The Incarnation and Our Restlessness

One of the profound concepts of Christian theology that Armstrongism tended to overlook, or even mock at times, is the concept of the incarnation, failing to realize that it was the divine response to a deep, universal human longing.

The Incarnation is the hypostatic union—the permanent, personal union of the divine nature and a human nature in the one person of Jesus Christ, "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation." Jesus is thus truly God and truly man, one person with two natures.

At its core is the idea of a mystical longing—the creature's ache for the Creator, the finite reaching toward the infinite, humanity's innate desire for the divine. This isn't merely a Christian concept but a transcendent reality evident across cultures, religions, and eras. Philosophers, poets, and mystics have described it as an inner restlessness, a sense that earthly joys, achievements, and relationships ultimately fall short, leaving the soul yearning for something more eternal and fulfilling.

St. Augustine of Hippo articulated this most famously in his Confessions: 

You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. 

 

This restlessness arises because humans are created in God's image (imago Dei), imprinted with a capacity for the infinite that no finite thing can satisfy. It's a longing woven into our very being—a homesickness for the divine source from which we came.

For Christians, this universal ache finds its ultimate answer in the Incarnation: God becoming human in Jesus Christ. The baby in the manger is not just a sentimental image but the staggering fulfillment of that longing. The eternal Word "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), bridging the chasm between the infinite God and finite humanity. As theologians like Athanasius and Irenaeus emphasized, God took on our humanity to restore what was lost—to make us partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

This is grace unimaginable: not a distant deity demanding we climb to the divine, but God descending to us in vulnerability and love. Born in a humble stable, among animals, to a young virgin and her faithful spouse, Jesus enters our world as one of us—experiencing hunger, joy, sorrow, and temptation—yet without sin. He does this, as the comment notes, "to show us how to love one another." The Incarnation reveals God's love as self-giving (kenosis, or emptying, as in Philippians 2:6-8), modeling perfect humility, compassion, and sacrifice. It teaches that true love isn't power imposed from above but presence shared in weakness.

The nativity scene powerfully symbolizes this. The shepherds—ordinary workers, many tiems the outcasts of society—represent humanity's humble longing answered first by angels' announcement of "good news of great joy." The Magi, wise seekers from afar, embody that cross-cultural yearning for truth, guided by a star to worship the King. Animals surround the manger, evoking Isaiah's peaceable kingdom where creation itself participates in redemption. Under a starry night, the infinite enters the finite, heaven touches earth.

In this child, the mystical longing is met with divine initiative. God doesn't wait for us to perfect our search; He comes to us, loves us into wholeness, and invites us to love as He loves. As we gaze on the manger today—especially on this Christmas Day—we're reminded that our restlessness has a resting place: in the God who became one of us.

Calculating the Date of the Messiah's Birth

Calculating the Date of the Messiah's Birth

For almost two millennia, Christians have celebrated the events of their Savior's life. To be clear, there are only two events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth which can be associated with a particular date on the calendar based on the scriptural evidence alone. They are his death just before Passover, and his resurrection which occurred on the following Sunday. Indeed, even in this instance, we find much to debate and haggle over! Moreover, Jesus himself only left instructions for his disciples to commemorate his death (the Eucharist). Even so, Christians have persisted in celebrating their Lord's birth, dedication, baptism, death, and resurrection.

There are a number of very good reasons for all of this. For Christians, the appearance and work of Jesus Christ is the most important occurrence in the history of humankind. For his disciples, his sacrifice for the sins of humankind means salvation and life. For them, his teachings and example underscore love, compassion, empathy, kindness, forgiveness, mercy, and peace. For Christians, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures - the culmination of God's plans for all of us. In short, Jesus is everything to his followers, and anything associated with him is worthy of celebration and remembrance.

That this impulse to celebrate their Messiah has been present from the beginning of the movement is beyond all question. Two of the Gospel accounts (Matthew and Luke) contain elaborate narratives associated with his birth. The Gospel of John celebrates Christ's existence prior to his human birth and Divine nature. Three of the Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) relate events surrounding his baptism, and all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) have detailed accounts of the events surrounding his death and resurrection. In other words, the foundations for these celebrations of the life of Christ were laid by the authors of the canonical Gospels themselves!

