Gerald Flurry and Cal Culpepper On The Caves Of Adullam

 

The caves of Adullam

Gerald Flurry and Cal Culpepper have been regaling their followers with their latest masterpiece of delusional prophecy for quite some time now.

These two towering intellectual giants have solemnly declared that the Caves of Adullam — you know, those charming, damp, bat-infested holes where David once hid like a fugitive — will serve as the exclusive, five-star Place of Safety for the Philadelphia Church of God’s oh-so-special, spiritually spotless elite.

Because heaven forbid Flurry’s pure, superior, hand-selected remnant should have to rub shoulders in Petra with all those filthy, Laodicean, half-baked COG rejects, Protestant losers, certain Messianic Jews, and other assorted spiritual trash. The very idea is simply too horrifying for words!

No, no — his precious snowflakes deserve their very own private, members-only cave system. After all, when you’re running God’s One True Work, and you alone have the “correct” understanding, you can’t possibly be expected to share end-time real estate with the great unwashed masses. That would be... egalitarian. Or worse — common.

So while the rest of the COG world and others crowd into Petra like desperate end-time tourists, Flurry’s enlightened few will be huddling in their own deluxe, divinely appointed rock holes — where the caves are drafty, the ambiance is biblical, and the exclusivity is second to none.

Truly, the height of end-time spiritual sophistication.

Truly, nothing says “God’s favored remnant” quite like demanding your own private apocalyptic bunker because sharing is for lesser Christians.

From The Exit and Support Network 

In The New Throne of David by Gerald Flurry (copyright 2018/2021) he said the place of safety was in Adullam. “We must be prepared to go to the cave of Adullam, the place of safety.” (Chapter 2: The New Throne of David, p. 25.) However, he is still telling members that Petra is the place of safety. 

 

One Way Ticket? 

 

In a June 2013 sermon Cal Culpepper (“Come Out of This World”)13 stated, “Do we really think it is going to be that easy? There’s a lot of details that we don’t know yet. We are going to be packing our bags–it will be an act of faith. We don’t know how it will be. Maybe the government will give us a one way ticket.” 

 

So now we need to ask another question: 

 

Do we think the government is actually going to let Gerald Furry leave the country with a bunch of money? Even if he tries to place it all in offshore accounts, wouldn’t he be watched? (More extreme, fanatical groups are being watched today since the Jim Jones and David Koresh tragedies.) 

 

We need to realize that these stories members are hearing about HQs fleeing “first,” or skipping the country and leaving the members behind, usually turn out to be lies or wild guesses, or a rumor handed down from someone higher up the pyramid.14 

PCG believes they will be persecuted in the future. They believe “the Work” will finally end and armies will surround Jerusalem. It is at this time that they believe it will be time to “flee.”15 Herbert Armstrong preached this same fear doctrine for decades. No one ever fled anywhere. Members simply continued to pay in more and more money, as PCG members are doing. 

 

No One Fled Anywhere: 

 

HWA, for decades, predicted end-time scenarios and talked of a “place of safety.” When every one of his WW II prophecies failed, he said his “timing was wrong” but they would be fulfilled in the “next war”–WW III. In the meantime he convinced his co-workers and members that a college needed to be built. When his later prophecies also failed–especially the 1972 one–he merely said God had given them “more time to do the Work” and shifted their attention. Flurry will undoubtedly say something similar. 

 

As Gerald Flurry continues to use the “place of safety” ploy the same way HWA did, members will fear to leave PCG lest they be left to go through the Great Tribulation. Leaving PCG, in their minds, is the same as “leaving God.” Flurry tells them, “Fear of God must always be with us.”16 But this is the wrong kind of fear. It is the fear of a man whom they are unknowingly putting between themselves and the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not know they have been deceived, as countless thousands before them were deceived by the false teacher and false prophet Herbert Armstrong. 

 

By D. M. Williams
Exit & Support Network™
December 2, 2005
Updated June 30, 2021; March 19, 2024; December 3, 2024

Galatians

Paul writing to Galatia

 

Palm Sunday

 

The scene depicts crowds welcoming Jesus by spreading their cloaks and palm branches on the road while waving palms and shouting "Hosanna!" (meaning "save now" or "save us, we pray") and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (quoting Psalm 118:25–26). Jesus rode a young donkey (or colt), fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9: "See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

Key Symbols and Their Meanings

Palm branches

• In ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman culture, palms represented victory, triumph, peace, and joy. Victors in athletic games or military conquerors were often honored with palm branches.
• The crowds waved and laid them down as a sign of homage and celebration, treating Jesus like a king or conquering hero. They expressed hope that He would deliver them—likely expecting political or national liberation from Roman rule.
• In Christian interpretation, the palms point to Jesus' ultimate spiritual victory over sin and death through His Passion, death, and resurrection. They foreshadow the "Paschal victory" (Easter triumph). Blessed palms are often kept in homes as sacramentals—a reminder of faith in Christ as the Messianic King—and some traditions burn the previous year's palms to create ashes for Ash Wednesday.

