The Great Bwana to Africa and 100 Caucausians had a dream come true just now. First, Southern CA is being hit with the remnant of a tropical storm from Mexico, with anticipated flooding and landslides. Now we just had an earthquake on top of it all!
Prophecy comes alive! What a great time to be alive!!!!
One thing the Church of God movement has been good at is making prophecies that have all failed. Every single one of them, every single time. It doesn't matter if it was Herbert Armstrong, Gerald Flurry, Gerald Waterhouse, Bob Thiel, or Dave Pack. Everything they have ever predicted to happen has failed and failed epically!
When those failures happen the excuses flow faster than any river ever could. The excuses are so fast and furious that they quickly divert attention away from the failure and into a new direction. God always had something more to reveal or worse yet, God delayed the prophecy because the brethren were not ready. They were the cause of the failure. Not enough prayers, not enough money given...the reasons were endless.
When blaming the brethren did not work as well as they wanted they resorted to a new tactic. All of the failed prophecies were only speculation so therefore the prophet or church leader cannot be held accountable. It was just wishful thinking and a desire to warn people.
This brings us to today when the Philadelphia Church of God has reposted a 2007 article by King Gerald Flurry where he wrote complaining that an Edmond Oklahoma newspaper in 1994 branded him a cult leader. Nothing pops the corks of COG leaders more than being labeled as cult leaders. Flurry was still reacting in 2007 to that butthurt and then again in 2023 proving he is still bitter over the words printed in 1994. This is the same kind of childish reaction we see today in Bob Thiel and others. Butthurt"ness" runs deep in Armstrongism.
Flurry places himself right up there next to Jesus in the suffering he has to endure being a prophet of God". He writes:
Was Christ a Cult Leader?
Back in 1994, a local newspaper published an article about the Philadelphia Church of God. The author titled the article, “Is It a Cult or ‘God’s Church’?” One subhead was about our unorthodox beliefs—as if that is bad. Webster’s Dictionary describes a cult as “a group with unorthodox beliefs.”
Jesus Christ had unorthodox beliefs! They were so unorthodox that they eventually got Him killed! And make no mistake about it, Christ was killed because of what He taught. The people liked Christ’s personality. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). But they hated His message—and they hate Christ’s message today. That condition never changes. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Yet here we are in 2023, almost 35 years after Flurry formed the Philadelphia Church of God and he still hates Christ's message. He hated it in 1980 when he was part of the Worldwide Church of God and still hates it today in 2023. Nothing irritates COG leaders more than talking about Jesus and the acts of grace, justification, and sanctification. If they cannot bow down to the altar of the law then it is not worth talking about. The acolytes of Baal bowing down before his statue are exactly like the COG leaders today bowing down to the altar of the law with their backs turned towards Jesus. They will sacrifice their firstborn and brethren at that altar before they will turn around and be followers of The Way.
Which group hated Christ most of all? The religious people were the ones screaming, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” False religion continues to play that role today—all over the world. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world …” (Revelation 12:9). Satan has totally deceived this world. The world’s religions don’t know who God is! Spiritually, they don’t even know themselves!
False religion continues to this day in the Church of God movement with the 400 some splinter groups all professing a different Jesus, when and if they even dare to mention his name. Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel, and Dave Pack have absolutely no idea who Jesus is or what the New Covenant has accomplished.
Then we get to the double-speak by Flurry about prophecy, predictions, and speculation. The dance is epic:
The reporter had this to say in his article: “During the mid-1950s, he [Mr. Armstrong] published a pamphlet entitled, ‘1975 in Prophecy.’ It warned of a worldwide nuclear war in 1972 and Christ’s return three years later. … When the world didn’t end on schedule, Armstrong withdrew his pamphlet from circulation.” I was asked about this statement before the article was published. I told the reporter that not one of Mr. Armstrong’s critics could prove that statement about the book and they never have over the years! That is because Mr. Armstrong never said those events would occur on those dates. There was only speculation that those events could happen in that time period. I took the time to explain this in detail. The reporter still wrote the same statement without proof. And so the error is perpetuated without excuse! But reporters read such statements and often believe them because there are several critics making these claims. If people hear a statement frequently enough, they often believe it.
The blatant lying by Flurry over Herbert's failed prophecy, which was NOT a prediction, but a fact that the church taught is epic here. The WCG had the fortitude to withdraw the book from publication till it could be rewritten eliminating Herbert's epic mistakes. Flurry then lies that the church never withdrew it. When it comes to rewriting Herbert Armstrong's mistakes and erasing them from memory there is no Church of God greater at doing this than the Philadelphia Church of God. They truly practice what they preach: "If people hear a statement frequently enough, they often believe it."
One religious author says a cult “is a perversion, a distortion of biblical Christianity and/or a rejection of the historic teachings of the Christian church.” But this is a great contradiction! “Historic teachings” of today’s “Christianity” itself pervert and distort “biblical Christianity”! Their “biblical Christianity” means mainstream Christianity, which is very unbiblical!
Armstrongism today perverts the message of the New Covenant. The things it does irritates the hell out of COG leaders. How dare it tell people they don't need to tithe, give offerings on non-required holy days, or offer grace and love over adherence to a law that can NEVER be kept by any human. Freedom in Christ is despised in the church. Freedom means members no longer need to submit to illogical versions of "church government" or to whack-job church leaders. Historic Armstrongism perverts and distorts the message of the New Covenant and separates its followers from the one they "claim" to follow. Their claim of practicing 1st-century Christianity is a perversion, unbiblical and blatant lie!