We would also be remiss not to mention the fact that Christ himself said that he came to this earth to fulfill the Law and the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible! Indeed, the Gospels are literally full of passages from the Hebrew Bible which it is claimed that Jesus fulfilled. Moreover, in numerous of his epistles, Paul suggests that things in Torah pointed to Jesus Christ, and that he constituted the reality which they symbolically portrayed. And, finally, in the anonymously authored epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus is quite explicitly tied to the temple, priesthood, sacrificial system, and Sabbaths of the collection of writings known to us as the Old Testament.

Now, the rites of Baptism and the Eucharist are undoubtedly the oldest celebrations of the Christian Church (ekklesia). However, we know that the celebration of Christ's resurrection began almost immediately after that event. Indeed, in other posts on this blog, we have demonstrated that Christian worship on the first day of the week was well-entrenched by the conclusion of the First Century. Likewise, from the writings of a Christian Bishop named Hippolytus, we know that Christians had already begun giving serious consideration to fixing a date to celebrate Christ's birth.

According to the Biblical Archaeology Society, Hippolytus based his calculations on the widespread belief that God organized events throughout the cosmos to happen in conjunction with seasonal and celestial events. In this case, the calculation was that the date of Christ's conception had occurred on the vernal equinox of that year (March 25). Hence, nine months later would make December 25 the date of his birth! Moreover, as no one actually knew the precise date of Christ's birth by that time (early in the Third Century), the bishop's calculations seemed like a reasonable estimation to many within the Church (the Eastern Church made a similar calculation, but their starting point was in early April). At any rate, the date eventually caught on, and the rest is history.

Personally, I wish to make clear that I believe that it is completely appropriate to celebrate any and all of the events surrounding the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Moreover, I believe that Bishop Hippolytus of Rome's calculations regarding the date of Christ's birth were sincere and are fine (especially from the vantage point of longstanding tradition). Nevertheless, as I have already indicated here and elsewhere, I believe that Jesus was the fulfillment of Torah - including all things relative to the festivals which the ancient Israelites were commanded to keep.

Hence, while I agree with the presumption that God has organized significant events in "His" plans along a spiritual timeline, I now believe it is more likely that Christ's birth occurred sometime during the festival which portrayed him tabernacling in the flesh. The current celebrations are fine, and I participate in them. However, if we're taking an objective look at the available evidence, I would say that it is more likely that Jesus was born at the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Temporary Dwellings. Anyway, that's my two cents.

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix

A Contextual Christmas Bible Study: From Insane to the Annunciation

“The accounts of Jesus’s birth haven’t ever been that influential in how people actually celebrate Christmas”

In Mark: Mary Would Have Said: "An Annunciation of What? By who?  When?..I don't think so...."

                       

To be fair,  there doesn't seem to be any memory or celebration of Jesus birthdays years 1-30-ish in the New Testament. It's like they never even heard of it. 

In Mark, which has no birth story of Jesus at all (and no resurrection story either) we just have Mary, who apparently knew nothing of or forgot everything about Jesus miraculous birth circumstances, and brothers coming down to Jerusalem to take Jesus home before he got himself into real trouble. 

"Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.

When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said."

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3:20-21, 31-35

(Note: Apologetics can and are made for just who the "they" of the text is. Mary and Jesus brothers, or the crowd. In my mind and the mind of scholars, they are Mary and his brothers. No one doubts they came down to retrieve Jesus)

HOWEVER...

This embarrassing bit of scripture was removed by he authors of Matthew and Luke as the story evolved over time. 

In Matthew 12 we have we have the same story but without the "for they thought he was insane" part. 

Mary and Jesus' brothers just show up and wish to speak to him but why is not stated.

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

LUKE takes the clean up one step further yet.

Jesus Mother and Brothers merely try unsuccessfully to see Jesus. Jesus disavows them and does not find it necessary to even bother seeing them.

19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

=======================

Paul only notes Jesus was born of a woman and a regular Jewish baby.

"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law"

Galatians 4:4

Matthew and Luke had yet to written. In my mind and in the minds of other Church historians, the Birth Narratives of Jesus were inserted later in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. If excised from the texts we see, in their opinion, and stitched back together, they read just fine without the Birth Narratives. 

Example from Matthew

Matthew 1:17

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

REMOVE THE BIRTH NARRATIVE FROM 1:18-2:23 and go right to

Matthew 3:1

3 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

Flows just fine without the birth story. 

