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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus Himself said, 

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

 

He never said, 

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

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

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

Paul did not say, 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You only need to come to Christ.

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

That is the glorious freedom of the New Covenant.

Silent Pilgrim