comfort.

That’s why they target those of the Worldwide Church of God background.

Because the more members they have, the more they can ignore the fact that they are separated from Jesus Christ through disobedience! They want to appear but deny the power of God!

And as more and more accept this “other spirit”, and make compromises themselves, the less they are “a David type”, and more like the one in torment.

So we see in the camp of the disobedient, abuse and harm. But like David, we are called to put God first, and not to walk in disobedience.

So we see all these groups of disfellowshipped members. Going further into torment and further into disobedience. Cut off from the Holy Spirit…but still remembering how it was like. So they assimilate and pretend.

Those who repent do. They do. They don’t assimilate. They don’t pretend. They become.

For they are joined to the Vine, which is Jesus Christ.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn: From Worldwide Church of God Insider to Global Intellectual – A Life Unshackled from Legalism

Robert Lawrence Kuhn: From Worldwide Church of God Insider to Global Intellectual – A Life Unshackled from Legalism

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, born in 1944 in New York, has lived a remarkably diverse life: brain researcher, theologian, investment banker, bestselling author, longtime advisor to the Chinese government, and creator-host of the acclaimed PBS series Closer to Truth. Yet his story is perhaps most inspiring for what it reveals about the transformative power of leaving behind the strict legalism of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). Disfellowshipped in the late 1970s amid the church’s turbulent power struggles, Kuhn’s departure marked not an end but a beginning. Like many former WCG members who stepped away from the church’s rigid rules—mandatory Sabbath observance, holy days, tithing, dietary restrictions, and an intense focus on end-time prophecy—Kuhn found his world broadening dramatically once freed from those shackles. No longer constrained by doctrinal conformity or administrative control, he pursued bold ventures in business, international relations, media, and philosophy that have left a lasting global impact.

Inside the Worldwide Church of God: Rise, Contributions, and Disfellowshipment

Kuhn joined the WCG orbit in the late 1960s after earning a PhD in anatomy and brain research from UCLA in 1968. He quickly became a trusted insider, serving as administrative assistant to Garner Ted Armstrong (GTA), the church’s charismatic television voice and son of founder Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA). Kuhn played a central role in doctrinal research and revisions during a period of internal “mellowing” under GTA’s influence. He helped coordinate the ambitious Systematic Theology Project, which aimed to systematize and update teachings, and he created the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, which brought world-class classical musicians (such as Vladimir Horowitz and Luciano Pavarotti) to Pasadena for outreach.

He also wrote numerous articles for WCG publications like Plain Truth, Tomorrow’s World, and Good News, exploring topics such as “The God Family,” prophecy, and biblical equality with God. These pieces aligned with the era’s push for doctrinal adjustments, which created tension with HWA’s traditionalists.

The break came amid the church’s major crises in the late 1970s. Kuhn severed ties with the WCG and its affiliates in 1978 and was formally disfellowshipped (excommunicated) around late 1978 or early 1979. He was listed in the church’s internal reports alongside other leaders caught in administrative and doctrinal disputes. For many in the WCG, disfellowshipment meant social isolation, loss of community, and spiritual condemnation. Yet for Kuhn—and countless others who have left or been cast out—the removal of legalistic constraints proved liberating. Freed from the constant pressure of “qualifying” through works-based obedience and prophetic speculation, ex-members often describe a sudden expansion of possibilities: careers in secular fields, creative pursuits, and personal growth that were previously unimaginable.

A Bold Post-Disfellowship Venture: The 1981 Lawsuit Against Raiders of the Lost Ark

Just two years after his disfellowshipment, Kuhn demonstrated this newfound freedom with a daring foray into Hollywood. In July 1981—mere weeks after the blockbuster release of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s Raiders of the Lost Ark—Kuhn, along with former WCG treasurer Stanley Rader and associate Henry Cornwall, filed a high-profile lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. They sought $100 million to $210 million in damages, alleging that the film plagiarized Kuhn’s copyrighted 1977 screenplay and unpublished novel titled Ark. The work centered on an archaeologist’s quest involving the powers of the Ark of the Covenant.

Kuhn had submitted the material to agent Ben Benjamin at the International Creative Management (ICM) agency in July 1977, while still loosely connected to WCG circles. The suit claimed the movie’s core idea and elements were stolen after that submission.