==================

Some feel the Birth Narratives were inserted to oppose the rumors that Jesus was "born of fornication" try to show he was really born as a God-Man like the Caesars. 

The Rumors

John 8:42

"We weren't born of fornication"

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/62763/meaning-of-the-jews-response-in-john-841

"Yeshua ben Panthera - Yeshua (Jesus) son of Panthera, Panthera is a Roman soldier, this is how Jesus is named in the Talmud. The Pharisees do not believe in a virgin conception of Jesus but call Mariam a whore among the Roman soldiers.

I believe that it is him they refer to as being born of fornication when the father to them was not know nor no proper registration of birth and father certificate which they the Pharisees would hold in the temple.

Commentaries hold the believe that they refer to the surrounding nations and their idoltery as to mean being born under fornication."

This is what the Pharisees penned down about Jesus;

Sanhedrin 106a, Jesus' mother was a whore: "She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters."

Shabbat 104b it is stated that in the "uncensored" text of the Talmud it is written that Jesus mother, "Miriam the hairdresser," had sex with many men. "Jesus was a bastard born of adultery."

(Yebamoth 49b, p.324). "Mary was a whore: Jesus (Balaam) was an evil man." (Sanhedrin 106a &b, p.725). "Jesus was a magician and a fool. Mary was an adulteress". (Shabbath 104b, p.504).

I hold the believe that John 8.41, "We be not born of fornication", was in fact a slanted suggestion that the legitimacy of His birth was in question."

Raymond Brown’s book is great because it is the only full-length scholarly commentary on the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke.

For somebody who has grown up listening to the Christmas stories, or has made the effort to read the Gospel stories of Jesus’s birth in Matthew and Luke, but has questions about any of the particular things that are said, questions of historicity, all of that can be found in Brown’s book.

Not only is there detailed word-by-word explanation of what every single verse means, but there are also a number of helpful appendices that deal with specific issues that come up in the study of the infancy narratives. For example, the disagreements between Luke and Matthew in terms of Jesus’s genealogy.

“The accounts of Jesus’s birth haven’t ever been that influential in how people actually celebrate Christmas”

There’s also the question of the historicity of the census that Luke says was taken while Quirinius was Governor: Luke doesn’t quite seem to be getting his historical information correctly.

Also, the question of whether or not Jesus was born in Bethlehem and what the historical arguments for that are. They’re really not very good. Most biblical scholars believe that Jesus was born in Nazareth, in Galilee, and that he was later said to have been born in Bethlehem because that was where the Messiah was believed to have to come from.

But it all worked out and, over time, with tweaks and edits, Jesus became, theologically, "Fully God and Fully Man"

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

 

Beware of Nimrod's Testicles, Satan's Snake and Santa!

NOTE: It's that time of year again in Church of God land and the anti-Christmas crowd is spewing its hilarious venom.  Bob Thiel has doubled down on his yearly childish melt-down.

So, it's time for a rerun:

As Christmas approaches, the Armstrongism crowd is out in full force, frothing at the mouth and spewing their annual tirade about how utterly demonic the holiday is.

Classic Armstrongite rants are designed purely to belittle anyone who dares celebrate Christmas:

Christmas trees symbolize Nimrod sprouting from his grave:

Nimrod, the mighty hunter against God!!! (Because apparently he was the original rebel without a cause.) He married his own mother, got himself killed, and—poof!—an evergreen tree miraculously sprouted from his grave. 

Voilà, the world's first Christmas tree. How festive.

Got angels on your tree? Congratulations, you're dangling dead babies in honor of Nimrod!

Nimrod was depicted as a baby (naturally), alongside the pine tree representing his reborn self. Babies were allegedly burned alive as offerings to him. So those cute little angel ornaments? They're supposedly murdered infants. Charming.

Tinsel on the tree? Oh honey, you're literally draping Satan's snake all over it.

Those shiny strings of tinsel symbolize the serpent/Satan slithering around. (And knowing Armstrongites' bizarre obsession with sexual innuendo, I won't even speculate on what else that "snake" might imply. Use your imagination—it's probably worse.)

Hanging ball ornaments? Bold move—you're adorning your tree with Nimrod's testicles!

Legend has it Nimrod was chopped into pieces after death, and his... ahem... family jewels were never found. Hence, we hang balls on evergreens to commemorate the missing parts. (Nimrod must've had some seriously massive ones to inspire an entire global tradition.)