According to the world’s definitions of a cult, Jesus Christ was a cult leader. We must remember that making such statements can bring severe persecution! Christ proved that. He was killed for what He taught. But soon, this world is going to be severely tried for practicing such gross deceit.
Each of today's false prophets leading Churches of God will continue to lie to us, make excuses for their lies, and ultimately blame the brethren for their failures. It's time for them all to shut up and set their captives free!
Anyone who has ever been to SEP under the auspices of the Worldwide Church of God, regardless of where it was held, usually found it to be a fun time, Sure, for some, it was tough being away from home for the first time, but the experience tended to be fun.
Ever since the implosion of the church summer camp has continued on in various splinter groups. Most have them today except for the little personality cults like the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god" and Ron Wienland's geriatric group.
Anyway, the boys in Edmond posted a story on their site about the upcoming summer camps. These are the three things that campers are expected to do:
1. Prepare now for your prayer life at camp.
At S.E.P., you will hear a lot about sharpening your prayer life. More than likely, you will hear about prayer notebooks, and be given lists outlining basic subjects to pray about in your life and in the Work of God. Prepare now to refine the quality and length of your prayers before, during and after camp! Pray now that the pyc experience takes your prayer life to even greater heights!
Do you struggle with stirring up the motivation to pray? We can all struggle with that at times. I am reminded of a statement I heard from Evangelist Alex Harrison in a sermon several years ago. “Don’t feel like praying?” he said. “Tell that to God! Ask Him for the desire to pray.” Pray that God would give you that desire to pray to him now as well as during S.E.P.! Let God know if you are struggling in this area. He is not intending to beat you down. Show Him you want His assistance, and He will help you!
Set specific goals now for your prayer life at S.E.P.—goals for length in prayer, goals for focused quality of prayer. There are so many different facets of S.E.P. that you can be praying about now so camp this year can go that much more smoothly.
Prayer was always encouraged at SEP and the Orr camp had prayer closets in each dorm. Campers on Friday nights usually had a Bible study in the dorm going over some weird WCG booklet, but, this was not the main focus of the camper's time at camp. It was building friendships and discovering new things you might never get to do when at home. Imagine being a 12-year-old and having to focus on the length of prayer and the supposed "quality". The past church teaching of one-hour prayers was a load of crap. No member ever did that successfully, especially the ministry. One of the best prayers ascending to God's ears is a single word like "Help!"
2. Prepare to spend time with the ministry.
God’s ministers are a key part of His Family; they help edify and unite that Family (Ephesians 4:11-16). Don’t let a day go by without making some contact with a minister. This will be a unique opportunity for you at S.E.P.: to be surrounded by so many ministers. Most Church members never get to have that. So take advantage of it!
What should you talk about? Tell them about your life back at home, your congregation, what you are looking forward to the most at S.E.P., and what your goals are in life. They would love to talk to you—if you overcome any barriers and give them the time.
This is even more odious for campers to deal with. Too many stories are floating around out there about PCG ministers being abusive pieces of crap toward the youth of the church. The ones about PCG ministers in Edmond forcing campers to run in 100% humidity to some passed out and then forcing them to get up and run some more. No child heading off to summer camp expects to sit in front of some dickwad and have to squeal about life back home. This is what the Chinese Communists do to their children. Turn your parents in for not following the program.
Also, what 12, 14, and 16-year-old really has their life planned out as to what their goals are in life. Just surviving 2-3 weeks with COG Gestopa agents on their ass is their #1 goal.
3. Prepare to forge strong friendships.
Camp can be nerve-wracking for some—coming from far distances to a strange land, meeting unfamiliar people. But we are all tied together by a common mind and goal! Camp director Wayne Turgeon said the pycmindset is about leaving “problems, fears, worries, concerns behind and really embracing God’s way of selflessness, outgoing, flowing, giving, concern and sacrifice for three weeks.” So forget yourself, and be outgoing to your fellow brothers and sisters at S.E.P. A lot of campers may not have many, if any, friends their age in their congregation. Plan to build friendships that will last longer than camp itself, and then keep in contact with those who do not have close friends their age in their area. Plan to use this S.E.P. to sharpen the iron of your friendships (Proverbs 27:17).
Come to S.E.P. to have fun. Come to try your best at every single activity. Come to pull yourself out of your comfort zone and try new things. But come chiefly with a mindset of building the Family of God. Come with a mindset to get to know the ministry, and to get to know your fellow brothers and sisters that much better.
Seriously, dude? Seriously? Come with a mindset of building the family of God? When their own ministers and local church members are some of the nastiest people on earth why would anyone want to come to camp to expand that kind of family? God certainly is NOT part of the program.
Many who have attended previous camps say that S.E.P changed their lives. It can change yours too! Many Armstrong College students will tell you that the main thing that motivated them to apply for college was S.E.P. That’s true for me as well. Seeing God’s way of life put to practice here for those few fantastic weeks as a camper was more than enough to persuade me to apply for God’s college. Seeing the Family of God being built at camp is an awe-inspiring sight. But that building begins now—before camp even begins. So prepare now to do your part in building the Family of God at camp, and I guarantee you, you will have the best S.E.P. ever!
May God have mercy on these poor children's souls!