The lawsuit made headlines, with contemporary reports noting the irony of two former high-ranking WCG figures (known for a church that emphasized biblical archaeology and prophecy) taking on Hollywood giants. Some WCG insiders later claimed GTA had even suggested the story idea to Kuhn. Ultimately, the case did not succeed—the plaintiffs lost decisively—but it underscored Kuhn’s willingness to step into entirely new arenas. No longer bound by church hierarchy or the fear of doctrinal missteps, he was free to explore creative and entrepreneurial risks that would have been unthinkable under WCG legalism.

Global Impact: China, Business, and Intellectual Pursuits

The 1980s and beyond saw Kuhn’s life expand exponentially. He earned an M.S. in management from MIT Sloan in 1980 and built a successful career in investment banking and corporate strategy, serving as president of The Geneva Companies (later sold to Citigroup) and as a senior advisor at Citigroup Investment Banking.

His most prominent international work began in 1989 when he was invited by Chinese officials to advise on economic policy, science and technology, media, and U.S.-China relations. Over decades, Kuhn became a trusted bridge-builder, visiting dozens of Chinese cities and gaining rare access to senior leaders. He authored the 2004 biography The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin—the first of a living Chinese leader published in mainland China—and the influential How China’s Leaders Think (2011). In 2018, he received the prestigious China Reform Friendship Medal.

Today: Closer to Truth and a Legacy of Exploration

Kuhn’s crowning achievement is Closer to Truth, the long-running PBS/public television series he created, writes, hosts, and produces. Now in its 20th+ season, the program features in-depth interviews with leading scientists, philosophers, and theologians on the biggest questions: cosmology, consciousness, and the meaning of life/God. Hundreds of episodes and clips are freely available on PBS, YouTube, and closertotruth.com. He has also written or edited more than 30 books and continues publishing academic papers on consciousness.

Kuhn chairs The Kuhn Foundation and remains active in media, including China-focused series like Closer to China and frequent appearances on CNN, BBC, and CGTN. His trajectory—from WCG theologian to global strategist and public intellectual—exemplifies how leaving the Worldwide Church of God can unshackle a life. Many former members echo this: once freed from legalism’s narrow confines, opportunities for “amazing things” multiply—whether in business, the arts, academia, or personal fulfillment.

Robert Kuhn rarely dwells publicly on his WCG years, focusing instead on forward-looking inquiry. Yet his story stands as a powerful testament: sometimes the greatest expansion comes when the old restraints are finally set aside. For more, visit closertotruth.com or his site rlkuhn.com.

Silent Pilgrim

Crackpot Prophet Claims Pathetic Laodiceans Are Not HOT About His Amazing "Work"

God's greatest gift to the Church of God wilderness is the end-time prophet—self-appointed by none other than himself—is back lecturing us about Haggai, the second temple, the old Worldwide Church of God (WCG), headquarters, the Holy Ambassador Auditorium, and other assorted asininity. All of it is designed to justify why he has no legitimate headquarters other than a little storefront that masquerades as a snake-oil emporium, where overpriced vitamins and magic potions are dispensed to gullible people who are bleeding their wallets dry.

Crackpot Bob had this to say about the Mother Church and its magnificent headquarters and its pretend “temple,” the House of God:

…the old Worldwide Church of God had over 150,000 people, plus a very fancy building in Pasadena that some considered to be a beautiful temple. The old Worldwide Church of God (WCG) was impressive and wealthy. Its magnificent headquarters was the envy of many outside of the group. It even had the number 1 rated religious telecast in the USA for a short while. Those are impressive accomplishments for a Church that only made up around 2/10ths of 1% of the world’s population.

Now we see a much smaller church, and with people scattered amongst scores of groups.

Has God forsaken us or has this type of thing happened in the past?

Consider that the first temple in the Old Testament was essentially a headquarters’ work. David saw a need and wanted to build a temple to God, but was prevented from doing so (1 Chronicles 28:2-3). He was allowed to use the wealth of Israel to collect building materials for it (1 Chronicles 28: 14-19), though his son Solomon actually had it built (1 Kings 6:2). This temple was magnificent and it was completely covered with gold (1 Kings 6:19-22).

The imaginative belief that this was God’s House and that it represented a modern-day version of the Temple shows just how screwed up Armstrongism is.

Crackpot Bob then continues, showing how Haggai talks about the rebuilding of the second Temple and how they had little finances to do it, yet persevered on. This is a significant interpretation by Crackpot Bob, because it is used to justify that he has a minuscule group that has nothing—because no one in any of the other Church of God groups supports this, other than laughing at the sheer audacity.

The second Old Testament temple was different. First of all there was a call to find out which of the children of Israel would be faithful to help do the work of rebuilding it (Ezra 1:2-3)–basically they were told to begin again, even without as much support or finances.