 Nimrod certainly had some big balls!

Dare to plop your kid on Santa's lap?

Back in the day, they supposedly fed babies into fires to celebrate Nimrod's birthday. Angels = dead babies, red suit = fire (obviously). So putting your child on a jolly fat man's lap in red is basically ritually passing them through the flames. 

And Santa? Just an anagram for Satan. Mind. Blown.

The hilarious irony? When these Armstrongites unleash this avalanche of unhinged nonsense, they somehow think it's "witnessing" for their god. Newsflash: it converts exactly zero people. It just repels everyone and makes them look like conspiracy theorists who flunked history class. They're not drawing anyone closer to Jesus Christ—they're just embarrassing themselves spectacularly.

But hey, maybe that's par for the course in Armstrongism? After all, who needs facts when you've got Nimrod's imaginary gonads to rally around? Merry Christmas, folks—may your trees be ball-free and your holidays blissfully snake-less.

Dave Pack Newsflash: The Kingdom Comes on December 29, 2025 (Tevet 10)

Newsflash: The Kingdom Comes on December 29, 2025 (Tevet 10)

David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God dropped December 5 and 19 like hot potatoes when he post-retroactively touted Tevet 10 as the real day that cannot tarry that he had been stewing on for a year.

During “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 612)” on December 13, 2025, the Pastor General hinted that Tevet 10 had been on his mind for twelve months, but he uncharacteristically kept his mouth shut about it. The following week, during Part 613, he unleashed “only about half” of the proofs proving the Father will bring the Kingdom to Israel at sunset in Jerusalem on December 29, 2025.

The present truth of Tevet 10’s significance is so convincing that Dave held up three single-spaced legal-sized pages that contained over 100 proofs he did not have to the time to go through.

Part 612 – December 13, 2025
@ 13:46 And I'm really not gonna talk about it today. But I added and added and added to this list of things, single-spaced, things that related to this day. And it's almost infinitely more important than we ever realize. There's a there's 64 things on one page. Here's another 40-some and more. And I kept adding to it for now a year and three days. I waited to see if it would mature.

More like Dave waited to see his other doctrines fail due to the sheer pressure of time.

@ 14:21 So I'm today planting a seed. I hope it's THE seed of what might be. This year, Tevet 10 is December 29th.

December 29 is only a few days away, folks. Please plan accordingly.

@ 45:44 I've never heard anybody, for regardless of what Tevet 10 means …ever talk about a day that has a name that's to be engraved in our minds and is written five times in the Bible, and it's Tevet 10. Nobody. Took me a long time to figure out what I thought I was seeing.

Dave has not figured anything out. But that did not stop him from donning his Inspector Clouseau garb during Part 613 on December 20. His timidity was peppered throughout the two-hour message.

Part 613 – December 20, 2025
@ 01:02 My task is to be God's detective. His, well, shall we say, private investigator. And, I I think I've been trained enough by this time in such things to hopefully get it right.

David C. Pack is a blaspheming, hypocritical liar, false apostle, false teacher, and false prophet. He will never "get it right." That is, unless the coincidences keep stacking up.

@ 25:59 The month of Tevet began in Jerusalem at about 9:30 this morning. So, is it a coincidence that I'm talking about it right as we're coming into this date at the end of 614 sermons and ten years and three months length?

It is not a coincidence that he planned and prepared to speak about a date that was about to happen. This is not magic or a divine fiat. Dave made it happen.

Part 613 was a "greatest hits" of Dave's terrible traits: Pointless lists, non-coincidences, manufactured math, timid caveats carefully worded to avoid the responsibility of future failure, and putting the burden on the brethren to “prove” his nonsense.

The topper was his “my job” declaration, designed to remove accountability for when brethren have to avoid another round of New Year's Eve party invitations.

@ 1:39:37 My job is not to declare Tevet 10. My job is to declare the facts without bias. I've been wrong before. So if you if you're sitting out there, “Mr. Pack says Tevet 10,” well, you don't need to worry about it, because that's all you're counting on. You don't need to worry about salvation.

The most sinister part of Dave's tactic is the "If you don't believe me, you will not get salvation" play that he has used many times before.