The donkey (or colt)

• Unlike a warhorse (symbol of conquest and military power), a donkey symbolized humility, peace, meekness, and servanthood. In ancient Near Eastern tradition, kings rode horses into battle but donkeys when coming in peace.
• By choosing this humble animal, Jesus presented Himself as the Prince of Peace and a servant king, not a political or military ruler. This act deliberately fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy, publicly declaring His messianic identity while contrasting with expectations of a warrior Messiah.
• The donkey also evokes themes of burden-bearing and gentle strength, mirroring Jesus' mission to serve and save spiritually rather than through earthly power.

"Hosanna!" and the crowds' actions

• The shouts combined praise with a plea for salvation. Spreading cloaks was a royal gesture of honor (similar to coronations in the Old Testament, like 2 Kings 9:13).
• The moment highlights a tension: the crowds acclaimed Jesus as the "Son of David" and king, but many misunderstood His kingdom as earthly and political. Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom through sacrifice, not immediate national deliverance. This sets up the dramatic shift later in the week, when some of the same crowds (or others) cried "Crucify him!"

Spreading cloaks on the ground

Spreading garments was a known act of royal homage and submission in ancient Jewish (and broader Near Eastern) culture. It treated the person as a king. The clearest Old Testament parallel is 2 Kings 9:13, where people spread their cloaks on the steps for Jehu when he was proclaimed king.

With the cloaks and the palms, these actions created an impromptu “red carpet” — an improvised royal welcome — as the crowd acclaimed Jesus as the “Son of David” and “King of Israel.”

Broader Significance

Palm Sunday captures a beautiful irony: a day of joyful welcome that foreshadows suffering. The palms and cheers represent human hopes for a triumphant Messiah, while the donkey and the events that follow reveal Jesus' path of humble obedience, leading to the cross. Christians see it as an invitation to welcome Jesus as King—not on our terms, but as the Savior who brings true peace and eternal victory.

From Broken Stones to Living Faith: Righteousness Under the New Covenant"

 

From Broken Stones to Living Faith: Righteousness Under the New Covenant

By

The Silent Pilgrim

Samuel Kitchen posted a letter to his scattered followers, 

and this is my response to it (his letter is at the end).

The statement mixes some biblical truths (righteousness comes by faith in God/Christ, not self-boasting works; the Spirit—not our strength—empowers obedience; sin is serious and calls for quick repentance; faith produces living evidence) with several clear errors when measured against the New Covenant as taught in the New Testament. The New Covenant (promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and fulfilled in Jesus) is not a revised version of the Old Covenant/Mosaic Law with "faith added on." It is a fundamentally better covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13) where:

• God writes His law internally on hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit (not external stone tablets or ritual observance).
• Justification and freedom from condemnation come by grace through faith in Christ's finished work alone.
• The Old Covenant system (including its ceremonial commands) is obsolete and fulfilled in Christ.

Here is why key parts of the statement contradict this, with direct scriptural grounding:

"If we sin we are judged of the law of God!" (and the idea that sin makes our righteousness "worthless" or puts us back under law's judgment)

This is the core error. The New Covenant explicitly declares believers not under the law's dominion or condemnation.

• Romans 6:14: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."
• Romans 8:1-2: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
• Galatians 5:18: "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

Christ bore the full curse and penalty of the law (Galatians 3:13; Romans 7:6). Sin still grieves the Spirit, requires repentance, and can bring discipline (Hebrews 12:5-11; 1 John 1:9), but it does not return us to law-based judgment or make our standing in Christ "worthless." The New Covenant promise is that God "will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more" (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17). The statement's logic—that ongoing sin (which all believers still experience—1 John 1:8) nullifies righteousness unless perfectly faith-powered—actually undermines assurance in Christ and revives the very condemnation the cross removed.

Keeping the Sabbath, Holy Days of God, tithing, etc., as part of "keeping the law" that strengthens faith or avoids being "breakers of the law"

The New Covenant does not bind believers to these Old Covenant shadows. They pointed to Christ but are no longer required observances:

• Colossians 2:16-17: "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."
• Romans 14:5-6: "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."
• Hebrews 8:13: "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete."

The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) confirmed that Gentile believers (and by extension the church) are not placed under the Mosaic Law's ceremonial requirements. Tithing was part of Israel's theocratic system; the New Testament shifts giving to cheerful, Spirit-led generosity (2 Corinthians 9:7). The statement treats these as ongoing "law" that faith must uphold or be judged by—this is exactly what Paul warned against as a return to "weak and worthless elementary principles" (Galatians 4:9; 5:1-4).

"Our righteousness is good works proclaimed and boasted while sinning... Faithless and dead" combined with "Righteousness is of faith. It is not of works" and the reward framework.