Secondly, those whose spirit God moved from among His people went to do the work:

5 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:5).

This suggests that not all of God’s people responded to support God’s work at that time.

They seemed to feel that it was time to take care of themselves (Haggai 1:4)–they did not see a fancy temple and apparently did not feel they needed to support the work of God at the time.

God felt otherwise. Furthermore, God had to tell the people to do the work of rebuilding the temple:

5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 6 “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord. (Haggai 1:5-8).

This building of this temple, although directed by headquarters, involved more of the regular people directly than did the first temple (Ezra 2). The old temple was magnificent and glorious (2 Chronicles 22:5), yet many felt that in comparison the new temple was as nothing (Haggai 2:3).

But what did God say about it? God said:

“The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former…” (Haggai 2:9).

Remember God does not think the same way we humans do per Isaiah 55:8-9. This temple was not more glorious because it was as elaborate. It may have been more glorious because it represented the work of God under adversity. By the way, once this work was finished, God promised to provide blessings to His people (Haggai 2:19).”

Crackpot Bob has long believed he is operating under adversity. Everyone, it seems—from Church of God members, LCG ministers, UCG ministers, Google, YouTube, this blog, and more—is constantly making his life difficult.

What this all boils down to is the longtime COG weapon: proper church government is not being followed! For shame! Don’t all of you backsliding Laodiceans know that the improperly named “Continuing” Church of God is the final resting place of proper church government?

Crackpot Bob is also back to calling himself the modern-day Zerubbabel.

“In Haggai we see that someone who saw the old temple and only had a remnant would lead the work of God at the end:

2″Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: 3 ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? 4 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. 9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:2-9)

How do we know this is a prophecy for the end time? Because verses 6 (shaking the heaven and earth, cf. Revelation 16:18-20) , 7 (all nations did not come to Jerusalem, cf. Zechariah 14:16), and 9 (peace, cf. Zechariah 9:10) were not fulfilled at the time of Haggai. There are also parallels with the Laodiceans not accepting biblical hierarchy as well as not being hot about the work.

Do you have to see large things?

Do you despise the “small things” or do you rejoice in the work of what God is doing?

Although some in the past have claimed that the late Herbert W. Armstrong was Zerubbabel (and some, like David Pack, still make that claim), Herbert Armstrong is dead and did not finish the work (just before he died, on January 10, 1986, he wrote, “The greatest work lies ahead”). Yet, since the Bible says that Zerubbabel will finish the work, this cannot be a reference to Herbert Armstrong. The work will be finished by someone who saw the earlier work and temple, and survived past that to build a work again. Someone once part of the old Worldwide Church of God when Herbert Armstrong was alive.

Zerubbabel essentially restored the work of the second temple–the end time Zerubbabel is restoring the Philadelphian work.

It is obvious to all that the work of God at this time appears smaller than it was before–but the work is to be a spiritually strong one that reaches the world as a faithful witness.

We in the Continuing Church of God are aware that we do not have the personal and financial support of many who once said they would always support the work of God. But are you aware of the massive work, this end time ‘Zerubabbel work,’ that we are actually doing?

We in the Continuing Church of God are part of the ‘Zerubbabel work’ and preparing for the ‘short work’ that the Apostle Paul told of in Romans 9:28. And that the Continuing Church of God has been involved in the restoring of all things that Jesus taught would happen (Matthew 17:11) and Herbert W. Armstrong agreed needed to happen.”

It is an indisputable fact that Herbert Armstrong would never have recognized Bob as a minister or starting a new church splinter. HWA would have kicked his self-righteous ass to the curb so fast he would never have known what would have hit him. HWA despised self-righteous upstarts like Bwana Bob.

Crackpot Bob then goes on to claim he is doing a GREATER WORK than the old Worldwide Church of God ever did. Whoa! I just looked out the window and saw a herd of pigs flying by! It just goes to show what happens when one stops following Jesus and resorts to his own self-importance: he develops a reprobate mind. Not that Crackpot Bob ever really did follow Jesus.

Crackpot Bob then goes on to discuss why there is no unity in the current splinterdom of the church. All of them refuse proper church government. It exists in only one COG dispensation, and that is in the improperly named “Continuing” Church of God that is led by God’s most perfect prophet ever to walk this green earth. No COG group is more perfect than his.

“…according to Herbert W. Armstrong that organization had to have hierarchical governance.