@ 1:39:56 You’ve gotta you lock in. Now, if I'm wrong, then I'll come back [chuckles] and I'll tell you I'm wrong. There are other candidates out there beyond Tevet 10 that are that are, I'll I’ll just say, enticing.

Dave chuckled because he already knew he was wrong. But he is just playing the game. He sprinkled breadcrumbs for brethren who still bother to pay attention. The All-Believing Zealots ignore those flags.

I suspect the waffling wiggle room will fully manifest during Part 614 this Sabbath if there is not a preemptive, dream-crushing CAD email to soften the embarrassment of retiring all those single-spaced pages.

The last few sentences of his two-hour message had the intent of sounding confident, but screamed that Dave knew the brethren were not buying it.

@ 1:57:27 While you are probably certainly possibly totally convicted, consider one more time that you've heard a bit over half the case for Tevet 10. Some of the biggest and most powerful proofs of Tevet 10 I haven't even hinted at.

Please write in the comments if you have ever been “probably certainly possibly totally” about anything. Bonus points if it relates to a biblical doctrine.

With Tevet 10 looming on the horizon, here is one hilarious example of what passes for inspired, apostolic knowledge in The Restored Church of God.

@ 35:11 Now I want to take you to a certain formula. We're gonna put some verses together. I call it “A, You Know, It's Kinda in a in a Way, it's a Form of of Math, I Guess. Um. Is it Algebra?” You know, I've explained in the past, if A equals B and B equals C, then C equals A. A equals B and B equals C. They're the same thing. Then, C equals A. And you could keep going. If A equals B, B equals C, C equals D, D equals E, E equals F. Then, F equals A.

Prepare for nothing prophetic to happen on December 29 and for David C. Pack to dissolve that doctrine before the date comes. Tevet 10 will be his 138th failure since August 30, 2013.

Mark Cebrian

See: News Flash: The Kingdom Comes on December 29, 2025

A Timely Reminder for the Actual and Older Reason for the Season

 

" As Above So Below"     The Winter Solstice Sunrise  at Stonehenge Original View 4,400 Years Ago Yesterday December 21st, 2025   The December 22nd to Christmas Day Nightflix Story in Revelation of the Virgin Giving Birth to the Sun   For the next three days, (December 22nd to the 24th),  the Sun neither goes further South nor does it begin its journey back North. This first 1 degree North is Christmas Day. For now, it is three days "in the grave of the Solstice, which means "Sun Stand Still" The Sun begins its removing the Darkness of Winter (Sins of the world) at "about 30 " (Jesus began his ministry at "about 30)  degrees north, or one month later in January where Aquarius, The Water Man is the main constellation. This would be John the Baptist in the NightFlix Story. Virgo, The Virgin, gives birth to the Sun on December 25th. Ophiuchus stands between the Virgin and the Sun waiting with the Serpent (Dragon) to devour her child.  The Constellation Aquila, the Eagle, waits behind Ophiuchus and his Serpent waiting to take the Woman "to her place". ====================== The author of Revelation knew his yearly cycles and the constellations associated with them to tell his story. Sunrise this morning December 22, 2025 Virgo, the Virgin-upper right Ophiuchus, Serpens and the Serpent-Middle Aquila the Eagle-Lower left The Woman Giving Birth and the Serpent Revelation 12 12 And then a great wonder appeared in heaven: There was a woman who was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet. She had a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out with pain because she was about to give birth. NOTE: The author of Revelation must have written in the late Fall or near the Winter Solstice to tell his story in the night sky. The Moon must have been under the feet of the Constellation Virgo, The Virgin. "Clothed in the Sun" would be the rising Sun. 3 Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon there. The dragon had seven heads with a crown on each head. It also had ten horns. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky  (Ophiuchus plus the Constellation Serpens cover about 1/3 of the night sky) and threw them down to the earth. It stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth to the baby. It wanted to eat the woman’s baby as soon as it was born. 5 The woman gave birth to a son, who would rule all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was taken up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman ran away into the desert to a place that God had prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1260 days. 13 The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he chased the woman who had given birth to the child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. Then she could fly to the place that was prepared for her in the desert.

Crackpot Prophet On The Closing Act For His Short Work

 

Oh, we've all marveled countless times at the sheer lunacy spewing from Crackpot Bob and his devoted little minions. The theological absurdities they churn out are nothing short of breathtaking—truly astounding in their brilliance!