This creates an internal contradiction that the New Covenant resolves. Yes—righteousness is of faith, not our works (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28; Philippians 3:9—"not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ"). Our attempts at self-righteousness are worthless (Isaiah 64:6). But the New Covenant does not say "if you sin at all, your faith-righteousness collapses and you're judged by the law."

• Good works (love, obedience, fruit of the Spirit—Galatians 5:22-23) are the evidence and result of living faith (James 2:14-26; Ephesians 2:10—"created in Christ Jesus for good works"). They do not "strengthen" faith to avoid law-judgment; the Spirit does the empowering (Philippians 2:13).
• Rewards in the New Covenant are for faithfulness done in Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Matthew 25), not for "doing what we ought" under law or to prove we "cannot be condemned by the law." The statement's tension ("we are not justified by works... but if we sin we are judged of the law") revives the very self-righteous boasting it claims to reject.

Minor strengths that still miss the New Covenant's heart

Parts like "Christ in us who doeth them," "by the Spirit of God," quick repentance, and thanking God for exposing sin align with New Covenant reality (Galatians 2:20; Romans 8:9-11; 1 John 1:9). The "mind of Christ" is indeed humble and receptive. However, these are framed inside a system that still treats believers as partially under the Old Covenant's external law-structure for judgment and righteousness. That framework was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14).

In summary, the New Covenant is grace-based freedom from the law's curse and ceremonial yoke, with the Spirit producing internal obedience that looks like love for God and neighbor—not ritual law-keeping to "strengthen faith" or avoid being "judged of the law." The statement's view, while sincere, functionally pulls believers back under the Old Covenant's shadow instead of resting fully in the substance, which is Christ. This is why Paul so strongly opposed any mixture of law and grace for justification or daily walk (Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-5).

The goal of the New Covenant is joyful freedom in Christ, not fear of law-judgment.

Samuel Kitchen's letter to his followers:

If God commands us not to sin, and we sin still, our righteousness is worthless because it was not of faith.

Meaning, we may keep the sabbath of the Lord, the Holy Days of God, tithe of all, be hospitable, and keep the law….but if we sin we are judged of the law of God!

Righteousness is of faith. It is not of works.

Our works strengthen faith, showing it is alive, for if we disobey God how can we believe God in faith? Sin is a lack of faith and sin weakens faith.

Our righteousness, is good works proclaimed and boasted while sinning against God. Faithless and dead.

The righteousness of God is believing God, and knowing He is able to perform what He says! And through obedience, we strengthen faith. Knowing God is a rewarder to those who both do good and evil.

We are not justified by boasting or self righteousness. We are not justified by our works, for we all are sinners. But if we believe God let us believe in faith, and let us strengthen one another in faith, and loosen the chains of darkness that easily beset us.

For we cannot do the works that strengthen faith. But it is Christ in us who doeth them. Therefore it is not ourselves who strengthen faith, but Christ in us. And it is God who gives us living faith, and living faith is strengthened and powered by the spirit of God, through which Christ lives in us.

Not by our own hands, might, ability, strength, I.Q, and works.

But by the Spirit of God.

So when sin is revealed, let us not turn our heads away, for we strive always to walk and to live by the living faith of Jesus Christ. Let us repent quickly, of allowing Satan to weaken faith through disobedience, and therefore by repentance turn to God wholly and being strengthened thoroughly filled with the Holy Spirit. The mind of Christ is not hostile, angry or bitter against God for exposing sin. When sin is exposed, let us thank God. For it is HIS GOOD WORK for our sake to walk in faith and be rewarded according to our faith.

We do not get rewarded for doing the things which we ought. We are rewarded according to doing which we ought in faith, not in self righteousness, not as breakers of the law but those who cannot be condemned by the law.

Church of God International - The Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Song - Fire Proof Faith

Church of God International: Passover Rap - Jesus Is Our Passover King

 

Crackpot Prophet On Stay At Home Passover Keeping

One thing you do have to hand to Herbert Armstrong is that he genuinely appreciated quality. Whether it was in his personal home, the beautifully maintained college campus, its facilities, or the polished visual presentation of Church of God speakers and television backgrounds, the man insisted on excellence. Almost every COG splinter group has carried at least some of that commitment to quality forward into their video programs and public image.

Well… almost every group.

Enter our most highly favored Crackpot Bob.

For the last thirteen years, the very concept of “quality” appears to have never once crossed his mind. His videos are a visual trainwreck: crooked bookcases, bizarrely arranged books, random doorknobs hovering behind his head, file cabinets, and perpetually creased banners. The clutter is every bit as distracting as his constant arm-waving and hyperactive bouncing in that oversized leather chair.

And here we are, just days away from the most sacred observance of the year for Armstrongists, and our bouncing, flouncing prophet has delivered yet another banger. While solemnly lecturing his dwindling band of faithful on how to properly observe Passover at home, viewers are treated to a glorious, wide-open view straight into his closet — proudly displaying his impressive collection of magic, holistic  and overpriced ju-ju pills.

Quality all the way, folks. Truly inspiring.