Herbert W. Armstrong stated:

God …, He has always carried out through one man. … God chose ONE MAN, … one man, Zerubbabel, was governor and leader. … The Philadelphia era was to take on new life, vigor and vitality, restoring truths that had been lost. … Again God raised up one man through whom the living Christ would work. … ALWAYS God, in using MAN, has dealt through ONE MAN at a time. (Armstrong HW. The History of the Beginning and Growth of the Worldwide Church of God – Chapter 1. Good News, April 1980)

The government of God has been restored to the Church, and the government of God has been placed in the Church. You read that in Ephesians 4 and I Corinthians 12. Christ is the head of the Church and under Christ in the administration of the government are an apostle or apostles, then evangelists, then pastors, then all are called elders, all ministers all the way up clear down to the lowest. (Armstrong HW. Mission of the Philadelphia Church Era. Sermon given on December 17, 1983 in Pasadena, California)

In a sermon titled Rely on God, Herbert W. Armstrong said:

KEY ISSUE IS GOVERNMENT …

THE WHOLE THING WAS GOVERNMENT! THE THING THAT SATAN TOOK AWAY WAS GOVERNMENT. THE THING THAT CHRIST IS COMING TO RESTORE IS GOVERNMENT. AND WHAT HE RAISED ME UP FOR WAS TO RESTORE GOVERNMENT IN HIS CHURCH. And the whole test, the challenge in the first place …, was a point of government. (Armstrong HW. Rely on God. Sermon, April 6, 1985)

Notice that Herbert Armstrong said God raised him up to restore church government in His church. And he did, though most end time Christians do not accept that–at least not fully–which makes them lukewarm.

In his sermon titled Challenged on April 19, 1981, Herbert W. Armstrong plainly taught:

… the government of God has been established in the Philadelphia era of God’s church.

Do not let naysayers, grumblers, and accusers of the brethren convince you that you can reject and/or push aside proper hierarchical church governance and still be Philadelphian.

It is the rejection of true Philadelphian hierarchical governance that is why the flock is so scattered.

One of the reasons there is not the same physical temple and scope like the old Worldwide Church of God had is because the most faithful are to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Therefore, no major physical things like we saw last century are the criteria for God’s most faithful.

The issues are spiritual–and the gospel of the coming kingdom of God will reach the world as a witness to God’s satisfaction–as supported by the Philadelphian faithful–and then the end will come.

And that is part of why the glory of “the glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former.””

This is what happens when one bows down to the law and places it as the pinnacle of worship instead of following the ONE and resting in His presence. Christians submit only to Him and not some whack-a-doodle mini-me Armstrongite self-appointed COG leader.

Here is the utter blasphemy laid bare: Crackpot Bob Thiel has the breathtaking gall to crown himself the modern-day Zerubbabel—the very man God used to rebuild the temple after the Babylonian exile—and to declare that his pathetic little storefront operation is the “latter temple” whose glory will exceed the old WCG’s. He hijacks Scripture, twists HWA’s own words about “one man” government, and turns a biblical remnant story into a divine endorsement of his personal ego trip. This is not prophecy; it is idolatry of the highest order—self-worship dressed up in prophetic robes.

The real danger of submitting to any human-made organization that demands absolute obedience to its form of government is that it inevitably separates you from Christ Himself. When a group insists that loyalty to its “hierarchical governance,” its self-appointed “apostle,” or its “proper church government” is the litmus test of faithfulness, it has replaced the Head of the Church with a counterfeit. Jesus warned us about this: “Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). He is the only Mediator. The moment you hand your conscience, your wallet, and your spiritual allegiance over to a man who claims exclusive divine appointment, you have stepped away from the narrow gate and onto the broad road of spiritual tyranny. History is littered with the wreckage of such systems—control, fear, financial exploitation, and the slow erosion of personal relationship with the living Christ. You end up serving an organization instead of the Savior.

In the end, Crackpot Bob’s entire Zerubbabel fantasy is a textbook case of what happens when a man stops looking to Jesus and starts looking in the mirror for his validation. He has built a miniature empire on the backs of the gullible, all while sneering at every other COG group for refusing to bow to his “government.” The sarcasm writes itself: the guy who can’t get anyone outside his tiny circle to take him seriously claims he is finishing a greater work than HWA ever did—while HWA himself would have booted him out the door faster than you can say “self-righteous upstart.”

True faith has never needed a storefront temple, a self-proclaimed prophet, or a demand for blind obedience. It needs only Christ—the real Head, the real High Priest, and the real finisher of the work. Anything else is just another golden calf with a “Church of God” sign slapped on it. Walk away from the idolatry, rest in the finished work of the cross, and let the true Zerubbabel—the Lord Jesus Himself—build what truly matters.