But hey, what else could we possibly expect? After all, the Great Bwana Bob is such a towering figure in Church of God history that he was personally involved in the original creation planning session, right there with the Holy Trinity as they meticulously mapped out humanity's salvation process exactly 5,987 years ago. The Trinity, in Their infinite wisdom, foresaw a massive apostasy coming and specifically engineered Bob to emerge in these perilous end times as the ultimate warning beacon for the church and the world.

Little did the Holy Trinity know that a whopping 99.98% of the Church of God would stubbornly refuse to follow their divinely appointed savior. Alas, that flawless salvation process is now permanently shattered, forcing Jesus to make His grand return... to Wadsworth, Ohio, of all places. But that's a saga for another day.

The inimitable Great Bwana Bob is merely here to complete his "short work," and once that's wrapped up—brace yourselves—holy hell is going to erupt across the world like never before. How blessed we are to live in such enlightened times!

We in the CCOG have been preparing for that short work, which is why we have our gospel booklet in numerous languages online. We prepare for it and God will finish it. 

 

Notice that a short work/word/matter (matter is also in the LSV) will be cut off and proceed a time of destruction. The message of God’s word will go forth, and this will happen–Gentiles and Israelites are to be reached. 

 

An important part of the short work relates to the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14, which, in a sense, is cut short as it triggers the end coming:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14) 

 

The incomparable Crackpot Bob even dares to claim that Herbert W. Armstrong himself prophetically foretold his glorious "short work"—as if the late HWA wouldn't have personally booted Crackpot Bob's rebellious, narcissistic behind straight to the curb decades ago for his insolent and utterly narcissistic behavior.

How touching that Bob imagines himself as the fulfillment of prophecy! Truly, the humility on display is mind-boggling.

While we were not in the very end time then, we are much closer to it now. In a letter dated October 18, 1983 he wrote that he realized that the ‘short work’ was for the future:

I feel God will move swiftly soon to make a short work preparatory to Christ’s coming.

The short work most definitely involves preparation now. This is part of why more materials, literature, articles, books, booklets, and websites are being developed and/or added to.

Here is what was in Herbert W. Armstrong’s last letter:

The greatest work lies ahead … Never before in the history of the Church has it been possible to reap so great a harvest. It has only been made possible through modern technology, beginning with the printing press, radio, television … Each of you must commit yourself to support God’s Work…God’s work must push ahead as never before. God is opening up new doors in television (Letter, 1/10/86).

Presuming he was correct that the greatest work lies ahead, that is consistent that more needed to happen to fulfill Matthew 24:14. New doors, like internet television have been opened during the 21st century. And we in CCOG do use various forms of radio.

Oh, so? There's absolutely nothing special about that in the grand scheme of a Church of God splinter group. Big whoop!

But does that humble realization slow down the magnificent Great Bwana Bob? Of course not! He bravely presses on to proclaim just how utterly superfantabulous his sermons truly are. No other COG group can even dream of comparing when it comes to the awe-inspiring, mind-bogglingly profound words that majestically emanate from the sacred mouths of the Great Bwana Bob and his loyal little minions.

Truly, we are witnessing verbal miracles of biblical proportion—how blessed we are to bask in such unparalleled eloquence!

One of the reasons that our sermons in the CCOG are more scriptural, historically, and prophetically-focused than other churches is to help train you so that God may use YOU to instruct many (Daniel 11:33) and be a witness (Matthew 24:14). 

 

But there will be persecution. Others are NOT being trained like this–other churches do not focus on preparing their congregants to instruct many–at least none that I know of. 

 

Notice that the LOVE OF MANY WILL GROW COLD. They will not care enough about sacrificing and going through the open door (Acts 14:27; Revelation 3:7-8). 

 

Most will not realize that the end cannot come–and Matthew 24:14 fulfilled–until more of the fullness of the Gentiles have come in:

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25) 

This is how he justifies his African followers: 

The Gentiles who God will call in this age MUST come in, hence planting the seeds for that is part of the short work!

He then continued with this:

The Apostle Paul also wrote:

14 … Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16) 

 

Many today, instead of forbidding it like the Jews, downplay and/or ridicule reaching Gentiles in places like Africa. But, they do not seem to understand that the Bible teaches that WE MUST INSTRUCT MANY INCLUDING GENTILES! 

 

Are YOU one supporting the preparation of the final phase of the work and the short work? 