David Hulme: From Co-Host of The World Tomorrow to Leader of a Church So Small It Brags About It

David Hulme, born in 1946 in Britain, emerged as one of the most polished evangelists in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG)—complete with that oh-so-refined accent that practically screamed “spiritual authority” to anyone who appreciated a good BBC impersonation. A minister across the UK, South Africa, Canada, and the United States, he was ordained as an evangelist in 1986 and co-hosted The World Tomorrow television program, looking every bit the sophisticated successor in Herbert W. Armstrong’s media empire.

When the WCG began its dramatic shift toward mainstream Christianity in the 1990s under Joseph Tkach, Hulme bravely stood against the rebelling tide and supported Tkach, then in an about turn face, citing “contradictions and inconsistencies" ,he hooked his Jaguar to the righteous ministers conspiring behind he scenes to start United Church of God.” How noble. He helped launch the United Church of God (UCG), where over 260 ministers and thousands of members promptly elected him president. Because obviously, what this fledgling organization needed most was strong, decisive leadership from a man who truly understood governance (especially when it applied to everyone else).

His presidency lasted a whopping less than three years. In January 1998, the UCG Council of Elders voted overwhelmingly to remove him. The official reason? “Irreconcilable philosophical differences” regarding how the organization should be run. Translation: Hulme apparently believed the constitution he helped write applied to everyone except the president. He opposed the headquarters relocation, bypassed the council on hiring and expensive media projects, and generally treated elected oversight like an annoying suggestion box rather than actual authority. The council’s detailed letter to members read like a very polite British firing notice—only this time, the haughty accent was on the receiving end. How delightfully ironic.

The Arrogance That Made It All So Predictable

Those who worked with him often remarked on his distinctive leadership style—frequently described as haughty British arrogance blended with a towering sense of self-importance. In a movement already famous for strong personalities, Hulme reportedly viewed the corporate presidency as something closer to a divine anointing, the sort of role that mere councils, bylaws, and fellow ministers shouldn’t dare question. One former associate called it “blatant arrogance and superiority”—a self-righteous, holier-than-thou approach that treated servant leadership as optional and top-down rule as sacred.

Critics noted he had a remarkable talent for justifying authoritarianism in sermons while somehow missing the bits about humility modeled by, you know, Jesus and the apostles. When key people eventually left, were disfellowshipped, or simply drifted away, it was never framed as a pattern—just unfortunate coincidences, surely. Because nothing says “humble man of God” quite like repeatedly fracturing relationships over who gets to be in charge.

Founding His Own Group (Because History Rhymes)

Undeterred by the whole “voted out by your own organization” episode, Hulme did what any self-respecting Armstrongist leader does: he started his own group—the Church of God, an International Community (COGaIC). Based in Pasadena, it proudly proclaims itself nondenominational and focused on education rather than aggressive recruitment. How convenient—especially when your track record with large organizations has been, shall we say, mixed.

Today, the ministry chugs along through Vision magazine and its associated media. Hulme serves as publisher and delivers thoughtful commentary on everything from superbugs to the delusions of rulers, always circling back to Scripture with that signature intellectual polish. The organization remains delightfully low-profile: modest membership, content restricted to “approved viewers,” and an online presence that’s more contemplative boutique than booming movement. As of 2026, Hulme still posts on Facebook about current events, maintaining the dignified air of a man who has surely learned from past conflicts… or at least refined his presentation of them.

David Hulme’s journey perfectly encapsulates the post-Armstrong Church of God saga: a talented communicator who helped birth a major splinter group, only to be ejected over the exact same issues of authority and ego that have splintered the movement for decades. His British reserve and media savvy gave him an aura of sophistication, yet underneath it all was that unshakable belief in his own singular importance.

Today, through Vision and COGaIC, he continues his work on a smaller, quieter scale—still proclaiming a biblical vision, still shaped by the old doctrinal DNA, and still carrying the subtle scars (and perhaps a Jaguar or two) from the controversies that defined him. Whether this represents genuine maturation or simply a more polished version of the same instincts is, of course, best left for his remaining followers to ponder between issues of Vision.

Silent Pilgrim

Gerald Waterhouse: The Worldwide Church of God’s Four-Hour Harbinger of Nothingness

Gerald Waterhouse (1926–2002) was the Worldwide Church of God’s premier globe-trotting windbag — a Navy vet who somehow survived WWII and Korea only to inflict four-hour sermon marathons on innocent congregations for the next forty years. Fast-tracked through Ambassador College (class of ’56), he was ordained evangelist by 1963 and spent decades jetting to London, Sydney, Manila, Johannesburg, and every podunk U.S. town that still had metal folding chairs and a pulse. His job? Keeping the tithes flowing and the fear fresh.

The man was legendary for his sermons — not for depth, but for sheer, soul-crushing length. Four hours? Five? Six if he really got rolling? Ex-members still describe them as hostage situations with occasional hymn breaks. One ex-member told about a five hour sermon that include him playing a tape of one of his two hour sermons in the middle of it. He’d pace, rant, repeat the same point until your ass went numb, all while painting vivid apocalyptic fan-fiction pounding the pulpit and sweating like a pig.

And the prophecies? Pure comedy gold. Waterhouse loved reminding everyone that if “God’s Apostle” Herbert W. Armstrong kicked the bucket before the Tribulation, the Almighty would have no choice but to nuke the planet rather than let the Work fail. (Armstrong died in 1986. The world shrugged and carried on.) His signature masterpiece was the Petra Prophecy: the true church would miraculously fly on “two wings of a great eagle” (i.e., chartered jumbo jets) to the rock city of Petra, Jordan — God’s official VIP bunker. Once there, loyal tithe-slaves would camp among the ruins, grow miracle veggies, munch heavenly manna, sip water from a rock, and endure 3½ years of “final training” under Waterhouse’s expert guidance to become Christ’s future middle-management. Miss the flight? You’re Laodicean garbage. Question the timeline? Even worse.

Of course, none of it happened. The 1972–1975 “this time for sure” Tribulation was a no-show. The German Beast never roared. The jets never arrived. The manna never materialized. When doctrines started collapsing under Tkach in the ’90s, Waterhouse tried selling the new boss with the same oily certainty — until he got disfellowshipped in 1995 like yesterday’s false prophet. He shuffled off to a splinter group (United Church of God) and kept flogging the same dead horse until prostate cancer finally shut him up in 2002.

Off the pulpit, Waterhouse was the ultimate perpetual bachelor. A brief Navy marriage didn’t last, and he spent the rest of his life single — while rumors swirled that he was gay. Ex-members noted how clusters of young men always seemed to orbit him whenever he stayed in Herbert Armstrong’s garage apartment on the Ambassador College campus. Sightings of him in the West Hollywood area did not help much to squelch the rumors. Whether closet case, opportunist, or both, the irony is delicious: the man preaching rigid moral purity and end-time holiness while allegedly surrounded by boyish admirers.

Final verdict: Gerald Waterhouse wasn’t a prophet — he was a verbose, globe-trotting, four-hour fraud who built an entire career on a mountain of bald-faced lies and spectacularly failed prophecies. Every deadline collapsed like a cheap tent in a desert wind. Every vivid Petra fantasy — the chartered jets, the miracle gardens, the manna buffet, the 3½-year boot camp for future kings — turned out to be nothing but hot air and desperate tithing bait. He weaponized fear, guilt, and marathon guilt trips to fleece thousands of families out of their savings, their futures, and their sanity The ancient rocks of Petra still stand silent and empty. Waterhouse’s credibility rotted away decades before he did. In the end, the only thing this loud-mouthed doomsday windbag ever accurately predicted was how long he could keep talking before people started questioning everything. Spoiler: not nearly long enough. The man didn’t just get the future wrong — he made a tax-free, globe-trotting spectacle out of lying about it for forty years.

Silent Pilgrim

Betrayed by the Apostle: The Financial, Emotional, and Spiritual Wreckage of Armstrongism

Herbert W. Armstrong built the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) on a foundation of “restored truth,” with Bible prophecy at its core. For over five decades, he framed his interpretations as direct divine insight restored through him alone. These weren’t gentle suggestions—they came packed with specific timelines, booklets like 1975 in Prophecy, The United States and Britain in Prophecy, urgent Plain Truth articles, co-worker letters demanding triple tithes and offerings, and the constant drumbeat that hesitation meant missing the “place of safety” during the Great Tribulation. When events refused to match the script, Armstrong and his heirs simply moved the goalposts, rebranded failures as “new understanding,” or blamed members’ lack of faith. The human toll was devastating: generations of families sacrificed education, careers, savings, health, and relationships on an altar of unfulfilled predictions.