Shame on you, you rebellious Laodiceans! How dare you not support Bwana Bob's amazing work!

 

Most Christians will NOT. Most Christians prophesied to NOT be Philadelphians in the end before the start of the Great Tribulation. Most Christians still not have the same zeal or love of the truth and proclaiming it that they should–although the Book of Hebrews teaches:

1 Let brotherly love (Philadelphia) continue (Hebrews 13:1). 

 

Jesus noted that there were Laodiceans after the Philadelphians who could not see their problems and had the wrong work (Revelation 3:14-18). 

 

Notice also that Matthew 24:14 ties the successful proclamation with the coming of the end. There is a certain shortness in passages of Matthew 24:14-21.

He closes his screed with a sermon by one of his minions about The Closing Act of Bwana Bob

Our Closing Act – the Short Work and You
What about the short work of Romans 9:28? What needs to happen before it is time to flee? Won’t having the gospel of the kingdom in 2000 languages be a factor in Matthew 24:14? What about John Ogywn and the final phase of the work? Some aspects of the work need to be done before the famine of the word of Amos 8:11-12. Louis Rubin proposes some ideas on how others can help support the work. He also goes over some steps that some in the Continuing Church of God are doing. What is unique about the Philadelphian church? What about the mantle and the need to form the CCOG? Is the work to continue until the return of Jesus the Christ? Will God cut short the work?

 

The FIRST Advent of the Messiah, and What It Made Possible

The FIRST Advent of the Messiah, and What It Made Possible

In a message to King Ahaz of Judah (from David's dynasty), the Prophet Isaiah assured the monarch that better days were ahead. God even offered to give Ahaz ANY sign he asked for to confirm God's plans, but the king refused to designate a sign. As a consequence, Isaiah wrote: "Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). By the time this child is old enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong, he will be eating yogurt and honey. For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted." Isaiah 7:13-16, NLT)

Indeed, God continually warned the children of Israel away from their sins through Isaiah, but the people refused to listen. As a consequence, God made clear that the Promised Land would be invaded and the people would be scattered. Even so, Isaiah also wrote: "Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! (Isaiah 9:1-7, NLT)

A little later, the prophet also wrote: "Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to bring back the remnant of his people—those who remain in Assyria and northern Egypt; in southern Egypt, Ethiopia, and Elam; in Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. He will raise a flag among the nations and assemble the exiles of Israel. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 11:1-12, NLT)

Isaiah continued: "Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels." (Isaiah 53:1-12, NLT)

Likewise, the Prophet Jeremiah wrote: "What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,' says the Lord. Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: 'Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord, have spoken! 'For the time is coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. 'In that day,' says the Lord, 'when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land." (Jeremiah 23:1-8, NLT)

Jeremiah continued: "The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. 'In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever." (Jeremiah 33:14-17, NLT)

In similar fashion, the Prophet Ezekiel prophesied: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take a branch from the top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain. It will become a majestic cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches. And all the trees will know that it is I, the Lord, who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the dead tree new life. I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said!" (Ezekiel 17:22-24, NLT)

Finally, in the New Testament account of Christ's birth, we are informed that Jesus considered divorcing Mary when he found out she was pregnant with our Savior. We read: "As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. 'Joseph, son of David,' the angel said, 'do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.' All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 'Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us." (Matthew 1:20-13, NLT)

Likewise, in the Gospel of Luke, we read: "In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, 'Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!' Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 'Don’t be afraid, Mary,' the angel told her, 'for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!" (Luke 1:26-33, NLT) Then, in the following chapter, we read: "That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. 'Don’t be afraid!' he said. 'I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:8-12, NLT)

Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix

UCG John Elliott: We Are One Big Happy Family At HQ And The New Ecumenicalism With Other COG Groups

 

Love just flows from the folks in Cincinnati, Ohio. Never has a Church of God had such brotherly love.

Mr. Elliott greeted the Council. He went on to mention that the home office works as a family; they encourage and help each other out. Anyone can go to anyone else at the home office for assistance, and all are pleased to assist one another.

If only that "love" extended outwards to the church members. It is not all rosy out in the land of the sheep.

He emphasized that Jesus is leading this Church to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19- 20). The home office has a responsibility to serve the Church’s needs here at the home office, in the United States, and throughout the world. He expressed that being at the home office has given him a new perspective on how much is done by the home office staff. The staff is giving their all to the advancement of God’s work and they look to God daily for direction and help.