Armstrong’s teachings rested heavily on British Israelism—the idea that the Anglo-Saxon peoples (primarily the United States as Manasseh and Britain as Ephraim) were the literal descendants of the “lost ten tribes” of ancient Israel. This doctrine, borrowed from earlier 19th-century British-Israelite writers, became his “key to unlocking prophecy.” It identified modern nations in end-time scenarios: a revived Holy Roman Empire (a German-led European “Beast” power) would punish the U.S. and Britain for sins, leading to nuclear war, famine, disease, and slavery. Only those in the one true church would escape to Petra, Jordan. Armstrong claimed to restore 18 “lost truths,” but prophecy was the engine driving recruitment and fundraising. He repeatedly denied being a prophet while speaking and writing exactly like one, complete with dates and dire warnings.

The Greatest Hits of Failed Prophecies

Armstrong’s track record spans decades of spectacular misses:1930s–1940s (WWII era): He predicted Nazis would conquer Britain, Mussolini would take Egypt and Palestine, Hitler was still alive would emerge as the “Beast,” and Christ would return as early as 1936 or around 1943. Britain held firm; the Allies won. No Tribulation.

1950s–1970s peak: The infamous 1975 in Prophecy (1958) foretold hydrogen bombs, famines killing one-third of humanity, atomic war claiming another third, and enslavement for survivors. The U.S. and Britain would collapse by 1972–1975; the church would flee to the place of safety. Farmers were discouraged from using fertilizer as “sinful.” Members sold homes, quit jobs, skipped college, delayed marriages, and lived in survival mode. When 1975 passed quietly, the booklet vanished from circulation. Armstrong later called his warnings “possibles” or “probablies” or blamed members' misunderstandings.” No formal apology.

Other notable flops:  No human would walk on the Moon (reversed after 1969). Russia and China would conquer vast territories. Specific European leaders were repeatedly named as the Beast. Ancient Tyre would never be rebuilt (withdrawn after modern Tyre became a thriving tourist spot). Iraq and Iran were doomed to remain weak and be swallowed by Europe. China would never become a major independent power but would trail Russia. Hundreds more documented predictions—over 200 in comprehensive lists—failed over 52 years.

These weren’t minor errors. They were presented with apocalyptic urgency, backed by “proof” from Scripture twisted through the British-Israel lens.

The Human Cost: Lives Paused, Shattered, or Destroyed

The damage went far beyond disappointment. Armstrongism operated as a high-control environment: mandatory triple tithing (first, second, and third tithes plus offerings and “special” funds), disfellowshipping for dissent, shunning of “Laodiceans,” and relentless “gun-lap” pressure that the end was weeks or months away. Ex-members describe lives derailed in profound ways.

Financial ruin was epidemic. Families poured life savings into “the Work,” believing retirement, homeownership, or college were pointless. Many emerged from the 1975 non-event in poverty, with no assets, no pensions, and decades of earning power lost. Leaders at headquarters enjoyed jets, fine homes, and luxury while members scraped by.

Emotional and spiritual trauma was widespread. The 1974–1975 “exodus” saw thousands leave in disillusionment after rearranging everything around false timelines. Some clung tighter through cognitive dissonance (“God is testing us!”); others spiraled into depression, atheism, or lasting bitterness. PTSD-like symptoms—hypervigilance over world events, fear of the Tribulation, eroded trust in God or religion—are commonly reported.

Family devastation hit hardest. Marriages and children were delayed “until after the Tribulation.” Medical care was often postponed in favor of “faith healing” or because the end was imminent. Disfellowshipping tore families apart; parents shunned children, siblings stopped speaking. In extreme cases, despair contributed to suicides and mental health crises. Child abuse stories surface repeatedly: strict “rod of correction” discipline enforced in homes, sometimes escalating to brutality justified by church teachings. Isolation from the “world” left many socially stunted, with education sacrificed and careers abandoned.

The post-1986 WCG doctrinal shifts (under Joseph Tkach Sr. and Jr.) only deepened the pain for those who had sacrificed everything. Splinter groups formed to preserve “the truth,” but the prophetic hamster wheel kept spinning.

Splinter Group Prophecies: Same Playbook, Fresh Failures—and All Trained at HWA’s Feet

The damage didn’t end with Armstrong’s death in 1986. His top lieutenants—ordained and trained directly under him in the WCG—carried the torch into dozens of splinters. They absorbed British Israelism, the Beast-power timeline, triple-tithing urgency, and the habit of bold predictions followed by quiet revisions. Gerald Waterhouse, a fiery WCG evangelist ordained in 1956, crisscrossed the United States preaching loyalty to “God’s Apostle” and the “gun lap,” insisting Armstrong was fulfilling Elijah-like roles. His sermons kept members locked in despite failures; his influence lingered in splinters long after his 2002 death.