No other COG group is doing a "work" better than UCG. Woo Hoo! But, don't Woo Hoo too much... Elliott goes on to say that the church is not performing well when it comes to younger members. Did anyone know they had any?

Mr. Elliott expressed a renewed focus on young families in the Church who may feel underserved. He mentioned that the Council approved some extra focus on that demographic, which will be reflected in the upcoming Strategic Plan.

Again, we are 30 years down the road and the strategic plan still hasn't been figured out. Never mind that, though; it is important to go and visit other COG groups and strive for agape love.

One thing he did say—and this will set Samuel Kitchen's detectors off—is that when visiting other COG groups, "...the 'children' of God wish for the 'parents' to get back together." Maybe Samuel is the one to do it! But again, do not get too excited because he goes on to say it won't be happening, even after all their repenting and striving.

Mr. Elliott said he recently visited Mr. Gerald Weston and his staff at the Living Church of God offices in North Carolina. He has also recently spoken with Mr. Jim Franks at the COGWA offices. He mentioned that most of what we all do is done in triplicate, such as with offices, hall rentals, travel, and Feast sites, etc. Mr. Elliott assured everyone that while there is no desire to combine, it seems most members wish we were together. He then compared what has happened in some cases to a divorce in a family. He said such splits are painful, messy and are typically private interactions among a few leaders without members being fully aware or participating. He also mentioned that currently, the “children” of God wish for the “parents” to get back together. He said that, “it does not seem realistic at this point, so we all need to move forward, repenting and striving with agape love and respect for one another and the work we are performing for Jesus Christ.”

Then Elliott goes on to say this:

He explained that Jesus desires that God’s children all be one (John 17:20-21), and he explained that while we are not all in a single corporation, at least we all need to be one in God and Jesus Christ by having an agape mindset. Let’s all help each other in striving to do just that, please.

Really? How can they when they all believe things that are at odds with each other's groups? It's not a big COG ecumenical love fest as he thinks.

Beautifying His Sanctuary With Evergreens

 

Jesus Returns December 19th! Are you ready?

JC was spotted in Wadsworth, Ohio, after some pre-planning shopping at the Giant Eagle for some party supplies for his grand return on December 19th at the Restored Church of God compound.

Aren't you as excited as I am?

 

Gerald Flurry and Only Fans

Gerald Flurry, the self-proclaimed savior of God's other one true splinter group (the Philadelphia Church of God), is utterly convinced he's got the divine cure-all for every single one of society's woes—if only the ungrateful world would finally shut up and listen to him. Of course, like every other COG cult leader scrambling for relevance, he brings zero originality to the table, just endlessly recycling Herbert W. Armstrong's dusty old teachings and outdated rants.

Now, he's generously offering the ladies a wholesome 'alternative' to those sinful women on OnlyFans, raking in cash—because, as we all know, not a single soul in the entire hyper-pure Philadelphia Church of God has ever dared peek at a video on that site! LOL, yeah right—we all know that's a bald-faced lie. Heck, even his own devoted followers barely crack open their own church literature.

Anyway, as Bob Thiel loves to pivot with, let's move right along to the Philadelphia Church of God's fabulous 'gift' to the world of OnlyFans.

Americans are paying millions of dollars every day for amateur pornography on the website OnlyFans. The independent aggregator OnlyGuider reports that over the first 11 months of the year, Americans spent $2.6 billion on the site, which has become infamous for providing young women a means and a monetary motivation for selling themselves online. 

 

America’s creation and consumption of pornography is more than just an embarrassing societal issue: It’s a clear and present danger to U.S. national security.

OnlyFans does not publish statistics on its users’ content or location, but independent journalists estimate that roughly 70 to 90 percent or more of posts are pornographic, and more than 1 million users who publish material to the platform are American. The OnlyGuider report states that 15 of the top 20 cities for consuming the site’s content are in the U.S. 

• New York City alone consumes more than some small nations. 
• Last year, the most active city, Atlanta, spent the equivalent of more than $50 per man, woman and child.

So what is the amazing resource that the PCG is offering? One of Armstrongism's least read books after the Wonderful World Tomorrow, The Incredible Human Potential, and Mystery of the Ages, a book written to entice Loma to have more sex with Herbert.