Rod Meredith, ordained by Armstrong in 1952 and a longtime top executive, founded Global Church of God (later Living Church of God after a split). He echoed HWA’s style, warning of imminent European unification and end-time collapse while recycling the same prophetic charts. Specific predictions in Plain Truth articles (e.g., rapid Beast-power rise in the late 1950s–1960s) failed, yet he continued the urgency until his death in 2017.

Ronald Weinland (Church of God – Preparing for the Kingdom of God) was a WCG minister before launching his own group. In 2008: God’s Final Witness, he declared himself one of the two witnesses. He set firm dates: Tribulation beginning 2008, Christ returning on Pentecost 2012, then revised to 2013. None materialized. Specific “thunders” (plagues, deaths of COG leaders, economic collapse) never occurred as described. He shifted timelines repeatedly, yet members stayed, tithing amid the failures. He has the distinction of being one of the first Church of God leaders to add the word felon to his resumé.

David C. Pack (Restored Church of God) rose through WCG and Global/Living ranks. He has issued hundreds of failed predictions since 2013—over 500 documented date-specific forecasts for Christ’s return, the Kingdom’s arrival, and dramatic events (e.g., top COG leaders struck down, members flocking to his campus). In 2022 alone, more than 36 dates collapsed. He laughs off misses in sermons, rebrands them as “greater understanding,” and continues marathon sermon series while demanding loyalty and funds.

Bob Thiel, trained under Meredith in the Living Church of God (where he served as a researcher and pretend proof-reader to assure doctrinal accuracy), broke away in 2012 to found the Continuing Church of God. So far, he is the only COG leader who was never ordained in any COG group because all refused to ordain him. He claims prophetic dreams and status as an end-time prophet. His output is a blizzard of “could be,” “may be,” and “possibly” videos tying current events to prophecy. Specific forecasts (e.g., certain leaders falling, precise end-time windows) have not materialized, yet he maintains the British-Israel framework and the urgency his mentor taught. Critics note the pattern: no verifiable fulfillments, just perpetual “soon.”

These men didn’t invent the system—they learned it at Armstrong’s feet in Ambassador College, WCG headquarters, and through its endless publications and broadcasts. They perpetuated the same damage: tithing drains, fear-driven isolation, delayed lives, and goalpost-moving that keeps dwindling flocks scanning headlines instead of living.

Running the gun-lap.

A Hope-Filled Conclusion: You Can Break Free

If you’re still in one of these groups—or deconstructing after years inside—hear this: the pain, the wasted years, the shattered trust—they were real, and they were not your fault. You didn’t lack faith; you were sold a counterfeit version of Christianity built on one man’s speculative timeline wrapped in proof-texted British Israelism. The Bible never required triple tithing, shunning, or hitching your eternal hope to a 20th-century radio preacher’s date-setting. True prophecy in Scripture points to God’s faithfulness, not human guessing games that fail 200+ times.

There is life—abundant, joyful, forward-looking life—beyond Armstrongism. Thousands have walked out and thrived. Start by giving yourself permission to question everything. Read the Bible without the Armstrong filter; study church history and the actual context of prophecy passages. Connect with ex-member support networks (forums, Facebook groups, recovery resources) where your story will be believed, not dismissed. Professional counseling can help process the trauma—cult recovery specialists understand the unique scars of high-demand groups: financial loss, family fractures, spiritual abuse, and the fear that lingers.

Rebuild practically: pursue education or career steps you postponed, restore relationships where possible (or grieve and release where shunning severed them), and plan for tomorrow without guilt. Many former members rediscover a simple, grace-based faith in Jesus Christ—saved by His finished work, not your tithe checks or perfect Holy Day observance. Others find peace outside organized religion altogether. Either path beats living in perpetual “gun-lap” anxiety.

You are not crazy, not Laodicean, not doomed. The leaders who trained at HWA’s feet and kept the machine running never owned the failures—but you don’t have to carry their consequences anymore. The future they stole? It’s yours to reclaim. Live it fully. Tomorrow does come, and it requires no donation link. Freedom, healing, and genuine hope are waiting on the other side of the nonsense. Step into them. You’ve already survived the hardest part. Live your life fully and joyfully. That is the biggest revenge possible.

Silent Pilgrim

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.